Page 11 of Overwhelmed By Magic

I lean into his side, pressing a firm kiss against his temple to drag him back to reality. For as stimulated as he is right now, any more chaos and he’ll check out completely. Skye grunts and then reaches over to one of his wrists, absentmindedly scratching the symbols left in his skin.

“Stop that,” I hiss.

“It fucking itches.” He pauses and then starts again, his brows furrowing with frustration.

“Wait, babe. Is it worse being here? I’ve never seen you scratch those.”

Skye swallows and quickly pulls at the edges of his sleeves to cover the irritated skin. He doesn’t answer me which means I’m right. Just as I go to berate him, a loud chime sounds through the gym, carried by the essence in the walls. People scramble to their seats, graduates sitting up front. A few sit around us but pay us no mind.

We might have been able to slip in here through one of the many secret doors used by students during the school year but getting out is going to be an entirely different beast. Someone is going to sniff out my presence and then notice Skye doesn’t belong. I’m prepared to protect him, though—at whatever cost.

“Welcome to this year’s graduating class!”

I stare at the Magila I had attended with, the ones lined up beside the stage eagerly waiting to graduate. The werewolf, another vampire who was Dmitri’s favorite—go figure—, a water elemental, a basilisk, a werecoyote, and a few others I ignored most of the time.

“We are very proud to bring more Magila that have mastered their essence and been assigned a designation into society. We must continue to be vigilant with Mother Nature’s gift so that she continues to give us essence. This year marks the smallest graduating class at 15 students but rest assured, we believe in the plans Mother Nature has set forth.”

I tune Dmitri out as he drones on about the responsibilities of young Magila. Two students are noticeably absent and only because we were sat in many of the same remedial classes, professors and council members constantly berating us for our failure to conform. A fire elemental and a vampire were my only source of entertainment most days, although the fire elemental rarely spoke. He would curl up in the corner seat, bare feet propped up on the chair pulled close to his chest as he peeked out over his knees.

The vampire, on the other hand, wouldn’t shut up. She always had something to say even if we were all in danger of failing. She always had to be right as well. Constantly berating my attempts at practicing with my essence until I kind of just… stopped showing up at all. I’m sure Skye noticed my strange schedule and the days that I was by his side longer than appropriate. I’ve been running from my Magila existence for a while and today, it’s come to a head that I’ll have to face.

Making the decision to come here with Skye wasn’t the smartest—they’ll discover my presence here and worse, find Skye. For the few moments we have though, I lean back in the chair and watch the wonder on Skye’s face, the way his eyes light up, and the way one of the first genuine smiles I’ve seen in days spreads across his lips.

“Enjoying the show?” I whisper, his ear twitching when my breath hits it. It’s been a while since he’s been surrounded by so much essence, Skye usually keeping his distance from Magila and Magila events. I’m sure it’s because of that night four years ago but a life avoiding Mother Nature’s gift doesn’t leave him many options. Skye shifts in his chair again, stuffing his hands into his lap as he sits forward, eyes shifting across the gym.

His breathing picks up as his brows furrow and then his entire attention turns to me. “I can feel it. This pull. Like… a calling? A whisper.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I don’t know.”

That worries me. There is too much essence in this room for weird things to be calling out to Skye. I nudge his shoulder, about to tell him that it’s time to go when he just shakes his head. There’s a reason he needed to come but I’m not even sure he knows the exact reason. I just hope it doesn’t get us in trouble.

7

RUMI

Dmitri is a bore, still wearing that god-awful Dracula costume 100 years later. Many of the young Magila fantasize over his supposed greatness, looking up to his wisdom and his strong essence. Ever since Silas passed away, however, nothing stands out to me about my uncle. He’s just a crabby old man that doesn’t look a day over 40. He’s greedy and refuses to accept that maybe Mother Nature’s gift of essence is a little more unruly than the seven goddamn elements.

I lean precariously over the banister in the rafters, careful to keep my presence hidden from any other Magila searching for intruders. Despite how precious this moment is, very few uninvited people try to find their way in here. Running into a room full of untrained students and angry parents is a recipe for disaster when they can all wield essence. Add in the professors and the graduating class? No one is that fucking stupid.

“Do you know who the rejects are this year?” Ambrose asks as he cozies up beside me. I don’t understand him, not that I ever have. I’ve never dared to ask either as it hasn’t mattered. We use each other for what we need and stay out of each other’s way for everything else. The few trips we make to the outside are the only moments we spend time alone and it has me curious how the mage has existed this long and not found a way to essentially tear down Grimrose from within. “Stop looking at me with those eyes, trying to dissect me, angel.”

“Not a fucking angel,” I grumble. “And yes. A fire elemental, a vampire, and a spirit.”

He raises an eyebrow but keeps his attention on the graduates waltzing across the stage one by one, receiving their diplomas and then their IDs. Goddess, I used to wish for my moment but now that I know how stuck up Magila can be, waving around their designation like Mother Nature owed it to them, I want nothing to do with it.

“That’s quite the grab. Seems the spirit is missing though.” He gestures to three seats at the edge of the gym, two Versipelles standing guard on either side. I’m pretty sure they are wolves of some kind, though their actual designation isn’t important. It’s the fact that there’s clearly one empty seat where there should be a failed Magila. It isn’t even that he’s invisible. He’s just not there, further cemented by the way the fire elemental continues to look over to the empty seat, worried about the lack of presence there.

I put the missing spirit aside and focus on the two who will become the newest occupants of Grimrose Academy. The vampire is trying very hard to stay focused, Elizabeth Rollender. A petite little thing with luscious red curls and bright green eyes. She’s beauty incarnate… for some people I suppose and her elegant way of holding herself is truly remarkable. Her back is straight, Elizabeth wearing a tight smile as her hands sit nicely in her lap. Even the gown covering her body must be worth a hefty price but those airs won’t get her far in Grimrose.

I can already tell that she’s going to try and use ‘daddy’s money’ to fight her way out of a disagreement. I pray she never falls into an argument with me or god forbid, Ambrose. He doesn’t play nice.

Ever.

The male beside her intrigues me. Everything about him screams fire and heat from the vibrant orange hair to the thick, unruly aura pulsating around him. What I don’t expect is the thick, dark, terror wafting from him. He’s terrified and it doesn’t seem like it has anything to do with the future looming ahead. Leaning forward, I hone in on Stellan, noticing the way he bounces his left leg, the bare feet, and the shifty gray-blue eyes that keep moving to the empty seat beside him.

A growl tears from my throat when it lands on the nasty gash just beneath his collar, a bruise a few inches to the right of that. Stellan's face contorts in pain as he maneuvers in his chair and then rights his clothes, the wounds disappearing beneath the fabric.

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