Five out of ten vacation days were already gone.
And I still hadn't stepped outside the academy.
I wanted to.
Badly.
But I wasn't stupid enough to risk it.
Not yet.
Still… I wasn't sure how long fear alone would keep me locked inside these walls.
I trained every day with Taisha.
And somehow—
I'd stopped cursing her for ruining my break.
Clyde mentioned she usually left for the holidays.
This year—
she stayed.
Because of me.
After that close call in the elite dorm, I spent every spare minute training on my own.
Trying to make my power useful.
Trying to force it into something it wasn't.
That was the mistake.
The moment I stopped—
and leaned into what it actually was—
progress came fast.
I still couldn't hit anything reliably.
Even standing still.
Didn't matter.
I kept trying.
Because where it failed as a weapon—
it was perfect everywhere else.
A rope?
Perfect.
Now I could climb almost anything—anchoring the strand, pulling, reattaching, moving again.
Fast.
Efficient.
And binding—
that worked even better.
I tested it on Robert.
He didn't appreciate it.
Strong.
Tight.
And if I kept pulling—
yeah.
That could kill someone.
Useful.
Very.
Right now, I was heading to Clyde again.
Every day—same thing.
Call me in.
Activate the link.
Send me off.
Minor jobs.
Watching people.
Listening.
Spying.
"Why me again?" I asked when he stepped closer.
This part—
still made my skin crawl.
I just didn't show it.
Clyde didn't exactly have a choice either.
If that really was how his ability worked—
he had to do this.
Every time.
"Because I decided so," he said.
Hands on my shoulders—
and then—
he kissed me.
Each time—
longer.
This was the fifth.
And he only pulled away when my lungs were empty.
I sucked in air sharply, chest tight, while he stayed close—too close—his forehead resting against mine.
Watching.
My lips burned.
Still sensitive.
"Hey, Clyde—oh… bad timing?"
Christina froze in the doorway.
I stepped back immediately.
Clyde let go like it meant nothing.
"He was activating the telepathic link," I said, steadying my voice.
Christina frowned.
Her eyes flicked to my lips.
For a second—
a thought hit me.
Are they together?
If they were—
that look made sense.
No one enjoys watching their boyfriend kiss someone else.
"Christina. Go with him," Clyde said. "I need you to distract the chairman while he plants the device."
"Got it."
This time—
the bug looked like a cedar nut.
Same size.
Same texture.
Perfect.
"What's that?" Christina asked.
"Clyde wants it in the chairman's pocket. Or better—in his folder," I said. "Look at this thing. It's identical."
"Yeah…" she muttered.
Still frowning.
"What?" I asked.
"Nothing," she said quickly. "Alan… how often do you do this?"
"Do what?"
"Run errands like this."
"Every day," I said flatly. "Follow someone. Plant something. He says he needs to see everything through my eyes."
Heat crept into my face again.
Damn it.
"Alan…" Christina hesitated. "Has Clyde… done anything strange?"
I thought.
The past few days.
"…No," I said slowly. "Calls me in. Gives me a task. Activates the link…"
I trailed off.
Yeah.
That.
"And your lips?" she asked.
I touched my mouth.
Still sore.
He bit me today.
Hard enough to feel it.
"It's nothing," I said, covering it. "Guess I pissed him off. He bit me while setting up the link."
I cut the topic before it went further.
"Where's the chairman?"
Christina stopped him.
Started talking.
I moved in—
"accidentally" bumped into him—
his folder hit the floor.
"Sorry!" I said, dropping with it.
Opened it just enough—
slipped the bug inside—
closed it—
handed it back.
"My apologies, sir."
Bow.
Gone before he answered.
Done.
Ten minutes.
— Finished. You saw everything?
— You're free.
Finally.
Food.
Everyone was already in the dining hall.
Nick waved me over.
I dropped into the seat between him and Alma, tray overloaded.
"Errand boy again?" Robert asked.
"Like I have a choice," I muttered, tapping the gold badge.
"So five days in—and all you've done is train and run errands," he said. "Vacation's almost over. We should go out today."
He looked at Matthew.
Then at me.
"I'm in," Matthew said.
"Are you even allowed?" Nick asked carefully.
"Oh, what—you think our little Al isn't old enough for sex?" Robert smirked.
"…For what?" Nick blinked.
"Not this again, Robert!" Alma snapped, leaning across me. "He's been trying to drag Alan to a brothel for weeks!"
"A brothel?" Nick's expression went rigid as he looked at me.
"Not my idea," I said quickly, raising my hands.
"Listen," Robert sighed, like we were all idiots, "Alan needs to fuck someone before someone fucks him."
"Why are you so obsessed with this?" Alma snapped.
"Because I like the guy," Robert said bluntly. "Even if he is an aristocrat. And I don't want some elite bastard getting to him first."
He leaned in.
Eyes sharp now.
"Don't you see how people look at him? If they didn't hate him—or weren't scared—he'd already be drowning in offers."
"So what? That's normal," I shrugged.
"I'm not talking about those offers," Robert snapped.
He grabbed my face.
Turned it side to side.
"Look at this face," he said. "If he wasn't a guy, I'd have gone for him already."
He snorted.
"Damn, Alan… your eyes are actually pretty."
He let go.
Laughing.
"I'm never drinking with you again."