Chapter 2
Aric
“SEE?” I WAVE A HAND at the silver ring lying on the table. Its band is decorated with tiny orcish runes, though I have no idea what they mean. Ma never got the chance to teach me. “It’s not working.”
Maeve arches a purple brow as she flicks her gaze from the ring to me. “It’s supposed to glow?”
I nod, then slump back in my chair with a sigh of defeat. “I can’t figure out where I’m going wrong.”
We’re seated in the library at one of the smaller tables beneath the stained glass windows.
The late-summer sunlight streams through the glass, casting colors over Maeve’s glossy hair as she leans forward to stare at the silver ring.
All around us, other students mingle or chat or study quietly—though what they’re studying so early in the semester, I have no idea.
If only I could get this damn rune enchantment to work, I could get out onto the runeball field, where I really want to be.
We’ve got a game this weekend, and our first-year players are nowhere near ready.
I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me in terms of preparing them for the field.
Thinking about runeball makes a knot form in my stomach and reminds me of the conversation I had early this week with Coach Grayward.
You’re this close, Vandermere. One more failed class and you’re off the team. You know the rules.
My nose wrinkles at the thought. I’ve still got a bad taste in my mouth even days later.
I can’t get kicked off the team; it’s the only thing that’s gotten me through the past three years here. And at the end of last year, I was voted captain for the upcoming academic season.
The captain getting his ass kicked off the team because he can’t pass his classes would be pathetic, not to mention humiliating.
“Let me see your rune map.” Maeve holds out a hand, her black nails gleaming in the light.
I drag my schoolbag out from under the table by my feet and start rustling through it.
Maeve leans over to glance into my bag and arches a brow judgmentally. “That’s a mess. No wonder you can’t find anything in it.”
Yeah, she’s got a poi—
“Aha! Here it is.” I grab the slightly crumpled parchment and pull it out.
My rune maps—groups of two to five runes that are meant to interact to achieve a desired outcome—are scribbled across the page, and there’s an ink smudge staining one corner.
I sit up in my chair with a victorious smile and hand it to Maeve.
Her brow furrows as she studies it.
“Aric! Hey.”
The familiar female voice has me turning.
“Hey, Morgan.”
She’s with two other girls—I’m not sure of their names—and the three of them stop next to the table. Morgan flashes a quick look at Maeve, who ignores her, then pushes a bouncy red curl behind her ear.
“What are you working on?”
“Rune enchantments,” I say, and I’m unable to keep the contempt from my voice. It’s not that I don’t enjoy rune magic—I do—it’s that I’d much rather use it on my own time, in my own way, rather than for my classes. But I guess that’s true for most students. “These rune maps are trying to kill me.”
“Runes?” Morgan arches a sharp brow and tips her head to one side, gaze flicking to the parchment Maeve is studying. “I took Runic Rituals and Applications last year. You need any help?”
I reach up to scratch the back of my head, where my hair is buzzed short. “Nah. My sister’s helping me. Thanks though.”
Maeve still doesn’t make any indication of having realized Morgan is standing beside the table.
“Oh, okay. Well, I guess I’ll see you at the game, then.” Morgan’s lips pull up into a smile. “I’m looking forward to beating you again.”
A competitive flame flares to life inside my chest. “Not a chance. This year we’re taking the Arcane Cup.”
Last year, Morgan’s team, the Sigil Strikers, beat us in the academy’s runeball championship. I’m pretty sure it took me a month to drag myself out of bed afterward. This year, there’s no way I’m letting that happen. We’re going to crush her and her Strikers.
“From one captain to another,” Morgan says, and she reaches out to put a warm hand on my shoulder, “I’d warn you not to get your hopes up.
” Her smile is sharp and catlike. And before I can respond, she’s moving away, her purple-trimmed robe whispering around her, the other two girls following in her wake.
My eyes follow her across the library until a tingle in my spine makes me turn around.
And Maeve is glaring at me like her eyes might be able to set me on fire. Or strike me with a bolt of lightning, which I’m pretty sure she can do—storm witch and all. She’s low-key terrifying that way.
“What?” I ask.
Maeve drops the parchment with my rune maps onto the table. “You know, I do have better things to do than sit here all day trying to help you.”
My eyes narrow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“She was the third witch to interrupt us, and we’ve only been here for half an hour. You’ve spent more time flirting than even trying to understand this rune enchantment.”
“Flirting? That’s not tru—”
“Aric! Hi!”
A witch from my history class waves as she walks by, and I toss her a smile in return.
With a huffed sigh, Maeve pushes up from the table and grabs her robe from where it hangs on the back of the chair. It’s trimmed in green, designating her as a third-year student, just a year behind me.
“Whoa, where are you going?” I ask.
She tosses her hair back and levels a glare at me. “Until you decide you’re serious about studying, I’m done.”
“Maeve, wait. Maeve!”
But she doesn’t listen. She slips her bookbag over her shoulder, then strides across the library without a single glance back at me. When she’s gone, it’s just me and my failed rune maps and the ring that refuses to glow.
“Fuck,” I grumble, thumping my elbows onto the table and rubbing my hands down my face. “I’m so screwed.”
The table rattles, and I glance through my fingers to find Leo occupying the seat Maeve just abandoned. He’s staring in the direction she went, a wistful look on his face.
“Your sister is so hot,” he says, finally turning his dark eyes to meet mine. “Can you please introduce us?”
I snatch my rune maps off the table and barely resist the urge to crumple the paper in my fist. “No.”
“What? Why?”
“Because you went through four girls last year”—I stuff the paper into my schoolbag—“can’t keep your hands to yourself to save your life”—I grab the silver ring and ease it into a small pocket in my bag and zip it up—“and Maeve has zero interest in anyone at this academy. And besides, you’ve been begging me for two years, and the answer is and has always been no. ”
“You are such a prick,” he says with a groan.
“Yup.” I push to my feet and grimace when I bump the table, sending it rattling. This academy is very much human size—not exactly a good fit for orcs, even half orcs like me. “I’m going to the field. You coming?”
Leo looks up at me and arches a dark brow. “Aren’t you supposed to be doing homework?”
“Yes, but seeing as my tutor just walked away . . .” I let out a big sigh and shake my head. “I’ve gotta blow off some steam. You comin’ or what?”
“Fine. Kicking your ass around the field will probably make me feel better anyway.”
I let out a laugh—a big one—and the librarian immediately materializes around a stack of books and shushes me.
And I’ll take that as my cue to go.
Even if I’m not any closer to understanding these runes . . .
Or rescuing my spot on the runeball team.