Page 35 of Overwhelmed By Magic

I’m tempted to run my fingers across it but from experience, I know it will call not just one but both Magila I’m now connected to. The more I think about it, the more I’m not perturbed by the idea of Ambrose at my side. Harlow definitely isn’t and I’ve had more than one fantasy that includes my boyfriend giving in to the mage.

Maybe it’s wrong to be thinking that way but Harlow said it was okay—that Magila often give themselves to more than one person.

I make a point to talk to Harlow, to really talk to him and close the distance between us. He might be in my bed every night, but I haven’t been comfortable experiencing that void. Knowing that Harlow has control of it or at least access to it terrifies me. Shaking my head to rid myself of those thoughts, I stare at the entrance to my office when there’s a small knock and then a head full of orange hair peeking through as the door opens.

I drag my sleeve back down and back up toward the desk to give Stellan space to move inside. We haven’t spent much time around each other but I’ve noticed that he hangs off Rumi and Jade, mostly. The only thing I have figured out is that his essence is somehow bolder than everyone else’s, his aura wild and constantly building. When he touches Jade, it nearly disappears but the Incubus visibly suffers from the intake of power.

Stellan on the other hand experiences momentary relief but not enough. The fire elemental approaches slowly, his hands wrapped around his chest, his gray eyes downcast. That draws my attention to his bare feet and I can only imagine how annoying shoes can be when his body is constantly overheating.

“Stellan-”

“It’s fine,” he mutters before taking a seat in front of my desk and pulling his knees up to his chest. My brows raise in shock as I expected him to sit in the chair but his ass is on the stone floor, looking up at me. “It’s been better with Jade.”

“But you can’t just keep using him.”

Among all of the students, Stellan might be the easiest to talk to. He’s the same age as me and while we haven’t experienced the same homelife, I know that being here is somewhat a reprieve from being out there.

And I hate that for him.

His jaw pulls tight as he searches for the right words. I don’t have anything to say, though. I might have a degree in psychology and sociology and many classes on counseling specifically but there’s no real end goal here. At Benson University, I would help students who were dealing with internal and external issues so they could better succeed in life.

Here? There’s nothing to help with other than placate their worries and put a bandaid over their problems. While many of the Magila here could just waltz off the grounds and back into their old lives, the Magila council has made it so that the world would crucify them for it. They’re safer here than in the very homes they grew up in.

“Do you want to talk?” I finally ask, feeling a bit lame. Ambrose ran his session until it ended the way it did. I’m hoping an hour with Stellan won’t end the same way. He’s cute but I’m not ready for someone else yet. And I still need to speak with Harlow. Goddess, I’m a mess. When he doesn’t speak, I sit on the floor as well, a few inches away.

Stellan frowns, tilting his head to the side before relaxing his hold on his knees. “No one has ever sat on the floor for me before.”

“What?”

“Like that. Came down here. Jade does sometimes but that’s to hold me. You sat down to see me.”

I’m not sure what to do with that information. Having Stellan look up at me was just strange. “Of course. It puts us on equal ground. We’re kind of the same in a lot of respects, anyway. We both just graduated and thought we’d be in very different places than we are now. Circumstances led us here and now our futures are uncertain.”

Stellan snorts and then fixes his expression back into that sullen disinterest. He pushes up his glasses with the back of his hand as he shakes his head. “No, I thought I had it bad but you being here can’t be easy.” I’m about to remark on the nights that I hear his screams before Jade is able to quiet him down when Stellan continues. “I can’t handle my essence. Not well anyway. I’m more than a fire elemental but definitely not a dragon shifter. I don’t have a second form that I know of. I just… overheat. But you? You’re human and every fucking reject in this building wants a piece of you. I don’t know how you stand being locked up in your room everyday.”

I’m not dealing with it well, that’s for sure. But until I can get someone on the phone to explain what’s going on, things aren’t going to change.

“It’s not all that bad,” I muse, lying straight to his face. Stellan snorts and runs his tongue along the top of his teeth, waiting for me to correct my statement. I’ve never seen amusement on his face but I fucking love it. “There’s a few of you that aren’t constantly trying to get at me. You don’t.”

“Not because I don’t want to.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Some of us have restraint, Skye. I might look unassuming but my fire could kill you. I’ve watched it engulf entire rooms and can only imagine the agony if it bled across your skin.”

“When’s the last time you saw Jade?”

“Right before this.”

I hold out my hand, palm facing the ceiling, offering myself up. I have no idea what touching me will do but I’m curious. That damn little bug in my ear yelling at me to figure out what could happen. His aura bleats frantically around him, Stellan’s breathing kicking up as his eyes grow wide. They lock with mine, his desire to reach forward growing despite his fear of hurting me.

This is an awful idea and I should probably consult Harlow but he’s been forbidden to be in the room during any of the sessions. I’m not sure who’s enforcing that rule but I’m trying to be at least a little respectful of my profession.

Stellan resituates until he’s sitting cross-legged, his hands clenching and unclenching in his lap. My hand is wavering in the air, the fire elemental clocking every micro movement until he reaches forward to grab my hand. I feel like I’m offering a scared animal something to eat, showing him that I’m safe. Stellan isn’t an animal but he is dangerous beneath that meek expression he carries around.

When his hand swallows mine, an electric charge zips through my arm and explodes through my chest. It’s like a breath of fresh spring air that suddenly overtakes me, Stellan staring at where our hands are conjoined.

I thought his essence might burn me or scorch me from the inside out but it’s the coziest feeling I’ve experienced in a while.

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