Chapter 41

As luck would have it, Ms. Shadow exited the front door as Alastair re-entered the castle, and she gave his paper bag from the bookstore a curious look.

“Been out shopping?” she asked.

“Want to get dinner?” he blurted out. “Tuesday.”

“Tuesday?”

“Yes.”

“But that’s…” She trailed off as she realized what he was asking. “Oh!”

“I’m sure you’re busy,” he said, flustered. “Stupid idea. Winter term’s wrapping up. Lots of grading—”

“I’d love to.”

“Really?”

“Absolutely. Want to go into the city this time? A little more exciting than the staff kitchens, you know.”

“Sure. Sure!” Alastair cleared his throat. “I mean… Yes. That would be splendid.”

“Splendid, indeed,” Ms. Shadow said with a little smirk.

Now he’d have to find a restaurant. The Horse and Hound didn’t seem like the right place. Maybe Eloise would be able to help him find something suitable—nice, but not too romantic. He didn’t want to come on too strongly.

“I have some ideas,” Ms. Shadow said. “Since you’re new to the city. I figured you might not know where to go.”

“Phew!” Alastair said, nearly doubling over with relief. “That would be great.”

Problem solved, then.

“I got you this,” he said, holding out the paper bag. “For Yule. It’s late, and—”

And I probably should have given this to her at dinner, tried to wrap it or something.

It was too late now. Ms. Shadow accepted the bag and peered inside—and her eyes lit up.

“Ooo! Ley lines!”

She immediately cracked the spine and started digging in, still standing on the school steps. “Wow—look at how much is concentrated in the north. That’s where you’ve been teaching, right? Not just Elemental and Nature Magic—all types. I’ve got to try to do an expedition, see if it’s easier to Scry up there…”

“You could always visit Glimmerglass,” he said. “I’m sure they’d let you spend the night up there if you told them you were doing research. Some of the students would be excited to have a famous Scryer there.”

It was true. They’d talked about her almost nonstop on their walk to the train.

“I’m hardly famous,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Though it’s not a bad idea. Maybe you could come with?”

Alastair swallowed hard. An overnight trip together?

But before he could answer, Ms. Shadow asked, “What’s this?”

She pulled out the book of pictures of the country’s magical schools.

“I actually got that for the bit on Glimmerglass, if you want to see what it’s like before traveling there.”

“Thanks!” she said brightly, stuffing both books back into the paper bag. “Well done. These are quite good Yule presents, you know. You did well. See you Tuesday. Can’t wait to see how you top this!”

And she sauntered off into the town, going—well, wherever she was going. The ways of Amaryllis Shadow were mysterious to him.

Top this? He’d have to get her a Valentine’s gift too, wouldn’t he?

He sighed.

At least she liked her gift.

The next few days passed in a blur. He tried not to worry about their upcoming Valentine’s dinner—no point in stressing about it—but, of course, he did. She left a note in his mailbox with a location and time.

Penelope’s.

He knew the restaurant, though he’d never been there. It was a Watermere classic: where parents took their children when they visited for game days and parents’ weekends, and where some of the wealthier students went on special occasions—they usually ordered the cheapest wine on the menu, he’d heard.

Meanwhile, Quicksilver, as usual, went completely over the top with the holiday decorations. When Alastair went down for breakfast on Valentine’s Day, magicked hearts in various shades of red, white, and gold floated above the tables, and a flock of chubby, angry-looking cupids whizzed through the air holding bows and arrows in their fat little hands.

“They’re a little dangerous, aren’t they?” he commented to Eloise as a cupid flew just inches above his head. “Why did he make these things?”

“They’re definitely a little aggressive this year,” she agreed. “Maybe it’s something in the air. They don’t normally come this low.”

A little gang of cupids buzzed around him again, and their chubby feet nearly kicked him in the head. He picked up his plate and retreated back to his office where it was safer. He’d have to talk to Quicksilver about this at some point.

Maybe the decorations shouldn’t be alive.

He hid in his office, doing paperwork, for the rest of the day and emerged at the appointed hour to meet Ms. Shadow. He’d changed into his finest robe—one of the few he owned that wasn’t in Emberstone or Glimmerglass colors—and tried his best to think of a few topics of conversation that weren’t either Scrying or work.

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She met him on the drawbridge, wearing a pink dress he’d never seen before. She wasn’t one for bright colors, but truthfully, this looked wonderful on her. And to his surprise, her blonde hair was loose rather than in its usual tight braid. He’d never seen it down before. It reached almost to her waist.

Alastair became suddenly conscious of his unruly mop and did his best to coax it into submission on the top of his head.

“Uh, hi,” he said as he approached. A pair of students passed them on their way to their own Valentine’s plans. The girl looked them over and whispered something to her friend, and they both giggled as they made their way across the bridge.

“Hi,” she said.

“You look…” Alastair smiled and blushed. “Incredible.”

“Let’s move along so the kids stop gossiping about us, shall we?”

“Right. Good idea.”

They crossed into the magical neighborhood and then strolled toward the center of town, taking their time. It was a beautiful night—crisp but not too cold, with a layer of fresh snow on the rooftops—and he found himself enjoying the walk now that they were out of view of the students.

“How’s the book?” he asked. “Finish it yet?”

She smiled. “Of course I finished it. Same day, actually. I was up all night reading it. Made a few tracings of the ley line maps in there. I’m working on a proposal for a summer project.”

“What about?”

“I want to check the maps,” she said. “Confirm they’re right. There are a few Scrying spells I think I can use. Then I want to go north and see how being in a ley-heavy area affects my own work. Your suggestion was good—I reached out to Glimmerglass. They can give me a room for a month.”

“Maybe I’ll see you there,” he said. “You know, when I go back.”

“Right. When you go back.”

He realized with a flash that no one—himself included—actually thought he was going back to Glimmerglass. Did he even want to anymore? Maybe Ari had been right—he was more ambitious than he wanted to be. He’d—well, not usurped Ozelius’ position, exactly. The man invited him. But he’d certainly taken it over. All the stories he’d been telling himself about loving the forest, about embracing a quieter life—maybe that was all a lie. Maybe this was what he’d wanted all along and he’d just been afraid to face it.

When they stopped before a fancy-looking building, Ms. Shadow eyed him expectantly. “We’re here. Do you want to go in?”

“So I had this dream,” he blurted out.

“Okay,” she said, unfazed. “What about?”

“Headmaster Ozelius was asleep in a dungeon…”

He told her the whole story, there on the street, and her eyes grew wide with concern. He’d even included the bit about the robed figure he’d left out when recounting the story to Sebastian. He wasn’t sure why, but he felt a connection with Ms. Shadow, and trusted she wouldn’t think him insane or delusional.