Page 10 of The Witch & the Wolf

“We still sneak into the woods sometimes,” Rican admitted with a big grin. “Just for tradition’s sake.”

“Good for you.” Arlo felt more and more boxed in by the second. He wanted to spend time with his family. He didn’t want to spend time talking about all these things. Perhaps his dad picked up on something, for he paused, resting a hand on his son’s shoulders.

“You look distressed. What’s going on?”

Should I tell them? He debated for a moment. Sometimes, he really struggled just to be honest with them. It came from being the youngest in the family, from witnessing the tug-of-war growing in intensity as he aged. “I just… I don’t want to talk about any of this. I only want to spend time with you. I’m here to… escape it all, you know?”

“Ah.” Arnak squeezed his shoulder. “Alright. We wanted to give you a heads-up, but… yes. I understand.” His eyes crinkled at the corners. “Let’s focus more on you, shall we?”

He told them a little more about Holly but couldn’t say much without his brother leering and his father wanting to get a look at this medium for himself, so he changed the subject. They always liked to interpret things as being far bigger than they actually were. All Holly and he did was just go to the village together for their first out-of-academy lesson. No big deal.

Sure, they might have gone there in bad moods, but they returned with the desire to get to know each other better. She was prepared to start over with him, and it couldn’t help but make him feel hopeful in a way.

Plus, though he didn’t want to say it to his father and brother, Holly was cute. More than cute, really. He could go for her big time if he happened to be on the lookout for a relationship, which he was not. Except…

He sighed, focusing on the small time he had left with his family, then waved them goodbye as they left, leaving him to enjoy the rest of the afternoon and the gradually fading sun.

Hopefully, his mother wouldn’t think about contacting him anytime soon. Much as he loved her, he didn’t like how deeply she was involved in family politics – and unfortunately, there was a current tug-of-war centered around his parents. He didn’t see their marriage surviving it, and it saddened him because they did love each other. It was just this family bullshit.

Taking a full look around the academy took about fifteen minutes if you walked slowly – and on the second loop around, he saw that a pack of students had congregated in the Triscor garden with the well-known statue. Scattered around the benches were much older students, including a couple of werewolves he was unfamiliar with but had no interest in associating with. Both those werewolves examined him as he passed, but he said nothing.

At 6 p.m. sharp, Holly appeared at the entrance, her green eyes searching for him. Trying not to look too enthusiastic, he approached, giving her a thin smile. “Hey. It’s good to see you here. And you’re right on time.”

“I try to be. So, where are we going?”

“Follow me.” Together, they set off through the great wrought iron gates along a gentle path that led to a bank of wispy trees, flower bushes, and patches of green. On the east side, the swamp, filled with bizarre, potentially dangerous creatures, loomed ominously. Dreadmor’s alliance with the deep supernatural still made him uneasy – but perhaps that feeling would fade once he learned how to deal with the creatures around. It seemed Holly shared some of that unease because she glanced over to the swampy woods as they passed.

“A part of me thinks that this whole arrangement the academy has is completely insane,” Holly said wryly, walking closer to him. “The other part thinks this is all pretty exciting in a scary way. Or a good way? I don’t know.”

“I think I understand what you mean by that.” He grinned. “It’s all mysterious, and it means we’re paying a lot more attention to everything around us, which also helps with the magic.”

Holly suddenly said, “Question: Do you really think the statue in the garden is a student?”

“Probably not.” He winked at her, then wondered why the hell he’d done it.

Idiot.

“I mean, they have all sorts of ways to cure people. I think you can reverse petrification. It’s just an enchanted statue.”

“Chloe swears she saw the eyes moving at one point…”

“Enchanted. Probably.” Though he didn’t know.

The way the pathway shimmered with an otherworldly light at points made Arlo pause just to take in all the unusual sights. Holly happily paused with him, and her eyes glittered from each new thing, enjoying the weave of the supernatural along with him. He suspected she’d been exposed to far less in her life than he had, so there was something of childish wonder in her gaze – the kind that infected others and made them see the world in a better light.

He enjoyed it. A lot.

Perhaps this is why people have children, he thought.

Not just for the joy of a child but for the joy of them experiencing things for the first time and seeing them through their eyes. Growing up with magic without all the burdens and fears. Just magic with no strings attached.

Holly crouched close to a luminous frog on an old, rustic fence along the path. It gave a little ribbet, the pouch beneath its jaw puffing out as a glowing blue balloon.

“Dude,” Holly said, “this frog is freaking glowing.”

“Pretty cool, right?” He crouched beside her, elbows resting on his knees. Even with two giants shadowing it, the frog didn’t act scared. It puffed itself up bigger and let out a more ominous ribbit.

“Do you think it’s dangerous?” Holly said, now a little more doubtful.

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