Exams
Azalaïs Saurel, called “Aza” by all but her teachers and parents, stumbled over her white-and-green dress as she ran up the steps of the ancient academy that had been her home for the past fourteen years. She was terribly late for one of her practical examinations. After fourteen years, she no longer had any classes to attend, but she did have various tests yet to complete before she earned enough marks to graduate. Then, of course, there would be duties to fulfill until she could secure an assignment in the field.
But that was… less important than the fact that she would have graduated and become a full Ment, no longer merely an Igilette—or, as Aza preferred to call it, an Iggie. She was approximately two days of examinations away from graduating. Three, if she missed this one. She did not want that. It would mean missing the ceremony alongside her dear friends and classmates.
Unless Senda also happened to trip and fall down the stairs on her way to the examination.
But that was wishful thinking.
The precise sort of wishful thinking that caused Aza to trip in the first place. Not on the first step. Not even on a middle step. On the second-to-last step, her shoe caught the bottom of the hem of her dress and violently yanked it forward with her full weight. This pulled her along with it.
She screamed as she fell face first toward a very unforgiving marble floor.
Before she could break her face or, possibly, remember that she had magic for just this sort of emergency (or something... sort of like it) her face slammed into something just as hard as the floor, but closer and considerably warmer. That smelled of coffee and dusty books. A strong arm had looped around her waist, holding her up with the sort of casual strength one might expect from a Vigil rather than a fellow Iggie.
Aza blinked up at her rescuer.
It was most certainly not an Iggie. Or even a fellow student.
It was a very tall, very broad-shouldered male dressed in a long leather coat that draped perfectly over his very fit form. He was so tall that she had to crane her neck far back to look at his face.
A face framed by longish black hair, two slightly curling horns protruding from his temples, and cold violet eyes set in a chiseled, angular bone structure. He had a strong jaw and a grim, disapproving mouth that only made him more attractive. He had the sort of face that could make a statue swoon.
Aza did not swoon. She gaped at him in shock. For longer than she should have stared at a stranger, even her rescuer.
As she stared, he righted her with a gentle strength that belied his rather forbidding demeanor. Aza swallowed as she was forced to look up at him to do so. He looked even taller once she was standing on the same height as him. Which didn’t make sense to her.
“Ah,” she managed. “Thank you.”
“Mm.” The word was both agreement and mild reproof. He stepped back, but only barely. “Be more careful. You could have been injured.”
“I know,” she said, the words tumbling out of her in a rush. “I can’t believe I did that. I was late. And in a hurry. And then I caught my shoe and—I’m not usually so clumsy, I promise. This is just... such an important day, and I didn’t want to miss it, and my shoe caught, and it was just a mistake, and I’ll be more careful, and—”
“Stop.” The word was short, clipped. The deep, resonant voice was the sort of voice she would not have minded listening to for hours. He didn’t seem the type to talk for hours. “If you have nothing of use to say, do not say it.” The deep voice was even more attractive when it was irritated with her.
“Uh,” Aza replied intelligently.
The man looked down his nose at her, one dark brow arched. He was frowning.
Aza flushed hotly. She was being an idiot. An embarrassment to her school, her teachers, and her fellow students. She had never, in all the years she’d been at the academy, run into anyone so powerful. Or so handsome. Or so intimidating.
She swallowed hard and nodded her head once. “I’m sorry.” She glanced at the room she’d been racing toward. Her examination had already begun. “Thank you for your help.”
He stared at her for a long moment. A long moment in which her examination was definitely examining her for some kind of defects that she absolutely did not have. “You say too many useless things.”
Then he walked away, his boots silent against the marble floor. Aza watched him for a moment. The way he moved was as smooth as the way he spoke. He had a grace that was uncommon, even for the Vigil candidates who sometimes came to the academy to study.
“STAAAARSSSSSSS!” she hissed under her breath. She was late. She turned and burst into the examination room, only to be met by the impatient, expectant face of her examiner.
“You’re late,” the woman said. She sounded far too tired for it being the middle of the day.
Aza ducked her head and stood to attention. “Yes, Mistress. My apologies. I tripped on the stairs.”
The woman, a full Ment in dark blue robes, sighed. “I’ve heard that one a hundred times, child.”
Aza bit her tongue to keep from saying she hadn’t been a child for years. “I’m sorry, Mistress. It won’t happen again.”
“See that it doesn’t.” The woman gestured to the space in the middle of the room. “Or the next time I shall dock you points.”
Aza swallowed and nodded. Then, because she had to say something, added, “It was a very attractive man who caught me, Mistress. If that helps any.”
The woman gave her a very faintly amused look. “Get to work, child.”
