by LJ Swallow
“Yeah, I know why.” I rub a hand across my mouth. “I’m looking forward to a night with you all.”
Gail hangs close to me a few minutes more than I’d like, and I make small talk about lessons—I can’t quiz her about everything in case she mentions this to others. Strange that she’d reach out and ask me to depose Clive, unless she’s trying to hit on me. Yeah, maybe. I silently apologise to Maeve for my borderline flirting, but this could bring me one step closer to an answer.
But there’s one question I can’t walk away without asking. “Does my brother go to your parties?” I watch her face carefully.
“Vince?” She pauses. “Yeah. Once. He didn’t stay long.”
I straighten and fight showing the effect her answer has on me. My body fills with both fear and a strange sense of ease. Vince’s involvement confirms my worst fears, but proves we need to focus more energy on the situation.
“Did you two lose touch again?” she asks in surprise.
I dig my hands into both jacket pockets. “We clashed. Brothers, y’know?”
“Oh god, yes. I have a sister who drives me nuts.” She laughs. “We can’t choose our family.”
Two girls leave the common room nearby and call out to Gail. She makes her excuses and hurries over to them. As they walk away, all three glance back at me and giggle.
Once over, this evening would be a typical exchange between me and a girl, and I would’ve walked straight into their party and soaked up attention.
I’m determined to go to the next, but attention is the last thing I’ll want when I do.
Chapter Forty-Three
MAEVE
Sitting in bed the next morning, I pull the stone pendant from beneath my shirt and inspect it for changes. Jamie didn't detect much from the stone last night—flashes of different faces and voices but nothing concrete. He didn't sense anything negative or dark either, so I immediately tied the leather around my neck, in the vain hope I'll absorb some Winterfall magic the way Jamie did the Blackwood.
We travelled back to the academy late last night. Despite the long and exhausting day, we managed to leave and return to the academy within twenty-four hours, and before dawn. Just. I would've liked more time with Amelia, but I'm uncomfortable if I'm away from the campus for long and don’t want to arouse Sofia’s suspicions.
When I walked back into the kitchen with Andrei last night, nobody mentioned my outburst from before he left or asked why I followed. They all know I wouldn’t walk away unless talking to Andrei were more important than the pendant.
I’ve worn the necklace since then but feel nothing yet. I’m hardly an expert on magic curios and don’t know what to expect, but if a Hermes Box split open for me to find the stone, there's an importance I'll discover. Hopefully the book from the museum will reveal more too.
Jamie took the book when we arrived back at the academy, and this needs to be our focus today.
As predicted, Jamie isn't at breakfast, and I discover him in the library, comparing pages from the Winterfall book with browser windows open on his laptop. He brightens when he sees me and insists we head to the witches' sanctum for privacy. The room has become a familiar place to talk about magic and visions; somewhere as 'me and Jamie' as the cottage.
I found the place weird but fascinating the first time I came here, and now the sanctum represents my normality. The strange atmosphere I felt the first day came from magic leaking from the books and objects around; there's nowhere on campus better than here for immersing ourselves in magic.
Jamie closes the sanctum door and locks out the rest of the world, then sits at the scratched oak table.
“Have you been awake all night?” I ask, although his dark-rimmed eyes and pale face answer me.
"Yeah.” He bites his lip. “I have something I take when I need to pull all-nighters when studying.”
“Take? A potion? Jamie, that can’t be healthy.”
“Not often. I’ll be fine. I can sleep later.” Jamie smiles.
With a stern look, I bend down and kiss him softly. “Thank you. Did you find anything helpful?”
He turns the laptop to face me. "I checked over the info I’d found already and compared to what’s in the book. These runes aren't like any categorised by historians, which makes reading them tricky. The closest are futhark runes, so I've matched your stones to those. They may not be correct interpretations, though."
"Oh." I slump onto the seat beside him. I'd stupidly hoped Jamie would find answers, but how could he in a matter of hours? "We should ask Izzy to take a look. She likes puzzles."
"No! We can't let this out of our sight now," he protests.
"I was joking, Jamie. I'm sorry. I appreciate what you're doing."
"I'm stressed." He flicks through the book. "The Winterfall magic is key. If we don't manage to decipher these, you might not stop the..."
My mouth dries as he trails off. "We will. Come on. I can take over and you can rest."
Jamie pulls on his bottom lip. "Every day, I worry that today is 'the day', Maeve. I wish we could narrow the event down to a date."
We've studied my records of the recent visions and although there are common elements, such as the fire and Gabriella's presence, the only indication when is the weather. In one, the sun shone, and in another, the evening was warm and muggy. Summer. But when? Each day draws us nearer to the end of summer term—and the end of the academy if we don’t act.
I can't allow Jamie to see my despondency. Although he saw the pendant’s past when he held the stone, nothing concrete emerged. The images spread across the years and became more focal. Astrid wore the pendant, but nothing significant came from that, just the house and family and the guys she spent her time with.
Then darkness. Jamie can’t figure out what, because there’s nothing malevolent or worrying about the vibe. When she placed the pendant in the box?
For whatever reason, although I don’t sense much magic, I’m attracted as if the necklace belongs to me.
"I brought the runes," I say as I produce the worn pouch then tip them onto the table. Jamie has photographs, but if we're trying to connect the magic to the book, we need the stones here.
"I deciphered the rune that matches your pendant and also some etched on the stones." Jamie taps paper he drew the symbols on, and he's written words beside them. "Here."
I pull the leather strap over my head and place the pendant beside the one inked on the page. "What does it mean?"
"I can't be a hundred percent sure, but I've compared to known runes and the closest is 'power'."
"Makes sense," I say and run my finger across the straight lines.
Jamie bites his lip. "But another word associated with that runic shape is 'gateway'."
I stiffen. "Gateway."
"Yeah. That's a clue, right?"
We've all discussed that a gateway could be what exists beneath the academy, but this stronger possibility scares me. Gateway to where?
"One of my runes matches the one drawn on that page," I say and push another stone towards the book. "Did you decipher others?"
Jamie nods and lines up the rune stones beside the ones he copied. "Unfortunately, the runes have multiple translations. This is divination or luck.” He touches each one as he speaks. "And this means fire—but also knowledge, such as ancestral powers."
"What about the one Tobias matched to the box?" I interrupt and tap the stone.
A muscle ticks in his jaw. “Protection, or true love."
I bite my lip, unsure what to say.
"So, that interpretation must be protection," Jamie continues stiffly. "Since he's your protector."
Not love.
"And I needed my protector in order to open the box?" I suggest.
"I thought about that." He rubs his thumb across his nose. "Somebody didn't want you to access this pendant until the right time."
"When Tobias is with me," I say, half to myself.
Jamie nods and he indicates the next rune. "This
one is tricky because it means both magic and death." I blink and nod. "And this is air or transformation. And finally, dawn or 'a light within'."
"Why two different meanings for them?" I ask in exasperation.
He shrugs. "At least we have some idea."
"Are all my runes also in this book from the museum? Is one page more significant?" I grasp at any possibility.
"Yes, but there's no page with every rune on.” He sighs. “Can you remember how many Blackwood stones April used?"
"From the position I stood, I couldn't see. Her body obscured some. They were in a circle."
"I reckon six to match yours."
"And what about the Blackwood rune we found? Have you deciphered that?"
His mouth pulls down. "There's nothing resembling the runic mark in any place I’ve researched. I’m betting somebody eradicated all records to stop others finding the Blackwood magic."
"There must've been runes drawn in the Blackwood grimoire, Jamie."
"Some, but I didn't pay attention—I only wanted the spell I needed to reach you."
A thought strikes. "Where's the grimoire now? Gabriella never stole the book."
Jamie snorts. "Tobias took the grimoire."
Omigod. "What?"
"Yeah. Ask him what he did with it. He can't destroy a grimoire, so he's either hidden or given to someone else."
"I will," I mumble.
My frustration joins Jamie's. Even if we deciphered the runes, we can't read the words in the book and I only have hazy memories of the other Blackwood runes. Are there six that match? Is that what we need to do?
"We need to go into the tunnels with the runes, don't we?" I ask Jamie.
"I know." Jamie's concerned eyes meet mine. "But not until you've tapped into this magic."
"But isn't that the point? I've always tapped into Winterfall magic—that's where my powers are from. The runes prove this. Divination. Ancestral powers." Magic or death. "They must make my magic stronger."
"Maeve. One thing with runes and any magic is the spells must be spoken or cast correctly, or they could have other consequences."
I stand in exasperation. "But my magic isn't spells. The magic is inside me."
"Uncontrolled," he says softly.
Huffing, I turn the book towards me then leaf through until I find the spell with the least words. "Look, the Divination rune is drawn on this page. I'm going to learn how to say this spell and then practice." Jamie doesn't reply. "You'll help, won't you?"
"I'd rather you learn the protection one." The page he turns to is filled by tiny words.
"Whoa. That's longer than the assignments you write."
"Don't exaggerate, Maeve."
"It may as well be. Nobody can learn a foreign language that quickly, especially if you're worried that I'll mispronounce them and cause the spell to backfire."
He swears.
"We can try. No spell. I'll hold the rune and try to start a vision." I almost don't ask to do this, because my stomach churns at the thought of what I might see. The pendant revealed something odd about Andrei and I'm still worried I saw his death.
My visions are always filled with death—I've seen and stopped Jamie's, and in one vision, Tobias was with me outside this room and disappeared. And then the carnage from my vision a couple of weeks ago.
What if I see Ash's next?
His worry makes sense—in the chaos surrounding us, each time my powers trigger, they're uncontrolled. The visions. The ability to influence other's actions. To change the future.
I need to learn restraint.
Jamie can help with the visions, he's saved me once, but I'll need somebody powerful to learn to control my extreme mental magic. How else will I exercise physical control over somebody as powerful as Gabriella or Anastasia, because I’m positive I’ll reach that point? I managed with Nikolai, but the two women are a step up and they'll be prepared, now Gabriella knows I'm capable.
There's only one person as powerful—he's said so himself. Tobias. I can work on the visions with Jamie, but Tobias has to allow me to take over his well-guarded mind. We’ve avoided this since the day I smashed the glass in his classroom, but we can’t any longer.
"I'd rather work with you than Sofia," I remind Jamie. "She keeps asking for more sessions, and I tell her that working with her interferes with my bond to you."
"And does it?"
"No, and she’s suspicious, of course. We should work on the bond, now it's strengthening. More so since—" I lean forward and press my lips to his. "Remember the day at the cottage and your ‘plans’?"
"Uh. Maeve. As if I'll ever forget that." He brushes hair from my face. "I think about that far more than is healthy—or comfortable."
Chuckling, I'm unable to resist kissing him again as I wind my arms around his neck and pull him close. Mentioning the situation causes an instant reaction in both of us at the wrong time. In the past, I've slept with Jamie a few times. I'm increasingly unsettled about sleeping alone and he never needs asking more than once.
But since that day, he's returned to the Jamie concerned about respecting me, as if sex would take something away from our relationship rather than add to it. I once asked him if he's jealous of the other guys, and he genuinely meant the 'no' he gave. I once worried that the witch bond would trigger resentment against the other guys, but something about our magic joining draws us to a different level that nobody else could match.
But a seriously frustrating level.
"Why are you laughing?" he asks.
I blink back to reality. "I'm not. I'm thinking happy thoughts about you. You make me smile, Jamie."
He brushes my cheek. "You do all kinds of things to me. Please don't read my mind right now."
Although I'm tempted, I won't, because we don't need distraction right now. "If you take me on a date, am I allowed to seduce you again?"
"I don't know," he says and his eyes glint with amusement. "You know I'm not that kind of guy."
"Why?"
Jamie's lips brush my ear. "I'm waiting for the right moment, Maeve. You know me."
His lower tone sets a shiver from my scalp to my toes. "You’re going to say not now, right?" I mutter.
"Right?" He kisses the dip between my neck and shoulder blade and the shiver turns to heat. “As soon as this is over, we’re taking time out together. Me and you.”
“I’ll look forward to that and whatever ‘plans’ you might have.”
Jamie smiles and touches my lips. “The future will be brighter, Maeve. I promise, but I don’t want to practice any spell until we’ve spoken to the others about the runes.”
I wrinkle my nose at his reply. I’ve carried the stones around for days now and the pendant must be a missing link; isn’t the time right to look into this further? “And I’m tired,” Jamie adds.
I nod, aware my enthusiasm is a little selfish and possibly dangerous. A tired Jamie may not be able to help if I hit trouble in the way I did with Becci. We don’t know how powerful the runes are, or their effect.
“I’d also like to translate at least part of the book.”
“We’re running out of time, Jamie. You said so yourself.”
“I know,” He closes his hand around mine again. “I understand you’re keen, but safety is more important.”
“Tonight?” I suggest. “Gather everybody together and then nothing can happen to me.”
He nods and his grave expression worries me. We’ve a balance to strike between practicing magic unknown to me and moving forward as quickly as we can.
We need to risk the side-effects, whatever they might be.
Chapter Forty-Four
TOBIAS
Despite Theodora allowing me to accompany Maeve to the Winterfall estate, she won't let me return to campus. The ongoing story that I’m unwell won't stand for long. So, I'm still banned from my classroom, and I’ve only two places I can meet Maeve: at the cottage or my quarters, both of which seem too personal.
Ha. We
’re beyond worrying about life between us as too personal.
At least now that she has my phone number, Maeve can alert me that she’s visiting. If she arrives unexpectedly, it’s harder to temper my initial reaction to her.
Since we returned from the Winterfall property, I’ve barely slept as I try to cope with the after-effects. I’d feared that returning to the estate might help awaken the other side of me. The house, half-destroyed by the fire I lit, wasn’t familiar due to the damage, but inside there were touches I remember—the colour and pattern of the wallpaper, the surviving lanterns on the walls. Little touches that are etched in my memories.
I couldn’t stay inside.
Maeve told me about the guy renovating, who I saw from my place in the trees, and his family name is familiar—his mother worked at the house that night and I told her to leave. Why? Did I think saving a human would absolve me somehow?
Unable to sleep or forget the guilt that settled in the pit of my stomach, I search the internet in an attempt to find more about the historian, Cyrus. I discover papers he’s written on his area of expertise, but I can’t find a supernatural connection.
When Maeve calls, I sit on the edge of the sofa, running my hands through my hair, repeatedly telling myself to keep a grip when she’s with me. Whatever the hell we unleashed that night at the Blackwoods won’t be constrained again—we already discovered this on the day after she asked me for help with Andrei.
Each time Maeve asks to see me alone, I’m a heartbeat away from telling her no, but I never do.
I never can.
Maeve arrives at the agreed time, the girl always punctual, and I steel myself one last time as I open the door. She’s in her uniform, something useful because it leaves the one connection that she’s one of my students and I'm her professor.
Or was.
I smile and pull the door open wider, even though I want to hold her when I see the same need reflected in her expression. She clutches the Winterfall book from the museum to her chest.
“How are you, Tobias?” she asks and reaches out to touch my cheek. “I’ve worried about you.”
