Page 9 of Baneful Magick

“I mean,youcan get it if you want.” I gestured to my house. “Though I’d be careful. My ma is not a morning person…. or night person in this case. Basically, she just needs to wake up on her own, or you’ll wish you were anywhere else.”

The fae slowly shook his head, the bones clanking together with the movement. “You’re not going to fight me?”

“Am I supposed to?” I asked, genuinely curious.

He took another step closer to me. “Most do.”

“I’ve never had any fae sneak up to meet me, much less two separate ones. Now, I just feel special,” I replied calmly, disregarding my racing heart. Was it his nearness or the weight of his gaze on me? I wasn’t sure. It wasn’t fear that made me so aware of him, and Cassius’ silence was starting to get to me more than I wanted to admit. “Can I assume you’re from Greywood?”

“Yes,” he replied after a few moments of silence. “Your things will arrive at Greywood on their own. No need to get them yourself.”

“I need to tell my mom?—”

“There is also a note on your bed saying you are at the conservatory,” he interrupted, still studying me. “You’re really not going to fight?”

“I thought asking questions was rude.” I arched an eyebrow at him as I completely ignored the fact I had asked plenty of my own questions.

“You are strange.”

I grinned, leaning the bat against my garden gate. “Thank you.”

‘Beastie, what the fuck are you doing?’Cassius finally spoke up.

‘Going to school, apparently?’

‘A little bit of a fight would be wise.’

‘But this is throwing him off more than fighting actually would. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a fae so confused.’To that, Cassius had no response, but I could tell he wasn’t entirely happy with my reasoning.

“Come.” The high fae reached out a hand before freezing. Not letting him retract the offer, I took his hand and wrapped my arm around his to allow him to take me with him. He tensed at the touch, but it was surprise that I sensed within him, not dislike.

“To Greywood, or am I off to the fae world for all kinds of nefarious things?”

‘One day, beastie, you’ll need a filter between that mind and mouth of yours.’

‘I blame you for traumatizing me in my youth.’

The fae slowly blinked as if he didn’t know how to take my teasing, so I took pity on him and sighed dramatically. “Can I at least know what to call you? Or should I go with Bones?”

‘I swear to the gods I’ll haunt you in every next life if you get killed.’

‘Promise?’

A rumbling laugh ground out of the fae next to me before he grinned ferociously. “If you dare, witch.”

“I always do,” I purred. “Bones.”

Then shadows darker than the night enveloped us, and I lost all sense of direction. Up was down and left was right, but Bones was my constant. We stared at each other, forgetting everything else as we were transported to our destination.

Ignoring the way my stomach dropped when we stopped moving and landed, I kept my gaze on the fae in front of me. He shifted, and I let my arm slip away from him.

“I’d say good luck, but I do believe we will need it more than you will.”

That’s when I noticed that my hands no longer ached. Looking around, I saw I was indeed at Greywood Conservatory. Towering stone buildings stood all around me, and I was just one among a crowd of other supernaturals in various states of dress.Guess I wasn’t the only one snatched in the middle of the night.

Like a normal human campus, there were different types of buildings around us, encircling a large open space. The land and structures felt old, and there was a sense of magick in the air from both the Greywood itself and my not-so-calm peers, some of whom were still trying to fight off their “kidnappers.”

“This is going to be fun.” A smile took over my face, and I threw back my head with laughter when I felt the welcome of the forest behind me. I could feel the call of plants singing out to me, beckoning me to come explore.

---