Forbidden Tutor

by Chantal Cross

  “No, it’s not. Leo, I feel like I’m going to burst out of my skin. I can’t take it anymore. Remember what happened the first time you called me in here? I nearly destroyed the construction on the far side of the school.”

  “You have a better grasp on your magic now. I know you won’t have another incident like that.”

  “You don’t know that,” I snap.

  “Ebony.” Leo gives me a warning look that makes my blood boil.

  “Don’t do that.” I jump to my feet. “Don’t belittle me like I’m nothing more than a child.”

  “I’m not trying to belittle you. I’m trying to help you.”

  “Bullshit!”

  “Ebony!” Leo snaps.

  “All day I’ve had people coming up to me telling me that they’re just trying to help me. It doesn’t matter if I’m shouting in their faces that they’re making everything worse. They only want to help me the way they think I should be helped. That’s how I know they don’t really care about me.”

  Leo pauses.

  “Do you really feel that way?”

  “Of course, I do! Why are you doubting me? Why hasn’t it occurred to anyone that I know my own feelings?”

  “Because you’ve been through more in a few weeks than most people go through in their lifetime,” Leo says gently. “It would drive anyone else to madness.”

  “Maybe I am mad,” I whisper. “That’s why people won’t listen to me anymore. They all see that I’ve gone mad.”

  “You’re not mad.” Leo sighs and leans against his desk. “By all counts, you should be mad but you’re not.”

  “That’s oddly comforting,” I laugh dryly.

  “Good. Are you feeling better?”

  “My blood’s still buzzing,” I say. “Please, just train with me for a little while. Or at least let me go down to the practice room. I’ll work with my magic on my own. I won’t bother you. I just can’t stand the thought of going back to class.”

  “What about class bothers you so much?” Leo asks. I decide to humor him.

  “The idea of going from room to room to do nothing but sit and take notes is maddening,” I say.

  “You were an excellent student not that long ago,” Leo points out.

  “I know. It’s not that I don’t like the lessons. I really do. But how can I be expected to be a good student when Rhiannon is out there somewhere? Every moment I’m not preparing myself is a moment wasted. Not to mention, Wrath could appear at any given moment to kill me. How am I supposed to take notes knowing that?”

  “That’s a fair point,” Leo nods.

  “I feel like I’m on borrowed time and I’m the only one willing to face that reality,” I say. I look down at my shoes. The toes are scuffed. I trace a pattern over the carpet with the tip of my foot.

  “Let’s go,” Leo sighs.

  He offers his hand, which surprises me. I take it, expecting to be led back to class. Instead, he takes me to the entrance of our secret training room.

  “You’re going to practice with me?” I can’t hold back my smile.

  “Just for a little while,” Leo says. “It’s not fair that you’re expected to be just like every other student when so much is on your shoulders.”

  He gives my hand a gentle squeeze and leads me through the doorway. We walk slowly. It doesn’t feel like we’re entering the training room. Usually, I walk a few feet behind him. Now, we walk side by side, fingers entwined.

  When I agreed to take magic lessons from Leo, I did it out of necessity. I thought he was my only option and that I’d simply have to tolerate the threat he represented. Now, I feel like he’s the only one in this whole school who listens to me.

  He doesn’t act like he knows better than I do unless we’re training. He gives his guidance without assuming that I can’t do anything without him. It meant something that I ran to him when I was caught up in a blind panic.

  “Are you all right?” He asks.

  “I’m tired of people saying that,” I sigh.

  “Oh, I just meant you went really quiet all of the sudden. Don’t want to talk to me now that you’ve got your way?” I smile when I realize he’s teasing me.

  “We never talk,” I point out. “You’re the serious instructor. I’m the respectful student.”

  “Barging into my office and yelling at me isn’t what I’d call respectful.”

  “In all fairness, I was having a meltdown.”

  “Or was it a tantrum?” He smirks.

  I bump him with my shoulder.

  “In all seriousness, is your breathing coming easier?”

  “Yes,” I nod. “Thanks for talking me down. I really thought I was going to die.”

  “We’ll work on magical techniques to manage stress if you like,” he suggests. “Though, a cup of chamomile tea does the trick for me.”

  “You get stressed?”

  “I’m the Headmaster. Of course, I get stressed.”

  “About what?”

  “The attack on those students the other day was quite stressful. I still don’t have a culprit. Every day I dread that someone will run into my office to tell me it’s happened again. That I’ll do my best to save them but it won’t be enough. It’s a miracle the last three survived.”

  “That must’ve been difficult,” I say.

  “About as difficult as hearing that your foster mother was murdered,” he shrugs.

  “We’re both a bit of a mess, aren’t we?” I laugh.

  “You can say that again.”

  It shouldn’t be this way, but spending time with him feels so natural. With everything happening to me, Leo’s become the one constant. I’m coming to rely on him for more than just magical training. I shouldn’t feel this way for so many reasons but I can’t help it.

  I feel good when I’m with him. I feel safe. I feel powerful. I don’t feel like that anywhere else with anyone else, especially now that I’ve done such a thorough job of pushing my friends away. Soon they’ll see that it’s better this way.

  In the meantime, I’m happy to spend time with Leo and hone my magic abilities.

  “Go ahead and get warmed up,” he instructs when we reached the training room. He makes no move to release my hand. I have no desire to step away from him.

  “Don’t think I’ll go easy on you,” he teases.

  “You’re on.”

  I drop his hand and prepare to spar.

  30

  Leo

  “I’m ready when you are.” Ebony balances a glowing ball of light in her hand and grins at me. It’s so nice to see her smile. I watch her during the day. She never smiles anymore. She only smiles when she trains. That’s part of the reason why I agreed to let her skip class.

  Some Headmaster I am.

  Though, Ebony made an excellent point in my office earlier. She’s up against threats that none of the other students have to deal with. It’s only right that her curriculum is different. She doesn’t need to do well on exams. She needs to know how to fight for her life.

  Though, she will have to pass some exams eventually.

  “Toss it,” I instruct. I find it charming that she’s singled out the light tossing exercise as her preferred warm-up. She never takes her eyes off the light, even when it’s not airborne. She watches it the way a child looks at rainbows or a sparkling chandelier. Not to mention, she’s completely mastered the energy transfer component of the exercise. I ought to make her do something else, to challenge her and keep her developing new skills. But it’s just so nice to see her enjoying something that I don’t want to take it away from her.

  Her ball of light glides into my hands. I feel her energy bloom through me before I replace it with my own before tossing it back. She catches the light with both hands. A look of serenity crosses her expression.

  “Feeling better?” I ask. I’ve saved her from herself. Rhiannon would have had her if it hadn’t been for me.

  I know I will pay. But I don’t care.

  “Much. I know
you say that incident had a lot to do with stress, but burning off energy like this is the only thing that makes me feel better,” Ebony replies.

  “I’m not surprised,” I reply. “You’re a magical powerhouse.”

  “Really? That gives me an idea.”

  I can see the idea form in her head. She tosses the ball of light into the air and pours more energy in it. She uses a levitation spell to keep it in place while she urges it to glow brighter and brighter until it’s like a miniature sun, just for us.

  I lift my hand to shield but eyes but she tips her face up and basks in the light.

  “Don’t wear yourself out,” I caution. “We still have a lot of work to do.”

  “I thought you said you were only giving me a quick session.” A wry smile appears on her lips.

  “Just because the session is quick doesn’t mean it won’t be hard work,” I tell her.

  “Bring it on,” she challenges.

  “You seem confident today.”

  “Like I said, training with you is the only thing that makes me feel good anymore. I like expressing it.”

  “Don’t let me stop you,” I smile. “I have a challenge for you if you’re up for it.”

  “What is it?”

  “I challenge you to keep that light burning bright throughout our entire session.”

  “What do I get if I pull it off?” She asks.

  “If you successfully complete my challenge, I’ll agree to another irregularly scheduled training session. No questions asked.”

  “In addition to our regular ones?” I’ve certainly got her attention.

  “Yes. I’m offering you a free pass. Are you going to accept or not?”

  “I accept,” she says with a decisive nod.

  “Good. Don’t expect me to go easy on you just because you’ve got something else to handle. Your opponent won’t go easy on you.”

  “I know,” she sighs. For a brief moment, the light leaves her eyes. I’ve made the mistake of reminding her of the threats surrounding her. I want to say something comforting, but she moves into a fighting stance and flicks a small spell at me.

  I block it with ease.

  “That was a dirty start,” I warn her.

  “I don’t suppose my opponents are going to wait for a clean start, are they?” She counters.

  “No, they won’t. Good instincts.” I shoot an orb of pulsing, electric energy at her feet hoping to throw her off balance. Instead, without breaking her energy flow from the light above, she evades. Her hair fans out around her as she twirls away from the spells target area. While she’s turning, she fires another spell back at me. I don’t block. Instead, I dodge and move closer to her.

  We fire spells back and forth. There’s less urgency behind our attacks. It’s like we’re playing tag rather than fighting. Neither of us utilizes our blocking skills. With every evasive maneuver, we somehow come closer together.

  When we’re within a few feet of each other, I expect her to adjust her position but she doesn’t. When it’s my turn to cast a spell, I decide to do something different. I cast a small snow flurry. Shimmering ice crystals swirl around her, weaving through her hair and drifting over her skin.

  She gasps in delight and passes her fingers through the flurry.

  “Can you teach me how to do that?” She asks.

  “It doesn’t have any combat benefits,” I warn her.

  “All the better. Just once, I’d like to enjoy magic for the sake of magic.”

  “Come stand by me. I’ll show you the movement.”

  I walk her through the energy flow and movements associated with casting this particular spell. She gets the flurry blast right away, but she struggles with getting the spiral movement.

  “This is turning out to be a brilliant precision exercise,” I laugh.

  “Walk me through it again,” she insists after her last attempt splatters all over the floor in a silver puff.

  “You’ve got the movements down,” I tell her. “You’ve just got to work on mentally commanding the spell. Don’t worry, that’s the trickiest part.”

  She bites the inside of her cheek and takes her stance again. This time, Ebony casts her spell with too much force. Her magic surges and backfires on her, sending her reeling. I rush up behind her with the intention of catching her when she falls. To my surprise, she re-harnesses her explosive magic and pours it back into the spell. This time, she sends out a flurry in a perfect spiral.

  “Did you see that?” She turns to me with a grin stretching from ear to ear.

  “I certainly did. That was amazing. I’ve never seen you redirect your energy so smoothly. I dare say it was flawless.”

  “And look.” With a smug smile, she points up at the light. It’s burning just as brightly as it was when we started.

  “You’ve progressed so much lately. Excellent work.”

  “So, do I win the challenge?”

  “Yes, you do.”

  “Fantastic!” she claps her hands together. “What’s next?”

  “Up for another precision exercise?” She nods. I take her by the shoulders and place her directly in front of me. We’re less than six inches apart. The close contact takes her by surprise. She looks up at me, eyes wide and lips parted. The urge to kiss her is strong enough to make my stomach twist. I ball my hands at my sides so I don’t reach out and touch her cheek.

  She just looks so trusting. I can’t bear it.

  “Actually, we need to call it a day.” I take a step away from her.

  “What?” Her brow furrows. Anger flashes across her face. “But you just offered to keep going.”

  “I know but the time’s gotten away from us,” I make an excuse. “You have somewhere else you’re supposed to be. Sooner or later, someone’s going to realize you’re missing and come looking for you. Do you want to deal with that?”

  “I’ll handle it after another round,” she bargains.

  “No,” I say firmly. “You need to return to class.”

  “But you agreed that-”

  “Now, Snow!” I snap.

  “My name is Ebony,” she hisses.

  “I know.” I sigh and press my palm into my temple. “I’m sorry. It slipped. You’re Ebony and I’m the Headmaster at your school. That means I outrank you.”

  “Don’t pull this with me,” she exclaims.

  “Leave now or our deal’s off.” I look her dead in the eyes. She knows I mean it. She turns on her heel and storms out of the room, tossing a glare over her shoulder as she goes. Once she’s out of sight, I’m consumed with guilt.

  She just told me that this is the only place where she feels good. How can I kick her out like that?

  She doesn’t understand how dangerous of a game we’re playing. The ties that bind me to Queen Rhiannon tighten around me, squeezing my heart. I can’t keep training Ebony. If I do, I’m essentially serving her to Rhiannon on a silver platter. No matter how much preparation Ebony has, she’ll never be strong enough to outlast Rhiannon.

  All I’ve done is make things worse for her, and here she is thanking me for my services.

  Hot anger bubbles up inside me. I lash out without thinking. My hand slams into the marble walls. I like the pain. I deserve the pain. I punch again and again until my hand’s bleeding and there’s a crack in the stone. I haven’t unleashed my full strength like that in some time. It doesn’t make me feel any better.

  “I won’t do it,” I shout to the empty room. I know Rhiannon can’t hear me, but I don’t care. I need to say it. “I won’t give her over to you. You’ll have to kill me before I let you harm her.”

  I care about Ebony more than anything else. Long before I made a vow to Rhiannon, I made a vow to Ebony. I’ve already broken that vow on several levels, but no more. If Ebony’s going to fight for her life, she can count me as an ally. Nothing will harm her if there’s anything I can do to stop it.

  31

  Wrath

  I sit in the dark in the hovel I call my ho
me. For now. In front of me, on the floor, is a silver bowl filled with black water. I hauled the water up from a cursed well myself. What curse lies on the well, I don’t know. I do know that water already imbued with magic is best for scrying.

  The water from the well is ancient. More ancient than I, by far. All the better. There is a certain magic that lingers around ancient things. It’s strange but powerful. I need all of the power I can get.

  I’ve spent many of my nights scrying on Snow White and her faithful Huntsmen. Tonight, it’s not enough for me just to see her. I want to know her thoughts. That takes deep magic, a considerable amount of power, and some luck.

  It comes as a surprise to no one that I prefer to fight my battles the old-fashioned way. Nothing is more satisfying than burying the head of my ax into the neck of a weakling. I thrive on the splattering of blood and the crunching of bone. However, I’m no fool. I know magic is the currency of power in this realm. That’s why I’ve spent hours crafting magic right into the blades of my weapons.

  I’ve been improving my natural magic abilities as well, as the stack of books in the corner can attest to. Unfortunately, unlike little Snow, I don’t have a sparing partner.

  When I confronted Snow White in Pride’s office, she was weak and undisciplined. I’ve been watching her progress under Pride’s tutelage. He goes by Leo now. It’s laughable. All of the other Huntsman have shed their true names to blend in better. Even Snow White goes by a new name, though I don’t believe that’s her doing. I will never do such a thing. I am Wrath.

  I puncture the pad of my thumb with an obsidian blade and let the blood drip into the black water. I place my hands on the side of the bowl and chant the scrying spell. Soon, the image of Snow White and Leo appears in the water.

  Just my luck. They’re right in the middle of a training session. Snow White’s progress is truly incredible. Even though she’s not the Snow White I knew, the Snow White I fought proudly besides, I still see traces of that warrior maiden.

  I’m glad I’ve been studying magic. The next time I go up against her, I will not be outmatched.