Chapter Thirteen - Student Lake Night
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Student Lake Night
“DONE.” I FINISHED tying the top strings to the back of Blythe’s new swimsuit after we picked them up from student services this afternoon.
It was news to me that we were able to order items off campus to be delivered. Apparently, Blythe was already well aware of how student services allowed the students to order items from the shops at Deimos Bay. I thought I’d be limited to the black, unflattering one-piece swimsuits for magical practice. Blythe took charge, insisting we’d need something more fun, and we spent yesterday evening ordering them for the party tonight.
Yesterday morning before classes, my uncle called, sounding more tired than normal. It seemed like I wasn’t the only one struggling to fit into the Realm. He told me he transferred credits, the currency used here, from my parents’ fund for me. With me officially enrolled, I finally had access.
It was overwhelming to see what they set up, they left everything they had to me. It was more than I imagined, making me realize how much they wanted for me, how much they had planned for my future. I didn’t imagine one of my first purchases would have been a swimsuit, but the fun I had sitting in Blythe’s dorm room while we picked them out and tried them on now was well worth it.
“These were a great choice. I told you that color would look great with your dark hair,” she said. We stood in the mirror in Blythe’s room.
Blythe stood a few inches shorter than me, her pink hair tied in two short braids. Her swimsuit matched her eclectic style, starting with dark blue at the top and fading to purple, with the bottoms being bright pink like her hair. She beamed at herself, turning to look at the dozen strings that made up the back of the top piece that I had just tied together. She really did pull it off.
I had to admit, what she picked out for me was perfect, too. I wore a dark blue swimsuit with a silver shimmer. It made my light blue eyes look like they were glowing. A dark, nearly see-through skirt was tied around my waist, under the swim top.
I was careful to put on the swimsuit in my room, tying it over the worst of the hyperpigmentation and scarring on my right side, before I went to help Blythe with hers.
She caught a glimpse of the scars but didn’t say anything, which was always relieving. From just the top part that poked out from the skirt, it didn’t look too bad at all.
Levi was easy to spot moving through the crowd of students also leaving for the weekend. Most headed for the lake party. Though many were headed to the nearby town for drinks beforehand at one of the bars. The lake was nestled down the hill from Ares-Valentine, right between the academy and Deimos Bay. Levi said not to bother with going to the bars first because they were filled with stuck-up groups, and there would be plenty to drink at the party.
The crowd around me was busy as we got closer to the front of the gates, where my uncle first dropped me off. Large swirling portals were constantly being created and disappearing right past the gates.
Through the crowd of people, something pulled at me, a strange feeling I had a few times since arriving at the academy. I attributed it to being around so much magic.
Looking around, my gaze found white-blond hair, broad shoulders, and a sharp jawline. Mr. Ares wore the same closed-off expression that I noticed after classes. Otherwise, he looked like he blended in with most of the students, wearing a casual black jacket with the hood down and black pants.
I did note some professors leaving through different portals. The way he held his shoulders, a slight rush to his steps while so distracted, it reminded me of when he marched through the library after he had found me kissing Caleb. He was intently focused on something.
A deep curiosity made me want to find out what he was doing, to know what strange hobbies he had, or what kind of activities a wizard like him got up to on the weekend. The way he always looked at Caleb in Aura Reading made that curiosity stronger. The subtle ways he was hiding himself, it seemed to be important, perhaps secret.
Blythe pulled me, and just inches in front of my face was a swirling deep purple portal. An electric charge of magic could be felt radiating off it. Still, I glanced back as I watched him not using one of the ones already made in front of the academy, instead creating his own. My body was yanked as I stepped through the portal in front of me, with Blythe’s hand around mine, pulling me through.
Our sneakers sank slightly into the damp ground around the lake.
“This place is crazy,” I said.
Blythe smiled. “Apparently, it’s a fourth-year tradition to plan the parties before they graduate, so they always go all out.”
“It is a bit busy,” said Levi.
Caleb spotted us right away. His loud holler cut through the sounds of water rushing, conversations and distant shouting of people jumping off the dock.
He splashed us with water magic. Even Trevor beside him turned to cause a downpour on some of the students stepping into the lake. Trevor narrowed his eyes on us as we kicked off our shoes at one of the nearby wooden picnic tables.
“Hey, I’m going to catch up with someone. I’ll see you guys later.” Levi brushed our shoulders, hurrying toward some tables further out in the grass, where music blasted loudly. I wanted to follow because his normally joyful expression turned serious, but he just shook his head.
We made our way over to Caleb, my eyes caught on the way magic was being used all around. Water spouted out all over the lake, with water sculptures rising and falling, turning to ice, then mist. This was not just a lake, it was designed like it was made to hang out in. The lake was sculpted and sectioned, with lit gazebos around the edges. Little, separated ponds bordered the edge, sectioned off by moss-covered stone and draping plants, with small waterfalls pouring into them. Some students in cliques huddled within the side ponds, where Caleb and Trevor had claimed their own.
My feet hit the water, shouts could be heard over the music from the dock in the distance as people jumped off.
Once we made it over to Caleb, I found the edge of this section had carved stone seats under the water that they were already sitting on. The moon danced off the quick-moving ripples over the water. I tucked my knees under me beside Caleb. Trevor used air magic to coast one of the floating trays of drinks over to us, all while keeping his arms arched over the stone as if it were a sofa.
I grabbed two drinks and handed one to Blythe, catching a glare from Christina only a few yards away as she sipped her drink. She could barely be seen past the draping plants creating our cozy alcove. When Caleb turned to what I was looking at, Christina quickly turned her head to Ruby.
Caleb scooted closer to me. “Hey Harper, I’m glad you could make it after all,” he whispered in my ear, so close the heat from his breath brushed against the water droplets on my skin and caused goosebumps to rush down my neck.
A high-pitched gasp caused me to turn to the woman wading through the water in a thin cardigan that draped behind her. Blythe tilted her head at the woman in confusion as she approached us with a beaming smile on her face. Her long hair held black flowers wrapped in her loose curls that were soaked on the ends.
“May I offer you an aura reading?” The woman’s eyes danced over the group.
Trevor’s light brown eyes gave her a flat stare. “This is Brandy, a talented fourth-year. The council has their eyes on her to possibly extend an invite to be a predictor just for them.”
The woman laughed lightly. “Tonight, it’s just a fun party trick, only surface level.”
“Sure,” Blythe said, as if trying to make the woman feel welcome after Trevor’s bored tone. She placed her hand in Brandy’s.
The woman closed her eyes and hummed. “Your aura is extremely bright. You’re wound up and seeking relaxation. Full of curiosity. You won’t fill that eagerness by sitting here all night. Consider mingling or taking a walk through the crowds. This is the perfect place to let go.” Brandy winked.
Blythe’s eyes crinkled at the corners, and she eagerly glanced at the students around the lake.
Before I could say anything, Brandy grabbed Caleb’s hand and took mine.
“You both match tonight, filled with pressures. You are looking for an escape from the outside world.” She leaned down to whisper in my ear. “Your aura is darker toward the center. Your burdens are not your own, in more ways than one.”
I turned my head to her, confused.
She quickly took Trevor’s hand. For a second it looked like he wanted to yank it back but his expression smoothed over to a blanket of calm.
She spoke quietly, “Assessing, always alert. Tonight’s no different, you’ll notice anyone’s slip-up. Someone has to be alert anyway, and you won’t trust the fourth-years keeping an eye on things. You don’t have to worry, and your attention is needed elsewhere.”
Trevor’s brows creased. He splashed at the water carelessly, like it didn’t mean anything to him.
The woman coasted away to find the next group. I shook my head. So far, aura reading never made sense to me.
From the corner of my eye, an ember started blazing on the plants beside me. I jumped, sucking in a breath, my heart beat rapidly in my chest. It didn’t make sense how a flame started so close to the water. Looking around, I found Christina smirking over at me. Caleb rose to a stand, but I caught his hand and used my own water magic to drench the flame. Though panic raced through me, I was careful to keep my magic controlled around it, just like when practicing with fire in the greenhouse at night.
Caleb’s arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me close as he sat back down, lifting me onto his lap with the motion. “I told her I wasn’t interested and her jealousy was immature. Don’t let her get your evening down. It’s just you and me here. ”
“She’s not getting me down at all.” I doused fire magic, even when not my own. It felt impossible before. This would not ruin my night or turn into something else.
When looking around, I realized he was right. We were completely alone now.
“Where’d they go?” I asked.
He shrugged. “More drinks? Maybe Brandy got to them.”
I hummed and twisted in his warm grasp, turning to face him within his lap. My arms pulled around his neck. Through all the laughs and cheers around us, the splashes of water, my focus was only on us. After everything that had been going on the past two weeks, I was ready to let my walls down to just have fun.
Deep blue eyes held reflections of the colorful light orbs in the air around us. A slight smile curved on his lips, his eyes bounced between mine. His grip tightened around me, pulling me closer in his lap until our bodies were flush. Placing my hands on his shoulders, I gripped the back of his hair. He tipped his head up to meet my lips. The kiss was wet, warm, eager, like he had been waiting for this, needing this like I did.
He pulled back. “Here.” He reached up and vines grew from the moss, creating a very thin veil of privacy to add to our section. His hands traced the water. “There’s a whole lake of it here. Let’s see what you can do, Solace.” His lips brushed my ear.
Pulling back, a teasing look danced in his eyes as he bit his lip.
“Challenge accepted,” I said. My fingers slid over the surface of the water .
His hands skated up my skirt, distracting me as I tried to focus. The magic at my fingertips mixed with the element of the water, combining with it to increase its intensity, so I only allowed a little to flow.
That eager touch rose higher under the sheer skirt, skimming the sensitive flesh of my upper thigh. The low walls that I managed to make rise out of the water around us started to falter.
His other hand laced with mine to combine our magic. It felt like he wasn’t focusing at all while his lips brushed against my neck, he nipped, sucking at it. Then I felt it, his magic mixed with mine the same way he did at the greenhouse. Large drops of water rose from the lake, suspending in the air all around us.
As I tipped my head to look around at what we were creating, his mouth traced down my neck to my chest. Caleb’s hot breath pressed against the edge of my swimsuit on my chest, kissing over the fabric until finding my nipple. His teeth brushed against it. My concentration broke, and the water drops came crashing from the air all around us.
The hard length of him pressed against me as I straddled his lap, my hips shifted, grinding against him. He stared up at the sky, then kissed me again. His tongue brushed against me, eager, frantically coaxing the same from me.
I let my hands trace down firm shoulders. His hand moved between us, fingers finding my center and moving in slow circles, so skillfully. I moaned against his mouth, feeling him smile against my lips. His touch skated against the swimsuit, teasing me, going slow until just brushing under the fabric .
It felt like I could finally relax and let myself fall into this feeling, I wanted more. My hips rocked against his hand under the water—but it just wasn’t exactly what I needed right now.
I shifted and reached down, gripping him under his swim trunks. His whole body tensed as he sucked in a sharp breath.
“That feels incredible,” Caleb whispered, getting even harder in my hand, throbbing as I stroked him.
He pushed the swimsuit to the side, pressing one finger inside me before another joined it. One of his hands lifted to my waist, reaching under my swim top, kneading my breasts, thumb circling my nipple. His hand stilled and he took my waist, lifting his hips to move with my hand.
“You’re so sexy, Harper. I don’t think I can last through much more of this.” He reached back down to me but I stopped his hand, lifting it away from me.
Leaning forward, I whispered, “Good.” My teeth nipped at his ear, a little too hard.
He swelled, pulsing within my grip, losing control. He gripped the back of my neck and pulled me to meet his mouth again, hips rocking as he came from my touch. He nipped my bottom lip back, just as I did to his ear but softer.
A moment later, he held me within the water, arms wrapped around me.
“What happened here?” He brushed my scars at the exposed part of my waist and I stilled.
All at once, everything in me was screaming to leave. It was too much, too revealing. “An accident,” I said.
“When?” he asked. “Are you okay? ”
“Yeah, it’s nothing really. It just left bad scarring—from the Unenchanted.”
His thumb brushed under my chest on the side opposite of the scars. “It’s okay, Harper. We all have scars, even ones that can’t be seen. You said you spent your life growing up in the Unenchanted, have you seen a magical healer for it?”
“This was the best they could get it,” I lied.
“Well, maybe there’s been some advancements. It’s worth seeing the academy healers about. They might be able to improve it a little.”
My lips pressed together. “I suppose you’re right.”
I always accepted my scars as part of me, I didn’t even think of new magic that could make it better. My uncle helped me heal them the best he could with potions. I suddenly felt more self-conscious that the first thing he thought was how they should have been fixed. That was always a possibility when anyone saw them, to ask how I got them or gasp.
Caleb invited me back to his room after we talked for a bit, then Blythe caught my eye. I ran up to her, choosing to spend the rest of the night at one of the picnic tables with her.
A chilled downpour of water splashed our table, barely missing us. It didn’t really bother me since I was already wet from the lake, but it was still annoying.
“Oh no, someone messed with the school princess,” said one student. We looked around, unable to pinpoint who it was. I frowned, grabbing another set of drinks for us.
“Careful, her parents might expel you. This isn’t secondary school,” another student called out.
Someone else coughed. “Or you’ll tick off the Solace chick and she will explode all over the party, probably alerting someone to shut it down. Better off leaving them be.”
“Do you want to head back?” I asked Blythe.
She looked over her shoulder. “I don’t see Levi anywhere.”
Glancing around, he was completely gone. Since he left when we arrived, I hadn’t seen him.
“Oh,” she said, looking at her phone. “He just texted me that he headed to the dorms early. Says he’s sleeping, but I’m betting he snuck off with someone.”
“You think so?” He did seem to have a hidden charm.
“Definitely. It’s the freckles, he low-key gets hit up all the time,” she sighed, leaning her head on her hand and looking out to the lake. “Yeah, let’s head back.”
By the time I made it back to my dorm, it was dark, the campus felt empty. Hushed whispers could be heard outside of my door from drunk students stumbling in.
I thought about Caleb’s offer. I did want to hang out with him more. In my head, I needed it, but something didn’t feel right. A strange feeling that lingered since before we made it to the lake. It felt like a mix of maybe me being too stressed and maybe just not the right moment. The mood lessened right after our conversation shifted, when he noticed the scars and I suddenly wanted to cover up.