44. Chapter 43
Finals were finally behind them and hopefully she scored high enough to pass. Despite the hours she’d spent studying, she mostly thought of what happened the night of the Winter Ball. Ever since, it was as if a fist was closing its grip on her throat.
The page they received from the Hall of Mirrors revealed more letters, and she could make out some words like open, door, and names.
It didn’t solve the whole message, but it was enough for Ivy to pack the cipher with her things for the few days she was visiting home for Christmas.
She’d probably have more than enough time to study it.
Normally, she would take Lou with her, insisting he needed daily tending to.
However, with his growth and larger pot, he was a little harder to carry around.
Instead, she placed an enchanted water bulb she’d borrowed from Professor Thorne in his soil to keep him watered while she was gone.
She gave his fronds one last pet before walking out of her room.
“I know you said that you’re okay, but…you’re sure you don’t want to talk about it?” Ivy asked as she dropped her bag next to Maeve’s by the door.
While it took everything in her not to pester Maeve more about her visions, she was more worried about her friend keeping a secret like foresight all to herself. It…must be lonely. She asked a few times since the mirrors, but Maeve brushed her off every time by saying she was fine.
“I…” Maeve drifted off, moving away from the door to plop down onto the couch. “I don’t know. It’s weird having people know about it. But I also didn’t tell the full story down there.”
Ivy sat next to her as Maeve played with the sleeves of her purple sweater. “If you want to tell me, I’m all ears.”
Maeve sighed heavily, chewing her bottom lip before nodding once.
“I found out I had foresight when I was five years old. I was in math class and we were counting to one hundred. When we got to ninety-nine…the classroom disappeared. The kids, the teacher, the ugly-ass colors all around us. It was like I was transported outside and above me, the barrier was dissolving all around us. People were screaming, crying, and fighting. A second later, I’m the one screaming and crying back in class.
My parents were called, and everyone thought I was lying until I insisted I wasn’t.
“My parents didn’t understand. My classmates, teachers, not even the principal knew what to make of it.
They were going to make me see a counselor.
But before that happened, my grandma told me what it was.
She had it too, and she told me that nobody could know.
Otherwise, I would put the entire family at risk.
I didn’t understand it at the time. But when I got older and looked into the history of foresight, I understood.
Our world didn’t only go after those with it, but their entire family in order to kill the bloodline since it’s a gift granted only through lineage.
“So I’ve been masking it almost my entire life—getting perfect grades, following in my family legacy of coming here, acting perfect all so I can avoid drawing any suspicion.
Thankfully, that first vision I had never came true, and it was the only terrifying one I had up until I got my acceptance letter here. ”
“Wow,” Ivy whispered. She paused for a moment, soaking in everything Maeve had to say. “That’s so much to carry for so long.”
“Yeah,” Maeve said, half-laughing before pursing her lips to the side.
“My grandma would scold me all to hell if she were here, but…I’m glad you know.
Part of why I wanted the library job was to find anything on how I can control my visions.
Or at least learn more about this power.
But the archives are massive. I don’t even know how many books are down there. ”
“Well, I’ll help in any way I can,” Ivy said.
“You don’t have to. You’ve got so much going on an—”
“I know that, but I want to. You’re my friend,” Ivy said, as if it was something simple. And…shouldn’t it be? “I think I had the definition of that wrong for too long, but being here with you, Liam, Ezra, and…well, it’s shown me what real friendship is like.”
“You’re one of the few friends I’ve actually got outside of my family. And even then, they don’t know everything you do now.” Maeve smiled, tears brimming her eyes. “I can’t get you into the archives, but I’m sure we can think of something.”
Before Ivy could say anything, a knock sounded at the door, and a moment later, Ezra and Liam walked inside. Ezra was noticeably without a bag of his own, but he smiled gently over at them.
“Ready for your train? Should be getting here soon.”
“I’ll be back a few days before New Year’s Eve,” she told Ezra as they all walked to the train together.
The campus was subtly decorated for the holidays, with twinkling gold lights nestled in the trees and holly wreaths on the main entrances.
Students had built figures in the snow, ranging from simple snowmen to intricately carved miniature dragons.
“You’re not staying the whole winter break?” he asked.
She and Ezra were side-by-side behind Maeve and Liam to Wayfarer’s Courtyard.
He had the straps of her fully stuffed overnight bag clutched in his gloved hand.
The soft gray material matched the beanie he’d given her, which was currently sitting on her head.
Even though his nose and ears were pink from the cold, he insisted he was warm enough with the black wool jacket he had on.
She shook her head, removing the bottom half of her face from the yellow scarf around her neck.
The bitter cold pricked her skin. “No, being at the house for longer than a week at a time can be hard on my parents and Betsy. I’m not sure whether it’s my presence that makes their clarity moments harder, or whether it’s the difference in routine since I’m not living there anymore.
But… I’ll only be staying until the twenty-nineth. ”
“I’m sorry,” he said, and he lowered his voice as he tipped his head toward her. “You’ll be safe there?”
“Most likely.” It wouldn’t make sense to come after her while she was away from school. Whatever the reason for the student disappearances was, it was somewhere on—or under—the grounds. They slowed to a stop, and Maeve and Liam turned around to face them.
“We’ll see you after break, Ezra,” Maeve said with a cheery smile, which had been permanently plastered on her face after breezing through her finals, before giving him a quick hug. “I hope you have a great Christmas.”
“Happy Christmas, mate,” Liam said, hugging Ezra and patting him on the back.
They both glanced at Ivy for her to follow suit with a goodbye. Except…she wasn’t ready to say it yet, despite the train leaving in about ten minutes.
Maeve’s brows quirked, noticing the hesitation. “And we’ll see you on the train,” she said, then turned to Liam. “Come on.”
Ivy watched as they left, and Ezra’s hand slipped into hers, bringing her attention back to him.
“You’ve got to be more sure than ‘most likely,’” he said, his mouth pursed into a small frown.
She squeezed his hand gently. “I can’t imagine traveling four hours just to catch me off guard would be very effective for anyone. When it’s my time—”
“If,” he corrected.
She blinked, not catching it until he corrected her.
“I’m assuming it will follow the same pattern as the others.
” If they couldn’t get her separated from her group during an exam, it would happen at a party.
Or maybe in the middle of the night if Ezra wasn’t in her bed.
Or after a late-night class. She shook her head, trying to pull herself out of her spiral before it began.
“Promise me you’ll stay alert?” He squeezed her hand gently, and his magic wrapped around her as if to guard her from the outside. Despite her living for years without feeling the pull, she’d miss it while she was away.
She intertwined her magic with his as she stepped closer, their misty exhales joining as one. “I will. Promise.”
He flitted between her eyes and lips, and her breath hitched. Was now the moment where they’d finally kiss? She’d lost count of how many almosts they’d had over the past month alone.
“Ivy.” His hand cupped her cheek, and she leaned into it. He rested his forehead against hers and sighed. “I want to kiss you. But I know if I do, I won’t want to stop.”
His husky voice sent shivers down her spine. She slid her hands up his stomach and stopped just below his chest. “And if I don’t want you to stop?”
She watched as his blue eyes darkened like the ocean on a starry night. “Then you’d miss Christmas with your family,” he said. His attention darted to the train, and he chuckled. “And sorely disappoint our friends who are staring at us and waiting for you to board.”
Ivy groaned as she tore herself away to peer at the train cabin where Maeve and Liam’s faces were practically pressed to the glass. Once they spotted her, they bolted away from the window.
She turned back to Ezra. “One of these days, we’ll have real privacy.” Her heart sank slightly at her own words, though. Did he only want her—want this—when nobody else was around?
“To be clear, I don’t care about privacy,” he said, his brows furrowing as he shook his head. “I’d kiss you no matter who was watching.”
Heat rushed to her cheeks, and she chewed at her lip as his dimple appeared in his cheek.
“If I kiss you here, it would end too quickly for me. I want to take my time with you, Ivy,” he murmured.
His thumb traced her jaw as he gazed at her with an intensity that made her press her thighs together.
“I want to commit your lips to memory because, God forbid, I mess this up and never get another chance. Is that alright?”
“It’s more than alright.” She laughed breathlessly as warmth pooled in her core. A part of her wanted to skip the train and drag him back to her bed so she could see exactly how much time he would take. But she knew she needed to go.