It’s a daily kind of torture, and one of my own making.
Glancing down at my notebook, I scribble in circles, not taking in a thing Mrs. Clement is telling the class. Her voice drones on in the background, but as fascinating as life and death entities should be, I can’t muster the focus to listen about guardians, Lemures, the Four Horsemen, or fate.
Fate can suck it, if you ask me.
Without warning, the person behind me kicks my chair, making me jump. I look up to find a classroom full of expectant eyes all trained on me.
“I, uh—” I stutter, shifting my gaze around the room. Briefly, I stop at Wade, but as soon as our eyes connect, my insides flip and the room spins. Quickly, I return my gaze to the teacher. “What was the question?”
“Ms. Blackwood, I know it’s early in the semester, but I’d sure appreciate it if you’d pay a bit more attention,” Mrs. Clement says, raising a white eyebrow over the rim of her red-framed glasses. Her piercing, ice-blue eyes slice right through me and I sit up a bit straighter. “There’s a lot to cover and you, of all people, would do well to learn the lessons coming through for you. Remember, this isn’t just generic fluff. While I might look like I’m up here spouting off about a single random topic, each and every one of you is getting tailored insights that will illuminate the way for you. While much of it overlaps, I mean, you wouldn’t be in this class if it didn’t…you still need to perk your ears and have a listen. Yeah?”
With my cheeks flaming, I nod and drop my gaze to my notebook. “Sorry,” I mumble.
“Now, then… As I was saying, learning how to spot a harbinger of the veil can play a critical role in not only preparedness for how to deal with it, but also protection. When our gifts are tied to life and death, not everything that finds us will be all rainbows and butterflies, if you know what I mean. Sometimes, things go very, very wrong. When they do, the cost could be your life—or the life of someone you love. Do you understand?” Mrs. Clement’s eyes again fall to me, and I nod, showing her I was paying attention.
Her words rest with me as validation.
“What causes some of these entities to be formed?” Wade asks. Hearing his voice slices right through me.
Mrs. Clement walks around to the front of her desk and leans against it. “Good question, Mr. Hoffman. Some are ancient ones, formed with the early magic summoned out of creation. They’re almost woven into its very fabric. Others are created due to their circumstances.”
Wade leans back in his chair, crossing his arms over his body, a telltale sign he’s not impressed with the answer.
“I understand that’s not the most descriptive of answers, but until you know what you’re dealing with, it’s hard to give a straight answer. Do you have something specific in mind?” Mrs. Clement asks, tilting her head to the side.
It takes him a moment to answer, but when he does he shakes his head. “Not exactly. I’m just thinking about the things I’ve come up against already. It seems each thing has its own set of rules and none of them jibe with one another.”
“I think I see where you’re going. This rule separation could be because each entity group is much like a society in and of itself. Just like with people in general, there are no hard and fast rules. We have to work within the confines we’re given,” she says, tapping the edge of her desk. “Does that help?”
“Sort of. Thank you,” Wade says, nodding.
I narrow my gaze, wondering what exactly he was getting at because his tone says something totally different.
“All right, time for the groans to begin,” Mrs. Clement says, rubbing her hands together and grinning broadly. “For this week’s first lesson, each of you will be given a Life and Death Entity to research. However, there’s a caveat. You’ll be paired up with a partner who has a divergent set of magical aptitudes so you can view your entity from different perspectives. Together, you’ll do some digging to uncover not only their origins and why they exist, but also some of the more mysterious aspects of your choosing. After all, these are magical beings by nature, so there should be some interesting tidbits you could unearth. Then, you and your partner will deliver a presentation next Friday on what you discover.”
Then, as expected, the sea of lamentation erupts from the class. Mrs. Clement raises her palms upward, nodding in evident approval.
Leaning back in my chair, I sweep my gaze over the class. Maybe it won’t be so bad. There are plenty of people in here that I’ve never even seen before, let alone spoken to. Maybe this is just the start Wade and I need in order to move on.
“Here’s how this is going to work… I’ve paired you up with a partner. When you have your assignment, I’d like for you to find each other and introduce yourselves, if introductions are necessary,” Mrs. Clement says, grabbing a stack of papers from her desk. “I know this probably seems very old-school in this modern era of texting and Snapchatting, but I can’t help it. I do love me a bit of antiquity.” She winks, clucking her tongue and jabbing her pointer finger out like a gun. “Besides, magical boundaries notwithstanding, I want to look each of you in the eye so you can’t tell me you didn’t receive your assignment.” She turns her gaze directly at me, as if she’s already sussed out I’m the problem child in class.
Wonderful.
I grin back at her, trying to present myself as attentive as humanly possible. The last thing I need is to begin this year with a teacher on my back. Starting at the front of the class and working her way down each aisle with a cheerful grin on her face, she passes a sheet of paper to each student. She even whistles a bit of a tune as she hands them out.
As she passes a sheet to Wade, I hold my breath, waiting to see who he’s partnered with. Half of me hopes it’s a girl, while the other half is screaming that it better not be a damn girl. Placing the paper on the desk in front of him, he sits very still. His right hand covers the sheet of paper, as if he needs to build up the strength to turn it over.
Biting the side of my cheek, I blink away from him as Mrs. Clement thrusts out my sheet of paper.
“It’s a bit like a sorting hat, isn’t it?” she says happily. Then, she moves on, doling out the next batch of torment to the student in front of me.
Suddenly, the burden of knowing who my chosen partner is becomes heavier than I anticipated. My heartbeat thumps awkwardly in my chest, threatening to bring me down if I don’t give in and turn the paper over.
Mrs. Clement settles herself behind her large wooden desk. All around me, people get up, finding their partners and grouping their seats closer together. I inhale sharply and my eyes flit to Wade. His paper is held out in front of him as if he’s pondering his fate. However, he abruptly stands up and walks to Mrs. Clement’s desk.
All at once, sheer panic flashes through me. What if he’s my partner? Is he asking to be reassigned? Would he do that?
I bounce between anxiety and humiliation.
Surely Mrs. Clement wouldn’t have put us together? I mean, out of twenty-five or more students, what are the chances? It has to be pretty low, right?
The urge to know drives me to flip the paper over. I have to know why he’s talking to Mrs. Clement.
Taking another deep breath, I stare down at the name and assignment in an odd sense of relief and disappointment.
Assignment: Lemures
Partner: Colton Gilbert
On the upside, it’s not Wade. But on the other hand, it looks like I’ll be doing this assignment alone. So much for meeting someone new.
While my wariness is alleviated somewhat, I can’t help but be a little surprised. Doesn’t the school know Colt and Cat are gone? Surely Diana Hawthorne would have made sure things were done properly before taking the two of them down to Georgia?
Gathering up my things, I throw my backpack over my right shoulder and walk to the front of the room. I pass Wade, who has returned to his seat. His hand flies across a small notebook as he scribbles something down, but as soon as I walk by, he stops. His dark lashes flutter as our eye
s connect briefly. I shoot him a quick, awkward smile, then turn to face the teacher.
As I step up to the desk, I hand Mrs. Clement my paper. “I think there’s a bit of a mix-up, Mrs. Clement. Colton Gilbert is gone this year. He and his sister are learning at an academy down south for the year. I’m not sure that they’ll be back, to be honest.”
Mrs. Clement takes my paper, adjusting her red rims on her nose. She eyes the document with sudden suspicion. After a moment, she slams it down. “Goddamn administrative staff. They never tell me this stuff. They know it can affect the outcomes of my class. I swear, Ms. Cain does this shit just to screw with me. Damn masochistic wench.”
My eyebrows flutter upward in surprise but I stifle a bit of a laugh. I’ve never heard a teacher be quite so brutally down-to-earth and honest. I have a few choice words about Ms. Cain, too, but I’d never say any of them out loud. Especially not inside the walls of Windhaven Academy. I know how some of the magical elements of this facility work.
Sighing heavily, she tugs over another sheet of paper, eyeing the two of them side-by-side. I bend forward, trying to get a better view.
“Well, Ms. Blackwood, it’s not ideal, but looks we all have to make sacrifices this year” she says, scribbling out Colton’s name and the assignment. She writes new ones down and thrusts the sheet of paper back to me. “Forget Lemures, they’re not as exciting.”
I flip it over to get a better look. Scrawled across the page in big bold letter is: The Three Fates.
Underneath, my eyes flit to the name.
Adrenaline courses through my veins as my heart sinks.
Of course, it is.
I glance over my shoulder just as Mrs. Clement calls out, “Congratulations, Mr. Hoffman. Looks like you’ll have a partner after all.”
Chapter 3
Open Wounds
Space. Just a little bit of freaking space would have been nice. But instead, it’s like the universe just wants to meddle in my life, making things as hard as humanly possible. Life, death… relationships.
I want to do the right thing—but it’s impossible to tell what’s right anymore. Especially when I can’t even get away from the one person I desperately want to be with but know I can’t. Or at least shouldn’t.
My gaze softens as I stare at the walls of the resurrection chamber, wishing the stillness of this space could permeate the rest of my life. Instead, things are about to get very complicated. I’d hoped to communicate with Abigail, but she’s still as difficult as ever to connect with. Between my dad’s trips and Abigail being MIA, this house is the epitome of silence. Yet, inside my head, it’s never been louder. I check my watch and stand up. It’s about that time.
Taking a deep breath to calm my nerves, I turn to face the way out. Light from the small window illuminates the edges of the staircase wall, beckoning me upward. Dropping my shoulders, I make my way to the staircase.
Fate.
I roll my eyes at the word as I ascend the stairs from the resurrection chamber. Even my teacher is taunting me with this ridiculous assignment. If only she knew just how difficult this was going to be. A part of me wishes like hell Cat and Colton were still here. While doing this assignment with Colton wouldn’t have been ideal either, it wouldn’t be quite this cruel. At least for me.
Guilt rolls through my midsection. Not thinking about Colton’s feelings is part of the reason they’re not here in the first place.
Shaking my head, I close the door behind me and gather up my laptop and notebook. The last thing I want to do is come back here.
I close my bedroom door behind me, just in time to hear the doorbell ring. The hairs on the back of my neck rise, ushering a shiver straight through me.
“Here goes nothing, Autumn,” I whisper to myself as I walk down the expansive hallway toward the front entry.
As I reach the main staircase, a rush of cold air thrusts past me, making me pull up short. Clutching my laptop to my chest, I spin around. “Abigail?” I call out.
The frigid air remains, making my breath billow out like it’s the middle of January.
Again the doorbell rings, making me jump. Shuddering away the chill, I rush to the door and fling it open.
“Hey,” Wade says. He runs a hand across the back of his neck, then crams his hands into his jeans pockets.
“Hey. Come on in,” I say, stepping aside and opening the door wider for him.
He tips his head and steps inside. “So, this is…”
“Yeah,” I say, nodding.
“Well, did you want to stay here? Or go someplace a little less…”
“Nah,” I say, swiping my hand in the air and hoping I pull off a bit of nonchalance. “It’s all good. Wanna go to the dining room? Or the study?”
“Which place would make you feel more comfortable?” he asks, shifting his gaze to the dining area.
“Let’s go down to the study. The Wi-Fi is better,” I say, tipping my head toward the staircase and nodding for him to follow me.
I walk up the grand staircase and push open the double doors directly in front of the landing. A large table with cushy red leather chairs rest directly opposite us. Beyond, the wall of windows overlooks the courtyard and pond, with a view of the glittering water that’s only rivaled by sitting on the dock. The trees haven’t quite begun their descent into fall, but you can tell by the hint of fog lingering on the water’s surface that it’s just around the corner.
Entering the study, I flip on the switch and all around the room small lamps ignite, casting a warm glow. The dark-red mahogany built-ins, along with the desk to the left, look very impressive, even to me.
Wade enters the room, his eyes wide as he takes in the space. He walks over to the right wall, letting his fingertips grace the spines of many books adorning the dark mahogany shelves. He stops at a framed picture of me as a small child. I’m outside the house in the courtyard and my mom is just off to the side, smiling like she doesn’t have a care in the world.
“This room is…something else,” he says, turning his chilling gaze to me.
Everything about him screams unbearably sexy and I breathe in deeply, trying to focus on staying centered. I nod, placing my laptop on the table. “Yeah, I don’t usually come up here, but since Dad’s not home, I figured it was a good place to study. I mean, it’s even in the name of the room, you know?”
Wade chuckles, his gaze falling to the floor as a hint of a smile graces his lips.
“So, fate, huh?” I say, trying to bring us around to why we’re here.
Wade’s silver eyes flit upward to me and his lips press in tight. “Fates, actually.” He walks over, standing behind one of the leather chairs and looking out over the water. After a moment, he takes a seat and turns to face me.
I quirk an eyebrow. “Have you been researching without me, Mr. Hoffman?”
His dark eyebrows tug inward. “Well, I…” he stammers.
I chuckle. “I’m teasing. It’s fine. Okay, so what do you know?” I pull out my pen from the notebook ring and poise it, ready to take notes.
Inhaling deeply through his nose, he shrugs. “Not much. Just that the idea of fate isn’t as simple as it seems. Like we didn’t know that already…”
I look up, feeling the weight of his stare. “Wade,” I say, tilting my head to the side.
“Nevermind.” He lifts his left shoulder and tips his head. “All right, so fate isn’t a single entity. There are actually three sisters who manage the destinies of everyone.”
My eyebrows fly upward and I lean back in my chair. “Oh?”
“Right?” Wade nods. “Well, if you believe in this sorta thing, anyway. I mean, who knows if it’s true…but since we’re researching entities, I figured there must be a kernel in there somewhere.”
“Fair point,” I say, nodding, and scrawling the information down. “Okay, so, anything else?”
“Not really. That was as far as I got before I realized you’d probably want to do the research together.” Wade’s
eyebrows intertwine, and he shakes his head. “I mean, not that you wanted to actually do the research with me in the first place, but…”
I sigh. “Wade…”
As if I didn’t feel like absolute crap as it is, his persistent jabs aren’t helping.
“Forget it. Anyway, the point is, I’m here to work on things as a team. You know, because that’s what partners do. Work on things. Together.” He lifts his gaze, again locking eyes with me.
His words are pointed and they do exactly what he intended they do—cut deep.
Yes, as it turns out, I’m horrible at relationships. Not just romantic ones, either. I haven’t called my mom in ages. I barely see my dad. Hell, lately, I’ve talked more with James, the housekeeper, than anyone else. Living or dead.
“Yeah, well…we better get a move on, then. I don’t have all night,” I say more tersely than I intended. Trying to ignore his digs are difficult, but if it’s part of what I have to endure to protect him, then so be it.
“Autumn, I didn’t mean…” Wade says, remorse splashing across his features.
I raise a hand between us, cutting him off. “Look, it doesn’t matter. It is what it is.”
“Yeah, but I don’t even get what this is. It’s like you’ve taken the one good thing we both had going for us and decided to bin the whole thing. I don’t get why…” Wade says, ditching any pretense of learning more about our assignment.
I look back at my laptop longingly, wishing we could just focus on that instead of the emotionally charged conversation he seems hell-bent on pulling me into.
Leaning back in the chair, I pull my feet up and use my legs as a barrier between us. “Maybe you don’t have to understand everything. Have you ever thought of that?”
His eyebrows lower and he leans in. “I beg to differ. You owe me. At least with this and after everything we’ve been through. Dru—”
Haunted Legacy: The Windhaven Witches Series Page 2