“I’m sorry,” he said, without being quite sure what he was apologising for. He hated—he hated—being ashamed of himself. And yet ... he was always ashamed. “I think we need to study more.”
“I know.” Lyndred gritted her teeth. “Perhaps I should ask for tutoring. There are older students.”
“We couldn’t trust them,” Gennady said. His conscience pointed out that prospective tutors might also demand a price they couldn’t—or wouldn’t—pay. “We just have to keep learning.”
“Right.” Lyndred frowned. “When shall we begin?”
“Tonight?” Gennady glanced at the clock. It was mid-afternoon. Where had the time gone? He’d spent all day looking at the books, but he couldn’t say he’d learnt anything. He couldn’t even remember the last thing he’d read. “We’ll meet Simon, then come back here.”
He stood, brushing down his robes. His stomach rumbled warningly, a reminder that he was growing too used to three meals a day. Back home, he’d been lucky to get more than just the table scraps. They’d never been enough food to go around. He promised himself that—when he and Primrose were married—he’d do whatever it took to put food on the table. He had magic. It shouldn’t be too hard. Some of the little charms he’d learnt would be enough to bring in money when he went back home.
“I wish things were different,” Lyndred said. Her face sagged, a display of weakness that would have marked her for real trouble in the mountains. Hogarth would have started to circle her the moment he saw it. “I wish ...”
Gennady understood. Things should be different. But they weren’t. Magical society wasn’t that different from the mountains, no matter what they claimed. The strong did whatever they liked, without fear of punishment. The weak ... the weak had no choice, but to take whatever they were given. In one sense, Lyndred was from another world. In another, they were just the same. He followed her as she led the way down the stairs, back to the dorms. He couldn’t afford to listen to the housemaster. They couldn’t afford to listen. Their only hope was to catch up before it was too late.
And if that means studying till our eyes bleed, he thought as they walked past a pair of older students, that’s what we’ll do.
Chapter 8
If there was one advantage to exam season, Gennady discovered, it was that even Charlus was worked so hard he had no time to be an asshole.
It was the only advantage, as far as he could tell. Everyone felt as if they were being worked to death. Gennady, Simon and Lyndred studied and studied and studied, before being herded into the exam halls, searched for contraband and cheating aids and then set to work. The practical side of the exams wasn't too bad, but Gennady sweated blood about the theoretical questions. They were too complex for his tastes, too complex for him to simply bluff his way though. He was morbidly certain he’d completely failed the exams by the time they finished the final set of papers. He’d have to retake the year from the start.
He couldn’t afford to relax, once the exams were over. He had no idea what he’d do over the summer or where he’d go. His friends hadn’t invited him to stay with them, yet ... could he stay at school? Or should he go home? He’d looked up how to get home, but ... he had no money. How would he get back to the mountains without money? He was still mulling it over when he was called into the Housemaster’s office, two weeks after the exams.
“Gennady,” Fredrick said. He hadn’t changed a bit in the year Gennady had known him. “Do you know why you’re here?”
Gennady shook his head. He hadn’t done anything, had he? He’d been too busy taking the exams, then recovering from the exams. “No, sir.”
“You’re expected to spend the summer doing work experience,” Fredrick informed him. “Was this not discussed with you last month?”
“... I don’t recall,” Gennady temporised. He didn’t remember. He’d been cramming facts, figures and spell diagrams into his mind for the exams. “I ...”—he gritted his teeth, feeling the ground shifting under his feet once again—“I don’t recall.”
“Evidently,” Fredrick said. He sounded irked, although—for once—Gennady didn’t think it was directed at him. “Your progress through the year has been good, but borderline. You haven’t attracted any patron who might be interested in taking you on for the summer. I’m afraid you’ll be going back to Dragon’s Den.”
“To the boarding house?” Gennady wasn’t sure how to feel about that. He hadn’t visited the town in months, ever since Charlus had ruined it for him. “What am I meant to be doing there?”
“You’ll be working as a shop assistant in one of the apothecaries.” Fredrick held up a hand. “I appreciate this probably isn’t what you wanted to do. However ... you don’t have a choice.”
Of course not, Gennady thought. Bitterness welled up in him, again. There’s no way anyone would take me as a client.
“Thank you, sir,” he managed. “I ...”
“You’ll be staying at the boarding house from tomorrow till term resumes, after summer,” Fredrick told him. He picked up a parchment scroll and passed it to Gennady. “I advise you to spend what time you can studying. Your grasp of the basics has improved since our last conversation, but you still have a long way to go. You may find yourself advised to retake the year.”
Gennady winced. He’d heard stories of students who’d had to retake the year. They were mocked, even though retaking the year would have given them more time to master the basics. He hated to think what Charlus would have said, if Gennady had had to retake the year. The bastard would make fun of him for years, damn him.
“Think about it,” Fredrick advised. He nodded to the door. “You can go now.”
“Wait,” Gennady said. “Why ... why can’t I stay here?”
Fredrick’s lips twitched. “You’d want to stay here?”
Gennady nodded, unwilling to speak. Whitehall had Charlus, but ... it also had showers and baths and good food and the library and everything else that was missing from the Cairngorms. The showers alone were wonderful. He hadn’t realised just how badly he’d stunk—how his family back home had stunk—until he’d stepped into the shower and watched the torrent of water wash away the mud and dung and everything else. The school was wonderful. There was a part of him that wished he could stay forever.
“It’s the summer,” Fredrick said. “We rarely let pupils stay, outside term. Us teachers do require breaks, you know.”
“Yes, sir.” Gennady nodded, reluctantly. “Thank you, sir.”
He stepped through the door, refusing to let himself sag until it closed behind him. He wasn’t going to get to go home. He ... he snorted at himself for wanting to go home, even though he knew enough magic—now—to teach Hogarth a lesson he’d never forget. It would be easy, so easy, to turn him into a mouse and throw him to the cats. And there was Primrose. She’d listen to his suit now, wouldn’t she? Her father certainly would.
The thought comforted him as he walked back to the dorms and peered into the common room. Simon and Lyndred were sitting in comfortable armchairs, looking as tired as Gennady felt. They smiled at him as he entered, but there was something slightly off about their smiles. Gennady understood, better than he cared to admit. The three of them had worked themselves to the bone over the last few weeks. Right now, all they wanted to do was sleep.