by A. J. Macey
“Done!” she announced, holding up a small mirror. I gasped at the image reflecting back. It looked professionally done as if she’d airbrushed the makeup. The light pinks and smoky grays were perfectly matched to my outfit and hair. I twisted my hair in a half-up bun, letting the rest hang down in waves. “Perfect!” she said, clapping her hands as she studied me, finally linking her arm through mine.
“I told Caspian we’d meet them in his room.” A pang of jealousy hit me as she talked so casually about my Caspian. Stop it, Aris. You just told the guys they were being ridiculous for getting so jealous. She just wants to be friends, and you need a friend.
I led the way to Caspian’s room, knocking as soon as we reached it. Thankfully, this time, I definitely had the right room. Cas pulled it open a moment later, the other guys stepping out after him. They were all wearing jeans and nicer shirts—Drayce with his usual Henley, Kye with a deliciously tight button-down, Xan with a polo, and Caspian with a plain tee. They all looked adorable, and I didn’t bother to hide my gawking.
Man, I’m one lucky witch!
“You look stunning,” Drayce said, rushing over and brushing a soft kiss against my cheek.
“You do look amazing, Sweets,” Kye agreed, pulling me in and giving me a real kiss. My cheeks heated as I remembered we had an audience. Xan and Caspian caught on, both complimenting me quietly, keeping their distance.
“Let’s go! Allain is meeting us there,” Olive said, pulling me away from Kye and linking her arm with mine again.
The party was nothing like I expected. Clearly, I’d been reading way too many human novels. I was expecting loud music and so many people, we couldn’t move or think. Instead, it was… magical. Twinkling lights floated through the air, giving the room a multicolored glow. Someone had their Witches Glass set to a playlist with the perfect dance music while the lights blinked and flashed to the beat. The bar had different pitchers with multicolored liquid, and my eyes were drawn to one that swirled like a galaxy.
The party games had me gaping like a tourist. A set of witches near the door had little magical men fighting on the tabletop like their own miniature fight club. A pile of money, small potions, and various crystals were set to the side, clearly betting on the winner. A witch with an affinity for Divination was off at another table, reading tarot cards for her classmates. Trays of shots and drinks floated through the room, dodging the crowd, not spilling a drop.
“Never been to a party before?” Olive asked, pulling me over to the bar and pouring us each a shot, clinking them together before we downed them. I expected to choke on the foul liquid, but it was a pleasant warmth accompanied by a berry flavor. This could be dangerous!
“Come dance with me?” Drayce asked, pulling me away from Olive and taking Caspian with us. The music flowed through the room, swirling around us. The music, mixed with the alcohol, had me loosening up and feeling good. I moved my body to the rhythm, reveling in the hard muscles grinding and brushing, mixing with the heat that radiated from Drayce and Caspian as they moved their bodies against mine. We took more shots as we danced, my body feeling like alcohol and magic were swirling in my veins.
Glancing up, I caught Kye’s eyes. His eyes were trained on me, watching me move and dance with a look of longing in his eyes. At that moment, I could feel him through our bond—his need and excitement mixed with his longing to let loose like us. My body moved away from my dance partners as if on autopilot, heading for Kye. Olive stepped close to say something, but my focus was on him. She joined us the moment my hand reached for his, the touch sending a shower of glowing lights and blackened shadows raining down on us. The magic instantly sobered me. A gasp of shock and fear broke the spell, and I glanced around the room wildly, trying to make sure no one had seen.
“Sorry, guys, I got excited!” Olive yelled, sending up a shot of similar but obviously weaker magic before taking my hand and yanking me after her. She didn't say anything as she dragged me up the stairs to my room, the guys trailing after us. My heart pounded in my chest.
How much did they see?
Is our secret out?
Fucking hellsticks!
“Aris, what in the bat’s wing was that?!” she yelled, her voice a mix of hysteria and excitement.
I wanted to blurt out everything, keeping no secrets between us. In my gut, I knew I could trust her, but asking the guys to trust her as I did wasn’t realistic. At the same time, if I kept this hidden, and she found out later, all the trust we built would be broken, and I would be friendless, yet again. Sure, I was hurt in the past, and not just by Delilah, but I refused to let that dictate my life. I needed a friend, and friendship meant being upfront and honest when I could.
“Well, there’s no use in hiding it at this point. I’m not really a Mixta. I mean… I was when I started here, then I had these crazy bonds with my boyfriends, and we all gained a bit more magic,” I summarized in a rush.
“Well, why is that a secret? That’s amazing!” she said excitedly, not catching onto the seriousness of the situation.
“Because it is insanely rare to have a full group of elementals and a conduit. It took an immense amount of research and isn’t something you let people know about,” Xan said, morphing into his serious Councilman’s son.
“Please, please, you can’t tell anyone. I’m begging you,” I said, dropping to my knees and clasping my hands in front of me dramatically. I let my fear, hope, and every bit of trust I could muster show on my face, wanting her to see how much this meant to me. “I can’t even tell you how much I appreciate the cover up.”
“Friends don’t gossip about each other. Your secret’s safe, and hopefully, everyone thought it was me. I’m a spell caster, so it’d make sense. Plus, these parties are private,” she promised. Her words brought reality crashing back in, once again bringing the gravity of the situation to the forefront of my mind.
“Oh fuck, what if they did notice? What if they ask questions and gossip?” I shrieked, “I’m so sorry, you guys.”
“Don’t blame yourself. We all had fun and weren’t careful. We’re still new at this. It’s going to be okay,” Caspian soothed, dropping next to me and pulling me into his arms.
I wanted to believe him with everything inside of me, but I should have known I’d fuck this up. Isn’t this what my parents have ingrained in me since birth? I should be seen and not heard. I was always too clumsy, too loud, or too embarrassing. Now, my lack of control could have got us all into trouble.
“Sweets, you’re drunk. It’s making it seem worse than it is. Trust us, nobody will know or care,” Kye reasoned. I nodded, trying to stop myself from crying.
How did such a good evening turn into such chaos?
Headmaster Tallis
“Sir?” the sickly sweet voice of Professor Bellario called out, muffled slightly by my office door. Grunting, I called out, letting her know she could come in. Not as if I was doing anything of importance. I closed the grimoire I was working in. “You’re working late,” she noted, her gaze darting around my desk.
“Well, no sleep for the headmaster,” I told her, giving her a begrudging smile. Why must she come calling at the worst of times? She better have some amazing reason for being here; otherwise, I will not be pleased. When she finally made eye contact with me, I saw a spark of excitement brewing within her dark umber depths. “I take it you have news for me about our little pink witch?”
“I was eavesdropping as you requested; turns out, I was correct. There is indeed more to her power than she initially let on, but it wasn’t something she necessarily was capable of before coming here,” Professor Bellario explained in an excited whisper. My brow drew down in confusion.
“Witches don’t just get new powers,” I countered, my voice harsh as I didn’t enjoy being toyed with. Her smirk grew, only adding to my quickly growing agitation.
“They do if they’re a Conduit who finds their Tethers.”
My heart seemed to stop for a split second before racin
g. Conduits were rare, so rare in fact, they hadn’t been publicly announced or spoken of in decades. Did I believe they fizzled out of existence—hellsticks no—but I did believe they faded into the background on purpose. Witches craved power to use and manipulate, and that included those who had more powerful magic than our own. It was basic biology, really.
“What’s the next step?” she asked, pulling me from my internal rambling.
Giddiness flooded my veins as the plan advanced in my mind. Oh, there’s just so many things I could do with little Miss Aris by my side. I was so excited I almost squealed with glee.
“Want me to call her in for a meeting?”
“No,” I commanded sharply with a wave of my hand before softening my voice. “No, I want to play this a bit more subtly. Don’t worry, my dear Marina. I have a plan.”
And soon enough, Aris will be eating out of the palm of my hand.
November 11th
Monday Midday
Aris
Stacking my tray high with food, I made sure to grab extra for Mr. Stripes, his little squeaks and gestures telling me exactly what he wanted for lunch.
“You know, baby, I probably shouldn’t just feed you junk, but since you asked nicely, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to have a little. I’m saving half of it for later, okay?” I told him. The answering pat of his paws against my forehead and the quick hug that followed were answer enough. Now, if it was only this easy to make everyone else in the world so happy. Chuckling, I patted his furry back softly before taking the overloaded tray to where Kye was waiting for me.
“Hells bells and tarot tells, Sweets, got enough?” he exclaimed, his eyes centered on my tray.
“Most of it’s for my little baby! He was hungry today, so I figured I’d get some for now and save some for later while we’re all studying. A couple are for Caspian. Oh! I found one bag buried among the other snacks in the line,” I told Kye as we reached the table, pulling the bag of Hex Mix from the pile. “Figured we could share, you know, if you say please.”
“Please?” he grumbled, his lip twitching with the urge to smile and pulling his mouth out of its halfhearted glare. Beaming, I leaned over and gave him a quick peck on the cheek, handing over the bag in the process. I distributed the food between Caspian, Mr. Stripes, and me, the conversation between my boys peaceful.
Getting lost in my thoughts, I absently started to eat, my mind replaying the weekend until I finally picked up on the odd sensation that had been plaguing me. Everything had gone smoothly, too smoothly. No one bothered us, there weren’t any rumors or bullying or wayward glances, yet the niggle of worry in my stomach grew with each passing day without any issues. Only I would be afraid of a peaceful weekend.
As if I had jinxed myself, the sensation of someone watching me prickled across my skin. Torryn never failed to catch my gaze during meals, and he’d told me how much he hated the distance, so I figured it was him, trying to capture my attention. I discreetly glanced around the space, but it wasn’t Tor’s eyes I’d felt on me. It was much worse.
Headmaster Tallis.
“Aris? What’s wrong?” Drayce questioned, his lips curling into a tiny frown when I put my sandwich back onto the tray and pushed it away. “What are you looking at?”
“Tallis,” Kye hissed. “Drayce, Caspian, scoot closer together, act like you’re flirting, so we can close the visual line from that rotten toadstool to our girl.”
“It wouldn’t be much acting there, Kye,” Drayce countered, smirking as he reached for Caspian. Before Cas could do anything, Drayce hooked one arm around his waist and a hand around Cas’s thigh, yanking him over. As soon as he was within Drayce’s grasp, Drayce kissed him hard, not caring that we were all staring.
I’m definitely not complaining. It’s not just a distraction from our creepy headmaster—it’s hot as hellsticks.
“Damn, you two don’t take the simple route, do you,” Kye mumbled, blushing furiously before turning his attention to me. “Sweets, how was your Monday?” Before I could answer, Raptor jumped into the middle of the table and hurried over to Drayce and Cas’ trays to steal their food while they were busy kissing—still. It was becoming super hard to concentrate on Kye when I just wanted to join them.
Forcing my eyes back to Kye, I eventually managed to answer his question. “Uneventful. I was actually just thinking it was way too quiet. Like zero rumors.”
“Well, there might be some now,” Kye laughed, pointing at Drayce and Caspian, who’d just pulled away from each other. Cas was bright red but couldn’t keep his adorable grin off his face. He rested his head on Drayce’s shoulder while they tuned back into the conversation.
“I noticed the same thing. I don’t think we’ve had a week yet where we weren’t the topic of gossip,” Xan chimed in. He had been quiet most of the meal, reading through one of his schoolbooks for an upcoming exam. It was only now, his attention shifted to us.
“It was bound to fade, eventually. Maybe we just aren’t that interesting anymore,” Caspian said. Ever the optimist.
“Nice sentiment, but I’m going to go ahead and say it’s not likely. We aren’t that lucky… ever.” Kye was so blunt, Caspian’s face fell. I wanted to reassure Cas since he seemed more upset than usual by Kye’s bluntness, but I honestly couldn’t. I was right there with him.
“We need to stick with her even more than usual. Tallis is a creeper,” Caspian said, glancing behind him before Drayce leaned over and gave him a quick peck to remind him to ignore Tallis.
We left the cafeteria together, but Caspian and I split off by the clock tower, heading for our history class. We were no more than a few feet from our building when the whispers around us reached a new level. Our eyes met, and we both glanced around, shrinking in on ourselves for a second. It wasn’t likely they were talking about us, but I couldn’t shake my usual reaction.
Nope, you’re a badass witch. DO NOT let them take that away.
Gripping Cas’ hand for support, I held my head high and forced him to look at me.
“No matter what they’re saying, it’s likely not even about us, but let’s keep our heads high and our ears open, just in case.”
“Good plan, Cupcake. I knew you were the smart one,” he teased, lifting our joined hands to kiss my knuckles before giving me that adorable Caspian grin. The annoying whispers fell away as we slid inside Tor’s classroom. I had to stop for a moment, my chest aching at the sight of him. It was awful seeing him so close, yet so far away, we might as well not be in the same room. He was mine, but until I was out of this place, I couldn’t go to him when I wanted, and that made it nearly unbearable. The rest of the classroom fell away, the room going silent as our eyes locked, and he was the only thing I could focus on. His eyebrows were knitted in concern, but I put on my best brave face, letting the longing linger in my eyes as they ran over him.
“Come on, Cupcake,” Caspian said gently, nudging me forward when I refused to look away. It snapped me out of my inner storm and back to reality, where I didn’t want to be.
“Sorry,” I mumbled, flopping into my chair like a toddler in a fit. It’s not fair.
“I know it’s hard, but it’ll be worth it in the end. Just think, this bond is forever. What're a few years in the span of forever?”
“Too long,” I deadpanned, glancing back at Torryn as he started the lecture, his eyes drifting to me every few minutes in a move far too obvious. I let a mask of indifference slide into place, knowing it was my weird behavior throwing him off.
He eventually slid back into full professor mode, and I distracted myself by taking notes. Torryn, to his credit, let us leave without calling an impromptu office visit, though Caspian had to practically drag me away. I wasn’t sure why I was so needy tonight, but it just felt wrong I couldn't freely approach him or stay here with him.
By the time I reached Torryn for our tutoring, I felt like I was shaking with all the nervous energy. Every part of me just wanted to curl up in Torryn’s lap and let it al
l go, to share some of the thoughts swirling in my head. As soon as he saw me, he hurried over, his eyes studying me. Mr. Stripes darted away, chasing Ruby into the classroom and leaving us to our conversation.
“Gorgeous, talk to me. What’s going on today?” his rumbling voice soothed me, my already cracked walls crumbling away. A choked sob left me, all the emotions I’d been fighting after Delilah and the run-in with Tallis coming back to the surface again. Less than a moment later, Torryn pulled me onto the couch and his lap, wrapping me in a tight hug.
“It’s all catching back up to me, and I hate not being able to really be with you. I miss you so much, and it feels wrong, being with the others and hanging out while you’re all alone in the faculty building,” I explained, rushing through the words in true Aris fashion.
“I feel the same way, and you’re right, it’s not fair. Every time I see you, I want to pull you into my arms and show everyone who you belong to. The fact the others get to be with you freely kills me, but I know it’s what has to happen. I just keep telling myself it won’t be forever, that we’ll find a way to get through it,” he admitted, his eyebrows furrowing as he explained. The pain in his voice intensified the ache in my chest, our emotions so in sync, we lunged for each other. We’d said the words, and now I needed to show him how much I missed him… needed him.
