by Sadie Moss
Their hands and mouths on me, in me, encouraging me to be a good girl and come for them just one more time…
“You’re wet,” Asher notes, his hand creeping up my thigh to slip between my legs. “You like that idea.”
If I didn’t know better, I’d say he was reading my mind. He starts stroking me again and oh, God, yes.
Instead of answering him, I press my lips to his, climbing on top of him, and our bodies start moving together again. It feels amazing. Perfect.
But as we kiss…
I can’t help but hope a little that we do get caught.
Chapter 10
We didn’t get caught, unfortunately. Cam and Dmitri didn’t make it back to the room until after 1 a.m., when Asher and I were curled up in his bed, mostly asleep.
It was still incredible, though. He knew exactly where to touch me, and when, and how. He had me moaning helplessly, putty in his hands, and just remembering it makes me hot all over.
I swear it was like he was in my head, even with his cuff on. Of course, his cuff was on and activated, so there’s no way he was actually reading my mind, but he might as well have been. It was like he knew everything I wanted even before I knew it. Thank God we were already in our dorm room, because my legs were shaking so hard after that second round—
Professor Perkins raps on my desk, and I jump.
Fuck. That’s what I get for daydreaming in Practical Magic class.
Perkins gives me a stern look and then goes back to his lecture, walking up and down between the rows of desks. “Now, as you can imagine, the more complex the rune, the faster you need to draw it in order to complete it, otherwise the magic will think you’re doing another, simpler rune and behave accordingly.”
Our magic dampening cuffs are off for this class, but it’s probably the most frustrating and boring of my cuff-less classes. Runes are difficult as hell, and we’re not doing anything fun with them anyway. They’re usually used in conjunction with enchanted objects, which theoretically makes them accessible to anyone, since the object is providing the magic, not you. But even though this is a practical class, it’s dense work, and Perkins tends to get pretty long-winded in his explanations.
And to be honest, after getting my butt handed to me by Johnson last spring thanks to his arsenal of charms and enchanted jewelry, I feel a little bitter about this aspect of magic.
Still, even if I don’t find the subject all that interesting, I can’t afford to be lazy in this class. I have to work my ass off if I want to stay on top of my grades this semester.
I focus back in and listen—or try to. I feel unusually hot. Not turned on, but like the room is too hot, like my skin’s too tight, like I can’t…
Jesus. What’s going on?
I tug at my collar, feeling like I’m choking a little, trying to get some air. Am I the only one feeling this way? Everyone else looks fine.
As I drop my hand back down—
Lightning bursts from my palm.
It’s just a little zap, really, but it’s freaking lightning, so it’s strong enough to fly across the room and hit the opposite wall. It only misses Professor Perkins by a couple of inches, and my mouth drops open in horror. Fuck! I could’ve killed him if that zap had hit.
Perkins jumps and whirls around, his gaze zeroing in immediately on Daria, my classmate who has the ability to use lightning.
She’s also sitting right in front of me today.
“Put your cuff on, Daria,” he orders, keeping his cool a lot better than I would if I’d almost just been struck by lightning.
“But—” My classmate sounds totally shocked. Her black curls frame her head like a halo, and she sits up straighter, glancing around.
“Now, please.” He raises his bushy brows, tilting his chin down. “I like to think I’m not quite so bad a professor that you all want to assassinate me, but I’d rather be safe than sorry.”
There’s some laughter around the room. Daria looks around, like she’s trying to figure out who just pranked her, but then puts her cuff back on slowly, still confused.
Shit, that was totally my fault, not hers. I did that. But how?
I’m not exactly about to raise my hand and say so in front of everyone when I have no explanation for what just happened.
Instead, I wait until after class. The school admins are very strict about when, where, and how we can take off our cuffs, and I don’t want Daria to get in trouble for something she didn’t do. Remedial students or those having a hard time maintaining even basic control sometimes have to keep them on even during cuff-less classes, which is always super embarrassing. It’s the magical academy equivalent of having to sit in the corner with a pointy dunce cap on.
“Hey, um, professor?”
Professor Perkins turns to me, adjusting his bowtie as the other students file out. “Yes, Miss Sinclair?”
“Daria didn’t create that lightning strike. I think… I think it was me.” I can still feel the tingle in my fingers from it, like there’s a little bit of electric energy left over.
Perkins chuckles, his ruddy cheeks rounding as he smiles. “I appreciate you trying to cover for Miss Hayes. But don’t worry, she’s not in trouble. Sometimes volatile energy magic like hers can be hard to control, and I know she didn’t mean to do it. There’s no reason for you to worry. That’s why we have the magic dampening braces.”
“I’m—”
I am worried, he’s not wrong about that. I don’t want another student to get in trouble because of me. But I’m not just making this up to cover for her, damn it, it’s the actual truth.
Or rather… I think it is. Could it have been Daria? The idea of me summoning lightning like that… It’s crazy, right? Maybe I just imagined it? I’m tired. I didn’t get much sleep last night, and I do sometimes zone out in this class.
“It’s kind of you to worry about Miss Hayes. You always keep an eye out for others, and that’s an admirable quality,” Professor Perkins goes on, probably thinking of when I found Jessica in the locker room after Raul attacked her. “But I’m afraid it’s also quite difficult to cover for someone when they have a very specific magical skillset. If we were all fire elementalists, that would be one thing— but with Unpredictables, where everyone has their own very unique power, it’s near-impossible to take the blame for someone else’s slip-up.”
“Right.”
My fingers have stopped tingling. Were they ever really tingling?
Yeah, they must have been.
I’m so confused and honestly a bit freaked out, because I have no idea how I made that lightning happen… or if I even did it.
“Have a good rest of your day, Miss Sinclair,” Professor Perkins says, gathering up the books on his desk. He’s clearly got other things to do.
“Right. Yeah, you too, professor.”
Slipping my cuff back on, I hurry out of the room. I curl my fingers into fists as I walk, as if I’m worried some stray bolts of electric magic could fly out of them at any moment despite the dampening brace I’m wearing.
I’m glad Daria won’t get in trouble, even if she was a little embarrassed to be called out in front of everyone like that. But that still doesn’t explain what happened.
My head feels a little fuzzy. I was daydreaming in class, and I’m tired, and rune magic fries my brain like nothing else. But I can’t have entirely imagined what happened, what I did.
I need to figure out what’s going on with me.
Chapter 11
The weirdness only gets worse over the next few weeks.
It’s not lightning. No, that would actually freak me out less. It’s all kinds of magic.
I don’t know what’s going on. It feels like a new sort of magic is bubbling up inside me—only my body can’t seem to decide on what kind of magic it is.
Once, when I’m working on a project with my classmate Leo in Theory of Magic class, I find myself moving at super speed out of nowhere for a few seconds. Another time, I’m sparring Dmit
ri when I feel my hand start to phase through him. At first, I think he’s the one doing it, that his arm is phasing and I’m still solid. But no… I’m pretty sure it’s me.
I don’t think anyone else notices those weird blips of magic I manifest, they’re there and gone so fast. But both times, I throw up after class.
What’s happening to me? What kind of magic is my body going to settle on, and when will it fully manifest?
I have no clue, and it terrifies me. The first time my sonic boom happened, I nearly killed myself and two other people, and the second time I unleashed it, I sent Asher to the hospital by accident. I didn’t do any of it on purpose. Now I’ve got all kinds of magic coming out of me, way more powers than anyone should be able to have. And they’re so random, these little spurts that come and go so fast I almost can’t believe they’re real.
For the first time, I truly start to feel Unpredictable. It makes sense why we’re called that—I can’t tell when or how or where my magic will appear, or what power it’ll be this time. I’m terrified a moment will come when I hurt someone.
The guys know the basics of what’s going on. I can’t not tell them, seeing as we share a room together. But I don’t want to worry them too much. They’ve only just stopped hovering over me and obsessing about my recovery from the whole coma thing. So I tell them I’ve been feeling a little wonky and that I think I’m developing a new power and leave it at that. Unpredictables generally have one or two powers, but there are a few with three, so it’s not unheard of.
I also can’t help but wonder if this is because of what Johnson hit me with. Did he fuck me up magically?
If he did, I’m gonna find him and kick his ass all over again.
Of course, because nothing is ever normal at the Academy of Unpredictable Magic, my powers aren’t the only freaky thing going on.
Two more students lose their magic.
I’m not there to witness either of the events. Asher’s there for one of them, and he spends the rest of the night pale, silent, and withdrawn. I end up sleeping in his bed with him just to cuddle and help him feel better.
Nobody knows who’s doing it, or even how. There’s nothing suspicious going on that anyone can track, no student or faculty member conducting weird rituals right beforehand or showing any sign of doing magic.
The administration, of course, seems hesitant to openly admit that anything’s wrong. I think Dean Hardwick’s really feeling the strain. Fuck, I feel kind of bad for him. First Raul went on a rampage looking for the Brimstone Orb, which caused the school to lose the insurance that came with storing magical artifacts for the Circuit in an underground vault. Then the Trials brought a ton of national attention to our little academy—not all of it positive.
No wonder poor Hardwick is walking around looking like someone ran over his dog.
Like I said, though, nobody wants to act like the school might actually be cursed or something, so after midterms, family day for the third-years goes ahead as planned.
The admins and professors want to show skeptical parents how just three years of training have helped their “uncontrollable” and “dangerous” kids become proficient and skilled in their magic, able to control their powers and ready to be a functioning member of society. Makes sense to me, considering how many parents seem to look down on their children for being Unpredictable.
I’m weirdly nervous about the whole thing, even though it’s not my family coming. I’m not even a third year, and I don’t have any family who’d want to visit me besides Maddy—and God knows I wouldn’t be nervous about seeing her. But Asher and Dmitri… I’m not even officially dating either of them, especially Dmitri, but I’ll have to meet their parents at some point, won’t I, if they’re on campus all day? The only way to avoid it would be to hole up in the dorm room until everyone leaves, and that would be way too obvious and probably wouldn’t work anyway.
Cam hangs back with me as the people with families surge out onto the quad to meet them. He squeezes my hand reassuringly. I know he’s met Asher’s family a lot and has only heard stories about Dmitri’s family the way I have. He looks a little sad, and I realize he’s thinking about his own parents and how they’d probably be here if they could.
I know Mom would be here if she could.
Squeezing his hand in return, I lean against him, trying to reassure him and show that I understand. He shoots me a grateful look and kisses my temple, his sky-blue eyes warm and open.
“Elliot!” Asher rushes over, grinning. “C’mere, I want you to meet my folks.”
He grabs my free hand and tugs me away from his friend. I have a moment to shoot a panicked look back at Cam—who grins and waves at me, the bastard—before Asher’s dragging me over to…
Oh, wow.
Not all of his brothers came today—that would be insane, there’s twelve of them—but a lot of them did, and holy crap is this a big family. Two older people are standing at the front of the group, smiling, both with dark brown hair. The man has blue eyes though, and broad shoulders with a strong jaw, and the woman is slim with the same deep green eyes as Asher. I guess he must take after his mom then.
“Mom, Dad, guys, this is Elliot.” Asher sounds insanely proud. “My girlfriend.”
I almost choke on my own tongue at that. I know we’ve been inching toward this moment, but I wasn’t prepared for the burst of joy and adrenaline that explodes in my chest at the sound of that word.
Girlfriend.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” I say in my customer service voice. “I’ve heard great things about you.”
“Asher here won’t shut up about you,” one of his brothers jokes.
The man in question glares at him, and I laugh a little in spite of myself. This is payback for Maddy and all her embarrassing stories about me.
The Prince brothers and Asher’s parents immediately launch into asking me questions. I’m genuinely happy to answer them, even though my nerves are churning in my gut like clothes on a spin cycle.
“I gotta admit,” one of his brothers says—I feel awful but I can’t possibly keep all their names straight, not when there are so many of them. “We were shocked our little bro actually worked up the courage to ask you out.”
“Oh?” I nudge Asher, grinning. “Is he usually shy?”
I can’t point out to his brothers that the reason Asher’s so bold with me is thanks to Cam basically outright saying Asher and he both have feelings for me and are willing to share.
There’s also the fact that anytime his cuff is off in our shared classes, he can read the thoughts in my head that make it painfully apparent how much I want him. I know he still doesn’t feel comfortable with his power and tries not to use it if he can help it, but what he does pick up from my mind has to give him a major confidence boost.
Besides, I want to hear all about Asher’s mishaps.
What? That’s what a girlfriend meeting the family is for, right?
“Oh, he’s the worst,” one of his other brothers tells me. I think this one’s name starts with a J. “He had a crush on this girl in elementary school…”
“Do we really have to do this?” Asher scrubs a hand down his face.
“Yes,” his brothers chorus.
I laugh. “Don’t worry,” I promise, grinning at him. “I won’t tell a soul. I’ll just remind you periodically of all the excellent blackmail material I now have on you.”
He rolls his eyes, and I bat my eyelashes at him exaggeratedly. His brothers all laugh. They seem to like me, although that might be because Asher’s got his arm around my waist and he keeps giving me those puppy dog eyes of his. I hope they like me for me, but his attitude toward me definitely helps.
“I hate to interrupt,” Mrs. Prince says. I do remember her name. It’s Linda. “But you wanted to give us a tour of campus, honey, and we should probably get going on that.” She lowers her voice and whispers to me conspiratorially, “It’s a pain in the ass to get us anywhere; we’re a herd.”
“I hope you guys have fun.” I grin, and it feels more genuine now that I’ve relaxed a bit.
“You’re welcome to come,” Asher’s dad offers, but I really don’t want to join.
No offense, of course. It’s just that talking to a bunch of new people is one thing. Charming people at the bar when I’m working for tips is another. But hanging out with my sort-of-probably-boyfriend’s family for hours?
I’m not sure I’m quite ready to handle that yet.
Not when this is still so new between Asher and myself—and the other guys too. Plus, I don’t want to be rude and cut in on their family time. Their son already spent most of his summer watching over me while I was in a magical coma. I don’t want to take him away from them any more than I already have.
“No, don’t even worry about it,” I tell them with a smile. “I have to go see some other people, but it was really great to meet you all. You’re all lovely, it’s easy to see where Asher gets it from.”
Ash looks like he just choked on air. I don’t think he’s heard me be this polite to people in… well, ever.
I kiss him on the cheek, wave at his family, walk away—and promptly try not to have a panic attack.
Holy shit, I actually survived that. I think they actually like me.
Quick, where’s a corner so I can hyperventilate?
I don’t see a convenient dark corner for shrieking and freaking out in. I don’t see Cam or Roman either, buddying it up in their “no family” club. But I do see Dmitri.
Huh.
He’s with his parents, two people who look like they’ve just stepped off a private jet and are wondering what sort of peasant party this is that there isn’t any caviar. Dmitri takes after his father in looks, clearly, with the dark hair and eyes, but I suspect his mother’s actually got dark hair too and that her blonde locks are an expensive dye-job.
Dmitri looks actively miserable.
Okay, in fairness, the man’s not a exactly a bucket of sunshine on a good day. I admit this. But let me put it this way. When I showed the guys my essay on the intersection between the spiritualist movement in the United States and necromancy magic, Cam told me all the things that were great about it, Asher fixed my grammar, and Dmitri took one look at it and said, “your conclusion is weak and you ramble too much in the third and sixth paragraphs.”