A Charmed Mind: Mage Paranormal Romance (Illusions Academy Book 1)

by Kaylin Peyerk

  He sits down beside her, and I lower myself into a chair across from the couch. “Yeah, and what’s that?”

  She opens her mouth, and then closes it. “I don’t really know how I figured this out, but we can trace it. The death, I mean. But we can’t prevent it.”

  Demetri and I looked at each other with wide eyes, wondering if what we did was far worse than it seemed. Did we somehow scramble her brain? Lord help us if we did. There’d be no explaining that away to a teacher. Especially the bizarre situation in which it had happened. Us kissing and being too delirious to even realize what was happening. Shame fills my chest. Sage’s eyes are darker than they were before, full of an ominous energy she shouldn’t possess.

  “I know what I am,” she says calmly, turning to me, a faraway look on her face. “I’m a divine mage, an oracle, I can see the future.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  We sat through the night, waiting for Sage to have another glimpse of what might be happening outside, but it never came. She apologized over and over again the next morning as we all got ready for class, but I told her not to worry, that we’d figure it out. And when she asked how, I told her the truth.

  I don’t know.

  This is a situation for someone way above our skill level, but it’s also something that we can’t tell a soul about. And maybe we won’t have to if it’s a murder. Maybe they’d bring in phrenic mages and oracles to figure it out for us, and then we’d be off the hook. That would be the best case scenario, and yet I somehow know that it won’t happen, at least not in the way I’m hoping. Maybe I’m the oracle now, I think, laughing to myself as we make our way down the stairs to the lobby.

  People watch Demetri and I, whispering. Probably because it’s eight in the morning and he’s coming out of the girls dorm. Yeah, not my brightest idea. Before we can flee into the courtyard a first year teacher that I don’t have class with steps in front of us, blocking the door. She looks between Demetri and I with eyes that miss nothing before crossing her arms.

  “No student is permitted outside the dorms at this time. Class is cancelled for the day,” she says.

  “Cancelled? Professor Fukimora, that doesn't make sense. . .” Sage begins, but the professor stops her.

  “They’re cancelled. Go sit in the common room.” She pauses, looking between Demetri and I again. “And you two, we’ll come up with a punishment soon enough for this.”

  Groaning softly at my impending doom, I follow Sage to an empty table at the far left of the common room by the trash cans. I can feel everyone's eyes on us, forcing me to fold in on myself even more as I slouch into one of the plastic chairs. The air stinks of spoiled milk and moldy bread over here, but it is the farthest away from anyone else. She must have something to tell us. Or she just likes the smell of trash, which is disgusting and unlikely.

  She leans forward, gesturing for us to do the same, “This is bad. It’s not a murder, Elise, at least not in the way you had been thinking.”

  “What? That doesn’t make any sense,” I whisper back.

  “It’s a magical infection. Two students were found early this morning, alive, but critically ill. They’re quarantining everyone until they can find out what it is.”

  Demetri and I look between one another. “Okay, how do you know that’s what the professor was talking about yesterday?” I ask, trying to be as vague as possible.

  “What I told you before, it can be predicted, maybe even cured. I don’t know how yet, but it’s some type of magical poison. I’m getting weird flashes of the future, and it’s hard to piece it together. That’s how I knew you couldn’t stop it last night, Elise, because it’s not physical. That’s all I know,” she murmurs, looking at something far away, her eyes darkening again.

  Demetri rubs his temples. “Alright. So he’s poisoning students with a magical spell? But why?”

  She shrugs. “I didn’t see that part. We’ll have to figure out that one on our own.”

  I sigh through my nose, trying not to freak out. “None of this makes sense. Why start three weeks into the year? Why goad me about it? Why do any of it at all?”

  Demetri looks up at me, grimacing. “It has to do with you, Elise. He didn’t do this last year, only this one. Maybe it’s a message, or the start of something bigger.”

  “Bigger?” I ask, wringing my hands beneath the table.

  “Like some type of plot to overthrow the council, and he might plan on using you to do it.”

  My head whips back and forth as a sudden chill climbs its way up my back. Someone’s watching us, but as I look around none of the students seem to be paying attention. Well, unless you count the girls ogling Demetri. I try not to let jealousy cloud my judgement as I continue searching for the prying eyes. Sage and Demetri don’t seem to notice, so it’s only me being watched, or being sensitive.

  You’re too strong for your own good, my dear.

  My eyes widen at the intrusive voice, but I force myself not to react as I continue to scan the room. If I think something back will they hear it? Or is it a one way street? The person is a phrenic mage of they can wiggle their way into my brain, and if my suspicions are correct, I know exactly who it is.

  Get out of my head, Alagan.

  A quick silver chuckle scraps across my brain, and I almost clutch my head at how painful it feels.

  You are powerful and smart, you stayed in last night as I commanded. Good girl.

  I grit my teeth, still searching for him. I didn’t do anything based on your command.

  I really enjoy how defiant you are, it will make it so much more fun. And stop looking, you won’t find me there. But if you’d like to talk, I’m in my office.

  Not a chance, and make what more fun?

  You’ll have to wait and see.

  Then he’s gone, as if the blanket of his consciousness was lifted from my own. I gasp, clutching at my chest, trying to claw in air, I hadn’t realized I’d been holding my breath for that entire conversation. Or he had made me do it. Either way, the encounter reminded me that he’s older, more experienced, and way more deadly than I am. It doesn’t matter if I’m a part of an ancient bloodline of magical power when I have no idea how to use it.

  Demetri grips my arm, forcing me to face him. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

  His eyes search my face, and I swallow hard. “He was in my head.” His face drains of color as his grip loosens, and his eyes turn to the room around us. “He’s not here.”

  When Demetri finally meets my gaze again, the fiery resolve there surprises me. “From this day forward, you’re not just an elemental. If this bastard wants to play with your mind, I’m going to make it hard for him. After class you’re training with me on mental shielding.”

  I smile. “Okay, but not today because it’s—”

  The front door to the girls dorm slams open, and a distinctly familiar air of power blows into the room, filling it completely. I shrink into my seat, hoping that I can just disappear altogether when my mother strides in, her eyes already scanning the room for her precious daughter. She’s a powerful woman, not just because she’s an earth mage, but because she just is. Even if she were a human, people would turn their heads to look at her on the street. The way she walks with her back straight and her head high, bleeds confidence and prowess, unlike how I’m slouching into my own chair right now. For my entire life the woman in front of me has been nothing but a signal of how undoubtedly unworthy I am to be her offspring. And I know it isn’t her fault, at least not for the most part, but it never stopped me from resenting her, right or not, fair or not. It didn’t matter to me.

  “Parents day?” he finishes for me, grimacing.

  “Yeah,” I whisper.

  She turns into the room, heels clicking with each step, her blood red pantsuit swishing as she goes. The outfit is a compliment to her long honey brown hair and emerald eyes, creating a mosaic fit for the New York museum of art. The room erupts with awed whispers as my mother zeros in on me, then
on Demetri, before a small smile comes to her face. That confirms it. She totally knew he’d be here and didn’t tell me. I mentally write that onto the very long list of things my mother decided not to reveal to me. She’s at the table in an instant, smiling down at us, making unease swirl in my chest. My mother doesn’t smile, not often, almost not ever.

  “Hello, Demetri. I see you and Elise have gotten re-acquainted as I’d hoped,” she says, still smiling at him.

  He grins, and it’s one I’ve come to realize is fake in comparison to his real smile. “Yes, we have. It is an honor to see you again, high mage.”

  She waves her hand, chuckling. “Oh please do away with the formalities, we’re practically family.” Then she turns to me, her smiling slipping. “Elise, your teachers informed me that you’ve been upgraded to earth mage status. Congratulations, I knew you’d do well.”

  “Thank you, Mother,” I murmur, my head bowed.

  Demetri watches the exchange with an unreadable expression, and it makes me wish he wasn’t here at all to witness it. My relationship with my mother is complicated at best, and downright horrible at worst. We’ve gotten along a total of five times in my life, all of which occurred before the age of thirteen. All the time after that has been a wash. One massive fight after another, all mediated by my father. We would have destroyed each other by now if it wasn’t for him. Speaking of my father, a bright burst of hope flares in my chest at the thought of seeing him. My mother notices my hopeful eyes staring past her and frowns.

  “Your father isn’t here, Elise.”

  My chest deflates. “Why not?”

  “He had council work to attend to, there are students who’ve been poisoned, you know,” she quips.

  “Yes, mother, I know,” I reply dryly, trying really hard not to roll my eyes.

  “But someone had to check on you, and my team is outside investigating the site at which the bodies were found. So I’m killing two birds with one stone,” she continues, examining her nails.

  “I see. Well, I’m fine, and tell Dad I said I miss him.”

  The air in the room is tense, awkward even. With all of the students watching my every move and hearing every exchange between us, I want my soul to permanently flee from my body. At least then I wouldn’t have to experience this level of embarrassment. Now everyone knows exactly how my mother treats her only daughter. Like a piece of trash she picked up on the side of the road.

  My mother looks at me one more time. “Alright then, study hard, then when winter break comes after midterms in a few months we can discuss your internship program with the council.”

  She turns away, but my sharp voice stops her from leaving. “What did you just say?”

  She tilts her head, like a predator. “You’ll be interning alongside your father and I, training to become the next seat on the council once you graduate.”

  The room erupts into a wave of murmurs so loud that the students could have been shouting, and it gives my mother the perfect cover to make her exit. My teeth grind together as I watch her go, fury boiling inside my chest. To anyone else this would be a great honor, a once in a lifetime opportunity. To me, it’s another choice I never got to make. Another path my mother chose for me. It feels suffocating, unbearable in its confinement.

  Demetri pulls my chair in close so our bodies are almost flush against one another, thigh against thigh, and his honey magic swirls within me, instantly calming the burning rage. I close my eyes and sag against him, just this once allowing him to comfort me, as I lie my head on his shoulder. One arm goes around my shoulders, pulling me in close and offering more magic if I need it, but I brush it off. His touch, his reassurance, is enough. And I try not to think about what that means.

  We sit like that more, as long as it takes a teacher to wander in, telling the students that the coast is clear. No assailants are on the grounds, and the students affected were a select few who did not spread it to anyone else even if they’re still in critical condition. Sage’s words come back to haunt me. We can’t prevent their death. If that’s true, then the students will die, sooner or later. I’m hoping that Sage predicted wrong. That new oracles aren’t strong enough to get it right all the time, but it’s a fool's wish, I’m sure.

  Channeling strength into my limbs, I sit up, giving Demetri’s thigh a few awkward pats. “Thanks,” I mutter.

  He gives me that smug grin of his that I’m sure he knows makes my annoyance spike. “No problem.”

  “Now I’m feeling less grateful,” I growl while turning to Sage. “You have to tell someone about your class. Professor Elphane said something about oracles going insane if they glimpse the future untrained.”

  Her face drains of color. “But I’m not trying to glimpse it! It just comes whenever it wants to.”

  Before I can reply, a heavy hand lands on my shoulder, startling me. I look up to see Aden towering over us, an easy smile on his face. Demetri looks less than pleased by his arrival and they glare at one another. It takes everything I have not to laugh at the testosterone filling the air. I’m not sure how I suddenly got in the middle of the strangest love triangle ever, but I have to admit it’s a little bit fun for me.

  “Hey Aden, what’s up?”

  His eyes turn to me, warming considerably. “I came to ask if you wanted to train together today since class was cancelled.”

  I bite my lip. “Yeah, that sounds nice. Thanks for thinking of me.”

  “Always,” he replies, grinning smugly as I take his hand to stand up.

  Somehow it looks way more attractive on him than it does on Demetri. Maybe because he’s not actively trying to piss me off all the time. But I guess there’s still time for that, we barely know each other. I have a feeling that all boys are just as annoying as Demetri.

  Demetri grips my fingers, and I look back at him, raising my eyebrows. “Just, be careful.”

  I grin. “Always.”

  ***

  Aden had given me a full body suit used for training earth mages, and it’s taking longer than I thought to get the skintight thing on my body. He said it’s supposed to feel tight and thin as it allows our bodies to feel the earth on every level as if we’re naked. When he said that my cheeks had flushed and I ran to the locker room to change, his laughter echoing behind me.

  Now that I’m all stuffed into the thing like a thanksgiving turkey, I check myself out in the mirror, frowning at just how much it shows off. But the deep forest green color brings out my eyes, and my chestnut hair gleams against the slight shine of the material. If I didn’t know any better I’d say I look like a truly powerful elemental mage that shouldn’t be messed with. The thought makes me saunter out into the arena with a confidence I hadn’t possessed earlier. Aden looks up from the rack of weapons he had been perusing while waiting and visibly swallows.

  I twirl. “How do I look?”

  “You look really great, it suits you,” he replies, rubbing the back of his neck as a blush creeps up his neck.

  Instead of staying silent, I put him out of his misery. “Thanks. So what are we doing today?”

  He steps back up to the rack, grasping two spears and tossing one to me. “I’m going to teach you the simplest way to conjure battle magic. The easiest way to grasp using elemental power is to channel it into something. So instead of envisioning it coming into your hands, force it into the staff. Then it will be easier to wield.”

  I narrow my eyes at him. “But professor Orissa said I’m not supposed to learn battle magic yet.”

  He looks from side to side in an exaggerated way. “I don’t see her here, do you?” He smiles, motioning me to stand with my feet apart. “Now, close your eyes. Go deep inside yourself to where that magical well is. Force it upward, transferring the magic from your body to the inanimate object.”

  As he talks he circles me, trailing his hands down my body to fix my stance, readjust the spear, or simply to touch me. It leaves me breathless and wanting, but I try not to show it. This suit not only looks thi
n, it is thin. Every touch feels like a brand on my skin, and when his hand grips the inside of my thigh to move my leg, I almost cry out from the sensation.

  “Concentrate,” he murmurs.

  “I’m trying, stop touching me,” I huff.

  He laughs and I feel his body heat recede, allowing me to take a much needed deep breath. Now that he’s done teasing me, I reach into my magical well, pulling up and out as he said to. The magic seems to shoot out with too much eagerness, filling the spear until it vibrates with it, until it glows with it so forcefully that I can see the shine through my closed eyelids. Aden gasps softly, and I open my eyes to find the entire arena sparkling with bright green mist. It floats through the air like slow moving rain. My mouth goes dry at the sight. That’s definitely too much power for any normal mage to possess.

  “You’re incredible,” Aden breathes, walking in front of me, trying to catch some of the free floating magic. “You’re stronger than me.”

  He says the words with an even tone. There’s no jealousy in them, only acceptance and awe. It’s an admirable quality he seems to have, accepting everyone as they are and not feeling threatened by those around him. Demetri doesn’t have that. Wait, why am I comparing the two of them again? This isn’t the Bachelorette.

  “Sorry, that wasn’t supposed to happen.”

  “This is something straight out of a movie,” he says as if he didn’t hear me. “Dance with me.”

  He turns, extending his hand, and I drop the spear to take it. I don’t need that thing to channel my power anyhow, and the excitement, the breathless wonder on his face is too inviting to say no to. Pulling me in, he spins me through the green mist, shining to the beat of our hearts as we go. It shifts each time we spin into it, hitting our bodies like little puffs of smoke before coming apart. He dips me to the beat of invisible music, and I laugh. In response the magic in the air flares with light, almost blinding us.

  “It’s like it’s a part of you,” he says in wonder.

  I’m still laughing when I reply, “Isn’t that what it’s supposed to be like?”