Chapter 41
Donovan and I stroll into the gymnasium.
Lexi is scowling. “You’re late!” he barks.
Yeah, yeah, cry me a river, cuz.
I throw a wink at Sparkles, and she looks away, biting her cheek.
“Now we're finally assembled,” my cousin snaps. “We’ll be doing a Fake-ball round robin tournament today."
“Er, sir, don’t you mean ‘Fateball’?”
“No, Cox, I mean Fakeball.” He points a finger at her. “Most of you are nowhere near ready for the real thing. As houses still can’t mix, we’ll be in teams of six, Elites versus Ordinarii. Break off into groups and make sure you all have at least one freshman on your team.”
Jordan and Kayla immediately nab Cosmo.
I make a bee-line for Theo.
So does Donovan.
And Naomi.
We converge on her in a tight knot and Donovan slides a hand across Theo’s thigh. The hunger in his expression is matched by a very obvious boner in his sweatpants. My own hellhound stirs in response.
Want.
Theo takes a step back, her gaze darting to the guards by the door, then to the scowl deepening on Alexis’s face.
—Pull it in, boys— Theo’s mental voice gives me the slap I need.
Turning away, I watch the floating Fateball nets and take a couple of breaths.
Theo clears her throat.—I’ve an idea, but I need you both to stop thinking with your dicks long enough to help me execute it—
—Whatcha need, Sparkles?—
—Make opportunities for me to touch Willow during the game—
—Sure, but why?—
—I want to channel Lumina into her, see what happens—
I look across to where Bloomhower is standing in a group with her brother, and two other Ordinarii girls.
Donovan grins.—Super-charge our bestie? I like it!—
A small smile appears on Theo’s face.
—I’ll tell Alexis to match up our teams—
Two seconds later, Alexis is blowing his whistle. “First group; Bloomhowers, Arnhalt and Adair. You’ll be taking on Watson, Larsen, Hart and Wilson.
I give River and Willow an intimidating stare then crack my knuckles. “Can’t wait, coach,” I yell.
My cousin rolls his eyes, then picks up a fateball. “This has been reprogrammed so only minor level spells can be used for points. I want a real battle between teams, but keep the bloodshed to a minimum, understand?”
“Yes, sir,” Theo murmurs, and I see heat in her eyes.
Huh, I wonder if she and Lexi play naughty schoolgirl/stern teacher.
Lex blasts the whistle again, and we fall into position. Willow is acting as defence, so I make Theo our second ‘forward’.
“On my mark.”
The ball falls from on high, and I instantly catch it. “Go long, Sparkles.”
She runs forward, dodging around River, who really does nothing to stop her. As I launch the ball, I see her body tense, but she catches it nimbly, then heads straight into Willow, clashing hard.
They both collapse to the ground in a tangled heap.
“Elite foul, Ordinarii free-throw.”
As Theo helps Willow up, I clock the surprise in her friend's face. They hold fingers for a few seconds longer than necessary. The hair on my arms stands up as Theo passes on some sparkles.
Alexis blows the whistle. “Air spells only, Bloomhower.”
Willow turns towards the net, eighty yards away. Everyone watches as she launches the ball then immediately starts casting, guiding its path directly into the moving net.
That’s a complex move even for an Elite.
The buzzer sounds and the Ordinarii kids go wild.
“Nice work, Bloomhower.”
At the end of the first half, which is all of five minutes, Elite and Ordinarii are tied. Willow has defended every attempted strike but one.
“Looking good,” Alexis says, patting Willow on the shoulder. “Are you sure you should be in Communis?”
I glance at Theo and see the smirk on her face.
Methinks my little Sparkle Princess has a plan up her sleeve, more than just making Willow score baskets.
“LARSEN!”
The ball whacks me hard on the side of my head and I taste blood in my mouth.
“And that’s game,” Lex announces. “Congratulations Ordinarii. Next up, get on the court.”
“Wow,” Naomi says, looking at Willow skipping back to the Communis bench. “I had no idea she had that much magic inside her.”
Donovan starts to say something lewd in reply to Naomi, but I strip off my barely-sweaty shirt and throw it at his head.
As Team Sparkles heads back to the Elite bleachers, I notice Theo’s gaze roaming over my muscles and tats. I don’t mind that at all.
Donovan also notices, so immediately strips off his own shirt.
We sandwich Theo between our bodies, and I can hear her pulse racing.
—Are you trying to get Willow on the fateball team, Sparkles?— I ask.
—I’m trying to get her promoted to Elite status…she doesn’t have the family power, but Fateball is such a big deal, they might promote her if they think she’s mega-talented—
—Clever girl, Tee-Tee!—
—Life would be so much better if Willow were nearby—
Between Crankshawe and Alexis, I bet they can make it happen. All they needed was an excuse and my clever girl found one.
“Are you excited about tonight’s cadet class?” I ask. Lex told us to start speaking aloud more often; otherwise we’ll draw attention.
“Like, totally,” Theo chirps. She’s adopted a new 'hypno-Valley-girl' persona this week—her way of punishing Donovan for constantly trying to make her break character.
“So like, I literally have to ask Professor Gimble if we can get, like, custom-couture uniforms for the cadet squad. It would be, like, beyond iconic."
She follows this up with a hair toss and eyelash batting, as another group of Elites come and join us on the seats.
“Talking of couture,” Naomi says, “does everyone have their fits for Cosmo and Jordan’s party? And are you dressing as fire or ice?”
An Elite girl behind us overhears and starts harping on about fashions. Theo claps her hands together and gushes at her dress description.
You’d never guess we’ve spent the last few days plotting murder.
A screech cuts through my thoughts, and I can’t help laughing as I watch Cosmo valiantly trying to help Jordan with an air spell similar to the one Willow used. The ball tumbles to the ground, miles from the net.
“This is ridiculous. That Ordinarii girl must have cheated!”
I don’t hold back a snort as Jordan stomps her foot.
Enjoy your Elite status while you can, Jordan. If everything goes to plan, soon you’ll be just like everyone else.
—I got a message from the Unbound this morning…—
—Max! Tell me!—
—They’ve lookouts posted on every route into Ashgrave, and families are prepped and ready to hide their kids if necessary—
—That’s great…thank Gods you and Dunc are techy—
It’s definitely handy. Me and Dunc are currently focused on Janine Hart.
How to get up close and personal with her.
We pulled up the blueprints of the Hart estate, but fuck, that place was a fortress. The wards are beyond the Conclave standard. She’s woven dark energy into them.
And as of this week, the building site facility is also warded to the same level.
Even Theo hasn’t been able to break through.
Since Janine visited Wes, she’s been either at home or at the facility. And when she travels between the two, it’s in an armored vehicle, spelled with the same wards.
The Conclave is on high-alert after the destruction of the Windward compound.
—The engagement blessing is definitely our best bet—
The social event of the season.
We just need a way for Theo to physically touch Janine.
This plan can’t fail.
There is only one week until the Conclave takes Theo.
???
Theo is killing me tonight.
“Yes, Wilson?” Professor Gimble sighs as Sparkles raises her hand in the air again.
“Like, I don’t get it. Why can’t I do these spells?”
“Because you don’t have an ignited spark, Wilson. How many times do I have to tell you?”
“Ooh, right. But, like, seriously, if Maximus hit Cosmo with the repulsion spell, would he be like, super-duper affected or whatever? Because that would be, like, low-key awesome."
“Again, no. Mr. Drakeward and Mr. de Vaux have been through the ascension, which means even these advanced spells will not work against them.”
“But they’d work against you, professor?”
Gimble turns a shade of purple. “Enough!”
—Stop playing with her, Theodora…she’s dangerous—
Cosmo is outwardly calm, but I can sense his anger. His worry.
—She’s a big girl, Cos, leave her be—
Cosmo Drakeward does not like that.—Leave her be? What kind of fucking moron are you?— He glares at me.
Whatever.
—Gimble has my father’s ear, she studied dark magic casting for over a decade, and she’s a vindictive cunt…plus Theodora’s behavior is under a microscope. One slip and she’ll be taken…again. Like the last time you lost her—
My hellhound growls, and I do my best to stifle the sound.
I do not need the reminder that I’ve already failed Sparkles.
—I know that, you asshole. But she cut her some slack—
—If she wasn’t acting like an idiot, I would—
That’s fucking it.
Jumping to my feet, the chair clatters over behind me.
“Mr. Larsen? Problem?”
Fuck. I blink to clear the anger surging through my body.
“Did you get it, Max?”
Theo’s voice.
“Did you get the nasty bug? Ew, I hate spiders, they are so beyond gross. Thanks for totally saving my life.”
She also leaps out of her chair and throws her arms around me. The calm flow of Lumina stops my rage in its tracks. —Pull it together and you’ll get a good-boy treat later—
Fuck.
Even though my hands itch to tear at her clothing, I release her and give myself a shake. “No worries, little lady. Always happy to help a damsel in distress.”
“I’ve had it with these interruptions,” Gimble snaps. “Once more and you’re out, Wilson.”
Surprisingly, Francois de Vaux steps into the fray by causing a distraction. “Pardon, moi, Madam Gimble, but I also am intrigued about the ascension ability to resist these spells. They are the most advanced the Conclave have, oui?”
He steps closer, almost into her space. “Could you try to spell me?” he asks, his tone lowering, almost like he’s trying to seduce the bitch of a teacher.
What the fuck?