7. Isla
Chapter 7
Isla
SUNDAY
W e ate our breakfast then found our way to Weiss Hall. We had enough time not to worry, but none of us were willing to find out what happened if you were locked out of the welcome meeting. Given how they’d handled everything so far, Greywood would probably just make students guess at their schedule and figure it out themselves.
Other students must have had the same thought as us because the lecture hall was already pretty full.
Nerves hit me as more and more people filled the room. Just how many people were in our class? The campus had looked small, but from the amount of people filing into the room, way more students were invited here than I thought.
I was looking around for a good place to sit when Zhara motioned me to follow after her. The wolf led the way to some empty seats in the middle of the top row. I sat down in the seat beside hers, looking around to see who else was here. Aizel flopped down on the seat beside me, and Echo claimed the one of Zhara’s other side.
A group of centaurs walked in, quietly talking to each other in the back of the room. The bitchy witches from earlier walked in and claimed spots in the front row after shoving someone’s books out of their way. Guess they’re just going to be assholes to everyone.
Others came in as well—vampires, werewolves, a few angels, demons, and a couple fallen angels that stayed away from the two previous groups. I thought I even spotted a lone kelpie slipping in down at the front.
“Mind if I sit here?” The deep voice interrupted my observations. I looked over to find a witch standing there in a long-sleeved white henley and jeans. He had fluffy light brown hair and a horrible case of bedhead that made him look barely functional at the moment.
“Sure.” Aizel nodded at the seat beside him.
The stranger nodded in thanks and sat down, his long legs aimed toward the side so his knees weren’t hitting the back of the chair in front of him.
“I’m Wells,” he said with a half-smile once he got comfortable.
“Isla.” I smiled at him. “This is Zhara, Aizel, and Echo.”
He nodded and rubbed his face, obviously fighting to wake up. The poor guy looked like he’d had a rough night.
“Didn’t get much sleep?” Zhara asked, leaning forward to see him past me and Aizel.
“No.” He laughed softly. “It took a few hours for my escort to get me here.”
“Put up a hell of a fight?” Aizel asked, excitement brightening his voice. “That’s a story I need to hear.”
“Sort of. The guy ran into my younger sisters first, and they gave him hell until I had to step in to save him. If I hadn’t, there was no way he would have gotten me here.”
“Your sisters sound awesome,” Zhara commented.
“They are,” he replied with pride. “But damn, did they scare the shit out of this guy. Then they just laughed and ran off like it was nothing. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a demon so shaken.”
“Oh, you got a demon?” I asked, curiosity making me lean across Aizel so I could focus on the newcomer better. “A fae brought me here.”
“We met him,” Echo interjected, a note of jealousy coloring his voice.
“He didn’t.” I shrugged after tipping my head to indicate Wells. I didn’t know if Echo was jealous of the attention I was giving Wells, but the petty part of me liked it. A healthy dose of jealousy was attractive in a man, after all.
“Did your kidnapping not go as planned either?” Wells asked.
“Oh, I just went with him and didn’t fight. Threw him off, that’s for sure, so I guess you could say it didn’t go how he planned it anyway.”
Wells looked like he was about to comment, but then all of the doors in the back of the lecture hall suddenly slammed closed. I sat up straight and glanced around, trying to figure out what was going on. In the front of the room, a door to the left opened, and my mouth went dry.
The fae that had brought me my invitation sauntered in with a devil-may-care attitude. He didn’t have on the coat I had loved so much. Instead, he was wearing a black button-up shirt and matching slacks. He looked fucking delicious, and my mind filled with the memory of the sweet scent of him.
‘If you could fucking focus for one minute ? —’
‘I am focused,’ I retorted, my gaze on the fae. He smirked at all of the students who were frozen and watching him just as intently as I was. It was obvious he fucking loved the power and attention he had right now.
‘With something other than your pussy.’
‘Shut up, Cassius. He’s probably about to give us a bunch of information.’
‘Then stop imagining what it’d be like to fuck him.’
Alarm bells filled my mind at his growled warning. The last time Cassius had given me this level of attitude was with my ex-boyfriend. Of course, he had been right about that asshole and the fact that I was addicted to fucking him.
Zhara shot me a concerned look when I shook my head. I waved her off, trying to ignore the pissy man in my head. When I pulled my attention up front again, it was to find a familiar red and orange stare settled on me.
“Now that I have everyone’s attention…” he crooned. A blush heated my cheeks despite myself, and I prayed that my new friends didn’t notice. “All of you have the opportunity to live up to your full potential here at Greywood. This school is for the outcasts, the dangerous , but dangerous doesn’t mean harmful to others. We are the other side of the scale, using the baneful magick that provides the balance that is needed in the world.”
Zhara shifted in her seat, and I leaned into her side, offering silent comfort even though I didn’t know if she would accept it. She stiffened, but after letting out a shaky breath, she slowly softened and accepted the gesture.
“This conservatory doesn’t do easy because you will not thrive with easy. You want handouts? Better leave now. We will accept nothing but your best, and I will tell you a small secret. You have no fucking clue what your best is yet.” The fae sat on the edge of the desk and scanned the crowd. “Now, onto the boring things. You’re all adults, so act like it. Have issues? Deal with it yourself unless you need to have conservatory staff get involved. There are no appeals when that happens. Everything is taken care of here on campus.”
“What about our families, like talking with them?” a student called out when the professor paused. “My cell hasn’t worked since I got here.”
“There is no signal here for human phones. Use email or whatever magickal ways are at your disposal,” a dry voice answered from the sidelines.
Shock hit me at the sound, but it wasn’t my emotion that had shaken me to the core. It was Cassius’.
‘Cassius?’
Instead of responding, he locked me out and went silent. That, on top of his earlier irritation, raised my concern, but I knew I would have to try to talk to him later. For now, I had to pay attention to what they were saying.
A vampire stepped forward. His strong cheekbones and jawline stood out first, then I saw a scar that traveled from above his left eyebrow, down across his eye, and onto his cheek. He was wearing a light brown suit, and his hands were casually tucked in his pockets.
“If you need a computer but do not have one, the library has plenty for students to use there.” A flash of fangs showed as he continued talking. “No humans are allowed on campus. Anyone caught breaking this rule will be immediately and severely punished.”
All of us students nodded in easy agreement. Humans had no idea we existed, and baneful magick was unpredictable. Keeping our distance from humans was an unspoken rule in our world.
“When you leave here, exit through this door.” The vampire gestured to the door the fae had entered through. “Tables are set up by family name, and that’s where you can get your schedule. Classes start tomorrow. I would advise you to find the buildings today, but that is ultimately up to you.”
“And if you have any questions,” the fae interjected smoothly, “feel free to ask Julian here. He’s the head librarian and there to be of service. I am not so accommodating, so don’t bother finding me.”
The vampire merely inclined his head in mocking agreement given the half smile that curled his lips.
“Dismissed.” The fae waved a hand, and the door at the front opened with a loud swoosh .
Aizel whistled. “That’s some tension.”
“Wonder what the hell kind of classes we have to take,” Zhara said.
“Let’s get going before we’re waiting here for hours, trying to get through,” Echo declared, stretching his arms above his head before standing up.
“Gotta love being dropped in here with no actual direction,” Wells mumbled, his brow furrowed in annoyance, and I chuckled at his irritation.
“Where’s the fun if we have directions?” I teased, shuffling behind Aizel as we made our way to the center aisle.
Wells didn’t comment, or if he did, I didn’t hear him. We got down to the front and made our way out to the hallway. Tables lined the walls, with signs floating above each of them to show us where we should go.
We split up, getting our own lines so we could grab our schedules. Wells followed me to my line. He rubbed the back of his neck and said Hawthorne by way of explanation. My eyebrows raised in surprise at him naming one of the most prominent and powerful witch covens in North America.
A Hawthorne with baneful magick? That wasn’t something you heard of every day. I figured witches from a coven with that amount of prestige would have the influence to keep his tutoring private. What did he do to draw the attention of Greywood?
“You?” he asked when I didn’t say anything.
“Hallowes,” I replied.
Wells sighed when I didn’t say more. “You’re not going to act all weird now, are you?”
“I’m always weird,” I joked, then grabbed his arm and forced my arm to loop around his. He looked down at our arms entwined and then down at my face since he had a few inches on me. “But I do plan on annoying you with all kinds of random questions.”
“Names?” a rough voice called out.
“Hallowes, Isla,” I replied sweetly as Wells said his. We were quickly handed papers and dismissed. There were a few hundred students here, but we had managed to get our schedules in about ten minutes. Voices were loud in the hallway, with people comparing classes and groaning at early times. I tugged Wells and led the way outside. Scanning the crowd, I was relieved to find Zhara a ways off, sitting under a tree.
We made our way through the crowd until I let go of Wells to drop down on the grass beside the wolf. She grinned at me, mirth making her eyes bright, then looked up at Wells. He didn’t sit down right away. The witch appeared almost… nervous , though I had no idea what could be the matter.
“Wells, sit down before I trip you. You happened to sit down beside a group of people that attach quickly, so you’re stuck with us now.”
His mouth opened and closed a few times as a blush warmed his cheeks. Eventually, he sat down on the grass by my feet and started looking over his schedule, avoiding our stares.
Zhara clicked her tongue. “You’ve embarrassed him, Isla.”
“By including him? No way,” I responded before turning to the witch near us. “Did I embarrass you?”
“Unless she commented on your manhood, then it’s nothing compared to how we met her,” Aizel commented dryly.
I snorted when Wells looked between us, probably trying to figure out how serious the incubus was being.
“And yes, we all just met last night. We’re suitemates,” Echo added as he and his brother sat down and completed our circle.
“See? We’re all clingy.”
“I just don’t know anyone else to help me get away from you lot,” Aizel retorted. We all pretended now to see the wave of students moving around us. If he really wanted to strike out on his own, all he’d need to do was stand up and pick someone to talk to.
“What classes do you have?” I asked Zhara, leaning over to see her paper.
“Magickal Self-Defense, Supernatural Politics, Werewolf History, Herbology for Beginners, and Sex Magick.” She sighed after the last one. “How about you?”
“Magickal Self-Defense, Advanced Herbology, Supernatural Politics, Forbidden Magick, and Familiar Care,” I replied, happy that some of ours were the same.
“How the hell do you not have Sex Magick?” Zhara asked. “How do I have it?”
“It could be a beginner course, or maybe it will lean more toward werewolf stuff,” Echo offered.
“I have it too,” Wells said, “though I don’t know what time.”
Zhara leaned forward and grabbed the paper out of his hand to compare their schedules. It seemed they did have the same class, and as Zhara talked, Wells started to relax more. The more we casually included him in conversation, the more at ease he became until he started to willingly contribute here and there.
We sat there for a while, and as the minutes passed, a twitchy feeling built. I was being watched, but by who? Studying my surroundings, I tried to pinpoint who it could be, but the Barbie bitches were nowhere to be seen, and I didn’t spot Bricriu, who was my second guess.
No one stood out, so I tried to keep my attention on my new friends. As we finally got a game plan together to explore the campus and find our classes, that weight vanished. I swallowed hard, fighting down my nerves and discreetly wiping off my sweaty palms as I stood up.
“Sex class first?” Aizel asked suggestively, wiggling his eyebrows.
“You really need to review the basics that badly?” I asked without missing a beat.
Wells choked as Aizel stumbled back, wincing dramatically and pretending that I had hurt him, though the good humor in his eyes told me that my brand of humor didn’t offend him. In the meantime, his brother wrapped an arm around my shoulders and started to lead the way toward the lecture halls.
“I can show you how good I am at everything, including the basics,” he flirted while Aizel laughed and fell into step beside Zhara and Wells. The hair on the back of my neck stood up, but it had nothing to do with the man beside me. That feeling of being watched overcame me again.
Between that and the silence from Cassius, my anxiety was on the rise. What the hell was going on?
AMbrOSE
Fire scorched through my veins as that incubus touched Isla. He didn’t even have the fucking right to breathe the same air as her much less touch her. Her laugh rang in my ears as they disappeared out of sight, but I could detect a sense of unease.
She knew I had been watching.
I licked my lips, recalling her surprise when I entered the lecture hall today.
She was just as fucking appealing as I recalled. Thatcher wanted me to stay away from her, and Julian had given me a warning glare when he caught me staring at Isla during our talk, but I’d never been good at following directions.
I couldn’t wait until she realized that she would be seeing me every week for Forbidden Magick. Before the end of the semester, I’d have her on her knees… one way or another. I couldn’t fucking wait to know what she tasted like.
Her blood was going to be so damn sweet, and I bet her tears would be too.