I looked up at the massive, gilded front door. “What is this place?”
“There are many routes in and out of the academy,” he answered, a hint of a smile tugging at his lips.
Rafe opened his fist and held up his hand. A ball of light quivered and swirled in it, lighting up the darkened house just as he had done in the dungeons of Oblek’s castle. He took my hand in his as he led me through the shadows.
As his warm hand closed about my fingers, I felt my heart flutter again. This was getting to be very irritating. What was I going to do when he went away again? And he would go away, he always did, and as usual I would have absolutely no idea where he was. There was no real future for us, and he was so obviously not interested. That thought saddened me, and my heart sank.
The huge house looked like it had not been lived in for a very long time. Dust covers obscured all the furniture, including the chandeliers and statues. I could only imagine what this place would have looked like all clean and lit up. It was like a miniature palace. Rafe led me up the massive marble staircase and down a long corridor to the last room.
“Is this your house?” I asked, amazed that he knew his way around so well. Even in the darkness of this eerie house, I felt safe as long as he was with me.
He smiled. “One of them.”
Who was he to have a house this big and never use it? I wished he would tell me who he really was. Not that it mattered. I would still be crazy about him. I had never felt this way before, and that was what terrified me the most.
“This house belonged to my mother’s family,” he said finally.
“And no one lives here?” It was a silly question, but it was out of my mouth before I realized.
His face darkened. “No. Not since she died.”
He looked like he didn’t want to answer any more questions, so I kept my thoughts to myself.
“I’m sorry,” I said softly, feeling bad for his loss. “About your mother, I mean. At least you got to meet her. I can barely remember what my real mother even looked like.”
His gaze softened, and he gave my hand a small squeeze, but he didn’t say anything more.
The last door at the end of the corridor was unlocked. Rafe led me inside a small room where bookshelves lined the walls. The only other furniture in the room was a large, mahogany desk and an old, worn leather sofa. He went over to one of the shelves and pulled out a book. Part of the bookshelf moved inward, revealing a dark passage.
I was so used to secret passages now that I didn’t even flinch. I had half-expected it. How else was I going to get back into the school at night? Calisto and Damien must have closed the magical gate.
“This leads directly to the cellar of your dorm house,” Rafe explained.
I peered into the dark passageway and my eyes narrowed. “Why do you have a secret passageway leading to the girls’ dormitory?”
He chuckled. “It came in handy when I was studying there. And the girls were easier to convince to keep my secret than the boys.”
“I’m sure they were,” I said tartly, and raised my eyebrows when I realized what he had said. “You studied at the academy?”
He gave me an amused smile. “Don’t look so surprised—I wasn’t always an outlaw, you know.”
“So,” I ventured, “who are you, then?”
Rafe rolled his eyes. “Have I told you you ask too many questions?”
I scowled back at him. “Frequently.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Well, I don’t think this is the right time to discuss it.”
I crossed my arms and glared at him. “Fine.” He was absolutely exasperating.
I turned to enter the passage, which was fairly large but dark and gloomy. Rafe led the way, his mage light glowing steadily in his hand. The gray stone walls were cold and damp, and I could hear a dripping sound in the distance. I fervently hoped that there were no rats down there as we walked deeper under the city of Neris and toward the academy.
I wondered when I would be able to see Rafe again. He always came and went so mysteriously, and I had no idea when he would turn up. I wished there were some way I could meet him more often.
“Can you teach me to fight?” If I learned from him, he would have to spend more time with me.
He flicked a glance back at me as I followed him. “What?” Obviously, he hadn’t expected that.
“Well, since you say I keep getting into trouble,” I said slowly, not wanting to anger him, “I thought it would be good for me to know how to defend myself.”
“And you want me to teach you?” he said flatly as we walked quickly through the eerie passage and back to the school.
“Yes.”
His lips quirked to one side in the cutest smile I had ever seen. “And how am I supposed to meet you?”
“Well.” I had not really thought about it, so the words spilled from me abruptly. “Maybe I could sneak out here some nights.”
“Sneak out!” Rafe stopped and turned to glare at me. “No, I won’t have you breaking the rules and getting yourself into trouble. Don’t they teach you to fight in warrior classes?”
I had to shake my head to stop myself from staring at him as I hurried after him. “Yes, the magical stuff is fine. I can manage that, but fighting with a sword is so cumbersome. I want to learn to fight with knives.”
“Knives!” Rafe gave me an amused look. “Why knives?”
“Well, knives are easy to conceal. You can carry more than one on your person at all times, and you can throw them. Erien said you’re faster with knives than you are with
