I cringed as anger flashed in her eyes for a split second. “What I was saying was that I can help you with your draining problem as well. I’d be very happy to take your partners to a specialist outside the academy to have them tested.”
The panic rose so fast in my throat, I had to hold on the sides of my chair to stop myself from jumping up and screaming at her. The kids who’d been killed had all been taken off-site first. There was no way she’d get the chance to do that to my boys. Not that I could have stopped her if she gave the order.
I blurted out, “That’s okay. It’s not an issue anymore. We’re not together after what happened to Julian.”
It was a total, utter lie. At least as far as Kiernan and Lance were concerned. But if it satisfied her for the moment and deprived her of a reason to take the boys, that was fine by me.
When I left the office, my head was swimming. I’d expected the worst when Lawson had grabbed me, but instead, Ms. Farkas had offered me, what? To be my mentor?
I walked down the stairs and out of the building, thinking about her offer. Farkas was an experienced witch, proficient in all the branches of magic. She’d be able to teach me so much. I envisioned myself in the future, casting spells, drawing on the power inside of me. My inherent magic was incredibly destructive, but at the same time, if I knew how to control it, nobody could ever come after me again.
I nearly jumped out of my skin when somebody touched me.
“Amber. What happened to you? We were waiting for ages, and then somebody said they saw Lawson escort you to the head witch’s office. Is everything okay?”
Kiernan’s moss-green eyes were full of concern. Next to him, Lance towered over both of us, but despite his height, Lance was always happy to let Kiernan take the lead. And several yards behind them, Julian stood like a scolded schoolboy, waiting to be called forward. I ignored him.
Instead, I took Kiernan’s and Lance’s arms. Together, we walked to the next class. But despite the comfort their closeness provided, my head was whirring. On top of passing exams, I now had to figure out what the hell Farkas was up to and how to keep my relationship a secret from her.
3
Our next lesson, Elemental Magic, was one of the core curriculum classes that were supposed to help us hone our magical skills. Mrs. Palmer had easily been my favorite teacher until she’d left the academy to escort my former roommate back to her native Canada.
Now she was gone, we were going to have a new instructor. I entered the classroom with trepidation. Some of the teachers were okay, but I’d bonded with Mrs. Palmer. She was the first to believe me when I complained about Strickland. I didn’t really expect much from whoever our next Elemental teacher turned out to be.
Most of our lessons were taking place in one of the seven overflow classrooms, dotted on the campus square between the main building and its two wings. The structure used to be a hotel, judging by its layout, but had been neglected for decades.
In contrast to the flaking paint and rotting wood of the academy building, the standalone classrooms were brand-new, but simple log cabins. They were one-room structures, smelling of pine and resin. Smooth wooden floors and unfinished walls gave the impression of rustic homeliness. The desks were set in rows of individual tables, paired with the same cheap chairs I’d just sat on in Ms. Farkas’s office.
On the other side of the room, a group of chatting and gesticulating students surrounded the teacher’s desk. I made my way to my usual seat in the front row. The new teacher straightened up from where he’d been bent over his materials, and the kids scattered to take their seats.
The man’s gaze met mine across the space separating us, and my breath stilled. He was preternaturally stunning. His eyes were cornflower blue with a brightness I’d never seen before. His symmetrical face was framed by long, silver-blond hair that flowed over his ears and down his back.
This guy can’t be old enough to be our teacher. His gaze held me captive, never blinking. But the longer our gazes were connected, the stranger I felt. A pleasant lassitude crept along my limbs, making my arms and thighs tingle. I gasped as a jolt of arousal hit me below my navel. I barely managed to suppress a groan of pure lust. I was glad I was sitting down, or my legs might have buckled.
What the hell is going on? Why is my body reacting like this? I shook my head to dispel the dizziness. Another student asked the new teacher something. He looked away, and the spell was broken. I blinked and exhaled shakily.
“Class, please settle down. As you know, your teacher Mrs. Palmer has taken a leave of absence. My name is Mr. Sibelius, and I’m your new Magical Elements instructor.”
There was nothing strange about him other than his gorgeousness and the effect he had on me. Every time I glanced up, his eyes were trained on me. Others were beginning to notice. Lance elbowed me and whispered, “Why is he staring at you? Do you know him?”
I responded just as quietly, “No. He’s freaking me out.”
Mr. Sibelius had turned to his desk and was shuffling through his papers. He lifted his hand and subconsciously brushed his hair back to tuck it behind his ears. But then he stopped himself, his eyebrows pulling together into a frown.
I dropped my pen in shock. Did I just see…? What…? Does he have pointy ears?
I sat up straight and squinted at the new teacher’s head. Sibelius’s hair had fallen back into position, so I couldn’t be sure. Ever since I’d learned that both my roommates weren’t entirely human, I’d been on the lookout for new supernatural creatures. Only last week, I’d been convinced one of the freshmen was a werewolf. Turned out he just had an unfortunate case of neck beard.
“Stop staring. You’re as freaky as him.” Lance frowned at me.
Sibelius was running his finger down a piece of paper. He stopped halfway down and smiled. His whole face lit up, and he looked around. “Where is Beth Anderson?”
Beth answered, “Here.”
“Beth. What a pleasure to meet you. I knew your father, and I was very sorry to learn he passed.”
Except Beth’s dad hadn’t just passed. He’d been murdered only a few months back. She stared at her hands, not looking at the teacher. But her voice didn’t shake when she responded, “Thank you, sir. That means a lot.”
Sibelius nodded, his face set to a suitably mournful expression. There was something about this guy, something that made me be wary of him. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but from the day I’d arrived at the academy, I’d been learning to trust my instincts.
At least he was a decent teacher. He spent the best part of the first hour calling up each student and quizzing them on their abilities. Then he paired us up, making sure our magic complemented each other. Given that there were nineteen students in his class, I was impressed by how quickly he recalled not just names, but also our primary and secondary talents.
Beth sat at the end of one row, and by the time Sibelius had teamed everybody up, she was the odd one out. She timidly raised her hand. Sibelius noticed and called out before Beth could say anything.
“Beth. Looks like you’ll have to work with me. Don’t worry—my elemental magic is global. Your primary ability is botanical, correct?”
Global. That was rare. It meant he could pair up with any other elemental mage without any danger of drainage. Before Kenzy had disappeared, she and Beth had harmonized beautifully. Kenzy’s talent was bundling organic and inorganic earth elements as feed for Beth’s seedlings. I’d seen them grow roses three feet tall within minutes.
Mr. Sibelius walked around the classroom, sometimes bending down and in a hushed voice giving a student instructions. Other times, he responded to blatant flirtation with a grin and a wink before moving on to the next table.
What a smarmy bastard. I clamped down on the ungracious thought. The guy hadn’t actually done anything to me, yet I had a visceral negative reaction towards him.
He’d finished his round while most of the students had their heads down over their notepads, sketching and p
lanning. Sibelius made his way back to Beth and sat down next to her. Beth’s eyes were round and shiny. If she’d been an anime character, hearts would have circled her head like a halo.
“Are you jealous?” Lance’s dry comment reminded me that I wasn’t on my own in the classroom. He stared at me with a hint of suspicion.
I laughed, although it sounded weird to my ears. “Are you stupid? Of course not. I’m just watching Casanova over there hitting on Beth.”
“What are you talking about? He’s not. He’s the teacher, even though he’s pretty hot.”
I leaned back a little, a grin breaking across my face. “Really? I didn’t know you were into guys.”
He huffed. “I’m not, but I’ve got eyes to see and a brain to process. Don’t you think he’s good-looking?”
I was pondering the answer, because yeah, Sibelius was model hot. But how could I tell Lance about my misgivings? I’d only just met the teacher after all.
4
Lance waited, his pen suspended over the piece of paper in front of him. He said impatiently, “Can we focus on doing the task we’re supposed to?”
I sighed. “Sure. What does he want us to do?”
I’d been so busy watching the new teacher, I’d completely missed when he’d explained our task. Lance scowled but checked his notes. “We’re supposed to create a plasma ball.”
I frowned at him in confusion. “What the heck is a plasma ball?”
He thought for a second. “I remember seeing one when I was a kid. They’re made of glass, and if you put your hand on the outside, lightning follows your fingertips.”
“Oh, yeah. Our physics teacher brought one into class,” I replied. “But isn’t the glass ball filled with gas and the lightning produced by electricity?”
Lance scribbled notes on his pad. “You provide the lightning. That’s the easy part.”
I scoffed. “Thanks for the vote of confidence, but controlling my power isn’t exactly easy.”
Lance winced, no doubt remembering the many times I’d blown things up last term. “Sorry. I didn’t mean it that way. Plus, how are we supposed to recreate the glass surround?”
His eyebrows pulled together, creating two vertical lines above his nose while he was thinking. His expression brightened. “Hang on. Mrs. Palmer showed us how.”
I remembered. Actually, it had been kind of awesome. Our previous teacher had taken all the elements and enclosed them in a solid ball made out of quickly circulating air currents. None of us had been able to recreate her tableau, consisting of a waterfall, a rainbow, and a tiny sun, all surrounded by a solid air bubble. But we’d all practiced and gotten a lot better since.
Still, if I couldn’t control my power, this experiment had the potential to end in disaster. I’d blown up more than just my bed last term. Hiding my trepidation, I said with as much determination as I could muster, “Well, let’s try it. I suppose you better start with the air bubble before I add the lightning.”
Lance sighed. “I’m a fire mage. Wind is not my thing. Can’t you do the surround?”
“Sorry. I can try, but I just don’t think I’ve got enough control to do that. Adding the lightning is going to take all my concentration.”
Lance swore under his breath. “Yeah. Let’s not take the risk.”
He put his hands together and focused, his eyes staring at the widening gap as he pulled his palms apart. I couldn’t see anything, but I felt a slight breeze against my face as I moved closer.
Then he said quietly, “I think that’s it. Feel it.”
I poked it with my finger, first tentatively, then stronger. The surface gave a little, like a rubber ball, before resisting my efforts.
“Is that big enough?”
I nodded. I still couldn’t see the air bubble between Lance’s hands, but it was the size of a bowling ball. It would have to do.
I placed my hands on Lance’s and closed my eyes. Deep inside of me, below my solar plexus, was the source of my magic. Most of the time, I wasn’t even aware of it until I searched for it. I visualized a small current traveling all the way from my tummy into my arms and out through my fingertips.
“Ouch.” Lance glared at me as my spark veered across his knuckles.
“Sorry,” I whispered.
Every time. Every single time I tried to do something like this, I lost control of it. I pulled my power back and moved my hands away from Lance’s. Instead, I placed my palms around the invisible shape.
The resistance under my hands wasn’t cold or hard like glass. But I couldn’t penetrate it easily. I focused harder and watched as tiny purple sparks crept through the gaseous membrane towards the center.
A real plasma ball had an electrode in the middle with branches of light emanating from it. There was no way I had enough control to make it look like that. The best I could do was send little flares into the air ball and feed just enough energy into the structure to keep them inside.
One of them broke away and grew too large. Damn it. Not again. I tried to pull my power back, but it was too late. The spark broke through on the other side and shot out in a straight line.
“Look out!” I shouted, and a student, sitting right in the path of my miniature lightning, ducked out of the way. The energy beam passed over his head and dispersed harmlessly.
The moment the spark had penetrated the air barrier, Lance had lost concentration, and the whole structure collapsed. The tiny power forks fizzled out. I hung my head as Lance shook some feeling back into his hands.
“Pity you didn’t manage to maintain it. But well done, anyway,” Sibelius said behind us. He smiled at us in turn before addressing me directly. “Mrs. Palmer mentioned you were extraordinarily gifted, Amber. Lightning is probably the most mercurial of all powers. I’ve been teaching the subject for many years and met few students able to control such powerful magic.”
He was about to turn away, but I had to ask. Sibelius was the first teacher who’d ever mentioned his experience with other lightning users. “What happened to those students who weren’t in control of their magic?”
The teacher turned back, still smiling, although there was something cold and predatory in his expression. I flinched back as his gaze bore into mine. “They perished, of course. Humans who can’t control the lightning burn up from the inside. But I believe you will be the exception, Amber Whitman. Keep practicing and don’t worry about it.”
Don’t worry about it? Was he serious? My skin turned cold at his words. He’d just confirmed my deepest, darkest fears. Lance covered my hand with his, and I smiled at him gratefully.
The class finished soon after. I walked out of the classroom, my notes clutched against my chest, still stunned at what Mr. Sibelius had told me. He’d confirmed that my innate power could damage or even kill me. Maybe that’s why Mrs. Farkas offered me the internship. Maybe she knows more about my power than she let on.
Sibelius had said I was more powerful than he’d ever seen, and I knew my control was improving all the time. So maybe I’d be fine. But he’d also said I might die if I failed to master the magic. My head was swimming with the contradiction. Lance kept pace with me, glancing at me from time to time. I was too preoccupied to say anything, and neither did he.
We’d only walked a few steps when Kiernan caught up with us. He was out of breath, but it didn’t stop him from blurting out, “Hey, I like this new guy. He seems to know his shit.”
I ignored him. I didn’t want to talk about the new teacher anymore. But there was no stopping my Irish boyfriend. He continued, “So. Am I the only one to think this guy is way too good-looking for his own good?”
Lance snickered. “Why? Feeling threatened?”
Kiernan scoffed. “Of course not. I just thought he was a little too friendly with Amber. That’s all.”
What the…? “Are you jealous?”
Kiernan didn’t respond, but a faint blush crept across his cheeks.
I laughed. “Oh, my God. You are jealous. That’
s hilarious.”
Kiernan grumbled before grabbing my arm and linking his with mine. “I’m not jealous. But this guy looks like a freaking god. I hope he stays away from you. You’re mine.”
Lance raised an eyebrow.
“Ours.” Kiernan corrected himself quickly.
Oh, this is fun. I giggled and jumped as he pinched my side. Punching him lightly, I couldn’t resist teasing him. “Come on. How old are you?”
Kiernan grinned and pulled me closer. We were within a few yards of the boys’ dormitory when he pressed his lips against my cheek. He whispered, “Are you ever going to forgive him? You know he’s sorry.”
For a brief moment, I was confused by the sudden change of subject. Kiernan dipped his head, wordlessly gesturing at the person walking behind us.
Julian was still following us like a beaten dog. Shaking my head minutely, I replied, “Not until he apologizes for being an ass. He never actually said he wanted to be with me again.”
“Come on, Amber. You know he got a huge fright. He genuinely thought he was going to die.”
Kiernan and Julian shared a dorm room, so Julian was heading the same way. I sighed. I’d had a few days to think about our breakup. But to be fair, it had been Julian who’d called it quits.
I looked back again. Seeing him like this, unable to jump over his shadow and talk to me, broke my heart. He looked so unhappy. His mood matched his exterior for the first time. He dressed like a Goth, with black lipstick and hair, dark clothes, and the crucifix in his earlobe. But he’d always been upbeat. Until now.
What was I supposed to do? Did Kiernan want me to beg Julian to take me back? No, Julian was the one who had to take the first step. Right?
5
After quickly checking to make sure nobody saw me enter the boys’ dorm, I followed Lance inside. Kiernan’s and Julian’s room was identical to the one I shared with Beth. Two single beds were pushed against opposite walls, with a bedside cabinet next to them. The rest of the furniture consisted of a small table with a chair each, some shelf units above the beds, and a narrow locker each.
Second Chance Hope: a paranormal reverse harem academy adventure (Second Chance Academy Book 3) Page 2