I sat on the sofa, and Thar politely sat on the chair opposite of me. He kept crossing and uncrossing his legs and arms, grabbing the glass and putting it back on the table. I held my in my hand and stared at him over the rim. 

This was weird. 

Thar cleared his throat, "So, you said the demon has been following you since you brought Leon back."

Right, back to business. 

"Yes." I took a sip; the wine was good, not overly sweet, but still hinting at it. "But it seems like it's grown stronger in the last few days. Ever since it started talking to me. Now I can't get rid of it."

Thar leaned forward, against his knees, "Is it weaker if you're within shields?"

Regret pinched my heart. This was the role he was comfortable in, the role of a protector, a teacher. I took that away from him. My father took it away from him. 

"Not really." I shrugged. "You checked the shields in this house, said they were stronger than the ones at school. I feel it here, too."

Thar's eyes widened, "That's why you asked me to check the shields."

"Yes."

He gulped the wine, fingers squeezing the glass. He probably didn't know what to do. After all, this is something we hadn't dealt with before. I felt alone again. 

"So, you can feel it everywhere." He nodded. 

I decided against telling him what Leon said; that the demon wasn't there when Leon was. I haven't confirmed that yet, and I felt like Thar wouldn't appreciate it all that much. 

"Yes."

"Fuck." He took another sip. "I- I'm out of my league here. I don't know what to do."

I pursed my lips. 

"You have to find out its name." He continued. "If you can learn its name, maybe we can banish it. We will have to go to Darth to do that. He's an expert."

A knot tightened in my stomach, "But why is it talking to me? What does it want?"

"Goddess only knows, Jade." Thar finished the glass. "But you have to tell someone who knows more about it-"

"I don't trust anyone." I cut him off. "Hell, I don't even trust Darth anymore. I mean, he took the curse off teachers that prevented white magic from working against the ooze and he hasn't said a word to anyone! My dad is still in charge like nothing's happened."

"That's politics, Jade."

"People died."

"Politics doesn't care about that." Thar shook his head. "Teachers are laying low, even Lange said we have to wait with the accusations until we have tangible proof."

"Leon has a photo of my father on the night of the massacre."

"That's not admissible."

"Why not?"

"Because you can't fucking see who it is!" Thar's grip tightened on the empty glass. "You can only see a figure in a black robe, it could be anyone."

"Oh, alright." I snickered. "Guess we'll wait for another hundred students to die, maybe we get more evidence."

"I know you want to condemn him." He looked at me. "But it's not that easy. He has a lot of power, influence, connections. I'll know more after the meeting at The Veiled Hall."

"Another thing I wasn't invited to." I leaned back on the sofa and swallowed more wine. "Yet I was right there in the middle of it."

Thar's lips parted, and for a second, I thought he'd say his famous lines. Jade, you have to stay out of it. Jade, it's too dangerous. Jade, let me take care of it. But he didn't. 

His shoulders sagged, "What do you want me to do?"

"Find a way to get me into the meeting."

"I can't do that."

"Then you can't do what I want."

We stared at each other. I knew I was being ridiculous again. There was no way for him to get me into the meeting. In the building, sure. To the ball that was to be held there, no problem. But only the select few would be able to enter the meeting itself. 

But my nerves were cracking more each day, and there was nothing I could do to help myself. I needed to feel like someone was doing something, even if it was futile and insignificant. 

"Alright." He nodded eventually. "I'll talk to your father and try to convince him that your insights could be useful to the Arch Mage. But if I do that, you don't just go spouting accusations. You tell them what you saw. Exactly what you saw."

"Oof, careful what you wish for." I chuckled. "We don't really want them to know about The Curious Case of Leon Lind."

A shadow passed over Thar's face. He did not find my jokes funny today. 

"You said that Leon told you about the demon." 

I nodded. 

"That means he can feel it." Thar mumbled. "And no one else can?"

"If you suggest that we're experiencing some sort of shared psychosis-"

"No, it's-" Thar closed his eyes and took in a slow breath, "I'm just wondering if you can trust him."

We were moving in circles. Every conversation we've had as of late ground to a halt once it reached the same cursed topic. We were dancing around it like merely glancing at it burned. I was done with it.

I downed the wine and demanded more. Thar refilled our glasses and returned to his seat. 

"Listen," I took in a breath, "He's an asshole, no doubt about that. But when push came to shove, he helped me fight the ooze till the end. Do I trust him to stay out of some other girl's pants? No. Do I trust him when he tells me there's a demon following me? Yes."

Thar nodded slowly, "Okay. Can we get him to communicate with the demon? Ask it what it wants from you?"

I pulled back, surprised, "Now we're talking, Professor Adara."

A small smile gripped his lips, "Don't call me that."

"Why not? It suits you."

Thar's smile dropped, and he stared at the glass of wine, "I was never particularly interested in being your teacher."

My stomach squeezed and the wine churned inside. I became painfully aware of the fact he was in a bedroom in my house. 

"But you were a good teacher." My voice quieted. "It would be a shame if you never got to be that again."

"I know." He sipped the wine. "I miss it."

"I'm sure students miss you, too. I know Amma and Morta do, they hate the new Black Magic teacher."

"Rosalia?" Thar chuckled. "Yes, she has an intense personality."

I raised my eyebrow, "You know her?"

"She graduated a few years ago." Thar said. "Last I heard is that she didn't want anything to do with magic or our world. But since your father fired the only Black Magic user around, I assume he managed to convince her to come back. Still, she's inexperienced and not very likeable."

I sighed, "So, she doesn't even want to teach. That means you have to come back."

"And you have to continue your studies." Thar nodded. "Especially if there are demons threatening you."

Silence fell between us. The thing no one wanted to talk about remerged. Things were better when he was my teacher. He was doing what he loved doing, and I was studying, becoming a better witch. This was a setback and we needed to change that. 

"Anyway." Thar chugged more wine, his gulps more urgent now. "I think I should talk to Leon, ask him about the demon-"

"Thar."

"Maybe there's a way he can help-"

"Thar."

His shoulders slumped, "What?"

"It's fine." I said. "You'll get your position back and my father will let me come back to school. We'll deal with a demon like we've dealt with everything so far, and everything will be okay."

Thar leaned back and nursed the wine, his expression thoughtful.

"I didn't want to be a teacher when I first graduated." He said after a few seconds. "I thought I'd finish my grandfather's journal. He explored the world looking for sacred sites, where the magic had begun. I thought I'd dedicate my life to finding out where we came from and why we were here."

I smiled, "You can still do that."

"I wanted to be free." Thar continued. "From politics, hierarchy, schemes. I wanted to live my life for myself, not follow anyone, not be so damn bound by duty."

"I'm sorry." My smile evaporated. "I wish it could be different right now."

"Yeah, so do I." 

He stared at the glass. 

"Hey, this can't last forever." I tried again, finding the role of comforter odd in our relationship. "We'll either defeat the demon or die trying."

Thar chuckled, "That's an optimistic outlook."

I was feeling everything but optimistic, but he didn't need to know that. He didn't need to know that I felt like pieces of my soul were chipped off each day. 

"I wish I could tell you anything else." I murmured, my gaze falling to the window. 

Snow slammed against it, but we couldn't hear the wind. It was magic. Everything in this house was magic. Instead of adding something to the experience, it took something away. The force, the passion, the rage. This house was empty. Quiet. Lonely. 

"You're staring at the window." 

"Thinking I'll see a demon on the other side, staring at me." I admitted. 

Thar glanced behind him, but of course, there was nothing. Just the omnipresent feeling. 

"Tell me how to help." He looked back at me, his muscles tensing. "If I have to sit in your room every night from now on, I'll do it."

"Tonight will do." I smiled. "Tomorrow, we'll see."

He nodded and put the glass on the table, "Maybe you should sleep. I'm sure you haven't had much rest in the past three months."

"That's an understatement."

"Take the bed." Thar stood up. "I'll sleep on the sofa."

"Thank you. It means a lot." 

I stood up as well, feeling awkward in my PJs and needing to crawl under the covers. The clock ticked midnight, and I've been awake since 7AM. Thar came closer to the sofa. 

"There are spare blankets in the closet." I whispered, suddenly taken back to the lust charm fiasco in his room at the Academy three months ago. 

"Thank you." He nodded. 

Something has been left unsaid between us. The words seemed to linger on his tongue as he stared at me. My heartbeat picked up the pace as I briefly tried to count the glasses of wine he's drunk. 

"I'm sorry." He sighed. 

I looked up at him, "What for?"

"For not checking up on you earlier." He said. "For not marching here right after your father expelled you. For not demanding he let you stay."

I faced him fully, anticipation beginning to burn my veins. 

"You were fired." I shook my head. "I understand you needed time."

"Still. I should have fought him."

"There's still time."

"That's true." His jaw tensed. 

I turned away from him, "I'll get you a blank-"

He grabbed my wrist and pulled me right back around. My heart skipped a beat and I almost stumbled over my own feet. He caught my waist with one hand and kissed me. 

Shock reverberated through me, freezing me just enough to keep me from moving away, and not enough to not kiss him back. A grunt rumbled in Thar's throat when I opened my mouth, deepening the kiss. His hand ended up on the nape of my neck and he pulled me closer. 

For a few moments, everything was right. His warmth and his hands and the strands of his hair tickling my cheeks. It felt right. And it hurt. 

I broke the kiss. 

Thar glanced down at me, his throat bobbing and eyes glinting with something aside from desire. It was pain. 

"I'm sorry." He took a step back, hands falling from my waist by his sides. "I shouldn't have done that."

I had my PJs on. He was in his undershirt. We were standing in my house, snowed in. And there was a demon lurking somewhere around. Neither him nor I knew what to do about anything surrounding us. We were lost. And it was so raw that I knew we'd have to fight for at least one moment of 'right' to keep ourselves going. 

So I threw my hands around his neck and kissed him again. This time, his hands didn't stay safely on my cheeks. Instead, he grabbed my waist and pulled me closer, and my heart thudded in the rhythm of his kisses, my mind desperately trying to ignore the reality of our situation. 

When he let me go, we were both out of breath. 

"We can't do this." He shook his head, dark eyes glossy. 

I nodded, my hands still on his shoulders, "I know."

"I have to be your teacher again."

"I know."

"Your father is in this house, right now."

"I know."

We stared at each other, our circumstances building a wall between us, blocking our view. But no matter what we did, we were always right at the beginning, we haven't moved in months. Things were better when he was my teacher. My hands dropped from his shoulders.

"Let's just sleep." I tore my gaze from his dark eyes. 

"I'll take the couch."

I wanted to tell him he didn't have to. I wanted to tell him he could sleep next to me on the bed, but we both knew that wasn't true. So, I crawled under the covers on the queen-size bed and tried to ignore the hammering of my heart against my chest. 

The night was peaceful, uneventful, and I savoured every second of it, because somewhere deep down, I knew there wouldn't be that many peaceful nights ahead. By morning, the storm stopped and a white veil of snow covered the world. 

When I bade Thar, Amma and Morta farewell, I returned to the loneliness of my room. There, on the window-sill, another message awaited. This time, all Is were slated half-circles. 

I know what your heart desires, and I can make it come true.