by Luna Pierce
Me, patient? She must have the wrong girl.
“How’s your hand?” Abigail shifts her attention to my bandage.
“It’s fine,” I lie. “I have to keep this on for precautionary measures.”
“Okay, well, good. These are both things that are going to take quite some time and a tremendous amount of work, but I’m sure that we can make some real progress here.” She flops the notebooks onto the table. “Why don’t we begin with a little sparring for the day. Strictly human strength. We want to see what kind of skills we have without them and then we’ll incorporate magic over time.”
I look to Abigail. “You want us to fistfight?”
“No. Sparring. It’s the fundamental building block to pretty much any style of fighting. And if we want to work on your combat skills, this is exactly the first step.” She points to Ruby. “You spar, correct?”
Ruby nods. “Yeah, it’s a wolf thing. We do it multiple times a week to keep up our strength and endurance. It reduces the pain when we shift. By a fraction, but still, anything is better than nothing. We usually warm up first.”
Abigail pushes a couple of desks out of the way and clears the middle of the room.
Ruby and I stand a few feet apart, gawking at each other.
What the hell am I getting myself into?
She’s rather quiet today, but I don’t mind her silence—it beats the alternative of her hating on vampires.
“If you want to get better at something,” Abigail adds, “it’s helpful to find someone more skilled than you, and train with them. Hence why we’re building on each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Now, I don’t want you to actually hit each other today, but over time, we’ll work up to that. For now, let’s get you two loosened up.” She opens the door to a small closet and pulls out two rolled-up black mats. “Here. Rubes, do you want to take over?”
We both take one, laying it down in front of us.
“Sure,” Ruby says. “Jumping jacks.” She glances down at her watch. “And go.”
Ruby’s body moves immediately, and it takes me a moment to catch up.
I fling my arms through the air and jump up and down. Several seconds later, I’m already out of breath.
Who said this supernatural thing was going to be easy?
I’m just glad that I typically dress like a bum, because if I was in jeans instead of leggings, I doubt I’d be moving this freely.
“And stop.” She points to the floor. “Twenty push-ups.”
I crouch to the floor, wincing at the pressure on my hand. I haven’t even put my full weight on it yet.
It’s everything I can do to get through them without letting on that I’m in pain.
Why didn’t I tell her the truth about my injury and then maybe I wouldn’t be flopping all over the place in preparation for fighting Ruby?
But in reality, I really do need to work on my combat skills, especially with more demons to come. I have to be able to protect myself from whatever shit life throws my direction. I can’t always count on the guys to bail me out, not that I have, but I need to be fully sufficient.
I don’t want them to have to worry that I won’t be able to take care of myself.
“Let’s focus on some stretching now, about five minutes’ worth.” Ruby sits on her mat and brings one leg toward her, lengthening the other. She leans forward.
I follow her motions, not quite being able to get down the way she does.
“And switch.” A few movements later, she lies flat on her back. “Extend your arms all the way behind you against the floor. We’re trying to open up our shoulders with this one. Press your body flat and take a breath. With each exhale, try to relax.”
I do my best to follow her direction, despite my wandering gaze floating to the corner of the ceiling to verify the closure.
“Okay,” she finally says. “Now stand. I want your feet staggered, slightly wider than your hips but no more. Keep your feet and knees facing the same direction, and your weight distributed equally.” Ruby places herself in front of me. “Watch me.”
I repeat her exact stance.
“Good, you’ll want to keep those knees slightly bent. Now, I want you to try to hit me.”
I rotate at the waist to get a look at Abigail. “I thought you said no hitting.”
Ruby interjects. “You won’t land one, trust me.”
“Go ahead,” Abigail confirms.
I step forward, noting Ruby’s completely unprotected body. Without continuing to second-guess, I shove my arm forward.
Although I’m damn sure I’m going to whack her, she moves her body with ease at the right moment to avoid contact.
“See,” she verifies. “Again.”
I don’t hesitate, going in for another jab, failing with each new attempt.
I swing, and my fist goes slicing through the air.
Looks like Ruby really does have something I can stand to learn.
A short while later, I’m out of breath and damn near chasing Ruby around the room trying to hit her.
“That’s time for the day, girls.” Abigail cocks her head toward the door. “We have about five minutes until we have to head back.”
Ruby stops moving to pay attention to Abigail, and I take the opportunity to sneak one last attack in.
Somehow, though, she anticipates my move and escapes it.
“Damn, I really thought I had you there.” I laugh.
“I give you extra points for effort. It was clever, but not clever enough.” She winks. “It’s good to attack when your opponent is preoccupied, but if they’re skilled, they’ll see it coming.”
This whole experience makes me wonder how the hell I defeated the demon in my head. It was like the made-up version of myself was infinitely stronger, faster, agile, and totally more capable of fighting than this sloppy person I’m stuck with.
“I understand that we aren’t presently using magic, but I don’t encourage this type of training outside of the shadow realm. We don’t want to give our other students any reason to be suspicious of our behavior.” Abigail stands near the doorway. “There will be some things you’ll be able to work on out there, but this isn’t one of them.”
“What if we have a private space?” I insist. If I’m going to get any better, I need more than an hour a few days a week. Especially if some of that time is going toward helping Ruby with her skills.
“I advise against it, unless you have proper supervision.”
The rest of the school day goes fairly well. I don’t trip or spill anything or induce any disasters. It’s almost like I’m a normal, living and breathing, functional college student.
But I’m not, at least not the normal part. I’m a freaking witch. One that attends a secret academy for supernatural people.
And there are more people similar to me, and others who are different… the vampires and werewolves that I barely understand anything about.
Plus, the demons that lie in wait on the other side of our realm, eager for any weakness to hop onto our side and cause chaos.
There are fairies, too. According to legend and word spread through the wolves, though.
Has to kind of make you wonder what other creatures are out there.
“Is that what you’re wearing?” Remi puts a hand to her hip and looks me up and down.
I cross my arms over my chest. “What? You realize we’re going shopping not to a beauty pageant.”
She groans. “We never leave campus. Don’t you want to put on something nicer than that dingy tee?”
“I love this shirt.” I grab on to the bottom of it and bring it to my nose, breathing in the scent of Silas that still remains. I tuck a portion of it into my pants. “You’re lucky I put jeans on for this.”
“Whatever.” She rolls her eyes. “Where’s your boyfriend?”
“Which one?” I blurt out.
Remi laughs. “Syd. He’s loaning us his car.”
That explains how we’re getting into town.
Would it be too much to ask Sydney to go with us?
I shove that thought away, too. I need to be okay with doing things alone.
“There he is.” Remi points across the foyer to him.
“Hey, girls.” He scans the crowd then settles his gaze onto me. His gorgeous green eyes send me into another world.
My body seems to gravitate toward his, offering me the security and comfort I so desperately need here and now.
“Keys.” Sydney holds out his hand to Remi. “Please be careful and have fun.”
Remi snatches them from him. “We will. Thank you, again, you’re a lifesaver.”
“Yeah, thanks, Sydney,” Kyra echoes.
Lillian, too, chimes in a word of appreciation.
The girls head toward the main entrance of the school, but Sydney holds my stare, keeping me locked in place.
“You’re nervous.” He reads me like a book.
“Is it that obvious?”
“Maybe just to me.” He takes me into his arms, completely enveloping me. “Be safe, please.”
I’d be safer if one of you came with me, is what I want to say. I can’t exactly tell the girls I have this never-ending curse thing going on and demons popping up out of nowhere, threatening to destroy me.
But, for now, other than a couple of stupid accidents and Silas being even more of a grump-ass, things seem to be pretty okay. Which means I should attempt to lead an ordinary-ish life. Aka go dress shopping with the girls for a dance.
“You’ll be okay,” he confirms. “But if you’re not back in a few hours, I’ll send out a search party.” Sydney kisses my temple and slips something in my hand. “For protection.”
The smooth surface rubs against my palm. I glance down to see a shiny black rock.
“Thanks, Syd.” I stand on my tiptoes to press my lips against his cheek. “See you soon.”
Chapter Sixteen
“No freaking way,” I insist.
“Pleaseeeeee,” Kyra begs. “It’s gorgeous. You would literally drop jaws in it.”
“Try it on, you big baby,” Remi adds.
I turn to Lillian for a little backup.
She shrugs and recoils when she says, “They’re not wrong.”
“Nope, I told you. Black. Various shades of black and gray. Nothing else.”
Elegant is an understatement for this dress. It’s decked out top to bottom with pale-pink sequins, but not the cheap ones, the totally stunning and perfectly sparkly kind. It’s rose gold, with matching flowers lining the tasteful neckline. The back has a steep slope that goes damn near to the ass area. It’s long and flowy with a wide train, but just short enough to still be able to get around with ease.
It’s absolutely out of my comfort zone but fucking stunning.
And, there’s no way in hell I’m trying it on. Regardless of whether or not I like it, the price tag is more than I can afford, so even if I entertained them by trying it on, I’d never be able to buy it, and that alone would make this whole experience suck that much more.
It’s bad enough I sort of despise shopping and my anxiety keeps flaring up, but to find my love-at-first-sight dress and not be able to get it, totally blows on a whole new level.
“You should try it on,” I tell Remi. “You’d look great in it.”
She rolls her eyes. “You know my ass won’t fit in there.” Remi gropes her own body. “Do you see this thing?”
Kyra busts out laughing. “Put your booty away before they kick us out.”
I seize the stunning dark-red gown situated behind the pink one of my dreams. “Lills, this would look killer on you.”
“Damn, Wills,” Remi says. “For being a Plain Jane, you have a pretty good taste for others.”
Anything to take the attention away from me.
I shove the dress into the fitting room. “Lill.”
“If I have to wear something bold, so do you.” Lillian steps into the dressing room and tugs the curtain shut.
“Ky-bear, you have to try this on.” Remi holds out a dark-purple, lace-covered piece. It’s simple and sophisticated but sexy all the same.
“Um, yes.” Kyra snatches it from Remi and hops into the room beside Lillian.
Remi and I fumble through the rest of the racks, waiting on the girls.
A few moments later, Lillian pops her head out. “Are you ready?”
She slides back the closure, revealing herself with a shy grin.
“Jesus Christ, Lills.” Remi blurts out.
“Same,” I say dumbfounded.
Earlier, it was simply some fabric on a hanger, but now it’s this extension of Lillian that flawlessly fits her body. It’s got this off-the-shoulder thing going on, the thick straps sitting along the middle of her upper arm. A long slit runs up the side, exposing her left leg in a seductive but still classy way. It cinches right above the waist, accentuating her usually hidden curves.
“Did you guys die out there?” Kyra calls into the space. She walks out, another complete stunner in front of us. She grabs on to the side, holding it out and doing a little twirl. The violet lace is see-through and beautiful.
“Damn, Lillian, I thought I was smokin’, but look at you.” Kyra circles her finger. “Do a spin, girlfriend.”
Lillian does, and we all gasp at how spectacular she is.
“Yep, that’s a winner,” I tell her.
“Think so? It’s not too dramatic?” Lillian examines herself in the three-sided mirror, twisting all around.
“Honey, dramatic is good. This is a no-brainer. You have to get it.” Remi reaches forward and takes the price tag into her hand. “And it’s only forty-five dollars.”
Kyra studies her label. “Mine is, too.”
Lucky—mine is out of my price range at a whopping two hundred dollars.
“All right. Our first stop was a score, but we have four more stores to get to, and I am picky, so let’s get a move on it.” Remi claps her hands. “Chop-chop, ladies.” She shoves Kyra and Lillian back into their rooms to change. “We need to be on the lookout for shoes and accessories, too. Especially now that we’re working with purple and red.” She sighs. “And I guess black for you.”
“What are you even trying to find? There were a few dresses here that you liked. What was wrong with any of them?” I skim the rack full of jewelry next to me.
“I’ll know it the moment I see it, trust me. I haven’t found it yet. Or, well, it hasn’t found me.”
Once the girls have changed and bought their formal attire, we head to the next stop. Another consignment shop a few doors down.
Thirty minutes of scrounging through their selection, we come up empty-handed.
“I thought you invited a bunch of girls for the shopping extravaganza?” I take a granola bar from my back pocket and bite off a chunk.
“Did you really just have that on you?” Remi deadpans.
“What? I get hungry often.” What I really mean is that I constantly have to restore my energy levels so I’m not vulnerable to a demon attack or pass out randomly from being a witch.
But I can’t exactly tell them the truth.
“Everyone else flaked last minute. Said they were going to the city tomorrow instead with what’s-her-face.” Remi flips her golden-auburn hair and goes down another aisle of clothes.
“Who?” I trail my finger along a few hangers.
“That skeeze who’s always trying to get under your skin. What the hell is her name again?”
“Allie,” the rest of us say in unison.
Of course, she would ruin Remi’s plans, what a bitch.
“Ruby bailed, too?”
“She said she had something come up and she’d try to find a way in town if she got fr
ee in time.” Remi shakes her head. “Have you found anything worth trying on?”
“Nope.” Nothing remotely close to the gown I already fell in love with despite it being everything I typically avoid.
“Let’s go.” She leads us out of the store.
Kyra puts her arm on Remi’s back. “We’ll find something, don’t worry.”
Remi eases into the touch.
Is Kyra aware she has this effect on Remi?
Lillian and I hang back, walking a few feet behind the girls.
“You think Ethan will like the dress I got?”
I turn to her. “Are you serious?” I loop my arm through hers. “He’s going to pass out from how smoking hot you are.”
She slips out a nervous laugh.
I push my calming energy into her to help ease her nerves. Something I wish someone could do for me. It’s not a big deal if I don’t find a dress, I’ll survive if I don’t get all dolled up and attend the formal, but there’s still so much other stuff that I can’t get off of my mind.
For instance, what the hell is going on with Silas? Where are my parents? What happened to Sydney’s? When is the next curse going to appear? Why does my damn hand still hurt so bad? And how are we going to raise enough money for Cameron to take away the financial burden his brother has dropped on him?
“Seriously?” Remi says loudly.
“Yeah, it’s pretty common,” Kyra replies.
“What is?” Lillian chimes in.
“Um, we were talking about Will and all her guys,” Kyra says over her shoulder. “Polyamory or whatever.”
What I have with them has a name? I kind of assumed it was a fluke and I got really lucky with having this unspoken understanding between us all. None of them have ever shown any kind of jealousy toward each other, not even Silas and Sydney, and they despise one another. Deghan walked in on me and Cam all hot and heavy in the library and didn’t bat an eye other than to laugh at us for getting caught in such a public area.
Kyra lowers her voice. “Do you all… you know… hook up together?”
“No, we haven’t.”
“Is that something you’d do?” she continues to pry.