Forbidden Tutor

by Chantal Cross

  He looks handsome even in the middle of the night. My heart beats faster at the sight of him. I will it to calm down. I hope Seth is with them but it doesn’t look like he is.

  “I don’t know. Care, maybe?” Lucien scoffs. “She’s not sleeping. She looks more exhausted by the day.”

  “Seth is really the one you ought to talk to about this,” Gabriel grumbles.

  “I’m talking to you.” Lucien glowers in the moonlight.

  Lucien hasn’t told a soul that he and I shared a kiss. I sometimes feel guilty for keeping such a secret, but I’m grateful to him for not lording that moment over the others. The last thing I need is them tearing at each other’s throats.

  Besides, I’m sure Seth is the one I’m meant to be with. I’m just sure of it. I feel safe with him. I feel many things with Lucien, but I’d never call him safe. And it was Seth’s kiss that saved me, after all. That means everything to me.

  Sweat breaks out across my forehead. I can’t hold this spell much longer and I don’t trust darkness alone to keep me hidden from them.

  Without meaning to, I loose a breath too quickly. Lucien’s head jerks up and swivels in my direction.

  “Did you hear that?”

  “No, I’m pretending I’m back in my bed instead of talking to a buffoon.”

  “Don’t be an ass.” Lucien slowly walks closer to my hiding spot. I summon all of my strength to keep the spell stable.

  He stands right in front of me. Should the spell waver, he’d find himself looking directly into my eyes. My body responds to his presence. I wonder if he can hear the frantic pitter-patter of my heart.

  “There’s nothing there,” Gabriel whisper-shouts. “You’re just paranoid.”

  “Now is the time to be paranoid. Snow needs us, even if she doesn’t realize it.”

  I realize it. I long to tell him as much.

  “We’re all in danger as long as Rhiannon walks the earth.”

  “Tell me something I don’t know.”

  “Go back to your room if you’re going to be this useless,” Lucien snaps. “I’ll find a way to help Snow without you.”

  “You do that.” Gabriel waves over his shoulder, already halfway down the hall.

  Lucien looks around for a moment more before leaving as well. As soon as he’s out of sight, I drop the spell.

  They’ve made me late for my lesson. I hope the Headmaster will still see me.

  As I navigate the darkened halls, I fear that Lucien will spring from the shadows. Though, out of all the things that could spring from the shadows, Lucien is the least harmful.

  I reach the Headmaster’s office without further interruption. His door is open already.

  Inside, he waits for me.

  3

  Leo

  The day has a special gleam to it as I contemplate my time with Snow.

  Heading towards the basement where we planned to meet, I keep my composure but inside, I’m singing. As the principal I have to move through the school with detachment, I can’t show favoritism to her or let anyone get a hint of our plans.

  But I can’t help the excitement from rising as I think about being close to her.

  I nod and smile as I go, striding with my usual purpose. We have agreed to work in the basement to keep out of sight—of course, the principal offering a little private lesson occasionally is not something completely uncommon, but I don’t want to arouse any suspicions.

  I want to arouse her.

  I want to be alone with her and I want no distractions. We see each other around the school and as interesting as that has been, I want more. While working in school we are not alone together and this needs to change.

  I want to be close to her… I want to touch her and feel the heat between us building. I’ve seen how she looks at me, even when she is hating me.

  I know she’s fascinated. I can feel her being drawn to me, especially as she gets stronger. I plan on making her stronger still. The more connected she becomes to her old self the quicker my queen can take possession of her.

  This thought is intensely sensual for me. The aching in my body for Snow herself increases to a painful pitch. The idea of my queen, free and wild, full of power in Snow’s body is an ache that throbs through my fingers, my chest, my guts. It’s visceral.

  The added incentive of Snow abandoning her chaste ways for me almost makes me lose my head. Taking her can’t compare to the idea of her gifts being willingly given. I long for that moment of surrender, seeing her bend, body and soul as she yields up that kiss to me.

  I pick up my pace through the halls, heading for the doors of the basement. No one pays much attention to me – I often have important business around the school. I don’t want it to be common knowledge I’m training Snow, even if it is easily explained after the amount of times she’s lost control of her powers.

  I don’t want interference.

  I don’t want to monitor or explain my actions.

  I want to push her, physically and magically. I want to work in close quarters, bodies pressed up against each other as we sweat and shove.

  I need those glances as she feels my hand brush her skin. The small, innocent expressions puzzling out how the power and physical contact make her feel.

  I hurry down the stairs, my hard-soled boots making a hard tap against the cold stone. The basement is not too dark, thanks to scattered torches. You can always count on a magic school to have a few eternal flames around, especially in the darkest, spookiest spots.

  I approach the third chamber on the right, where I asked Snow to meet me. She’s eager to explore her new powers and happy to be trained, even though she still has reservations about me.

  I can hear faint thuds and a few sharp gasps. As I slide up to the door I peek around the corner.

  She’s wearing black tights and a fitted grey T shirt. Her great cloud of black hair is caught at her neck but is struggling free to frame her face with weaving tendrils. Her red lips purse against each other, teeth gently nibbling the lower lip. She runs herself through a series of kicks, flowing across the floor, bouncing from foot to foot.

  “Not bad.” I let my voice ring through the chamber as I step around the corner.

  My instincts scream at me and I hurl myself towards the floor. A crackle of energy flies over my head. I stand up slowly, looking between Snow and the smoking crater in the wall behind me.

  “I’m sorry.” She breathes hard as she lowers her hands. “You surprised me.”

  I step forward slowly, cautious but not wanting to show it. She’s far more powerful than when I last saw her, and her powers are still wild and unpredictable.

  I have to be careful.

  “It’s good that your powers work on your instincts like that.” My voice comes out smooth and reasonable as I cross the room. “It will help to keep you safe. However, you don’t want to be firing energy bolts randomly, do you now?”

  She grins as she gets her breath back. “No. We don’t want that.”

  As I get closer her expression softens and her eyes seem to flicker deeper. She glances up at me from under her lashes and I feel my heart thump a little harder. It’s like her eyes have reached inside of me, awakening my urges.

  I have to touch her.

  I come up behind her, gently positioning her shoulders.

  “Your line of kicks was excellent. You pivoted off each foot to change legs with ease. But if you had been facing an opponent, you would have failed. Do you know why?”

  She tilts her head back slightly but doesn’t look at me. She seems to be trembling a little where I hold her shoulders. As her head moves towards me, I can smell the fresh scent of her clean hair. From beneath her clothes a deep, intoxicating aroma, something of perfume and lovely, clean skin mixed with just a little sweat hits me and for a moment I can’t think.

  “No, I don’t know why. Can you tell me?”

  I have to burrow through my thoughts a bit to remember the thread of my own conversation.

&nb
sp; “Ah.” I grip her shoulders a little tighter, pulling one back a little and one forward. “Your core. The gymnastic ability and flexibility of the kicks was impressive. You maintained your balance as you changed from foot to foot. You progressed through the kicks rapidly. But without your core engaged, the moment you actually connected with an opponent you would have been thrown off balance.”

  As I pull one shoulder forward and back, I lean over her, taking in another hit of her wonderful smell. She leans into the pressure of my hands and it’s all I can do to stop myself pulling her against me, reaching across her body and holding her for a kiss.

  I whisper in her ear.

  “Feel your stomach tugging, as I move your shoulders?” I push the left forward, tugging the right back. Then I reverse the move.

  “With your feet planted steady the way you have been taught, one slightly behind and one in front, as I move your shoulders, do you feel the muscles across your belly moving?”

  “Yes, I do. It tugs back and forth in time with how my shoulders move.”

  “Exactly. As you danced across the room kicking, you waved your arms for balance. It looked impressive. But without your stomach muscles held tight and the movement coming from within you, it was completely ineffective as an attack.”

  She takes two steps away from me, half turning towards me. She runs her hands across her belly, fingers sliding on the tight shirt.

  “Hmm.” She whispers, half closing her eyes. “So, you’re saying, the movement comes from here? I was focusing on my feet. I could feel the connection to my lower back and shoulders, but I didn’t think about my belly.”

  “Common mistake. One that gets the self-taught killed when they run up against a disciplined warrior.”

  She nods, opening her eyes. She focuses on the far wall, squaring her feet. I’m about to give advice when she starts her moves again, spinning off her left foot to kick with the right, then bring it down in one smooth motion to spin off it to raise the left.

  This time her core stays tightly wound as a spring. The movement generates from her central strength and her legs move faster. Her feet become lethal weapons. She moves with surety and purpose.

  She runs through a series of six spin kicks, finishing with a small cartwheel that brings her up facing me, one foot pointed like a dancer.

  She grins at me and her red lips seem to draw my attention more than anything else.

  “How was that?”

  “Excellent. You are a fast learner. The movements need to be refined, but you have the idea now.”

  “Okay.” She raises her fists. “How’s my guard?”

  “Shocking.” I give her a withering glance. “Your right is up and in place to hit but your left is not even in front of your face. The left hand needs to be ready to move to block face, throat or belly. It seems you only care about your attacking hand, not your defensive move.”

  She looks at both her hands, frowning.

  “I don’t understand.”

  I come in with a similar move to the one she was just practicing, crossing the distance with a few long strides. I fly in with kicks towards her face. Both arms come up to block, right in front of left as I push her back.

  She manages to grab my boot on the third kick and push me back. I absorb the movement easily and rock on to my back foot, pushing back with both arms. She stumbles, barely keeping her feet.

  “Okay.” She shakes her head, more stormy curls trailing around her face. “I get it. If I had blocked properly, I could have defended better—put the move back on you quicker and not stumbled when I did it.”

  “Exactly.” My smile stretches across my face. “Again.”

  4

  Ebony

  I can feel the sweat beginning to trickle down my face as Leo comes in with another series of kicks. I barely have time to think as he pushes me back. My muscles are aching, and I can barely block in time.

  I try hard to land an offensive move, but his guard is perfect. He leaves me no openings. Maybe I’m just not fast enough.

  I feel a flash of fear as he pushes me back again and my feet don’t obey me fast enough. My ankle twists and I fling my hands up instinctively.

  There is a bright flash. I feel strength surging through my body. My feet find solid ground and I push against it, rippling the strength through my core, into my shoulders, down my arms which are crossed in front of my face.

  I blink a few times. The light dies out quickly but leaves an imprint like a strobe. The first thing I see is Leo picking himself up off the ground.

  “Oh, wow, what happened?” My question bursts out before I even have time to think it.

  He shakes his head. “Another one of those power surges. I think we should focus on that for a while. It’s going to be a big problem for you.”

  “Are you okay?”

  He grins and somehow, I feel it tugging inside me. Deep. Beyond the core. Lower. My reservations about him are still there. I don’t trust him, not after how much I’ve been through.

  That just makes the strange heat rising in me even more complicated. Something about the sharp edges of his smile touch me from across the room. His eyes, though they are critically appraising me, feel like clean sheets drifting on my skin.

  “I’m fine.” He grins wider, still somehow projecting it into my stomach where it births as a cluster of butterflies. “Just a little shock. What I’m going to do is fire a series of bolts at you. I’m deliberately going to trigger your survival instincts. Don’t think about it. Just let your body respond. After I finish firing, try to examine how you felt right before you reacted.”

  I step back a little, feeling nervous. The crowd of butterflies in my stomach try to fly up my throat and fan my heart. It thumps wildly in response.

  I’m not sure about this, not sure at all. It sounds dangerous in more ways than one. My instincts are screaming at me that something is not right.

  But I set my feet, put my arms up and focus on Leo’s face. His grin has changed—there’s something self-satisfied about it. Something secretive.

  I think I might be getting paranoid. Still, after the recent events in my life, I think I’m being smart withholding my trust.

  Leo’s hands glow just a little as he energizes himself. His eyes go slightly blank and he fires small white darts from each hand. They come in fast.

  I’m thinking too much. I raise my arms as the darts come in, deflecting them, but I’m doing it consciously—and poorly.

  I see Leo frown. For a moment, his look is truly frightening. With a loud grunt he releases a flood of energy from both palms.

  I put my arms up, turning my face away, cowering.

  The light blinds me even with my eyes closed.

  When I blink the room back into focus, I see Leo standing in a small, smoking trench. His arms are up before him, his head behind them.

  “I’m sorry.” It’s the first thing that jumps from my lips—my damn apology reflex.

  “No, No.” He shakes his head. “I asked you to push it. It was exactly what I wanted to happen. I just wasn’t expecting quite that much force.”

  We come towards each other again, Leo making a few small stretches as we get close. I can see a little sweat at his hair line. I’m noticing his lips and his eyes but being near each other in this intimate, exposed way has me admiring his body, too. I had never really noticed him this much before.

  His stomach is long and toned under the close-fitting shirt. His muscles bulge along his upper arms. The way he looks down on me from his great height, eyes intensely observing me, makes me warm and lightheaded.

  My body is telling me something, and my mind doesn’t want to hear.

  This is bad. I should not be feeling this way—about anyone! —let alone Leo. It’s not his fine, fit body. It’s not his beautiful face. All of that helps, but the energy I’m caught on, that has finally made me notice him is far more attractive than his physical attributes.

  He looks at me with respect. He doesn’t treat
me like a little girl. Right now, we are equals, warriors, magic workers of the same ilk. I’ve never had anyone validate my power before. Leo is encouraging me, wanting to see what I can do.

  Everything about him has shifted perspective for me. I feel like a woman, strong and confident, not a bumbling child everyone has to look after.

  My smile as he draws near is a thing of genuine warmth. I let him see in my face how much I appreciate him. For a moment his gaze is far too intense—hungry, wanting—but before I can really see it the expression resolves into a slightly softer version of his usual principal mask.

  We stand quite close, silence stretching out from us and seeming to echo back from the empty chambers beyond the basement.

  “I’d like to do a bit more hand to hand, but we’ll try not to let it get too intense. I want to get those powers of yours under control—or at least get you to a place where yore aware you are about to use them. But for now, we’ll work on some hand to hand techniques. Try to control your emotions as we go. Let me know if you feel anything so we can try and identify the moment it comes upon you.”

  “Okay.” I nod firmly and get into position.

  He takes two slow steps, bring a kick up to my left. I block easily with my left hand. He bounces on to his other foot, aiming a kick from the opposite direction. I block this one, too and sidestep, coming around beside him. I’m too close to lay a hit on his ribs and just spin across his back, coming up in fighting stance on the other side.

  He grins. “Good. You didn’t land a hit, but you evaded perfectly. You can use a move like that to gain the upper hand again in any spar. Come in again.”

  I step towards him, coming in with my hands instead of my feet. We engage briefly, hands flashing. I feel him grip my forearms, a sharp tug, then I’m flying through the air.

  The ground rushes up against me, too hard. Leo lands on top of me and I’m squeezed between his body and the floor.