Chapter 28 Rune
rune
. . .
Jarvins had given us our week-five assignment for Charm and Deception. It was a one-on-one scenario with a house instructor of Jarvins’s choosing, who was unknowingly a neutral contact.
Each squad member must use charm, persuasion, or deception to gain access to a personal item of the professor.
The slip burned in my palm before I set it on my desk and left our classroom to head toward House of Arcane’s. My assigned “neutral contact” was Professor Drecken Grimsworn.
It was perfect.
At least Dimitri looked worse off, his slip said Gavin Bloodwyne. Pops wouldn’t be easy to deceive in the slightest.
I was curious to see how everyone would fare with the different professors.
Drecken’s classroom was unusually quiet, with no students in sight. The only sounds were the scrape of his pen and the occasional flick of a page as he bent over a book at his desk. His aura of concentration was thick enough to choke on.
His fingers stilled the moment I stepped across the threshold. He didn’t look up, but I knew he’d felt me enter.
“No students?” I schooled my features into an innocent expression and let my voice drift through the quiet.
“They were sent out on an alchemy field assignment,” he said smoothly, not looking up yet.
“I was hoping I could ask about how the potion is going with my venom?” I walked until I stood directly in front of his desk.
His head lifted, the corner of his mouth tugging into a grin. “Wonderful. Very fascinating, actually. I’ve already completed your mother’s formula, as you know. I’m almost finished with yours.”
I widened my eyes, letting my genuine excitement bleed through. “I’d like to try one of the potions you’ve made using her venom.” I leaned forward just slightly, reaching out my hand with a casual brush against his forearm.
The moment I touched him, even with our suits between us, the air shifted. A faint jolt shivered under my skin. It had nothing to do with my venom, and my breath caught.
Drecken stiffened, just a fraction, his magic popping off him and whispering around me.
My magic buzzed in my veins in response.
He was watching me now, too intently. It was different than the way anyone had ever looked at me. It made my stomach twist and flutter all at once.
I forced myself to clear my throat and pull my hand away from his arm. This was supposed to be a mission. “I, um…I’m sorry.”
“For what?” Drecken’s face smoothed back into composure. He lifted a hand, magic humming as a vial shimmered into existence between his fingers. He set it before me, voice calm again. “As promised.”
I couldn’t hold in the excited yelp as I grabbed the bottle securely in my palm. “I have more venoms, if you need any.”
His blue eyes sparked with interest. “I do, actually.” He plucked an empty vial from his drawer and held it out. “I’ll be forever grateful.”
As I leaned over his desk, my gaze skimmed across his notebook.
A personal item.
I was close enough to it.
His eyes flicked to my mouth as I hovered my fang over the vial in his hand.
“What kind of venom?” I asked, my entire body buzzing with need from being so close to him. I was glad he was a warlock and couldn’t smell the dampening between my legs, but I knew he could sense auras and figure out how turned on I was.
“Any,” he breathed out.
I excreted my venom into the vial, keeping my tongue over the other fang so I didn’t drop any. I took the chance to slide his notebook behind me as I filled the vial half-way. “This one causes hallucinations and diarrhea. A fun combination, really.”
“You’re very generous for giving me so much,” he rasped.
I couldn’t look away from his gaze. “Thank you for the potion, Professor Grimsworn.”
He winced. “Call me Drecken, okay?”
“Of course, Drecken.” I purred his name deliberately, letting it linger. “I’ve never tried fatal potions before. Only venoms and poisons.”
“Have fun.” His answering smirk was razor-sharp. “I’ve got plenty of potions to share with you in the future.”
“Can’t wait,” I whispered, potion and notebook in hand as I turned and left his room, my heartbeat pounding out of my chest cavity.
As I made my way back into Jarvins’s classroom, I dropped the notebook on his desk.
My professor stared at it like I’d just set down a bomb.
“You actually got that from Drecken?” He gaped at it. “Without his knowing?”
“And he gave me this.” I dangled the potion vial between two fingers, letting it catch the light. “It replicates my mother’s venom.”
“Your mother’s?” Dimitri asked in shock. “Can’t she turn anyone to dust?”
“My first fatal potion,” I said fondly, popping the cork off it.
“Venom baby, have you tried potions meant to hurt before?” Slater’s worried eyes scanned over me. “I know poisons and venoms are your thing, but potions?”
“Not yet. I actually haven’t tried potions at all yet.” I swirled the potion. “But I’m curious, aren’t you?”
“Pretty little poison, I don’t mean to rain on your parade, but—” Zuko was cut off as Koa stood up abruptly.
“Don’t drink that, Rune!”
Before anyone could stop me, I tilted my head back and drank the contents in one gulp.
“Shit,” Lorian muttered.
“She drank it,” Eleanor whispered.
“Are you really surprised?” Aura asked.
“Not really,” Hawk muttered.
“At least she did it when we were here in case something went wrong,” Koa said, sounding strained.
“Do I pass?” I asked, smirking faintly at Jarvins.
“You completed the mission,” he answered dryly.
The room tilted, my knees giving out as the potion roared through my veins.
My skin itched.
A crack splintered the air as raw magical energy shattered the silence.
Drecken appeared behind me, catching my jello-like body against his chest before I hit the floor. His magic clung to him like storm clouds and wildfire, literal magic storms and fires bursting from his body.
His blue eyes were locked on me with an intensity that made my skin burn.
“Great timing! The potion works!” I exclaimed, turning in his arms with a grin as I gripped his forearms to steady myself. “I’ve been dying to add Mom’s venom to my arsenal. Great job, Drecken.”
He smirked, his head tilting as his green hair brushed over his forehead. Snapping his fingers, he reclaimed the notebook from Jarvins’s desk without breaking our locked gaze.
His voice slid like silk over my skin. “Viperling…no one’s deceived me before. Not once. How did you do it?”
A victorious grin spread over my lips. “I like to break expectations.”
“Yeah, definitely another one,” Slater muttered.
“No doubt,” Zuko agreed.
Drecken didn’t let me go, his magic brushing against me in a way that felt like foreplay more than anything else. “Your intent was lost on me. And yet…you were in my space. Your hand brushed my arm.”
“And now, I’m in your arms,” I giggled before smoothing my expression at his bewilderment. “It’s not my fault you couldn’t catch my original intent.”
The room was silent.
Everyone watching, and even Jarvins looked tense.
Drecken’s gaze narrowed, his arms tightening around me as I tried to stop the world from spinning. I loved potions. “How?”
I grinned wildly at him. “A woman has to keep some secrets, doesn’t she?”
The faintest hint of amusement tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Perhaps.”
With a crack of magic, he was gone.
The room swayed again. I almost toppled over before Zuko’s arm slid around my waist, steadying me. “I’ll take her back to rest.”
“What? Why?” I blinked up at him. “I’m totally fine.”
He bent low, whispering just for me, “Don’t you remember that I tattooed your name on my dick and we haven’t been able to properly celebrate?”
Heat flooded me. “You know…I do feel kind of weary.”
“Absolutely not.” Jarvins pinched the bridge of his nose, muttering, “Move along to your next class. Everyone passed except for Hawk and Aura. Now, behave.”
Pops was waiting at the edge of the mat in his classroom with his arms folded and gaze sharp. The second he saw me, his expression broke into relief and then narrowed the moment I opened my big mouth.
“I finally tried Mom’s venom,” I announced, too pleased with myself. The effects had already dwindled away, but now, I was pretty sure I could use Mom’s venom myself. I had to test it out. “Drecken finished replicating it in the form of a potion. It works!”
Color drained from his face. He closed the distance in two long strides, hands hovering like he wanted to check me for wounds. “Sabine forbade that.” His voice was hoarse. “Rune—by the Fates—a potion? You tried out potions for the first time with a fatal one?”
I laughed it off, though my chest tightened at the tremor in his tone. “I’m fine, Pops. It didn’t kill me.”
“Thank the Fates.” He groaned, dragging a hand down his face. His shoulders sagged, but his eyes cut to mine, sharp as ever. “Don’t do it again. Not without me or Lake or your mother present. That venom is too…” He stopped and shook his head. “Just—don’t.”
I bit back a retort. He wasn’t angry. He was scared. That almost made me feel guilty.
Almost.
I was fine.
“Okay, let’s focus on class. Dimitri, where’s my pen?” Pops gave Dimitri a knowing look.
Dimitri’s mouth fell open as he handed the pen back to him. “How’d you know?”
“Jarvins only does that assignment to fuck with us.” Pops rolled his eyes and laid the pen back on his desk.
“Today we’ll be doing a counter-magic sparring match.
” The mat pulsed faintly underfoot as it was enchanted to absorb backlash.
“Pairings have been chosen,” Pops explained.
“You will suppress, disorient, or put an immediate stop to your opponent’s attack or magic.
Points will be awarded for control, subtlety, and creativity. Dimitri and Slater, you’re up.”
Dimitri squared his shoulders as he stepped onto the mat, and Slater yawned before winking at me.
“You ready?” Slater asked, summoning Snakey as his demon form rippled over him. His red eyes glowed as he smiled with sharp canines.