Something wasn’t right. It wasn’t my hand that was burning.
I yanked my sweater sleeve up and gasped. My heart froze in my chest. Pink flames danced over my skin. Thick white smoke poured out of my arm. Jackson said something to me, but I didn’t hear it. All of my other senses had locked down.
Because on my skin, poking out from between the flames and smoke, were two black Roman numerals.
XX.
The Frozen Witch
ACADEMY MAGIC BOOK FOUR
Chapter One
The Tower
I opened my eyes, but all I saw was white.
Everything was too bright, and it stung my eyes. I blinked a few times, but my eyelids were heavy and wanted to stick closed, like they had glue on them or something. I tried to lift my arms to rub at them, but they wouldn’t budge. The weight was too much. I tried again and failed. I curled my fingers and felt the brush of something soft, like cotton. I tried again, but it was too much.
My breath left me in a rush, and my eyes slammed shut. I sighed. Maybe I needed to sleep a little bit more. I couldn’t remember what day it was or where I was supposed to be, yet I surely could afford a few more minutes of rest. I sighed and relaxed against the darkness.
Blue and red lights flashed in my face. I cringed and tried to block the light, but it was everywhere. A siren wailed. Rain splattered all around me, and suddenly I was back in a car.
The bright white lights of the hospital shined like a beacon a few blocks up.
So close.
We were almost there.
Sharp pain shot through my left arm like someone had lit me on fire. I screamed and tried to move my arm, but my muscles locked and my hand tightened on the steering wheel. The burning grew hotter and spread across my arm. I looked down and choked on a scream. Fire shot out of my skin. Pink flames covered my left forearm.
I gasped and my eyes flew open—and I was back in the white room. I blinked a few times before things started to come into focus. The brightness came from fluorescent lights in a white ceiling. It smelled like cotton in here, but like really clean cotton. Somewhere in the distance, I heard voices and lots of beeping— No, wait. The beeping was close by. What is that? Where am I?
Then it hit me.
The stolen car.
The police chase.
The crash outside the hospital.
My pulse quickened, and that beeping picked up speed. I was in the hospital. I tried to sit up, but my body wouldn’t move. I pushed harder and harder, except nothing happened. I couldn’t feel anything. I gasped and my heart pounded in my ears.
I can’t feel anything. Oh, God. What happened to me?
A woman leaned over me. She wore black nurse scrubs, and her auburn hair was tied up on top of her head in a messy bun. Her big brown eyes were soft and kind. “Hey, hey, you’re okay. Just breathe.”
I can’t. I can’t. I can’t. I tried to speak, but my mouth was locked shut. The room started to shake. What happened to me? Tears pooled in my eyes, and the woman grew wobbly.
The woman pressed her hand to my forehead, and my tears vanished. The room stopped shaking.
She smiled and shook her head. “My, my, Paulina was right. Your aura is strong.”
Aura? What the hell does that mean? A weird, strangled kind of groan slipped through my lips. Who is Paulina?
“You’re okay, you’re all right.” She smiled and put her hand on my chest then pressed gently. “Blink once if you can feel my hand. Twice if you can’t.”
I blinked once.
She grinned. “See? You’re okay. My name is Katherine. I’m a Lead Healer. Tennessee sent me here to help you.”
Tennessee? I didn’t understand why a state would send someone to help me. It didn’t make sense. I must have heard her wrong, but I couldn’t speak to ask. But I could make sounds. Am I paralyzed? I hummed, or at least I tried.
“No, you’re not paralyzed at all. I’ve given you a numbing potion so that your body can rest and try to heal faster.” Katherine reached down, but I couldn’t see her arm. “Blink once if you can feel this. Twice if no.”
I held my breath and waited—and then I felt it. Warmth radiating around my knee. I blinked once then tried to look down and see, but I could only see white. Everywhere.
“How about…this…”
Soft, warm skin wrapped around my hand. Then I felt fingers. Five of them. I gasped and blinked once.
Katherine smiled and looked back to me. “See? Not paralyzed. You’ve endured severe trauma, and by forcing your body to rest, it’ll allow your energy to help you heal. Does that make sense to you?”
Um…I wasn’t sure about the whole energy thing, and I was fairly certain she’d said the word potion before… However, I understood the concept she was explaining. I met her gaze then blinked once.
“Perfect. You’re doing so great.” She pointed down at my body. “As you just felt, your left hand is fully awake. Why don’t you try and wiggle those fingers for me? Take a deep breath, and really focus on just your left hand.”
I clenched my teeth and took a deep breath through my nose then focused all of my thoughts on my left hand. I pictured it in my head. I saw my rings, each of them. It took me a second, and it made my pulse quicken, but I finally managed to wiggle my fingers.
“Great job. But did you feel how hard that was for you? That’s why I’ve numbed the rest of your body.” She held up a remote with a big red button and two arrows. “But I don’t want you to feel panicked or trapped inside yourself. So I’m going to put this remote in your hand. Touch the red button, and you’ll call a nurse. The arrows raise your bed up so you can see—which I’m going to do right now. Remember, just breathe for me.”
Breathe, right. I can do that.
Wait, why do I need to breathe just to see?
Oh God, what’s wrong with my body?
There was a creaking noise, and then my head rose higher until my entire upper half was propped up. The first thing I saw was a head of long, hot pink hair that was oily at the roots and tangled into several knots. It was everywhere. Hair draped over my legs and off the side of my hospital bed. Under it was a person with porcelain skin and pale freckles.
I gasped. My eyes widened. I knew those arms, and those hands. I recognized the crystal ring on her middle finger. I had a matching one. That was my best friend, but she’d had blonde hair so white it looked like snow. And it was natural.
“That’s your best friend, Elizabeth. She told me she dyed her hair to match yours for moral support.” Katherine smiled and shook her head. “I’m told she hasn’t left your bedside since she was cleared herself. I tried to get her to sleep in the chair, but she said that was too far away. You’re lucky to have people who love you so much. They haven’t left.”
They? Katherine pointed off to my right. I frowned and followed her direction, then spotted my uncle and aunt curled up in two chairs, huddled under blankets sound asleep. My heart swelled. They’re here. They were the only parents I had, and knowing they were here took a little edge off my fear. They were here. I wasn’t alone. And Elizabeth was here.
Wait.
Elizabeth is here.
I looked back to my best friend lying on my bed. She’d been unconscious and barely alive when I crashed. We’d been fleeing a college party where some frat boys drugged us and tried to violate us. Yet, there she was. Curled up by my feet. Katherine had said she’d been there since she was cleared. Which meant she was already healthy, and she hadn’t been hurt in the crash. Yet I was still here. Still recovering.
What happened to me?
I looked down at my body, and my heart stopped. My pulse skipped a beat then flipped into overdrive. The beeping from the machine next to me sounded like a woodpecker. My entire body was covered in thick white bandages.
“Hey, hey, breathe, sweetheart,” Katherine said softly and held my hand.
What happened to me? I hummed and prayed she understood me. My eyes pooled with fresh tears.
Katherine’s face fell, and I knew I was in trouble. “Listen to me. You saved yours and Elizabeth’s lives, okay? Everyone is so proud of you. Nobody else got hurt in the accident. Elizabeth has a few broken bones, but she’ll be okay—”
ME?
“The car caught fire before they could get you out… You have third degree burns over your entire body right now— BUT — but you’re going to be okay.” She held both palms up. “I’m going to heal you. When you leave here, you won’t have a single scar, okay?”
I sniffled and blinked twice. I didn’t understand how she could know that.
She reached down into a large brown leather bag then pulled out three plastic bags. Each was filled with different colored liquid, and not normal medicine ones, either. They were pink, purple, and turquoise. She hung them up on my IV pole then hooked them up to the tubes running into my body under all my bandages. I had no idea what she was doing. These liquids shimmered and sparkled. I blinked a few times, but the shimmering didn’t go away.
“I promise you, my magic will heal your body.” Katherine sighed and gave me a smile. She put her hand in mine and squeezed. “So just close your eyes and let it work. When you wake back up, all of this will be over. Just breathe. It’ll be okay.”
My eyes closed. I frowned and forced them open, but my vision was blurry. Katherine was still standing there watching me with sharp eyes. What did you do to me? But no sound left my mouth. My eyes slammed shut again. I tried and tried to force them back open, but they were too heavy.
It was too late. Darkness found me.
Chapter Two
Tennessee
I dropped to one knee and slammed my hand into the dirt. The ground trembled like an earthquake. Our enemies cursed and stumbled, falling to their feet before vanishing into smoke. My long black sword soared through the air then turned and shot back toward me like a boomerang. I leapt forward and threw my hand out just as the hilt of my sword hit my palm. I didn’t waste a second. I ducked, jumped, spun, and sliced my way through shadows and smoke.
My left shoulder screamed as sharp pain laced across my chest and down my arm. I hissed and dropped down to one knee, then looked toward the source of my pain. A small six-inch dagger protruded from my shoulder. I reached up and yanked it out of me then cursed as pain exploded. My blood poured out of my wound and dripped onto the grass under me. The dagger blade solid red. Whoever had thrown this had missed all of the vital parts. This wound wouldn’t kill me but it could slow me down. Not today, Satan.
Wind rushed up behind my back, pushing Joseph’s army back, but they just poofed into smoke and moved. I held my palm out and flexed my fingers. Dirt and grass rose from the ground then wrapped around the shadows. I lunged for them, but there were too many. They kept coming. I was fighting with everything I had but my left arm was moving slower than normal.
Ten of them charged for me in human form. I jumped into the air then dropped and buried my dagger into the soil. The ground cracked and broke apart. Water shot up around me like a broken hose. They hissed and scrambled to get away, but I flicked my wrist and sent my watery snakes to coil around their ankles. I swung my arm and let my dagger fly. The blade sliced through them in a line, turning them to dust.
But they kept coming. No matter how many I zapped to dust, they just kept coming, like a hydra’s evil brother. Fire shot across the field in front of me. I jumped over the flames then slid over the grass. Emersyn sprinted by me, roaring like a lion and scorching everything in sight. I glanced over my shoulder and spotted each of my Coven-mates surrounded. Outnumbered.
They were all bleeding. Their magic was flickering. We’d been fighting too long. Our strength was fading. My strength was fading.
Smoke wrapped around my arms and legs and tried to pin me down. I cursed and summoned my magic until my entire body glowed bright white. The smoke hissed and sizzled. Ashes dropped to the ground at my feet. But I didn’t pay that any attention. I had to keep moving, my fingers on my left hand were already tingling and going numb.
They had me surrounded. There had to be three dozen of them circling around me. They didn’t want me to help the others. I yelled and it came out like a growl then charged for them. Everything blurred into darkness. I couldn’t tell where one ended and the other started. I just kept swinging and slicing my weapons through them.
Something flew over my head. I rolled back on my heels and raised my swords just as a long body with bright red hair soared over me. Braison! I jumped up and tried to catch him, but the shadows gripped my ankles and yanked me down. My shoulder shrieked in agony.
“NOOOO!” Paulina shrieked.
Thick white fog billowed out of the ground and shot up around me. It shimmered with a soft bluish glow then started to form. I gasped.
“ATTACK!” Paulina screamed so loud I winced.
The glowing blue fog turned into humans in the blink of an eye. Spirits. The shadows stumbled and scrambled to get away from them.
Adrenaline rushed through me. I leapt forward and followed the spirits as they attacked our enemies with ferocity.
“PAULINA!” my father shouted.
I slid to a stop and spun toward her, and my heart stopped.
Joseph stood about thirty feet away from me in human form…holding Paulina in the air by her throat. She kicked her legs and pulled at his hands, but he wasn’t budging. Her face was turning blue. Her brown eyes were wide and radiating fear. He was choking her.
NO! I sprinted for her. In my peripheral vision, I watched all of my Coven-mates run for her, but they were never going to make it. They were too far away and too slow. I pushed my legs harder. I had to get there. I was the closest, and the fastest. But with every step I took, five more shadows jumped in front of me. I sliced and swatted my way through them, but it was slowing me down. I couldn’t get there. I wasn’t going to make it.
Paulina was gasping. Her legs and arms hung down, unmoving.
“PAULINA!” I screamed and pushed my magic out of me.
A wall of blue and green magic slammed into Joseph like a tsunami.
He closed his eyes and smiled. Then he turned and looked right at me. “Thanks.”
My heart sank. I knew his face. I’d seen it before. I recognized his brown eyes and black hair. I recognized that scar on his cheek. But I didn’t know him. But as his gaze met mine, I knew the darkness in his eyes. He grinned and squeezed his hand tighter around her throat. She gasped.
“GET HERE NOW!” Emersyn screamed from somewhere behind me.
I didn’t look back. I had to focus. I had to get to Paulina. I threw everything I had at him, yet he stood tall and untouched. “Paulina!”
The spirits swarmed Joseph. There were so many of them I couldn’t see Paulina. Everything in front of me was a wall of glowing blue fog.
I had to get there. I had to save her. We couldn’t lose her, too. Come on, body, MOVE!
Scalding hot fire burst in my chest. I gasped. TEGAN.
Rainbow magic exploded around us like nothing I’d ever felt before. It was like a bomb had gone off, like some apocalypse-bringer. Her magic slammed into me and threw me back into the air. I flipped a few times then dropped toward the ground. I tried to slow myself, but my magic was all off. Just as the grass was inches from my face—I froze midair. I felt her energy tighten around my muscles, and then I slowly lowered to the ground.
I pushed up to my knees, and the world spun. My left arm was throbbing. My ears were ringing. There was smoke and ashes everywhere. I blinked and twirled around, searching for Joseph, but all I found were my Coven-mates sprawled out all over the field. They were all groaning and moving. I sighed as relief washed through me.
Wait. TEGAN.
I spun on my knees just as she appeared in front of me. She tackled me, wrapping her arms around my neck and pulling me in close. My arms were a little numb and tingling, and my left arm screamed in protest, but I gripped her tight, squeezing her against my body. We held each other for a second, t
hen she gasped and jumped back.
“ARE YOU OKAY?” she shouted and patted my body. Her fingers searched every inch of me, like she was checking for injuries. Her pulse raced through my veins. Our soulmate glyphs beat bright red. “I felt you…your pulse…your shoulder!”
She tore my shirt away from my shoulder then pressed her hands to my skin. Rainbow magic billowed out from under her palms and the pain lightened. I sighed. She was giving me her magic to help heal me. It wouldn’t do the job fully, but it would keep me going until I could get a healing potion. Her eyes were wild and the crystal glyph on her chest pulsed a bright emerald green.
I cupped her face and brought her lips up to mine. She tasted like blood, sweat, and an unnerving amount like maple syrup that I didn’t want to think about, but it was an overwhelming relief to have her back. When I pulled back, her cheeks were flushed and her green eyes sparkled.
“Now who’s handling it well?” I grinned and tucked her hair behind her ears. “I promise, I’m okay. Thanks to you saving our asses just now.”
She sighed and leaned into me. “I was so scared. Thought I wouldn’t get here in—”
“Oh God, NO!” Willow cried. “PAULINA!”
Chapter Three
Tennessee
Joseph and his smoke army were gone.
The spirits were gone.
I just prayed Paulina wasn’t, too. She was sprawled out on the grass, her limbs in unnatural positions like she’d just dropped d— I shuddered. Couldn’t even finish the thought. She was okay. She had to be okay. Please, Goddess, just let her be okay.
Everyone ran towards her, screaming her name.
Tegan grabbed my hand, and then white light flashed around us. A second later, we appeared right next to her. Braison slid in front of us. His arms were covered in blood and burn marks, but he reached out and pulled her into his arms.
The Coven - Academy Magic Complete Series Page 80
