Page 14 of Overwhelmed By Magic

Unfortunately, I have no idea what to feel. There are no emotions to explain the sudden emptiness in my chest or the chaotic thoughts clouding my mind. I blink a few times, wondering if I’m dreaming, if I’m going to wake up and Harlow will be right there, staring at me to finish my speech. Or maybe I’ll wake up in bed with him wrapped around me, my face pressed into his chest.

Neither of those things happen, though.

His seat is still empty when I force myself to look at it again, a whimper tearing from my throat as I grip the stand in front of me for purchase. He’s gone. I didn’t think it would bother me so much. I had been working up to a goodbye anyway, knowing that he would be taken from me soon but this was too abrupt. I wasn’t ready. I’m still not ready.

A tear escapes down my cheek as everyone seems to collectively hold their breath, still waiting for me to move. But how do I continue when my lifeline was just stolen from me? When the one man in this entire world who understands me was told that he wasn’t enough?

He is enough. He will always be enough.

With everyone’s attention on me, I do the only thing I can think of and walk off the stage. If Harlow won’t be at my side, what point is there in continuing to pretend that I enjoy any part of this ceremony?

9

STELLAN

This isn’t what I thought life would become when I entered Astral Academy four years ago. I thought that maybe, just maybe, I had found others like myself to enjoy the world of essence. My father is a Magila—a wind elemental—and it’s been everything he’s talked about since I presented at age five. My entire life has been surrounded with talks of honor and Mother Nature and utilizing her gift to further my father’s cigar business.

After all, having a fire elemental to show off and prance around while selling the business? Perfection in my father’s eyes. I was nothing more than a show pony, performing carnival stunts to ooh and ahh human customers to make our cigars seem more magical.

There’s no magic in those weed wraps. Hell, it’s not even high quality. Nothing compared to the ones my grandfather used to create.

I shiver in my seat, pulling my legs up to my chest and then groaning as heat bleeds through me. It’s a recurring issue, one that started a year into lessons at the academy. Fire elemental, my ass.

The moment everyone learned I couldn’t control my essence, things changed. Gone was the prized son of the Levine family. I was just a reject, a defective waste of space. Even Astral Academy and the Magila council made sure to make me feel unwelcome through the multitude of extra testing and interrogations I was forced to sit through.

Stories upon stories were shoved into my head that Grimrose Academy was just remedial lessons to help us acclimate to the human world. Nothing could be further from the truth. Professors found every opportunity to test my essence, to test me, to twist me and thrust me into situations I was wholly unprepared for to figure out how my essence would react.

I was no longer a Magila to them. Not even a human. Just something for them to use. I have no idea how the other two failed Magila faired but everything leading up to this point, being driven to Grimrose Academy, fucking sucked.

I shift again in my seat before shoving my hand in my pocket and unearthing a cigarette, the only thing on this goddess-forsaken earth that can calm my essence. Lighting it with a flick of my finger, I take a long drag before blowing out a heavy breath and settling back against the headrest. The heat pulsing through my limbs dissipates slowly, giving me much-needed relief.

My fire isn’t just uncontrollable. It’s all-consuming. And I’ve more than once broken out in flames, unable to rid of them before they caused serious damage to my surroundings. Thank fuck it’s never happened at one of my father’s cigar shops.

I take another drag, my essence settling even further until all I can feel is the sweat pouring down my back and the uneasiness in my stomach.

“Stop being dramatic. It’s just some remedial training,” Liz coos from her seat. My gaze follows the long bare legs barely covered by her skirt, her vest, and the long-sleeved button-down remnant of every prep school kid I’ve ever seen. Her outfit also screams money and attitude, neither of which will work in an academy like Grimrose. If my suspicions are right, the academy is housing some of the most dangerous Magila that have ever lived.

No one on the outside even knows what goes on in there—well, except for the Magila council, I suppose.

“Liz, it’s not just remedial training. Our essence doesn’t fit in any one of the seven elements. We’ll be there until it does.” Which means we aren’t leaving. I’m not all that torn up about it. The life I would have had after graduating from Astral would include answering to my father and marrying whoever my mother set in front of me. They followed archaic traditions and unless I wanted to suffer another beating or two, I’d listen.

At Grimrose, though, the knowledge that my father can’t get to me is soothing. I might never leave this place but I can at least outrun his fists.

Liz grunts and sits forward, uncrossing her legs as she turns her full attention to me. “You know nothing, Stella. You’re always reading or smoking. Grimrose is just another academy where we get taught a few extra things and then get shoved on our way.”

I ignore the dig at my name. Everyone called me that. I’m soft-spoken and avoid confrontation. People think it’s because I’m shy. I just really, really don’t want to burn anyone alive. I’ve gone twenty-three years, three months, and three days without hurting anyone and I’d love it to stay that way. And that will only happen if I keep my emotions in check by smoking or reading. With my head in a book, I can’t quite get mad at the world, can I?

Deciding that speaking to Liz is a waste of time, I tap my ciggie on the edge of the open window and follow the city blocks slowly morphing into grasslands and then dense forest. I’m not entirely sure where we are but no doubt there’s a mage obscuring our path so we couldn’t figure it out anyway. By the time the van pulls up to what looks like an abandoned asylum, I’m anxious and a little terrified of our next steps.

We’re roughly ushered from the car, our bags in tow, and left at the entrance with no regard for our safety or with any directions. Liz pushes inside without any self-preservation, halting immediately when two Magila are standing at the entrance to the corridor. The one on the right is terrifying, his dark expression paired with the scar over his left eye screams mischief. Add in the long, silky hair spilling around his shoulders and his tall but lean stature and I take a step back, unsure of his intentions.

The one on the left isn’t as terrifying but the power hidden in his aura demands my respect. White hair and white clothes accentuate the dark golden brown skin, the smirk on his face making my body quiver with a feeling I’m not used to. Desire? Again, I step back, clutching my bags to my sides, my attention flitting between them.

They push off the archway, moving closer, and then stop inches from us. “Welcome to Grimrose Academy,” the long-haired one says, his grin widening the longer he stares at me. I feel like he’s going to devour me and if he’s a Versipellis, he very well could. “It’s nice to have some fresh meat in here. It was getting a little… stale.” His voice sounds like molten honey—dangerous and seductive at the same time. His essence is old but I don’t understand it.

The other one speaks, tilting his head to the side as he catalogs my features, his gaze focusing on my bare feet long enough for me to drop one of my bags so I can stand behind it. I’m aware of how strange it is but I can barely stand the clothes I’m wearing now, let alone shoes.

“You’re Rumi,” I breathe and then wince as my essence surges. I grit my teeth together, hoping I won’t have a flare. I won’t be able to live forever like this—taking deep breaths to keep my emotions together and hoping that my essence doesn’t cause an incident. The only reason I was able to survive during the graduation ceremony was my concern for Harlow and that really sweet scent that always hangs around him. It’s like a bucket of ice water every time I come in contact with the spirit.

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