Page 30 of Overwhelmed By Magic

Of course, the vibrant one is the sex demon. However, he looks terrified and about to crawl into Rumi’s skin. The orange-haired one gives me a lopsided smile as he meets my eyes, pushing his glasses up his nose at the same time. “Stellan. Definitely not a fire elemental.” He hisses and then settles when Jade touches his arm.

The transfer of essence is too hard to look away from. Watching that orange and yellow aura seep into where Jade’s hand is touching Stellan is beautiful, not to mention the way Jade’s aura bleats and thickens as if it’s being fed in real-time. I shake my head, pulling my attention from the display. I’m not even supposed to be able to see essence. Ambrose and Rumi are both staring again and I’m sure they noticed. Well, fuck.

“Great. I’m just-”

There’s a growl from my right and a clash of dishes before someone pushes toward our table. I just barely catch a shifted Magila prowling toward us. It reminds me of a werewolf but something from my nightmares, the animal snarling and drooling, its gaze locked on mine. Fear explodes in my chest as I slip off the bench and back up. When it lunges, I brace for impact before I find myself being yanked out of the way and down the south hall, into my office. The attack I was braced for never happens and the animalistic sounds emitting from that Magila have stopped.

I don’t really want to know how.

Rumi has a firm grip on my wrist, Harlow two steps ahead of him. I’m just standing there, wide-eyed and confused. My body hasn’t gotten the memo that we’re okay though, tremors crawling down my spine.

Ambrose stalks into the room with Jade and Stellan behind him, marching up to me as he inspects my face and then body without so much as a touch. “Are you okay?”

“What?”

“Are. You. Okay?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” My voice is shaking but being surrounded by these Magila is making it easier to breathe. “That Versipelles didn’t even do anything. He… maybe he just couldn’t control his essence?” I want to believe that but I know for a fact that I’m going to have to be on guard for the rest of my time here. I desperately hope that it isn’t forever.

Ambrose’s shoulders fall but he hasn’t lost the anger in his expression. It’s directed at the Magila who lunged at me but it terrifies me a little. “You can’t be in the common areas without one of us, Skye. You already know that for some godawful reason, you smell like a full-on dessert to us. This shit is going to keep happening, especially with the younger Magila who have no control.”

I step back, throwing my hands up, needing the room to breathe. “So, I’m just supposed to hide in here? What kind of fucking existence is that?”

No one answers that question but I don’t need them to. Someone knows far more about me than I know myself. It’s the only reason why I would have been assigned this position. Someone must have known that I smelled different to the rejects, that they found my scent irresistible.

Absentmindedly, I go to scratch at my left wrist, grimacing when Harlow is there to rip my fingers away from it. I lean back against my desk, allowing myself to relax. This isn’t the existence that I was hoping for. “So what now?”

Rumi tilts his head to the side, inspecting me much the same way Ambrose did. “Keep your door locked. Either here or in your room. You need something, you call Harlow or one of us.”

“I’m a fucking counselor. I should be taking care of you guys.”

The mage shakes his head as he steps up to me again, cupping my face in his hands. I’m not even sure he realizes how tender he’s being. A quick glance at Harlow shows me that he’s not perturbed by the mage’s touch and it’s keeping the panic at bay. “Skye, whatever preconceived rules you have about how all this is supposed to work, throw it out the window. Now, breathe for me, little human. Good. Keep the door locked.”

He presses a kiss to my forehead, much to the shock of everyone in this room before they all leave, Harlow excluded. I wait several seconds before running to the door and locking it, knowing that Harlow is going to address the kiss before I do.

“Well, that happened,” Harlow chuckles.

“I-” I turn around, expecting the worst. Harlow has been it for me for years. However, the expression on his face is more amusement than disappointment or anger. “Why aren’t you mad?”

“Because Magila are a little different than humans. We kind of choose partners based on how our essence matches up. And if that’s more than one?” He shrugs like this is just a run-of-the-mill conversation but I’ve never heard of that happening.

“Harlow, that’s bullshit.”

“It’s not.”

“Then why haven’t I ever seen a Magila throuple or a polycule?” I think Harlow is bullshitting to make me feel better but it’s doing the opposite.

He approaches me and pulls me closer, his hands sitting on my waist. “Babe, it’s kind of a thing at Astral and I’m sure at some of the other Magila academies as well. We’re just kind of told by the time we graduate that there’s one person for us, rather than many. We group up however it makes sense.”

The sincerity in his voice and the steel blue of his eyes tells me this isn’t a joke. I’m not too sure about Ambrose, though. He’s kind of terrifying even if he has some sweet moments. Knowing that he’s a mage is also a little uncomfortable based on my past history.

“Great, excellent.”

I pull from his grip and walk around my desk to stuff myself back in the crickety old chair so I can read. I’m going to deal with all these changes the best way I know how. By escaping.

19

HARLOW

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