15. Isla
Chapter 15
Isla
TUESDAY
E very time his orange and red eyes slid over me, I felt like I was going to burst into flame. It was such a fucking cliché, but I had no other words to describe how he made me feel. The intensity of his gaze and the weight of his attention was driving me insane. Once class was dismissed, I gathered my stuff as quickly as possible.
Flashes of Hellsing’s warnings echoed in my mind, but I couldn’t find it in me to truly care. Some stupid, asinine, hormonal part of me wanted to go up and talk to him. Professor Ambrose was a force of nature.
‘Talk to him?’ Cassius asked incredulously.
‘Cas, I don’t need your constant–’ I started, but I was cut off.
“Miss Hallowes, stay a few minutes, please.”
What the actual hell?!
A few people shot me questioning glances before rushing out of the room which didn’t make me feel any better about being singled out on the first day of class. Trying, and probably failing, to seem at ease, I casually closed my bag desperately hoping that I appeared unbothered by being called out. After throwing it over my shoulder, I found the fae watching me with a cocky smirk.
“Yes, Professor?” I asked, noting how his smirk transformed into a grin.
‘He can see right through your little pretense,’ Cassius stated dryly.
“No need for the formality between us, witch.” He sat down on the edge of his desk, studying me. “I did give you your invitation to come here personally. You seemed distracted during class today. Is there a reason why?”
There was no way in hell I could say that the only thing I could think of was how horny he was making me.
‘I mean, you could ,’ Cassius deadpanned.
‘Not helpful.’
“Just trying to get used to the conservatory. It’s a lot different than the academy I went to. It won’t happen again,” I replied, hoping that it sounded more honest than it did in my head.
Ambrose’s eyes narrowed in clear disbelief, and he sat there silently, maybe hoping that would make me change my answer. His ash-blond hair was the same as it had been when he appeared in my garden, a wavy mess that fell across his face, making him seem more brooding and handsome than should ever be allowed.
‘If you start lamenting in poetry, I will take over and throw us off the nearest building.’
‘I don’t do poetry,’ I retorted, praying that I wasn’t blushing.
‘If you start imagining him in some porno, I will also do the same. Just for the record.’
‘I hate you.’
‘No, you don’t.’ Cassius, the smug bastard, was right, but I wasn’t going to let him know that. ‘I already know I’m right, beastie.’
‘You’re literally the worst.’
“Miss Hallowes?” Ambrose’s voice made me jolt. I blinked at him a few times, and at his expectant expression, I realized that I had missed whatever he had said. He must have realized it too because he clicked his tongue and repeated himself. “See that you’re paying better attention next class. Inattention can be a costly mistake at Greywood.”
“Yes, Professor.” I nodded, my cheeks heated.
“You’re dismissed.”
I walked out the door without looking back at him. I made sure not to move too fast, so he didn’t think I was running from him. As soon as I was outside, a shuddering breath broke free from my chest.
“You okay?”
The voice came from off to my side, where a girl was watching me. Her wide blue eyes were filled with nothing but concern as she brushed straight blonde hair out of her face.
“Professor Ambrose can be… a lot.” Her mouth twisted in a sour smile.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” I replied, lifting my bag higher on my shoulder. “Though being singled out the first day of class doesn’t bode well.”
A tinkling laugh escaped her even though she tried to smother it.
“Professor Ambrose likes to single out a few students every semester.”
“Perfect,” I muttered. Irrational jealousy shot through me. Did he flirt with all of those “special” students?
Of course he does, you idiot. Besides, flirting doesn’t mean anything. It sure as fuck doesn’t equate to feelings.
“Don’t worry too much about it,” the girl continued, oblivious to my internal turmoil. “Just be prepared for class and expect him to call on you a lot. There’s really not much you can do. He isn’t the worst professor to be singled out by.”
An odd look flickered across her face before it smoothed out.
“I’m Isla,” I offered, holding out my hand with a smile.
She carefully studied my face, then my hand, before hesitantly reaching out. A barely there handshake, then she dropped it and focused on my face.
“Violet.” She chewed her bottom lip nervously. “You’re a first year?”
“Yeah,” I replied, trying to figure out why I made her so nervous.
“Odd,” she murmured, twisting her hands hard enough that her knuckles became white. “Forbidden Magick is a final-year class… Well, looks like they are setting you up for an interesting time here. I’ll see you next class.” Violet left, not trying to hide that she was running away. From me? I honestly wasn’t sure. She seemed nice enough though a bit skittish.
At least this was my last class of the day. Aside from finishing up my paper, I could take a break since today’s classes hadn’t given me busy work like Familiar Care. As I thought over what to do with the rest of my afternoon, I stared out at the quad only to find my roommates and Wells walking together.
Zhara was laughing at something Aizel was saying while Wells appeared to be barely holding back his own laughter. Echo was shaking his head at their shenanigans, and a smile took over his face when he saw me.
Ignoring the butterflies in my stomach, I headed for my friends, dodging groups of students and swerving around someone setting up what looked like a summoning circle.
“Did you all have fun in sex class?” I asked them innocently, coughing when Zhara elbowed me.
“We have group projects!” she complained, pushing Aizel out of the way to thread her arm through mine.
“Projects?” I raised my eyebrows, looking toward Wells since he was in the same class. He nodded in agreement, not looking happy about the prospect either.
“Is it hands on?” Aizel asked her innocently. Or at least he tried to appear innocent. His wide eyes and devilish grin just missed the mark.
“I volunteer to help you if so, Zhara.” I winked at her, living for the noises of protest from the incubus beside me. “It’s the time for exploration, right?”
“I… I want to protest, but…” Lust reddened his cheeks like the mere idea of it was arousing to him. Well, he is an incubus.
“Don’t even finish that sentence, brother,” Echo growled, glaring at his twin. His shoulders were tense, like he was ready to fight him if he didn’t heed his warning.
“In all seriousness, what do you have to do? Depending on your answer, I’m going to be extremely jealous that I don't have the class.” I brought the conversation back around, wanting to avoid a fight between the brothers.
“We don’t have anything assigned yet,” Wells answered, his gaze on me. There was an odd light there before his cheeks heated and he looked away. “We’ll find out on Thursday.”
“I can’t wait,” I replied, shooting Aizel a challenging grin.
“Let’s talk about something that’s not going to start a fight,” Echo suggested, stepping between myself and his brother. “What class did you have?”
“Forbidden Magick,” I answered after a few seconds. “It was interesting.”
“Interesting?” Zhara piped up. “Sounds like we need details.”
I chewed my bottom lip and hoped to hell I wasn’t blushing like a fucking schoolgirl. “Yeah. We get to study magick that’s outlawed by the Conclave. Basically, Magickal History from what I understood.” It could have been about more than that, but I wasn’t fully paying attention in class… Not that they needed to know that little detail.
“Magick for all species or just witches?” Wells asked, a spark of interest lighting up his face. A small smile tugged at my lips. He was adorable when he was excited.
“Everyone. So it at least promises to be exciting all semester.”
‘All you have to do is focus in class, and you’ll actually learn something,’ Cassius snidely commented.
‘I tried to focus.’
‘On something other than the professor, beastie. If you don’t hear what he’s saying, you won’t learn a damn thing.’
“Kind of wishing I had that class.” Wells ran a hand through his messy hair while Zhara seconded his statement.
“As an incubus, I take offense to that,” Aizel snarked, pushing himself between me and Zhara to throw an arm around the wolf. She blushed while attempting to keep a big grin off her face. Damn, she had it bad. The two of them got a bit ahead of us before the incubus called back that they would meet up with us later.
“Not the dorm!” I yelled out.
“Dibs!” Zhara called back, and then she was off with Aizel chasing after her.
“Damn it,” I muttered while Echo burst out laughing. Wells cleared his throat a few times, but that sounded suspiciously like laughter too.
“So where are we hanging out while they have sex in the suite?” I looked at my other two friends. “I’m not going back there to listen to them fuck.”
“We could try the library?” Echo offered. Wells was blushing and looking anywhere but the direction where Zhara and Aizel had headed.
“I don’t even want to think about the paper I need to finish tonight,” I replied dramatically. “Can we go somewhere else?”
“I’d offer my place, but my roommate is an asshole.” Wells rubbed the back of his neck. “I have to go back there to sleep, but otherwise, I try to stay out as much as possible.”
“Did he do anything?” I asked, bristling at the idea of some asshole messing with my friend.
Wells waved off my question. “Not really. Let’s just say he made it very clear that he doesn’t like witches.”
“How?” Echo and I growled at the same time.
Wells blinked a few times before he rubbed the back of his neck and mumbled something about not wanting to talk about it. Echo and I shared a look before we dropped the subject. I’d just have to ask him about it later because something told me that it wasn’t just a small thing this stranger had done. There was just something about Wells that made me want to protect him.
He and Echo started throwing out ideas, but something in the corner of my eye caught my attention. A glimmer of sun had peeked out from the cloud, and I saw a hint of glass shimmer through the woods. Magick thrummed in me, and without warning, I started for the woods.
The guys didn’t notice until I was halfway to the treeline. Some part of my brain faintly registered them calling out to me, but the magick was too loud, too magnetic, for me to reply. It felt like my whole body was overflowing, the power building and building with no way to release it. I felt like I was on the brink of an anxiety attack. Everything was amplified a million times yet somehow still super fuzzy along the edges.
I picked up speed until I was running through the woods, and then I found myself in a small clearing. And right there was the greenhouse, the same one I had seen the night I arrived. The glass was still dirty, and the plants were growing wildly inside, climbing the walls.
It didn’t seem inviting this time though. The place felt sentient, like it was waiting for me to reach for the door. No, it was demanding I reach for the door. The magick urged me to ignore every internal alarm saying that I shouldn’t do this. I rarely had my alarms go off, so when they did, I usually listened.
“Isla?” Echo asked breathlessly, bent over with his hands on his knees. He and Wells had caught up with me. When I didn’t answer, he glanced around, a confused expression on his face. Why he was looking around, I had no idea. The greenhouse was unmissable. Wells stood there with his mouth parted, clearly shocked by my action, but I noticed that neither of them seemed to be on edge like I was. How could they not sense the magick?!
“What is that?!” Wells asked, his gaze fixated on the building.
Echo glanced between the two of us. “What is what?”
“You can’t see it?” I asked around the magick clawing its way through my body. My hands had begun to shake.
“No?” His eyes darted to my hands. “Isla?”
Wells looked back and forth between me and the greenhouse. Concern grew on his face as his brown eyes dipped down to take in the trembles that had traveled up my arms.
“We should leave.”
“I can’t,” I whispered thickly. “This is the place I found the first night, but I couldn’t find it when we looked for it, Echo. Remember?”
The incubus furrowed his brow, but I ignored the two people by me to reach for the door.
‘Beastie, something is off with this place. It feels different than last time.’
‘I just need to go inside,’ I reasoned with him.
‘Don’t!’
But it was too late.
My hand was on the door handle, and the world flipped upside down. Power shoved inside me so hard and fast that I couldn’t even scream. It felt like nails were being shoved into my hand as claws dug into my skull, pulling me apart. Power shot out of me as Echo lunged forward, trying to save me.
Wells grabbed him, holding him back and ignoring Echo’s growl.
“Let go of me, witch!”
“We don’t know what’s going on. If we interfere, it could make it worse,” Wells told him calmly. The incubus stopped struggling against Wells’ restraining hold, but the guys had matching expressions of unease.
A collection of voices spilled from my lips. “It’s starting. The end. The unbecoming.”
“Of what?” Wells asked cautiously.
My head turned to face the witch, but it wasn’t me controlling my body. Whatever power had been thrust inside of me was in full control. As if from a distance, I noticed that Wells paled when it pinned him with a stare.
“Everything.”
The power’s focus shifted from Wells to Echo, who had frozen on the spot, his gaze angled to the ground, every muscle tense. He was afraid.
“The reality that you know will be pulled apart at the threads and rewoven. Trust nothing and question everything.”
The power digging into me receded just as quickly as it had overtaken me. Feeling lightheaded, I wavered on my feet as I clutched at the door in an attempt to remain upright.
‘Beastie!’ Cassius’s voice shook. I could feel his worry as I tried and failed to respond to him.
The door handle felt normal now, but there was a new sense awake inside me. I somehow knew that after today, I would be able to find the greenhouse again. This place was mine .
What the hell had just happened? What was that? There was a hum of something ancient in my mind now, lingering just out of reach, waiting. It felt comforting and terrifying to realize that the magick that had just overtaken me was there to stay.
What about Cassius? Would he be okay?
Would I?
‘You can’t get rid of me, beastie. I’m fine.’ Cassius’ usual confidence was missing from his reassurances. Despite everything that was whirling through my mind, it didn’t slip my notice that he didn’t say anything about the state of me .
It had only been a few seconds since the power drained away. I’d barely managed my check-in with Cassius before the edges of my vision darkened. My knees began to buckle.
Wells and Echo called out my name as I lost the fight to stay conscious.