4

He growled into the cold mud beneath his face, caring less about the inevitable bruises to his body than the ones to his soul.

He hadn鈥檛 been quick enough, good enough. He鈥檇 given it his all, and it hadn鈥檛 been enough .

Fuck, the last several weeks had been torture. Feeling the soulmate bond agonisingly stretched and pummelled whenever he and Xem were more than a room or two apart, Asher had only been able to withstand it with the knowledge that it was just for a little while longer, and then he鈥檇 be only a bed away from the other half of himself.

One room away for the next four months would have to be enough. He鈥檇 survive.

He鈥檇 have to.

He couldn鈥檛.

鈥淐ongratulations, Ms. Shae,鈥?Professor Allarie said warmly, although her eyes were on Asher as he picked himself up out of the mud. 鈥淢r. Larsen, you鈥檝e placed third, and Ms. Shae will now duel Mr. Whitlock to determ-鈥?

鈥淎ctually, professor,鈥?Xem cut in, not bothering to excuse his interruption with an apology. His intense gaze found Asher and pierced through him, giving nothing away. 鈥淚 think you鈥檒l find that Pippah鈥檚 last casting only contained one element, not two.鈥?

That was how she鈥檇 been able to attack so quickly?

Professor Allarie glanced at Principal Everett, who nodded. Asher doubted he鈥檇 been paying much attention to the duel鈥攈e鈥檇 spent the day sliding up to the younger professors and older students and murmuring things in their ears that made them either blush or blanch鈥攂ut it was unsurprising that he鈥檇 take the side of a Whitlock mage, even if it meant pissing off the much less influential Shae family. And Xem, the self-righteous prick, was far too respectable to lie.

Allarie gave a distasteful sniff.

鈥淰ery well,鈥?she conceded in a curt, clipped tone. 鈥淢s. Shae is disqualified. I don鈥檛 want to hear it,鈥?the professor added as Pippah began to hiss out complaints. 鈥淭he rules clearly specified dual castings only. Mr. Larsen, Mr. Whitlock?鈥?

Asher limped back over the line of candles, shaking out his wrists and coming to a stop before Xem. Who, of course, looked his usual infuriatingly neat self, as if he鈥檇 passed the afternoon partaking in a late lunch instead of having all four elements thrown at him in combinations just short of fatal.

鈥淵ou鈥檙e going to be granted second rank regardless of what happens now, Asher,鈥?Xem remarked, inspecting his fingernails. 鈥淪o instead of being thoroughly beaten鈥攁gain鈥攜ou may concede the duel verbally. No one would think less of you.鈥?

A round of excitable ooooooohs echoed around the courtyard from the watching students.

Asher shook his head, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. As if he鈥檇 miss even one opportunity to face off against Xem. He鈥檇 relished every loss at the mage鈥檚 hands over the last several months, Professor Allarie being as good as her word to pair them up for the entire trimester, not only for the way his soulmate鈥檚 magic felt against his skin but also for how Asher had learned and improved from each encounter.

鈥淰ery well,鈥?said Xem. 鈥淎 painful defeat for you it is.鈥?

No one would think less of you . A blatant lie, for the mage鈥檚 eyes had lit up in delighted pride when Asher had refused his offer of surrender.

Lightning flashed. Xem鈥檚 hands formed a pattern Asher didn鈥檛 even recognise鈥攎agic certainly beyond that of the average first-year鈥攂ut he didn鈥檛 need to understand the exact casting to know what Xem intended. He鈥檇 fought him enough times now to have picked up his habits.

And sure enough, when the casting loosed from Xem鈥檚 fingers it went for Asher鈥檚 legs: powerful but narrowly focused, designed to knock down his opponent in a strong opening move that would then be followed by something broader and more restrictive.

Asher鈥檚 half-smile flourished into a rare grin when he blocked the rush of air that had been aimed at his knees. Xem returned the expression, his natural arrogance giving it the quality of a fond smirk, and renewed his assaults.

Defensive magic was quicker to cast than offensive, and Asher was thrilled to find himself parrying the second strike, and then the third鈥攂ut a fourth, an unexpected disruption of the soil under his feet that knocked him on his arse, saw him swiftly incapacitated when Xem reformed the earth over and around his hands.

He鈥檇 buried him?! Gods, this man was something else. As a fully trained and certified mage, he鈥檇 be unstoppable.

Asher barely heard Allarie calling out their final ranks. Bonnie鈥檚 cheering drowned her out, and he glanced over to find Dawson giving him an excitable thumbs up.

Hard earth turned to soft mud around him and Asher yanked his hands free, surprised when Xem extended one arm down to help him to his feet.

And then the mage ruined the gesture by wrinkling his nose in horrified distaste and casting a gentle flood of water to sluice the dirt away from his own hands.

鈥淵ou鈥檙e filthy,鈥?Xem declared.

He leaned in until his lips were brushing Asher鈥檚 ear, murmuring his next words too quiet for anyone else to hear.

鈥淒on鈥檛 even think of setting foot in our room until you鈥檝e bathed.鈥?

Our room.

Asher was bruised, sore, bleeding in three places and beyond exhausted, but he鈥檇 never moved quicker in his life.

S hould he knock?

A freshly scrubbed-clean Asher hesitated, his knuckles poised up against the door of the bedroom occupied by the first and second ranked students.

Him and Xem. It was still dizzyingly new in Asher鈥檚 mind, not having properly sunk in, yet thrilling in all forms.

But.

Should he knock?