Fireborn

6 ¦ Surprise Return

In a vain attempt to blend in, I arrived for class twenty minutes early and sat in the very back row. I hoped no one would be able to recognize my face with my hood up.

As students began to trickle into the room, they treated me to sideways glances and hushed whispers. I made a mental note to myself not to whisper anything questionable during class. Even way in the back, I could hear everything as though they were sitting right next to me.

"Why did they want to kill her?"

"She's too young to be a Defender."

"Who studies three classes? Is she crazy?"

Hoping to disappear into another dimension, I sunk further into the uncomfortable wooden seat. I pretended to prepare my notes and began to doodle random figures.

I breathed a sigh of relief when two familiar faces walked through the door: Alicia and Marcus, the two Healers with me in the hospital. They smiled and gestured at me to sit with them. They sat right in the front row, to my chagrin.

Once I joined them, my classmates' murmuring began to subside.

We chatted until Professor Petrescu entered the classroom. I was relieved to find out she was unscathed from the attack.

Like most Risa, she had black hair, dark eyes, and olive skin. Red hair like mine was rare among my people, probably thanks to some ancient human ancestor. Her formal ankle-length Healer robes swished as she walked past me, her ankle-high granny boots clacking as she went.

She gave the three of us a kind smile. "Good to see you back in good health."

Her teaching assistant followed soon thereafter, his face obscured by the hood of his emerald-green healer robes. They covered everything apart from his black leather combat boots and the collar of his black leather armor.

So Alicia was right. Defenders were indeed guarding classes to keep us safe. It would make sense in light of recent events, but why would a bodyguard wear a green Healer robe?

The assistant lifted his hood, and my heart leaped into my throat.

It was Peter.

So much for my promise to Bragda.

He gave me a brief half-lidded glance that made me shift in my seat. One that seemed to say, Don't breathe a word to anyone. All the women and some of the men stared at him.

"Oh, my gosh. He's Human," a student murmured.

"Hot," his friend whispered under her breath. "Check out that jawline."

"Nah, too pale. Nice lips though."

"Yeah, and those eyes? Hot damn!"

"He's a Rogue."

"Who cares?"

I didn't blame them. He was only a couple of years older than us, a third-year dressed in smart black leather armor. Some Risa fell for Rogue Guardians, the bad boys of the university. And he sported a trim, athletic physique--the kind one could expect of a runner or long-distance hiker.

Despite my lack of urges, I could appreciate his attractiveness. He must have worked hard to sculpt his body like that, and I admired that kind of dedication to health and fitness.

The Professor approached me and spoke in a discreet whisper. "I'd ask you not to wear your hood during class."

"Forgive me, Professor."

When I drew back my hood, the others began to murmur. They stared at the ribbons woven through my intricate copper braid.

"Whoa! Check out Red in the front row," one of the guys whispered. "Is she human, too?"