Chapter 6
CHAPTER 6
“Beg!” Aiden ordered.
“I don’t think that’s how it works,” I observed, sitting cross-legged on Aiden’s bed. I had my grimoire open on my lap, and I was flipping idly through the pages, hoping I’d come across some useful spell or other that could bring the ley lines back.
Aiden had gone to see Professor Dunlop about his loss of control, but the professor had no idea why it was happening. He was the only beast who was having this sort of issue, but he was also one of the few who was soul bonded.
“Perhaps it has something to do with your bond, combined with overusing your magic, and with the ley lines being gone, your body is overcompensating,” the professor had said.
It made my heart hurt that I was partially the cause, so I was trying to find a solution.
“Beg,” Aiden said again, holding his hand up with a treat in it.
The kitten, who we had christened Moonbeam, yawned and flicked the tip of her tail, her eyes fixed on Aiden’s face.
“Maybe you need to show her what you want her to do,” I suggested mischievously.
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” Aiden said with a chuckle. “I’ll try something simpler. Lie down!”
“Sit!” I said. “Good girl!”
“Cheater,” he muttered out of the side of his mouth. “Sit! Good girl.” Aiden gave her the treat.
She ate it out of his palm, licking his hand thoroughly before he pulled away.
“We should probably head to class. The tests are today,” Aiden said, stretching his arms over his head.
I checked the clock on his desk. “We’ve still got a little time. Why don’t you try teaching her to give paw?”
“Give paw?”
“Yeah. It’s pretty simple to pick up her paw and put it in your hand, and then she can associate you putting your hand out with her placing her paw on yours.”
Aiden cocked his head as if considering my suggestion, and he looked so much like his pet that I almost laughed.
He held out his hand. “Give paw,” he said, reaching out with his free hand to pick up her paw and put it on his fingers. He repeated this a few times. “Give paw.” He waited as Moonbeam sniffed his fingertips. Then she patted his fingers with her paw. “Yes!” he cheered, startling her.
I chuckled.
“Sorry, Moonbeam,” he said, giving her two treats and cuddling her to his chest while she ate them.
“We should really look into what kind of creature she is,” I said, watching them. Moonbeam spent half the time crunching on her treats, and the other half licking Aiden’s fingers. “She’s grown so fast in just two days. What if she gets to be the size of her mother in a month? You won’t be able to keep her, and she won’t have grown up in the forest, so she wouldn’t know how to survive.”
Aiden sobered. “There’s always the stables, I suppose. Or I could send her home.”
“Would your parents be okay with looking after a giant flying cat?” I asked skeptically. Aiden’s parents’ house was massive, almost as big as Doyle Manor. My eyes widened. “Grandfather would do it!”
“That’s a great idea,” Aiden said enthusiastically. “If she gets too big for my room, I’ll send her to your grandfather.” Moonbeam butted her head under his chin and he visibly melted as he slid his hand over her back. “Don’t grow too fast,” he whispered.
I sighed and closed the grimoire. “Nothing yet. I’m not really surprised. There wasn’t anything else on soul bonds in here, other than Grandfather’s spell to sever one.”
“But you’re not giving up,” Aiden said.
“Of course not! But maybe we should focus more on the library instead,” I said. “My family is all witchy.”
“You be- witch me,” he teased.
“That was terrible.” I laughed anyway. “Are you ready for the testing?”
“Let’s ace this.”
Professor Akhtar had enlisted the help of Professor Puddlemoan in order to test us on the underwater portion. He was the extreme sports education teacher, so I’d only ever seen him at a distance before this.
Professor Puddlemoan had a severe expression that told me he expected nothing less than excellence from his students.
I swallowed down my fear.
“We will split the class in two,” Professor Akhtar was saying. “Half here, with me for the signing portion, and half with Professor Puddlemoan for the swimming portion. Once you have completed one test, please go immediately to the other. Don’t bother the other classes, or you will not be attending this field trip. Do I have your attention?”
“Yes, professor!” everyone chorused.
“Excellent.” Professor Akhtar waved a hand, and green and purple dots floated over each chair before affixing to the student’s forehead. “Purple with me, green to the pool. After you’ve finished both tests, you have free time. Don’t waste it. You still have research on the ley lines that needs to be done.”
My dot, and that of Aiden’s, was purple, so we stayed seated along with half the class.
“Everyone take out paper and a pen. I will recite several words in sign. You need to write them down. After that, I will take each one of you into the next room for a quick assessment on your signing. Questions?”
There were no questions, so once everyone was ready, he started signing slowly.
Help. Caught. Problem. Look. New. Hurry. Wait. Watch. Safe. Danger. Yes. No.
After that, he signed the alphabet, out of order. He said it was important in case we met an Atlantian, so that we would be able to spell out our names.
“Excellent.” He waved a hand and the papers floated into his hands. “First name, Siobhan. Are you ready?”
I stood up from my desk slowly and blew out a breath. “Yes. I’m prepared.”
“Good.” He led me into the office next door. There was a one-way mirror between it and our classroom so he could keep an eye on the other students.
“No noise now. Sign only,” he signed.
“Yes,” I responded. “Look forward trip. Excitement.”
The professor smiled. “Wait difficult.”
“Problem travel portal? No magic?” I asked.
“No. Separate magic.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. “No danger travel?”
“No problem. You help solve problem?”
“Work. Hurry.” I frowned, thinking of the best way of explaining. “Difficult. Old.”
“Old problem. New solution. You success.”
I couldn’t help the slight smile. “Luck me.”
Professor Akhtar laughed. “Luck you.” He nodded and said, “You may go to the next test.” His voice sounded grating on my ears after the silence of the conversational test.
“Thanks for the luck.”
“May it be good luck,” he said seriously.
I swallowed hard. “Truer words were never spoken.”
The halls were quiet as I moved through them, passing several closed classroom doors on my way to the stairs. There was no point in waiting for Aiden, as there was no guarantee that he’d be next.
On the main floor, I slipped into the kitchen, hoping to grab a quick bite before heading to my swimming test. There was a class taking place in there as well, but the classroom for the chefs was tucked in the back. I avoided them and went straight for the fridge that contained fresh fruits. Grabbing an orange, I headed back out and found a niche to sit and wait near the basement stairs.
The tangy scent of the citrus hit my nostrils the second I pierced the skin with my thumbnail and I inhaled, my mouth watering in anticipation.
The skin fell away in a spiral. I could have used magic, but even if the ley lines had been present, I would have used my hands. There was something satisfying in the way the peel came off, and the way the scent lingered on my fingers made me happy.
I placed the peel in front of me and started filling the large base of it with the white veins left of the sections. Grandfather teased me that the white was the best part, but I found it chalky and bitter.
Satisfied that the orange was clean, I split it in half and took out the middle, adding it to my pile, and popped the first section in my mouth, humming happily as the flavor burst on my tongue.
“I’d know that sound anywhere,” Aiden teased from down the hall.
I poked my head around the corner of my niche and waved at him.
“Did you get me one?”
I swallowed and shook my head. “You can have this half?” I offered.
His eyebrows shot up. “You’re giving up food? Are you feeling all right?”
“I’d give you anything,” I said shyly.
“Aww.” Aiden sank down beside me and pulled me into his lap. “I think I love you more for that.”
“You wouldn’t return the favor?” I asked teasingly.
“You know I would,” he said, burying his nose in my neck and inhaling.
“Orange?” I asked, holding up the next section for him.
He took it gently, licking at my fingers before pulling back. “Juicy,” he mumbled as he chewed.
I chuckled. “Right?”
Aiden yawned. “I don’t know what it is, but I’m exhausted. Even more so than earlier this week when the ley lines first disappeared.”
“You must be using too much magic in your classes,” I said with a frown. “You need to be more careful. You don’t want to drain yourself sick.”
“I’ll be fine.”
“You sure? You’re flaming again.”
“Fuck,” he muttered, and he shifted back. “I don’t understand why I keep doing that.”
“You’ll figure it out.” I patted his arm.
He nuzzled into the top of my head. “I hope so.”
I offered him the last orange slice, but he shook his head. Not waiting for him to reconsider, I popped it in my mouth. “We should probably head to the pool now.”
“Two more seconds?” Aiden begged, holding me tighter.
“The faster we get this over with, the sooner we can cuddle while we do research in the library.”
“Tempting,” he replied dryly. Then he sighed and released me. “Okay, let’s go.”
I picked up my mess and carried it with me to the garbage can placed outside the pool. Normally, I’d have banished it, but I was feeling run down magically as well, and I didn’t want to waste any power.
There were still quite a few students in the pool, Professor Puddlemoan overseeing them. He barely glanced at us. “Get changed and jump in,” he said.
Once more, the lack of ley lines prevented the use of frivolous magic. Instead of transfiguring my clothes into a bathing suit, I brought my suit with me and changed in one of the small rooms attached to the pool area.
Aiden was waiting for me when I came out and I took his outstretched hand. We jumped into the water and swam over to where a few of our other classmates were hovering at the edge of the pool. There were others still swimming around below the surface.
“Show me how you plan to breathe underwater. You will be graded on efficiency, suitability, and duration. You,” he pointed at a student next to me, “you’re first.”
I didn’t pay attention to what he did, focusing instead on gathering my strength for my own turn.
“Next,” Professor Puddlemoan barked.
I touched my necklace, transfiguring it into a solid chain to remove the clasp, and then added the breathing spell onto it, working the spell into each link. The spellwork was delicate, needing concentration and power to weave it around each bend in the metal, but once I finished, it was a solid barrier that lay around my neck, giving me a day’s worth of air without any trouble or concentration on my part.
The professor examined my work magically and nodded. “You may submerge.”
Sinking below the surface without taking a deep breath first was a challenge. I had to practice many times before I managed it without panicking.
I stayed near the wall, waiting for Aiden to join me under water.
The view was a little distorted, and I kept getting distracted by Aiden’s calves as he moved, but it was hard to miss the moment he shifted, fire licking across his skin.
Or the sudden explosion, a muffled thump originating from the surface that rippled the water around me.
What was that?
Is the professor testing us on the surface, too?
My anxiety soared when Aiden climbed out of the water. I could see his blurry figure stomping around the edge of the pool.
I wanted to go to him.
How much longer do I have to stay down here?
Then I remembered that I could ask one of the other students.
I flipped around, looking for someone suitable, and spotted Paige. I swam toward her, stopping a few feet away and waving to get her attention.
She looked like she wanted to swim away, but she waved uncertainly instead.
“Time down?” I asked in sign.
Her brow furrowed in confusion and she shrugged.
“More time down?” I tried again.
She finger-spelled, “One hour.”
I blew out a stream of bubbles in frustration. I had to wait a whole hour before I could check on Aiden?
“You more time down?” I asked her.
“Five minutes,” Paige finger-spelled.
“Look Aiden,” I finger-spelled his name, “problem help?”
Paige’s eyes widened. “Danger?” she signed.
I mimed an explosion and nodded.
“Yes,” she signed and swam toward the surface.
I blew out another stream of bubbles as I watched her.
I hope she actually does it.
We’ve barely talked since we got back from the holidays. I wonder whether she went home or stayed here.
Are the ley lines affecting her as much as everyone else?
I shivered a little in the cool water and started swimming in order to warm myself up. I waved at the students I passed, but most of them were on their way to the surface at the end of their hour.
I envied them and explored the bottom of the pool. There was a large portal on the wall at the lowest point of the deep end, with dolphins, sea horses, and other sea creatures carved into the frame. This was the portal we would be taking to get to Atlantis.
I bit my lip anxiously.
Would Aiden be coming with us?
At the end of my hour, I swam back up to Professor Puddlemoan. I barely noticed him checking my spellwork on my necklace, and when he told me I was free to go, I walked as quickly as I could on the slippery pool deck back to the change room.
I found Aiden in the library, his nose buried in a thick tome about a beast’s control over shifting. I sank into the seat beside him and put my hand on his arm.
“My enchanted bottle exploded,” he said glumly. “At least they’re letting me test again, due to the ley lines wreaking havoc on everyone’s magic. But nobody else is losing control like I am. What’s wrong with me?”
I had no answer for him. All I could do was give him a hug.