Chapter 6
Istare at the new spell and my checklist of ingredients.
I have over half of them from my storage, and there are two more I can easily steal from the academy stores.
The only problem is the three at the top—rare ingredients I’ve only heard of existing—and I doubt they would leave them lying around in the store cupboards.
I’m not sure they even have them here, and I know in my gut the spell will not work without these.
I will have to ask my bonded for help… Maybe they might know a way to find these.
Steam fills up the bathroom as I lift my head, staring at my eyes in the foggy mirror.
My hair is wet, hanging down the middle of my back, and I begin to braid it, thinking about everything that could go wrong with this spell.
After I’m done with the braid, I begin to get dressed in the tight uniform of the academy, all designed to be easy to move in, and the material protects against random element spells gone wrong.
I clip my cloak on last, glancing at the dragon symbol of the academy for a long moment, matching the mark on my neck.
Why is the academy’s symbol a dragon when the witches in charge hate shifters?
I jump when Lock knocks on the door twice, a warning to hurry in here. The asshole woke me up this morning by grumbling about me not sleeping in the bed with him, and I ignored him to hog the shower.
My little friend scurries underneath my cloak, hiding around my wrist. “Minnie, we are going to have to talk about you coming everywhere with me,” I murmur, noticing how she plops her head on my watch face and blinks at me.
I shake my head at her antics. This little creature is strange, but I’m kind of glad not to be alone.
Lock bangs the door three more times. “Are you okay in there? Do you want me to come in?”
“I’m good. I’m coming out,” I shout back, cutting him off.
I quickly hide all the ingredients and spells, making sure my wards around them are in place, promising death to anybody that tries to unlock them.
As I open the door and step out, steam billows around me.
Lock is ready for the day, already dressed.
He grins at me in a way that most women would probably find charming, but he’s like a snake.
The pretty scales only hide what lies beneath, and it’s rotten.
“I left a dress out for you to wear tonight.” I glance at where he’s pointing—at a monstrosity of a dress that he’s hung up over the sofa.
It’s blood red, very low cut, and looks skintight.
That dress is not going to go much further than just past my ass.
“There’s a family meal tonight. I want you to come with me, as you will be my family soon.
In my eyes, you already are. My mother made all of the arrangements.
She thinks it’s important that we have more family meals, and we’re going to discuss the wedding. Isn’t that exciting?”
“Yes.” I swallow the bile in my throat.
He leans closer and kisses my cheek with his stiff lips, pulling back a little, but still far too close. He pales slightly but stubbornly stays near. “Let me escort you to lessons.”
“I can find my own way,” I answer, trying to hold a fake smile on my face as he opens the door.
My shoulders drop in relief when we both see Maz is leaning against the banister, wearing a cocky smile along with his uniform.
His glasses reflect the light from above, but they do little to hide his brilliant deep blue eyes.
“Good morning. I was waiting for you to come out, Juniper.” His eyes flicker over me like he’s checking that I’m okay.
He turns to Lock. “I have the same lesson as Juniper. Why don’t I take her to breakfast and then class?
Your lesson’s in the opposite direction, right?
You are a year older and not in her classes after all. ”
“We’re skipping breakfast. I brought food to our room for us to share in private.” Lock looks at me. “But Juniper barely ate anything because she isn’t hungry. No need to go to breakfast.”
“Maybe Juni-bug here wants something different to look at over the breakfast table.” He smirks at Lock. “Some sights can put you off your food.”
My heart flutters as I think about what he said to me just last night. How I reacted to everything he said to me last night. I wanted him to do it, which is insane, isn’t it?
Lock clenches his fists. “I really feel shifters should be muzzled like the animals they are.” He touches my arm. “Don’t you agree, darling?”
“No, that would be cruel.” I tug my arm from his touch. “We should get going. I don’t want to be late to class.”
Lock mutters about something, but I’m already moving, walking down the stairs.
Maz is quickly at my side, and we both pretend to ignore Lock shouting for us as we speed up and disappear into the corridors.
When we are alone, Maz reaches into his cloak and pulls out a breakfast bar, one covered in chocolate, my favorite from last year.
“Thank you. How did you know I’d be hungry? ”
“I got the feeling he’s the type to feed his women salads and judge them for eating chocolate. Basically, he identifies as a stupid fucking asshole. I know his type.” He nudges me with his arm. “Eat up.”
He’s not wrong. Lock gave me a breakfast that consisted of just fruit, and all the fruit just did not look appetizing.
Don’t get me wrong, I love fruit, but I don’t like apples, and that made up most of the fruit salad, and the zero-calorie yogurt didn’t fill me up at all.
The yogurt was also apple-flavored. I know I’m curvier than I was at Melody’s because I’ve had three meals a day and snacks for the last year at the academy.
Most of my curves are from my food choices, but I couldn’t care less.
Chocolate is worth it, and life would be miserable on a diet of zero-calorie yogurts and apples.
I gratefully chew on the cereal bar as we walk down the corridors, and I shove the wrapper in my pocket when I’m done as stroke Minnie’s soft fur.
We get around the corner, a few steps away from the classroom, and Maz pulls me to him and hugs me tightly, his head buried in my neck.
I wrap my arms tightly around him and just relax for a second in his arms. Being with them is the only time I feel safe. “Can I kill him yet?” he asks.
“Nope, not yet, even if I want you to.” I sigh, snuggling closer. “I needed this. I miss sleeping in our room with you all. Even Kane’s slight snoring that he says he doesn’t do. At least I have my father’s shirt to sleep in.”
“I need you too.” He grins at me, his eyes dropping down to my lips and back up. “I’m glad we’re back together, even if it’s for a moment. Fuck, I want to kiss you.”
I lift myself up, brushing my lips against his for a heartbeat before tugging away. “We have class, and anyone could see.”
Maz groans, rubbing his face before adjusting himself. “Fuck, yeah, you’re right.” He clears his throat. “I’ve never felt this way about anyone but you, Juni. You drive my thoughts to insanity, and I know I will never get enough of going crazy like this. I just want more.”
My cheeks burn, and I nearly jump when Kane walks past us. “Ready for class, you two?”
“Yes,” I blurt out, hearing Maz’s low laugh chasing me.
Kane looks at me strangely. “I remember something. Just a flashback of our class now.” My heart pounds. If he is getting memories back, even short ones, he might remember everything soon. “Don’t do the usual Juniper thing in class and compete with Vale. The two of you give me a headache.”
I frown. Of all the things he could remember, it’s Vale and me arguing in class. “Hey, he winds me up. Not the other way around!” He looks down at me as we walk into class. “Fine, maybe I do a little. I just don’t like being beaten.”
“That competitive streak is awfully good for both of you. Might help with his memory issue. Plus, it turns me on,” Maz whispers as he walks past. Both Kane and I heard him.
Kane calls him a fucker and hits the back of his head, and I laugh.
I go sit at the desk next to Maz, and Vale walks in like a god who owns this room, his eyes flickering to me once before taking the seat behind me.
Kane and Black sit at the back of the room, almost hidden by the shadows.
I glance over my shoulder at Vale, and he smiles at me. A wicked smile. A challenging smile.
I smile back. Game on.
The teacher comes in. Tutor Sona with her vibrant clothes and warm smile.
“Welcome, everybody, to your first class at Bloodstone Academy. It is an honor for you to be sitting here today, and I am proud to be a part of your personal development. Today we’re going to go over a bit of an unusual lesson.
I don’t usually teach this to first-years, but they have gone ahead to say that perhaps our people need more lessons on our own personal history and less on dangerous spells.
Now, all dangerous spells will only be taught to the last years.
Knowing them before that may not be required or useful, but history?
History and knowledge is power, and in our world, you need both brains and strength to have a chance of winning the war. ”
So they’re banning me from learning spells this year. Too bad for them that I don’t need to learn their idea of dangerous spells. “Let’s begin with something simple. In our history, what creatures are known to us?”
Vale answers immediately before I can. “Witches, of course. They trace back for centuries. Our oldest and most powerful race, but there were other creatures that once lived in this world, but they are long gone now. They were called Nexus beings and Vian beings.”