Page 43 of Overwhelmed By Magic

“Is this going to be a thing now?” Rumi asks in the background as Jade deepens the kiss before releasing me to Ambrose and Harlow.

I make a point to avoid any and all questions, more focused on why I’m here and how I somehow became claimed by five Magila. I don’t even have feelings for them like that—the intimacy of a mark is so much more than just saying ‘protect me’. I’m in love with Harlow. I really like Ambrose and Jade… he’s so sweet. Stellan is like a warm hug and Rumi is still a bit of a mystery to me. Like a wounded soldier that needs a little bit more love.

Ambrose and him are alike in a lot of ways but Ambrose doesn’t hold his tongue.

I’m not even sure why I’m thinking about feelings when I’m stuck in an academy full of rejects who want to kill me. Taste me? I have absolutely no idea at this point. After we’re washed up and dressed in new clothing, I sit Ambrose and Harlow in my office with the journal safely tucked in my desk, refusing to let them follow me into Tamara’s.

She won’t hurt me, I don’t think.

It’s strange that the halls are mostly quiet but even in the cafeteria, no one paid me much of a second glance. I didn’t even see the other two students I was supposed to meet yesterday, let alone any other Magila from the wing that I reside in.

Something is off.

Absentmindedly, I reach down to scratch at the marks on my wrists, essence thrumming through me. It feels almost foreign but if what Rumi said was true, that means that I might be part of something much bigger. I puff out my chest and draw as much confidence as I can before stepping into Tamara’s office.

She glances up from her desk as if I’m merely just a wayward student looking for help. “Yes?” I nearly miss the way she flinches before settling, something I’ve seen her do around the students but never the staff and never around me. “Skye, what can I help you with? I thought you would be tucked away in your office reading or something.” Her voice trembles. She’s bad at hiding her emotions but I don’t understand the reaction. Is she scared of me?

“Tamara, why do I feel like I’m not really here to work? You mentioned yesterday that Dr. Bennington said I belonged here and then Leo asked if I had figured it out just as I left.” I step closer but she tenses again. I guess I’ll just stay at the edge of the room, then.

“I’m not sure what you mean, Skye. We’re all here to work. Write up some reports and then hand them to the council with our observations and hope for the best. It’s been a little harder for you, I’m sure, as a human but…”

She’s lying through her teeth. Just like she was yesterday. “Was I really hired to be a counselor or is there some other reason I’m here? All that stuff you said to me when I got here was bullshit, wasn't it?”

A flash of indecision passes through her expression and then confusion. I can see that there are multiple answers to those questions and I’m beginning to wonder if she knows anything about knowledge and Mother Nature. Tamara huffs out a breath as she rounds her desk and then rests back against the edge. “Stop worrying over things you can’t control. Stay alert and don’t wander too much. The students like to have a little fun on weekends and the least we can do is let them have it.”

That sounds like a recipe for disaster. “What if something happens? They could get hurt or hurt someone else!” Tamara doesn’t seem to share my plight or she just doesn’t care enough about these rejected Magila. They’re dangerous in their own right—just as all Magila are—and leaving a bunch of disgruntled students alone every weekend sounds awful. I’m surprised the academy isn’t more of a mess.

“Look, they’re here for a reason rather than out in the world. Nothing they do here is really a problem.” She runs a hand through her hair, brown and silver peeking through from the roots. I wondered if all the green was just part of her image but leaning into her aura that hard is a little unnerving. Her aura is much brighter than Ambrose’s and the way it dances around her makes me uneasy.

“You’re not really here to help, are you?”

She chews on her bottom lip, wrapping her arms around her chest in a protective stance. “Skye, go back to your room, alright?”

“Tamara, why was I sent here? Really sent here. The truth this time. Everyone keeps saying things and I don’t understand them.”

“They should have never sent a human here.” Tamara sighs, almost as if that’s not information I should have. Who is they? What do they want with me? I’m about to ask when she just shakes her head. “I don’t know who sent you here. You were a bit of surprise when we saw the roster.”

Roster? That’s for students. Not counselors.

Which confirms my suspicions.

“Look, Skye, I know you mean well. Truly, but the questions you’re asking won’t get you the answers you want. What I want to know is how you found the library. Leo mentioned that he saw one of those red journals but no one has been able to access that room in decades.” She tilts her head to the side, trying to answer her question by the way I react.

I do well not to twitch or give her any indication that I know what she’s talking about. “I found it in my room.” It’s not a complete lie. I was in my room when I was somehow transported to the library.

Tamara knows I’m full of shit but she doesn’t call me on it. When no more words are exchanged, I return to my room, Harlow and Ambrose crowding my space seconds later. It’s a bit strange being squashed between these two, their essence swirling around me and dancing along my neck and arms. I can feel my mark spreading a sort of calm through me as if they’re somehow able to soothe my emotions.

“I really don’t like you going off alone, babe. Tamara might not want to hurt you but if you’re just a student in their eyes? They’re going to treat you the same way they do all the rejects.”

I hadn’t thought about it like that but I can’t just stay cooped up in my room forever. Ambrose remains quiet as I slip from between them, holding out my arm. “This has to protect me somehow. I mean, I merely rub it and all of you would show up as well. Hell, when Ambrose touched his, it was kind of the same thing. A lot more… other feelings too but that’s not the point. I don’t need to stay cooped up here. If we’re ever going to get any answers-”

Harlow’s essence bursts forth, a much darker blue than usual. I have no idea why he’s so angry but I instinctively take a step back, Ambrose there to wrap a protective arm around my waist.

“Babe, I’m just so fucking angry that it’s so dangerous here for you. That no matter what I’ve done to protect you, you keep getting shit thrown at you. I thought four years ago, that would be the end of it. I’d be your little ghost boyfriend until I couldn’t and you’d live a long and happy life. And now you’re stuck here, goddess knows why, right in the thick of everything!” His brows furrow as his form flickers. It’s been a little while since Harlow slipped out of existence to avoid a situation.

“You’ve done more than enough, Harlow but we can’t just give Mother Nature the middle finger—whatever her plan is.”

That doesn’t calm Harlow at all as he grits his teeth together. “If this is just going to be more of the same until we figure out whatever she’s trying to tell us, I might lose my fucking mind.” Then he disappears altogether and I sag against Ambrose’s chest.

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