by A. J. Macey
I let out a long sigh, loving the future she was spinning, but knowing it was farfetched. I was Xanthius Eideann; my future was set out for me. I had a legacy spot on the council and had been groomed my whole life to take it.
“I wish it were that easy,” I finally whispered. I could see it all—a perfect future with Aris and our group. Finding jobs that made us all happy, a perfect house with space for everyone. Spending relaxing nights together in front of a warm fire, cooking together, sleeping together, all of it. I wanted it all so damn badly, my chest ached.
“How often are councilors in the council hall? Maybe mix business with pleasure a bit and do both? Or just be you and do what you want with your life,” she pleaded, her genuine worry and love on my behalf touching me.
“I promise to give it some real thought. Okay?” She gave me a pleased nod before focusing on her canvas again.
“You’re doing fantastic,” I reassured her after another long stretch of silent focus, knowing she needed to hear it again. I moved my hands up her arms before letting them fall down to rest around her waist. She let out a small, happy sigh and continued painting, adding in bits of color to her sky until it was a swirl of deep purples and blues and dark shadows, the moon shining brightly in the corner.
I let her work, eventually pulling away to grab us a drink from my shelf. Unable to resist the pull of watching her as she got lost in her painting, I brought it over to stand next to her. She gave me a grateful smile before taking a sip of water and falling right back into the zone. I was so proud of her for letting it go, loving even more that we got to share this, just us.
It was hard not to feel slightly overshadowed with such big personalities in our circle—from Caspian and Drayce’s easy jokes and flirting to Kye’s matter-of-fact way of speaking, his broodiness attracting Aris’s attention over my quiet and reserved nature. I wished I could be more outgoing and speak my thoughts more, but it just wasn’t part of my personality. If I ever felt jealous, though, it wasn’t for long. Aris had a way of looking at me that made me feel as if I was the center of her world. In fact, she looked at all of us like that. It was the only reason a six-person relationship could work.
Despite being relaxed, she still wasn’t smiling. I was looking around as if the tubes of paint and random supplies would give me an answer when some hidden part of me perked up. I dabbed a clean paintbrush in the yellow paint before running my finger through the bristles and showering her in droplets of sunny paint. I barked out a laugh at her shocked expression, her eyes wide as she turned to look at me, a shocked laugh escaping.
“Did you do that on purpose? Who are you, Caspian?” she burst out, dipping her brush in pink and waiting for my answer. I shrugged, not even a little bit sorry, cracking up again as she showered me in paint.
“Oh! There she is!” I cheered, choosing a neon green next and flicking it over her shirt and arms. She had brought them up to cover her face, but they got covered instead. I didn’t hesitate to dip it in a new color and repeat the process until she was a rainbow of tiny dots and a constant stream of giggles. The sound seemed to make everything right in my world.
Eventually, she got a bit braver, grabbing on the wooden frame inside her canvas and using it to cover her face like a shield. Her hand darted out to dab more paint, flicking her brush at me in quick movements before retreating behind it again.
“Okay, okay! Truce! I can’t even see anymore!” I pleaded, trying to wipe the globs of paint from my hair as it hung in front of my eyes. She peeked over the top of the canvas to see if I was serious, finally placing it back on the easel and wiping the back of her hand across a streak of paint dripping from her hair onto her forehead. I leaned in and captured her lips. It was a sweet kiss full of love and understanding, not heat. Tonight wasn’t the night for that. She needed a night to be cared for, and I had every intention of doing so.
After cleaning us both up, I put a cheesy romantic comedy on the Witches Glass and snuggled her into my side. We relaxed, soaking in the warmth of the other. It was a perfect night that only made me more excited to spend forever with her.
November 14th
Thursday Morning
Aris
I was a bundle of nerves as I walked through the halls to class, giving Hedgie a few snuggles while Mr. Stripes took treats from Xan. He had walked me to Mixta basics, kissing me on the cheek and tucking Hedgie in his pocket before rushing off to his own class. I felt like I was walking on eggshells, flinching every time someone nearby whispered or got too close to talking to me. Mr. Stripes looked like he didn’t know how to handle me.
You and me both, baby.
By the time Professor Bellario came sweeping in with her brand of extra, I was about ready to jump out of my skin.
“Good morning, class,” she addressed us, her eyes locking onto mine right away. I gave a forced smile and busied myself with my planner. As she droned on about future jobs befitting of us lower witches, I couldn’t help but notice her eyes continually drifted back to me.
She’s just weird, Aris. Don’t freak out.
“Alright, I want everyone to busy themselves with writing down your strongest skills, making sure to focus on your magical strong suits, even if they seem inconsequential to you. Then we will spend the next several classes going over which options fit you best. You have ten minutes to start, then I’ll be around to check on you.”
My hand was raised over my paper, unable to make myself get those first marks on the page. This assignment seemed like a torture device designed just for me. Like Bellario knew I could do more now. What if she’s heard the rumors? If Tor’s students know, who else does? I carefully listed only the things I could do before coming here, skating around anything of real magical value. Of course, the first person she chose to bother was me.
“Ah, Aris, let’s see what you have so far!” Her voice was uncharacteristically syrupy sweet and left me feeling even more creeped out. “Yes, your ability to move objects is useful on a personal level, but I don’t think it will earn you a decent wage. Let’s see… proficient in historical lessons. You could definitely put that to use. I feel like something is missing here, though.” Mr. Stripes was looking at her with his head cocked to the side like he couldn’t quite figure out what to make of her. I pulled him close while I blinked up at her, unsure what else she wanted. She’d barely given me ten minutes to write it down. Why is she so eager to talk to me today? She must have noticed I was on edge with her attention because she told me to keep working and moved on, casting one last glance my way.
My mental alarm bells continuously chimed as class went on, her attention returning to me so often, I could no longer dismiss it. There was something going on with her, but I dismissed it as my paranoia after everything that had happened. My sweet lemur kept putting his furry body between her creepy gaze and mine, clearly feeding off of the vibes I was feeling.
As soon as the clock tower chimed, I scooped up my fuzzy companion and hurried from the room, barely shoving my planner in my bag before leaving. I wound my way through the halls to the study room to meet Drayce. We never actually studied anymore, using it as a chance to catch up. This time, however, I was going to see what his thoughts were on Bellario.
“There you are, Angel,” Drayce said, his playful tone pulling me from my thoughts.
Just the sight of his lazy, sweet smile had all other thoughts fading away. It was just me and Drayce, nothing else mattered as he curled me under his arm. The sweet attention had my chest warming, helping to ease the fear and anxiety that had been surging inside me all morning. As soon as he started talking again, my body had relaxed, ready to feel safe.
“I have an idea.”
“Uh oh,” I joked, dropping my bag by the door and smiling as Mr. Stripes stalked over to Petunia, plopping down and sharing in the plate of veggies Drayce always brought them. I took a seat at the table while Drayce grabbed a Witches Glass from his bag and sat across from me, an adorable boyish grin on his face. He didn
't say anything else for a moment as he scrolled through a few things until a giant holographic game board was between us. It glowed a soft white, the grid expanding toward us on either side. Little broomsticks were clustered in the middle, ready to be arranged.
“Battle Brooms,” he explained. “It’s interactive, so you can move the broomsticks around. The goal is to send fireballs to burn the brooms.” As if the game responded to his voice, a group of different-sized broomsticks appeared on the board. There was a partition in the middle, so I could see him but not his side of the game. It reminded me of the human game Battleship. His excitement must have been wearing off on me because I found my smile matching his as I hovered my finger over the brooms, positioning them far enough apart to make it difficult.
“Now, I don’t mean to brag, but I’m pretty much a champion at this game.” He punctuated his words with a wink before pulling out a bag of gummy crystals to share.
“Well, I hate to take your title from you, but maybe you should prepare,” I said, flipping my bubblegum-pink hair over my shoulder and giving him a confident shrug.
“Oh, is that how it’s gonna be, Angel?”
“Don’t act so surprised, Drayce Nordin.” I patted his hand and gave a fake look of sympathy. “You may talk a big game, but it’s all about being the last witch standing, and that will be me.”
“Put your money where your mouth is. B4.” He said the last part as a command, and a tiny holographic torpedo popped up out of thin air, dropping into the empty space. He frowned when nothing happened.
“A9,” I commanded, letting out a loud whoop when a fake plume of smoke appeared in front of him, just visible through the barrier. Following my successful hit, the spot showed up on the game board now. “B9!” When that one missed, he pumped his fist in the air before focusing on his side again.
“Prepare yourself!” He grimaced, his face turning uncharacteristically serious as he plotted his next move. We alternated turns until we were neck-and-neck, three brooms left each. “So, how about we up the stakes a bit?”
“Maybe.” I narrowed my eyes at the mischievous glint in his gaze, knowing this wasn't going anywhere good. “It depends on what you have in mind.”
“Don’t act like you don’t love a bit of friendly competition. How about… winner gets to grab Caspian’s dessert at lunch?” he proposed, my mouth dropping open.
“No way! You know that’s our thing! He even grabs less or nothing now because I always pick out mine to share!” I pouted, crossing my arms. He let out a loud laugh, knowing exactly what he was doing.
“My point exactly, Angel.”
“How is that going to get you on his good side?”
“Because there’s no better way to tease a man than with some chocolate and whipped cream,” he fired back, the husky tone to his voice making me squirm in my chair. Now, this was fighting dirty.
“Fine,” I agreed, putting more focus into the game and calling out my guess. It was a miss, and so were my next three turns.
“Victory!” Drayce shouted before doing a happy dance in his chair. Somehow, he got lucky and managed to sink all three of my brooms with one round. Petunia and Mr. Stripes made scared noises at the sudden shouting, so I hurried over to soothe them.
“Sorry, your dad is crazy, Petunia,” I deadpanned, patting them both until they calmed back down.
“Time for lunch,” he sang out, ignoring my playful reprimand. “Hmm, should I get him a cupcake? Or should I get him cookies?” He taunted me as we gathered our stuff and made it to the cafeteria. I groaned when we walked in, and I saw Caspian didn’t have any dessert. Meaning Drayce was getting all the glory today. “Aw, don’t pout Angel, I’ll give you some bites too.”
“I can feed myself,” I huffed, grabbing only half the food I normally would, minus the treats I always grabbed for the familiars. Drayce never fed them too much in our study sessions, so they still ate lunch with us.
“Where’s dessert, Cupcake?” Caspian asked even before I’d sat down. Drayce smirked as he slid in on Cas’ other side, gesturing to the desserts lining his tray.
“I’ve got you today, Sprinkles.”
“Gross, are we going to have to watch you flirt the entire lunch again? If so, I think I’m moving tables,” Kye complained, changing his tune when I switched chairs to sit next to him.
“Or you can share your Hex Mix with your favorite witch and ignore them,” I teased, leaning in and giving him a slow, sweet kiss that had the butterflies dancing in my stomach. When he pulled away, he was all smiles.
“Works for me. How was your fake study session?” he asked, glancing knowingly at Drayce.
“We played Battle Brooms, and I lost,” I huffed, popping a fry into my mouth and sliding the familiars’ treats over to their table. I couldn’t help but laugh as the odd mix of animals attacked the plate with enthusiasm. Coral, Raptor, Petunia, Hedgie, and Mr. Stripes all stopped eating and looked over as one unit, eyes zeroing in on the teacher section, each of them letting out a small whine as they spotted their missing friend. Someday soon, babies.
“I’m so glad you guys actually use the time to study,” Xan deadpanned, his disapproving look halfhearted at best. He made sure we had plenty of study time in, so I knew he wasn't actually upset.
“You mean you actually study during your mentoring sessions?” Drayce asked, raising an eyebrow at him and waiting for the answer we already knew.
“Of course, we do,” Xan said indignantly, swiping his hair out of his eyes with a huff. “It’s my job to make sure Aris excels, and I take that seriously.”
“She has enough study time in her life! Sometimes she needs the time to wind down,” Drayce fired back, trying to rile Xan up.
“Good thing she has us both then,” Xan conceded, not willing to give into Drayce’s playful arguing.
“Good thing,” I agreed, reaching over and swiping a piece of chocolate from Drayce’s tray before he could stop me. Drayce blew me a kiss before swiping his finger in the frosting of the chocolate cupcake on his tray and popping it into Caspian’s waiting mouth. I bit back a groan as Caspian cleaned it off. I loved how Cas was gaining a bit more confidence with Drayce every day. For the second time today, I was wiggling in my seat, way more turned on than I should be while eating lunch or in a study session.
It was going to be a long day if I didn’t get some kind of distraction soon.
So much for any distraction. I grumbled, stepping up to my circle in Scrying and Divination. It was always a fifty-fifty chance whether this would be a successful divination class or a failed one, so it was about to be an hour of trying to not let my circle explode in a wave of ash as it had on previous occasions. Well, it’s better than trying to fight being horny. I turned my attention to Professor Rafe’s speech on what we were going to be attempting today.
“Rumination Cognito is not a difficult ritual, but it does require several steps that need to be done in proper order. So, I’ll go through the steps first, then we’ll all do it together in our individual circles,” he instructed happily. Professor Rafe was one of my favorites. He had never looked at me with disappointment or pity, not when he found out I was just a Mixta or even when he heard about what happened during Samhain.
He went through the few steps quickly, giving a precise explanation of each before directing us to grab our items. I started laying out the supplies, using chalk to draw out the spell circle, runes, and markings in place for the candles and herb offering bowls. The herbs were delicately placed in their designated spots, and candles ignited as I mumbled the incantations that went along with it.
A whooshing filled the classroom at different intervals, each circle flaring to life as the ritual started for its designated student. Please don’t explode. Completing the last incantation at the center of the circle, the circle activated, glowing a soft pink as I waited, curious to what I would see. My life had been pretty basic before coming to Aether Academy, but it turns out, I wasn’t such a basic witch after all.
And this was no exception, I quickly found out.
The soft echoing of screams filled the air around me. My brows drew down as I glanced around the classroom, but no one else seemed to be concerned by the sound. As it continued to grow, a flicker of light in the corner of my eye caught my attention, a glint off a hazy, wavering object. A… glowing mirror? I tried to figure it out, my head tilting as I stared.
Hissing, whispers, and hollow screams mixed around me, the sounds reaching down to my very soul. An all-consuming dread and grief filled me, making me tremble and cower from the onslaught of darkness. A thread of fear wormed its way through my stomach, icing my veins as I started to tremble. What the…? A bright flare flashed, momentarily distracting me, and what I saw within the wave of magic did nothing to ease my panic.
Quickly passing forest, running people, the lush trees quickly giving way to smooth stone walls and arched doorways—everything was a jumbled mash of scenes, places, and faces, all passing too quickly for me to see any of them clearly.
Until one.
I would have recognized that crazed smile anywhere.
Delilah.
Hells bells and tarot tells. I scrambled back, not caring if I broke the circle. My heart was racing, nearly pounding out of my chest as adrenaline pumped. Panicking, I continued to try to put enough space between her inky apparition and me, and right before I tumbled outside of the circle, Delilah faded. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as I stumbled, falling to the stone ground. Delilah’s haunting expression was replaced by a shrill scream, a man shouting, and the silhouette of a thin woman collapsing onto the ground. I couldn’t see her face, but the rivers of red flowing from her were clear as day.