When it came to be my turn, I hesitated a moment. “Do I need to hold my breath or something?”
“Goodness no, you just step on in.” A fire engine red curl came loose from her tight bun as she shook her head.
I held my breath anyways and stepped forward. I glided through the portal like gliding in water, except I never got wet. One minute I was in a damp basement; the next I stood in the middle of a market bustling with activity. Behind me, Beckett jumped out of the portal, accidentally bumping me into the other students.
Niche popped her head through. “Honestly, I said wait for me, not block the whole portal.”
We all took a small step forward, and Niche popped in. “There now, right.” She straightened her jacket. “Follow me.” She turned on her heels and began walking.
I gazed around, bewildered by the size of it all. On each side of the street stood small shops with signs of all shapes and sizes. Rather than pavement, they had dirt roads that sparkled with magic, all different colors. Rainbow road. Witches milled about with baskets in their hands, holding their goods. Hexia felt like a moment frozen in time. Many of the people wore cloaks that draped all the way from their shoulders down to the ground. Children ran around the streets chasing small animals I’d never seen before. They resembled a dog but were agile like house cats, with big fluffy bodies and tiny wings on their backs. A small boy leapt on top of his, and the dog-bird took off like a shot. The boy wrapped his arms around its neck and held on as they flew out of sight. I couldn’t keep still. I twisted in a thousand different directions trying to see everything all at once.
“You keep looking around like that, love, and you’re likely to bump into someone.” Gray strolled at my side with his hands in his pockets and a pair of sunglasses on his face.
Though Hexia was protected by a dome-like barrier, it still let in the midday sun, yet Grayson seemed perfectly at ease. I leaned back and caught his eye. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Yes, it is difficult being the cute knight.” He pulled his glasses down his nose and winked at me. “Ask away.”
“Well, you’re a vampire, right?”
A woman leaned out of her shop and offered me a free sample of some kind of gooey sweet treat. A rag covered her hair, flour was sprinkled across her cheek and her clothing looked like it’d seen better days…in the 1600s. I shook my head, politely declining.
Gray smiled at the woman and extended his fangs. “You got any O negative in those?”
The woman squeaked, jumping back into her small shop and slamming the door.
Gray chuckled under his breath. “I am indeed a vampire.”
“So, how is it possible, you’re um, you know…out in the sun right now?” I glanced at the top of the dome, where rays of sunlight bounced around as though inside a crystal prism.
Gray pressed his hand to his chest. “Ugh, Zinnia, you’re killing me. I can’t believe you don’t know this. What have you been wasting your time studying?”
I shrugged. “Witchcraft.”
“Well, in that case, I’ll tell you. There are two kinds of vampires.” He held his fingers up. “One, the natural born vampire, that’s me. We have all the advantages and none of the disadvantages that the undead vamps have. Now, those miserable gits are one sorry lot. They’re all hooked on blood and death. Whilst I, my dear Zinnia, prefer to live life to the fullest.”
“But you still drink blood?” I wrinkled my nose and shook my head.
“Yes, and you still eat cheeseburgers, don’t you? Except in my case no one had to die so I could eat.” He gently bumped me with his shoulder and laughed.
“Fair point. Side note, I think I just became a vegetarian. Or maybe I’ll turn in the whole witch thing and become a vamp like you.” I bumped him back a little too hard. Gray tilted to the side nearly colliding with a group of older witches carrying small baskets full of vials and different kinds of foods.
He tilted his body to the side, then spun away and was back at my side in a second. “Now there’s an idea. You’ll let me know when you want to become a fanger, yeah? Generally, it’s frowned upon by the royal family of Vampires to make undead vamps, but you know how it goes. One little human finds out he can live forever, and they run around trying to bite innocent vampires. It’s awful, I tell you.”
I giggled. “Is that really how it goes?”
“Sounds about right, doesn’t it?”
Up ahead, I spotted a small pen with five puppies playing and jumping on each other. Would these ones have wings too? I grabbed Gray’s hand and dragged him forward. “Puppies, look!”
I reached over the side of the pen and patted the closest one on the head. “They’re so cute. I always wanted a French Bulldog. Look at their wrinkly faces and pointed ears.” I picked one up and offered it to Gray. “Aren’t they adorable?”
He took a step back and held his hands up in surrender. “Except those aren’t French Bulldogs.”
“I think I’d know a Frenchie if I saw one.” I rolled my eyes and let it curl into my chest. I pressed my nose down to its skin. “It even smells like a puppy. If it looks like a puppy, acts like a puppy, then it’s a what?”
“A Piranhapup, to be exact.” Grayson pressed a finger to his lips. “As evident by…” He pointed at my shirt.
I glanced down, and my entire stomach was exposed from my rib cage down to the top of my jeans. I held the puppy away as the last scrap of material disappeared into its mouth. “Are you kidding me?”
Niche called back to me. “Zinnia! Put that down.”
I quickly put the puppy back into the pen. “I didn’t mean to…” I shot to my feet and stepped back.
Niche looked me up and down with wide eyes. “Oh my goodness.” Her eyes lingered over my bare belly button. “Well, we don’t have another set of clothing handy, so that’ll have to do for now. But please don’t touch anything if you don’t know what it is.” I thought I did. She turned away. “Now we must visit the elemental fields, the den of desires, the potions shack, the living mortuaries, and last but not least, the crystal siphon mines. Each part is integral to explore.”
I put my hands over my bare stomach and leaned into Gray. “How come you didn’t warn me?”
“I tried. You didn’t listen.” Grayson poked my side. “And now this.”
Brax wandered over to the pen of puppies and bent over them. “Cute.” He reached in to pet them, but the litter all skittered away. His lips turned down into a frown, and his shoulders hunched.
I nudged Gray. “Why did they run away from him?”
“Animals sense predators and, well, Brax is one of the biggest. Poor bloke only wants a puppy. Sad, really.” Grayson strolled away from me, and I couldn’t help but wander over to Brax.
“Don’t worry. They’ll come around.” I wanted to be positive for him, but deep down I knew they wouldn’t.
Nova bent down next to him and placed his hand on the pen. She laid her fingers on top of his. Ever so slowly, the runt of the litter, a black and brown brindle puppy, stumbled over to him and fell into his oversized hands. A wide grin, so bright it could outshine the sun, spread across his face.
Beckett strolled to my side with a plate of small cakes in hand. “Cake?”
“No thanks, I think I’m good.”
He tilted his head back and made a show of looking me up and down. “Don’t tell me you’re watching your weight. Because from where I’m standing, you look good.”
Heat flooded my cheeks. “Thanks, Becks.”
“If you’re quite finished.” Niche stood in front of us with her hands on her hips. “We need to be moving on.”
“Right behind you.” I gave Beckett a palms-up shrug then turned to follow Niche.
Chapter 14
Zinnia
The elemental fields were more stunning than anything I could have ever imagined. When I was a child, my mother and I lived in Montana for just one summer. Our little bungalow was surrounded by wheat fields as far as the eye could se
e. With each gust of wind, they’d sway and move, throwing off different golden colors. The Elemental fields reminded me of Montana so much, yet instead of wheat, the fields were broken up into four different sections. All the way to the right, drops of water rose up from the ground in small plant-like rows. They stopped at waist height, but nonetheless, the drops rose up rather than falling down like rain. They drifted back and forth like seaweed in the ocean. The four witches that stood within that section of the field let the water run all over them. They ran through it like children would run through a sprinkler. Their dresses clung to them, and water sloshed in different directions. They threw little streams at each other, as if each used a water gun rather than their powers.
To the left was the earthen fields, where flowers would randomly sprout up and bloom. Then the dirt would turn over and the flowers would sprout up once more. In that section, the ground would shake and move, creating crevices in some areas and rolling hills in another. It pulsed and vibrated with life. Vines crawled across the ground and wound around each other. Only a single witch sat in the middle of it all. Though she floated above the ground, she sat cross-legged and had her hands laid out on her thighs, with her eyes closed. Meditating in the wild? Interesting.
To the left of that was the wind fields. They were so flat that if there had been an ice storm, I could’ve skated across them. Tiny tornados sprung up and whirled across them. Again, they only came to waist height, but to me they seemed playful rather than the destructive ones that plagued Tornado Alley in the states. These were baby tornadoes that skittered into each other and twirled.
Niche walked out into the middle of the wind field. She placed her hands at her sides, holding them out just enough to let the wind drift through her fingers. “As you can see from here, these baby tornados aren’t very dangerous, but they can be fun.”
She lifted her leg as though she were going to climb a flight of stairs, but instead of her foot going back down, she floated up off the ground. She took another step toward us and was caught by another tornado. “It’s very simple to get them to carry you.” She waved the students forward. “Come, give it a try.”
With Tabi, Nova and Serrina by my side, I walked out into the field. Excitement coursed through me, and I giggled when the first tornado wound itself around my legs and up my body, making my hair stand on end before it shrank back down and moved to the next person. I love magic. For the first time, I felt like I belonged with these people, in the world of Evermore. This was my world, my home, and I didn’t want to ever give it up. I stepped up and began walking across the field. It was like trying to walk on the floor of a bouncy house. I tilted and wobbled and held my arms out like I was on a tightrope.
Tabitha glided over the wind, as if she were walking on a flat, hard surface. Her curls barely even bounced. “It’s easy. You just walk one foot in front of the other. Think about asking the wind to come up and meet your feet, and it just answers.”
Grayson came up beside me. “Easy for you to say, oh Queen of Elements.” His arms pinwheeled a second before his body tilted and he fell over.
Tabitha extended her hands out toward him, and yellow streams of magic intertwined with the tornados to catch Grayson before he hit the ground. They pushed him back upright.
He straightened the collar of his jacket. “Thanks.”
She winked at him. “No problem.”
When I turned to look back at the rest of the group, I saw Tucker staring at me, watching my every totter. He stood silent and unmoving, with his arms crossed over his broad chest. His black V-neck t-shirt was pulled tight across his arms, and that wicked phoenix tattoo peeked out just above his collar.
I hopped from one tornado to the other, making my way toward him. My cheeks flushed with energy, and I sucked in a deep breath as I dropped down beside him. “Hey.”
“Hello.” He didn’t smile.
“I thought you were staying behind?” I put my hands on my hips and smiled up at him.
He shrugged. “My meeting was over.”
I looked out over the beautiful fields and all the magic they held. It was breathtaking in the best way. “I’m glad you’re here.”
“Are you?” He arched his eyebrow in surprise.
“I mean, this is gorgeous. I wouldn’t want you to miss it.” I waved to the fields. It was partly accurate. I did want him to see it. But the whole truth was, I just yearned to spend some time with Tuck. Whether it was here or sitting on a couch, I was happy to see him.
“And here I was thinking you missed me.” His lip pulled up in that half smile I’d grown attached to. A light breeze rustled his hair and sent a stray lock falling into his face. I barely resisted the urge to brush it away.
“Yeah, maybe.” I gazed out toward the last field we had yet to explore, the fire fields.
Bright bursts of flames shot out from crevices in the ground, one after the other. Rocks and dust shot up and over the ground, some catching fire then going out just as fast as it started. The lingering flames danced around in bright reds, oranges, and yellows. When the flames burned truly hot, they turned a vivid blue.
I pointed toward them. “I guess you’d have to be crazy to walk out there.”
“You think so?” Tucker grabbed my hand and led me toward the field.
I hesitated, tugging back on his arm. “Are you sure we should be doing this?”
“Do you trust me, Zin?” His touch was warm and soothing all at the same time. And when he looked at me with those smoldering honey eyes, I indeed wanted to get Tuckered just like Nova and Tabitha had said.
I nodded. “I trust you.”
“Then come on.” He tugged me forward into the fire fields. Plumes of smoke drifted up from the ground, and every few seconds, fire would shoot up into the air in angry bursts.
With my first step out, I felt the heat licking at my face and beneath my boots. I glanced around. The class hadn’t seen us yet, but it was only a matter of time. I clutched his hand tighter. “Y-you’re sure about this?”
“Just don’t let go of me.” He squeezed my hand back, and when we took another step, fire shot up from below me.
I curled into his side and closed my eyes, ready to feel the instant burn that would soon follow. But it didn’t. I reached out and put my fingers inside the flames. Their warmth licked my skin but didn’t burn.
Tuck bumped me with his shoulder. “See? I told you you’d be okay.”
“Are you doing this? Controlling the flames?” I continued to run my fingers through them.
“I am.” Suddenly, they rose up higher and higher, surrounding us in a box of flames.
I giggled and looked up at the bright blue sky with the flames reaching upward. It was so beautiful and something I’d never thought I’d see. Tuck pulled me in to face him, my chest pressed into his ribs.
I tilted my head back, looking up at him. “Are you trying to get me alone?”
He reached up and brushed the back of his fingers over my cheek. “Maybe.”
“Even though I’m forbidden to you?” I ran my hand up his arm and squeezed his bicep, pulling him closer to me.
“I was never any good at following orders.” He leaned down until his lips were an inch away from mine.
The energy crackled between us, a swirling heat that wasn’t coming from the flames around us. I felt his nervousness, his passion, his desire as though they were my own. Maybe they were indeed my own. There it was, this soul-deep connection I couldn’t deny I felt toward him. Did he feel the same about me? There was only one way to find out.
“Me either.” I went up on my tiptoes and offered him my mouth.
He chuckled, and a wide smile broke out across his face. He tilted his head to the side and pressed his lips to my neck. When his tongue brushed against my skin for only a second, my toes curled in my boots. He pulled his head back and gazed down at me. “But we can’t.”
“Then why’d you bring me out here?” Heat flooded my cheeks.
“I had
to know…” He ran his finger over his bottom lip.
“Know what?”
“What you tasted like.” I wasn’t one hundred percent sure what getting Tuckered meant, but I might’ve just gotten it. My knees buckled, and I fell into him. He quickly righted me and held me steady.
“Maybe we should go back?” Before I embarrass myself any more.
“You’re probably right.” The flames around us started to lower. “Zinnia?”
“Yeah?” I gazed up into his hypnotic eyes.
“You have to let me go, so they don’t suspect…” He turned away from me to face the direction our class was in.
“Oh, right.” I turned my body to face the same direction. The flames receded like a curtain being pulled back until they were nothing more than sparks at my feet.
When I tried to pull my hand free from his, he held it tighter. “Don’t let go, not yet. I don’t want you to get burned.”
If he could control flames and their heat level, then he should be able to control them whether I was holding his hand or not. Again, that current ran from his fingers into mine. “You sure you’re not looking for an excuse to hold my hand?”
“It’s a good one, isn’t it?” He tilted his head to the side. “Come on, we have to get back with the class.”
I took a step to follow him, and the class broke out into fits of catcalls and clapping hands. Heat flooded my cheeks, and I turned to look away. In the distance, all the way in the back of the fire lands, I saw a bright purple explosion. When I glanced back toward the others, no one else appeared to have seen it.
Beside me, Tuck stiffened. “Knock it off. We were practicing with the fire element. Nothing more.”
He pulled his hand from mine, and I almost reached back out to wind my fingers with his. The class fell silent, and Tuck began to walk toward the border of the fire lands. Something wasn’t right. I felt it in my gut. The magic around Hexia was shifting somehow.
I locked eyes with Serrina, Nova, and Tabitha. “You feel it, don’t you?”
Wicked Witch (The Royals: Witch Court Book 1) Page 11
