Page 29 of Overwhelmed By Magic

The mage tilts his head to the side, long hair falling with the movement. My gaze falls on a singular tattoo that stretches up the side of his neck, etched in a dark green ink that reminds me of his aura.

“Yes, I did. Are you disagreeing? Skye, you agree with me, right?”

I clear my throat to rid my mind of Ambrose. “What? Yes, I do. Harlow, you’re gorgeous.” Hopefully, that’s enough to steer my thoughts away from the mage. It isn’t but I can pretend. Ambrose manages a chuckle that’s full of way more heat than it should be. He stands and approaches, his hands raised when I tense up.

“Just checking the bite.” His fingers trail down my neck and I shiver beneath his touch which stays a little longer than appropriate. “Looks like it’ll heal just fine but it will scar. I’m not sure why, although, with your track record around essence, I’m not surprised.”

I slap a hand over my neck, glaring up at him. “So, I’ll just have teeth marks in my neck forever?” I’m sure someone would enjoy a tattoo like that but not me.

Ambrose shrugs, not bothered by my question. “Make a tattoo out of it. Ronnie does tattoos. He’s a little testy during the fall and winter semester, though. Better wait till spring. Seems that werebears really do kind of hibernate.”

A werebear?

I’ve only ever heard of a few Versipellis and even then, most are wolves, coyotes, or some kind of feline. There’s a griffin on the council but I’ve never met a bear.

Ambrose seems to understand my unasked question before it leaves my lips. “Don’t really think he’s a bear but he’s never shifted since he’s been. Ronnie says it’ll give us nightmares. Come on, let’s stop talking about other men. I came to grab you for breakfast.”

My cheeks heat at his admission but I do have other questions. I still don’t understand how Grimrose Academy works, although I see it’s definitely not a favor to me that I’m here.

“I’m not sure who’s funny idea it was to stick you here, Skye, but there’s a few things you have to know. You’ve probably noticed that you have a few more rights than the students, but you’ve basically been placed in all the same areas. Sure, you have an office but not one of the counselors or professors make their way down the North and West halls.” He runs a hand through his hair, watching my gaze follow the movement. Goddess, I’m going to get in trouble for staring. “Anyone else know about your pink aura? The essence from your marks?”

No one is supposed to know about that.

I really hope no one saw what happened in the office last night.

He snorts. “Well, someone does and I’m thinking you’re more a student than anything else. Don’t worry, you’re still very much human. Let’s go. If I miss pancakes because you two are dawdling, I’m pissing in someone’s cheerios.”

Chaos is what all this is but if this is my normal, I might as well accept it. Ambrose waits outside as I strip out of my sweat-soaked clothes and into a new shirt and pair of jeans. I’ll need a shower at some point but I’m too hungry to care about that now. There’s a private bathroom by the cot in my office. It needs a little TLC but it has everything I need until I can figure out where I fit in here.

Five minutes later, I’m following Ambrose with Harlow at my side. I never got the full tour but it’s so much more beautiful than the outside and definitely a few steps above Astral Academy. Everything there is performative and although it holds essence, it’s crafted by Magila. Here, essence is free-flowing and natural. Mother Nature is present here in all her glory.

It’s evident that no one else can feel the way she breathes life into this place but I don’t mind. It’s a precious feeling and while the look itself mirrors Astral Academy with wooden walls and tiled floors, there’s just something different.

Something more pure.

Something more real.

Almost as if these ‘rejects’ are the true example of what essence is and not what the Magila council has led everyone to believe.

Murmurs erupt through the cafeteria as Ambrose walks a little slower to hang at my side. His hand rests on the small of my back as he guides me to a table, my eyes scanning the students and professors littered through the open space. It’s strange how human everyone looks despite the supercharged essence running through the room. I would have thought there would be more creature-like Magila but everyone here just looks kind of lost.

Food is brought to me as Harlow dutifully stays at my side, growling when anyone comes a little too close to the table. Ambrose piled plates high with eggs, sausage, bacon, and little pancakes before appearing with three glasses of what looks like apple juice. I’m not sure how he did it but this isn’t the right time to ask as I sip the fruit juice, pleasantly surprised by the fresh taste.

Tamara stops by a few moments later and I wait for her to address yesterday. “How are you holding up Skye? We missed you at the opening meeting for all the counselors last evening.”

My brows furrow as I narrow my gaze at her. I thought she was going to be someone I could like here but her dismissal of the incident immediately puts her on my shit list. “There was a scuffle yesterday and I had to deal with it,” I push out, not wanting to start a fight.

Ambrose has no such reservations as he turns to face her. “Tammy, don’t be stupid. Everyone knows that the kid sunk his teeth into our pretty little human here and not one person was going to do shit about it.”

Her face hardens. “And where is he now? He’s not at breakfast.”

“He’s enjoying what he deserves,” Harlow bites out around a mouthful of eggs. His aura thickens and drops the temperature a few degrees which Tamara responds to by tapping the table a few times and then moving to sit with her coworkers. “Holy shit, is the ‘green’ one of the counselors?” I jab him in his side and he coughs, trying to cover up his words, not that anyone is listening.

Ambrose finds him amusing and it isn’t long before Rumi and a few others join us. I’ve seen the purple-haired one in passing but the meek orange-haired one I’ve only seen at Harlow’s graduation. Harlow’s previous classmate—the vampire—makes a gesture toward us but both Ambrose and Harlow veto that with a sneer. I don’t want to ostracize her but I’m kind of done with people that have sharp teeth at the moment.

I pick at my food, not sure what I’m supposed to say. Especially when I look up and find every occupant at the table staring at me. They all seem rather intrigued by my presence. Ambrose has made his interest known but the other three are just staring. Harlow mentioned my scent but other than a thin layer of sweat dripping down my back, I don’t smell anything. “Right, of course. Maybe introductions are in order? I’m Skye, one of the counselors. This is Harlow, a spirit or something.”

Ambrose snorts and introduces himself as a mage. Rumi shrugs and Jade takes a few moments before he says anything. “Incubus or something.”

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