“Sorry, next time I’ll take you.”
He sat down on my bean bag and smiled up at me. “What else is happening?”
I put past the fact I was annoyed he hadn’t taken me and laid back against my pillows. “I am in the middle of studying. Why aren’t you off with Tiger?”
His smile disappeared and he eyed me suspiciously. I’d been thinking about it since Stig had mentioned it earlier. I didn’t like the fact that I felt a little stab of jealousy that I hadn’t known before Stig told me. I didn’t want a relationship, why should it bother me so much?
“Tiger?”
“Yeah, I heard you and her were doing a little horizontal dancing.”
He laughed, beating his hands on the sides of the bean bag next to him. “That’s a good one. Where’d you get that one from?”
“Stig told me he saw you.”
“Stig is a damn liar,” he said, a smile still on his lips. “What did he say anyway?”
“Doesn’t matter,” I replied. “I don’t care if you were with her.”
“Or do you?” he asked, leaning forward. “Why would you bring it up if you didn’t care?”
I pulled my book up from the floor and opened it to the page I was on before I looked over at him. “I don’t care.”
He stood up and moved over to where I sat on the bed, pulling me up. His hand cupped the side of my face and I felt a thrill shoot down my spine.
“I think you do,” he whispered in my hair and I felt goosebumps erupt over my skin just as Tiger cleared her throat at the door. We broke apart and I hated her instantly for it.
“Right, sorry guys, but Luther, you’re needed in the library.”
He nodded and followed Tiger out the door, shooting me one cheeky smile before he left. I tried to ease my heartbeat and clear my head before I sat back down.
How was it possible that I could like two guys at the same time? Two very different guys. I was in trouble, and it was the kind of trouble I had no clue how to deal with.
I sat back down and opened my textbook at the chapter on Succubi.
Chapter Ten
Elke
Luther was sitting behind me in class, and I could feel his eyes on the back of me. I unzipped my hoodie and pulled my arms free, and swept my long hair over one shoulder, shooting him a quick glance before I looked to the teacher again. His eyes were dark, darker than normal.
The teacher, Mr Alvarez, was writing the chapters we needed to read tonight on the board and I quickly wrote it down on a sticky note when I noticed a scrunched up piece of paper landing on my desk.
I opened it to see unfamiliar handwriting on it.
Elke, I heard you were having problems with particular elemental powers. Want me to help? I can show you how to unleash your true potential.
Palmer.
I looked to the front of the class at him, he was looking my way. It wasn’t such a bad idea. I did need to know about my powers and fast and I had heard he was half elemental too. I nodded at him and he smiled and turned back to the front. Letters appeared on the paper in front of me, almost like a ghost was writing them before me.
Cool, meet me in the woods after classes.
I put the piece of paper in the back of my book and focused on Mr Alvarez again. He was talking about integrating with the humans. I may be a little more progressed here, I’d grown up as a human my whole life.
“Why are humans so scared of us?” I heard someone ask from the back of the class. Mr Alvarez was caught off guard, but he moved to the side of the desk and sat down on the edge.
“Everyone is scared of what they don’t understand. Humans don’t have any powers; they are weaker therefore they are scared of anything that can hurt them.”
“Life is short for humans,” I found myself saying out loud. “I grew up as one. It’s fragile and they are scared of dying but they don’t believe in the supernatural. It’s all fake to them. They don’t trust in it because they don’t believe those who claim it’s real.”
Everyone was looking at me. Mr Alvarez looked at me with surprise. “Ah yes, I did hear of your story.”
Story. As if I were a fictional character here.
“It’s not our fault humans are weak and fragile,” Tiger said, allowing her friends to laugh at the bitchiness. Ever since her friends had returned from their break, she’d gone into supreme bitch mode which Luther told me was completely normal for Tiger when her friends were around. I could still see weakness though, sadness about something in her life. I could see she wasn’t hanging around Stig as much, that was a bit sad since Stig seemed to be alone a lot more since I refused to speak to him.
“All right,” Mr Alvarez said. “That’s it for today. Don’t forget your essays for next week.”
Everyone packed up to leave. Luther brushed passed me, making an effort for me to notice, before he walked out. I knew he didn’t take the next class, so I probably wouldn’t see him until tomorrow. I tried not to feel put out but I knew I was starting to really like him. It was confusing because I still really liked Stig. How could you like two guys at the same time? It was a question I continued to ask myself over and over again and one I didn’t have an answer to.
Funny. Before I’d discovered the truth, Ianthe would have been the person I turned to for advice. Now, I felt even more alone than ever.
Palmer stopped in front of my desk. “Want to go down to the woods now? We can skip the next one, it’s just the astronomy class.”
“Don’t we need to know about the stars and moon phases?”
“I can teach you about it,” he said. “I thought you wanted to control it? It’s about set to rain, we could practice with your water element.”
“Can’t I just project it? I saw Dallas do that.”
“No, there has to be water somewhere close by to project it. Dallas has been doing this for years, he knows how to collect it or use whatever he needs.”
I looked out the windows at the clouds and could see he was right. Not one to waste a good opportunity, I nodded and followed him down the stairs and toward the woods. He was walking briskly which was strange to see, like he didn’t want to get caught out of class. Palmer always appeared to be a little nerdy to me, so I was surprised to see he wanted to skip a class. In fact, I hadn’t seen much of him since All Hallows’ Eve when he bound my powers for me.
Once we got to a clearing in the woods, I put my books down on a fallen over tree and moved into the clearing with Palmer. He had his sleeves rolled up his to elbows and he looked like he was ready.
“Okay,” he said. “Now, you need to be centred. Plant your feet on the ground, get comfortable. Make sure you’re stable.”
I did as he requested.
“Good. Now the rain is coming, what you need to do is let it inside of you.”
“What?”
“Focus. Think of the water and let it run over you. It should absorb into your body, keep a store in you for when you need it.”
When I started to feel the first drops of rain, I closed my eyes and let it fall over me. I didn’t feel any tingles or power surges like I normally did.
“Nothing.”
“Give it time,” he said.
The rain was getting heavier now and I felt it was making my hair ratty, and my clothes were sticking to me. It was goddamn cold, the wind wasn’t helping me either, but I kept at it. Seeing Dallas use that water had been crazy cool, even if I was mad at the time.
“Okay, stop forcing it,” Palmer said, coming over to me. He held my hips while he kicked my feet out a little bit more. “Now, think of water. Think of swimming, and having the water envelop you.”
I did. Thinking of the many times I had competed in swimming competitions at school, I always came first and loved the attention I would get for it.
“Open your eyes.”
I did, seeing the water absorb into my skin.
“Oh my god, I’m doing it.”
“Of course, you’re an elemental.”
�
��So how do I know when to use it?”
“You’ll know, and then you just push it out of you. Hard to do when you don’t have a need to use it now.”
“Okay what else can you show me?” I asked, just as I waited for him to tell me what to do, I felt a sharp pain in the side of me, like I had a stitch, only it was strong and sharp.
I put my hand on my side, but Palmer didn’t seem to notice.
“Would the water inside me give me a stitch?” I asked. “I mean it’s—sharp.”
Palmer didn’t say anything. He just looked at me with a blank expression on his face. The rain clouds were darker now, making it almost pitch black. My panic began to set in.
“Palmer?”
Still nothing. He had a bright green line on the side of his face. Markings of a witch when they used their power I had learned recently. What was he doing to me? I turned to leave but couldn’t move, my feet were stuck to the ground.
“Palmer, stop, please.”
I wanted to call out for help, but they wouldn’t hear me over this rain, or from this distance. Why had I skipped class to come down here? I hardly knew Palmer, but he seemed to have helped me before so I assumed it would be safe. Why would a student want to hurt me?
That’s when I thought back to All Hallows’ Eve. The locks on my door didn’t work, I could easily break through them even after Palmer had supposedly cast a spell on them to keep them locked. He’d wanted me to get out. Maybe that was the reason Tiger had gotten out too.
I heard a deep grumble which I thought to be thunder, only, I felt something blow me backward. I landed on my butt as I looked up at two magnificent wings in front of me.
“Get back, Palmer!” Luther yelled at him. He stood up so tall in between me and Palmer. The stabbing feeling in my side had gone. I stood up and moved to the side so I could see Palmer looking up at Luther with a mix of mischief and fear. “You were warned.”
“I never did take to being told what to do,” Palmer replied. “I am done with this place, anyhow.”
“Your banishment will not only be from Ravensbane, Palmer. You know what happens to the dark souls.”
“Only if you can prove it.”
Palmer made a move and instantly I held my own hands out to block whatever he was doing. A blue light shone from my palm and a wave of water shot out through the air and toward Palmer who was shot back with the pressure. He landed flat on his ass. Luther turned to me, surprised, but he didn’t let that distract him. He turned back to Palmer who looked up at me, surprised as well.
“Damn, you are a quick study. I might have to watch my back.”
He smirked at me before he vanished in thin air.
Luther put his wings away and turned to me, concern etched onto his face. “Are you all right?”
“Where did he go?”
“He can do that, well his kind can, he’ll be somewhere on the grounds. He can’t teleport anywhere outside of the academy grounds.”
“Why did he do that?” I asked him, feeling my hands tingle like I had pins and needles.
“He’s been causing problems for a few months now. I didn’t think he would target you, but it makes sense. He wants to hurt me.”
“Hurt you? But he went after me?” I said.
Luther looked down at his feet. “Surely you can understand why he went after you.”
My heart hammered in my chest and I closed the distance between us. He cupped the side of my face. His hand was warm on my cold cheek.
“We shouldn’t do this,” he said on a whisper, yet I heard it clear as day. “I’m not good for you.”
“Why don’t you let me make that decision for myself?” I said.
He looked into my eyes and I felt something inside of me shift. I felt hot, the water singing my skin. His black eyes had a shimmery gold in them, like flames. I was mesmerised by him.
Luther bent his head and kissed me softly on the lips. It felt hot, our lips scoring each other’s with flames of some kind yet I didn’t pull away from him. I couldn’t. It felt like I needed more, I needed him to burn me from the inside out.
I needed to be his.
He deepened our kiss, his tongue, scorching my own as I moaned. I’d never been kissed like this. It felt like some kind of cliché to think that, but Luther was all I could think about. All I wanted in this moment and I needed more.
I needed him to want me as much as I wanted him.
We pulled apart, both of us desperate for air. He looked down into my eyes, his expression one of complete shock.
“Wow.”
I smiled, loving that I had surprised him with just a kiss.
“We should go back in,” he said. “It’s cold out here and the Palmer issue will need to be addressed.”
“Palmer issue?”
“Yes, he’s been behind all the bad things happening, such as All Hallows’ Eve. The failed locks, et cetera. I’d only figured it out a couple of weeks ago, and he must know that.”
“He tried to get me killed?” I asked.
Luther nodded. “Yes, and believe me, he will be punished.”
“Why are you the one doing the punishing?”
“I’m not, but I will be there.”
“Why? Aren’t you just a student here?”
Luther was silent for a while, but he finally responded. “Not quite. I am in sanctuary here but I still attend classes. I don’t have to, but I like to see what’s going on with the students.”
“Okay, so you’re what? A spy?”
Luther smirked at me. “Let me have a little mystery about me.”
I rolled my eyes and moved up the stairs and into the building. It was quiet, most students were probably in their dorms waiting for supper.
“Luther, are we—”
Someone called out to him from up the hall. I saw one of the teachers I hadn’t met before waving him down the hall.
“I gotta go,” he said. “But I can see you later if it’s not too late.”
Smiling, I nodded. “Sure.”
He moved off and I felt instantly disappointed. I wanted to talk to him about the kiss, about what we could be. Luther was hot, funny and incredibly mysterious. He’d be such a good boyfriend, or so I hoped. I was about to head down to my dorm when Luther appeared before me and kissed me.
He smirked as he looked at me, probably laughing at how shocked I was before he ran back down the hall. I could hardly contain my smile as I turned to head to my dorm when I saw Stig standing in the middle of the hallway, looking at me, a level of hurt on his face that almost broke me. I’d known he was giving me space because he liked me. He had wanted to be with me, but I’d been blowing him off because I couldn’t imagine having a boyfriend who could control me and my desires anytime he wanted.
But I never would have wanted him to find out this way.
“Stig—”
He walked past me, in a huff, ignoring my pleas for him to look at me and headed the same way as Luther.
No matter how mad Stig was, he wouldn’t burst my bubble. I’d make sure he was okay eventually but for now, I was going to head to my dorm, fall onto my bed and scream into my pillow because I may have just nabbed myself the sexiest boyfriend in the entire school.
Stig
Luther was already in the room when I arrived. I couldn’t stop seeing his lips on Elke’s and that goddamn smile. Luther never smiled.
My mother sat at her desk and Palmer sat chained to the chair in front of her. He was relaxed, not showing any fear, even though his life was on the line. He had been causing havoc under the radar for years it appears. His powers were far too advanced for someone his age which meant he must have been pulling them from others.
Two men stood in the corner of the room, judging from their outfits, I could only guess they were the Queen’s Investigators. I’d only ever heard of them before, never actually seen them. They had a way of prying information from guilty minds. From what I’d read, it was particularly painful.
“Stig,” my
mother said, looking up at me. “So nice of you to grace us with your presence.”
“I apologise for my delay but I don’t see why he’s here.”
I shot a look over at Luther who stood against the wall, relaxed. He smirked at me, probably knowing how much he annoyed me. How could he be so goddamn calm?
“He’s a representative of the court and you know that,” she replied. “Now, where is Palmer’s representatives?”
“He has none,” one of the Investigators said. “Parents are nowhere to be found, I can only imagine what he’s done to them.”
We all looked to him then. He had a slow smile spreading over his face, his witch markings shining bright green. I’d only seen them this well-defined on a well-practiced witch. Had he killed his own kin for power?
“There has to be someone pulling the strings,” Luther said. “He’s not smart enough to coordinate a plan this evil.”
“No, that’s for your family, isn’t it?” I spat back. My mother looked to me, warning me to keep my mouth shut, but I didn’t regret the insult.
Luther ignored me as he normally did when he couldn’t win a conversation.
“You’ll never find out,” Palmer finally said. “I’ve laid out plans that will end this school.”
“You won’t succeed,” my mother said. “We will find out, and you will be killed. You can save yourself, son, it’s not too late.”
“You have no power over me,” Palmer spat back. “I answer to a higher power.”
“I told you death was the only option,” Luther replied. On that, we could agree.
“Do you believe that elemental is here by accident?” Palmer said. Luther and I both snapped to attention at the mention of Elke. I hated that he suddenly became serious when she was mentioned. “She’s all part of my plan.”
“What do you know of her?” I asked. “She is here due to her parents dying.”
“She’s here because I designed it that way and she has the guilt of killing her parents on her shoulders. I wonder how good she can really be when her powers are at full force.”
“She has all of us to lean on, she is cared for here.”
I didn’t say loved because I knew that could be used against us all. I didn’t want to put that into Luther’s head. He couldn’t love her, because I knew I was falling for her, and he was not going to swoop in and claim her.
All Hallows' Eve (Ravensbane Academy Book 1) Page 7
