My lips parted but I couldn't think of what to say to her.
"You're still new to this world, but you'll soon learn, this is how we keep magic alive. If my sons were to join our house with a human family or with another supernatural, our magic would fade. Mages are dying," she said.
"Is that why you're paying my tuition? So I'd marry one of your sons?" I couldn't believe that was what the reason was. It seemed insane.
"Among other things," she said. "Your mother and I were close when we attended the academy in our youth. When Dr. Green passed along that you'd been found alive, well, I wanted to pay tribute to her in the only way I could."
Her and my mom as friends was all I could think of now. "Can you tell me more about her?"
She smiled, her face softening for the first time. I could actually see some resemblance to her sons now.
"I'd be happy to tell you anything you want to know. I even have photos of us together. Don't you see? Her death is part of why it's so important for us to keep the mage bloodline alive. She was hunted for her magic, killed in cold blood as was your father."
My gut twisted at her words. She was so much more candid than anyone I'd met so far.
"I thought it was for the time magic," I said.
She frowned. "I suppose so. But your parents weren't the first to be taken down by a magic thief and they won't be the last."
"Well shouldn't we be focusing on that then instead of making more mages as the solution?" I asked.
"Of course, and we are. But there's no reason not to consider the future of our family. A future I'd very much like you to be a part of."
Her words struck a chord with me. Family. Wasn't that what I wanted? A place to belong? People to love me and support me?
Her sons and I did share a bond. I probably could be happy with them. Then my thoughts traveled to Ben and Luka. I wasn't about to walk away from either of them.
Besides, her obsession with a pure blood line was gross. Even her own sons didn't seem to support it. And there was the whole thing about having fae blood.
"Thank you for your kind offer, but I have to be honest with you," I said.
"Please don't tell me you're pregnant from one of the other boys you've been seeing," she said.
My eyes widened. "How did you know I was seeing anyone? Never mind, don't answer that. I don't want to know. And no, I'm not pregnant."
"What is it, then?" She leaned closer to me. "Did one of my sons do something? I swear, I will set them straight. They can be cocky little assholes."
"Well, that's true, but also not what I was getting at," I said.
She leaned back, her lips pursed.
"I'm not full mage, at least, I don't think I am," I said. "Professor Halifax says I have fae blood."
Her eyes widened. "Are you sure?"
I nodded. "I mean, that's what she said."
"Welcome to the family," she said, leaning in and wrapping her arms around me. "You have a place with us anytime."
What the hell just happened? I tensed under her embrace.
Deciding that going with it was the best way to end this awkwardness, I patted her on the back before pulling away from the hug.
"When you're ready, you let me know," she said. "And if you need anything, you tell Max and he'll connect us."
I forced a smile. "Thanks."
Finally, Dr. Green came back in the room. He looked just as uncomfortable as I was, but I doubted it had anything to do with having someone's mom proposition you on behalf of their son. Ugh.
"I want you to meet with Professor Halifax. She'll run a few tests to see if you're ready," he said.
"Ready for what?" I asked. "I've been doing classes for months now without magic."
"Yes, but the trials are something else, even if they are practice," he said.
"You can't be serious about making her go through those?" Ms. Obscura said. "What if she gets hurt? What if she dies?"
I would have been flattered if I thought she was concerned about me for any reason other than breeding. "I'm sure I'll be fine. I need to see what I can do and I still have a few weeks, right?"
"Right, but straight to Professor Halifax. She's waiting for you."
I nodded, grateful for the dismissal. This had been the strangest conversation of my life and I was ready to leave the room.
As I pulled open the door, Ms. Obscura called to me. "Don't forget what I said, dear."
I lifted a hand to wave to her. "I won't forget."
24
Raven
"This better be good," Professor Halifax said as I walked into her classroom.
"I got my magic back," I said.
She scoffed. "Just like that?"
"I guess," I said, not sure what to say. She was wearing sweatpants and a hoodie and her hair was in a messy bun. I'd never seen her look so normal. Usually she was dressed like she was ready to walk the runway. This morning, she looked like she was getting over the flu.
"Are you feeling okay?" I asked her.
"I'm hung over, if you must know," she said. "Weekends are supposed to be my days off."
Wow. Okay. That wasn't what I expected. Especially not from a teacher. Though, I supposed it wasn't high school like I was used to in the human world. "I'm sorry, this wasn't my decision."
"No, but it took you long enough to put two and two together from the book I left in your room," she said.
My brow furrowed. "You left that book in my room? Why?"
"I wanted you to figure it out on your own," she said. "I can't exactly go around suggesting a student get it on with another student."
Again, speechless.
Professor Halifax let out a sigh. "Look, I knew there was a chance that if you explored that mating bond with one of the twins, you'd unlock all your magic."
"I didn't have sex with one of the twins." And while the idea was appealing, meeting their mother had taken off some of the allure.
She cocked her head to the side and narrowed her eyes. "But you did have sex with someone."
"Why is everyone here so obsessed with who I'm having sex with?" I asked.
"Interesting," she said. "The incubus?"
Now that she mentioned it, I had felt something when I was with Luka. Like part of my magic had unlocked. Then, when I was with Ben, it was like a floodgate.
"Well, not just him," I said.
She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Oh, Raven. You're getting in over your head, aren't you."
"Look, I didn't ask for any of this," I said.
"I don't think I want to hear any more," she said. "I'm your teacher. Not your friend."
"Tell me about it," I mumbled.
She ignored my comment though I was sure she'd heard me. "Let's try the candles again. See what you can do without the help of the twins or the portal."
She set the candles out in front of me, then looked up at me, brow furrowed. "Not the twins?"
"No," I said. "Not the twins."
"Huh," she said. "Not yet, then."
"Can we not?" I said. Getting it from their mom was bad enough. Throwing in a teacher on top of it was too much. I knew there was attraction there. I knew my body was drawn to them. And if I was being honest, I knew it was a matter of time before I caved. But today was not that day.
She smirked. "Magic. Just the magic."
"Thank you," I said.
"Go ahead," she said.
I looked at the candles. "Just like that? Just light them?"
"You're a mage with a fire affinity. You don't just light them, you command them," she said.
I wasn't feeling very much in command of anything at the moment, but those candles were starting to feel like a taunt. Like they were judging me. And I had just about enough of that for today.
Reaching within, I felt for the spark of my magic. It came to me quicker now that it was easier to recognize. It was as if the time spent without it had helped me to realize what I'd missed. I suppose it had always been there with me, even when I di
dn't know what it was. It wasn't until it was stripped from me that I even knew what to look for.
Pulling from that source, I went on instinct, reaching my right hand out in front of me toward the candles. I wanted them all to light up. Not explode, just flicker on.
Tempering the urge to throw everything I had at the candles, I held my breath, holding back on the magic and sending a small portion of it. Somehow, I was able to control it better now.
The candles in front of me flickered to life, a dozen dancing flames winking back at me all at once.
I dropped my hand and laughed at the sight. It was amazing that something so simple sent such a huge rush of joy through me.
"Well, it seems that you've found your magic. And you've gained some control." Professor Halifax stood behind the candles, looking down at them. Then she looked up at me. "You didn't by chance find a partner you bonded with, did you?"
More questions about my sex life? "Maybe."
"You must have more fae blood than I gave you credit for," she said. "I know you were raised human, where talking about these things seems taboo, but it's normal for us. Most mages don't form mating bonds, that's the fae side that's bonding with someone else."
"What does that have to do with my magic?" I asked.
"Aside from helping it find its way back to you, mating bonds are a unique kind of magic in their own right. When you open that source of magic, you strengthen your base magic. In your case, your elemental mage magic."
"What if I have more than one mate?" I asked.
She lifted an eyebrow. "Then I'd say you are about to become a very, very powerful mage."
I thought back to Dr. Green and Ms. Obscura discussing the practice trials. "Do you think I can pass the practice trials?"
"If you work on your magic over the next few weeks, it's possible you'd be ready to pass the actual trials," she said.
"In weeks?" I was surprised that she thought I could learn that quickly.
"You have an advantage that others don't with your time magic," she said. "And before you object, hear me out. Learning to use it in subtle ways is going to help you learn to not accidentally unleash it. You have to be able to tame it and control it."
"How?"
She sighed. "I suppose you'll have to keep working with me. But this can't go anywhere else. Nobody can know."
"What if I get caught?" I wasn't keen on risking a trip to prison. "I've got a parole officer breathing down my neck."
"Like I said, you either learn how to control it in small, undetectable ways, or you eventually lose control and end up in prison anyway."
When she put it like that, it didn't sound like I had much of a choice. "What am I supposed to tell people?"
She shrugged. "That's your call." She walked toward the door and opened it, holding it for me. "I'll see you tomorrow after dinner, Ms. Winters."
During our short session, I went from thrilled that my magic was back to crushed and overwhelmed. There were so many things to consider and so many ways this could go wrong.
I walked down the hall, absorbed in my own thoughts. What was I going to tell Luka or Ben? What would I tell the twins? They'd all want to know. Then there was Makayla who'd been cheering me on the whole time. And Violet and all the shifters I ate lunch with. They'd all want to know about my magic and wonder why I was still in sessions.
Professor Halifax had a point, though. I had no control of the time magic. While I'd somehow developed at least enough control of fire to not light myself on fire, I didn't have any clue how to tap into the time magic, let alone control it.
I had to be able to manage the magic I held.
"Raven," someone called my name.
I turned to see the twins walking toward me. My insides squirmed. I was not ready to talk to them yet. The discussion with their mother was too fresh in my mind.
"We are so sorry," Zach said.
"For real, if we knew our mom was here, we would have hidden you away," Matt said.
I relaxed a little, relieved that they were likely just as embarrassed as I was about their mom. "So I take it that my name has come up at home?"
"She's super old fashioned. They used to do the whole matchmaker thing in the mage community and if she had her way, she still would," Matt said.
"We shot her down," Zach said.
"Well, she's ready for me to have babies with one of you. Or both of you," I said.
"While I wouldn't turn down some alone time with you, I can assure you, I'm not ready to have kids," Matt said with a smirk.
Zach elbowed him.
I chuckled despite myself. "While I appreciate the offer, I'm not in the right place for anything like that."
"We heard you got your magic back," Zach said.
"Yeah," I said. "Looks like I won't be holding back our group anymore."
"You were never holding back the group," Matt said.
"And you're still trying to get into my pants," I said.
"Always," Matt said.
25
Raven
Spellcasting class was a lot more fun when you could use your magic. I went through the exercises with Zach and Matt, practicing turning water to ice to steam. The three of us all identified with fire, but we were responsible for demonstrating at least basic levels of working with the other elements.
I was amazed how quickly the magic came to me, though it wasn't any different than it was for Matt and Zach. I supposed I was finally using my magic correctly. Whatever the mating bond magic had done to me, it had an incredible impact on my magic. Though, I wasn't about to tell Matt and Zach the details.
They didn't mention it and I wondered if their mom left that part out so they would keep hitting on me. Which they did, relentlessly.
I kind of liked it.
"Very good, Ms. Winters," Professor Halifax said as she walked by our group. My cup of water had a massive inverted icicle sticking out of it after I successfully turned the water to ice.
"You think that's good," Matt said, "check this out." He threw the cup of water at Professor Halifax and froze it mid pour. The water hardened into a frozen splash before it could hit the professor. The ice fell to the ground, cracking into dozens of pieces.
"Impressive, Mr. Obscura," Professor Halifax said.
"Lucky, more like," Zach said.
The professor smirked, then turned away from us to visit another group.
"That was ballsy," I said. "What if you didn't freeze it in time?"
He shrugged. "Worth it if it impressed you."
"You're not going to give up, are you?" I asked.
"No way," he said. "When you give in, you'll get to experience just how incredible sex can be. You can't connect magic with a shifter the way you can with a mage."
My cheeks burned. He'd never given any sign that he knew I'd been with Ben, but now I knew. "I'm sure there are plenty of mages here who would happily take you up on the offer. Mages who weren't set up by your mom."
"Burn," Zach said.
"Class, please clean up your supplies before you go," Professor Halifax said just as the bell rang.
Quickly, we cleaned up everything and I grabbed my backpack and walked toward the door. Luka was standing in the hallway waiting for me.
"I was going to ask if you wanted to meet up later but I can see that you're busy," Matt said darkly.
I didn't get a chance to respond before he and his brother took off down the hall. I turned back to Luka. "That was weird."
"Not really," he said. "There's some bad blood between our families."
"Seriously?" I asked. "Why is everything in this world so fucking complicated?"
"It can't be that much different from the human world, can it?" Luka asked. "How was your first day back?"
"Having my magic back is so, so good," I said.
"I do miss you in the library," Luka said. "But I'm glad you got your magic back."
"At least we have gym together," he said, his voice heavy with sarcasm.
; "You have gym. I have to meet my parole officer," I said.
"Lucky girl," he said.
"Right, so lucky." I honestly think I'd prefer gym to the conversation I was in for today.
"Meet me in the library after dinner?"
I groaned. "I can't. I have to meet with Professor Halifax."
His brow furrowed. "I thought you were done with that."
I shook my head. "I've got catching up to do."
"Alright. I'll wait till you're done. Find me in our usual place?" he asked.
"Sounds good," I said, expectant flutters swimming in my chest. Time with Luka was always good.
He pressed his lips to mine, then flicked my upper lip with his tongue as he pulled away from the kiss. "See you later, kitten."
Tingles spread low in my belly just from his kiss. I couldn't wait for our time together tonight. "See you then."
My next few classes seemed to crawl by as I counted down to lunch. Usually, I looked forward to seeing my friends, but today was going to be a quick bite and straight to Dr. Green's office.
My stomach twisted into knots at the thought of how Officer M would glare at me once he knew my magic was back. Would it change anything for my meetings? Would he come more often or make me keep meeting with him? Would he make me show him what I could do?
The whole thing made me beyond uncomfortable.
I could barely taste my food and lost the thread of the conversation at lunch.
"You okay, Raven?" Makayla asked.
"Yeah, just dreading this meeting," I said.
"I'm sure it's just worse in your head," she said.
"I hope so," I said.
I fidgeted in the chair, wondering what was taking them so long. Dr. Green had let me in his office to wait while he spoke with my parole officer in the hall.
I stared at the tree clock. The leaves were gone now. It was back to its usual dead, black branches. The owl face seemed to stare out at me, and I could hear the gentle tick, tick, tick of the second hand as it moved around the numbers.
Academy of the Elites: Broken Magic Page 11