Wedding Bells and Midnight Spells

by Sarina Dorie

  Pro Ro waved his wand and raised a protective ward. Unlike the usual wards that were invisible to my eyes, this one was made of shimmering yellow.

  I hadn’t seen where the raven had gone after it flew at me kamikaze style. I assumed the bird had followed me onto the landing and the stairs. It was nowhere in sight. I prayed it wasn’t loose in the school, bent on terrorizing the students.

  Pro Ro created a separate protective ward around himself and left me on the stairs to inspect the staff room. “If I call out, run and get help,” he said.

  He didn’t cry out, but he took a long time. I reached out with my awareness, trying to sense if anything was wrong. I didn’t feel the presence of any evil Fae. The only magic I saw were threads of light around Pro Ro as he diligently inspected the mailboxes and empty rooms. Thatch didn’t approve of my remote viewing without him being present after the last mishap, so I kept the astral excursion brief.

  When Pro Ro finally returned, he held the card and an origami crane. The paper crane was black like the raven had been, decorated with a pattern of feathers.

  His brows lifted so high they almost touched his bright blue turban. “Is this the raven?”

  “No. It was a real bird. And that’s a crane, not a raven.” I didn’t even know if there was such a thing as origami ravens.

  “There was an enchantment on it. Just a simple glamour to give it the appearance of a real bird and to fly like one. Nothing dangerous.” He held it out to me, but I didn’t want to touch it.

  “Can you tell if it was done by the Raven Queen or someone from the Raven Court?”

  “Psychometry and seeing the past aren’t my specialties, though I think Vega dabbles in it. You could ask her.” He shoved the card into my hands. “I found this with it.”

  The art from the front was gone. The folded cardstock was blank, aside from a red blot of ink.

  He waved his hand in front of me, the ward disappearing. “Someone was just playing a trick on you, probably one of the students. Nothing to be alarmed about.”

  I doubted that. Someone had known I was getting married to Thatch. Someone who had sent me a warning.

  Or a threat.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Djinn-tastic

  It wasn’t wise to keep this information about a potential threat from the Raven Court secret. Immediately I went to find Thatch. He wasn’t in his office or his room. The note on his desk said he’d gone recruiting, so I left him a note of my own to explain what had happened. Next, I knew I would need to tell Khaba, the school’s dean of discipline and security.

  What other option did I have? If the Raven Court was involved, I had to tell the person responsible for the school’s wards.

  That also meant I had to tell him Thatch had asked me to marry him.

  I knew things could get touchy with Josie and Khaba, so I decided to tell them before Vega blabbed. My wicked roommate was always threatening to tell people my secrets, and she rarely did, but she also liked to make my life difficult when she could. I didn’t doubt she might “accidentally” let this one slip.

  More than that, it just felt right to tell them. These were my friends. I could trust them. I wanted to share my joy with them. I didn’t want to be burdened by another secret. We had done things Thatch’s way the first time around. This time, we would do things my way.

  I asked Josie and Khaba to meet me later that day. It was a Sunday, so there was plenty of time. Khaba suggested we meet in the principal’s office. Apparently Chuck Dean was out for the day.

  Unlit candles rested in a row at the front of the mahogany desk, the space otherwise cleared of items. Sunlight filtered in through the Art Deco-style stained glass of the double windows to the right, painting the room in the shifting hues of a rainbow.

  The office resembled one part wizard study, and one part Old West parlor with Victorian settees and a now-empty bar. To the left of the desk, a fireplace sat between columns of half-empty bookshelves. The new principal wasn’t a fan of forbidden books like Jeb had been.

  Chuck Dean had left the paintings of men wrangling cattle-sized dragons, though. The piles of clutter that had previously occupied all corners of Jeb’s office had been cleared, making the office appear spacious and elegant.

  Khaba seated himself on the couch, across from me where I sat in a wooden chair. His hot-pink pants were so snug it looked uncomfortable to sit in them.

  Josie sat beside him on the couch. “I’m glad you’re feeling better. I am so relieved we know that all those horrible spells were Elric’s wife, not the Raven Queen.”

  “Yeah, it’s a relief,” I said, trying not to let her distract me.

  I touched the amulet at my throat, remembering how I’d wasted favors to ask Elric to heal—and rescue—me when his own wife had been the reason I’d needed to use the two wishes in the first place. Technically Thatch had made the second wish, but the end result was the same. Now I only had one wish left and if I used it, my life belonged to the Silver Court. It felt like a noose around my neck.

  “Now we can get back to our normal lives,” Josie said.

  Khaba smoothed a hand over his bald head. “Or as normal as our lives can be in the Unseen Realm considering who we work with.” He directed his wry smile at me. I didn’t know if he was alluding to Felix Thatch or me.

  Josie giggled. She was tiny compared to Khaba’s muscular frame, but her witch hat rose a foot past his head. She had dressed in mossy greens with pink and purples today, the layers of lace and crepe fabric giving her an earthy, bohemian look. More of her black hair was streaked with purple these days, and I wondered if that had to do with her embracing her jorogumo self.

  Or an inability to control her jorogumo self because of me.

  I shifted uncomfortably in the wooden chair, trying to remember to breathe as I composed my words. I prayed Josie wasn’t going to hate me forever. “Okay, so here’s the thing—”

  A knock came at the door. Pinky poked his shaggy head inside. Had Mrs. Keahi, the secretary, been at her desk outside, I was sure she would have gotten rid of him, but she didn’t work weekends.

  “Hey, guys,” Pinky said in a high, nasally voice that didn’t match his eight feet of sasquatch self. “Am I interrupting?”

  “No! Clarissa was just about to tell us something important,” Josie said. She waved him in.

  My shoulders sagged in defeat. Already, I was having a hard time keeping the numbers at a minimum. Maybe I just wouldn’t tell Thatch that Pinky knew as well. No, I couldn’t do that. Dishonesty wasn’t a good way to start a marriage. I would tell them and then tell him. All three of them were my friends. I could trust them.

  Pinky sat down on the other side of Josie. He bumped her with his elbow and smiled at her.

  She glanced away and blushed. I’d never seen her do that before. Maybe it had something to do with her seeing what he looked like naked—sans fur—in Elric’s estate.

  I wiped my clammy hands against my black skirt. “I need to tell you something important. I’m telling you because you’re my closest friends. You need to promise me you won’t tell anyone.”

  Khaba and Pinky exchanged glances over Josie’s head. She crossed her arms, grimacing. That didn’t make it any easier.

  I looked to Josie. “No gossiping about this. Okay?”

  “Son of a Fae! You’ll never let me live that down!”

  “I’m sure our silence can be arranged.” Khaba eyed Josie with amusement. “Perhaps magically for some of us.”

  “This is so exciting!” Pinky said. “I feel like I’m in the cool kids’ club.”

  I drew in a deep breath. “You probably have noticed some of my behavior of late has been . . . secretive.”

  Khaba crossed his arms. “What? You? Have secrets?”

  I ignored his remark.

  “I need to tell you so you won’t worry about me or think I’m doing something illegal. But I’m also telling you because you’re my frien
ds, and I want to share my happiness with you. I expect you to respect my decision and not try to convince me otherwise.”

  “Oh no!” Pinky said. “You aren’t leaving the school, are you?”

  “No,” I said. I could see how he might have thought that.

  “What? You’re leaving?” Josie asked.

  I stood. “No! That’s not what I was going to say.”

  Josie and Pinky started talking at once.

  “Shush.” Khaba nudged Josie. “No one gave either of you the talking stick. It’s Clarissa’s turn.”

  I was thankful at least one of my friends was listening, though he was the one I worried about the most. “I want you to understand, so you don’t jump to any conclusions or get angry.” I glanced at Khaba. “Or have a reason to fire anyone. Although if you do decide that’s what has to be done because we’ve broken some school rule, then you should fire me since I haven’t been here as long.”

  Pinky clenched and unclenched his fists. “The suspense is killing me. We promise not to jump to conclusions. Don’t we, guys?”

  Khaba crossed his arms, not looking pleased. “I can’t promise not to fire you if you tell me you’ve broken a school rule. Therefore, I advise you to word what you are going to say carefully.”

  I knew how he was about rules.

  That meant I couldn’t say Thatch and I had been dating. I couldn’t explain it wasn’t dangerous for me to sleep with a man because that meant I would have to tell three people how my affinity worked. Jeb had made a school rule that I was still obligated to follow since it was in our handbook. His legacy kept on giving.

  My words came out measured despite the way my heart hammered in my chest. “Felix Thatch asked me to marry him. I said yes.”

  Josie’s jaw dropped. “No way.”

  “Oh, is that all?” Pinky asked. “Congratulations. I mean, this occasion calls for that, not um . . . commiseration, right?”

  “I’m very happy with the decision,” I said.

  “Did I not call it?” Khaba smirked. “Someone owes me twenty dollars.” He nudged Josie.

  She punched him in the shoulder. “Shut up. It’s bad enough it’s true, but do you have to rub it in and make me feel worse?”

  All things being considered, I was surprised she wasn’t making more of a fuss.

  “You knew that’s what I was going to announce?” I asked Khaba.

  He winked at me. “I was hoping it was that and not that you were pregnant. The latter would mean you had broken a school rule.”

  “How did you know?” I asked.

  He grimaced. “Ever since you returned from being abducted by the Raven Queen, I knew he was in love with you, but he was too prideful to let anyone see it.”

  “It wasn’t about pride. It was about safety,” I said.

  Khaba was the one who had woken Thatch from when he’d spent the night in my bed after our mutually traumatic experience with the Raven Queen. I had been surprised that Khaba hadn’t chewed us out for it. I had assumed he’d chastised Thatch for staying in my room overnight. Khaba was also the one who had sent Thatch in his stead to Lachlan Falls to chaperone me only the night before.

  “I take it at least one of your wishes came true,” Khaba said.

  From the mischief in the smile, I took it he had been playing . . . matchmaker. Even though he didn’t like Thatch? He’d tried to force us together so we would talk to each other. It had worked in a roundabout way.

  “How romantic!” Pinky said. “Have you set a date?”

  “Not exactly. But I’m sure we will soon.”

  Josie didn’t complain about me not telling her. She didn’t grumble about how much she hated him or how betrayed she felt that she had once loved him. She stood—I thought to punch me—but she threw her arms around my neck and cried.

  “Don’t worry, you aren’t losing a friend,” Khaba said. “You’re gaining a constant thorn in your side.” Khaba crossed to the bar on the other side of the room. “In case you don’t realize it, I’m talking about Mr. Thatch.”

  “Do you love him?” Josie asked. “Are you sure he’ll make you happy?”

  “Yes,” I said. “I’m sure.”

  She wiped her eyes with the tatted lace of her sleeve. “I’m happy for you. I really am.”

  She didn’t look happy.

  “I think drinks are in order.” Khaba took out four champagne glasses and filled them.

  I hadn’t noticed any bottles over there when I’d walked in. Perhaps he’d magicked it.

  “Is that allowed?” I asked.

  He winked at me.

  “So when are you going to tell the students?” Pinky asked.

  “It’s a secret,” I said. “Felix asked that we keep it that way until after the wedding. He doesn’t want any Fae showing up.”

  “You’re inviting us to that wedding, right?” Josie asked.

  I hesitated.

  “What?” she squawked. “Please say you are joking. I am not going to be left out of this.”

  “We only need two witnesses,” I said.

  “Perfect. You need a bridesmaid. He needs a best man,” Josie said.

  Khaba handed each of us a glass and raised his in a toast. “To Clarissa Lawrence and her future happiness with Professor Jerkface.”

  I shook my head at him. “Start calling my future husband Felix Thatch.”

  “I’ll try my best.” Khaba grinned.

  Pinky tasted his drink and eyed it dubiously. “Does this have corn syrup in it? It tastes too sweet.”

  I sipped mine. It wasn’t champagne, but sparkling apple cider, which I liked better anyway.

  “Why sparkling cider and not champagne?” Josie asked.

  Khaba shrugged. “Just in case the reason Clarissa is getting married is because she’s pregnant and can’t say so because she doesn’t want to put me in the awkward position of knowing she’s broken a school rule put in place for her protection.”

  “You could just change that school rule,” I said. It wasn’t even necessary.

  “I could.” From his tone, it didn’t sound like he would.

  “For the record, I am not pregnant, and that is not why we’re getting married.” I gave Khaba the stink eye.

  “I had to rule it out.” He downed his sparkling cider and set the glass aside. “May I have your permission to perform a cleanse of all lingering magics left on you from Elric’s court? Just something to ensure there are no lingering enchantments on you?”

  He didn’t come out and say it, but he wanted to see if Thatch had convinced me to agree to marry him with a love spell.

  “If I agree to let you check me, and you find me free of curses, hexes, or enchantments, then you’ll see I’m in my right mind and I love him? You’ll promise to stop finding reasons to fire him?” I asked.

  Khaba hesitated. There was power in making a bargain like this with a Fae. Even if this wasn’t a contract written in blood, he would take it seriously.

  “I agree,” he said solemnly.

  Josie and Pinky watched. A few minutes later Khaba found me free of magical maladies. In fact, he found me free of all wards and constructed new ones around me. He patted me on the back, relief relaxing across his frame now that he knew I was safe from magical meddling.

  “There’s something else I have to tell you,” I said. Now that I had my love life out of the way, I explained how I’d found the card, and the raven had come to life.

  “How long have you and Thatch been engaged?” Khaba asked.

  I knew where he was going with this, which is why I was so concerned about the message.

  “A few hours. Since this morning,” I said. “No one knows except Elric and Vega, though someone in Elric’s household could have overhead. Or someone spying on the carriage when Thatch and I were discussing it just a couple of hours ago.”

  “The kind of magic used to animate inanimate objects takes time, as does a glamour. That m
eans the person who sent you this card had enough time to find out about you and Thatch, create the magic involved, and then get the card here without breaking any school wards. Not that the latter is very difficult at this moment when we take into account all Prince Elric has done to break through them to see Vega of late. And all Princess Quenylda has done to them. I’ll have to check into that and make sure we’re safe.” He frowned. “It’s the magic itself that puzzles me. Either this individual is very quick and very good at breaking in, or this individual has the ability of precognition.”

  I left the admin wing, wishing Khaba had concluded it was a student playing a prank. I would have to be on guard. I wouldn’t let anyone ruin my wedding. Or hurt the man I loved. I had to ensure Thatch’s vision of his death didn’t come true.

  Just when I thought I was done with Fae enemies, I had to find myself another.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Best Fiends

  I didn’t see Vega until we were getting ready for bed. There was hardly enough space in the small dorm room to contain her presence, even when she was only reading a magazine on her bed.

  An old-fashioned cuckoo clock rested on the wall between beds, not so different from the one my grandma had in her house. A small, but well-made rug in an Art Nouveau style had been spread between the door and bed. The flowers and geometric designs formed a giant skull. An Oriental “cherry blossom” dressing screen stood in the corner to the side of the window and desk. The jagged branches impaled small birds and butterflies on spikes. The red appeared to be splatters of their blood.

  The coffin sticking out from under Vega’s bed, the gilded frame containing a portrait of a skeleton, and the vase of black roses on the nightstand gave the room a Gothic Downton Abbey vibe.

  On top of one wardrobe, my monster roommate had set another potted plant and a marble bust of what looked like herself. Every shelf on the wall she’d filled with books, including the spaces I’d hoped to fill. I couldn’t wait to move out of this room and into the dungeon. Or maybe Thatch and I would get someplace together off campus.

  “Have you set a date yet?” Vega set aside her book.