Chapter 1 #2
“You had been gone for so long, Riley! I dreamed of the day you would come back. I thought it was wishful thinking, my mind and heart playing tricks on me. Once Thomas was gone, I knew I needed to make every effort to find you again and then well, the pieces just started to fall into place for me. You were right here. Right on campus where you belong.” I could see tiny flames lick at his fingertips, but he never let them get any bigger.
“Your power will be every bit as strong as mine…”
“She probably knew you were corrupt.” I scoffed, my breath coming out harshly. “The smartest thing she ever did was run away from you.”
He shrugged. “Clearly it wasn’t bad enough for her to come back with that man and think everything would be normal. She really thought that necklace was going to save you from…”
“My necklace,” I interrupted him, placing my fingers at my sternum where my necklace should have been.
“Ah, that little trinket. I don’t know who did that, but Jillian must have outsourced from somewhere. She was resourceful, clearly. That doesn’t matter anymore. You can now take your rightful place in the coven.”
I swallowed hard. “The coven? The one you’re siphoning powers from?”
“Let’s not dwell on the things we can’t fix.”
“You’re taking powers from your coven, your own people. Why would I want to be a part of that?”
Chancellor Fowler sighed, bending his one leg and placing it over the other. “I do it because the coven is mine to uphold, I should get a little something, shouldn’t I? The witches are still powerful, still in control. It’s simple sharing and no one gets hurt.”
“It’s stealing! If you are so above them, then why aren’t you the coven leader? Corrin said...”
He settled back into the couch cushion. “Ah, she’s a spirited little witch, your friend.
Quite good with potions, yes? Oliver told me about your excursion into Thomas’s office.
” I looked over towards the fire to avoid his eyes.
“I’m sure your friend told you about our interim coven leader, she is rather investigative, that one. ”
“She said that Celica got a new one right after my dad died. Why?”
He cracked his neck again when I said the word dad. That really got under his skin. “Everyone has to move on from a job at some point. It was just time.”
“That’s bullshit!” I accused, prepared to leap off the couch, but a force was holding me back. Chancellor Fowler had a few of his fingers up and it was like I could feel power from them keeping me on the couch.
“Coven leader is just a cute little position that really acts as the face of Celica. I call the shots whether they like it or not. Our family has always taken a place above them all, founding this university and making it what it is. This coven has been around for a long time as you know, and the leaders are just a physical presence that the witches can look to. Some members of our family have taken up the mantle as coven leader, while others stepped into the role I now possess.”
“In the shadows? A monster hiding as a university Chancellor?”
He smirked at me. “Hate me all you like. You should be happy I care enough not to cause any true harm to my coven members or else that overzealous friend of yours would be in her place.” He waved his hand casually towards Marianne’s body.
I sucked in a breath and peeked over at Grayson, who had been quiet this whole time.
“There is no going back now. You’ve already shown your true self to half the faculty, so I am well within my rights to assume that your file will now be corrected to show that you are a magic wielder.
I’ll let you get your bearings and then we can announce our family ties, hmm?
Celica coven is your home. I will gladly give you the position of coven leader if you’d like, ease you into how things are done. ”
I placed my hands on the back of my head. “I don’t want that. I don’t want any of this!”
“These positions of power have been passed down and it’s your turn to learn.
I didn’t have the pleasure of choices, so please don’t be so ungrateful.
I don’t know whether your mother just couldn’t handle it or not, but that is of no concern to me any longer.
You are here now, and you can’t just hide from your lineage.
You will hurt people if you can’t get your magic under control. ”
“You don’t get to talk about hurting people. You say you want to get to know me, well get this through your head that hurting the people I care about, the people I love will not make me like you. It won’t ever make me care about you or acknowledge you as my dad.”
Chancellor Fowler hummed, removing his suit jacket and placing it on the back of the couch. “Fine. If you think your resistance will push me away, I would think again.” He looked over at Grayson, snapping his fingers to gather his attention. “Take her back.”
I shifted so that I could create more distance between Grayson and me. “Take me where?”
Chancellor Fowler made a motion with his hand towards the door to the far right and it swung open.
A tall woman with dark black hair quickly walked in, holding a tiny vial of what looked like silver dust. He nodded at her when she gave him a questioning look.
“The school will be closed for a day or two, so take that as your time to think about your options. And despite what you think of me, I do love you.”
“I don’t need to think…”
“Make sure she remains unharmed,” Chancellor Fowler patted Grayson on the knee before he stood up.
He walked over to me, gripping my hand and yanking my dampener ring off.
“When you can’t control yourself, you’ll be begging for my help.
” He walked away and I was going to follow after him, but the woman stood in front of me, some of the dust in her palm.
She blew it in my face and my vision got blurry.
Marianne’s body was becoming distorted and my head felt numb and heavy. Grayson was in front of me now and he moved me so I was laying down, my vision eventually becoming nothing but black.