I sighed. “You overestimate my dancing abilities if you think I can learn any choreography.” I looked up at the sky, where the light was still fading from the recent sunset. The long days would give me extra time to go surfing after my summer classes. “Besides, I’m not too upset about staying. Santa Cruz is beautiful this time of the year, I’m near the beach, and I think I’m finally getting the hang of this school.”
Damian squealed and clapped his hands together. “I can’t believe it! You actually like it here?” He grabbed me in a hug. “See, I told you if you just gave it a chance, you’d enjoy being a witch.”
I grimaced. “I don’t know if I like everything about it. But yeah, some parts aren’t too bad.” I glanced around, then whispered, “And we can do a lot of good with our magic.”
Damian nodded. “Maybe next time, we’ll actually get credit for being the heroes.”
I shook my head vehemently. “There won’t be a next time. From now on, I am concentrating on my studies until I graduate.” When I saw Loki on the Solstice, I’d find a way to trap in a deal so he’d let me off the hook for now. No more magikin investigations.
“Oh, really?” Damian looked at me over the top of his fan. “Well, then I’ll concentrate on looking fabulous and getting a boyfriend. Or a girlfriend. Or maybe one of each? It’s so hard to pick.”
I rolled my eyes. “You do that. Just don’t forget your classes too much, because your grades weren’t much better than mine.”
“Shhhh.” He pressed his finger over my mouth. “No more school talk until September, please.”
If only I could forget about school for the next few months. But part of me was looking forward to coming back for summer school. There would be fewer students, fewer distractions, and I was finally taking two Water classes. And the nice thing was, the second session was over at the end of August. I’d have three weeks at home before I had to come back for senior year. It was a shorter vacation, but it was better than nothing.
It would be smooth sailing from here on out. It had to be.
On Friday morning, my moms arrived in the family minivan to pick me up. Since I was coming back in only a week, I had permission to leave my Beetle in the student parking lot. But everything did have to be moved out of my dorm room, so we loaded my stuff into the larger vehicle for the long drive back. It was a good time to catch up on my laundry and reevaluate if I wanted to bring all the junk with me again.
Mama Rosa had to go to the student services offices for them to release my broom into her custody. Since I’d called it to me even after Coach Bloodgood confiscated it, they’d kept it under powerful spells to make sure it couldn’t escape again. I wasn’t allowed to fly until the fall, so Mama Rosa had to sign a form promising that she would keep the broom safe for the next few months. When she came back, she looked at me suspiciously.
“There wasn’t much detail in the school reports about what exactly you were doing that got you into so much trouble,” she said. “So, did you have a few adventures?”
I shook my head. “Just some reckless goofing off. Y’know, typical bad teen judgment,” I said, borrowing phrases from Mama Ashleigh’s counselor talk.
Rosa and Ashleigh shared a look that said they didn’t believe me.
“It’s okay,” Mama Ashleigh said gently. “We’re not mad at you. We just want to know what happened. It seemed like you had a pretty rough year.”
I shrugged. “The classes were harder than I expected. I made up some of it, and I’ll do the rest in summer school. Sorry for being difficult.”
They shared another look, but they dropped the subject for the rest of the drive home. Kitten stared at me from her perch on the dashboard. I tried to share some harmless anecdotes from the year, like Damian impressing everyone at the dance and Erin helping me with my homework. But they knew I wasn’t telling them everything, and the tension was building.
I’d never kept such big secrets from my parents before. Neither one had batted an eye when I came out as a lesbian a few years ago. It helped that we were close, and I was also a terrible liar, so they usually caught me even if I stretched the truth. This was the first time I felt so distant from them. I knew things would change when I went to school, but I’d never expected it to be like this.
It was better if they didn’t know the truth. I mean, the Fae and the academy, especially the assistant dean, didn’t want me to go blabbing about the details of the negotiation or my involvement. But I could have told them about my first relationship—and break-up—or alluded to the expectations that Loki placed on me in exchange for my magic. They would understand. Yet I found myself keeping my mouth shut on every serious event from the past year.
Eventually, I fell silent and stared out the window. Most of the drive was through brown, dried-out farm fields and hills of dead grass. It was nothing like the beautiful forests and beaches of Santa Cruz. Although I was happy to see my hometown again, I found myself longing to go back.
Santa Cruz Witch Academy had become a second home to me.
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Are you ready for more adventures? Join Brie and her friends in the next book!
The Salty Witch
A young witch who has been bitten by love before. A drop-dead gorgeous vampire who likes to live wild. Could a summer fling help them get over their hangups about love?
Brie has to make up for all the classes that she missed when she was sneaking off to meet her mermaid girlfriend, so she’s stuck in summer school. But after homework is done, she should be allowed to have a little fun. What better place to hang out than the Santa Cruz Boardwalk? With a seasonal pass, she can go on roller coasters and watch free concerts on the beach every night.
The vampires at the Boardwalk are harmless because it’s illegal for them to feed on people. It’s still a bad idea to date one, but Brie wants a little fun on the rebound. Lucinda says she doesn’t want anything serious. A casual summer romance could be just the thing for both of them.
Then bodies start showing up on the beach, drained of blood. People are quick to blame the vampires and Brie fears the worst, but Lucinda insists that they’re innocent. Together, they could find the truth about what’s really going on… or Brie could be heading into another trap.
Can she trust her new girlfriend or did Brie make another deadly dating mistake?
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Merry Witchmas, Mom
What’s the best Christmas gift for the witch who has everything?
Brie spent months planning the perfect Christmas gift. She’s finally applying to witch school, just like her mom always wanted. But Mama Rosa thinks her daughter should stay close to home, and Brie has her sights set on another school across the state.
Can Brie convince her mom to let her apply, or will her Christmas surprise backfire and ruin the holiday?
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About the Author
Kristen S. Walker wishes she was a pirate mermaid who could speak with sharks, but she settles for being an author. She currently resides in Northern California with her family and a rescued cat, but she grew up in the mountains, running barefoot through the woods and chasing imaginary dragons. Her fantasy novels for teens and adults explore diverse characters, detailed worlds, high-stakes adventures and emotional journeys. When she's not writing, Kristen enjoys
geeky crafts like cosplay, toy photography, and watching anime.
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The Reluctant Witch: Year One (Santa Cruz Witch Academy Book 1) Page 22