Page 136 of Ashen Souls

“I’m not avoiding you, Professor Hale.” I lifted my chin. “I’m just… embarrassed about what happened at the party. And then the bridge. You saw me at my worst.”

He tensed at the formality in my address.

“Aveline,” he said, lowering his voice so it wouldn't carry toward the open door, “you have nothing to be ashamed of.”

The hallway outside was still noisy with students leaving, but the space around the lectern felt isolated.

“Are you all right?” he continued. “You looked unsettled. Sad. When you didn’t answer my message and then didn’t appear yesterday, I started to worry.”

“I wasn’t in a great place,” I admitted. “I had to leave Vesbridge for a few days. I needed to be alone. To think. It wasn’t about you.”

He watched me closely.

“And now?” he asked.

“Now it’s better,” I said. “Not perfect. But clearer.”

“I’m relieved to hear that.”

“Since we’re being honest,” I added, forcing steadiness into my tone, “I also wanted to thank you, Professor Hale. For stepping in at the party. I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t.”

His expression hardened.

“Please don’t thank me for doing what anyone decent should have done,” he said firmly. “And please stop calling me ‘Professor Hale.’”

“But at the party,” I countered, refusing to look away, “you were very clear that you are only my professor and I am only your student. I’m trying to respect that. I’m trying not to cross the line.”

He closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, they held the exact same mix of sadness and hunger I had seen before.

“Aveline,” he said again. The frustration in his voice was palpable. “I said that because I had to. Not because it is the whole truth.”

“And what is the whole truth?” I asked.

His gaze dropped to my mouth before lifting slowly back to my eyes.

“The truth… is that I am trying very hard not to want things I cannot yet have.”

“Why not?” I challenged.

“I’m trying to be responsible.”

Responsible. It was exactly what he needed to be. It was exactly what I needed him to be.

If he kept his distance, Daeren wouldn't have a reason to look at him twice.

But beneath the logic, a part of me still ached. This part didn't want him to be responsible. It wanted him to want me.

“I should go,” I said, my tone hardening to hide the sting as I took a step back. “Harper is waiting for me.”

I turned toward the aisle, forcing myself to step away.

His hand closed firmly around my wrist.

I stopped.

When I looked back, he had closed the distance between us. He was standing so close I could feel the heat radiating from him.

“This time.” His voice dropped to a rough murmur. “I’m not letting you walk away from me.”