Dread Delight: Rosewood Academy for Witches and Mages (Darkly Sweet Book 2)

by Juliann Whicker

  I laughed as I cleaned up my mess and hung up my goggles. Ian wouldn’t like my joke, but maybe it would inspire him to practice more and talk about my Penny less. Mine? The way she’d clung to me, soaking up my energy, my comfort like she was starved for it left me exhausted but strangely satisfied.

  She hadn’t talked on the way home, hiding in the backseat with her headphones on like she could wipe out the entire evening. Of course she did. She needed me and knew it. Even if she didn’t throw up over it, she was scared senseless, quite literally, of falling in love with me. I hadn’t made her faint in too long. Did that mean I was wearing down her defenses or simply that she was getting used to the idea?

  I rolled down my sleeves and headed out of the lab, smiling until I saw Lester ahead of me. He was frowning at his hands like there was something stuck on them he couldn’t see. He was such a strange mage. I’d liked that about him before Penny decided to date him.

  “Lester. You’re taking Penny to the movie tomorrow. Tell me what you have prepared for any exigencies.”

  He studied me then back to his hands before he twisted his wrist and came up with a yellow rose.

  “Well, that’s nice.”

  He nodded, frowning at it before he twisted his hand and it vanished from sight. “It should work to keep away all malevolent witches for the evening, but does it send the right message? It’s a romantic excursion, so you would think a rose would communicate that, but yellow for friendship.”

  I cleared my throat. I was fairly rusty on my own language of flowers. Zach would be the go-to source, but he would set Lester up for failure. “Sounds perfect. Penny doesn’t know much about that stuff either. I’m sure she’ll just think it’s a happy flower. And mages?”

  He pursed his full lips. Did she like enormous lips like his? Would he try to kiss her? Of course not. It was only the second date and Penny would faint at the first sign of attraction. Would Lester take an unconscious girl? I should follow him. I’d promised not to. I would anyway. Even if I lost all power to influence her business, I had to protect her. And it would be fun.

  “Do you think I’m likely to have trouble with mages? I have something in case Stoneburrow interferes, as well as Ian or another Chemiss mage, but I’m not certain a Sophis mage couldn’t untangle my spells. And you, I put together something very special for you.”

  I smiled at him and smacked his shoulder. “I promised Penny I would let her date you without any help from me.”

  He nodded. “We’ll be in the center, so you should probably be in the left rear section closest to the exit.”

  “Did you hear me say that I wouldn’t be attending?”

  He smiled and pushed his long hair out of his eyes. “Of course. You are such an honorable gentleman.”

  I gave him a slight bow and left him to stare at his hands and whatever spells he had that I couldn’t see.

  “She’s just sitting there in the sun. I don’t know…” The hushed whisper cut off when I got closer to the two girls who stared at me with guilty expressions.

  I smiled. “It’s a lovely day, isn’t it?”

  They nodded in unison.

  “Were you speaking about my favorite lollipop girl?”

  They exchanged glances and shook their heads no.

  “On the green, just sitting in the sun? Remarkable. So much scintillating conversation. Afternoon, ladies.”

  Penny was there. I could see her as I descended the broad marble steps, sitting with her legs outstretched, leaning back on her arms, face towards the sun like she was drinking it in. Her hair was like fiery sunshine, golden around her, getting dirty in the mostly dead grass. I stood there staring at her for too long. I should walk away, give her the space she pretended she needed, but she looked so vulnerable, so trusting and lovely, I couldn’t help myself.

  I wandered over the grass until I stood beside her, careful to keep on her shadow side so I didn’t block her sun.

  “They were gossiping about you.”

  She opened her eyes wide at the sound of my voice. For a moment she stared at me, her eyes brimming with emotion she didn’t have time to hide. Sad about Lulu, but also happy to see me. “Hi.”

  I dropped down on my heels. “Hi. You’re getting your hair dirty.”

  She inhaled deeply, making her chest swell. Not that I noticed. She wore a jacket, but no tights so her bare legs were exposed. So much leg. Not that I noticed.

  I licked my lips and gave her a charming smile. I should have a reason to come over to her. “I’ve been thinking about your business.”

  Her eyes widened in panic and she sat up, leaning over her knees. “What about it?”

  “You have a homemade feel to your site. A lot of hand drawn bottles and rough text. It’s nice, but I think you could go in a different direction, a little more professional, modern, photograph based instead.”

  She drew her eyebrows together, thoughtfully. “That’s what you’ve been thinking about?”

  No. “Among other things.” Not her legs or the coral pink blouse she wore that matched her lips. Her lips. Definitely hadn’t spent any time at all considering those tempting bows. I had to be strong. I couldn’t allow her sweetness to undo all my efforts.

  “I don’t know a lot about photography.”

  “Oscar is really gifted. We can…”

  Mage senses are peculiar. I was attuned to her and felt the shifting of energy as something came towards her. I could have done any number of things, blown up whatever it was, knocked her out of the way, turned it into a feather, but instead I lunged in front of her, the timing just right so it hit me in the back of my head and sent me sprawling on top of her.

  Silk. Her blouse was silk beneath my cheek was my last conscious thought.

  I woke up almost immediately. Her hands slid over my head, pushing back the stream of blood that poured from the gash. I groaned softly and she gasped, holding perfectly still for a moment, my cheek against her chest.

  “Drake? Are you okay?” She searched in my pocket with her free hand, the one that wasn’t putting pressure on my wound. My phone? What would she do with that? She didn’t even notice the mage spell on it. “Zach? He’s unconscious. On the green. Shut up! Yes. Hurry!”

  She thought I was still unconscious. Oh, that explained why she hadn’t pushed me off her yet, why she held me against her, her hand firm and steady on my head. I closed my eyes and breathed in, the scent of her as intoxicating as nothing else in the world. Penny Lane, and I was on top of her with her holding me close.

  Someone had tried to seriously hurt Penny. I would have to find out who, but later. This whole thing, me being so close to Penny would prove to whoever had done it, that anything they tried to tear us apart would only make us more magnetic.

  Magnetic? Maybe I did have a concussion. I intended to act like it, but my cut was already healing. It had stopped bleeding and she would probably notice. I had to cut it open again which meant I had to come to. I couldn’t lay on her like that all day, the curves and contours of her body beneath mine while she held me against her.

  I stirred, groaning while I pulled away then collapsed against her chest for a moment. “It hurts.”

  She inhaled sharply, arms tightening around me until it really did hurt. “Drake? Zach’s coming. We’re going to take you to the hospital.”

  That had some interesting possibilities. I smiled against her silk. “I’m so dizzy. Don’t move.”

  She froze, her heart pounding beneath my cheek. She was so delicious, so ridiculous. I had to recut my head. I carefully reached up, sliding my hand beneath hers and slashing my small razor over the cut, gasping as a fresh stream of blood soaked her hand. Our hands tangled, blood tying us together. It had been Penny’s blood the first time.

  Her eyes staring at me over our hands on the table, the green mixed with gold calling to me like the most compelling song all surrounded by those curls of red gold. So beautiful.

  She murmured to me, whispers of comfort that sent a
flicker of guilt through me. My pain hurt her. I pulled away from her. I wasn’t going to go through this, make her worry about me.

  She curved her hand against my cheek, the other still pressing on my wound, her hand soaked with my blood the way the scent hung in the air, her eyes dark with concern and something else. Anger. She didn’t like someone else giving me pain. She was going to rip someone apart for hurting me. All those times she was tripped, kicked, hit by any number of objects, and this one time someone tried to hit her and hit me instead, and she was a lit fuse, a slow burn that would explode magnificently. I wanted to see that. Except that it might be a mage and then she would pay for defending me. I didn’t own her. Not yet. Soon.

  I cut myself again and fell against her shoulder, smearing her cheek with my blood. “Don’t let me go. Penny, it’s getting dark around the edges.”

  Her heart beat so fast beneath the thin silk. “Drake, it’s going to be okay. Help is coming. Shh. It’s all right. It’s just fine. It’s going to be so great. We’ll wear mustaches and dance to eighties music and make popcorn and tea and it’s going to be so… Zach! What took you so long? Can you move slower?”

  Zach drawled irritatingly. “Why don’t I go get his car? His back seats are bigger than mine. That is, if you still think that he needs to go to the hospital.”

  “Of course he does. He’s practically coherent.”

  “Incoherent.”

  Penny let go of me long enough to smack Zach’s leg. “Move. Macaroons and fireballs, this isn’t the time to prove how infuriating you can be!”

  He laughed, but took off, his footfalls fading into the distance while her anger shimmered around me, the fury rising and rising while I groaned piteously against her. When Zach came back, she and him worked to lift me upright. There wasn’t a group of students around me, ah, Ian stood fifteen feet away, arms crossed over his chest while he shook his head at me. Shameless. Yes, I was. A little bit of shame.

  I staggered and fell against her, her bare neck against my forehead. She wrapped one arm around my waist, the other holding my head tightly. Why was I healing so quickly? It should take me a few more minutes. Was it her? My reaction to her? Was I stealing her energy? Surely we didn’t have enough contact for that. I needed more contact with her. I leaned more heavily against her as we walked over the green and to my car, parked in the drive. Zach subtly kicked my ankle right on the joint so I staggered over on her a little more realistically.

  He was so helpful. I grinned against her shoulder while her hands clutched to me. Could I cling back, just a little? I put my hand on the small of her back and felt her shiver. Her knees buckled for a moment before she locked them and held me tighter. She had so much of my weight. She was stronger than she seemed.

  “Zach, open the back door.”

  “I’ll hold him up, you open the door,” he said, hauling me off her so that I stood upright for a moment. I stared at him, the look in his eyes fiercely amused and something else. Reckless. We would have an interesting conversation at some point.

  “Drake,” Penny said, the door open, her eyes enormous in her pale face. She was really worried about me. A witch shouldn’t be able to feel that kind of emotion. She was so peculiar. So lovely.

  Zach ran his hand over my head, sending a fresh cut through my scalp to the bone. I winced and stumbled towards her. “You’re going to be fine. Barely a flesh wound,” he said then shoved me into the back seat. “Penny, are you going to ride in back with him, or in front with me?”

  “Back. Drive carefully, please.”

  She climbed in, careful of my limbs sprawled on and off the leather that would require a meticulous detailing to get off all the blood. I held my hand to my head and groaned.

  She perched on the edge of the seat, her hands running up and down her arms, leaving streaks of red. “Are you okay?”

  I smiled at her then winced convincingly. “Don’t worry about it. I’m fine. How about you? Your ribs? I must have fallen on you pretty heavily. It was sweet of you to break my fall.”

  She stared at me, eyes hardening. “Did you see who threw that?”

  I shook my head then winced. “No, but don’t worry. I’m fine.”

  She gritted her teeth. “Shut up! You are not fine with all this blood all over the place. Don’t try to be tough, not with concussions and blood loss, not…” She took a shaky breath while her heart pounded and she gripped my hand. Her eyes went unfocused and for a minute she wasn’t looking at me, but at something else, but then she blinked and once more was focused on me. Her pupils dilated as she leaned closer, inhaling deeply while her chest rose, lips parted and eyelids half shut. The blood was making her dizzier than it made me. Black cherry with more than a hint of blood, she’d said that was what I smelled like to her, the scent that made her mouth water and her body sway towards me.

  “I’m fine,” I whispered, brushing her cheek with my fingers, her soft skin like silk velvet.

  She leaned closer until her nose brushed mine and she pulled away, blinking like she’d just woken up. She sat upright, wrapping her arms around her waist.

  She licked her lips before she said, “You have a head injury. That means a concussion, possibly a coma and definitely amnesia.”

  I laughed along with Zach then winced. “My head hurts.” I stared at her for a long time, me sprawled on the seat, her perched on the edge in front of me, careful so her back didn’t brush my stomach.

  “Do you need me to put pressure on it?” She asked then chewed on her bottom lip.

  “I need a pillow. Zach’s driving isn’t very good, is it?” At my hint, Zach swerved to hit directly in the center of a pothole.

  She hesitated before she gently lifted my head and shoulders then slid beneath me so my cheek rested on her thigh. She put her hand over mine where I was putting pressure on the supposed wound and after a moment’s hesitation, rested her other hand lightly on my shoulder.

  I whimpered and she slid her hand over my chest while she pulled me closer to her, probably getting blood all over her delicious blouse. I would wash it out for her. Later.

  “Shh, it’s okay, Drake. Even if you have amnesia, I’ll make you lunchboxes and fall into pools until you get your memories back.”

  She stroked my hand, murmuring and every once in a while yelling at Zach to hurry. I closed my eyes and drifted, her voice, her touch, everything precisely what I’d been aching for. We should be sitting on the beach, sandy and sun-soaked, her touching me because she wanted to, because she wasn’t afraid of me, because she wasn’t afraid of loving me.

  By the time we arrived in the hospital parking lot, my cut had definitely stopped bleeding and my hair was stiff with dried blood. She pulled me up, checking my pupils as she leaned close, her warm breath brushing my lips.

  I leaned my forehead against hers. “I’m still dizzy. Let me stay here like this for just a few more…”

  “No way! You’re probably about to fall asleep which will definitely lead to a coma and amnesia. Do you remember my name?”

  “Lollipops?”

  She stared at me. “You don’t remember?”

  I couldn’t help it. I grinned, a wild smile that reminded her who it was she had so close to her. “Penny Lane, if I do have a concussion, you’ll feed me lollipops and eat in separate booths until I remember. Maybe you’ll even let me lick malted off you. Amnesia sounds delicious.”

  She pushed away from me, swallowing hard. “Your memory seems okay. Let’s get an x-ray and some stitches.”

  We walked into the hospital, Zach on one side of me, her on the other. I definitely put more of my weight on her.

  “You are too heavy,” she mumbled

  “You need more muscle. Maybe you can come weight training with me instead of prancing around with Zach.”

  She turned her head and stared at me, her face so close to mine before she turned away with an adorable blush. “Now you’re sounding like someone with a head injury.”

  At the front desk, the w
oman started smiling before her eyes widened and she came rushing around the desk. “What happened?”

  Penny announced in proper telenovela style, “He’s probably going into shock. We need a gurney because he’s really heavy.”

  The nurse came over to me and pulled me away from Penny while she gave Zach a stern look. “You boys shouldn’t play with the girl. Honey, it’s fine. Head injuries bleed a lot, but he’s going to be just fine. The doctor is all ready to see him, give him a few stitches if he needs it and send him on his way. You sit down right here both of you, and I’ll take Drake back to the doctor.”

  I held back, for a moment disoriented and panicked. I wasn’t finished being helpless and coddled by Penny. I stared back at her, meeting her worried eyes before I flashed her my cockiest grin. I bowed clumsily. “Weep not for me, but smile, knowing that I lived well and died in the arms of a beautiful maiden.”

  The nurse scowled at me and dragged me down the hall. She didn’t stop until we were outside the ward where I kept my humans.

  The hall was crowded with Doctor Hays, four burly security guards, and a nervous looking Marge.

  I straightened and ran a hand through my hair, dissolving the blood into ashes as I walked closer. “Hays. Are we having a party?”

  He frowned in worry. “They’ve barricaded the doors. They won’t let us in. I don’t know what’s going on in there, but someone might get hurt.”

  I stared at him. “Any dead bodies walking around?”

  His eyes widened before he shook his head, no. I smiled at him and relaxed. “Great. This is a healthy expression of independence, I think. The other inmates must be working with the pet since he’s still behind bars. Collaboration! That’s great!”

  Marge scowled at me. “Collaboration? Those people need medication, not collaboration. Dr. Hays, are you going to let this young man tell you how to run your hospital?”