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Anna
The next night, she waited in the tunnels as the appointed time came near.
Luck had been with her yesterday and she’d run into Altair while walking out in the courtyard for her afternoon meal. Although the dragon was still unsure about her people, he’d agreed to pass the word on to Damien that she wouldn’t be able to make it that night.
Unlike the witches, the dragons didn’t seem to have any rules about interacting with the women of Winterspell. They seemed far more pragmatic on a lot of matters than her own superiors did. Anna tried not to dwell on why that might be, lest it bring her down some paths she wasn’t quite ready to follow.
The door slid open, the silent movement startling her with its lack of warning. She stepped back just in case it wasn’t Damien on the other side, but her fears were immediately put at ease as a familiar head of blond hair ducked through the entryway.
“Hey, you,” she said, not quite throwing herself at him.
“Anna,” he replied, easily catching her in his arms and lifting her up as per usual. “It’s good to see you. I missed you last night. Did you get your project done?”
“Barely,” she said, sagging into him. “I think I got three hours of sleep last night at most. Was up all night working on it. I’ve never rushed such a project before in my life!” She tried to keep the frustration out of her voice, but Damien was quite perceptive, and she felt his arms slacken just a little in their hug.
Was he aware of what was going on in her head? Could he possibly know the problems she was facing?
“I’m proud that you got it done,” he said. “That must have been quite the effort.”
“All those years of studying hard paying off, I suppose,” she said, biting her lip in mild dismay as she disentangled herself from him. “Walk with me?” she asked.
“Is there a chance we could go somewhere more...open?” he asked.
Anna frowned. The tunnels that wormed their way through Winterspell were not oft-frequented by the students and residents of the Academy, and when they were, those inside usually sought privacy. It was fairly rare to run into someone else because they would try to avoid you as much as you did them. To go outside though...
She looked up as he shifted from one foot to the other. She saw his face, but it was what was beyond him that caught her attention. The arched stone ceiling. That was it then, she understood suddenly.
Damien was a dragon. A creature used to the freedom of the skies, and she’d been imprisoning him in the tunnels every time they met. Of course, he would want to get out!
“Umm, let me think here,” she said, trying to come up with somewhere they could go, but still be alone. There were plenty of towers and balconies in the two buildings, but she needed to find one that was unused. Where they could be...whatever it was they were, together, and alone.
“It’s okay,” Damien started to say, but she shook her head, quieting him.
“I just had to think of a route. I don’t usually go up either,” she admitted. “Sneaking around isn’t exactly my strong suit.”
Damien grinned. “So how rebellious do you feel right now then?”
“You don’t want me thinking about that,” she joked. “Cause then I might realize what I’m doing and stop.”
“Oh.” Damien didn’t seem certain how to react.
“Come on,” she said, reaching out to take his hand without thinking.
His fingers slid through hers and gripped on as Damien followed her through the winding hallways and they began to climb stairs too narrow to fit both of them side by side. They went up and up and up.
“We must be above ground by now,” he commented, easily following along as she led the way.
“Oh absolutely. But if we’re going to be outside, we need to be somewhere no one can see us,” she reminded. “Which means above everyone else that might be out on other balconies.”
“I see,” he said, falling silent.
At last, she brought them to a door. Not a compartment in the wall, but an actual door. It was unlocked as expected, and she pushed it open quietly, praying the hinges wouldn’t squeak.
They didn’t, and the two of them emerged into a tiny room with a set of stairs going up and down. She pointed up, and they went up one last flight of stairs, emerging out onto a flat-topped tower.
“Wow,” Damien breathed, looking up at the night sky. “This is quite the view. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” she said, enjoying the view as well. This had been one of her favorite spots to come when she was a novice. The peace and serenity of the high tower had helped her come to terms with leaving home behind, knowing she would never return to the world she’d once been a part of.
“I came up here—by the regular stairs—my third night here at Winterspell,” she said quietly. “I spent hours looking out in every direction, wondering if I could spot my home. If I could see the lights of the city I’d come from.”
“Are you from nearby?” Damien asked quietly, sensing the importance of what she was saying.
“No. Not at all,” she said. “I didn’t know that at the time though. I’d just begun to develop my magic, and they came for me.”
“You were kidnapped here?”
“No, of course not,” she said with a laugh. “They came during the day. They told my parents the truth about what I was going to become, and the good I could do if I were allowed to come and be trained here.” She looked down. “They also told them of the evil I might become if I were to continue unchecked. That if that happened, they would be forced to kill me.”
“I thought you said most people didn’t know that you can use magic.”
“They don’t,” she said. “My parents didn’t believe them at first. But in time they came to understand. Enough demonstrations will do that to just about anyone.”
“What...what happened to your parents?” he asked.
“They’re out there somewhere,” she said. “Enspelled to silence. They can never tell anyone about what happened to me. Not the true story at least. Everyone else thinks I’m off at boarding school. Or that I was, I guess, and that I just never returned home. My parents go to “visit” me sometimes.”
“Have you seen them since the witches came to bring you here?” he asked cautiously.
“No. Not once,” she said heavily. “It’s not an easy decision, but once I realized I was different, I wanted to learn all about it. The things I have seen here, Damien. The good that we are doing, it gave me a purpose I’ve never felt before. Something to work toward. It was that dream that made it easier to abandon the life I knew, the people I’d loved.”
“And that’s why it’s so important to you,” he said quietly. “Why you work so hard for it.”
“Yes. And that’s why the Apprenticeship exam means so much to me. If I take it and pass, then even if I never move on to Master level, I will always be a witch of Winterspell. I will be a member in its ranks, called upon to fight if anything breaks loose from the Abyss. I will get a chance to use my magic for good. Forever.”
Damien was nodding now, his grip on her hand loosening. “And last night was a hiccup in the road to that. You didn’t get something done.” He sighed knowingly. “And that’s why you’ve been so nervous tonight. You’re thinking of breaking off...this.” He held up their hands but shrugged at the same time.
Apparently, he didn’t know what they were either.
“I never expected to make it to Initiate level,” she said, pleading with him to understand. “But I worked my butt off to get here. To show the others that brain power matters as much as natural-born talent. I’ve proven so many people wrong, but there are still plenty of naysayers out there. And I don’t want to fail this next time.”
Damien let go of her hand, reaching out to rest both hands on the stone wall that circled the balcony. “And I’m a distraction that you think is going to make you fail,” he said.
“That’s not what I mean,” she moaned.
“Well what did you mean then?” he asked. “Because it sure feels like you’ve been leading up to saying you can’t continue to see me because you need to focus on your studies. Which would imply that your studies aren’t going the way you want because of me. Which means you fear consequences if you don’t spend more time on them. Consequences like failing your Apprenticeship test.”
“I don’t know,” she said, throwing her hands up in the air. “I’m no good at this, Damien. I don’t have any experience. You’re...you’re like.” She fell silent. How to tell him that at twenty-eight years old, she had no emotional experience with men, just physical blunderings and experimentation?
He waited patiently, his eyes as blue in the night as they were during the day.
“I don’t know what to do,” she whispered. “I’m confused. I...I really like spending time with you. You make me feel, things.”
“You’ve never liked someone before?” he asked curiously.
“Not men,” she said with a shrug. “If you haven’t noticed, magic isn’t really a male thing. There are very few sorcerers in the world, and none at Winterspell. It’s all women.”
“I see.” Damien stepped closer. “Well, I can tell you that it doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing thing.”
“What do you mean?” She bit her lip as he neared, his warmth easily noticeable in the cool air at the top of the tower. Winterspell was climate-controlled via magic, but that didn’t mean that in the higher reaches it wasn’t cooler than below.
“I mean you don’t necessarily have to go cold turkey with me, you know. I enjoy seeing you every night, don’t get me wrong, but once or twice a week instead is better than just cutting off all contact, don’t you think?” he smiled at her and Anna’s knees nearly buckled.
He was so close. She was there, her back to the balcony wall. Trapped, though she knew if she wanted, he would move aside. But did she want him to move? What did she want?
“That...that might work,” she conceded breathlessly, looking up at him, throat dry from the nerves.
“I can respect that you need to study,” he rumbled, coming closer yet again. “I admire your dedication to your craft.”
“Thank you,” she said, licking her lips.
“But I want you to know that I like what this is too. I like it a lot,” he said, leaning in.
“You do?” she squeaked.
Damien nodded. “I’d like to show you.”
His hand came up, cupping her chin. Anna was trembling. Was this really going to happen? Was he going to kiss her?
“May I?” he asked.
She nodded, not trusting her voice.
Then he leaned in, pressing his lips to hers, gripping her chin just that little bit tighter so she didn’t move. Anna lifted her arms around his neck, holding him close as his other hand pushed up her back. Her entire body was on fire where he touched it. She’d never felt like this before, this burning need to...to let Damien do whatever he wanted to her.
In that moment, she was his.
