65. Loveleena
LOVELEENA
Charming was held in an old classroom along the edge of the school grounds that had been deserted in favor of newer buildings.
It didn’t look like much from the outside.
Long unruly greenery covered its outer walls, its windows were milky, and its door hinge was so rusted it looked like the damn thing would fall off if you looked at it wrong.
The perfect spot to hide a secret society.
“In you go,” Ren ordered, and she and Ahmina ducked through the decrepit door carefully. Inside, they found Adeyemi alongside a handful of other students chatting excitedly.
“Please welcome our new recruits,” Adeyemi said confidently. “Loveleena Alva and Ahmina Ori. Welcome to the small but mighty Charmer team.” A few of the students smiled at them, while others offered only a simple head nod.
Adeyemi clapped their hands together. “But there’s no time for chatter; you can all get to know our new recruits later. Let’s get to work.”
Loveleena paired up with a third-year Charmer named Orla who briefed her quickly on Charming—that it was a specialty to be used sparsely, and only for the greater good.
Turns out, using magic to control people was rather frowned upon.
But Loveleena would be lying if she said there weren’t a few scenarios that crossed her mind.
Orla refused to share what kind of ability her magic produced, instead opting to talk at length about the root of magic in the body.
“Your body is a conduit,” she explained as they stood out back behind the abandoned building.
The class had spread out outside to give them more room.
The unruly and tall bushes offered them complete coverage from Defender Village and the rest of the Academy grounds, so they were able to practice freely.
“Anything within your body—emotions, physical ailments, even your thoughts—can influence your magic. For better or for worse.”
Orla paused for a moment, her mind somewhere else, before a small giggle escaped her lips and she was back on the topic of magic in the body. Loveleena wondered what had crossed her mind, but she didn’t dare ask. Orla was giving her the key to control her magic, and to her, that was everything.
“Do you know what your magic is?” Orla asked, her sleek box braids shifting as she tilted her head to the side, waiting.
“I can create false scenarios.”
Orla’s eyes narrowed. “So, illusion.”
“Yeah.”
“First lesson: don’t tell anyone the type of magic you have.”
Loveleena was about to argue her case when Adeyemi’s voice bellowed from the door of the building.
“INSIDE! NOW!”
Her mind was elsewhere, turning over Orla’s words. But all of that disappeared as soon as she entered the abandoned classroom. Because there, unconscious on the floor, lay a girl who looked eerily like Ahmina. Dark wavy hair spilled across the floorboards, half veiling her face.
Except Ahmina stood right beside her.