Chapter Twenty-two
Audrey
T onight is my first practice session with Professor Novak, which is why I’m standing outside of the Abyss.
Before heading here, I had dinner with Diana and Celeste tonight without either of my mates to make up for my blunder the day before. Luckily, they’d both quickly forgiven me once they found out the details of my death dream and the chaos that was my mates. Or at least the chaos I made it all into. Now that I have mates, I know I’ll need to make sure I make time for my friends. I can’t allow myself to get lost in them—at least not completely.
Taking a deep breath, I head inside to Professor Novak’s classroom where I’m meant to be meeting him. The building is quiet, which makes sense since classes have been over for two hours. Pushing open the door, Professor Novak’s head looks up from where he sits at the desk I wasn’t sure he ever used.
“Good evening, Miss Maddox. Thank you for your punctuality. Come on down, and we’ll get started.”
He’s the one doing me a favor, not the other way around, so I hurry down the stairs and come to a stop in front of his desk.
“I notice you still weren’t able to call on your magic during class today,” he says as he stands.
I nod. “Unfortunately not. I was hoping I’d be able to since—“ I cut off, having almost revealed that I’d bonded with one of my mates the night before. I’m not sure my professor needs to know that information.
“Since what, Miss Maddox?” When I don’t answer, he snorts. “Just tell me whatever it is. If it’s not relevant, then I promise not to mention it again, but I need to hear it in order to know if it is or isn’t.”
“I... uhhh... I bonded with one of my mates last night, and as I finished the ritual, fire surrounded us.” I shrug, face blooming with heat as I duck my head. “I guess I was hoping it was my magic returning.”
Professor Novak considers me for a moment before humming. “I can see why you’d think that, and if you were able to access it today, I wouldn’t have been surprised. Honestly, I think I’m more surprised that you still aren’t able to access it. Usually bonding will strengthen your magic.” He pauses. “Wait, did you say, one of your mates?”
“Umm... yes. Apparently, I’m going to have either three or five.” I shrug. “At least that’s what the Fates told me.”
Professor Novak is silent for so long, I force myself to lift my head and find him staring at me in disbelief. “The Fates spoke to you?”
“Yeah. Donovan found a ritual—“
“Donovan Sullivan?” he asks, eyebrows shooting up.
I grimace. “How bad is it that I don’t know my mate’s last name? He’s a hellhound?”
“Your mate is Wraith’s lover?” He shakes his head in disbelief.
“Well, yes, but he’s not the one I bonded with.”
He stares at me for another moment before laughing and sitting on the edge of his desk. “Well, at least we don’t have to worry about you being sent to judgment because your magic won’t work.”
“Huh? What do you mean by that?”
Professor Novak scoffs. “Wraith isn’t going to allow his lover’s mate to be kicked out of the school, but that’s good. That gives us more time to work together. It’s possible that until you mate with all of your mates that you won’t be able to access your magic.”
I throw my hands up in the air. “Great. That would be my luck. But is that the three mates or the five mates?”
“Why don’t you start from the beginning with what the Fates told you, and then we can go from there.”
Which is how I find myself spilling the story of two nights ago to my professor. I feel slightly uncomfortable telling him so much of my personal business, but it’s like I can’t stop myself. Not only might it have something to do with my magic, but he’s just so easy to talk to. The whole story just slips out of me, and I’ll admit I feel a little better having told him. It’s kind of nice to tell someone who isn’t overly invested in the situation.
“Wow. Okay. You’ve had an eventful couple of days, haven’t you?” Professor Novak hums as he stands up once more, pacing the floor. “I can’t say for sure, but if I had to guess, I would say you need to bond with the three guaranteed mates. Now, that’s not to say we won’t be able to figure out something else before then, but if we can’t... I think those bonds will help you call on your magic.”
“Ugh, that is not what I wanted to hear.”
He laughs. “I wouldn’t imagine so. I’ll do more research on it. We don’t often get people at the school meeting their fated mates since those bonds snap when the person dies. But I’m guessing yours formed when you died, making you a very interesting case.”
“Just what I always wanted to be—an interesting case.” I shake my head. “Now what?”
“I had a few things I was going to have us try today, but knowing what I know now, I’m not sure they’ll do you any good.” He runs a hand over his head as he stalks back to his desk.
Also, not what I wanted to hear. “Can we try them anyway?”
He glances back at me before moving around his desk and bending over. “Absolutely. We won’t know for sure until we try them. Since you’re a fire witch, we can do this here. If you were any other type of elemental witch, I’d take us outside.”
When he stands up, he’s holding a rolled up mat. He comes back around the desk and unfurls it in front of me. At my confused look, he laughs.
“We’re going to start with meditating. It’s easier to do while seated, and these floors aren’t great for sitting on.” He drops onto the mat, waving for me to join him.
I lower myself cautiously, making sure to keep plenty of space between us. The last thing I need is my professor thinking I’m coming onto him or something. “I’ve never meditated before.”
“That’s okay, I’ll walk you through it. It’s not hard if you’re in the right state of mind. If you’re not, I’ll help you get there. Don’t worry, Miss Maddox, I’m going to help you any way I can. I promise.”
“Yeah. Okay.” I cross my legs like his and lay my hands on my knees. “What do I do?”
“The first step is to clear your mind. Considering how much you have on your mind right now, that might be easier said than done. Close your eyes and try to clear your mind.”
Snickering, I do as he says. Eyes closed, I push away all the shit I’ve been dealing with and focus on thinking about nothing. It’s harder than I thought it would be. Eventually, I sigh. “I think that’s the best I’m going to be able to do.”
“Then we’ll move onto the next step. I want you to picture your magic and find it inside yourself. It might be hiding, but you should be able to find it. More often than not, your magic pools around an organ, which is where your magic comes from.” Professor Novak pauses. “Take deep breaths and center yourself anytime you feel your mind slipping away.”
“I thought there would be more imagining my happy place and less finding where my magic is hiding.”
“Miss Maddox,” he warns, and I bite back my smile.
Searching out my magic isn’t a new concept to me. Mom had us doing it when we were young. My magic had never been surrounding an organ. Instead, it flowed through my veins. So had Wren’s. I just thought that’s where witches’ power lay, but according to the professor, it’s not. How much of being a witch was I misled about? Or is Donovan correct about me not being a witch?
Shit. I’m already messing this up. Forcing myself to focus, I seek out my magic. As expected, it’s running through my veins, but it looks different from how it used to.
“Found it. It’s running through my veins.”
Professor Novak can’t keep the astonishment from his tone. “In your veins? That’s abnormal. I’m not sure I’ve met anyone whose magic is in their blood like that.”
My eyes pop open to find him staring at me as if he’s trying to figure me out. “No? That’s not normal for witches?”
“No, it’s not. You’re sure you’re nothing more than a witch?”
“Until yesterday, I never doubted it. Donovan said I didn’t smell like a witch. In fact, he said he’d never smelled anyone like me.” I shake my head. “I just don’t understand. My mom was a witch just like me and Wren—“
“Wren?” he asks.
I nod. “My twin sister. Did I not mention her? Huh. We never met our dad, but Mom said he was a witch just like us.”
He hums. “I’ll look into that some more as well. You being something more than a witch could also explain why you’re struggling to access your magic. I really don’t think that any of what I had planned is going to help. I’ll do some research this week and hopefully have some more ideas of what we can do then. If that’s okay with you, of course.”
“What choice do I really have?” I ask, unsure what to think of this development. Now I’ve had two people tell me I might not be a witch. If Mom lied about this, then what else did she lie about?
I hate that I’m doubting the one person who loves me most in the world, but some things just aren’t adding up, and it all leads back to her.
“Don’t be discouraged, Miss Maddox. Everything you’ve told me today opens up other avenues of helping you to access your magic.” Professor Novak stands up, looking as if he’s going to offer me his hand before yanking it away.
That was weird.
“I’ll walk you out,” he says, moving away from me as I push to my feet.
Frowning as I follow him up the stairs, I can’t help wondering why he’s in such a hurry to get rid of me all of a sudden. He’s acting strange, that’s for sure.
Once we make it up the stairs, he swings the door open and steps back, making me think he doesn’t want me to get too close to him. It just keeps getting stranger and stranger.
“Done already, pretty girl?”
Turning my head away from the professor, I smile when Donovan pushes off the wall and strolls toward us.
“Hello, Donovan. It’s good to see you. And, yes, we’re calling it for the day,” Professor Novak says as he reaches out to shake Donovan’s hand. “Based on the information that Miss Maddox provided me today, I need to do more research before we try this again. Miss Maddox, I’ll see you in class tomorrow morning.”
Nodding, I allow Donovan to pull me out of the classroom. “Sure will. Thanks again, Professor Novak.”
I get no response, because he’s already swung the door shut.
“What the hell?” I mutter, making a face as I turn back to Donovan. “He started acting weird after I told him my magic runs through my veins and not around one of my organs. Apparently, that’s not how witches work—even though both mine and my sister’s magic do just that.”
“That is interesting indeed. I told you that you didn’t smell like a witch.” He takes my hand, tugging me along down the hallway. “Let’s not worry about that right now. Wraith was making a homemade creme brulee, and we don’t want to be late.”
I guess I’m going to their house tonight then—not that I mind. It’s kind of nice having the choice taken from me. I’ll just make sure to text Brenden and the girls so they don’t worry.
Plus, creme brulee sounds like a perfect way to end the day.