Talon Academy

Chapter Twelve

I had been let out of my extra Physical Training class early enough to take a quick shower and sit in the common room to revise for the upcoming Laws of Magic assessment.

For once I could enjoy the peace and quiet since I was the only one out of class right now. I had fifteen minutes to revise over as much of the unit as I could before everyone else comes rushing in to collect there things to go home. Fifteen minutes that I planned to spend very carefully.

Or so I thought. It only took a few minutes before I remembered something more interesting. I got up and walked to the bookshelf beside the window.

My ebony hair was still wet and had soaked through the back of my white shirt causing me to shiver every time the wind blew in from the other side of the room. I tried to wring it out as I reached the bookshelf but it seemed the water was refusing to leave.

Sighing, I let go of my hair and instead began reading the spine of each book again. I looked up in attempt to find the black book I had seen before. It didn't take long before the flash of gold caught my eye.

The book was in the same place it had been a month ago. The gold spirals curled across the black spine but no name was written was written along it to indicate what the book was about. I stretched up my arm to take it out but, even on my tip toes, I wasn't able to reach it.

Unexpectedly, an arm reached up above me and began to pull out the book from its ungiving cradle. I spun around with a slight yelp only to be met by a figure wearing all black. A hood was covering their head and a shadowed face I couldn't recognise was hidden within.

My body went rigid with terror as my dream had taken life as the figure in front of me. The eerie figure was only a few centimeter away and I felt like the ground was going to fall in. My breathing came ragged as I tried to move away but only felt the unshakable bookshelf cut into my back. I opened my mouth to scream when a hand covered it.

"Hey, calm down. Why are you panicking? It only me." My terror suddenly melted away as I recognised the voice behind the hooded figure.

I closed my eyes and leaned against the bookshelf while trying to bring my heart back to a normal pace, "It's only you. I...I thought it was someone else...I..." I couldn't think of any way to explain why I had panicked without telling him about my dreams.

His confused voice was tinted with a gentle worry as he asked, "You look like you're about to cry. Who did you think it was?"

My relief quickly turned into anger and I pushed him back as hard as I could. He was heavier than I thought as he barely moved back a few steps. Instead I resorted to shouting at him to express my anger, "No one, I thought it was no one! Just ... back off!"

His usual smirked returned, "Must have been someone. Was it me? Did I finally annoy you enough to scare you?"

"Shut up! Scaring me isn't an achievement." My anger boiled and a headache began to pound against my head.

His eyes kept drifting upwards before his light brown eyes stayed connected to my light blue ones. He leaned in and whispered, "You're right. Making you cry would definitely be an achievement though and I think i'm pretty close to it."

"I hate you! I hate you so much Roubin! I hope you know that." I wanted to hit him right in the middle of that stupid smirk of his.

"The feelings mutual, sweetheart."

My head throbbed as the urge to hit him grew, "Don't call me sweetheart!"

"Why? Does it make you more annoyed? Maybe I should use it more often then."