Page 12 of Overwhelmed By Magic

“Found something you like?” Ambrose teases but I can tell that he’s just as consumed, if not more. He might be a fucking pain in my ass and a terror but he has a soft spot for the scared kittens that are dropped off at our door. He’s going to have fun with Elizabeth but Stellan, I think that kid just found a guardian or more.

My attention wanders, following a soft but sweet scent. It’s unfamiliar but reminds me of the pastries Silas’ wife used to bake. He’d bring them in and slip them to me when he could, giving me yet another thing to enjoy when my entire life was going to shit. But this smell… it’s more consuming than that. It’s a need, a craving.

My mouth waters and desire spreads through me until my cock begins pressing against the seam of my pants uncomfortably. I drop my hand down to adjust myself, grimacing when all I want to do is suffocate on that scent while I stroke myself to completion. “Do you fucking smell that?” I push out through gritted teeth, wrapping both hands around the banister so I don’t start jerking myself off in front of Ambrose.

When the mage doesn’t answer, I twist back to see his eyes full-blown, dark orbs staring down into the gym to find the owner of the scent. His lips are turned up in a devilish smile, his tongue darting out to lick his lips. “They’re not supposed to smell like that, Rumi.”

“Who are they?”

“Humans.”

I frown and twist back around, searching for the culprit when I find him stuffed in the back corner. He’s a dorky kind of gorgeous with soft features but it’s his aura that pulls me in. Not that he has essence, just his general presence. It’s enticing. I want more of it. Fantasies of dragging my tongue along his skin hit me full force and I clear my throat to drag myself out of my head. “Only Magila have scents and even those are rare. What the fuck is that?”

“All I know is that he’s now on my radar.”

No shit, Sherlock.

It doesn’t help that the shimmering haze beside him and the dark gray aura looming at the kid’s side is most definitely the third Magila missing beside Stellan. Harlow is his name, but I haven’t been able to drum up as much information from him. He saved someone a few years ago and ended up as a spirit. However, with how many classes he’s skipped, the information outlet that I usually use wasn’t as helpful with this one.

Even with whatever ability Harlow is using to appear invisible to the rest of the occupants in the gym, I can still see him. I’m not sure how, or why, but it helps that his aura is so fiercely strong, similar to Jade’s when the Incubus’ emotions are running high.

The way Harlow has a protective arm around the kid’s shoulder tells me enough. And when Harlow’s gaze meets mine, I know that we have our work cut out for us. Not just because we’re acquiring an unruly sort of essence but because he’ll most definitely be one of those roadblocks when it comes to figuring out the human that smells like ecstasy on legs.

I’m curious as fuck about the both of them but we’ll have to wait until Harlow is on the bus to Grimrose to start uncovering the truth. For now, I only have one question.

“Ambrose, what do you suppose a human is doing at Astral Academy when it’s essentially illegal?”

He chuckles, coming up against my back, his hands on my shoulders. “Ah, Rumi, didn’t get all your details? That lovely rejected spirit type died saving someone. Meet someone—his step-brother. Skye. Skye Bardot.”

I run his name over my tongue a few times, loving the way Skye feels on my lips. But then I harden my expression, wondering where in the world Ambrose digs up his knowledge. “How the fuck would you know that?”

“I have my ways, besides rumor has it that our little candy shop is cursed.”

I already despise Ambrose’s name for Skye. “Care to share with the class how you’ve come upon that?”

“I can feel it. I’m a mage-type, remember? And there’s essence locked in those markings where the spirits touched him. Not his essence but essence nonetheless.” He waves his hand, conjuring up his essence in a little green ball. A sliver of pink tangles through his essence before it disappears. “See? That’s the essence he’s currently holding onto.”

“Ambrose, no one has pink essence.”

“Which is why I’m fascinated by his presence. Whatever touched him—whatever came through the veil was a rejected Magila. I just want to know what kind.”

If I wasn’t curious about Skye’s existence before, I am now. He’s wholly human but there’s just something off about him. Another glare from Harlow has my attention returning to Stellan and Liz. I know I came to fuck with my uncle but my priorities have shifted. I'll fuck with Dmitri next year.

8

SKYE

As the ceremony unfolds, I find myself disinterested in the Magila walking across the stage. Their smiles and enthusiasm spread through the gym but it’s the two students off to the side and the empty seat beside them that has my attention. An empty seat that Harlow should be in. It brings back to reality that these are the last moments with him, that no matter how hard Harlow tries to escape his assignment to Grimrose Academy, it won’t work.

The horror stories have become rumors at Benson University, stories that people joke about and then retell to scare others about the dangers of Magila that don’t conform. I don’t entirely believe the stories, mostly because Harlow isn’t dangerous.

He’s just… different.

My anxiety heightens the longer I sit here, trying to blend into the sea of Magila friends and families who have come to celebrate the students’ big day. It only gets worse when I catch the green wisps of someone’s essence caressing my shoulder before disappearing. Someone knows.

“I’m done here,” I whisper before slowly standing from my seat and heading toward the way we came through. Clapping and cheers erupt, masking my escape. I take off running the moment my feet hit the green, not daring to look back lest I get caught for being on a Magila campus. Harlow is casually at my side without breaking a sweat, my attention snatched by the lingering green essence following me and then an added gold swirl as well.

That’s not possible.

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