by Nika Gray
She hooked her arm through mine and pulled me away from the main quad.
“Thanks, Alexis,” I said as I tried to pull away. “I need to get to class.” I tried again to separate myself from her, but she wouldn’t let me go.
“I have a potion for the spell to your head,” she said.
“My head is fine,” I protested. “Honestly, it wasn't so bad.”
Energy penetrated my brain, fogging my mind. I tried to shake it off but couldn’t.
“It’s okay. You just need to drink it,” Alexis insisted.
I knew I didn’t need to drink it. What was she trying to do?
Then a thought floated into my mind about my head hurting. The potion will help the voice assured me.
“Okay,” I acquiesced. “Let me try it.”
It sounded like I was slurring my words.
“I have it here,” she said as she pulled a little bottle from her robe.
“Okay” I said, confused.
She guided me down to the soft grass beneath a cluster of trees.
Where was I? Why was my head so fuzzy?
“I wanted to make sure that you were sitting down because it's pretty strong,” she said.
I nodded and took the small bottle out of her hand.
Chapter 16
Declan
I looked everywhere for Fergus, couldn't find him. Instead of going to class, I sprinted around the lake trying to rid myself of all my pent-up desire from my encounters with Sadie.
I would have taken her right there and then if we hadn't been outside on the stairs of a very public student quad. I had stopped myself, but only just barely.
Fergus was my best mate and he was not one for sharing. But my God, I wanted her. I ached to kiss her luscious lips. Want wasn’t a strong enough word. I needed to stroke her golden skin.
I had to stop thinking of her.
I ran harder. Get her out of your system, I thought.
We would not be a thing. We just could not.
I slowed as my chest tightened from the exertion. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a flash of red. I slowed down even more because I knew exactly who that was.
Few mages could shapeshift, but I knew one that could. His favorite transformation was that of a red wolf. I was certain he was running through the trees alongside me, pacing me.
I stopped abruptly.
“Aiden Wilkinson, come on out,” I yelled.
The flash of red stopped moving and Aiden Wilkinson stepped out from the trees.
“I've been trying to find you for the last twenty-four hours.” He scowled. “Where the hell have you been?”
“Around,” I shrugged. “In class. What’s up?”
“What do you know about Sadie Bishop?” he demanded.
Ah, shit. This was all we needed. Aiden Wilkinson, another heir to the Magic Council hounding my heels about Sadie.
I crossed my arms over my chest and cocked my head at him.
“Who are you talking about again?” I asked.
“Cut the shit, Dec,” he shot back. “I’ve seen both of you with her. Rumor has it she’s staying in your room. So what do you know about her?”
“Something weird happened,” I replied with my palms up. “Sonia and Avery won’t bunk with her. Hotchkiss told Ferg and me to keep an eye on her.”
“That’s it?” Aiden asked as he paced in front of me, shaking off his wolfiness.
“Uh, well she’s hot as shit in case you hadn’t noticed.”
“Oh, I noticed,” Aiden said. “Cole’s noticed, too. She's got some kind of spell on him.”
Aiden looked pissed about that.
“You know, she could be a spy,” he continued.
“A spy?” I certainly wasn’t expecting that. “Who would she be spying on? And for whom?”
“Calm down, Dec,” Aiden said. “I sniffed the perimeter thoroughly. No one’s around to see or hear us.”
“Cool,” I nodded my head. “Why do you think Sadie is a spy?”
“You don’t think it’s weird how she shows up out of nowhere in the middle of the semester?”
“I don’t know if you can call two weeks in the middle of the semester,” I countered.
“Semantics,” he shook his head. “She showed up out of nowhere. No one knows her background. She’s not one of us. Each time I’ve asked Hotchkiss about her, he got all cagey. Nobody in the magical community has ever heard of this girl before.”
“Okay, unusual,” I agreed. “But that doesn't make her a spy. She’s an outsider with special abilities.” I shrugged. “It’s not like it’s never happened before.”
“Not like this.” Aiden shook his head again. “The others were all just unclaimed kids from affairs or whatever. They had family. They were known. They just couldn’t be claimed. Sadie is different.”
My mind raced at this new information about Sadie and Cole. Maybe I had her and Fergus all wrong.
Aiden kept at me. “You haven’t noticed what happens when she’s around?”
He felt the strange magnetic pull, too.
“What? You mean how Kyna and Crew lose their shit and all the guys in a half-mile radius suddenly have to take a cold shower?”
Aiden turned to face me, his eyes blazing.
“I’m not fucking around, Declan,” he warned. “Tell me now, are you being affected when she comes near you?”
“Are you?” I asked.
He turned toward the lake. His body stilled as he put his hands behind his neck.
“I don’t understand it.” His voice sounded far off.
He twitched and the stillness was gone. “Cole feels it, too. He’s got it bad. I’ve never seen him like this before.”
He turned to face me again. “I’ve seen Fergus following her around like a stupid puppy.”
“This is your evidence that she’s a spy?” I asked, the doubt dripping from my voice.
“She could be a succubus, created by a witch coven to…”
“They wouldn’t dare,” I scoffed. “Besides, even if they were stupid enough to try to pull a stunt like that, how in the hell could they have gotten her into the academy? Your theory doesn’t make any sense.”
“Why are you defending her?” Aiden demanded.
“Why are you accusing her?” I countered. “Also, I’m defending her because I was told to protect her by Hotchkiss. You know, because that’s what we’re all here training to do – protect.”
“You never answered the question,” Aiden said.
“Which one?” I laughed.
“What happens to you when she comes near?”
I knew he already knew the answer.
“Look,” I shrugged. “She's gorgeous. Sexy as hell. Funny, brave, and smart. Mysterious,” I listed off all the things I admired about her and realized what I sounded like. “I mean, what’s not to like?”
“Laugh it up, Dec,” Aiden said. “But what if it’s some really powerful spellwork at play here?”
“Why a spell?” I asked.
Aiden dropped his voice. “It’s only the four of us that feel it.”
He let that sink in a moment.
“I’ve been conducting my own little survey on our Sadie Bishop. Especially after she burned down her dorm room.”
“Jesus, Aiden. Seriously?”
“I’m disturbed over the lack of control over my own fucking body, Declan.” Anger flashed in his eyes. “You should be, too.”
“And none of the other guys feel it?” I asked, curiosity getting the better of me.
“Only us four,” he confirmed. “They think she’s hot as shit, but none of them have the same glint in their eye like we do.”
“Why us?” I laughed.
“Why us?” he spat back. “You mean why the four firstborn sons to the most powerful families? Why the four heirs to seats on the Magic Council?”
“Do you even hear yourself?” I demanded. “You sound insane.”
“Oh, do I?” he said quietly. “Do I, Declan
?”
His voice took on a low, ominous tone.
“I know you've joined the resistance,” he said with a sly look.
That stopped me cold.
“That's a serious accusation,” I replied quietly.
I had no idea how he even knew about the resistance but seeing as he was a Wilkinson that was trouble for the cause. I knew his parents were diehard mages and were pressing for the mages to have even more power.
“I'm not like my parents,” Aiden stated flatly. “I've been part of the resistance since before coming to school. I don't want to subjugate the werewolf packs or force the vampire clans to our will.”
He stopped and watched me for a moment. I tried to maintain my poker face, but I was curious to hear more of what he had to say.
“Quite frankly,” Aiden continued. “I think most magical folk have way more natural magic than we do. So who are we to be ruling over all of them?”
I was blown away. It made a weird kind of sense for Aiden to be part of the resistance, but could I trust him? He was a shapeshifter in more ways than one.
“What has any of that to do with your crazy idea that Sadie Bishop is a spy?” I asked.
“Something's not right here, Dec,” Aiden insisted. “Say what you will, but I know that you know something’s not right.”
He took a few steps and then turned back to me.
“My advice? Stay as far away from her as you can. She's an unknown being. I can tell you for a fact, she is not a mage.”
“If she’s not a mage, then what the hell is she?” I asked.
“I don’t’ know yet, but I’m gonna figure it out,” he promised. “It’s her scent. Her magic has an entirely different scent to it.”
He smiled in victory after delivering that truth bomb.
“I know she’s been with Fergus,” he continued. “Because the scent of Ferg’s magic changed, too. Just like Cole’s.”
Aiden stepped closer to me and sniffed. “But you haven’t been with her yet, Declan. I can tell. Keep up the resistance, brother.”
“Goodbye Aiden. This conversation is over,” I said and jogged away from him.
“Ask Fergus about his magic,” Aiden called after me.
I stopped and turned.
“What about his magic?” I called back.
Aiden laughed. “Ask him. I’m sure he has quite the story to tell.”
I turned my back to him and jogged away again. I sped up, his words nipping at my heels. Conflicting thoughts collided in my mind.
What Aiden said about Sadie was true. I was affected when she was anywhere nearby. Was it really just the four of us? I didn’t know why or how Sadie had this power over me. It did seem otherworldly, but she couldn’t be some kind of creature, could she?
Maybe we were all spelled. It was almost as if my body had a mind of its own, needing to be in her presence. I’d come so close to kissing her on the steps.
I’d seen flashes of green as I came closer, her fragrance intoxicating all my senses. Some sort of exotic flower and cotton candy. She smelled sweet and delicate, and irresistible.
I sprinted harder trying to get her out of my mind.
Each time I walked into my room, her scent lingered everywhere. When Fergus brought her home and told me what had happened with the fire, I felt for her. But I'd also been able to keep my distance up to that point.
Her bed was nearest to mine. I barely slept the night before, listening to her breathe, enveloped in that sweet flowery candy like scent of her.
She was driving me insane. If Aiden was right, she was driving all four of us crazy.
I ran one more lap around the lake and checked the time.
Fergus and I’d planned to meet at Bloodstyne Hall before dinner. I changed course and ran up the path toward the main quad. I hadn’t decided what I’d tell Fergus about my sparring match with Sadie earlier.
Aiden’s words drifted back to me about her scent and the change in Cole and Fergus. I’d seen the change myself. I’d experienced my own green light on the stairs. Just the four us. All of us from families ruling on the Magic Council.
I bit my lip.
Maybe Aiden had something to this crazy theory of his.
A vision of Sadie’s eyes looking up into mine drifted into my mind. Being with her was exactly where I needed to be. I didn't see malice or manipulation in her.
To me, she felt like home.
Chapter 17
Sadie
The potion that Alexis had me drink burned as it slid down my throat. I gasped as the magic gripped me.
“What is this stuff?” I muttered my eyes fluttering closed.
The last thought I had was I’d been duped again. Another friend had turned into a foe. What shit luck I had.
I drifted in a block of lonely darkness. There was no light.
I wasn't in the sky where the stars could provide me with comfort. I was in a void. In a nothingness.
When I lifted my arms and waved them in front of my face, I saw nothing. At least I could still control my body, I thought.
I’d let myself be tricked me again. I fell for it again and maybe this time I wouldn’t survive.
A small voice hushed me.
“Don't think like that,” it said. “You've survived everything before this and you'll survive this now. It’s all for a good reason. Remember?”
The voice whispered in the darkness and the sound surrounded me.
It was a voice I’d never heard before, but yet it was familiar and comforting.
It wasn’t the regular voice I heard in my head every day. That one that said I was stupid for trusting others, or gushed at Cole’s beauty or Fergus’ touch.
The voice felt like it came from far away, yet sounded nearby. It spoke again. A clear, distinct voice, just above a whisper.
“You have survived many lifetimes. Remember who you are. You will survive.”
What lifetimes had I survived before?
The dream.
Unable to breathe, but knowing I was fine. Floating in a red pink space.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
The distant beat of a heart and the swishing of water.
There had been a before. The place of the forest and the membrane. The sucking sound of my soul leaving my body.
I’d been traveling from a very far distance, using up enormous energy to pass through a dozen portals to heed the call for help.
I’d been within the membrane like the dream had said.
Then the current came. It split the realms in two and I’d been in the boundary to both. This powerful energy pulling me apart. It stretched me and pulled me and sent me careening into the pink and orange world.
The images flashed through my mind in a jumble, without a clear order I could understand. The dream helped me separate them and put them in an order that made sense.
A memory buried in my subconscious.
“Yes,” the voice returned. “Remember. Understand the past to fulfill the promise.”
“Who are you?”
“I'm the one who called you here,” the voice said.
It was closer now and I could distinguish it was a woman’s voice.
“I knew you from before?” I asked.
“We’ve been together in countless other lifetimes, Sadie. Centuries ago. Lifetimes ago.”
I was that old, I dreamily thought. It meant I would survive this.
“Remember who you are. Remember your power,” the voice whispered in my ear.
She was so close now.
“I don't feel powerful. I feel so alone,” I whispered.
“You're never alone, Sadie,” the voice assured me. “Bring the ones who belong with you. Remember, you are part of something bigger.”
What did she want me to remember?
My first memory drifted through my mind. The first foster home. I must have been three or four years old. My foster mom had a big belly. She sat me down and told me I had to go back.
She couldn’t take care of two babies. She begged me to forgive her and I didn’t understand why she didn’t want me anymore.
“That's just a tiny moment in your long life,” the voice said. “There's so much more for you to understand. Look for it.”
“Where are you?” I asked. “Will I ever see you?”
“Yes. Soon,” she promised as the sound of her voice drifted away.
“Please don’t leave me,” I called out.
“Remember,” the voice said as it faded away.
I focused on its echo, but it slipped away into the void. The voice had said not to feel lonely. I felt more alone than ever.
The blackness swallowed me again. It rocked me back and forth, and my stomach churned in fear. I balled my fists and fought the nervous energy welling up inside me. I wiggled my fingers expelling some of it into the darkness. I willed it to give me light. It coalesced into a fiery, red ball and drifted in front of my face.
Now what to do?
The red fire bounced into my forehead and then back out. Then it slid along my cheek.
What was it trying to do, I wondered.
“Let me in,” my inner voice replied.
I gently pressed on the ball of fire. It didn’t burn me. I pushed it toward my forehead. When I felt its warming touch, I pressed harder. Willing it to enter my skull.
“What are you trying to tell me?” I asked the red ball of fiery magic.
To my shock it spoke back.
Then red light overtook the darkness.
Chapter 18
Fergus
My chest constricted and I could barely breathe. Her name floated through my mind.
Sadie.
A voice whispered her name in my ear.
Sadie.
I looked up from the book I’d been reading in the library about Fae magic.
“Sadie.” Her voice was barely audible now.
My chest constricted again, and I doubled over in pain.
Sadie was in trouble. This very moment. Somewhere, she needed me.
With my hand over my chest, I jumped out of my seat and sprinted down the stairs and out of the library. My heart rattled in my chest as another constriction gripped my torso. In a panic, I veered toward West Campus.
