Page 40 of Wicked Heirs

I didn’t fucking know.

The closest I’d come to figuring it out was when he’d said my attraction toward him had corrupted my spell that had been intended to blast through his magic and then drive him to his knees.

It seemed to have opened us both up to the utmost raw emotion of desiring someone without all the reservations and reasons for not acting on it stripped away. It was like if you noticed someone attractive and you’d just pass on by and barely acknowledge the sentiment and just get on with your life. But my magic, the way I’d released it while feeling that, had deepened things and made it impossible to just ignore.

That night of the party it had come to a head.

And the whole Academy had borne witness to it.

Fortunately, I wasn’t easily embarrassed, especially not about something like that. I was open-minded and free. It was the way I’d lived my life for the last two years. So, I’d managed to just let it roll off my back, and to own it—the acts themselves,notthe part about it being Orpheus who I’d done that with.

I just needed to keep away from him and it would bury it. It had been working for the last week without us coming into contact in any way whatsoever, thank goodness. Fortunately, it was easy to keep away from him because he was only in the advanced classes, given his level of magical ability.

And right now, I was sitting inFoundations of Spellcasting.

I resumed my focus on what mattered and stared at the single candle on my desk. Just like the setup for all the students around me.

I was at the middle desk, as we all listened to the very pleasant Professor Dominique Targus, a witch, who I also had for my herbal class.

I’d been trying to ignore the unsettling feeling of that bastard, Talon Creed, boring metaphorical holes into the back ofmy head as he sat at the desk right at the rear of the class, with Xavier one over from him.

“Not all magic-wielders require incantations to use their magic. Nephilim, Fallen, Dark Fae and expert Sorcerers. Their power is so potent, their will suffices,”she was saying as she walked back and forth in front of the mammoth whiteboard that filled the front wall of the big classroom that held over forty students.

Apparently, this was a very popular class, even those not first year students—like Xavier and Talon—still taking it into their later years, because it was such an expansive and important subject, there was always more to learn. Although, the way I understood it, students like them also took it in conjunction withAdvanced Spellcastingwhich was taught by the sorcerer, Callum Cornwell.

Professor Targus adjusted her white ruffle blouse that stood in stark contrast to her bright-pink dress pants and complimented her spiky platinum blonde hair. “All right, let’s begin. This task seems simple on the surface, but it can actually be mired by complications if your conviction and concentration aren’t up to par. Light your candle.”

I sucked in a breath and cracked my knuckles, readying myself and trying to get into the right headspace.

It was only a small spell.

It would only require a tiny amount of magic—a sprinkling really.

It wouldn’t tap into anything dangerous, and it wouldn’t risk taxing me or, thereby growing out of control.

ThisI could do.

Just like the small food items conjuring.

I shifted my weight on my chair, then cupped the candle in my hands and concentrated.

I felt my power rise and I let it out, just a tad, watching as the flame flickered into being, the candle lighting.

I smiled to myself at how easy it had been.

Or so I thought until the flame started rising, then flickering wildly, growing and growing beyond what should be possible.

As students around me started to notice, crying out in warning, gasping, some chattering with amusement, the flames became swirling like a tornado of fire.

I jerked back from my desk and frantically sought out the professor.

She was over on the other side of the room.

Fortunately, a couple of the students she was helping with this exercise in conviction and control pointed her toward the situation with me, and she came running.

As she did, I heard laughter amongst all the rest.

I swung my head to see Talon smirking nastily at me as he twirled his finger, his movements matching that of the fire.

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