by Nika Gray
Headmaster Hotchkiss said he’d never seen the kind of magic that I was able to wield before. Maybe I wasn’t a mage since the magic existed in me and I apparently didn’t need a conduit ring.
Could I be a witch? I had no idea what the difference was between the two. I doubted I was a shape shifter or a vampire. I would know by now if I was either of those. Could I be a sprite or a goblin? One of those creatures that lived in the faerie realm. Or Fae?
No. The mages wouldn’t be helping me if that’s what I was. The Academy taught its students how to destroy the Fae. Surely, He would have recognized my power as Fae?
The smell of burnt skin and hair wafted into my nose again.
My stomach dropped to my feet and my heart pounded in my ears. What was I doing in that lab? What had I done to it? I remembered the shrieks and the fire consuming the surrounding walls. I had to believe it was me that caused all that damage. Possibly death.
If the magical folk were ruled over by the Magic Council, then could I have been taken by some sort of rogue cell? Headmaster Hotchkiss had fear in his eyes as he talked about keeping me safe.
What in the world could have scared the headmaster of the school that taught mages how to decimate their most aggressive foe? What was he so afraid of? That thought stayed with me as I dressed for dinner and headed out the door.
I stood frowning in the hallway. Kelly never gave me a key to the dorm room and by the sounds that Avery and Sonia made coming inside, the doors were locked by magic spells.
I couldn’t use that kind of spell magic yet and had no idea how I’d get back into the room. I made a mental note to ask Kelly about that.
In case I got lost, I tucked the map she’d conjured for me into my jeans pocket. I’d memorized a good portion of it and figured I’d make it to Gallagher Hall, but I took comfort in knowing I had the map with me anyway.
My thoughts were swept away by the beauty of the evening as I headed to dinner. The campus glowed in hues of pink and purple. A nice, stiff breeze swirled my blonde hair around my face as I walked through the quad towards the Hall, which was lit up from inside, showing off its stunning architecture. This place was too gorgeous for a military academy, I thought once again. The walk brightened my mood.
Magic! I actually had magic!
Chapter 5
Sadie
I gasped as I entered the dining hall. Candles flickered along the length of the room and the chandeliers above glittered with magical gold sprites buzzing around each one. The din of the first-years was kept to a pleasant hum. With all the glass and wood, I wondered if the sound had to be dampened by magic.
The two long tables were already filled with students. I scanned the crowd and found Kelly at the end of one of the tables. My heart thudded as I saw who she was sitting across from.
Fergus Mathonwy and Declan Longbane.
I thought she’d told me to stay away from them. Now, she was serving them up to me on a platter. Maybe she thought my memory would come back if I had a good lay. Just the thought of that made my insides swim.
I made my way over to the little group, my smile widening as my body warmed the nearer I got to them. This horniness was going to get me in deep trouble. I could barely think.
“Hi, sorry I'm a little late. I overslept,” I said as I finally got to their section.
“I saved you a seat,” Kelly said, a big grin on her face.
I pulled out the chair and sat down directly across from sunshine himself, Fergus Mathonwy. Our eyes met and I swore I could hear the crashing of waves in my ears and the smell of salty air tickling my nose. His eyes were the color of a brilliant blue sea and when he smiled, I pressed my knees together, the sudden need in my clit overwhelming.
“I’m Sadie,” I managed to say.
“Fergus,” he said, still smiling, eyes twinkling.
I had a distinct impression he knew exactly what his magnetism was doing to me. I had trouble pulling my eyes away from him to introduce myself to Declan. The ache in my core grew as a quirky smile grew on Declan’s luscious lips.
“It’s nice to meet you Sadie. I’m Declan. Declan Longbane.” His voice was velvet and when his eyes met mine, electricity shot through my body.
If I wasn’t already sitting, I’d have swooned. The rest of the hall fell away and for just a moment, only the three of us existed. The pull was so strong to them, that my body ached from the distance of the table between us. This was no ordinary horniness.
Kelly cleared her throat and the dining hall and its din came to the forefront again. “My dad mentioned you’d be helping Sadie tomorrow?” She directed the question to Fergus.
My head whipped around to see her face. What in the world could this man be helping me with?
“He caught up to me before dinner,” Fergus nodded. “He wants me to introduce Sadie to the battle world.”
“Battle world?” I asked. “Are we going off campus?” I did not like the sound of that.
“It’s a pocket just outside our dimension,” Kelly explained. “It looks exactly like here. but the laws of gravity and physics don’t work in the same way. It’s like a mirror world where we can safely use our battle magic. You can’t be killed there. It’s a good way to practice.”
Forget getting killed. I’d be doing something else with Fergus in that world rather than fighting him.
“Why you?” I asked. “Shouldn’t a girl be helping me with this? It’s my first time.”
“I’m one of the best conjurors in first year, Sadie,” he assured me. “Don’t worry. I’ll take it easy on you.” He winked at me.
I smiled back as my heart thudded in my ears.
“You’re important to Hotchkiss,” he continued. “So he wants to make sure that you're trained with the best.”
Our eyes met again, and I nearly melted into a puddle. Declan nudged him in the ribs.
“After only two weeks, you’re calling yourself the best? Not conceited of you at all,” he said with a smirk.
“I call it like I see it,” Fergus said with a laugh, a second dimple forming in his perfect cheek.
Holy Mary, mother of all that is good, I was hooked.
“I’m always up for a challenge if you want to try to best me?” Fergus tapped Declan’s chest. Kelly arched an eyebrow at him, her face unreadable. “You will take care of her?” Her voice turned serious.
Fergus nodded without taking his eyes off me. Could I say that his eyes were devouring me as we sat across from each other?
“I will take the best care of her. I promise, Kelly.” His voice dropped an octave and did funny things to the back of my neck. “I can’t wait to get started, in fact.”
How was I going to fight this gorgeous man?
“When’s the first lesson,” I managed to croak out.
“First thing in the morning,” he suggested. “Seven-thirty, tomorrow?”
“Where?” I asked.
“You don't want to give her a day to settle into her classes?” Kelly asked before he could answer.
“Why?” Fergus countered. “This is the most important lesson she can get. And she's two weeks behind.”
“Wait, if you’re first year too, then how come in two weeks you've become so accomplished in this battle world?” I asked.
Fergus flashed a brilliant smile “I've been playing in the battle world since I was a wee little tyke,” he said. His face turned serious. “My father wanted to make sure I would be the best.”
Something about what Fergus had just said caught Declan off guard. I wondered if Declan had never seen his friend share so much about himself to a complete stranger before?
“Enough chit-chat. I need to eat,” I said. “Where do I find those delicious barbecue ribs you’re devouring?” I asked Declan.
He clicked his fingers and a plate of the ribs magically appeared before me.
“Thank you,” I said with a shy smile.
Declan's smile was slow and sultry. He nodded and his eyes twinkled in amusement. An
d something else I couldn’t quite define.
It seriously took all of my self-control not to jump across the table and crawl up in his lap. The instinct was so strong that I had to grip the table for support. What in the hell was happening to me? Was I this horny in my previous life, too?
Conversation turned to classes they had together and I stayed quiet, enjoying my ribs and trying to get my sex drive under control. I couldn’t help but steal glances at the both of them from time to time and each time either of them acknowledged me, a zap of electricity ran down my spine.
If I was going to turn into a puddle each time I spoke to one of these gorgeous magical folk, I wouldn’t make it here past the first week.
Kelly laughed hard at something Declan said and snapped me out of my thoughts. I noticed they both had finished off their dinner and were saying their goodbyes.
“Nice to have met you Sadie,” Declan said and held out his hand.
I took it and my hand involuntarily clenched his. Startled, his eyes met mine and something dangerous stirred in their depths. I let go and dropped my hand into my lap aware that a fiery red spark had appeared in my palm. I clenched my hand closed and hoped no one had seen it. I had forgotten to wear the conduit ring. When I looked up Declan was gone.
A musky, salty smell enveloped me as Fergus’ husky voice whispered in my ear. “I’ll see you at the front door of your dorm. Seven-thirty tomorrow. I can’t wait.”
My back stiffened as his finger caressed the side of my neck. Jolts of electricity shot through me at every point of contact and I fought hard not to moan right there in the middle of the damn dining hall. Air rushed between us as he straightened up and I didn’t trust myself to speak until I saw both of their backs moving away from us.
“Holy hell in a hand basket, Kelly.” I whispered. “I don’t know how you keep it together around here.”
“You’ve got it bad, girl,” she teased me.
“You have no idea,” I said, my eyes following the boys as they sauntered towards the exit. A guy put his arm out to stop Fergus. I could see even from this distance, Fergus’ smile faded into a scowl. Declan exchanged words with a red-haired guy sitting next to a blonde-haired friend.
“Who are those two guys talking to Fergus and Declan?” I asked Kelly.
“That’s Cole Trahern and Aiden Wilkinson. More heirs to the Magic Council seats,” she replied.
“I take it Declan and Fergus aren’t friendly with them?” I had become protective of them in the hour I had sat with them.
“There’s so much infighting between those clans, I honestly don’t know who is allies with whom,” she sighed. “The alliances are always changing. Honestly, I just try to stay away from them.”
“How come you had us sitting with them?” I asked, curiosity getting the best of me. Especially after the warnings she’d given me.
“I was just sitting here all by myself waiting for you,” Kelly laughed. “They joined me. Could have knocked me back with a feather, I was so surprised. They’ve barely spoken two words to me in the last two weeks. Dad must have told them our plans for dinner.”
“Why did your dad pick Fergus to be helping me with this battle world?” I asked.
“Fergus wasn’t just bragging,” she explained. “His father has been training him since he could walk. My dad thinks he's the sharpest mind in the first-years and I’m sure he's just trying to get you trained as quickly as possible. Fergus hasn’t had the happiest of childhoods, but he has a lot of experience.”
“Kelly, how in the world am I supposed to use magic with him looking like that and never having used a conduit ring or been in this world before? I mean look at that guy,” I said rather breathlessly.
Kelly laughed. “Honey, you don't want to fall for that,” she said.
“I don't know how I can stop myself,” I argued. “He shoots that dimply smile at me and I’m toast. I’ll roll over like a dead possum and call uncle.”
Kelly giggled.
“I’m glad you’re finding this funny, but I’m terrified,” I said. “My body does funny things when I’m around those two. I can’t concentrate. Am I going to be hot for all the guys here? And how can I learn anything while I’m in that state?”
“Maybe you should scratch that itch then,” Kelly suggested. “Get it out of your system and then move on.”
I was shocked to hear that come out of her mouth. I so hadn’t expected that from her. “You might have a point there,” I muttered.
“Believe in yourself. I know how difficult it must be not knowing who you are, how you got here, but believe in yourself and trust it will come.”
She squeezed my hand and I fought back tears. It felt good to have a friend.
“All right. I think I'm gonna go back to my dorm room and see if I can get some sleep tonight,” I said as I got up to leave. “Oh, I wanted to ask you. How do I unlock the door to my dorm room? Sonia and Avery did something with magic when they opened the door. You didn't give me a key.”
“My dad had Professor Nichomar put a spell on the door so it recognized you. It should click open each time you stand in front of it. We know that you're playing catch up,” she explained as she waved her hand and cleared our dishes from the table. “Have you met your roomies yet?”
“Unfortunately, I did. Boy are they pieces of work,” I said.
“They didn’t welcome you with open arms?” she asked.
“They were thrilled enough to threaten to complain about the room assignment,” I said.
“Any good that's going to do them.” She shook her head. “There are no other options. I'm sure if you had your way you wouldn't be rooming with them either.”
“Exactly. But I'll handle them. How bad can they possibly be?”
Kelly stood and I followed her out of the dining hall.
“I’ll walk you to your dorm,” she said.
“Are you in the same building, too?” I asked.
“No, I’m in East hall, across the quad.”
“If the minions get unmanageable, maybe I’ll sleep on your floor.” I winked at her.
“We have magic. We can make it comfortable,” she said and linked her arm through mine.
As we made our way towards the doors, we passed the two guys that had been giving Fergus and Declan trouble. Someone stood up to our left and Kelly dropped my arm to take the lead. In the jumble, I looked back at them.
My heart stuttered hard enough that I clutched my chest, hoping I wasn’t having a heart attack. A sculpted, hard face with ice-blue eyes and a shock of blond hair stared back at me. A Nordic-looking guy that made me think of snow and ice. The flash of memory I’d had earlier burst through my mind. His naked torso hovering above me. The lust in his eyes. It was him. It had to be him.
By the look on his face, he recognized me, too. Someone jostled me forward and we broke eye contact.
I bumped into Kelly. “Sorry,” I gasped out.
The sound I’d made had her look back at me, concern on her face. “What happened?”
“I’ll tell you when we get outside,” I said and pushed her on. I needed air badly.
The pinks and purples of the sunset were gone replaced by a twinkling carpet of stars. I shivered from the cold as I walked quickly away from the dining hall.
“What happened?” she asked again, following close behind.
“The guy that Fergus and Declan had spoken to, the tall blonde one. What's his name?”
“Cole Trahern,” Kelly said, walking close next to me.
“I saw him in a memory today,” I whispered. “He was naked.”
Kelly stopped and frowned. Then she looked behind us and grabbed my arm. “Let’s keep walking,” she said.
“Who is he?” I asked.
“Are you sure, Sadie?” she asked, ignoring my question.
“Yes, I think so,” I answered. “Who is he?”
“He’s the son of the Head of the Magic Council. He's one of the elite. He’s cold and can be cruel. Sadi
e, are you sure?” she asked again.
I bit my lip and nodded. I would've known those eyes anywhere.
But they hadn't been cruel or cold when I saw them over me, looking into mine.
“Maybe I'm mistaken,” I said. Although I was sure I wasn’t.
I’d known Cole Trahern before I was abducted, but I had no idea what that meant.
Chapter 6
Cole
I sat in silence for so long that Aiden nudged me out of my thoughts.
“What's going on with you?” he asked.
“You know that girl I was telling you about? The one from the city?” I asked.
“Hot cocktail waitress from the club?” he said, his mouth turning into his signature smirk. “The amazing lay?”
“She just walked out of here with Kelly Hotchkiss,” I said.
It had to be her.
Those full, pouty lips and that golden skin, and those long legs. There weren't too many girls out there who were almost six-feet-tall with legs that looked like they’d been sculpted by a master artisan. The long, silvery hair and those cheekbones. I had gone looking for her the next night, but nobody had seen her since the night before. And now she turned up at the academy? That couldn't be a coincidence.
“Did you know she was a mage?” Aiden asked.
“No idea,” I said.
I hadn't told him about the weird energy that flowed between us as we had sex. The connection between a magic that I had never used before and her own special fire magic. I had almost started believing that I had conjured her up in a dream somehow. That she hadn't been real and that night had never happened.
I hadn't been able to get her out of my mind since then. And my crazy dreams started after that night, too.
“What are you not telling me?” Aiden demanded, his eyes turning sharp.
Aiden was the smartest guy I knew. He was wily and sly and sharp, and I’d never really held back something big like this from him before. I’d known him all my life and we’d been tight since we were in first grade and he'd snuck out into the woods with me during class to make the forest dance.