Page 13 of Every Shade of Shadow

Or the Wolf could be my savior.

My lover, I consider.

My first.

Wishful thinking? Daydreaming? I don’t know. At any rate, this has to be a figment of my imagination. Even if he was a major figurehead at Lumina, the chances of him noticing me are slim. I come from no grand magical family, have no enclave or Society connections. To my knowledge, Gran was never part of anything.

Buy why am I thinking about this guy at all? He’s probably old enough to be my father.

Maybe he only represents the Academy? A third party. Surely. I should be thinking of that. I’ll probably never see the guy again.

I’m about to place the phone down when I swipe left and open my bank account.

I stare at the numbers on screen and feel sick. Only one-ninety left and a dozen bills to pay, the eviction officer's fifth email this week unread inside my inbox.

How did I get here? I pinch the bridge of my nose, a headache blossoming behind my eyes. I don’t want to go back to discover where I went wrong.

Everything was fine until Gran up and decided to drop dead on me, leave me with this bullshit.

A text pops up from Sabrina. Be over in ten. Need the Dior!

I’m still in bed when I hear the knock on the door ten minutes later.

I rise and pad through the apartment, checking the peephole to find a somehow beaming Sab waving.

She can’t hold her alcohol, sure, but she’s hangover-proof. Go figure.

I open the door and gesture her through.

She eyes me as she passes. “I see you’re dressed.”

I’m wearing a mismatching bra and panties, the latter inside out because hey, hard to see when you’re stumbling around in the dark. “The dress is on the back of my door.”

I hung up the Dior before she arrived. It was the least I could do.

I place my hand out, closing the door with the other. “Remember this?”

I walk over to the kitchen counter and pick up the card, handing it across to her.

She looks it over. “Shit, I forgot about this, and that guy…like come on, red flag city.” He’s a walking, talking restraining order.”

Lumina Academy of Magic.

The name whispers through my mind, stirring a flurry of questions I've grappled with my entire life.

Was I meant for something more?

Doubtful.

It’s not like I have a lightning bolt on my forehead.

Sab scans the card. "I mean, you’re not seriously considering calling this number, are you?”

"I don't know," I shrug. I twist a strand of my long black hair until it pulls at my scalp, a nervous habit I've never been able to break. "Do you know anything about Lumina, anything concrete you and your Society buddies talk about?"

"Only rumors." She sinks into Gran’s armchair in the corner of the living room, gazing into the distance. "I mean, they say it's one of the most prestigious magical academies in the world, shrouded in mystery, known for producing some of the most powerful witches and wizards of all time, but also some seriously fucking dark ones. I’ve heard it’s basically a magical concentration camp, a reeducation center, a big orgy where everyone runs around fucking demons… Who knows?"

A thrill of the forbidden courses through my veins. All my life I've taught myself magic in secret, afraid. But at an academy for magic…

---