25. Chapter 24
When she went to find Ezra, she didn’t expect their talk to be so intimate.
She expected his typical deflection. He tried still to push her away, but he seemed tired of fighting.
He finally dropped the shield he’d been holding enough to let her in.
And maybe a part of him expected her to run in the opposite direction.
But she didn’t want to. Which was as much a revelation for her as it was for him. For the last month, she’d been trusting him more out of necessity than desire. At some point…it became real. She actually liked him, which was probably the most shocking of all.
Ivy walked across campus from her last class in Sequoia and now that they’ve entered October—probably her favorite month of all—she couldn’t stop staring at the trees at the edge of the forest. The leaves were transforming from their lush green to vibrant reds, yellows, and oranges, and their crisp scent filled the air.
With the colder weather coming, she’d need to change to her thicker tights in order to keep wearing skirts until snow coated the ground.
Only then would she finally resign herself to wearing pants.
But as she passed the space between the Nature and Glamour, the same place Callum disappeared, she noticed something white floating in the woods.
Her magic prickled like shards of ice along her spine as she stared.
The longer she stared, the more it looked like a mask.
Could it be the person sending those letters?
When will the next one arrive? She’d noticed the missing posters on the bulletin boards.
More students had gone missing during the exam than during the assessment.
Most have returned. A few still needed to be found.
Would they become like Briar? Like Callum?
She took a step closer, but before she could reach the grass, a hand touched her forearm, and she jumped.
“Hey, sorry, it’s just me,” Liam said. He peered over at the forest, then back to her. “You alright?”
She turned back to the trees, but whatever had been there was gone. “Yeah, I thought I saw someone watching me.”
Liam’s face hardened, and he moved himself to block the woods from her. “In that case, we should get to the library. The others are probably there already.”
Instead of staying up late to party like many of their peers, they planned to spend the night researching.
Maeve and Liam would try to find anything they could on the Fates, while Ivy and Ezra would search for why their magic reacted the way it did.
In the words of Liam, it was “an absolute rager of a night.”
When they got inside, Maeve already had two stacks of books she was working through at one of the tables while Ezra was at the librarian’s desk.
“Finally, there you guys are,” Maeve said when they got closer. “Liam, you can start reading through this stack.” She groaned as she pushed the heavy tower across the table. Ivy laughed as she put her bag on their table. It’d be easier to wander without lugging it around.
“I don’t know what exactly you’re looking for. There are several books on magical reactions,” the librarian said to Ezra as Ivy neared the desk. “You’ll have to be more specific.”
“It’s not magic reacting with things,” he said, his hands moving as he talked. “But magic from two arcanes reacting to each other and working together.”
She stepped up to the desk beside him, and the librarian glanced at her. “Are you with him? If not, I can help you in a minute.”
“I am,” Ivy said. “Do you have anything like he’s describing?”
The librarian tapped on her keyboard a few times, then shrugged. “You could try the mythology section. There are some old tales written about magic finding each other. They’re mostly a heavy-handed metaphor for love, so it might not be helpful.”
“We’ll try that,” Ivy said, heat rising to her cheeks at the word. She’d just started warming up to Ezra, she didn’t need her magic making her fall in love with him. “I have another question before we go. Do you have A Theory of Arcane Transference by Eingard Bremar?”
The librarian tapped away on her keyboard again and clicked around with her mouse. “We do, but it’s in the archives. In order to get it, you’ll need written permission from Professor Abbott.”
“Oh,” Ivy said, trying to hold back her disappointment. “Thank you anyway.” She stepped away from the desk, and Ezra followed her.
“Is that the book you think could help your parents?” he asked as they neared the stairs on the left leading to the second floor.
She nodded. “Yes, I’d hoped I could borrow it instead of having to ask Abbott. It would make things a little easier. I’ve been trying to impress her over the last few weeks in case I had to ask, but I’m not sure if I have or not.”
“I don’t see why she wouldn’t be,” he said as they reached the second floor. “I’ve seen some of the homework you’ve had to do for her class, and you’ve breezed through while I could barely make any sense of it.”
She shook her head. “Homework won’t be enough to impress her.”
“You should just ask. If she says no”—he shrugged, leaning in closer to her to keep his voice low—“then I’m sure we could find another way of getting it.”
“We’re not stealing it from the archives,” she hissed.
“Not what I was suggesting.” He chuckled as he cocked a brow. “You love breaking and entering, huh?”
“Not particularly.” She spotted the mythology section ahead. “What were you hinting at, hmm?”
“You’ve never forged a signature before? It’s much easier than theft,” he said, turning into the section.
“I’ve never had to.” She slowed as she searched through the books. “Most of my rule-breaking has been limited to the past five weeks.”
“It’s something to keep in mind,” he said, pulling out a book on mythical creatures.
They spent the next forty minutes searching the three rows of the library’s mythology section. Some books were missing, but she’d bet Maeve had them in her stacks downstairs.
“You’d think they would have more selection in their history, or even philosophy or arcane theory sections,” she said, pulling yet another book only for it to have nothing they needed. “We should check there after.”
“Maybe something else is causing our magic to react this way.” He put the book back in place. “Perhaps my magic is as charming as I am?”
She rolled her eyes and grinned, pulling out a book about the gods of the arcane. “And has your magic ever charmed others the way it does with mine?”
He leaned his shoulder against the bookcase, and she glanced over at him, zeroing in on that damn dimple in his cheek as he smirked. “Not like it has with you.”
His gaze flitted to her lips, and heat rushed to her cheeks. The silk ribbons of his magic brushed lightly against hers, sending shivers down her spine. When he finally drifted back, she noticed his blue eyes had darkened, reminding her of a deep ocean at night. That was flirting.
Before she could say anything, the floorboards behind her creaked loudly.
She looked over her shoulder where the woman Ivy had, for lack of a better word, apprehended on Sunday, coming toward them.
She was in all black again, and as she got closer, Ivy noticed the purple around her eyes was worse.
Guess the philosophy book didn’t help much.
“Who are you?” Ezra asked, stepping closer to Ivy.
“Ez, it’s okay,” Ivy said, putting her hand on her arm. “I ran into her yesterday.”
“I know I’m supposed to forget,” she mumbled. “But I couldn’t help overhearing you mention the name Briar?”
“So you did hear everything?” Ivy asked, crossing her arms. Ezra cursed under his breath. “Why did you lie?”
The woman scoffed. “You scared me. It’s not the first time I’ve heard secrets in the library since I’m here a lot. But it’s the first time someone nearly attacked me for it.”
“You attacked her?” Ezra asked, though he sounded thoroughly unsurprised.
“I held her against the bookcase,” Ivy blurted out in defense. “I thought she could be the one who’s been watching me.” She turned back to face her. “I’m sorry I did that. Can you tell me what you know about Briar? Clearly, you know something since you’re here.”
“I was her roommate last year,” she said, her fingers playing with the oversized sleeves of her sweatshirt.
“I tried to find her last year, but I couldn’t.
And when the police announced her death…
I refused to believe it. Just like you. And when the entire school believed the story, what could I do about it? ”
“Convenient you were around,” Ezra said skeptically.
“I know how it looks,” she said, her eyes darting to him quickly. “But maybe we were meant to meet? We could help each other. I’ll tell you everything about what happened last year.”
Ivy leaned against the windowsill, turning slightly to watch the near-barren trees swaying in the wind.
Ezra had a point the other day when he said bringing more people into their plans could endanger it all.
A secret known by many is no longer a secret.
Briar taught her that. But any knowledge of Briar’s first year at Arcania could help find her.
“Okay,” Ivy sighed, turning back to face the woman. “What’s your name?”
“Rhea Li,” she said with a faint smile. “I know the two of us got off to an awkward start and you might not trust me, but by the time Briar went missing last year, I thought of her as a friend.”
At least Rhea realized they might not trust her immediately. They also couldn’t afford not to try. “Well, I’m Ivy.” She gestured next to her. “And this is Ezra. Maeve and Liam are downstairs. We were going in a few minutes to check in with them.”
Ezra’s hand brushed against her elbow, and he stepped closer to her, his head tilting enough so she could be the only one to hear his hushed words. “You’re sure about this? We know nothing about her.”
“No,” she whispered. “But other than the essay, she’s the only other direct link to Briar. She already knows what we do anyway.”