Tessili Academy Read Online Free

He’s been …. He is
….
    On the other side of the room, Kae was
stepping into her slippers. “I think if one of us gets a free day,
we should all get one.” Kae was a heavy sleeper and would miss
breakfast daily if her roommates didn’t force her out of bed.
    Jey picked up the small, rounded knife that
lay on the tray and dipped it into a dish of spun butter. The
butter melted as she spread it onto the warm bread.
    Elle had been about to return to her own
preparations, but she frowned, turning back to Jey. With one of her
slim fingers, she pushed the sleeve of Jey’s night dress a little
further up her arm, revealing a long, shallow gash. “Oh Jey,” the
other girl said. “What happened?”
    Jey went still again at the sight of her
arm. A thought struggled to surface. He was waiting in the
lord’s bedchamber. He knew I would be coming. He ….
    The thought broke off, but Jey’s heart was
hammering. Elle and Kae were both staring at her with evident
concern. Jey seemed to hear hoofbeats, feel the rise and fall of a
horse moving under her. But that was silly. She hadn’t ridden a
horse since … since ….
    The flashnode in the corner of the room went
off.
     
    •••
     
    Jey blinked and set the butter knife on the
plate. As she moved, the sleeve of her night dress fell into place.
It had been pushed up her arm for some reason. She put the warm
bread into her mouth, sighing as the curling hunger in her stomach
began to calm.
    Elle turned away and walked to the mirror
above the washbasin where she straightened her hair. Kae looked up
from donning her slippers, a frown creasing her high forehead when
she noticed the silver medallion on Jey’s schedule board. “No
fair,” she said. “Why do you get a free day?”

 
     
◈
    Professor Liam’s classroom was one of Jey’s
favorite places. It was a large room with elaborate windows, the
ceiling vaulted stone. It seemed to her she had once attended
Liam’s classes with other students, but today she was here
alone.
    Her tessila was in good spirits this
morning. He darted around the room in lazy loops, sometimes
stopping to hover above the bobbing flowers of the potted brillbane
that stood before the windows. Two orderlies sat in a corner,
notebooks open in front of them as they observed.
    Professor Liam, who’d been sorting papers on
his desk, now looked up at her. Liam was a tall man, with square
shoulders and eyes that always struck Jey as both sad and kind. His
hair was gray at the temples and sideburns. He looked at Jey now,
keeping his eyes on her for a long time. Jey looked down at her
notebook, embarrassed for some reason she couldn’t define.
Professor Liam released a short sigh. He strode forward. “Please
place your tessila on the holdstone.”
    Jey looked for her tessila. Sensing her
desire, he came darting through the air, red hide bright in
contrast to the gray stone. He alighted on her hand. As she felt
the gentle grip of his tiny talons, Jey was suffused with a sense
of love so great it took her breath away. She stared at the small
creature for a moment. His small body was warm. Though he was no
longer than her thumb, he had a presence that somehow filled her
mind.
    Gently, she moved her hand towards the
small, gray stone that sat at the edge of her desk. It was an
unremarkable piece of rock, worn smooth and round. For a moment she
thought she could remember sitting with similar stones, seeking out
inconsistencies, rubbing them down with grit paper.
    The thought faded. Her tessila stepped off
her finger and settled onto the stone. His sinuous tail wrapped
around its base. He set his sharp chinned face on the lip. His
tongue flicked out once, twice. He folded his wings, content.
    Jey looked up as Professor Liam approached
her desk. He stopped quite close, closer than usual. He reached out
to take the hand she’d used to place her tessila on the holdstone.
She felt a little shock at his touch. She remembered something
else. Something to do with