He stops spinning me then, going completely still to look me in the eye. “No, and I’m not sure you know just how special you are. Magic doesn’t belong to us, we aren’t born with it. Mages are magic wielders, but it’s not a part of us. It’s a force we absorb from the earth and can expel back out over and over again. But yours has a different feeling, like it was made from your flesh and blood. Like you willed it into existence rather than borrowed it from mother earth.”
His words shatter my good mood and the magic around us drops like stones, shattering across the arena like glass. In its wake, grass grows and grows, only stopping once it comes up to our calves. Aden spreads his hands as if that alone is an example of how truly otherworldly I am. I wait for the fear to come, for the disappointment to fill my chest at another utter failure in being normal, but it doesn’t show it’s face. I don’t think normal has ever been in the cards for me, and that hiding my power will only continue to backfire like this.
“Do you have the power to create grass like this?” I ask.
He looks around. “Yes, I do. But you don’t get it—”
I cut him off, “If professor Orissa asks, you did it. I don’t want to get into trouble. I’m done for the day, I’ll see you later.”
I turn away from him and begin walking away, trying to forget his words despite them running through my mind over and over again. But yours has a different feeling, like it was made from your flesh and blood. Like you willed it into existence rather than borrowed it from mother earth. The thought makes me shiver because he’s almost right. I do steal magic, but from other mages, before making it my own. My delphic powers just make it so compatible, so uncanny, that no one would be able to tell the difference.
Aden catches my hand, swinging me back toward him and into his chest. My eyes lift to his, and a host of compassion awaits me there. As if he understands, as if he knows exactly what it feels like to be a mage who can control an ungodly amount of power by anyone's standards. And maybe he does, at least in his own way that’s completely different from mine.
“You’re not a freak, and you’re not so different that you have no friends here. You got that, Elise?” he says while crushing me to his chest.
“Yes, I do,” I murmur, sinking further into the sunshine of his embrace.
Chapter Fifteen
An entire school week passes with no change to the students’ condition, no more weird mental conversations with Alagan, and no additional poisonings. The three of us tried to schedule an appointment to see the sick students, but all visits have been denied. The doctors still don’t know what it’s or whether or not it’s contagious, and it’s not like we could tell them what Sage foresaw. That would’ve opened a can of worms we wouldn’t be able to close.
So we’ve been meeting every night for a late dinner in our dorm room, brainstorming reasons why Alagan would want to do this, and how to stop him. And, of course, we’ve come up with a long list of the former, but none for the latter. Stopping an older, more powerful, and more experienced mage feels impossible. At least it does when one of us is practically a fugitive, hiding and dodging the grand council. One of us being me.
Demetri has been glued to my hip, forcing me to learn shielding day and night until my mind was spent and limping. But he held his promise of not kissing me until I kiss him first, no matter how many sexually charged situations arrived. And trust me, there’ve been plenty.
Like the one happening right now.
He came over after class again to teach me something new, and I thank the gods for it. I don’t think my pounding head can take another shielding lesson. But as soon as we got here he had lain across my pink bedspread, propping his head up on one hand. The invitation isn’t lost on me, and my mouth waters as my magical well surges with hunger. Orissa had me training on growth magic all week, with a disappointing amount of progress, and right after Aden came in to teach me battle magic. Let’s just say I’m getting to the bottom of my reserve, and the pull toward Demetri has been building steadily.
After the first time siphoning from him it feels like my body deemed him as my preferred source of energy without asking me first. Hopefully I didn’t create some ancient irreversible bond between us. I wouldn’t put it past delphic mages to have something like that. Similar to a vampire having their favorite blood bank on call at all times. And by blood bank, I mean a person they’ve marked as their concubine. Their lover and meal for the rest of eternity. One that’s so brainwashed that they’re grateful to be fed on. Lovely, isn’t it?
So yeah, I’m really hoping I didn’t do that to Demetri.
One eyebrow lifts as he looks me up and down, undressing me with his eyes. Damn, he’s really not making this any easier on me, and neither is my power. I’ve been trying to siphon magic from trees and plants and even magical objects all week to no avail. Either it’s not possible, or I’m not trained enough to do it. So here I am, hungry for what Demetri’s offering freely, gladly. But I know there will be strings attached to it. One’s that I’m not ready to deal with, especially not while a deranged phrenic murderer is running around poisoning people. Which, by the way, we still have no idea how to stop without outing me to the grand council. And according to my friends, that’s not an option.
“What are you thinking about?” he practically purrs from across the room.
“H-how hungry I am,” I stutter, and his mouth lifts slightly, forcing me to surge on. “For food, just food.”
“Right,” he replies, sounding unconvinced, that damned eyebrow still arched.
“You’re not making this easy.”
Demetri sits up, leaning against the headboard as he crosses one ankle over the other. He looks too comfortable in my room, in my bed. My cheeks flush, and I take a deep breath in an attempt to chill my roaring desire that’s fighting for the top spot over hunger. A dangerous combination if there ever was one. He seems to notice my internal struggle and his mouth tilts up slightly, teasing me as I watch it.
“I’m not trying to, obviously. You’re hungry, Elise. Just let me help you. We don’t even have to kiss if you don’t want to,” he reasons, his hands splayed.
We lock eyes from across the room, his simmering with heat that seems to say, come play with me. “You’re hoping that when I start siphoning I’ll lose control and kiss you, aren’t you?”
His grin widens. “Flat out banking on it.”
My eyes narrow as I stalk closer to the bed, my steps unhurried. He turns to watch me, a ravenous look on his face that almost makes me combust. Demetri Valkyrie will be my undoing if I’m not careful. I kick off my shoes before climbing onto the bed, lifting my legs to sit on either side of him. To his credit he keeps his hands at his sides, even if they’re twitching to grip my hips, to help me grind against him.
“Just siphoning?” I whisper, leaning closer, my fingers already unbuttoning the front of his uniform.
“Yeah, just siphoning. Can I grip your hips? My hands need somewhere to go,” he pants, swallowing visibly.
“That’s fine,” I reply, pushing his shirt off his shoulders to reveal his incredible bronze chest to me.
His hands wrap around me, pressing hard into the bones of my hips, and I have to stifle a gasp. My eyes don’t leave the chiseled muscle of his stomach, my fingers aching to run across it. If I’m honest with myself, I’d say that I really didn’t need to take off his entire shirt, only enough to let my hands in, skin to skin. But here we are, him half naked, and me looking like a total wanting perv.
“What are you waiting for?” he whispers, and I’m pretty sure it’s to hide the tremble in his voice.
The first time my fingers brush his abdomen a spark of golden light flashes between us, blinding me. He gasps, biting his lip and closing his eyes as both my hands splay against his chest, taking magic slowly, painfully so. His breathing picks up, and his grip tightens on my hips. It’s almost teasing, feeling good, but not enough. If I could just lean in two inches, our lips would be brushing.
<
br /> As if in answer he gravitates forward before snapping back again, hitting his head on the wall. “Sorry,” he mutters, his eyes still closed.
I laugh, but it’s a breathy, wanton, sound. “This is hard.”
“Yes, it is,” he replies through gritted teeth.
The tension in the room rockets up to ten, sparking pleasure through me. The ache to kiss him becomes unbearable, undeniable. Is our relationship really so wrong? Is he right that we can learn to be better? To make it easier? All of these questions trickle into my mind from that weak spot of me, the one completely controlled by my heart rather than my mind. And decisions of the heart usually end badly. His eyes open, and they’re clouded with desire, making me catch my breath.
I drag my bottom lip between my teeth, trying to stop myself from saying what comes out of my mouth, “I want to kiss you.”
He watches my mouth, groans, and flops his head against the wall. “Then kiss me, but you have to do it. Not me.”
I swallow, trying to reason with myself. He wants me, badly, if the pressing hardness between my legs is any indication. All I have to do is lean in, take charge. A physical relationship is fine, even if I’ve never had one before. This doesn’t make me a whore or a bad person. My magic swirls between us, seemingly whispering for me to do it. To give in. To unleash myself on him.
Without thinking, I press forward until my mouth is a hair's breadth away from his. The tension sparks between us, sending shivers of lightning down my spine. He’s breathing hard, but still hasn’t moved from his place on the wall, allowing me to choose. It’s sweet, really, and only further proves how good of a guy he’s become. He’s not the same person I knew from before, and telling myself that he is isn’t fair to him. Just as I’m about to give in, the door slams open, and we spring apart.
“Oh god! Sorry! I should’ve knocked,” Sage exclaims, her face turning a deep shade of crimson.
Demetri doesn’t appear nearly as embarrassed by the interruption as he should be. I scramble off of his lap, ignoring the near growl my magical well makes, letting it’s hunger be heard. My hands shaking at what I almost did. If we kissed again, especially with him already half naked, we might’ve gone all the way. And I’m not sure I’m ready for that. Or am I?
“It’s fine, I actually appreciate you doing that,” I huff, straightening my shirt.
“I don’t,” Demetri says, sounding less than pleased.
Sage shifts back and forth, obviously uncomfortable with our banter. “What do you need, Sage? Did you see something else?”
She shakes her head. “No, but I did find a way for us to sneak into the hospital. My mentor said that it’s easier for new oracles to see things related to someone when touching them. I’m hoping that if I touch the poisoned students I can foresee a cure.”
Demetri and I trade looks, sexual tension taking a back seat. “That sounds like a long shot.”
“I know, but are you in?” she asks, her eyes big and hopeful.
Demetri stands and begins re-buttoning his shirt. Sage's eyes widen at the sight of his chiseled chest, and she grins at me. It takes everything I have not to laugh at how silly she is, and her teasing lifts my mood, forcing a smile onto my face. Maybe keeping a few friends around wouldn’t be such a bad thing because keeping my distance isn’t really hiding me from anyone so far, least of all the people closest to me.
“Sure, why not?”
“Awesome, and I brought snacks,” she says, pulling a greasy donut bag from behind her back.
***
The mage hospital smells exactly like I thought it would; like spices and burning incense. A stark difference from the clinical atmosphere of a human one. And yet, several full humans roam the halls as we stride confidently down them, wearing the uniforms of the healers in the building. Demetri and I follow Sage as she acts like she knows where to go. Has she been here before? Probably not, but ever since she found out about her mage class a week ago, she has become more sure of herself, more confident. The complete opposite of what I became after finding out my own power. But I’ll cut myself some slack because she’ll be revered while I’m hunted down and slaughtered.
“What are you thinking about?” Demetri asks for the second time today.
I give him a sidelong glance, trying to read his expression. He’s always stoic, his face closed off and unreadable. Both when he has that stupid grin on his face and otherwise. I’m beginning to suspect it has something to do with his training as a phrenic mage. It’s all about the mind, so I would guess his mentor has trained him to hold a solid wall of adamant around it, keeping it safe from both friend and foe. It’s the same thing he’s been attempting to teach me, but I’m horrible at it. Elemental magic is much easier for me compared to phrenic. When Demetri said it’s because elemental takes so little thought that a rock could do it, I flipped him off.
“How Alagan hasn’t attempted to contact me again since I started training with you. I’m not sure if it’s because he can’t or because he doesn’t want to. The wait is killing me, and building my anxiety at the same time.”
He shrugs. “Don’t worry about it too much. He doesn’t want you dead, at least.”
I raise my eyebrows. “There are fates worse than death, you know.”
“I know, and that’s why we’re here.”
Sage abruptly turns into a patient room, and we do the same, closing the door behind us. The room smells sickly to me, like sulfur and rotting things. My nose wrinkles, and I yank at the tight navy scrubs, feeling a bit too constricted in them. The others ignore me, seemingly not noticing the smell as I do. My body goes stalk still as Sage opens the curtain, revealing the first student who had been poisoned. We learned their names a few days ago. Moria and Alex, both second year students in the elemental mage program.
Moria is there in the bed, but she isn’t recognizable. Her skin is pale and tight against her bones, as if she’s lost twenty pounds in a matter of days. The deep grayish circles under her eyes speak of exhaustion despite the medically induced coma both students have been in since being discovered. Demetri’s face still reveals nothing, but his fists are clenched at his sides, fingers digging into the skin of his palms. He knew both of them, they lived in his hall.
He walks over to the other curtain, swinging it back to reveal Alex. He’s in a similar state, a ghost compared to who he was before. My eyes snap back to Sage as I feel her emotions spike, and hear her heartbeat speed up. Her hands are hovering over Moria’s thin right arm, and I can tell it’s taking a hell of a lot of effort to even be that close. It’s the entire reason I haven’t stepped away from the door. This room feels wrong in a way I can’t even begin to understand.
Now that the second curtain is open, the smell of the room bombards me, forcing me against the door. The others seem un-bothered by it, both of them staring down at the corpses that should be healthy young adults. I cover my mouth in an attempt to lessen the lightheaded feeling coming on.
“Do you guys not smell that?” I ask, my voice muffled by my palm.
Demetri turns, his brows furrowing, “What? The incense?”
Before I can reply, Sage gains the courage to lock her hands around Moria’s arm, gripping it so tightly that she’s shaking. I watch as her eyes burn black, and it spreads, covering any white that had been there, only leaving a soulless shell behind. The air temperature drops, and Sage sways back and forth, her eyes open wide but unseeing. Demetri goes to her, standing at her back in case her body collapses. It makes me wish he had done that for me as black edges into my vision, threatening me.
The doorknob jiggles next to my hip, forcing me to look at Demetri in fear. We’re not supposed to be here, but the danger of stopping Sage mid-vision is too great. Instead of thinking, I place my hands against the door, manipulating its energy to seal it closed. The edges glow with bright silver magic, phrenic magic. Now no matter what the nurse does on the other side, she won’t get through without a phrenic mage to unseal the door. I whip back to D
emetri, finding him gaping between me and the door.
“I’m delphic and siphoned from you earlier! What did you expect?” I whisper yell.
He shakes his head slowly before turning back to Sage just as she collapses into him, her hands slipping off of Moria. He lifts her into his arms easily, her head lolling against his chest. Well, she’s out cold, which will make it much harder to sneak out of here. Everyone will come running when they see an unconscious girl in his arms. Maybe we didn’t think this through.
“What’s this? Why is everyone gathered out here?” demands a familiar, cold voice.
“The door won’t open,” Professor Elphane replies.
Alagan, Demetri mouths, his face shuttering with fear.
Yeah, we really didn’t think this through.
Chapter Sixteen
Demetri paces back and forth, still holding onto Sage tightly. This couldn’t have gone any worse. How in the hell will we explain this? Especially to the supposed crowd of teachers waiting outside the door. The doorknob jiggles again, and Alagan’s cold voice fills my head.
Oh Elise, why must you force me to clean up your mess? Go, out the window.
I shiver at that tone of voice. The darkness lingering there. The hair along my arms raises up in response, and I wrap my arms tightly around my stomach. Demetri stalks closer, a warm presence against my back. This isn’t the time to fall apart. For some reason he’s giving us an out, and I’m not going to question it. So I straighten and stride to the windows, flinging one open. We’re on the second story, and the drop will surely break a few bones. How does he expect me to get us out of here?
Deep down you know how, you’re aware of your full potential. He purrs, and it grates along my skin like razor blades.
Then his real voice leaks through the door, “Everyone stand back, I’ll open it.”
“Alright, I’m going to float you guys down first,” I whisper, and Demetri’s eyes go wide.
A Charmed Mind: Mage Paranormal Romance (Illusions Academy Book 1) Page 12
