Chapter 15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“Follow me.” Wylder’s voice is gruff and graveled. “And try not to draw too much attention.”
We leave Laurel outside Headmaster Briar’s office and move through a series of winding hallways. The architecture shifts from the medieval-gothic aesthetic of the main Arcana Academy to something more organic once we get to the living quarters provided for those staying here to study.
Enchanted arches frame our path, each one shifting in hue from deep indigo to pale silver. As we pass beneath them, I cast a glance over my shoulder as each arch flickers briefly as if responding to our presence.
When Wylder passes, the arch pulses a steady, earthy green. Orion triggers a warm amber glow. And when I step through, the arch goes haywire—flickering between pitch black and an electric pale blue.
Wylder glances back, his expression unreadable.
“What? How can that possibly be my fault?”
He rolls his eyes. “The arches read your magical signature. Yours is fluctuating.”
Just what I need, more evidence that I’m out of control.
But isn’t that why I’m here?
The whispers start almost immediately. Students passing in the opposite direction cast sideways glances, their expressions ranging from curiosity to outright suspicion.
A group of three witches huddle together, whispering behind cupped hands.
“That’s her—the one the Guardian took down.”
“I heard she’s possessed.”
“I’m surprised she’s even allowed here if she’s carrying a demon mark.”
My skin prickles, absorbing every stare like a physical touch. I feel it all: their fear, their judgment, their morbid fascination.
“Ignore them, Poppy.” Orion quickens his step to walk beside me, bookending me between him and Wylder. He leans forward to catch Wylder’s attention and frowns. “You know you’re going to have to put a stop to the whispering or trouble will brew.”
Wylder grunts. “There’s not enough intervention in all the fae realm to stop people from weighing in after that fiasco with the Guardian. She’ll have to learn to live with it.”
“She’s right here.” I wave, annoyed that they’re talking about me like I’m invisible. Actually, being invisible would be an improvement at the moment.
We climb a spiral staircase and emerge onto a rounded tower landing. A shimmering plaque beside an ornate wooden door reads “Dorm Cluster 9.” Wylder raises his hand, traces a complex pattern over a rune-inscribed touchpad, and the door swings open.
My stomach drops the moment I catch sight of one of the three senior volunteers Wylder had been standing with during the weekly welcome.
Pep Squad Blondie crosses her arms and kicks her hip to one side. “Seriously, Poppy? How the hell did you convince the headmistress to let you stay? You’re still the same entitled nightmare you’ve always been, I see. Geez, why didn’t you just do us all a favor and stay gone?”
I blink and slide the strap of my duffle off my shoulders, allowing my belongings to sink to the floor. “Excuse me? Am I supposed to know you?”
Bitch Barbie gives me a ‘well, duh’ glare. “Oh, you know me.”
I snort. “Actually, I don’t. Sorry.”
Her gaze narrows, but before she can spout off any vitriol, Orion interrupts. “Her memories were taken from her, Amber. She has no idea who you are or why you’re being such a bitch. Actually, Poppy, I’m not sure the bitch thing has anything to do with you. She’s always a bitch.”
“Fuck you, Orion.”
“Sorry, babe, I’m into dicks, not chicks. You’ll have to go fuck yourself.”
Amber rolls her eyes and refocuses on me. “When I got home from boarding school after graduation, they said you’d moved on. You should’ve stayed gone. Nobody wants you here, and there’s no way I’m spending my valuable time sharing space with such an epic traitor to our coven.”
Orion stiffens. “Whatever Zoe did or didn’t do, it wasn’t Poppy’s choice. Shall we start dragging skeletons out of the Draven closet and nail you to the wall for them? Didn’t Daddy Draven have a torrid affair with a fae knight of the Queen’s Court?”
Amber sputters, looking murderous. “Shut your mouth, Carmichael. You can badmouth me all you want, but it won’t change the fact that I’m an Elite and you’re what happens when witches falter and stoop to sully themselves with shifter mutts.”
Wylder’s quick reflexes catch Orion’s charge, but in fairness, he doesn’t put much conviction into taking the bitch down. “Easy, buddy. You’ve already got two strikes against you. Attacking an Elite from your coven will get you shunned for good.”
“It would be worth it,” Orion snaps, a menacing growl vibrating from deep in his throat.
Wylder holds him steady for another half a beat and then turns to face Amber, his jaw tight. “Grab your shit. You’ve been reassigned to Dorm 6.”
“What?” Amber’s voice goes shrill. “You can’t do that! Dorm 6 is practically in the swamp, and half the residents can’t control their transformations during the full moon!”
Wylder shrugs. “Laurel and Briar made the decision. Take it up with them.”
Amber’s eyes narrow to slits as she jabs a finger in my direction. “This isn’t over, freak. Don’t think for a second you belong here, Hallowind. Your mother was an oath-breaker, and everyone knows it.”
Amber stomps into the first room, grabs a hot pink roller suitcase and a leopard print duffel bag from behind the door, and then shoves past me with deliberate force.
I expect a wall-rumbling slam of the door, but even though she yanks the thing on the way out, it settles into place with a peaceful click.
Nice. Magical silent close.
When the hostile energy in the air dissipates, I turn to Wylder and Orion. “Thanks.”
Orion waves my gratitude away. “She’s a nightmare on the best of days. Ignore her. The important point is that she’s gone and you’re here. Between me, Wylder, and the instructors here at Arcana, we’re going to whip you into Poppy Hallowind, spirit witch of the century.”
Wylder doesn’t seem to share his optimism. Instead, he gestures deeper inside the common area of the dorm. “This is your home base. Dorm Cluster Nine.”
I step into a large hexagonal common room that feels both ancient and somehow modern. Soft couches line the edges, their cushions slightly depressed as if inviting tired bodies. A floating chandelier casts amber light across the space, pulsing gently like a heartbeat.
In one corner, a kitchenette features unique faucets with settings labeled for water, coffee, tea, broth, and juice. Next to it stands a stone hearth with flames that dance without fuel.
The opposite corner houses a wide, wooden worktable beneath an apothecary wall lined with jars of dried herbs and plants.
Soft music plays from nowhere and everywhere. Wylder flicks his wrist, and it falls silent. “The bathroom is through there,” he says, nodding toward a curtained archway. “It’s co-ed, but privacy enchantments activate when you enter.”
Seven doors line the outer walls of the common room, each etched with a unique rune. Wylder taps on the screen of a tablet and walks me past them, pointing.
“As the senior advisor to the dorm, I’ll be in room one.
That one’s Kieran’s: earth magic and trust issues.
That’s Fallon’s room: weather witch. She’ll test you before she trusts you.
Don’t touch Neve’s kettle, or her books.
This one’s Rowan’s: cursecraft and shadow manipulation.
Steer clear of her unless you want Flaming Gonorrhea or some other horrific hex placed on you.
Orion, you’re here, and next door is you, Poppy. ”
I pick up my bag from where I’d dropped it on the floor and open the door to check out my room.
The space inside is nothing like what I expected. When Amber grabbed her stuff, the room looked like someone had vomited pink leopard print in every direction.
This room is decorated in soft lavender and gray.
A twin bed sits against one wall, covered in linens that somehow smell like the fabric softener we use at home.
A small desk holds an iPad next to several books with titles like “Beginner’s Guide to Magical Theory” and “Spirit Magic: Understanding Your Affinity.”
A built-in closet reveals training uniforms and what looks like formal robes, all in my size. Above the door frame, magical script etches itself into the wood: Poppy Hallowind.
I drop my duffel bag on the bed and stand there, uncertain what to do next.
Orion comes back from dropping his bag next door and lingers in the doorway. “Do you want to explore or sit up and wait for our roomies to return?”
I sigh. “I appreciate the effort, but I think I’m peopled out. I don’t know that I can take anymore hate energy being flung at me like flaming dog shit.”
Orion nods. “Understandable. Try to get some rest. And you’re right. It’s probably going to feel like the world is coming at you from all sides for a bit.”
“Oh, so just another day in the life of me, then.” My attempt at humor lands somewhere closer to bitterness. “Perfect.”
“I’m just next door if you need anything, and Wylder is our senior advisor, so you can call on him, too.”
Yeah, no, I’d rather swallow flaming swords. I give Orion a smile filled with all the energy I have left. “I’ll be fine. Thanks for giving a shit.”
Orion knocks his knuckles against the trim on my door, concern flickering across his face before he steps back and pulls the door closed.
The click of the latch echoes in the sudden silence. I exhale shakily and sink onto the edge of the bed. My knees bounce. My fingers twitch with nervous energy.
I bury my face in my hands. The silence feels both welcome and crushing after the chaos of the day. Unfortunately, without input from my surroundings, my chaotic thoughts stir up the comments from the Guardian.
“She carries the echo of a broken oath… The mark of a demon clings to her bones...”
The weight of it all crashes down at once: the Guardian’s attack, Briar’s thinly veiled threats, the judgment of everyone in the Wiccan world, and most of all, the prospect of living among strangers who already see me as a dangerous enemy.
I pull the pillow to my chest and curl around it. I don’t cry, but it’s a close thing. My eyes burn with exhaustion, fear, and sheer disorientation.
For five years, I burned with the need to learn who I was.
Now, I don’t know if I’ll survive it.
Outside my window, the muted cry of some unseen creature pierces the night and I shiver, feeling more lost and alone than ever before.
I jolt awake to the sound of whispers seeping into my room. Not from Orion’s room, from the common area. My brain struggles to shake off sleep, each word gradually becoming clearer.
“…never should have been admitted. Did you see the Guardian’s reaction?”
“Because she’s dangerous. Or pathetic. I mean, her powers didn’t even surface until now? What kind of witch can’t access her powers?”
“I heard her mother tried to raise an undead army and her own minions killed her.”
“More importantly, she killed other coven members.”
“I give her a week before she breaks down or hurts someone.”
My chest tightens. I pull the covers over my head, feeling hot tears prickle behind my eyelids.
“Ignore them, Pops.” I can practically hear Asher’s voice in my head. If he were here, he’d say, “If your people think you’re too much for them, they aren’t your people.”
I pull my blanket over my head and force my lungs to fill. “I miss you. I should’ve tried to shrink you down to bring you with me. I sure could use a hedgehog bestie right now.”
My fingers fumble in the fabric in front of me and find the crystal pendulum my mother chose for me in my welcome to Wicca box. Curling my fingers around the warm stone cone, I let its resonant energy settle my nerves.
Zoe Hallowind was a great and devoted witch. Orion, Tanner, and Declan all said the same thing. No one really knows what happened that night.
Everyone is making judgments, and assumptions based on half the story, and a deadly outcome.
I don’t know any more than that.
And despite feeling lost and hated, Asher’s right. If they hate me without knowing what my mother may or may not have done, they are definitely not my people.
And I do have people.
Asher. Shaz. Tanner. Marty. Declan. Eliza. Orion…
Maybe nobody wants me here, but I didn’t come to Arcana to make friends. I came to gain control of my powers, which—through no fault of my own—were blocked and mishandled by the very people who should’ve been my advocates.
Eliza said Headmistress Briar is an upstanding and trustworthy woman who will make every effort to help me, despite my mother’s history.
That’s all I need.
The people here don’t have to like me. They just need to teach me how not to detonate and take out half the state.
I can take it from there.