Faerie Marked (Fae Academy for Halflings Book 1)

by Brea Viragh

  “Today we are going to be working with crystal balls. A crystal ball is another tool for the practice of divination,” Marsh continued. She lifted her own velvet cover to reveal a clear orb of quartz crystal on a solid gold stand. “Most who stare into the depths of the crystal are able to conjure visions of the future. Now, the key lies in interpreting these visions. Interpretation is where the masters break away from the amateurs, the dabblers. Everyone, raise your cloth and see what the crystal has to show you.”

  A sliver of apprehension shot through me as I recalled Barbara’s warnings. Garlic, moonlight, and…quartz crystal. Well, as long as I didn’t actually touch it…

  I watched Mike for a moment, the cover cloth set aside and his large palms cradling the small softball-sized clear sphere in front of him.

  “Have you ever done anything like this before?” I asked him as my nerves began to sing.

  “No. But I’m sure there’s nothing to it,” he said.

  “Clear your mind and focus on the future,” Marsh instructed, raising her voice over the low murmur of chatter. “Imagine a blank space. Stare into the crystal and picture the blank space expanding. Larger and larger. I said to clear your mind, Roman!”

  I wasn’t sure what the professor had picked up from my friend’s head and surely I didn’t want to know since it brought a chuckle from him.

  Mike bit his lip, the picture of concentration. I snickered at both of them. “I’m curious to see what you conjure,” I whispered.

  “Ah, so I’m going to be the guinea pig today. You want to follow my lead?”

  “Seems like it.”

  He had all of his focus on the ball, his hands caressing the surface, lines of tension fanning out from his mouth. As I watched, a blurry image began to form inside the crystal ball.

  Fascinated, I shifted closer to him. “What is that?”

  “It’s…it’s Faerie. It’s my home.”

  The image solidified into stone spires and flags, a massive forest stretching out beyond the castle enclosure. I saw the turrets and the parapets where Fae would march in neat lines. I saw stained glass windows and smoke curling from chimneys.

  Smoke curling from everywhere, it seemed.

  “Mike,” I urged, shifting to get a better view, “is the castle on fire?”

  We moved closer in unison, the image now blurry to the point where we were unable to make out the finer details. But I clearly saw the lick of flame and the burning of embers in multiple places.

  Mike broke the connection with the ball and pulled away, his cheeks white and sweat beading along his hairline. The crystal ball turned blank and clear at once.

  “Fire?” he repeated. There was so much innocence—and terror—in the single word.

  “You know, I’m sure it’s nothing,” I tried to tell him with a soothing stroke of my hand on his knee. “You told me you were worried last night. I think those worries are front and center in your mind and this is what’s coming up. I’m sure it’s something easily explained.” I felt his muscles bunch.

  “Yeah, maybe you’re right.” His smile was shaky. “You’re right, of course.”

  “Okay, dabblers, move aside. Whatever weak image you conjured from your own nightmares, bro, prepare to be astounded.” Roman rubbed his hands together and moved toward his own crystal ball. “Watch the master at work.”

  The crystal swam with murky images even before his fingertips touched the sphere. A vast evergreen wood sprang into life within the depths, trees gently swaying in a breeze beneath a pulsing full moon. Utterly different from the brief glimpse of Faerie I’d gotten from Mike’s divination ball.

  My eyes widened at the clarity of the image. Roman’s vision was strong. Much stronger than any of our classmates around us. Before anything else could form, he broke the connection, shaking his hands out at his sides like he’d been burned.

  I blinked and something inside of me shifted. “What’s the matter?”

  Roman shook his head. “I’m not sure.” He sounded confused. “Something felt wrong.”

  “What do you think you saw?” Mike pressed.

  “It’s where I grew up in Faerie. I saw my home, too.”

  Wait. That…didn’t seem right to me. But then again, I’d never been there myself.

  “I’m afraid to see what comes next,” Roman admitted as he rubbed his chin.

  Mike chuckled but the sound was anything but amused. “Any reason why, bud?”

  “Because it’s dangerous for people to know their futures.” He grabbed the velvet cloth and tossed it over the crystal ball. “I might be the master but even I know that. I’m going to have to use my talents elsewhere.”

  Yeah, I couldn’t disagree with him there. A strange sense of foreboding settled on my skin along with the weight of both their gazes when the boys turned to me.

  “Your turn, Tavi.”

  “Maybe you’ll do better than the both of us,” Mike supplied with a forced grin. “This could be your thing. You never know.”

  “Somehow I doubt it,” I grumbled, turning to face my own ball.

  Focusing on the clear depths, I held my hands on either side of the sphere, close but not touching, and tried to concentrate. Tried to blank my mind of anything blocking my vision of the future.

  Show me.

  But I was afraid. What if it showed me visions of Kendrick? Then everyone would know what I needed to hide.

  My fated mate.

  As Roman had said, it was dangerous for people to know their futures. I continued to stare at the ball for the next few minutes with nothing changing, nothing showing. Okay, maybe it wasn’t my thing.

  I shouldn’t have been so happy about it.

  “How is it going over here?”

  Professor Marsh made it to our table as I continued to squint at the ball. I blinked, glancing up at her and struggling to bring her into focus. “Nothing is happening,” I stated. I wasn’t surprised.

  She cracked a smile. “Don’t worry, Miss Alderidge. There are several students in the class who are slow to start with crystal ball gazing. It takes some people years of practice. Continue to keep your mind clear and stop trying so hard. Open the connection by cupping the ball with your hands as you look inside.”

  She grabbed my hands, moving to place them gently on the ball. I jerked and ripped my hands from her grasp.

  “I’m sorry,” I said quickly. “I’m allergic to quartz crystal.” It was why I hadn’t tried to cup the sphere in the first place.

  She stared me down. “Sweetheart, there’s no such thing as an allergy to quartz crystal. What’s the real reason for your hesitation?”

  I was out of excuses.

  “I’m sorry.” I deflated, sinking down into my seat. “I can’t do this. Please don’t make me do this.” If I touched the ball, it would break my spell and reveal me to everyone and I was getting low on vials.

  I cast a pleading glance toward Mike. He just looked confused.

  “You’ve barely begun,” Marsh stated. And in her tone, I heard a mixture of incredulity and impatience. “Try again.”

  “I can’t,” I insisted.

  “This is going to affect your grade, Miss Alderidge.” Marsh’s voice hardened further and I had a hard time meeting those piercing cat eyes. They made me squirm. “You do understand. Don’t you?”

  “I do. But I can’t do this,” I replied miserably.

  “Fine. If you continue to insist you can’t do this, then replace the velvet cover and sit the rest of the lesson out. Without speaking.”

  She wasn’t happy with me, not in the least. My skin broke out in goose bumps as she walked away. I did as she ordered and tossed the velvet cloth back over the crystal ball.

  When I turned back to my friends, Mike still wore a semi-quizzical look but Roman stared at me, his eyes narrowed. He blew out a breath and turned away, like he knew the real reason I hadn’t continued.

  There was no way he could know that I couldn’t touch quartz. Was there?

/>   But a strange sense of his suspicion toward me remained. One I couldn’t shake.

  20

  The suspicion in Roman’s eyes tailed me closer than a predator stalking prey, and it took work not to break into a run and escape. I didn’t blame him but it added a new element to my distrust.

  A normal Fae like Roman would have no way of knowing about witch magic and the rules with it.

  Right?

  His dubious look was just because I’d been acting weird about the whole crystal ball business, without a good explanation. Nothing else. I didn’t understand much about Faerie magic, but I knew it was different from witch magic.

  It seemed I had trouble with both, because not only was I hopeless in my favorite class but I’d managed to waste multiple vials of my very precious potion over stupid mistakes.

  I walked out of divination class at the sound of the bell and hurried back to my dorm before Mike or Roman could confront me over the incident. They’d have questions I couldn’t answer.

  There have been too many strange things happening lately. I’d gotten myself locked into a constant state of paranoia and now I worried what my friends thought of me.

  “You’re going to have to talk to me about this quartz allergy because I’m baffled, honestly,” Mike told me later when I sat across from him in the library for our study session. It was the first thing he said to me. Not even a hello. Straight into the questions.

  I blinked innocently and fought to keep the heat from rising to my cheeks. “It’s the weirdest thing. I break out in a rash and my face swells. Like a bee sting but worse. I wish I knew why, because it’s a real pain in the ass. There’s certain jewelry I can’t wear.”

  He clearly didn’t believe me. “I’ve never heard of an allergy to quartz.”

  “What can I say?” I shrugged and tried to sound unbothered. “I’m special.”

  “Yeah, one way of putting it,” Roman stated.

  I jolted. I hadn’t seen him walk over. “Hey. I didn’t realize you’d be studying with us tonight.”

  Roman sat down with a smirk because he knew, he knew he was interrupting the cozy idea I’d had in mind for tonight. “You guys aren’t the only ones who need to study. Mike invited me. Figured I could use a quiet place to get some notes written for my transfiguration class.”

  “Oh yeah, sure, it’s fine. Why wouldn’t it be?” I hurried to say, tossing my braid over my shoulder like the motion would show how much I didn’t care.

  Did Mike not want to be alone with me anymore?

  I really needed to get a grip. I was slowly losing my mind at this school and it showed. Still, I’d been really starting to fall for Mike and hoping our near-kiss the other day meant he liked me as well. Secretly I’d hoped for a repeat tonight.

  Roman certainly was a wrench in our cozy dynamic. But he was better than Persephone, so maybe I should start thinking of it as a win.

  “Okay, maybe you guys can help me with something before we start,” Roman stated. He gathered a book out of the bag he carried over his shoulder and set it on the table between us. Dust rose and if I didn’t know any better, I’d say he’d never opened the thing. “I’m having a lot of trouble with my levitation spell.”

  “You’re not in class with us at noon,” I replied, wanting clarity.

  “No, mine is a little later in the day, at three. Same teacher though, so I figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask you for advice. One of us has to have an idea.”

  “Your levitation game is weak, man,” Mike agreed. “I’ve seen you trying to figure things out in the dorm. I’m not sure one study session is going to help you improve but Tavi and I will do our best.”

  I liked the way he linked our names together.

  “Hey, I’m not ashamed to ask for help. Why do you think I’m here?” Roman wiggled his fingers over the tome like some kind of hoodoo would help him. “I’m not sure if my intonation is off or if my magic is not built for this kind of spell.”

  “It’s a basic spell,” I said, adding my two cents. “At least, it’s a little easier than some of the other things they’re teaching us.”

  Roman raised a brow. “Well, all right, Miss Know It All. If it’s such a basic spell then please show me how it’s done. I would like to see the master at work.”

  At least this one I had in the bag. I was doing well in transfiguration class. Hopefully I’d be able to keep up the momentum tonight with an audience. This might be my opportunity to make up for what had happened earlier today with the crystal ball.

  My strength for transfiguration might outweigh my lack of progress in divination.

  “Stand back, boys, and prepare to be amazed.” I clapped my hands together and rubbed, preparing for the spell. I remembered the words as I’d practiced them over and over in the shower with my bar of soap.

  This, at least, I knew how to do. I tried to summon the confidence I’d felt earlier when I lifted my book off the desk in class. Easily, without effort. Maybe I wasn’t such a loser with magic after all. Maybe I just needed practice finding my niche.

  I closed my eyes and eased out a breath. And when I opened them, when I blew out the breath, Roman’s textbook shot ten feet into the air toward the top of the massive book shelves ringing us.

  Mike and Roman followed its progress with their eyes.

  “Wow,” Mike murmured.

  Maybe I really was starting to come into my powers. About time.

  I crooked a finger and the book flew back to me, landing softly on the desk, the pages fluttering open to the center, the dust gone.

  “Okay, so maybe you aren’t completely hopeless,” Roman stated with a small, nearly silent clap.

  “For some subjects, yeah, but not this one. Come on, Mike. Your turn now.”

  Mike followed the same spell, used the same incantation. His book wobbled in front of him but did not rise. A few more minutes of agonized concentration had it moving four inches in front of his face and dropping down just as quickly.

  I remembered his crystal ball divination earlier. How the image had blurred without ever forming into anything solid. I wondered if he was holding himself back to make me feel better. Mike was a full-blood Fae, preparing to rise to the position of king. He should be blowing my work out of the water easily.

  “Hey, it was a great try,” I told him with an encouraging smile. Part of me softened. If he was holding himself back for my benefit…it made me like him even more.

  But it was completely unnecessary.

  Mike puffed out a breath and let the spell break. “See?” he told Roman when his book dropped and lay still. “This is why she’s in the top 25 while the rest of us struggle to catch up. And why she’s going to definitely make it to the next level.”

  “I’m not doing as well as you think. The score was for the examinations,” I clarified. “If you take into account my classwork then I’m only in the top one hundred.”

  “Top one hundred is still better than me. I’m currently stagnating. And only the top one hundred make it through to the next semester.” Mike pointed to his chest. “That’s why I need these study sessions. You think we’re here for you only? No way. Someone needs to whip me into shape and I think you have the discipline to do it.”

  “Don’t worry. We’ll make sure you stay,” I fussed. “Although I’m not sure why you’re worried about it. You’re only here in the interest of goodwill and learning about your people, right?”

  “Yeah, sure.” His smile went tight. “Still, it seems I don’t have nearly the natural aptitude you do. You are going to zip through the rest of the semester and pass on with flying colors. I have no doubt about it.”

  “I’m glad one of us is doubtless. Because on a normal day I’m not sure why I’m here.” I smoothed my skirt because I couldn’t handle him looking at me any longer, especially with Roman dividing his attention between us with an all-knowing grin.

  “You’re here because you work hard and you care about making your dreams come true,” Mike said. �
�Not everyone can claim the same. There are a lot of selfish people around.”

  “You better be careful because if someone hears you, they will think you don’t really care for your classmates.”

  “Maybe I just have a knack for seeking out quality friends.”

  And boom, the warm fuzzy feeling again. I was becoming addicted to it.

  We finished the study session with Roman improving his levitation spell by leaps and bounds. He’d had some of the text pronunciation off and I wondered why no one had bothered to correct him up to this point.

  Not my business. At least we left the library in good spirits.

  I sat down to dinner next to Melia, the guys off for a prior engagement neither one of them had bothered to tell me about. Men.

  “What’s up with them?” She jerked her thumb over her shoulder at their twin retreating forms.

  “I don’t know. I’m not in the inner circle of trust, apparently. They haven’t said anything even though we’ve been studying for hours.” I stared down at my salad and apple, my gorge rising. What I wouldn’t give for a big juicy burger dripping with cheese.

  “Ooh, you had another afternoon study session with the prince.” Melia leaned closer and said in a conspirator’s whisper, “Any kind of hanky-panky going on there?”

  I picked up a grape and tossed it at her. “Not even funny. Besides, Roman was there too.”

  Once I finished my lackluster dinner, I headed back to the dormitory with my spell books. They made for dry company but unfortunately, I hadn’t been lying when I told Mike I was worried. I might be in the top 25 overall for now, but there were still a few more hurdles to get through before I could feel safe about my position. There were too many variables for me to worry about.

  There was no one around when I pushed through the door, breathing in the familiar scents of the dorm. Lemon wood polish on the floor and the floral scent of lavender and rosemary sprigs hanging from the windowsills.

  I let out a sigh of relief. I could not deal with Persephone and the rest of her mean girls right now. I’d gotten lucky in this little piece of alone time.