“Want me to stay?” Zach asked.
“No, that’s okay, no need for you to sit through it again,” I said.
“I can stay,” Matt said.
“She’ll be fine by herself,” Professor Halifax said as she stopped in front of me. “Though, I will expect you here promptly after lunch for your independent study.”
Zach frowned and I could tell he didn’t like the situation. I wondered if he was jealous.
The twins walked away and left me alone in the room with the professor. “So, what did I miss? Should I take notes?”
She sat down next to me. It was the most informal thing she’d ever done. Almost like she was letting her guard down. “We need to talk.”
My stomach tightened. That wasn’t a great phrase. It was usually followed by words like I’m breaking up with you or you’re fired. “About?”
“The Yule Ball,” she said. “They whisked you away to meet with your probation officer before you could even process what happened.”
“That’s true,” I said.
“How are you doing?” She looked genuinely concerned.
I wasn’t sure how to react. It had been a long time since an adult, I mean technically I was an adult, but a long time since someone in a position of authority asked me how I was doing. “I’m okay, I guess.”
She frowned. “You’ve been through a lot in the last several months. I have a feeling you are not okay.”
“Well, I don’t really have a choice,” I said. “I have to be okay or I have to fake it, at least.”
“Right, but your magic won’t be as strong as it should be if your head isn’t in the right place.”
There it was. The reason she was concerned. My magic. For a moment, I thought maybe she was worried about me. Magic was an odd thing. And mine seemed especially curious to those around me. “I am doing my best.”
“I worry about you, you know,” she said, standing. “You and me aren’t so different.”
“We aren’t?” I didn’t mean to say the words out loud but it was hard to imagine her finding similarities between us. She was so composed and sure of herself. And she was powerful.
She smiled. “There are few with fae blood in the human realm. Those of us who are left here should help one another.”
“Like the magic thief helped me?” I asked.
She pursed her lips. “The magic thief didn’t speak for the rest of the fae. It was a surprise to all of us to find out she was fae in the first place. Magic thieves are usually half demon, half mage.”
“I’m sorry, I wasn’t trying to say fae are bad,” I said. “It’s just that she went after me so I guess she didn’t share your sentiment.”
“I suppose not,” she said. “Why don’t you go grab some food. Meet me back here in ten minutes. I can’t have you passing out on me.”
I didn’t wait to be told twice. I shoved my notebook in my backpack, then quickly zipped it up.
Knowing I only had a few minutes, I grabbed some fruit and a sandwich in a plastic bag, giving my friends a wistful glance before walking toward the door.
I wasn’t looking where I was going and walked right into someone, dropping my sandwich. “Sorry.”
I knelt down to pick up my food, grateful it was still wrapped. A familiar hand brushed against mine, grabbing the sandwich before me. I looked up to see Zach.
He grinned at me. “In a hurry?”
I stood and took the offered sandwich from him. “Yeah, she gave me a few minutes to grab food before my independent study.”
He frowned briefly. “How exactly can it be an independent study when there are two of you meeting in there?”
“Zach Obscura, are you jealous?” I teased.
“Yes,” he said, without flinching.
I blinked back at him, unable to hide my surprise at his words. Zach was a flirt but he had a sweet streak. Between him and his brother, he was the one I would have thought was more likely to cover for me the way Matt had.
“Speechless?” he said with a smirk. “I’ll take that as a good sign. You better go. Don’t want you to be late.”
“Yeah, thanks.” I walked away from him but turned to glance over my shoulder. He was still watching me as I walked away.
When I arrived back at Professor Halifax’s class, Matt was already waiting for me. I joined him in our usual seats, setting the sandwich on my lap. “So what did you do with her yesterday?”
“Nothing, she sent me out. Said we’d start today,” he said.
I frowned, wondering why she’d made me skip lunch for no reason. Though, I guess she’d convinced Matt to get here early too. I opened the sandwich wrapper and held half of it up to him. “Hungry?”
He waved it away. “I already ate.”
I took a bite and considered him. “Did she ask you to come early?”
“No, but I figured you might want some company,” he said.
The door opened and I looked up to see Professor Halifax walking in. She popped a stick of gum into her mouth as she crossed the room to us. “Finish up. We’ll start in a minute.”
She walked toward the back room where I’d heard the sounds earlier today. I wondered if she was storing an animal back there. The thought made me smile. I had a feeling it probably wasn’t a puppy.
Quickly, I shoved the rest of my sandwich in my mouth and chewed. The food made me feel better. A little more in control of my life. Though, I had a feeling it was all a fallacy. Either way, I’d take the brief moment of feeling better about my life.
“You two, down here,” Professor Halifax said, holding a piece of obsidian the size of her head.
I stared at the rock, my brow furrowed. What the hell was she going to do with that?
Matt and I stopped in front of her and she handed the rock to Matt. He took it wordlessly. Then she lifted her eyebrows and nodded her head toward the rock.
I took her silent queues and slid my hands under the rock, my fingers next to Matt’s. The places where our skin made contact heated, warm simply from his touch. It created a stark contrast against the cool stone.
“What I said in the office was true,” she said. “It is possible for you to channel the other’s magic. So that’s what we’re going to work on.”
“Why?” I asked. “I don’t want Matt to be able to do this. I don’t want him to get in any more trouble. Unless there is a way to make it go away. To turn it off.”
“You can no more turn it off than you can choose your parents,” she said. “It’s part of you, and as I’ve said before, you must learn to control it.”
“How does Matt channeling my magic help with that?” I asked, also wondering why the hell we were holding a random rock.
“If he feels you tap into your time magic, he can channel it away from you. So if you lose your temper, he might be able to cover it for you and keep it from activating.”
“Oh.” I supposed, given my history, that wasn’t the worst idea.
“And, he can eventually learn to help you strengthen it if you ever want to use it for real,” she added.
“But it’s illegal,” I said.
She shrugged. “It wasn’t always illegal and it’s good to have options.”
It wasn’t like I had a record of being a rule follower, but this wasn’t something I wanted to mess with. “Can we just focus on getting me to stop using it?”
“If that’s what you want, yes,” she said.
“That’s what I want,” I said.
“Tell me how I can help,” Matt said.
“Today’s class is simple. The stone will amplify your magic. Each of you need to work on finding the source magic for the other. It’s one thing to find your own, another thing to find it in a partner.”
“How do we do that?” I asked.
“Focus,” she said.
I stood there, feeling awkward. Matt closed his eyes and I glanced over at Professor Halifax. She nodded once.
Turning back to Matt, I closed my eyes and focused on my own
magic, thinking about it until I felt the spark within me. My fingers seemed to buzz with energy. Using that, I imagined sending it toward Matt, searching within him.
To my surprise, I felt something. It was clearly magic, but it wasn’t my magic. A bead of sweat rolled down my face and I could hear my heart pounding in my chest. Searching for someone else’s magic was harder than I imagined it would be.
Finally, I honed in on something - a flicker. Like a tiny flame of magic that wasn’t mine. As I closed in on it, I felt something squeeze me, making it harder to breathe. I opened my eyes, gasping against the sensation.
Matt opened his eyes too and he pulled the stone away from me. I dropped my arms to my side, working to catch my breath. “What was that?”
“I think I started to draw on your magic,” he said. “I’m so sorry.”
I wiped my forehead with the back of my hand. “That wasn’t a good feeling.”
“I didn’t mean to,” he said.
“Interesting,” Professor Halifax said.
We both turned to look at her. She reached for the stone and took it from Matt. “You two did that more quickly than I expected.” Her eyes narrowed, then widened as if she had an idea.
“What?” I asked.
She shook her head. “You two had sex.”
Embarrassment heated my cheeks. She said it so matter of factly. Like it wasn’t a big deal. I still wasn’t used to the cavalier way sex was treated around here.
“Neither of you should have the ability to do what you just did on the first try,” she said. “Your consumption of your bond has made you both stronger.”
“You’re saying that we have more power after having sex?” It didn’t really make sense.
She nodded. “In your case, your power seems to grow with your mates. Lucky girl.”
“I thought that didn’t work that way for mages,” Matt said.
“She’s not a mage,” Professor Halifax said. “At least not fully.”
“I know about the fae blood,” he said.
“It’s a lot more than a few drops of fae blood,” Professor Halifax said, “isn’t it?”
I nodded. “I just found out. I’m half fae.”
“Interesting.”
“So she gets more powerful every time she has sex?” Matt asked.
I glared at him. I did not want to discuss my sex life with my professor.
“No,” Professor Halifax said. “Just when she completes the bond with her mates.”
“Zach,” Matt said.
My cheeks grew even hotter. We both knew I had just as much of a bond with his twin as I did with him. And now it turns out that sleeping with Zach wasn’t just good for my libido. It would literally make me more powerful.
Somehow, that made me not want to jump in the sack with him. I didn’t want it to be about that. Call me a romantic, but the whole thing felt cheap now. Like if I had sex with him now, it would be self-serving. Wouldn’t Zach always wonder?
Besides, there was that whole getting punched in the face by Delores. And I wasn’t in a hurry to experience that again.
“Yes, if she has sex with another mate and confirms the mating bond, she’ll grow in power,” Professor Halifax said. “That would be something.”
“I’m not going to jump in bed with someone just to see my power increase,” I said.
“Why not?” Professor Halifax asked. “It’s a way to see your magic grow. It might give you that missing piece to control your time magic on your own.”
“I know Zach wouldn’t mind,” Matt said.
“I’m done with this conversation,” I said. “Professor, is that all for today’s lesson?”
“Yes,” she said. “I’ll see you both tomorrow.”
I grabbed my stuff and headed toward the door, ignoring Matt calling after me.
15
Raven
The next few days fell into a routine, with me being overly coddled by everyone. It was like they were afraid I would crack. Even Delores was avoiding me.
It was starting to get on my nerves. Even Professor Halifax and Coach Miller seemed to be going easier on me.
Then, I got the note. Officer M was here to see me. The rest of my life was going too smoothly. Boring, even. Might as well throw in some threats and inappropriate conversations with my parole officer.
I dragged my feet to Dr. Green’s office, dreading the meeting. I did get a bit of a break since I was supposed to be off on good behavior. But the fact that three of the weeks off were during a holiday made it seem like nearly yesterday since our last encounter.
Taking a deep breath, I knocked on the door.
“Come in,” Officer M’s voice called.
I cringed, already feeling his beady gaze on me. His unusual and gag inducing smell hit me the second I walked into the office. It was worse today than usual. As if he was rotting away while sitting there in the chair behind the massive desk.
His red face glistened with sweat, a scowl on his lips.
I kept my chin up, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of knowing how uncomfortable he made me.
Discreetly, I glanced around for Dr. Green. He wasn’t anywhere in sight. I tried not to let it bother me, but this was the first time he hadn’t been at least outside the office waiting for me.
I hoped that didn’t mean anything. As I sat down in one of the chairs facing the desk, I started to consider what I’d do if Officer M attacked me. It was irrational to think about. The thief was gone and there wasn’t any reason why I should feel unsafe, but Officer M really got under my skin.
“It feels like it’s been years since I last saw you.” He grinned at me, then opened the folder in front of him, taking his eyes off of me to read whatever document he had in there.
I didn’t know what to say so I stayed quiet.
He looked back up. “You’re on track to finish out your parole by June if you play your cards right.”
“I’m following all of the rules,” I assured him.
He lifted an eyebrow. “Except for the big rule. The rule that says you can’t use time magic.”
My brow furrowed and I tried not to blink as I stared into his watery, pale eyes. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
For once, I was telling the truth. While we’d practiced finding each other’s magic, I’d never used my time magic while working with Matt and Professor Halifax.
“At the Yule ball,” he said. “I know it was you.”
“Matt told you that was him. And it was an accident,” I said.
“I’m not buying that, dear.” He leaned over the desk, getting closer to me. My skin prickled as discomfort twisted in my gut.
“You might have tricked the Obscura twins into doing your bidding, but that doesn’t mean that I’m not on to you.”
“I didn’t trick anyone,” I said.
He pursed his lips and blinked at me but didn’t take his eyes off of mine. All I wanted to do was back down. To physically move away from him. But I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.
“You must be part siren or part succubus. Somehow, you have control over those boys. When I figure out what it is, I’m going to bring you down. Madeline Obscura is not the type to be messed with and once I show her that you pulled one over on her boys, she’ll come after you,” he said. “You might not even make it to the prison alive.”
My jaw tightened as I fought back the urge to spit in his face. “You keep threatening me, and I don’t back down because I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“You did. And I’m going to prove it. The only thing you bought yourself was less meetings with me. Which means that I’ll have more time to dig into how you did it,” he said.
“Maybe you should be spending your time trying to figure out how a thief was able to infiltrate so many positions of power,” I spat.
He backed away from me, his whole body tensing. I’d struck a nerve. “You don’t get to tell me how to do my job. I’m here to keep you on the straight and narro
w.”
“You’re wasting your time.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “I told you, I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Even if I believed that, we both know it’s a matter of time before you lose control,” he said. “Those with time magic are like a ticking bomb. We know it’s going to explode sooner or later.”
“I won’t use my time magic,” I said. “I don’t know how many times you’re going to make me say it.”
“Every time I see you,” he said. “Until I catch you breaking that promise.”
I scowled at him, my chest tight with frustration. I wanted to scream at him or slam my fist on the desk to prove a point. But I knew it was what he wanted. He was trying to get to me. Trying to break me.
He sat there, his gaze fixed on me, the smallest curl of a smirk on his lips. He was waiting for me to snap.
Suddenly, the lights flickered. Then they sizzled and the scent of burning wires filled the air.
I looked up just as they popped, sending shards of broken lightbulbs falling from the ceiling.
I jumped up from my chair, brushing off the tiny pieces of glass from the fixture above me. “What the hell?”
The room was illuminated by only the thin strips of sunlight coming from the slatted closed blinds of the corner window.
“What did you do?” Officer M was standing next to me, his red face damp with sweat, his pale eyes narrowed on me.
“I didn’t do anything. I was sitting right here, next to you,” I said.
Without waiting for approval, I walked to the door and opened it, peeking out into the main office. The entire room was shrouded in darkness.
I could see the silhouette of the receptionist, but she wasn’t moving. “Excuse me?” I walked toward her. “What’s happening here?”
No reaction.
She stared blankly ahead, no sign of concern on her expression.
Oh shit.
My heart raced.
Someone had stopped time.
Someone else had stopped time.
Because I certainly didn’t do it. I was pissed, sure. But I hadn’t felt even the slightest flare of my magic.
“What did you do?” Officer M repeated. “How did you do this?”
Academy of the Elites: Fated Magic Page 7