Chapter 36 Raven
Raven
The minute Zane left, I tore open the envelope he’d dropped on my bed. Inside, I found a single sheet of cream paper covered in Willow’s familiar scrawl. The paper even smelled of her: jasmine and violets.
For a moment, I closed my eyes and let the memories wash over me. Shelling peas in the large farmhouse kitchen while Willow sang along to the radio. Reading books together, and when I was older, watching stolen DVDs when Adam disappeared on his trips away from the farm.
Willow had been like an older sister to me. She guided me through my first period, gave me the sex talk when I turned fifteen, and was there for me when I needed a shoulder to cry on.
It still hurt that the security mage had stolen me away from the market without giving me a chance to say goodbye.
And because of the wards in place here, it was impossible to contact the outside world without permission from the admin office.
I’d tried asking for permission a few days after arriving, but the witch in the admin office sent my form back with a big fat ‘declined’ stamped across it in red ink.
Glynda had told me later nobody could contact their families for the first semester. It was supposed to encourage us to settle in more easily. I called bullshit on that, but she’d shrugged and said I would get the chance to see my family at winter solstice.
Since Kenji hadn’t come back, I crawled under covers and scanned the letter.
Willow said she missed me and hoped I was well, followed by general gossip about the witches we lived with. Nothing about Adam, and nothing at all personal. She signed off by saying she looked forward to seeing me in December.
I frowned. Why bother writing to me if there was nothing worth saying?
She must have known I’d be dying for proper news. The brevity and impersonal nature of the letter made no sense. Willow was an emotional witch. She cried when reading sappy books. A robot could have written this letter.
Or Adam.
I chewed my lip while staring at the letter. There had to be something I’d missed here.
Selena, the witch in the room opposite me, had nearly self-combusted in excitement when she opened her door to see Zane sauntering away. No doubt the entire dorm would be ablaze with gossip about the slutty witch on the third floor.
I didn’t care to check the dorm group chat. It was better not to know what they said about me.
The longer I sat on my bed staring at the sheet of paper with its purple scrawl, the more it bothered me. Then something clicked in my head.
When I was younger, we’d used code to communicate. Nothing magical, as I didn’t have any magic back then. Just a simple method of concealing text within books and regular notes.
Words written in lemon juice were invisible to the naked eye until exposed to heat.
Then the words appeared. It was so ridiculously simple that it made sense Willow might use it here.
The witches in the admin office would scan incoming mail for magic, but I highly doubted they’d be on the lookout for words written in lemon juice.
I held the sheet of paper in one hand and summoned a tiny flame in my other. When I brushed the flame lightly across the sheet of paper, rows of tightly packed brown words appeared. Willow had added additional sentences in between the lines of purple ink.
When I was certain there was nothing else to reveal, I peered closely at the words she’d added.
Raven, I’m so sorry I got you into this mess.
Adam was so mad at me for letting you go to the stupid market.
He’s worried too, I can tell. I overheard him talking to Veronika last night; he said you’re in danger and we need to get you away from Starfall and hide you again.
No clue what he thinks you’re in danger from, but from the bit I heard, he plans to break you out at the winter solstice party when families can visit the school.
Hang in there, birdy, and we’ll soon bring you home.
I promise I’ll bake your favorite chocolate cake and we can binge the latest season of The Witching Hour while stuffing our faces.
Miss you to the stars and back, love Willow xxx.
If Willow had said these things the day I arrived, I’d have rejoiced and begun packing my bag. But my life had changed in a million ways since that day at the market.
Leaving Starfall Academy now would mean leaving Maverick, Glynda, and the annoying incubus behind.
Adam would lock me up again. Hide me behind impenetrable wards where nobody could find me.
Maybe Adam was right. Perhaps I really was in danger, but at least here at Starfall, I had a life. Sure, it wasn’t perfect, but looking back, I could see how small my life on the farm had been. Adam may have thought he was protecting me, but even a comfortable cage was still a cage.
I took the letter into the bathroom, tore it to shreds, and flushed it away. Seeing Willow again would be amazing, but I wasn’t about to let Adam spirit me away from here, even if he thought it was in my best interest.
Luckily, the winter solstice was still a few weeks away, so I had plenty of time to think of a way to stop Adam from stealing me from here against my will.
A huge yawn escaped as my body lost the fight against exhaustion.
Between Zane’s talented mouth and the unexpected letter from Willow, I needed some restorative sleep.
I ducked back into the bathroom and quickly brushed my teeth.
Kenji still hadn’t returned, so I made sure the window lock was in place and then switched my bedside lamp off, ready for sleep.
Kenji grunted something unintelligible when I crawled out of bed. It was still dark outside, but I’d had enough of being ghosted by Kai. I got that he was likely embarrassed or whatever that a witch had saved him, but seriously, the guy needed to get over himself.
We lived in enlightened times. Females could be strong and dangerous too!
If he had a problem with my rescuing his ass, I wanted him to tell me. To my face. Preferably while he was shirtless so I could shamelessly ogle his chest and shoulders. Oh, and arms.
I had a weak spot for arms, I’d decided. Was arm porn a thing? I resolved to ask Glynda at breakfast. I figured she’d know.
The incubus would know, but no way in this realm was I asking him about anything porn-related. He’d see it as an invitation into my pants. And we weren’t going there.
Ever.
Maybe.
Pushing down all sexy thoughts before I lost focus, I pulled on a pair of shorts and a loose tee. The mornings were cool, but the chilly air would wake me up. Once dressed, I tied my hair back and padded downstairs, passing by the empty common room.
There was nobody around outside as I hurried toward the sports complex. Light drizzle quickly soaked through my thin tee, and by the time I reached the entrance to the swimming pool building, it was almost translucent.
Stars above, this was a bad idea. I should have stayed in bed. Humid, salty air tickled my nose when I opened the door. It smelled of the sea in here. Not that I’d ever been to the coast, but I had seen photographs and imagined what it would be like to paddle in the waves.
My jaw dropped when I saw the swimming pool.
I’d expected a simple rectangular pool, but this was way nicer.
It had a rock formation at the far end, with platforms at different levels, presumably for diving, and a waterfall feature.
Smaller, shallow pools lined the edges, with deeper sections where swimmers could dive.
I scanned the surface of the water but saw barely a ripple.
My shoulders sank with disappointment. I’d been so sure I’d find Kai here.
Merpeople needed to swim daily to keep their scales and gills healthy.
After the incident with the wolves, I figured he’d swim in the morning instead, while the wolves still slept.
What a waste of time. I should have stayed in bed.
I spun around to leave, but my toe caught on the edge of a raised tile. Before I could course-correct, I tripped and fell sideways, hitting the glassy surface of the water with a splash.
Cool water went up my nose as I thrashed around. Nobody had ever taught me to swim. There were no pools around our farm, just water troughs for the livestock. The more I struggled to stay afloat, the more I sank.
My lungs burned. I tried kicking upward, but it didn’t help. The edge of the pool shimmered ahead but remained out of reach. This part of the pool was deep, so deep I saw nothing but darkness below.
Just as I was about to give up and accept my sorry fate, an arm snaked around my waist. I screamed in shock. Water flooded my mouth and lungs while black spots danced at the edge of my vision.
A hard body pulled me up and out of the water. When I opened my eyes, I saw ocean-gray eyes staring down at me, wide in panic. He leaned over me, yelling something I couldn’t understand. I tried to speak, but only water came out in a choking stream of nastiness.
I’d read somewhere that drowning was a peaceful way to go. Whoever wrote that crap had clearly never drowned. It wasn’t peaceful. No, more like traumatic and…
I burst into tears. My magic sparked and then fizzled out. Whereas it normally went crazy when I got stressed, this time it apparently decided I wasn’t dying. Great. Good to know I’d not only drowned myself but also my fire magic.
Was that even possible?
“Raven! Are you okay?”
Kai’s question broke through my meltdown. I read the panic in his eyes and, acting purely on instinct, I sat up and wrapped my arms around his waist, pressing my teary face into his chest. It wasn’t until I looked down that I realized he was naked.
Ohh…
“I’m sorry,” I spluttered, trying to pull back.
My cheeks burned with embarrassment. Stars above.
Why was I such an idiot? Of course he’d be naked!
Merpeople had legs when out of the water.
“I should go…” A second drowning experience would be a blessing at this point.
Goddess save me from myself; someone needed to.
“You’re not going anywhere until you explain what the fuck happened!”
My eyes widened in surprise. Kai had always acted shy around me, so hearing him growl and behave all alpha-male was kind of… hot. He didn’t growl like my bear, but I liked this version of him.
Several synapses in my brain malfunctioned and died because of circuit overload. When I didn’t reply, he grumbled.
“Please tell me what happened, Raven. Fuck, I could have lost you…” The way he clammed up immediately after admitting that made me look up.
His cheeks had gone an adorable shade of lilac.
Small drops of water sparkled like diamonds in thick navy blue eyelashes.
The merman was stunning. Like a pretty mermaid but with muscles.
No wonder the merpeople had a reputation for dazzling poor, unsuspecting sailors. Or was that sirens? I needed to check. Sirens were highly seductive, and also scary.
Kai didn’t seem scary. Just worried.
“I tripped and fell into the water, which was bad because I can’t swim,” I admitted, feeling stupid.
Kai’s eyebrows shot up. “You can’t swim?” Then he shook his head. “Never mind. Why did you come here?”
“To see you.” I chewed my lip, suddenly, shamefully, aware my unexpected dip in the pool had turned my cheap cotton tee transparent. And in my rush to leave, I’d forgotten to wear a bra.
Kai glanced down. His eyes widened, and I saw the exact moment he spotted exactly how transparent my tee was. Pretty lilac cheeks flushed violet, and he swallowed hard.
“Raven, I…” He looked away and coughed. “Maybe you ought to go.” He gently prized me away from his chest and slid back into the water, disappearing below the surface. I glimpsed an iridescent tail and then nothing.
Despite how warm it was in here, I shivered. How had I made such a mess of things?
Poor Kai. Not only had I interrupted his swimming session, but I’d also flashed him my boobs. Kai wasn’t like other males. He probably assumed I was trying to seduce him. But truly, I wasn’t.
I groaned in frustration while praying nobody else showed up to swim. The last thing I needed was another witness to my shame. Knowing it was pointless sitting here like an idiot, I dragged myself to my feet.
At least the rain had increased in intensity outside. If I bumped into anyone, I could pretend I’d been for a jog or something. Yeah. That might work. I’d look less stupid that way.
I trudged back outside and bumped straight into a hard, male body.
“Raven? Why are you here, soaked to the skin? It’s cold! You’ll catch your death out here!”
Maverick’s growly voice rumbled over me as he scooped me up in his brawny arms, apparently unbothered by how wet I was. The heat of his chest warmed me, and I snuggled closer.
“I went to find Kai and then fell into the pool by accident. Luckily, he saved me before I drowned, so it’s all fine.”
“Drowned?” My bear’s grumble turned into a full-on growl. Fur sprouted across his chest, and I sighed happily. Thank the goddess for blessing me with a cuddly bear. I vowed to leave her a gift the next time I visited the temple. She deserved it.
“It was an accident.” A deeply embarrassing one I’d prefer to forget about.
“Why were you in there, on your own, with a male, Raven?” The jealousy in his voice interrupted my snuggle-fest.
“Um, excuse me?” I realized the minute I looked up that we were heading into the forest rather than back to my dorm. “Hey! Where are you taking me?!”
“You’re soaked. You need a hot shower, dry clothes, and some warm food in your belly. Let me take care of you, little witch.”
“Okay.” My irritation at his jealous tantrum faded, and I snuggled into his chest again. My tee had already begun to dry, despite the rain trickling down through the canopy. Then it belatedly occurred to me to ask why he’d been outside the sports complex so early.
“My bear was worried about you. He sensed something was wrong and dragged me over there.” He huffed loudly. “After what you’ve just told me, it’s a good thing I listened to him!”
“Oh, I’m sorry for ruining your sleep.”
Maverick huffed again. “I don’t sleep well anyway, so it’s fine.” When he reached the cabin stoop, he kicked open the door with his foot.
“Why don’t you sleep well?” The scent of coffee had my stomach growling. Maverick’s coffee machine was awesome. I loved his cappuccinos. Especially when he added a dusting of cocoa powder.
He placed me on the sofa in front of the fire and knelt down to pull off my sopping wet sneakers.
“Because you’re not there, baby.”