Ever since our night of wine and kisses together, Adain and I were a couple. We had already been close so as roommates that many things simply stayed the same. We went on walks through the city together, studied together, and stayed up late talking. Only now we also shared kisses when no one was watching, shared touches alone in our room, and some nights tried to fit ourselves together on one of our twin dorm beds.

  (Adain often complained to me that the beds being nailed down was a violation of privacy, but I think he was just tired of how much I accidentally elbowed him when we tried to sleep.)

  Even though we now shared many nights with bodies pressed together, Adain still refused to come with me to my many socials and hangouts.

  “At least half of these people bullied us when we were younger,” he said. “I am fairly convinced that these new socials are actually just a way to replace ten-year-old name-calling.”

  We were bickering in our rooms again, this time on how to spend an evening after classes. He believed in studying his textbooks while I thought we should get out and socialize for once.

  I rolled my eyes. “No, it’s not. Milo’s parents will actually be at this one, and you know they’re the ones who will be considering new recruits for the Enforcers-”

  “Milo’s parents?” Adain repeated. “You have got to be kidding me, Milo was the worst. If you were going to rub elbows with important Biralei parents why couldn’t you choose Jenis’s mothers or Richman’s dad? They’re actually nice.”

  “Because I don’t want to work in research or trading!” I protested. “I want to be an Enforcer. They’re the only people who actually get stationed outside of Lake City. Don’t you want to see the rest of the world?”

  Adain shrugged. “Lake City is a world of its own. It’s huge, the literal capital of Westrion, and you seem to think it’s just boring.”

  “That’s because it is,” I said. “Especially because we only get to see the inside of Headquarters most of the time. Don’t you want us to get positions that let us come and go?”

  “Enforcers are the people who stop us from coming and going!” Adain said, exasperated. “Why would I want to join them? They’d probably put me on something horrible like an Oblivion Isle shift. I’m not a teleporter like you, Izak.”

  “Come on, you could learn to teleport easily enough.” I waved a hand dismissively. “You helped me learn it, after all. And after studying how to use magic to walk between dimensions, using magic to go between parts of this dimension should be easy enough.”

  Adain shut his book in a huff, rolling his chair around to glare at me.

  “And now we’ve gone from you trying to get me to go to some silly social to you trying to tell me what magic to learn,” he said. “I saw how much practice it took you to make your teleportation tattoos and get them to work consistently. I can’t afford that much time away from my project-”

  “You have been working on your project for years!” I threw up my hands. “With your background, you could be a practiced teleporter within six months with some effort! I’m not telling you what to do, I’m just pointing it out-”

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  “No, you’re just judging me,” Adain said. “Again. You don’t understand how anyone could want anything that isn’t grinding their way up the Mage Division ladder.”

  I crossed my arms. “That’s not fair. You know I want you, and I understand your love of research. I’ll listen to you talk about it all the time. I just wish you’d give my interests the same respect.”

  “‘All the time?’” Adain said. “I practically have to beg you to hear me talk about it at all.”

  “Well.” I shrugged. I tried to think of a response, but my anger was softening. “That’s your fault for being cute when you beg.”

  Adain reddened. His dark skin could hide a blush for strangers, but I knew it well enough to see it.

  “Don’t do that,” he said. “We were talking about something serious.”

  “I am serious!” I said. “Look. I like you, Adain, and I think you might like me too given how much you kissed me last night. I don’t want to fight. But you never seem to want to go out with me anymore and you don’t seem interested in hanging out with anyone else.”

  “I see Shamora once a week for lunch,” Adain said.

  “Shamora is your assigned therapist, she doesn’t count,” I said. “Weren’t you in a study group with what’s-her-name? Nalei or something?”

  Adain shrugged. “Nalei hasn’t had much time since graduating. She spends all her time in the medical wing or talking to the parents her daughter will be assigned to. And, honestly Izak, you haven’t been interested in doing anything but studying or hanging out with our own former bullies since we started our final year of training.” He looked away, down to the book on his desk. “You don’t seem to understand, my project is what I have these days.”

  I leaned forward, putting my hand over his and squeezing gently. He glanced back up at me.

  “I’m trying to tell you that you still have me,” I said. “I know I’m distracted by getting ready for the future right now, but it’ll be easier after exams. And you know this is an important time for me. Why don’t you come with me, just this once?”

  He looked away, pulling his hand out of my grasp. “Izak, I can’t. I’ll just embarrass you, you know I will. I can’t be all charming like you. I say what I think.”

  “It’ll be a refreshing change of pace!” I said brightly. But he didn’t look back my way.

  “No.” He gave me a sad glance. “Why don’t we walk on the grounds afterwards, though? You know how pretty the gardens are at night with the witchlights.”

  I tightened my lips, but tried not to frown. I didn’t want to show my disappointment, even if he could probably see it anyway. The Mage Division gardens were beautiful at night, soft and green and lit by magical balls of light that floated gently through the air spreading dew and mist. But we had also seen it a million times already. I was so tired by the same sights over and over again.

  “Sure,” I said, looking away. “We can do that. After the party.”

  I got up, pulling on my jacket without looking at Adain. I had my training jacket custom fitted and spelled to repel stains, even if it was in the same boring white we always had to wear. I straightened it and tried to feel spiffy, but it wasn’t working.

  “And I’ll buy you any pastry you want from the shop this weekend,” Adain said. “We could even go out searching for a new shop. We haven’t seen half of the city yet.”

  “That would be nice,” I said. I tried to offer Adain a warm smile, but he could see through it. His eyes were wide and lost. “I’ll see you later.”

  I walked back to the door, stepping out into the hallway. In the long wooden hallway of the trainee dormitory I hesitated. I glanced back at Adain, searching for something to say. He was looking back at his book on interdimensional travel, the lines of his back tight.

  I couldn’t think of anything to say, so I let the door swing shut behind me, leaving silence between us.