by Nissa Leder
No one speaks. We keep our steps lite, so no one can hear us coming.
Everything is so quiet, all I hear is my pulse thumping heavily in my eardrums. My heart pumps rapidly as I fight nerves. I should be in the gym participating in some staged exam, not walking in to fight actual Sorcerers.
If this hallway is the same as the one above it, when we turn the corner up ahead, we’re nearly below the gym.
As we approach the turn, our pace slows. After a two second pause, we round the bend, where Sebastian stands in front of a door.
When he sees me, he tenses. Then he notices everyone behind me.
“You all need to leave. You aren’t safe.”
I remember how happy he seemed yesterday as we spent the night together. I’d been surprised by the side of him I saw when his guard was down. I actually liked that side. I’m not sure what I think of him anymore.
Now, he looks miserable.
“I saw them take my brother,” I whisper.
My chest tightens as uncertainty plagues me. What if they hurt Beck?
“He’s okay,” Sebastian says. “They just needed his blood for the spell.”
“Why would they need Beck’s blood?” I ask.
“Your grandfather’s blood is part of the security of the magic trial, but to break it, a relative’s blood would do.”
But Sebastian had me in his room. It would have been so much easier to take me. “You can make the right choice now. Help us stop them. This isn’t right. No one deserves to have their magic stolen.”
“No one is going to forgive me. I already messed up.” Sebastian stares at me like we’re the only two in the hallway now. “I need you to know I regret it.” Then he steps back from the door.
I’m not sure if this is a trick, but there’s no time to waste. If he isn’t going to stop us, then fighting him will only alert the others.
“You guys ready?” I glance at my group.
They all look like they’re about to puke, but they nod.
When I open the door, I give Sebastian a quick glance, then we all rush inside.
Paul and the girl wait next to Beck, who’s passed out on the floor to the left of us. The two guys in black—who must be Shades—stand next to a large cauldron, their hands hovering over the gray steam rising from the pot.
As planned, I shoot an immobilizing spell at Paul, and Elaine does the same to the girl. Both fall hard to the floor, their bodies landing on each side of my brother.
The Shades notice the commotion, pulling them out of the trance they were in. One continues the spell as the other steps away to face us.
Van and Natalia throw balls of fire at his head, but he blocks them with ease.
Garrett and Elaine follow up with wave attacks. One strikes him in the arm, but he’s able to block the one aimed at his feet.
The steam thickens to smoke and changes from gray to orange. I’m no expert, but that must mean the spell is working.
The Shade fighting us throws fire back in our direction. Elaine blocks two of them, but the third strikes Van in the leg.
He cries out and reaches for the wound that burned right through his school uniform.
“My power is a little stronger than yours.” The Shade grins. “Your school outfits won’t stop my attacks.” He chucks another one at Van, but Natalia blocks it with a wave.
The Shade by the cauldron is mumbling something in latin. From what I’ve learned in Potions, when the chanting begins, a spell is almost over. Which means we’re almost out of time.
I throw fire at the Shade doing the spell, but the other guy blocks it.
“Now,” I say.
Everyone throws an attack at the Shade fighting us. Elaine tosses an electric orb. Natalia and Van, who can barely stand, throw more fire. Then Garrett sends a wave toward his feet.
Instead of immobilizing him like I’d planned, I send a wave for the cauldron.
The Shade manages to block all the attacks aimed at him, but my attack slips through, knocking the cauldron over. Thick, orange liquid spills onto the ground as the other Shade is pulled from some sort of trance.
“You bitch!” the Shade fighting us says, as fire forms in his hand.
“Let’s get out of here,” the other says. “They aren’t worth it.”
Then within a blink, they both disappear.
“How’d they do that?” I ask.
“They emitted,” Elaine answers. “The Sorcerer version of teleporting. It usually takes years of practice and lots of power to learn.”
I hurry to my brother, who is stirring awake. His eyes adjust to the light as he sits up. “Where am I?” He lifts his arm, which has a small cut that is still dripping blood.
“The basement.” I explain what happened.
“Sebastian’s gone, too,” Natalia says.
I don’t want to wonder if he went with Shades, but I do.
“C’mon, let’s get you to the hospital wing.” I help Beck to his feet.
He glances at Elaine, who doesn’t say anything, but the worry on her face is obvious.
“Natalia and I will stay here and keep an eye on those two,” Elaine gestures her head to Paul and the girl. “I’m sure Dean Waters will want them for questioning.”
“I’ll go get the dean,” Garrett says. “Van better get that wound checked out."
As Beck, Van, and I are leaving the room, applause and cheers sneak in through the door in the ceiling.
The exam must be over now. Soon, the dean will know what happened here and, hopefully, prevent any more magic from being stolen.
“You missed your test?” Beck asks as we walk down the hallway.
“Yeah, there wasn’t much choice,” I say.
“You did the right thing.”
A part of me agrees, but the other part knows that missing the exam will have consequences.
But I’ll deal with those when they come.
Twenty-Three
With the mid-term over, the entire freshman class is buzzing with relief. The test was yesterday and the results will be posted later today. Their fates are set.
Ours is still unknown.
Elaine, Natalia, Van, Garrett and I all wait outside Dean Waters’ office.
“I’m sure she found a loophole,” Van says. “We saved all their magic. There has to be something she can do.”
“Sorcery contracts don’t have loopholes.” Elaine has barely said a word the last ten minutes we’ve been out here waiting.
No one argues with her.
Five more minutes of silence between us all pass before the dean opens the door.
“Come in,” she says, her expression bleak. When she’s sitting at her desk and we’re all standing around it, facing her, she continues. “I’ve spoken to the Sorcery Council, as well as the President. While everyone is incredibly grateful for the courage you all showed yesterday, the rules of the trial are binding.”
“Great,” Natalia says.
Van reaches out and rests his hand on your shoulder.
“So, what does that mean?” I ask.
“Since you were the only team not to participate, you will be given the last place slot in the final exam at the end of the school year.” Dean Waters folds her hands on the desk as she gives us each a solemn look. “I wish there was more I could do. But you aren’t disqualified from the trial, so there’s still hope for all of you.” She smiles half-heartedly. “I’m afraid I have to get to a meeting now, but I’m always here to talk to.”
We all leave her office and head to Elaine’s room. When her roommate sees our depressed expressions, she leaves the room without a word.
“You know, if we’d have just let the bastards steal the magic, everyone else would have no power and we’d have nothing to worry about,” Van says.
He isn’t wrong, and I can’t blame his bitterness at the irony.
“There’s no point in dwelling on the unfairness of it all,” Elaine chimes in. “We just have to be the best group at the end of the yea
r. As long as we are better than everyone else, then taking on the group who got first place won’t matter.”
“She’s right,” I say. “Wasting our energy on complaining won’t help us. We’ll just work harder than the others and, at the end of the year, we’ll all have doubled our magic.”
I’m not sure either Elaine or I feel as optimistic as we sound, but we all have to face our new reality.
When I return to my room, Olivia and Micah are waiting for me.
“So?” Olivia asks.
I give her a thumbs down. “We’re still in the running, just automatically in last place.”
“That’s bullshit.” Olivia sighs.
“There’s a celebratory party in the freshman lounge,” Micah says. “We’re going to go check it out.”
“You two go ahead.” I slip my shoes off and sit on the edge of my bed. “I might catch up later.” Despite the victory against the Shades, celebrating is the last thing I feel like doing right now.
Olivia walks over and gives me a hug. “I’m sorry you’re getting screwed over, but thank you for risking everything.”
I smile. “I couldn’t let anyone take your magic like that.”
Micah gives me a fist bump as he walks by and then they leave me alone in the room.
I pull out my phone and send Zane a text, letting him know I lost the bet.
I think of Sebastian, and the look he gave me as he stepped away and let us enter the basement room. It’s not like I spent the entire semester getting to know him. We went on one date and spent one night together. But I can’t help but wonder where he is now.
Paul and the other girl who helped the Shades were arrested. They’ll be interrogated for more information and then who knows what will happen to them?
I had no choice but to tell the Protectors who showed up after we stopped the Shades about Sebastian. The last thing I need is to be considered an accomplice in any way. But he is nowhere to be found, and I can’t help but hope he keeps it that way.
This first semester at Wicklow has been the best of my life. Magic is everything I imagined and more. I’ve made great friends, and for the first time in my life, feel powerful.
I didn’t know it was possible to feel like an entirely different person in such a short amount of time, but now my priorities are set. No longer will I sit back and let life happen to me. I know what I want: to pass the end of the year exam and double my magic.
And I refuse to let anything stand in my way.
Thank you for reading!
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Also by Nissa Leder
Whims of Fae
Two Princes of Summer
Prisoner of Darkness
Whims of Fate
A Dark Eternity
A Cursed Reign
Queen of Dark and Light
Whims of Witches
The Fae Hunter’s Daughter
The Shadow Coven
Curse of the Veil
When Souls Linger
Curse of the Veil
The Soul Crossing
Guardians of Elysium
The Infernal Sacrament
Brotherhood of Shadows
