Hidden Magic: Harper Shadow Academy (Book One)

by Luna Pierce

  I shake my head. “Yeah. Okay. I can do this.” I swallow and pull the handle.

  I arrive on the porch, taking a glance back at the car, and then grab the hideaway key under the potted plant. I put it into the lock, a mix of emotions consuming me as I turn it and open the door.

  Danny’s car wasn’t outside, so he must be out running errands, meaning Mom should be home alone. Errands are usually more efficient without taking her along. A sad reality, especially knowing what part of the truth that I do.

  This could still all be some kind of joke, I remind myself. A sick and twisted joke.

  “Mom,” I call out.

  Rustling comes from the kitchen.

  “Willow?” Surprise lingers on her tongue. “Willow, is that you?”

  “Yeah, Mom.” I walk to the sound of her voice.

  I find her sitting at the table, hands wrapped around a cup of coffee. The aroma is friendly and calls to me. My thoughts travel to the lone mug of heaven that Sydney made me, getting cold on my nightstand back in my dorm.

  “What’s wrong?” she asks.

  “Mom, I need to talk to you. Is that okay?”

  “Has there been an accident?” Her deep-brown hair is pulled tight into a braid that sits on her shoulder. A few wrinkles line her mouth, a tale from a time faraway when she was happy, when she laughed and smiled.

  My heart tugs at me. “No.” I shake my head. “There hasn’t been an accident. Everyone is okay. I… I thought I could maybe talk to you.” Tears do their best to form, but I won’t let them take their journey.

  “Sure, honey. What’s on your mind?” Her eyes tell me a story that today has been an okay day. Not a great one, but not a hard one, just a pretty normal and good day. No signs of aggression at all, no lingering wild craze.

  “Mom… if I ask you something, do you swear to tell me the truth?” I beg.

  “Absolutely, I wouldn’t lie to you, my sweet girl.”

  My heart breaks knowing, that if what I’m about to ask her is true, she’s experienced all of this torment by dealing with this herself for all these years.

  “Mom. Am I a witch?” The words leave my mouth, and a rush of energy pulses through the room. I can’t tell if it’s hers or mine. The fluorescent kitchen light flickers overhead.

  “Yes, I’ve told you this a million times before.” She smiles, and it’s such a Mom smile that I smile, and then the tears are falling, and she exhales and embraces me into a hug, and I cry silently in her arms.

  “I’m…” I sniffle. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry I didn’t believe you.”

  She smooths my hair with her hand and pulls away, gripping my face between her palms. “It’s okay. You know now, and that’s all that matters.” Her expression darkens in the slightest. “But you must be careful, my Willow, magic is a dangerous thing, especially yours.”

  I wipe at my face. “Why mine? What’s wrong with my magic?”

  “Oh, nothing is wrong with it. But some time ago, the Oliver women’s magic was suppressed with a curse. We were too powerful, and people didn’t like that. So, they cursed us to take our magic away. I’ve been without mine for a very long time. Once they realize you’ve gotten yours, there will forever be a target on your back. That’s why you must be careful.”

  “I can be careful, I can.” I grab a napkin from the holder in the middle of the table, next to the salt and pepper shakers, and blow my nose. “Does this mean you can stop taking your medicine now? You aren’t crazy. I’m sorry that I ever thought you were.”

  She grins wide. “Oh, honey, I’ve been fighting you left and right with those things. Danny doesn’t check like you do, I haven’t taken them since you left. Please don’t stop living your life because of me. I’m sorry I’ve taken so much from you.”

  Relief floods through me, but there are still countless things unanswered.

  I’m cursed? She’s cursed? Who cursed us? How and why and what can I do to break it? And, like, I’m a witch? Meaning, I can do magic? What does that even entail? Sydney is a witch, too? And apparently, Silas is something? What about Cameron and Deghan? What about the girls? Now that I think about it, our rooms were assigned at admission, meaning Abigail waited until she sorted us to put us in our rooms, so if I had to guess, the south wing is for the human students. And given the weird vibes from the west and north wing, that’s probably where the supernatural students dorm. The girls in the west wing, the boys in the north.

  Holy shit.

  “You haven’t taken anything from me at all, Mom. You’ve given me the world. Now I just have to piece it together and figure out what the hell is happening.”

  My mouth opens in an attempt to speak, but I’m cut off by the sound of the back door opening. Maybe Sydney got impatient or wanted to check on me?

  A familiar voice fills the space. “Hello?”

  “Uncle Danny, we’re in here.”

  “You’re not supposed to be home,” he protests.

  “I know, I know. I had to check in. The phones at school suck, it was killing me.” I look to my mom, winking.

  She reaches across the table and puts her hand on top of mine.

  “Who’s the good-looking guy waiting in the Corolla?” Danny asks when he comes into the kitchen, carrying two filled-to-the-brim brown paper sacks from the grocery. He sets the bags onto the counter, walking over and pulling me up into a hug. “Okay, it was great seeing you, but really, you need to leave. Go be a college kid. Go to a party or something. Leave!” He literally pushes me softly but firmly through the house and toward the front door.

  “Danny,” I interject. I try to turn around, but he continues moving me along. At the front door, he stops but squares his shoulders not to let me back in. “You’re the best but somehow the worst, you know that right?”

  He smirks. “And you love me all the same.”

  “Something like that.” I shout into the house, “I love you, Mom. We’ll talk again soon, okay?”

  She raises her hand in a wave and replies, “Love you more, sweetheart. Everything will be okay if you remember what I told you.”

  Uncle Danny rolls his eyes and gives me a final nudge out the door.

  I’ll have to get answers from her another day—today, though, Sydney will just have to do.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Silence fills the scenic car ride back to the school until Sydney finally speaks up.

  His hands grip the steering wheel firmly. “We should probably go talk to Abigail and Headmaster Walker.”

  “Headmaster Walker? Is he like a real living, breathing person? I wasn’t aware he had arrived at the school yet.”

  “Yeah,” he confirms. “He hasn’t been back for long, but he’s back.”

  “That’s weird. Where was he?”

  “He had an issue to attend to,” Sydney responds with tension rising slightly between us.

  “Another thing you won’t tell me, I assume?” I prod.

  “Yep.”

  I stare at his profile, soaking in all the gorgeous details. Witch stuff aside, I’m totally in over my head with all these beautiful men around me. The witch stuff is more important, though, so I need to focus. I shift my gaze to anywhere but on him.

  “You think they’ll know what to do?” I ask.

  “They sort of have to. That’s their job.”

  He puts his car back into the same spot we found it in the school parking lot earlier. He shuts off the ignition, and I keep looking ahead, out the windshield, avoiding his attention.

  “Okay,” I say quietly.

  Sydney continues to look in my direction, searing my skin with his eyes. “We’ll figure this out, okay? I’ll be right there with you. I know this is more than likely super-overwhelming and we don’t exactly know each other, but I’ll be here for you if you need me.”

  I nod. “Thanks.” I wrench back the handle, preparing myself for what’s to come next.

  We make our way inside the school, only passing a few random students on the way. Sy
dney stops in front of the headmaster’s office and knocks on the door, whispering something under his breath. A few seconds pass, and the door opens.

  Abigail greets us with pen in one hand, a notepad clutched under her arm, confusion trailing her perfectly sculpted eyebrows. “Sydney,” she says while eyeing at me. “And, Miss Willow Oliver. What can I do for you two?”

  “Hey, Abby, do you mind if we come in? There’s something rather pressing that we need to talk about.”

  She shifts her gaze between us and then opens the door farther, allowing us into the room, pointing for us to sit in nearby chairs.

  The room is rather spacious and well-designed. A solid wood desk adorned with intricate bronze and various succulents placed strategically around the area. Large, simple black-and-white photographs of several cities line the walls. The scent of coffee remains.

  “What’s so pressing, Syd?” She stands but leans against the table, the pen pressed toward her mouth in thought, staring deeply at Sydney.

  These two are on a nickname basis with each other. First Abby, now Syd. I wonder if he prefers to be called Sydney or Syd, I’ll have to remember to ask him.

  “You ran your test on Willow during admission, right?”

  Her confusion turns to annoyance. “Yep, her results were conclusive, and she was assigned appropriately, why?”

  “Is there any possible way that you maybe were wrong?” Sydney cowers a bit with his last few words.

  I smile a bit inside at how adorable he is.

  “It’s difficult to be certain of anything in this world, but historically those results are always accurate. Can you maybe get to the point you’re working toward arriving at?”

  He takes a breath and blurts it out, “Willow is a witch.” His eyes meet mine, and he gives me a reassuring upward turn of his cheek. “And I’m sure it sounds impossible, but I think your test may be faulty, at least on her.”

  She stiffens immediately at his words. “You said…”

  “Right?” he confirms.

  “She has to be then, if you were able to say that. What else have you gotten out?” Her expression shows she’s desperate for more knowledge.

  “Well, she knows there are supernaturals at the school, and she’s seen the shadow realm, so I explained that briefly,” Sydney clarifies with a bit of excitement showing through.

  She nods and pulls at her lip with her top teeth. “This has never happened.”

  They talk like I’m not in the room, or I am, but I’m incapable of hearing them.

  “I thought you and Mr. Walker might be able to help.” Sydney shifts in his seat.

  “Absolutely.” She bobs her head up and down again, like a constant processing of information. “And of course, we’ll have to reassign her.”

  Finally, something to push me to speak up. “Reassign me how?”

  “Your dorm.” She points to me with her pen. “You’ll need to change to the west wing, with the other supernaturals.”

  “No, no, I can’t. I love my dorm mates. Can’t I just stay where I am? This is already a big enough adjustment,” I protest.

  She shrugs. “It’s protocol.”

  My shoulders slump, and the fight leaves me, sadness consuming me. I was so stressed about starting a new life here at school, and the one thing I was able to find comfort in was my new friends, and now she’s saying that’s going to be stripped away. How will I explain my sudden relocation to them? I know I have more pressing concerns, but this really fucking sucks.

  Sydney speaks up, “We could probably see if Mr. Walker would be willing to make an exception to the rules, right?”

  She considers his declaration for a moment and says, “Yeah, it wouldn’t hurt to ask.”

  A blast of hope immediately courses through me, and I offer Sydney a smile in return for his thoughtfulness. It’s hard to imagine a few hours earlier I stormed out on him and thought he’d violated my privacy. He’s not so bad after all.

  “I have to ask, though, what brought you two to this conclusion?” Abigail looks back and forth between us.

  I glance to Sydney, nodding for him to go ahead.

  “We touched, and it basically sent a surge of energy between us. It happened the first time, and I immediately thought the worst, that she was hiding on purpose. But when it happened again and us talking things through, apparently, Willow was unaware of her magic.”

  “I see, I see. And, Willow, have you noticed anything else… anything magical?”

  “Aside from being able to see the shadow realm and students disappearing?” Like the weird shit that happened between me and Silas, the whole passing out thing.

  “Mmhmm.”

  “Actually, yeah, I got lost in the woods behind the school on the first day of class and I had closed my eyes in frustration, only to open them and find an illuminated path of flowers leading me back to campus.” The words come out, and I realize how crazy they sound. “That sounds unbelievable, right?”

  “Only as unbelievable as a shadow realm,” she jokes.

  I let out a soft laugh.

  “So…” She flips open to a blank sheet of paper on her notebook, jotting a few things down. “Your magic reacts to nature. You could be a green witch. And you seem to have a self-preservation thing going on. What about family history? Witchcraft appears to be a surprise to you, but are you familiar with any other witches in your bloodline?”

  “My mom,” I say shyly.

  Her eyes widen. “Your mom?” She then looks to Sydney.

  I go to speak, to tell her about my mom, when the door swings open, an older gentleman walking inside.

  He huffs, “Appears we’ve got a full room.” He hangs his jacket on the hook near the door, strolling over to greet us. He extends his hand to me. “Headmaster Walker, and you are?” His large palm hangs in the balance, waiting for me to take it. His steel-blue eyes bore into mine. He must be in his late forties, maybe early fifties, his salt-and-pepper hair giving away a bit of his age. His cool expression leads me to believe he’s a nice man, a kind one.

  “Willow Oliver,” I say.

  His grip is firm but welcoming. A bit of energy surges between us, a light static pulsing in our grasp. Without letting go, he shifts his consideration to Abigail. “We’ve got a live one.” He smirks.

  “That’s what we were discussing. You’re just in time.”

  “Carry on, don’t mind me while I settle in.” Walker places his bag next to his desk, taking a few items out—a laptop, notepads, et cetera—and lays them on his space.

  Right back to business, Abigail says, “Your mother?”

  “She uh, yeah, she sort of went crazy a while back, or that’s what we thought. It was really sudden and unexpected… she started telling everyone she was a witch, and that the women in our family were witches, and that we were cursed.

  “She had said something about coming into magic and that they would come for me and I had to be careful.”

  Like she’s putting pieces of the puzzle together, Abigail speaks. “That makes sense of your hidden magic, but I’ve never seen it avoid my testing. Ancestral magic is powerful, so is green magic. Do you know anything else about this curse or your mother’s magic?”

  “Just that she said whoever cursed us thought we were too powerful, so they cursed us to take our power. I was young when she had her breakdown… no one took her seriously.” My heart aches every time I think about what she’s been through.

  “Any other things that stand out that you can think of?” she questions.

  I should probably tell her about Silas, but with Sydney sitting right here, I can’t bring myself to do it. “I don’t know if it’s worth mentioning, but I can feel people’s energies. Is that weird?”

  She smiles compassionately “Not weird at all, but not totally common. Another very powerful trait you possess, and I’m guessing we haven’t even scratched the surface yet, given how unaware of your abilities you are.”

  Walker finally sits in his chair, clea
ring his throat and gathering the attentiveness to him. “Willow, you claim you were oblivious of your magic until recently?”

  “Yes.” I swallow. “I… I just thought I was seeing stuff. I considered that maybe I was going crazy like my mom. Never would I have imagined I was actually a witch like she claimed.”

  “I understand,” Walker says kindly. “I’ll have to do a bit of research about your ancestry, but the Oliver witches seem to ring a bell somewhere in my memory.”

  At that, my mood perks up. “Wait, like, you know something about my heritage?”

  “There aren’t many witches, especially those in existence, who don’t have documentation of their footprint here in this universe. I’m sure with some time we can come up with something.”

  This is truly insane, but in all the best ways. I mean, yeah, I have a curse, that’s not good, but I’ve been wondering my entire life about my father and my family history. This would be life-changing to have even a tiny bit of knowledge about my past.

  “That would be wonderful. Let me know what I can do to help.”

  His attention goes to Abigail. “Willow was assigned to the human faction?”

  “Yes.” She frowns.

  “We’ll have to change her dorm and classes to better suit her needs then.” His words pierce like knives.

  Sydney clears his throat and speaks up again on my behalf. “Is there any way that she can stay in her dorms? She’s rather acquainted with her roommates.”

  Walker scratches his chin. “It’s not common to have the two living side by side so closely in this environment.”

  “I agree, but she’s already had such a shock to her system. It might disrupt her more by changing her dorms at this stage. Could she give it a trial basis to see how things go?” Sydney’s posture is firm when he makes his arguing statements.

  I could freaking kiss him right now.

  Walker sighs. “On a probation only. But the first time I hear of any trouble, there will be an immediate dorm change. Regardless, though, classes will have to be altered.”

  “Absolutely,” Sydney confirms.

  A calming relief floods over me. Sydney just saved my ass—I was not ready to lose my dorm or roommates. Classes are another thing, though. What kind of changes can I even expect?