School of Magical Arts - New York City Campus Box Set

by Chandelle LaVaun

  Not that Tennessee noticed how hot she looked. I wasn’t even sure if he’d noticed that she was currently the same height as him. He was too busy yanking on his tie and tugging on his shirt cuffs. He wasn’t in a suit or anything, just black dress pants and a black blazer with a white shirt. Deacon had somehow managed to get him into a pair of dress shoes, which was a miracle I knew we wouldn’t see happen again.

  I shook my head and just watched them. They were so uncomfortable they hadn’t even noticed they were still standing on the curb – and Stedman had already pulled away. We were supposed to be inside already…at dinner.

  With Deacon’s parents, the Davenports, Garrett Sullivan, Thomas Plant, and Headmaster Muller.

  Amelia had been left at home with Landy…because this was a business meeting.

  Between The Coven Leader and the heads of New York.

  But I knew this was going to be a nightmare. Heather had warned me that we were going to the fanciest place in town and to brace myself. She also personally made sure we were all dressed appropriately, because obviously I’d made such a big impression my first dinner.

  Deacon sighed and cursed under his breath. “Not really, but it’s not like he could refuse. But let’s box them in at the table.”

  My eyes widened. “Do what?”

  “Like I’ll sit next to Tenn, then you’ll sit next to Tegan.” He gestured with his hands. “Then we’ll be able to buffer for them.”

  I nodded. “This is a good idea. Containment. Like velociraptors.”

  Deacon opened his mouth then shut it. He threw his head back and laughed. “That’s accurate in more ways than one.”

  I glanced over his shoulder to the door but didn’t see anyone lingering. “We can’t let them get badgered tonight with questions.”

  “Right.” He took a deep breath then whistled so loud I flinched. “Oy.”

  Tenn and Tegan jumped and turned to him with sharp eyes.

  Deacon waved them on. “Ready to go inside?”

  Tenn scowled then glanced over at Tegan – and did a double take. His mismatched gaze traveled up and down her body then landed on her face. “You’re as tall as me.”

  They both looked down at her feet and stared for a second.

  Tegan met his gaze and grimaced. “That’s bad?”

  “That’s hot.” He pursed his lips and nodded in approval. “You should keep those boots.”

  Tegan’s cheeks flushed. “They’re not mine.”

  “Well I won’t ever be able to wear those again now, so thanks.” I shook my head. “You can keep them.”

  Deacon chuckled and pressed his palm to the small of my back. “Come on, let’s get inside.”

  Tenn wrapped his arm around Tegan’s hips. “Oh, that’s soft material.”

  “It’s tight material. If I eat anything, I might need to borrow your jacket.”

  “Please. Take it,” he grumbled as they caught up to us. He tugged on this collar of his shirt again. “And this while you’re at it.”

  Deacon chuckled and stepped back, taking my hand in his. He pulled me along with him toward the glass doors. As we approached the building, I couldn’t help but notice how sharp he looked in his dark blue suit.

  Tenn exhaled loudly. “How long is this gonna take?”

  “A while,” I said with a groan. “A long while.”

  “How long do we have to stay?” Tegan asked as we walked through the doors. “I mean…”

  Deacon stopped just inside and sighed. He shook his head. “I will literally pay you a large sum of money if you can pull one of your tricks and get us the hell out of here in an hour.”

  Tegan pursed her lips and looked to Tenn.

  “Well, it’d be rude to turn down such an offer…” He winked at her.

  Tegan grinned and I knew we’d be back in that car in an hour sharp. If not less.

  “Mister English?”

  We all jumped and turned toward a soft female voice.

  The hostess stood there in a long black dress and a warm smile. She nodded once, then gestured to a set of doors on her left. “Good evening, your party is waiting for you if you’d like to follow me?”

  Tenn frowned. “Isn’t the restaurant the other way?”

  The hostess smiled. “Yes, but your group is in the private room.” Then she turned and waved for us to follow her through the double doors.

  Tegan and Tenn exchanged suspicious looks but after a second followed us through the doors. We walked in silence down a short hall, then stepped through a glass doorway with a private dining area on the other side. It was a rather large sized private room with only the one large round table inside.

  I took one look at the table and my stomach tightened into knots.

  There were seven full-grown adults sitting at the table, watching us. Waiting. Like vultures.

  Okay, if you’re suddenly portaled out of here don’t freak out. Mmmkay? Tegan asked the three of us telepathically.

  The seven adults all stood in perfect unison and it made my heart flutter with nerves.

  Deacon cleared his throat and gestured toward them. “Tegan and Tennessee, you’ve already met my parents Heather and Sebastien, Major and Minor here.”

  Heather smiled bright and smoothed the front of her pencil skirt. “Hello, again.”

  Sebastien nodded. “Nice to see you again.”

  “Claudia and Marshall Davenport, Lead Page and Major, respectively—”

  “We met after the Gala, didn’t we?” Tenn interrupted Deacon.

  Tegan gasped. “Oh yes, you had the daughter – Caroline, right? How is she? Wait, I saw her today in class, she seemed fine.”

  Claudia beamed. “Caroline has fully recovered, at least physically.”

  Deacon cleared his throat and pointed to the two men I barely recognized. “This is Thomas Plant, New York Ace, and Garrett Sullivan, New York Minor. And then of course, Headmaster Muller.”

  I moved immediately to the empty seat next to Heather and pulled Tegan along beside me. Deacon squeezed Tenn’s shoulder then took the seat a few down from me, right next to the Headmaster.

  Tegan and Tenn eyed the two empty seats curiously, no doubt wondering why Deacon and I had chosen to sit away from each other, but they didn’t press the matter. They simply slid into the seat and got situated. I met Deacon’s eyes over their heads – we nodded then sat down.

  The adults jumped right back into whatever conversation they’d been having, but it sounded too heavy for my sanity at the moment. Instead, I opened up the menu and started searching for a dish I recognized – because they were all in French.

  “So, Emperor, what are your thoughts on the new school?” Thomas asked with eager eyes. “Has it lived up to your standards?”

  “Um…” Tennessee stared into space in front of himself. “Uh…yes?”

  Garrett, the other Minor, pointed his finger at Tenn. “I think the real question is will you be opening more campuses? Because I, for one, would love to see more.”

  Headmaster Muller nodded and her ponytail swung behind her head. “The students and parents are loving it so far, so I’d recommend we do.”

  Thomas pursed his lips. “Yes, but the question is – which cities?”

  Garrett turned to look at Tenn. “What do you say, Emperor?”

  Tenn looked up and blinked, then he turned his gaze back to his place setting. “Honestly, I’m still trying to figure out why I have five forks.”

  I sighed and leaned back in my seat. This is gonna be a long night.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Emersyn

  “Check, check, check, and check.” Heather lowered her iPad and I saw the marked off items on the checklist. “Really, Emersyn, we’re all set and ready to go.”

  I let out a shaky breath and nodded.

  Today was the Winter Solstice.

  And the Yule Ball.

  The day I’d been prepping for and dreading all at the same time. I heard Heather’s confidence in that we were re
ady, and I believed her. But everything was going so smoothly and that made me nervous. And then there was this weird feeling in the pit of my stomach that something was going to go wrong. Something was going to happen. That put me over the edge.

  “I just want this to be perfect. I want everyone to see how great SOMA is and —”

  “And you need to eat something.” Tegan wrapped her arm around my shoulders and shook me. “Really, twin, like woosah. This place looks amazing. The school is incredible. Everyone is just super thrilled that we’re even having a Yule Ball this year after Salem and Joseph’s shenanigans. AND the fact that we have another magic school besides Edenburg is all anyone can talk about.”

  “Your sister is right.” Heather smiled and squeezed my arm. “You know this school is a big deal for me, as Major of New York, but everything has gone smoothly—”

  Yeah, that’s the part I’m worried about.

  “— so take a deep breath and try to enjoy the evening.”

  I nodded. “There’s nothing else we need to do?”

  “There are a few things, yes…” I must’ve made a face because she was already shaking her head. “But Claudia and I will handle them—”

  “Yeah, but —”

  “No buts.” Heather smirked and looked to Tegan. “Care to assist me here?”

  Tegan chuckled. “That might make me a hypocrite, but sure…”

  I narrowed my eyes at my twin.

  “Listen, twiny-twin, Tennessee is already thrilled about how everything has turned out. You’ve already passed the test, even though you weren’t actually being tested, and Tennessee knew you and Deacon would succeed with flying colors. But I digress…” She pushed off of me then spun in a circle, gesturing toward the decorated ballroom. “All of this is sugar on top. The reason he’s not here right now is because he’s an adorable little dork who wants to see it for the first time at night when it’s all pretty and sparkly – his words, not mine. So chillax, bruh.”

  “And that sounds like my cue,” Caroline said with a super chipper voice from behind us.

  I glanced over my shoulder and sure enough, there she stood grinning in the doorway with Amelia and Landy by her side. And then her words registered. I frowned. “What does that mean?”

  Caroline rolled her eyes. “There’s a ball tonight, Emersyn. Time to get our dresses. So let’s go, Bergdorf is waiting.”

  “Oh, Bergdorf.” Tegan did this little wiggle dance. “I’m definitely in.”

  I sighed.

  Claudia walked in behind her daughter then came rushing over to us. The smile on her face was a bit more reassuring. “Go on, Emersyn, we’re all set here.”

  I opened my mouth to fight this dismissal off when Tegan gripped my wrist and we were suddenly standing in front of Caroline and the girls. I groaned. “Tegan.”

  She shrugged, completely unphased. “Don’t make me play dirty. Let’s go find dresses.”

  “Fine.”

  When we finally made it into the evening wear section of Bergdorf and I took in the sight of all the sparkles, I realized this was a brilliant kind of distraction. Landy’s jaw dropped. Amelia squealed in excitement.

  Caroline bumped my shoulder with hers. “See, not such a bad idea, right?”

  I nodded. “Right. Except now I have to pick one.”

  Caroline strolled in front of me and then cracked her knuckles. “All right, ladies, tell me what color you’d prefer to wear this evening—”

  “Black.” Tegan shrugged. “Unless you have a shade darker than that.”

  Caroline grinned. “I’ll work on that, but for now…” she pulled her crystal wand out of her jacket and swished it in the air.

  “Hey, what about the hum—”

  “Just trust me, k?” Caroline winked at me.

  Black gowns of every length and fabric floated off the racks then drifted through the air. Caroline swung her wand toward the mirrored wall off to the right. There was a click and then a door opened to reveal a quaint little fitting room. She flicked her wand again and every single black dress soared straight inside then hung themselves on hooks.

  “WHOA,” Landy breathed.

  “Okay, that’s cool.” Tegan skipped over to the open fitting room and peeked inside. “Goddess, I love magic.”

  Amelia giggled and jumped out in front of Caroline. “Do Landy next!”

  Caroline turned to little Landy and smiled. “And which kind of dress would you like to try?”

  Landy bit her bottom lip. “I like…purple? Maybe? I don’t know…maybe blue? Green?”

  “It’s all right, you don’t have to know.” Caroline pursed her lips then swished her wand again. About a dozen dresses in different colors, lengths, and cuts floated into the fitting room next to Tegan’s. Caroline looked down to Landy and winked. “I put a variety in there, just go try on what you think is pretty and we’ll go from there, okay?”

  Landy’s eyes widened – and then she sprinted into the fitting room.

  Caroline chuckled. “Miss Amelia, you’re up.”

  “I want a big poofy princess dress so I can dance.”

  “I like your priorities, kid.” Caroline laughed and flicked her wand. “Bippity, boppity, boo.”

  Amelia was running before her dress options even left their racks.

  “And that brings us to you.” Caroline stepped out in front of me and arched one eyebrow.

  My stomach dropped. I cursed. “Oh, I don’t know.”

  Caroline crossed her arms over her chest.

  I groaned and threw my hands up. “I like sparkles?”

  She grinned. “Now that I can do.”

  I couldn’t lie, her little trick was really cool. Not that I was surprised, her closet had left its mark on me last month. The truth was, I hadn’t put any thought yet into what I wanted to wear to the Yule Ball tonight. I’d been too focused on getting everything ready to think about it. All I knew was I liked anything that glittered. And as over a dozen gowns twinkled as they flew passed me, I knew Caroline had hooked me up good.

  “What about you?”

  “Oh, I’ve had my eye on a Dior gown for a hot minute.” Caroline’s grin turned dreamy, but then she shook herself. “Okay, ladies, start trying on gowns – and go!”

  Amelia and Landy giggled and practically dove into their fitting rooms. Tegan leaned into the room for me that was right next to hers and took a peek. Then she glanced over to me and wagged her eyebrows. But before I could say anything, she gave me two thumbs-up and slipped inside her own fitting room full of black garments.

  I sighed and hurried into my room. It was wall-to-wall glitter…and it was improving my mood by the sparkle. Except there were far too many. I needed to eliminate some. And there was quite the variety. First, I pulled out anything with long sleeves. All of this anxiety was making me sweat and I didn’t want pit stains in a couture evening gown. Then I yanked out five dresses that dragged the ground and three that were big and poofy – all so I could move around the ball easier. Being in charge changed how you dressed for an occasion.

  Once those were gone, I reviewed the remaining options. There were two white dresses that were gorgeous…but I didn’t want to wear white. I wanted to save a gown like that for a certain special occasion, even if it was years away. So, I moved those gowns aside.

  “OH MY GODDESS!” Amelia screamed, then squealed. “THIS IS IT. PERFECT. OH MY GOD.”

  “Come out and show me!” Caroline laughed. There was a creak and then Caroline gasped. “Oh, Amelia, I love it.”

  Better start trying something on. I grabbed the closest dress and slipped it on. It was silver and covered in glitter…it was cute, a flapper-style dress that got a modern remix. But it wasn’t my style, so I took it off.

  “Amelia?” Landy shouted. “Are you out there? I want to show you this dress.”

  “YES!” Amelia yelled back. “Come out – yessssssss! That color is amazing on you. That’s the one. Caroline?”

  I pulled on a pale gray d
ress that fell only to mid-thigh and was covered in fluffy feathers. It was pretty but lacked that impact I usually liked.

  “Ah, definitely. Nice pick, Landy!” Caroline said outside my fitting room.

  Shit. I cannot be the last one. I yanked the gray one off and tried a rose gold gown but quickly determined it wasn’t my style and took it right back off. Next, I put on a bright pink sequin a-line dress that hugged my body like a glove and fell straight to the floor. It was stunning and I loved it. However, the deep v-neck that dropped all the way to my waist wasn’t ideal for someone who was going to be running around all night. I didn’t want to worry about wardrobe malfunctions at an event I was in charge of.

  “Em, how you doing in there?” Caroline called out through the door.

  “I’m definitely going to buy this dress I have on but not for tonight,” I said as I carefully slid that dress off and sat it aside.

  Caroline chuckled. “I won’t stop you there – oh my GOD. TEGAN. Tennessee is going to die.”

  “I know, right?” My twin laughed. “I can’t wait to see my brother Cooper’s face.”

  I turned to my rack of options and spotted one that took my breath away. It was basically a disco ball in dress form. The silver sequins were so shimmery that they reflected everything around me. It had thin straps and just enough of décolletage to be flirty but not enough to fall out. The dress itself fit flawlessly to my body in a straight cut that stopped perfectly at my knees. And the slit on the side was just enough to give me good mobility.

  Plus, I can totally wear my Old Gringos Deacon got me with this.

  I grinned and yanked my fitting room door open, then jumped out. Caroline, Tegan, Amelia, and Landy all gasped. I held my arms out to the side and spun in a slow circle.

  Amelia sighed. “Can you just wear that everyday?”