Carlos's fingers tightened slightly, his knuckles turning white.
He wasn't mistaken.
It wasn't a hallucination.
It was real.
His mentor, Douglas, was holding hands with that nightmare experiment.
An indescribable emotion surged in Carlos's chest.
It wasn't anger.
It wasn't jealousy over looks.
He didn't care about that.
'How could a mere First-Level Wizard like me possibly harbor such improper thoughts about my mentor?'
'That would be a death wish.'
He cared about other things.
Graduation.
A recommendation letter.
His future.
He was Cheris's disciple and had been with her for several years now.
'How much had he done for her? How many errands had he run? How much trouble had he dealt with?'
'But what had he gotten in return?'
'An ambiguous "observation period."'
'A graduation date that could be postponed at any time.'
'A recommendation letter that was nowhere in sight.'
