“Ms. Heart!”
I jumped at the unexpected sound of my name, my arms flew up and I dropped all my books onto the floor. Each one that hit the ground sounded like a bomb going off. Professor Davis stood in front of me and placed her hand over mine. “Oh my dear, I’m so sorry to startle you.”
She was a shorter rotund woman with a jolly aura that I found pleasant to be around. Every time I saw her, she wore traditional robes in deep purples and pinks. All of them had detailed embroidery and swayed along with every waddling step she took. Her frizzy salt and pepper hair always stood on end as if she stuck her finger in an electrical socket.
“It’s okay.” I bent down and began collecting my books as quickly as I could. I hadn’t heard his door open or close, he had to be in his room still. When I reached for my book of potions a large hand was already there picking it up. I glanced up to meet honey colored eyes. His warm woodsy sent enveloped me. I sucked in a deep breath and tried my best to calm my racing heart.
He handed my book to me. “Morning.”
I grabbed it and placed on top of the pile I was carrying. “Hi.”
As I stood professor Davis smiled at the two of us. “So sorry to surprise you dear. But I had to see you straight away before you left for your classes.”
“Is everything okay?” I lumbered under the weight of my book and struggled to hold them all up. Why I thought bringing every single book for every single class I took was a good idea was beyond me. Oh right, trying to avoid Tuck.
“Let me.” Tucker reached over and took half the books from my hands. His face was smooth and calm, but deep down I felt him simmering under the surface. It’d been there since last night. I wasn’t sure the tension between us was going to calm down anytime soon.
“Such a gentleman.” Professor Davis gave him a wide smile. Her round face reminded of a smiling jack-o-lantern. Her cheeks were bright red. “Everything is just fine dear I came to give you your new schedule.”
I reached out and took the paper she handed to me. “Why do I have a new schedule? The old one was just fine.”
Professor Davis rocked back and forth on her heels. Her puffy salt and pepper hair stuck out from under the little cap on top of her head. “Well in light of the events of the past few days, headmaster Matteaus thought it best we amend your schedule. To better fit your particular skill level.”
Great just great! I’ve been here for a couple days and my schedule is already being changed. “Oh.”
“Don’t you worry. I’ll be seeing you very soon.” She winked at me then walked by the both of us.
I didn’t want to look up at him, but even if I didn’t, I felt his presence like a second skin. I looked down at the ground and shuffled from one foot to the other. Tucker reached over and grabbed the paper from my hand. “Let’s see what we have, shall we?”
“Just a sec.” I turned back to my room, opened the door and dropped half my books down then emptied out some more from my backpack. When I walked back into the hall Tuck stood there holding some of my books and looking over my schedule. Girls in the school stopped in their tracks to openly stare at him. Yet he stood there looking oblivious to it all. Even the school pixies collided with each other in midair because they were watching him.
When I walked over to him, I noticed more than one girl giving me dirty looks. I ran my fingers through my hair trying to tame the wild waves. “Okay I’m ready.” I held my hands out for the rest of my books.
“Ready to stop avoiding me?” Caught red handed. Damn. He gave them to me along with my schedule.
I pulled my backpack around to my front and shoved my books in and peered down at my new schedule trying not to look at him. “Who me? I wasn’t avoiding you.”
“Oh no? I’ll pretend tip toeing out of your door was to avoid the pixies.” He pushed the sleeves of his black shirt up to his elbows, then brushed the strands of hair from his forehead. I couldn’t take my eyes off of his tan skin and the muscles beneath.
“Okay, maybe I was avoiding you.” I hiked my bag higher up on my shoulder and began strolling down the hallway.
Tuck moved to my side silently walking with me. “Why?”
Because I can’t stop thinking about you and you’re forbidden fruit. I shrugged. “No reason.”
“Uh huh.”
Awkward silence fell between us, the tension was palpable. “My next class says it’s on the third floor. But it just says 300-G?”
“Remember that room you stepped into last night?”
“Yes?” How could I forget the Kumiho and the sparkling beach? We walked out of one hallway and across the court yard. Goosebumps broke out over my skin and my breaths puffed out in white smoke. Drops of water misted across my fingers as we passed by the fountain and I whipped them on my black leggings.
“It’s ever changing, Evermore. You walk through door 300 and that’ll put you in a long hallway then you’ll find door G and that should take you to your class. Hopefully that’ll put you in the right class.”
“Hopefully?” I glanced up at him as we walked under an archway and into another hall. Though it was only late September the air was cooling rapidly, and I felt the chill deep in my bones. I wrapped my arms around myself.
“Don’t worry.” His lips pulled up in a half smile.
“Yeah, I think I’m the type who worries about stuff.” How was I going to get used to this world and used to the way I felt when I was around him? That mark on my wrist flashed into my mind, I shook it away. “Look just don’t let me get lost.”
I followed him through another door and up a spiraling set of stairs. The same stairs I’d seen a boy fly off of only days ago. Tucker glance down at me. “I’d never let you get lost.”
I brushed a lock of my hair behind my ear and glanced around wondering if anyone else heard him the way I did. Was I reading too much into the things he said? I sucked in a deep breath and held it. Once we reached the door numbered 300 I hesitated. “What if I’m bad at this?”
He brushed his finger over the end of a lock of my hair. “Zin, you were born to do this. How could it go wrong?”
Right, how could it go wrong? I ducked behind a desk along with the other students in my class. Another chair flew over my head then smacked into the wall and I sunk down lower. The girl next to me shook her head then rolled her eyes. “You would think a queen would know better.”
“I couldn’t help it.”
The girl sneered. “You took down the barrier to Hexia, but you mess up a simple summoning spell? Oh come on.”
I want to reach out and smack her. “That was all instincts, this is different. And for you information I did summon something.”
The girl had dingy blond hair and a pinched in face. she puckered her lips like she tasted something sour. “Well go help then. Use your instincts.” She snickered at me.
The truth was I didn’t know what to do. Professor Davis stood at the front of the class facing off against my mistake. “Zinnia, could you come out here please?”
Though she spoke calmly I could hear the nervous timber to her voice. I knew it was dangerous, but I had no other choice. “Okay.”
I moved out from behind the desk and stepped to the side. Professor Davis didn’t look up she kept her eyes on the ground. “Just for reference the next time I tell you to summon an animal I was thinking a cat or a bird, maybe a dog. A mouse would be a great idea. But not this.”
I nodded my head and kept my eyes on the floor as well. “I didn’t mean too. It’s just what came into my head.”
“Well now we have to send it back, okay?”
I nodded. “Okay.” I glanced up at her.
Professor Davis grabbed my hand. “Don’t look up.”
“I won’t, I won’t.” I shook my head. “Tell me what you want me to do.”
“Lets just be calm and…” I didn’t mean to tune her out, but I felt the same pull I felt last night. I had to look up, I had to see, I had to know. Little by little I raised my gaze. I s
tarted at the creatures oversized midnight paws, then up it’s long muscular legs. It’s broad chest had slashes of striking blue markings over it. The blue marks stood out even more up against its black fur. The creature had the body and head of a wolf, but was the size of a small car.
I took a step forward. “Kumi.”
She snapped to attention, a desk hung from her mouth like a chew toy. I pointed to the ground. “Drop it.”
Her mouth fell open and the desk clattered to the floor. All nine of her tails swished together wagging back and forth. The sound of them smacking into the walls thundered around the room. I took another step closer to her. “Good girl, now let’s just calm down. Can you lay down?”
Her answer brushed against my mind, not so much as words but more like suggestions. And right now she was suggesting I stop talking to her like a baby. I held my hand out. “Fine, then lay down and stop making a fuss.”
Kumi dropped to the ground and huffed at me. Professor Davis moved next to me and wrapped her hand around my elbow. “Zinnia, can you, can you hear her?”
I shrugged. “Kind of.” When everyone gave me wide eyed looks, I hesitated. “Can’t you all hear her too?”
They all shook their heads back and forth. Just great yet another thing that isn’t normal about me. Professor Davis took a step toward Kumi but the giant wolf bared her teeth and growled. The professor skittered back behind me. I wasn’t just going to stand here and let her bully everyone. I strolled up to her and pointed my finger in her face. “You stop that now.”
Professor Davis stepped in closer to me. “Can you hear all animals?”
I shook my head thinking back to the box of puppies I’d seen in Hexia. “No, it’s just her.”
“Hmmm, interesting.” The professor mumbled behind me.
Kumi closed her lips then whined at me. I shook my head. “If you want to go out and about you need to have some manners, you know? No one is going to trust you if you go around growling and biting at people.”
The class gapped at me but Professor Davis spoke so calmly. “Now, let’s reverse the spell, shall we?”
I nodded. “Yes.” I didn’t want to cause anymore trouble.
“Very good. Now remember you have to open up your inner magic and say the words with conviction. Use every bit of your power behind each syllable.”
I shucked in a deep breath and thought about my words carefully, knowing they had to make sense and flow together like a song or epic rhyme. I held my hands up and closed my eyes. When I called upon my power it was there deep inside of me waiting to be used. “From whence you came you must return. To the sandy shores where you will not burn. Take thee now from my sight back to the place filled with Evermore’s light.”
I pictured the sandy beach I’d found her in last night, pictured the door I walked through. A second before she disappeared, I felt the sadness she felt, the loneliness she’d been living with all this time. I whispered. “I’ll come visit, promise.” Then she was gone back to where she came from.
Professor Davis clammed her hands together and spun in a twirled around. “That was marvelous, absolutely marvelous.”
The girl in the back of the room shot to her feet. “How can that be marvelous? She summoned a demon dog, it destroyed the class and nearly killed us all.”
“Now Patty, let’s not exaggerate. The Kumiho didn’t attack anyone it simply wanted to play. And as for the room, well I’ve seen much worse.”
As I peered around the class, I noticed its play time was more out of control than any pet I’d ever seen. Desks were scattered around the room each one toppled on its side. Paper litter the floor and the students all looked like they’d been through a tornado. Professor Davis walked over to one of the chairs and picked it up. “But you see Zinnia has shown that she can indeed master spell casting.”
I pressed my hand to my chest. “Me? After I destroyed the class room?”
“Technically you didn’t do it. Kumiho did.” She shrugged. “I believe Ms. Heart that you will do very well with your spell casting. You just have to embrace it.”
Embrace it riiiiggghhhhtttt. “I think I’ll just read up on it a bit more before I try again.” Like a lot more.
Chapter 6
Zinnia
Cool fall air whipped through the courtyard of Evermore Academy, sending my hair flying around my face. I huddled deeper in my leather coat, pulling the collar up against the frigid wind. How could the temperature drop so much in the single day I was away? As I walked by the large fountain, I saw a thin layer of ice forming on the top of the water. Really?
Two stories of the rectangular academy surround the courtyard. Each one was open to the outside and sectioned off by archways. It barely broke the chill falling over the city. Off of the courtyard there were multiple hallways leading out toward other buildings around campus. To my right was a hallway that led to the witch’s tower, where I would study the craft. To my left was a hall that led to the training center. Normal high schools would have a gym, but definitely no weapons. The Academy specialized in preparing the youth of Evermore for anything and everything. From what I’d seen firsthand, the supernatural world of Evermore was a beautiful, dangerous place to live. So, there were lots and lots of weapons. None of which I knew how to use.
A sharp gust cut through the courtyard, forcing me to clutch my books tighter to my chest and curl my shoulders under. I was suddenly thrilled with my decision to wear a scarf with this outfit. At least, I’d wear it until I got to the gym assigned to Niche’s queens and Knights. Yesterday I was told to report for training. Today I was ready in my black leggings and off-the-shoulder sweatshirt. Even though I’d never trained for anything a day in my life, this was what I thought I should wear.
Tabitha came up beside me and started walking toward the training room with me. We were complete opposites. Where I wore all black and an olive-green scarf, Tabi was covered in bright colors from head to toe. With a thick cowl neck sweater that hung down to the middle of her thighs and covered her matching pink leggings, she looked like a flower. Her hair was pulled high on her head in a little puff ball of curls. Two curly midnight tendrils hung down on either side of her face. If it snowed, I had no doubt her bright pink outfit would reflect off of the white surrounding her.
She gave me a half-smile. “Hey.”
“Hi.” After the way the other queens looked and spoke to me yesterday, I didn’t know how to act around them, including Tabi. Seems I couldn’t do anything right lately. I pushed a lock of my hair behind my ear and kept looking forward. Before I came to Evermore, I never really fit in to the many schools I’d been shuffled around to, but when I came here, I’d hoped I would. Now walking in silence with Tabi, it made me miss the best friend I left behind, Elle. She never would be afraid of me no matter how unpredictable my powerful was. It only made me more determined to learn to control it.
“Listen, Zin. Yesterday was a rough day for us all. And I might’ve said some things I didn’t mean. I’m sorry. It was just scary being taken so easily. You know? We’re supposed to be these super powerful witches.” She hiked her backpack up on her shoulder as we left the courtyard and headed down the hall.
“Yeah, I get it.” I didn’t want to hold a grudge against any of them. But if we were supposed to work as a team to defeat Alataris, we had to be comfortable with each other. And right now, I wasn’t feeling it. “When he took me, I didn’t expect it either.”
Tabi nodded. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay.” Was it? My feelings still stung after they’d turned their backs on me.
“Causing more trouble, Zinnia? Surprise, surprise.” Patty from my class marched by with a few of the other girls trailing behind her.
I glared at her and muttered, “Surprise, surprise. Patty pinch face.”
Tabi tilted her head back and laughed. “What did you do to Patty Bowerguared?”
“Ugh, I had a little trouble in spell casting class and I’m pretty sure she won’t ever let me
live it down.”
Tabi leaned in close to me as we walked. “And she’s going to keep giving you a hard time. Her family is one of the oldest in the witch world. The fact that you are a queen and she isn’t, bothers the crap out of her. I do one of two things when it comes to old Patty pinch face.”
“What’s that?” I met her excited hazel eyes.
“Ignore her or dish it right back. I have to say dishing it back is much more satisfying.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “I’d think so.”
As we approached the double doors leading to the gym, I saw Serrina and Nova standing just outside of them with their backs to us. They leaned into each other, whispering and laughing together. I wanted to leave them to what they were doing and wait just a little further down the hall to give them space.
Tabitha seemed to pick up on this and lightly pinched the sleeve of my shirt between her fingers then gave it a slight tug. “Come on.”
“I think I’m just going to wait here.” I leaned back against the wall.
“It’s going to be fine. Come on.” She tugged me again.
I have to try, right? Right. I followed behind her.
A wide smile spread across Tabi’s face as she came up next to Nova and Serrina. “What are we looking at?”
Serrina startled and waved her hand at us to be quiet. “Shh, they don’t know we’re here yet.”
I went up on my tip toes and peeked over Nova’s shoulder. In the gym, the Knights were in full-on training mode. Tucker stood in the middle of the room wearing nothing but a baggy pair of black sweatpants and combat boots. Sweat poured down his body, giving his pale skin a glowing shine. In one hand, he held his flaming sword low and out to the side. With the other, he pointed with his finger at Beckett and Grayson. His wicked phoenix tattoo was on full display from just under his jaw and down the right side of his neck. The tail feathers curled just at the top of his right peck. His muscles moved and flexed with each of his movements, and those black sweatpants hung so low on his hip it was…delicious. My heart sped up. Damn.
Wicked Magic (The Royals: Witch Court Book 2) Page 4
