I didn’t mean to expose magic. I thought I was just helping a friend and I definitely didn’t want to get him in trouble. I was hearing him and he sure as shit wasn’t hearing me! If he would just listen! “Maybe you were okay with leaving her there, to freeze and rot for eternity, but I wasn’t.”
“You know what your biggest problem is? You always think the worst of me! And I haven’t given you a reason to.” He curled his hands into fists at his sides. “If you had just asked me to help you, I could’ve done it easily. When are you going to trust me? When is what I do for you going to be enough?”
His words stung. Was I too impulsive? Had I done the wrong thing? The burning fire I felt running through my body turned cold as ice even though my heart was racing. “Trust needs to be earned.”
He threw his hands up, then smacked them down on his thighs with a loud slap. “Then you tell me how everything I’ve been doing the past few weeks hasn’t all been for you? I try to be nice. I try to get you into classes I think you’ll like. I look the other way when you sneak out of the house in the middle of the night to go hang out with your friends. All I’ve asked is for you to take this seriously and you just can’t.” He reached for the door and wrapped his hand around the knob. “You know what, I’m not mad. I’m just disappointed.”
Everyone knows that’s so much worse than mad!
“Beck.”
He hesitated and glanced at me over his shoulder.
I swallowed down my nerves. “I’m sorry.”
“Like you said before, you’re really not.” He turned and walked away. I glanced out the door to watch after him. He threw his fist out and punched the wall beside his face, splintering the hard wood there.
When I turned back, Maze stood there staring at me. I startled and jumped back. “Ew, what are you doing here?”
His dark hair hung in his eyes and a dangerous smile passed over his lips. “The cat has my marshmallows . . . I know it.”
I glanced over my shoulder at Odin then back at Maze. “There aren’t any marshmallows in my room, Maze.”
He pointed a finger at my face. “If I catch him stealing my food . . . I’ll skin him.”
“Okay, gross.” I closed the door in his face and turned to the bed.
I dropped down on it and let my arms and legs flop.
Odin curled on his side next to me. “I think you broke the pretty blond one.” His voice was low and hissing.
“Yeah, well, you broke the dark twisted one.”
Odin chuckled. “I know. Isn’t it great?”
No, no, it’s not . . .
Chapter 27
Astrid
“And then he said I’m really not sorry. I’ve never seen him so mad before.” I crossed my arms on the table in front of me and laid my head on them.
“Well, you did kind of move a mountain. So I can see his frustration.” Leo rubbed one of his hands in small circles over my back. With the other hand he held his cell phone up as he texted fast and furious messages.
“I mean, it’s pretty awesome if you ask me.” Cassidy leaned back in her chair and glanced over her shoulder at where the rest of her house was sitting.
I nudged Leo. “Are you even listening to me?”
A small smile played on his lips and he bit his bottom lip. “I’m listening.”
“You so are not, and that smile says boy . . . cute boy.” Just because I was having problems with Beckett didn’t mean I wasn’t happy for Leo. He needed to move on from Kyle and whoever could make him smile like that was good in my book. “So what’s his name?”
Leo glanced over his shoulder at the wave of students sitting around us. Then leaned in closer to me. “I mean, he’s kind of a famous witch and I don’t want to make a big thing of it because we’re just chatting, you know?”
“You’re dating a witch?” I hissed under my breath. “Isn’t that taboo in the warlock world?”
Leo snickered. “Yeah, it is, but I don’t care.”
“Good, me neither.” I reached out and snagged his phone from his hand. I glanced down at the name. “Ohhhhh Poison Roycy. I kind of love it. But why poison?”
He grabbed his phone back and shoved it into his pocket. “Because he’s a badass. But it’s really not my story to tell. Especially not here.”
The cafeteria around me buzzed with activity and I could see why he wouldn’t want any of that to get out. It was both crazy yet somehow controlled with all the other students. We sat in the middle of it all and anyone would be able to hear us if they got close enough.
The students sectioned themselves off according to what house they each belonged in. The Malback House took up one corner of the cafeteria. It was a sea of black jackets with the hydras on the back. Shouts and cheers filled their side of the room. Some of them arm wrestled while others fought over who could eat the most chocolate pudding in one sitting. Plastic pudding cups littered the tables and some of the floor. A boy who was the size of a bear squeezed two cups into his mouth at the same time. While his competition, a stealthy-looking girl with short black hair scooped pudding into her mouth with blinding speed. As she took the last bite, she leapt to her feet and chucked the empty plastic cup in the guy’s face. She threw her arms up and a chorus of cheers broke out.
Cassidy gave a halfhearted, “Whoo.”
In the other corner of the cafeteria sat the students of Whitmore House. They reminded me of the preppy students I used to go to school with in New York. Their shirts were either polo or pressed button-downs. The boys’ haircuts were short and girls wore high ponytails. Under their bomber jackets their clothes were every color of the rainbow. If it was a competition to see which group was the loudest, they were a close second. To my right over by the entrance sets of booths lined the wall and only a few of the students of the psychic house sat there, each one looking more fragile than the next. With barely a morsel of food on their plates.
It all seemed so normal, well, if Dustwick House wasn’t floating tables and chairs over my head. The clattering and clanking over my head wasn’t helping the splitting headache I was rocking.
“Look, guys, I know I messed up, but I couldn’t just leave her there, you know?”
Leo nodded. “Oh I get why you did it, but he was right.”
“Ugh, I know he was right.” I lifted my head and pressed my hand over my face. “How is it possible to feel like I messed up but didn’t all at the same time?”
Two chairs dropped down right behind me and a smaller warlock with dark black shaggy hair waved his hand at the table. “My bad.”
“Ugh.” I waved my hand and let magic go. Golden smoke grabbed every piece of furniture over our head and placed it all back where it came from, the way I visualized it. Dozens and dozens of tables and chairs all perfectly back in place.
The cafeteria went silent and all eyes swung toward me. I glanced around. “What?”
Cassidy leaned across the table. “Um, Astrid, no one has seen power like that before. We all kind of, you know, have an average amount. Not move an entire cafeteria full of furniture that a dozen other warlocks are messing with.”
“Um, well, they were giving me a headache and I really didn’t want a table dropped on my head.” I ran my hand through my hair. “But really, guys, what am I going to do?”
Leo sat back and crossed his legs. “You could send flowers, candy, perhaps even a love note?”
I rolled my eyes. “Be serious.”
“Oh I am, use your feminine wiles.” He bumped me with his elbow.
“I don’t have feminine wiles.”
Leo pursed his lips. “You know nothing. Of course you do.”
Just as the noise of the cafeteria rose back to its thunderous level, the doors busted wide-open, smacking into the walls. “Astrid!”
My head snapped up. “Maze?”
He quickened his pace toward me as he wound his way through the chairs and tables of people. The noise died once more, and he charged forward, unaware that everyone stared at h
im. His eyes were wide and round with panic. I sat up straight, butterflies fluttering in my stomach. I too glanced toward the door, looking for someone . . . Beckett. If something went wrong, he came for me, but this time he was nowhere to be found. Which made my nervous flutters turn to full-blown worried tremors. As he got closer to our table, I rose to my feet.
“What’s happened?”
“Y-you had better come quick.” He wrapped his hand around my wrist and pulled me toward the door.
I called back to Leo and Cassidy. “I’ll text you later.”
Everyone watched us and it only made me more uncomfortable. I hated being the center of attention and now I was the lead role in today’s dramatic entertainment. Maze pulled me through the door and down a long hall flooded with students. Where he walked, they jumped out of his way and didn’t even try to make eye contact. When I was with Beckett it was the complete opposite. They always wanted to see Beck, talk to him, or get his attention in some way. For Maze they couldn’t move fast enough.
“Maze, where are we going?”
“Home.”
I tried to slow him down, but he wouldn’t stop. “Is everything okay?”
“No.”
My heart skyrocketed and panic over came me. “Did something happen?”
“Yes.”
These one-word answers were killing me. Why couldn’t he just be a normal person instead of acting like some cryptic magic eight ball? He marched me through a set of double doors and we were out in the middle of the circle path that connected all the buildings of the school. It was late morning, nearly noon, and the air held that crisp cool feel I might’ve enjoyed if he wasn’t completely freaking out. What the hell could’ve gotten him like this? And why wasn’t Beckett the one to come get me? Was he really that mad or did something worse happen to him?
If something happened to him, I’d kill whoever did it. Where’d that come from? “Did something happen to Beckett?”
I held my breath, waiting as he dragged me around the corner toward our house. His long legs ate up the distance and I had to practically jog to keep up with him. The muscles in my legs burned. When he didn’t answer, I planted my heels and forced him to stop. When he whirled around, I pulled my arm from his grip. “Maze, what the hell happened?”
“Just come on, you have to see this.” He grabbed my arm once more and pulled me up the stairs and onto our front porch.
It wasn’t an answer, but it was more than one word. I’ll take it. I followed him through the foyer, past a wide-eyed Cross, and up the stairs. Logan stood on the top step. “Where are you two off to?”
Maze didn’t stop. “Move.”
He shoved past Logan and turned to go down the hall toward my room. I glanced over my shoulder at Logan.
“I’ll let you know as soon as I find out.”
When I turned to look at Beckett’s office door, which usually stood open, now it was closed up tight. The sound of him moving around traveled into the hall, yet he didn’t come out. I didn’t have time to think about it as Maze shoved my door wide-open and dragged me in. He pulled me around in front of him and pushed me forward.
I stumbled and caught myself on my desk just in time to spot that unmistakable short blond hair full of curls.
“What’s up bitches?”
My jaw dropped open. “Tilly?”
She clapped her hands together and squealed. “The one and only.”
I glanced from Maze to her and back again. “What did you do?”
“I didn’t do anything. She just showed up here.” He rubbed his hand over the back of his neck and took a small step back from her. “I saw her coming.”
Tilly sauntered over to him and looked up at him with those big brown eyes of hers. “You certainly did.” She held her hands out. “And now here I am, thanks to you.”
Maze swallowed and his eyes went wide. “I, um, I, um . . .”
My emotions warred with in me. Elation flowed through my body so hard I could barely contain myself. I missed her so much it was a constant ache in my chest. Now she was here with me, in the flesh. I wanted to both hug her and send her away. It wasn’t safe here and if anyone deserved my protection it was my bestie sister. I rounded on Maze. “What were you thinking bringing her here?” I marched past him and slammed my door shut.
“Um, ouch much.” Tilly’s face fell into a deep scowl “You could at least pretend to be happy to see me after you ghosted my ass for the past few weeks.”
Her voice was laced with hurt and for a moment I’d forgotten the infallible Tilly could be deeply hurt sometimes. I didn’t want to see her upset. If she was hurt, I was hurt too. That was the way we worked and though I was different, nothing could change that for us.
I walked across my room and threw my arms around her shoulder and hugged her tight. “I missed you so much.”
She stiffened for a moment then hugged me back. “Not enough to tell me where you were.”
I pulled back and looked her dead in the eye. “You can’t stay here. It’s not safe.”
“Bullshit. If you’re here, then I am too.” She shrugged and turned away to walk around my room. “It’s not that big, but we’ll make do. I didn’t bring that many clothes. I figured I’d borrow yours and we can bunk together until I get a hold of the manager of this place and get my own room, or is it the headmaster?”
“Till, you’re not listening to me.” The sound of footsteps sounded in the hall. I lowered my voice. “Seriously, you cannot stay.”
“Oh no you don’t.” She shook her head. You don’t get to transfer to a fancy new private school without me. What were you thinking? Honestly, Astrid, if I wasn’t so confident in our awesome bestieness, I would be hurt, truly hurt.”
Her eyes glistened for a second and I saw it all, how upset she truly was. We were family and I messed it up, but what could I have done? She wasn’t a person of Evermore and my secrets were forbidden to show to mortals. I glanced up at Maze for some help here. How was I going to make her leave without devastating her?
Maze crossed his arms over his chest. “And now you see why I had no choice but to bring her here.”
“Yeah, you did, big guy.” She beamed at him and he took another step back.
Maze, the badass psychic who ate like a pig, predicted the future, saw worlds no one else could understand and would kill just as easily as he would make a sandwich, was thrown by little Tilly Astoria. “Astrid, this is all you.”
“Wait, what? You brought her here and you’re bailing?” I marched over to him, grabbed his arm, and pulled him into the center of the room. My magic began to rise with each passing moment. I had no idea what I was going to do and he was going to help me. “You are staying.”
“Okay, I’m staying.” His brows furrowed in confusion. “I don’t want to, but I am. Why am I?”
“I have no idea, but I’ll take it.” I shook my head at him. “I can’t believe you did this.”
“Hey! Don’t blame him. He stopped me from knocking on the front door.” Tilly moved to stand in front of him and face me. Like she was going to protect him from me.
I threw my arms up. “Then how the hell did you get here?”
“You know, you could act kind of happy to see me.” She put her hands on her hips and arched her eyebrow the way she always did when we were about to argue.
“I am happy to see you. But this place is hidden.” For your protection. “For good reason.” So I don’t accidently kill you. “And we have to follow those rules.”
“Well, I got this text from some girl named Medusa. I mean, who names their kid Medusa nowadays? I’m all for that girl power and naming your kid after a woman who could turn people to stone, but so weird.”
Maze locked eyes with me and glared. I’d done Medusa a favor and now she was doing me one. I gave her, her sister and now she was giving me mine. Damn my good intentions.
“So she gave you the address and here you are?”
“Here I am.” She held her arms to h
er sides, presenting herself like a present.
I ran my hands through my hair and tugged on the strands. How could one good intention backfire so bad? “Till—”
A firm knock sounded on my door. “Astrid.”
Shit, Beckett. If he didn’t hate me for what I did last night, he’d for sure hate me for this. “Yeah?”
“What’s going on? I heard voices.” His voice was so smooth, yet goose bumps covered my skin every time he spoke.
The toilet in my bathroom flushed and Odin strolled out. When he spotted the three of us, he stopped dead in his tracks. “Meow?”
I turned to Tilly and lowered my voice. “You have to hide.”
“Where? Why?” She began looking for a place to hide, but there weren’t many options. My bed was too low to the floor and the bathroom was always an obvious hiding place.
“Help me.” I hissed at Maze.
“What am I going to do?” he snapped back.
“If he sees her here and knows Medusa sent her then this is even more my fault.” I turned and paced back and forth.
“Astrid, open the door,” Beckett demanded.
Smoke poured from my hands and panic overcame me. Shit, shit, shit. After last night I was in so deep with him I didn’t want him to be even more pissed at me. I shook my hands, trying to calm down, but no matter what I did smoke poured from me.
“Um, dude, you’re on fire.” Tilly pointed to my hand.
Odin looked up at me. “Meow.”
I turned to Tilly. “Do you trust me?”
She nodded. “Yeah, totes.”
“Okay.” I opened my hand over her face and a puff of gold smoke smacked her in the nose and Tilly crumbled at my feet.
Wicked Wish (The Royals: Warlock Court Book 2) Page 13