The Beginning After The End novel Chapter 345

Chapter 345 Socialite

Setting down the scroll detailing the lessons I was expected to teach, I sighed and leaned back in my chair. I was forcefully reminded of the military academy I had attended in my previous life, and not in a good way.

The warrior in me—the man who had been a master swordsman, a king, a Lance—looked at these drills, which focused on mastering repeated movements and perfecting the minutiae of stance and the placement of hands and feet, and saw the kind of iron-fisted control over training that defeated creativity in battle. This part of me knew I could do better than grinding students on form.

But then there was another part, too: the brother, friend, and son. I was a Dicathian, displaced and surrounded by enemies, being asked to train soldiers that may one day use these abilities against the people I loved most, just to keep myself safe. Although it had only been two days, it had grown increasingly difficult to focus as that part of me kept asking the same question.

What is the point? I asked myself for the tenth time since the Scythe, Dragoth, had appeared at Central Academy. That anger had clung to me since then, coloring every interaction, poisoning every thought.

I wanted to be doing something more than just going over papers behind a desk.

All of Alaric and Darrin’s arguments felt so far away now that I was here, sitting in an office in Central Academy, preparing to teach. Had there really not been a better way for me to escape from the political knot I’d been tied up in, trapped between the hostility of the Granbehls and the manipulation of the Denoirs? For more, visit lightno?velpub.c­om.

Is all of this even worth it?

“Is all of what worth it?” Regis cut in from where he lay in the corner. “The political protection, the free, no-questions-asked access in and out of the Relictombs? Or maybe the trove of dead relics and textbooks we have access to?”

I closed my eyes. “You know what I mean.”

“Just admit that you’re scared you’re going to see these Alacryans as real people instead of devils incarnate,” he said with a smirk. “I imagine humanizing your enemies can’t be easy on your already-messed-up moral compass.”

Prying an eye open, I threw a scroll at the big roll of fur and fire. Just as it should have bounced off him, his body flared with purple flames, engulfing the projectile.

Regis’s smirk merely widened as his tail wagged annoyingly. “I hope that wasn’t anything you needed.”

I opened my mouth to retort, but a soft knock at the door interrupted me.

‘Do you want me to go back in?’ Regis asked.

I shook my head. At this point, it should be fine.

“What is it?” I said aloud, the words coming out more bluntly than I intended.

The office door swung inward and a woman stepped in, her floating waves of blonde hair trailing after her slightly as if she were surrounded by a gentle breeze. “Grey! I hope you don’t mind my stopping by.”

I acknowledged her with a terse nod. “I’m sorry, I’m a little busy—”

“Oh, do you need help preparing for class? I’m sure you have so much on your plate.” She bounced across the room and leaned one hip against my desk to look down at the materials spread out in front of me. “This is the third season I’ve taught both my classes, so I’m all set, myself. I’d be happy to spend some time with you—helping you, I mean.”

Frowning, I considered how best to get rid of the woman without burning a bridge, but Regis shuffled, his flames flaring, and Abby squealed and retreated back across the small office.

“Wh-what is that?” she exclaimed, her amber eyes wide with fright.

“My summons,” I answered nonchalantly.

“Wow, a summons?” Abby asked breathlessly, her cheeks flushed from fright. “I’ve never seen one quite like this before.” Taking a few tentative steps away from Regis, who was having a difficult time maintaining a serious face, she hiked herself up onto my desk, one leg crossed over the other. “That’s really impressive. Do you mind if I ask, though”—her lips quirked up into a teasing smile—“having your summons out, do you feel in danger or something?”

Regis waggled his brows as he watched Abby lean in closer toward me, obviously enjoying my discomfort. I was tempted to call him back with the verbal cue that Regis and I had agreed on beforehand for cases like this, but my companion shook his head now that Abby wasn’t looking at him.

‘I like the view from here, if you don’t mind,’ he said with a satisfied smile. ‘And watching you squirm makes it even better.’

I shook my head, locking my gaze with Abby’s and returning a soft smile. “Perhaps I just wanted to impress a fellow colleague.”

“O-oh,” The blonde-haired professor’s eyes widened, taken aback. Regis’s eyes did the same.

After a brief pause, I gave her a wink. “I only jest, Miss Redcliff. Though, I’m sure you’re well accustomed to shrugging off leering suitors.”

“You’re too much,” she said with a giggle, her ears burning bright as she looked away. “And please, call me Abby.”

“Very well.” I stood up and walked around my desk, leaning against it next to her.

I held out my hand and waited for her to take it. Her fingers barely touched my own as she returned my gesture. “It’s a pleasure to see you again, Abby.”

“The pleasure is mine,” she replied with a light squeeze of my hand.

Pulling away, I took a peek at my companion, whose jaw was slack, before turning my attention back to my guest. “I hope I’m not sitting too close. Talking to you from behind my desk makes it feel like I’m talking to my students.”

“No, I prefer this as well, I mean—I’m not a student, after all,” she said, shaking her head.

“Good, I’m glad,” I chuckled happily before letting my grin fall. “Though we may have to keep our conversation short today.”

Abby kept her expression impartial, but her shoulders slumped at my words. “Oh? I take it you’ve made plans for the rest of your day?”

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“I plan to enjoy a lovely date with these piles of papers over here,” I said with a tired smile.

“Like I said before, I’d be happy to help you prepare for your class, Grey,” she said.

“It’s not really about my class, per se.” I scratched my cheek while looking away, feigning shame. “Nevermind, it’s a bit embarrassing for me to say aloud.”

“What is it?” Abby’s amber eyes twinkled in curiosity as she leaned closer to me. “I promise I won’t tell.”

I let out a sigh. “Well, I’m from a rather detached area of Sehz-Clar so I’m terribly uninformed about much of what everyone here would consider common knowledge.”

Abby’s face brightened in realization. “Oh! You couldn’t have told anyone better!”

I raised a brow, shooting her a timid upward glance. “What do you mean?”

My colleague gave me a mischievous grin. “You see, I’ve known most of the other professors here long before I took a teaching post myself, and a lot of us like to talk.”

I leaned closer to Abby, just enough to let our shoulders touch. “Really now?”

She glanced at our shoulders before looking back up. “And a common gossip topic we all share is about the students here, especially which highbloods we have to watch out for.”

“I’m jealous.” I let out a meek chuckle. “I really want to make a home out of this place and fit in, but asking for you to share so much with me would only be a burden on you.”

“It wouldn’t be a burden at all!” She lit up like Xyrus during the Aurora Constellate. “Oh, where do I even begin?”

***

I let my hand rest gently on her arm for a moment as I gave Abby a wistful smile. “You’re a lifesaver, Abby. That was really helpful.”

Beaming, she slid from my desk and bent into a curtsy, holding her white battle robes out like the hem of a dress. “At your service, Professor Grey. Please”—those honey-tinted eyes held mine with fierce attentiveness—“don’t hesitate to call on me again, okay? Maybe for drinks next time?”

I walked after her, leading her toward my door with a light touch at the small of her back and a smile to accompany it. “Let me walk you out.”

“Quite the gentleman for someone so socially disinclined, or so you put it,” the Caster said with a shy smile before stepping out of my office.

As soon as I closed the door behind Abby and her hair, which billowed in a wind she was obviously conjuring around herself, my shoulders slumped and a breath escaped my lungs. The lingering anger had finally burned itself out, but I was left feeling cold and detached. Visit lightno?velpub.c?om for the best novel reading experience.

Turning around, I was faced with a dumbstruck Regis, his uncomprehending eyes staring at me.

“What?” I snapped.

“Who are you and what have you done with my antisocial, charming-as-a-grumpy-log owner?” he asked with a mixture of suspicion and admiration leaking into my head.

“Just because I choose to be reserved, doesn’t mean I can’t be charming when need be,” I argued, sinking back into my chair.

Regis followed me to my seat and put his muzzle on my desk. “Aren’t you worried that Miss Loose Lip over there will tell other professors all about her conversation with you?”

“I’m counting on it,” I answered wearily, leaning my head back. “My fake background will be a lot more believable if it comes from someone else’s mouth.”

“Should I be scared of your uncanny proficiency in the art of seduction?”

“You make it seem like I just sold myself to her or something,” I scoffed.

“And the way you avoided her last question by putting your hand on her back…did you learn that from a textbook or something? Because I’d like to read that as well,” he said, shaking his head.

I ignored my companion as I kicked one foot up on the desk, resting the heel of my boot in the middle of the stack of parchment.

“Shouldn’t you be working on all that, anyway?” Regis pointed out.

“Yes, assuming I had any interest in actually teaching these kids.” Standing up again, I left the office. “Come on, let’s make some use out of this training facility before school starts.”

Regis tottered after me. “Ooh, a battle for the gravity-defying hottie?”

“Get your head out of the gutter. She’s not an object,” I shot back. “And besides, I thought you had a thing for Caera.”

“Why do I need to only like one?” Regis asked seriously.

I rolled my eyes as I made my way to the control panel. “Just go stretch or something so you don’t blame losing to a pulled ethereal groin.”

After fiddling with a few switches, the shielding barrier sprang to life with a low hum. Next, I turned the gravity within the ring up as high as the system would go, biting back a smirk.

“I’ll show you an ethereal groin,” Regis quipped, leaping up onto the platform and immediately stumbling under the weight of his own body. “Hey, wait a damned second!”

Focusing, I narrowed my attention on the shadow wolf, blocking out the subtle hum of the shield and the sound of students’ voices that occasionally drifted in from the courtyard outside. _{freewēbnoveℓ.com}