“Bettina?”
I spun too fast, and the world wobbled.
A big, warm hand gripped my arm. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.”
“Timothy?” I frowned and looked up at his burly face. “No, I’m just jumpy. What’s up?”
“I was wondering if you’d like me to give you some private lessons, away from class.”
I stood up straight, excitement building inside me. “Really? You’d do that for me?”
He chuckled and nodded. “Yes. Of course, we’re all a team here, remember? Meet me here tomorrow afternoon at three. Okay?”
I got so excited that I jumped and threw my arms around his shoulders. I hugged him hard for like a solid two seconds before my brain kicked back into gear. With an embarrassed laugh, I jumped back. My cheeks were on fire. “Thank you, so much. I— Thank you.”
As Timothy walked away, all I could think was, soldier Barbie, here I come.
Chapter Twenty-Two
BETTINA
“Okay, next up are spider demons.” Mona flicked her wrist, and the holographic image at the front of the room switched. She used her magic to create life-sized holographic images of each demon. She wanted us to see as close to the real thing as possible.
I yawned so wide my jaw popped. I loved Mona’s classes, and normally I was super alert for Demonology. I wanted to know everything about these monsters so I knew how to fight them. The problem was, with the room dark and quiet, fatigue was taking over. It was Wednesday afternoon, and I’d already had ten private lessons with Timothy in four and a half days. I loved it, and was taking advantage of every opportunity to train, but it was catching up to me. I yawned again, and the guy next to me chuckled.
“Compared to some of the other demons I’ve shown you already, you may think the spider demon is no big deal. I mean, it’s just a giant spider, right?” Mona looked at the holograph and shivered. “But these are one of the most dangerous demons you’ll encounter. They have incredible speed, they jump high, and they camouflage themselves into trees really well. You may not even see it coming before it’s on top of you.”
I scrubbed my face with my hands to try and wake myself up.
“Now here’s the interesting thing about these guys…” She walked up to the image and pointed to its fangs with one hand, and its stinger in the back with her other hand. “These two spots carry the most dangerous venom in all of demons. One drop of it is fatal.”
The class gasped. I frowned.
“Now, every infirmary in the world carries loads of the antidote, and it can be treated successfully, but that antidote was only created about fifty years ago. Believe it or not, it just took that long to figure it out. And actually, in order to create it, we have to use modern technology.”
The guy beside me raised his hand. “So what happened if you got stung before the antidote was available?”
Mona shrugged. “You died, gruesomely and quickly.”
I shivered. Note to self, carry spider demon antidote in my pocket at all times.
“Now let’s talk about how to kill them…”
My eyes rolled and my head bobbed. Ugh. Damn it. Stay awake. But my body had other ideas. I tried to move, but my arms and legs felt like lead weights and I just didn’t have the energy to lift them. I yawned and my eyes closed. A comfortable warmth spread through me.
Mona kept teaching in the background, but her words were gibberish. No, this is important. Listen! I tried to open my eyes, but it felt like someone had glued my eyelashes together. I just needed a little nap. Mona’s soft voice drifted away, and then I was back in that bathroom at my school in Charleston. I shook my head, trying to wake myself up. I didn’t want to be in this dream. I didn’t want to relive this moment…but the images flooded my mind anyway.
Something landed on my head. I gasped and bolted upright. My hands flew out in front of me, and I felt a wave of raw, hot energy blast out of me. Pink mist shot straight out of me in every direction. The ring of desks around me flew a few feet back. Students screamed and toppled to the ground. The windows all around the room exploded. Shattered glass rained down on the class of screaming students.
Mona waved her arms in the air, turning the sharp glass particles into sparkly dust. She looked around the room. “Anyone hurt?”
My chest heaved from how hard I was breathing. My hands trembled and my breath was just as shaky. My pulse sounded like a jackhammer in my ears. Oh God, what did I do? The pink mist hovered around me like a protective forcefield.
Everyone turned to me with wide, terrified eyes. I tried to say sorry, but my jaw just hung open. Oh god, oh god, oh god. My magic had just done that.
Mona walked to her desk and picked up a phone. She held it to her ear and waited. A second later, she said, “Constance? Yeah, we have a situation down here. Can you come down and get Bettina, please? What? Oh…yeah, either Mr. Ruth or Harlan are definitely needed for cleanup.”
My stomach turned. My favorite teacher had just called The Coven Leader to come retrieve me. I just prayed I wasn’t about to be expelled.
I looked down to see what had startled me awake only to find a fake, fuzzy spider sitting on my desk. Great. Nicely done, Bettina.
Chapter Twenty-Three
BETTINA
I opened my mouth then shut it again. Constance hadn’t spoken a word since she’d collected me from Demonology class, so I figured it would be best to wait for her to do the talking before I did. Or at least until we weren’t walking across the school’s courtyard.
A gust of wind ripped through the line of oak trees, and my new long hair wrapped around my face. I reached up and pulled the long blonde strands off. After two days of training with Timothy, I’d decided Erin’s advice was a good idea and had Lennox work her page magic to give me blonde waves down to my elbows. When I showed up in combat training Monday morning, I’d even gotten a half smile and nod from Erin…so maybe things were improving.
Constance led me up the few steps in front of the library. It was my favorite building on campus. It looked like something you’d find in Europe. It was hard to tell from the outside because of the tall, arched windows, but inside there were four floors of literary fun. I’d yet to explore it all yet, and I was dying to.
Unless I get expelled today. My stomach turned, and I found myself twirling the ends of my hair, a new habit I’d formed. Thirty feet later, Constance pushed through the grand glass doors, and I followed her inside. The entire back wall was made of glass, and it overlooked a breathtaking mountain-scape that I couldn’t wait to see in the fall. If I’m not expelled.
“Bettina?”
I jumped and turned to find Constance waiting for me in the middle of a doorway I’d never noticed before. My cheeks warmed as I scurried to catch up with her. She led us around the corner and up a wooden spiral staircase. When we got to the top, I found the most extravagant attic I’d ever seen. It stretched the entire length of the building. The ceilings were vaulted with mahogany wood. Different levels with staircases led up to balconies and more books. There were no lamps in sight, only floating orbs of shimmering golden light. I grinned. Magic.
Books floated around the room, from desk to bookshelf. Quills with long feathers scribbled on parchment. A fireplace at least ten feet wide crackled from a nook off to the left. In front of the fireplace, a cauldron sat with bubbling liquid and a spoon stirring itself inside. In the far corner, an entire wall was stacked with long swords that I recognized from the day we’d made our talismans.
Constance walked over to one of the staircases and hit a button, then she turned back to me. “All right—”
“It was an accident! I’ve been training a lot, and I was tired and accidentally fell asleep, and then I was having this horrible dream about that demon I fought, and then someone threw something on me, and I just freaked out for a second,” I said in a rush, unable to hold it in any longer. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to. Am I expelled now?”
Constance frowned and the
n her face fell. “Oh, sweetheart, you’re not in trouble.”
I gripped a table next to me for support. “But I blew up the classroom. Mona called you to come get me.”
Constance shook her head and smiled, her blue eyes soft. “Bettina, you’re at a school for witches where we teach you how to use magic. Classrooms exploding is a weekly occurrence with every new batch of First Years. Besides, if you were in trouble with school, you would’ve gone to see the Headmaster. The Coven doesn’t get involved with school discipline unless someone intentionally hurt someone or damaged something.”
I opened my mouth then shut it. Huh. “Then why…”
“Why did Mona call me?” She shrugged then tucked her sandy blonde hair behind her ears. The tattoo covering her right hand and fingers was badass, and totally surprising on her. “Because she recognized that you’re struggling with accessing your magic, but it came out just fine under duress. She called me so that I can try to help you.”
I sighed and pushed my hair back off my forehead. My pulse skipped a few beats.
“I’m sorry, I should have explained before. I’m just distracted. My Coven-mates have not resurfaced from the Old Lands yet and—”
“And we were told it was too early to worry,” a man said from the side staircase as he descended. He had long, wavy silver hair that shimmered in the light like liquid metal. His beard was scruffy, with hints of black mixed in. He walked right over to me then held his left hand out. Behind his glasses, his eyes were such a pale blue they almost looked white. “Hello, I’m Kenneth. You must be Bettina?”
I took his hand and shook it. On his forearm were the letters IX. My eyes widened. “You’re the Hermit!”
He chuckled. “Yes, I am. And you’re the girl who blew up poor Mona’s class today.”
I groaned. “Yes.”
“Nice work,” he said with a wink. Then he turned to Constance. “I spoke with our Hierophant a few minutes ago. He is confident they are still alive. We must wait.”
Constance nodded then rubbed her temples with her fingers. “Okay, now what are your thoughts on Bettina’s suppressed magic?”
He raised one finger in the air then walked over to his desk. “Timothy had already broached Ms. Blair’s problem with me, he suspected that something is amiss.”
“Amiss?” I raised my eyebrows and twirled my hair. “What— What does that mean?”
He hesitated, then said, “There are a few things that could be preventing your magic from coming out. Though, I’m wondering if the simplest answer is the right one. See, it’s not uncommon for someone immersed in the human world with no knowledge of us to subconsciously suppress their magic.”
The door we’d just come in swung wide open. Jackson Lancaster stepped inside, looking freshly showered and smelling like a Christmas tree farm. “Hey, Kenneth, you wanted to— Oh. Hello.”
My entire body tingled with electricity like I’d just been plugged into a socket. Heat rushed through my veins. I licked my lips and tried to ignore the slight pink in his skin, like he might’ve been outside getting a tan, or the way his aquamarine eyes twinkled in the candlelight. Why is it always him? Why can’t it just be someone else ever?
“Ah, Jackson. Perfect,” Kenneth said with a smile. He waved my nemesis over. “Sorry to disrupt your studies, but we are in need of your assistance.”
His gorgeous gaze flicked to me then back. “Of course. Anything The Coven needs.”
Kenneth moved to stand in the middle of what looked like a circle burned onto his hardwood floor. “There’s a spell that may unlock it, and I want you to do it now. It’s not safe for The Coven to do these with civilians, besides it works best if someone with similar magic does it.”
“And I’m the Major of her Suit,” Jackson said in his smooth, British accent. He looked to me for a second then turned back to The Coven members. “I’m happy to oblige. What must we do?”
Happy to oblige? Yeah, I’ve noticed all your help in class, Lancelot.
Kenneth handed a book to him. “You’ll both need to stand inside the circle. The instructions are there. Once you’re in position, Jackson will do the spell. Bettina, you just open yourself up to his magic.”
Jackson and I walked to the center of the circle and faced each other, though I refused to look up at him until I absolutely had to. He read over the page in the book, then handed it back.
Kenneth took it from him. “Go ahead, then. We’ll be outside where our energy won’t affect the spell.”
“All right, let’s get started,” Jackson said softly.
“Thank you for doing this,” I whispered and stared at the ground.
He was silent long enough that I had to give in and look up at him. His eyes were hooded and dark. The muscles in his jaw flexed. He met my gaze then nodded once. Then he cleared his throat and held his arms out in front of him, palms up. “The book said to put your hands in mine, palms up. I will summon my magic and direct it through you while I recite the spell. All you have to do is stand there.”
Put my hands…in his. Oh dear god. I nodded as my stomach flipped like a rowboat in a hurricane. Butterflies bounced around my stomach. I took a deep breath then raised my own hands. The sight of them trembling made my cheeks fill with heat. I reached forward, then slowly lowered my hands until the warmth of his skin touched mine.
I inhaled sharply, and I prayed he hadn’t noticed. Little bolts of electricity shot up my arms. My heart fluttered so many times I thought I was going to have a heart attack. Heat filled my body. His hands were unexpectedly soft. The tips of his fingers brushed over my wrists, and to my utter horror, I shivered. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I counted to three, then opened them and looked up at him. This close, I could see all the little speckles of color in his eyes and the hint of freckles on his high cheekbones.
For a moment, we stood there staring into each other’s eyes like we didn’t hate each other’s guts.
Light flashed between us. I flinched and looked down, only to find two glowing orbs of pale yellow light floating above my palms. The energy in the light was cool and calm. Little bands shot out of the orbs and coiled around our wrists.
And then I remembered the instructions, and my heart sank. He hadn’t been staring into my eyes, nor was he affected by touching me… He’d been focused on summoning his magic.
“Runes of water, air, and ground, Seek the gifts that can’t be found,” Jackson’s deep, smooth voice said softly. “Charms of strength, seed and flower, Search within for magic and power.”
Jackson’s magic grew bigger and brighter … and then that pink mist exploded out from my hands and shot across the room, just like it had in class. Every light in the room went out. The windows rattled and the floor rumbled.
I opened my mouth to ask what was happening when everything went black.
“Bettina? Can you hear me? Bettina!”
I groaned and tried to open my eyes, but it took a few tries. When I did, I found Constance, Kenneth, and Jackson hovering over me with concern on their faces.
I frowned. “Am I on the ground? What happened?”
“Your magic resisted the spell, and subsequently knocked you out.” Kenneth helped me into a seated position. Then he exchanged an odd glance with Constance. “I’m going to do some digging to see if we can figure out what’s holding your magic in. For now, carry on as normal. And maybe don’t fall asleep in class.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
BETTINA
I took a swig of water then tossed the plastic bottle back to the ground. It was Saturday afternoon, and I was supposed to have another training session with Timothy. He hadn’t shown up yet, so I’d gotten started with the punching bag.
Thirty minutes into my Eminem playlist, I was a sweaty, hot mess. I wiped my face with my arm then rolled my neck and bounced on my toes. Using my teeth, I tightened the strap on my boxing glove then shook my arms out. The song changed to a familiar tune, and I nodded my head with the rhythmic beat and rolle
d to the balls of my feet in a fighting stance.
“Hey yo,” Eminem growled, “This song is for anyone…”
I swung my right arm as hard as I could and slammed my fist into the punching bag, then jabbed my left hand into it. Pain shot up my wrist, but I barely noticed. It was a welcome distraction to the chaos in my mind. With my teeth clenched, I shut my brain off and let the growl of Eminem’s words work through the rage and frustration I’d been holding in for two weeks. Each time my fists hit the punching bag, I felt a little piece of the tension slip away.
So, I punched and jabbed like my life depended on it. I pretended this bag was the source of my problems then hammered away at it, punch after punch. Sweat dripped down my face and spine. The tips of my now long ponytail were wet and sticking to my rib cage. But I didn’t care. I didn’t let it slow me down. I kept punching, kicking, and kneeing my target.
But then I threw a right hook, and my hand slipped off the bag. My shoulder slammed into it with a wet thud. I sighed and leaned my head back as my pulse raced wildly. Sweat dripped down my forehead and onto my eyelashes. I blinked then flinched as the saltiness stung my eyes.
“Here.”
I jumped at the sound of a deep voice. I didn’t need to look up—I knew just who it was. Jackson’s voice was smooth and warm, and it reminded me of a jazz piano. But, then again, maybe I’d just been raised in the South. I looked up and found him holding a white towel. I licked my lips and cringed at the salty flavor. His aquamarine gaze tracked the movement. I tried to focus on breathing as I took the towel he handed me.
“Thanks,” I said hesitantly, wondering if some nasty comment was about to follow. When one didn’t, I wiped the sweat off my face and neck as he just stood there watching. I cleared my throat. “So, um, do you know where Timothy is?”
He nodded. “The Coven called, so he, Constance, and Kenneth went down to help. He asked me to come let you know.”
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