Chapter 17 Ramsey #3
“Just… some bullshit. You know Professor Brandt?” I nod.
Fucker’s crazy powerful. “He’s trying to figure out how to flip the switch on whatever magic I might have and surprised me with Felicity and Adrian and two others tonight for up close demonstrations.
” She shakes her head, taking a deep breath.
“And… you performed magic?” I prod, seeing how far I can push her.
“Apparently.” She shrugs.
“You don’t think so?”
“How the fuck am I supposed to know?”
“What did it feel like?”
She looks away, and for a moment I think she’s going to rightly tell me to go fuck myself.
But then her eyes shutter and she starts speaking softly.
“Felt like I was about to have a panic attack,” she pauses.
“Like my heart was racing and there was this ringing in my ears. Then the lights went out.”
“Huh.”
“That’s it? ‘Huh’?”
I flush a little under her expectant stare. “What did Brandt say?”
“He said I cahnneled primordial magic. But I still don’t really know what that means. I’ve only been here for like three weeks.”
“Six months, for me.”
That takes her by surprise. “Aren’t you a little old for a freshman?”
She doesn’t know.
She has no idea what a moratus is.
Which means she has no idea who I am. And she’s the only one on campus who doesn’t seem to care.
Say it, coward.
Fuck.
“I was… a late bloomer.”
“Okay?” she asks, and the knot in my stomach tightens. But with a heavy sigh, I go for broke.
“You know how most people go through their epiphaneia after they turn twenty?” She nods when I look to make sure she’s following.
“If your power doesn’t awaken by the time you turn twenty-one, general consensus is that it never will and you’re basically shunned.
No one wants to associate with a failure.
No family wants that kind of shame. Because power—”
“Is the only thing that matters here. So I’ve been told,” she interrupts with an eye roll.
I laugh under my breath. “Exactly. As rare as that is, it’s even more rare for someone’s magic to awaken after the age of twenty-one.
Like, only a handful of documented cases since we started recording our history separately from the humans.
They’re called “morata”. Latin for ‘delayed’.
” I see the moment she connects the dots.
“So when that chick said I was an idiot to piss you off, it’s because you’re a moratus?”
“Yeah…” I trail off.
“What’s so bad about that?” Fate bless her ignorance, I can almost pretend this isn’t the first normal conversation I’ve had with anyone in years.
“Because morata are exceptionally powerful. It’s thought that the power inside of them is so great, Fate waits until they’re strong enough to wield it before it’s permitted to manifest. Not just physically, but mentally, too.” I tap my temple.
“Isn’t being more powerful a good thing?”
“Not if you’re too powerful for the Council to control.”
She hums in sudden understanding. “So, you got your magic late and the powers that be got nervous.”
“It’s not just that.” I brush my hand over my face and look away, debating on whether to tell her the more grisly parts.
“Well, don’t leave me in suspense,” she drawls.
“When magic like that is triggered, it’s… catastrophic.” Her eyes widen but she doesn’t interrupt, giving me enough rope to hang myself with my next admission. “I was working as a bouncer at some shitty club. Lots of people. Lots of humans.”
“Oh shit,” dhe gasps, covering her mouth.
“When the Council hunters finally caught up with me, they told me I leveled an entire city block. Then they dragged me here to learn how to control it.” We sit in silence for a beat, dread making my stomach churn waiting for her response.
“They sent hunters after you?” dhe asks, frowning. That’s… not the question I expected. Shouting, running away, throwing things at me—that would have made more sense. “They broke into my apartment after stalking me at work.”
“Who did?” I practically demand, outraged at the thought of Council sending hunters after her like they did me.
“Two women. They followed me home and told me that if I didn’t go with them willingly, ‘someone a lot uglier and less charming’,” she emphasis with air quotes, “would come get me. Guess they sent those guys after you.”
Are we really bonding over shared abduction stories? “It’s not like I would have gone willingly,” I admit.
“What, the promise of free food and housing wasn’t enough?” she laughs humorously. Fucking Fate, is that what they bribed her with? Basic human rights?
“More like I would have eaten whoever they sent.”
Her jaw drops. “What are you? Wait, don’t answer that if it’ll get me killed or some shit.”
I can’t believe it. She’s teasing me. Before I can respond, my dragon surges forth, eager to announce himself. “I am the king.” She freezes in place, paling suddenly at the deep, rumbling voice of my inner beast.
Congratulations you asshole, you’ve scared her shitless. His answering rumble startles her out of shock.
“What the fuck was that?” she whispers, and I sigh.
“That was my dragon.” I can feel him peering through my eyes, both of us anxiously waiting for her reaction.
“A… dragon.” Any moment now she’ll run.
“Yeah.”
“How does…that…” she ventures, gesturing vaguely my way. Pointedly not running.
I told you to just speak to her.
“Uh,” I stutter. I don’t think I’ve ever had to actually explain this. “He’s… the other part of me.” I shrug, lost for words.
“Sure. Totally. Makes sense.” She nods sagely, but the glint of humor in her eyes is playful, and… I don’t know how to react.
This is uncharted territory.
“So, are we talking like, Toothless or Game of Thrones? Is it rude to ask if you have a treasure hoard?” The dragon chuckles low in my chest, bemused, surprisingly the both of us.
“I’ll show you mine if you show me yours,” he purrs. After a pause, she shakes her head.
“I guess boys will be boys no matter what species, huh?”
“You’re taking this surprisingly well for someone who’s only known about magic for a few weeks.”
She shrugs, smile faltering slightly. “Adapt to survive, and all that. You know how it goes.”
“Yeah, I do,” I answer quietly. An awkward silence grows between us, but she gives me a strained smile.
“You think the coast is clear by now?”
“Huh?”
“The three stooges out there. Think they’re gone?” Oh, right.
“Uh, probably. I could—” I scramble not to sound desperate as she gathers her things. “I can walk you to your dorm, if you want. Just in case they’re still trying to start shit.” Her eyes fill with an expression I can’t decipher, but even so, I know what she’s going to say.
“That’s okay. You’re probably sick of me by now,” she brushes me off, pausing before she turns to walk down the hallway. “But, maybe we can meet up here again? You have my number, right?” I swallow thickly at her olive branch.
“Yeah. I’d like that.”
“It’s a date. ‘Night, Ramsey.” She waves her fingers in goodbye, and I can only watch as she walks away, tracking her scent until it fades from the air, even as it burns in my lungs.