Page 29 of Every Shade of Shadow

‘Weak.’

But for all its gloom and sultry students, there is a certain kind of charm to the castle—a kind of gothic opulence.

I loop around the perimeter of the second floor, making my way to the central, spiral staircase and moving down past the first floor into what I imagine to be the subterranean levels where the Headmistress said the elementals hang out.

It’s quieter on this floor. Peaceful.

And that’s when I hear them.

Two girls, in a small anteroom off one of the side halls.

It’s the animation in their voices that draws me closer. They’re giddy.

I pull into an alcove, straining to hear the conversation.

I peer around the corner only to find a blonde and a brunette just a few feet down the hall.

"What a fucking rush," the blonde purrs, throwing her hair back, her blue eyes round as dinner plates in the half-light. She’s leaning against the wall, arms crossed over fairly ample cleavage. She kind of reminds me of Sab.

Sabrina. Fuck. She’ll have the whole city searching for me if I don’t get a message to her soon.

"Better than sex. Trust me," the blonde continues.

The brunette shivers, licking her scarlet lips. "Got to be better than fucking Johnathan Tate. He couldn’t get this limp dick inside me. Felt like he was trying to put toothpaste back into the tube.”

“You should try it,” the blonde enthuses.

“Shadowcraft?” the brunette whispers.

“It’s just ‘The Craft,’” the blonde laughs. “No one says, you know, anymore. It’s so…” her eyes roll around, “old.”

The mortal sin: to be old.

But there it is, nonetheless, spoken so openly. The so-called forbidden is being discussed here on Academy grounds. Just like Lily said.

“I don’t know,” the brunette continues, looking for an out.

“Why not?” says the blonde, moving closer.

Are these two about to fuck? I consider, my mind always heading into the gutter when confronted with even the slightest bit of sexuality.

“Ah, because it's forbidden. If Darkwood found out, any of the other professors…" says the brunette.

"They won't." A wicked smile comes over the blonde’s face. "As long as we're, you know, discreet."

A tingle races through me, body tensing.

This is the forbidden fruit I've always craved, dangling before me. Gran was always so cautious to keep it as something taboo and forbidden, never spoken of, which naturally only made me want to find out more. But it’s not like you can pull up Google and become an expert. Even the dark web, fun as it may be, is absent of actual practical advice when it comes to Shadowcraft. A skimming of history and the odd spell to give someone herpes, but no, in the magical world this kind of thing is passed down, shifted with spoken syllables and scratched into parchment. I don’t even know if you could digitize it if you tried.

But its power? That is no secret.

Or so everyone keeps saying, not that these two seem perturbed.

I remember Lily’s words.

But the temptation, much like Darkwood himself, is almost irresistible.

A chance to explore the depths of magic in a way I've only dreamed about.

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