by A. J. Macey
“Miss Calisto!” Rang out through around me as I finally collided with the floor of the classroom. Other than Professor Rafe’s scared voice, it was silent, the screams finally gone. “Are you alright?”
“Uh,” I stuttered, my body shaking as I tried to sit up. “Yeah, I think I tripped on something and fell. Really need to learn how to look at where I’m going,” I joked, giving him a fake smile, hoping he’d leave it be. Thankfully, he seemed to understand whatever I had witnessed within the circle wasn’t something I wanted to talk about, so he gave me a soft smile, and held out his hand to help me up.
“At least nothing exploded this time,” he teased, patting me on the back before moving toward another student. As soon as he moved away from me, my furry baby scurried over, jumping off the table into my arms as I scrambled to catch him.
“I’m alright, baby,” I cooed, but as much as I tried to play off what happened, the ice-cold thread of worry wouldn’t ease.
No rest for the Wicca-ed.
An hour and one meal later, I stepped into my room, dropping my and Kye’s bags on my desk. Finally, I could relax. Sighing, I felt the stress of the day melt away now that I was safely in my room and could enjoy the few minutes of peace until Kye came up from the boys’ bathroom a floor below. My happy reprieve was short-lived, though, as an airplane swooped in and drifted in front of me. I snatched it from the air and debated waiting until Kye was back. I got lots of notes, but this one made me uneasy right away like ill intent was wafting off of it. No, you’re a strong, independent witch who can do things on her own. With a deep breath, I unfolded the parchment, my eyes flying wide open as I took in the message from Tallis.
My dearest Aris,
Meet me in my office Monday at midnight. I have several things we need to discuss. Until then, keep your nose out of trouble. Wouldn’t want to have to punish you.
Headmaster Tallis
Before I could reread the note a second time, it turned to ash in my hands, the remnants blowing in the air before disappearing altogether. That creeping dread that had been growing all morning was exponentially worse.
Need to come up with a plan and fast; otherwise, we’re all going to be flying broomless.
November 15th
Friday Midday
Aris
The guys were huddled around me, locked down in overprotective mode as we sank onto our chairs at our usual end of the table. It didn’t escape my notice that they angled me away from Headmaster Tallis or that they were twitchy with nerves.
While until recently, I had grown irritated by the lack of privacy and alone time, I couldn’t help but be thankful they were taking such extreme measures now. It was like I had been lulled into a false calm over the last two weeks when I hadn’t heard from him. Now, it was impossible to ignore the immediate threat I would have to deal with.
Every little sound, every movement around me, had me jumping. My mind and body were wound as tight as a spider’s web, utterly on edge from all the whispers, glances, and Tallis and his creepiness.
“You need to eat something, Muse. Have to keep your strength up.” Xan nudged the plate piled high with assorted foods my way, an encouraging smile curling his lips.
“I’m not hungry,” I muttered, my gaze drifting to a familiar head of honey blonde hair that stepped up behind Kye and Xan on the opposite side of the table.
“Hey, Aris! We’re all still studying together later, right?” Olive asked brightly, glancing around the table at my guys.
“Yeah,” I perked up, faking my enthusiasm, but Olive didn’t seem to notice as she waved and headed to where Allain was waiting for her. At the reminder of our study session, my stomach flipped anxiously. Tonight was the night the guys wanted to talk to Olive about what had happened at the party. While I didn’t think Olive had anything to do with our secret getting out, Torryn and the others weren’t so sure.
“I’m going to go grab some brewed apples,” I told the table, quickly growing overwhelmed with the noise in the crowded room. “I’ll be okay, and you’ll be able to see me the whole way. Besides, no one would try something in a room full of people.” After I finally convinced them, no one had to walk with me into the food portion of the dining hall, I stood, quickly learning, I spoke too soon.
“Hey, Mixta!” Esmerelda called, her snotty tone making me grind my teeth as I glanced over my shoulder. Amber and Tasha were standing with her, all looking at me like a new toy.
Oh, yay, the curse crew is back and ready to cause more drama.
Just what I need right now.
“What?” I sighed, ready to get whatever confrontation they wanted over and done with. The guys watched with wary gazes, none of them eating as they waited to see what would happen.
“We heard some interesting things about you and your guys, Aris. All of your guys.” Tasha’s insinuation wasn’t lost on me as she glanced over at Torryn. His eyes were glued to us from the teachers' table. Next to him, Ruby watched anxiously from where she was standing on her back paws on the table.
“I don’t give a flying broomstick what you heard,” I countered. I sounded as tired as I felt, my shoulders drooping under the pressure of everything—as if I was about to drown with no life preservers within reach.
“Hey! Who said we were done with this conversation, Mixta,” Amber sneered as I started walking away. I kept going until a hand clamped around my bicep, and I finally broke.
“Leave me alone!” I screamed, whipping to face them. As I turned, ripping my arm away from Amber, a wave of magic flared out.
My breath left my lungs, my eyes widening as the magic burst forward. It started small, a burst of fire and shadow, but soon, the flames mixed with electricity, icicles, and vines, tangling together in a perfect mix of all of our magic. It was a bright tangling of colors and power that left me breathless. Once it reached a swirling crescendo, it arced toward the Curse Crew. A hazy wave of shadows curled down my arm, and a strong gust of wind swirled around us to top off my utter loss of control.
It was over before I knew it, all of my powers disappearing before I could even blink, but I knew they had seen them—not just the curse crew. The entire cafeteria was silent and staring. Before the panic clawing up my throat could take control, I rolled my shoulders back and stared at the three who had tormented me since coming to Aether.
“Don’t come near me or my tethers, again,” I ground out, no longer hiding what I was. Not that I could. Way to go, Aris. I turned to continue on my initial path to grab some easy food but stopped and glanced over my shoulder. Fake it until you make it, right?
“Oh, and just so you know, I am proudly a Mixta,” I called out as the three tried to scramble away. “And no one here will make me feel less than because of it. Not you, not anyone,” I bit out, looking over to Tallis at the end of my statement before turning and walking away confidently.
I may be a Mixta, but I am not weak.
The rest of the day passed in a tense peace. No one came up to me, no whispers reached my ears, no discipline for our actions, and in return, I walked through the halls next to whoever was escorting me with my head held high. That didn’t mean I wasn’t suspicious, though. None of my guys brought up what had happened, picking up on my silence and tension as I focused on classes and schoolwork.
“Aris!!” I heard hollered happily. Olive darted around the other witches quickly before jogging up to my side breathlessly. “Ready for some food and study time?” My new friend seemed entirely unfazed by what had happened at lunch today. She was as happy as she had been before, regardless of my show of power. I guess it helped that she’d seen my powers act up before. Her smile was genuine, and she seemed excited to study with me.
“Absolutely. I need some girl time,” I told her with a shoulder bump. Thank hellsticks for a real friend who isn’t one of my guys.
“Perfect! Meet you in the library in a little bit? I’m going to scarf down some food before we get to work; otherwise, I’ll be dying of hunger.”
/>
“See you soon,” I called out as she waved, practically skipping over to Allain, who was waving at Caspian and me.
“So, does that mean we can finally talk about what happened? And how we’re going to approach Olive?” Kye questioned, stepping up to my other side as Olive ran away. I sighed, knowing we needed to have this conversation sooner rather than later.
“Yeah, but can we wait until after food, so we can meet up with Tor? He needs to know what’s going on, too,” I reasoned, the worry that had been festering throughout the day finally coming forward until I couldn’t ignore it anymore. It had been so easy to pretend it wasn’t there when I wasn’t staring down the impending conversation.
The guys and I ate quickly, our familiars having picked up on the urgency in our movements as they watched us with head tilts and wide eyes. Torryn had us skip mentoring in light of what had happened at lunch. We were supposed to eat, then head to a family meeting. Off campus would be way too obvious, so we were meeting in an empty classroom Torryn gave me access to. I passed the word around at dinner and made sure we hurried, so I would still have time to meet Olive afterward.
We all stayed silent as we hastily made our way to the Scrying, Divination, and Runes building, hoping the cover of dinner wouldn’t make it obvious. Xan reminded me to use the lantern to make myself invisible before joining them. Kye and Drayce kept space between them for me to slip through, so the open doors and wait time could be disguised. My body was tense, and my jaw clenched as we walked. It felt like someone was watching us, that awful uneasy feeling of eyes trained on me every step of the way. Stop it, Aris, you’re just being paranoid. I shook my head, trying to quiet the whisper of doubt that pushed back against my worry.
“Good, you stayed hidden.” Torryn let out a big sigh of relief as I came back into view. He scooped me into his arms and held me close for a moment while everyone settled into their spots. Before he could continue on, I broke away and paced through the circle they were standing in.
“I’m so fucking sorry,” I burst out, rushing out the words. “They were just being their normal rude selves, then they made a comment about Tor, and I just lost control. The magic burst out before I even had a chance to stop it. I think I’m just all jumbled and distracted from constantly being on edge.”
“Cupcake, nobody blames you. I’m honestly surprised it took us this long to slip up,” Caspian joked, giving me his happy half-grin. I smiled weakly and looked at Tor, expecting him to be the most disappointed in me.
“Nobody is mad. We’re all just nervous. We need to be more careful since our secret is out. The higher-ups will have taken notice by now. Tallis is gonna be salivating to get hold of you, and even worse, if the council gets wind of this...” Torryn trailed off, shaking his head.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered, dropping down to sit on the floor and wrapping my arms around my knees.
“Stop saying that, you have nothing to be sorry for,” Xan tried, but I cut him off.
“Don’t baby me! I know I screwed up. Just because it was accidental, doesn’t mean this doesn’t fuck up all of our plans,” I bit out, instantly hating myself for snapping at him. I couldn't bring myself to look up, just whispering my apology.
“Enough. We aren’t going to get anywhere with regret and self-deprecation. Let’s break this down. What are our biggest threats?” Kye said quickly, bringing us back to the crux of it all.
“Tallis,” Caspian ground out.
“The council,” Torryn added with a sigh, leaning against a pillar and sliding to the floor like the rest of us.
“More eyes on Aris, but that kind of ties into Torryn and the council,” Drayce added, absently picking at a string on his sleeve as he thought it over.
“My parents,” I added. “If they get wind, I’ve got power, they’ll come up here and pretend like they are the most doting parents of the century.”
“Which goes back to the council again since your father is a member of the minor council of Ignis,” Xan pointed out.
“Well, what the hell is the council going to do? They can’t imprison me for what I am. Not to mention, other than asking me to help them, they have no say in what I do,” I said, running my hands up and down my arms to ward off the nighttime chill.
“They can do a lot. If they vote you as a threat, they can use you as they see fit—including imprisonment—but the truth is, they’d want us all, not just you. So, we’d likely be kept separate until they needed to use us.” Torryn’s words hung heavy in the air as if a dark cloud had fallen over us and rendered us speechless.
Oh, my broomsticks, what have I done?
“Is that worst-case scenario?” I choked out, looking up to meet his eyes, silently begging him to be joking.
“Yes, in a way. It’s also the likeliest scenario if they do ask you to work with them, and you refuse,” he answered gently.
“We’ll figure it out. Until then, we keep escorting you where you need to go,” Kye said firmly, standing up and brushing off his legs.
“It couldn’t hurt to get off campus for a bit tomorrow,” Drayce added, scooting over and giving my shoulder a gentle squeeze.
“Just keep close to her,” Torryn relented after looking at our hopeful faces. “In the meantime, I’m going to reach out to some friends and have them keep their ears open.”
“We should get back before we’re missed,” Xan noted, the rest of us standing at his words.
“Go back in groups. Caspian and Drayce, then Kye and Xan with invisible Aris,” Torryn commanded, standing at the entrance as we filed out. He pulled me in for a quick kiss before leaning against a wall and watching us leave. I glanced back even though he couldn't see me, hating that worry lines now creased his forehead.
No turning back time. I’ll just have to be careful and make sure we all stick together.
When we made it back to the dorms, I stepped into an alcove and blew out the flame, my body coming back into view. I stepped out as we headed for the stairs.
“I have to hurry over to the library to meet Olive,” I reminded them. They all froze, and I braced myself for an argument.
“Is it a girls-only event?” Caspian asked casually, not quite meeting my eyes.
“It’s the library, so you can stay on the other side of the building if it is,” I deadpanned, rolling my eyes and crossing my arms.
“She seems to have taken the new magic in stride,” Kye pointed out, though I could see the unsaid accusations in his eyes.
“Maybe we should give her a truth serum,” Caspian joked, causing my eyes to narrow again.
“I trust her. Are you guys serious?” I hissed, getting mad on her behalf.
“Well…” Drayce trailed off.
“At least you’d know for sure,” Xan said. My jaw dropped.
Even Xan’s onboard?! He’s supposed to be the most levelheaded of the lot.
“Fine, but I’m telling her about this. I won’t keep this from her or do it shadily. I’ll ask her to do it because she’s my friend, and I’m not going to ruin this,” I said firmly, all of them nodding in agreement. “How do we get a truth serum?” I looked at them for a second before Xan let out a nervous cough.
“Well, we talked about it offhand and figured it would be best to have one. Though the original plan wasn’t for Olive, I think it’d be smarter to do this instead.”
“Do I even want to know what the original plan was?” I deadpanned, some of the tension draining. It was nice to know they hadn’t been planning this for a long time. Though I didn’t understand why they’d discuss this stuff without me. That’s a battle for another time.
“It was a backup plan for Tallis,” Kye said with a shrug. “Everyone, grab your stuff, and we’ll all walk her over. I know everyone has homework.”
“Ugh, fine,” Caspian groaned, shuffling away. I already had what I needed for the study session, so I waited in the lobby with Xan. By the time we all had what we needed and joined Olive in the library, she already had books and
parchment spread across the table.
“Oh! I thought you’d gotten caught up!” she called to us, earning us all a shush from the librarian. She gathered her stuff and tossed half of it in a precarious pile, so we had room. I slid in next to her and pulled out my stuff, avoiding her gaze.
How the hellsticks do I even bring something like this up?
“What’s wrong?” Olive whispered. My eyes flickered up to hers, and I couldn’t hide the cringe that slipped out when I saw what looked like genuine worry in her gaze.
“Someone is following us and feeding information to the Headmaster. Especially stuff we didn't want to get out. I trust you, but someone found out, and it’s freaking them out. After I got attacked last semester, the guys don’t want to take any chances. They want to know for sure who we can trust, so they suggested truth serum,” I admitted.
Her only reaction was to shrug, not bothered in the least. At least that’s how it seemed, but as her eyes landed on the bottle, they showed a hint of wariness. I would have felt the same way if a bunch of strangers didn't trust me and wanted me to swallow something. I opened my mouth to say forget it when she finally cleared her throat to speak.
“Well, that just means they care about you. Besides,” she teased, winking at me, “us girls have to stick together.”
“You’re the best,” I said, my eyes getting watery. The fact she would go through this for me meant more than I could explain. She laughed and tugged me into a hug.
“You act like you haven’t had a friend before, silly,” she laughed, pulling away and wiping a stray tear.
“I haven’t,” I admitted with a shrug, “not before the guys. You’re my first real friend.”
“Well, I’m honored,” she said before standing and holding her hand out expectantly toward the others. Xan didn’t hesitate to hand over the small vial. The liquid inside was a bright orange liquid with small bubbles dancing inside like a cold bottle of Orange Crush. “You all owe me something sinfully sweet after this.”
