Page 19 of Baneful Magick

Zhara shifted in her seat, and I leaned into her side, offering silent comfort even though I didn’t know if she would accept it. She stiffened, but after letting out a shaky breath, she slowly softened and accepted the gesture.

“This conservatory doesn’t do easy becauseyouwill not thrive with easy. You want handouts? Better leave now. We will accept nothing but your best, and I will tell you a small secret. You have no fucking clue what your best is yet.” The fae sat on the edge of the desk and scanned the crowd. “Now, onto the boring things. You’re all adults, so act like it. Have issues? Deal with it yourself unless youneedto have conservatory staff get involved. There are no appeals when that happens. Everything is taken care of here on campus.”

“What about our families, like talking with them?” a student called out when the professor paused. “My cell hasn’t worked since I got here.”

“There is no signal here for human phones. Use email or whatever magickal ways are at your disposal,” a dry voice answered from the sidelines.

Shock hit me at the sound, but it wasn’t my emotion that had shaken me to the core. It was Cassius’.

‘Cassius?’

Instead of responding, he locked me out and went silent. That, on top of his earlier irritation, raised my concern, but I knew I would have to try to talk to him later. For now, I had to pay attention to what they were saying.

A vampire stepped forward. His strong cheekbones and jawline stood out first, then I saw a scar that traveled from above his left eyebrow, down across his eye, and onto his cheek. He was wearing a light brown suit, and his hands were casually tucked in his pockets.

“If you need a computer but do not have one, the library has plenty for students to use there.” A flash of fangs showed as he continued talking. “No humans are allowed on campus. Anyone caught breaking this rule will be immediately and severely punished.”

All of us students nodded in easy agreement. Humans had no idea we existed, and baneful magick was unpredictable. Keeping our distance from humans was an unspoken rule in our world.

“When you leave here, exit through this door.” The vampire gestured to the door the fae had entered through. “Tables are set up by family name, and that’s where you can get your schedule. Classes start tomorrow. I would advise you to find the buildings today, but that is ultimately up to you.”

“And if you have any questions,” the fae interjected smoothly, “feel free to ask Julian here. He’s the head librarianand there to be of service. I am not so accommodating, so don’t bother finding me.”

The vampire merely inclined his head in mocking agreement given the half smile that curled his lips.

“Dismissed.” The fae waved a hand, and the door at the front opened with a loudswoosh.

Aizel whistled. “That’s some tension.”

“Wonder what the hell kind of classes we have to take,” Zhara said.

“Let’s get going before we’re waiting here for hours, trying to get through,” Echo declared, stretching his arms above his head before standing up.

“Gotta love being dropped in here with no actual direction,” Wells mumbled, his brow furrowed in annoyance, and I chuckled at his irritation.

“Where’s the fun if we have directions?” I teased, shuffling behind Aizel as we made our way to the center aisle.

Wells didn’t comment, or if he did, I didn’t hear him. We got down to the front and made our way out to the hallway. Tables lined the walls, with signs floating above each of them to show us where we should go.

We split up, getting our own lines so we could grab our schedules. Wells followed me to my line. He rubbed the back of his neck and said Hawthorne by way of explanation. My eyebrows raised in surprise at him naming one of the most prominent and powerful witch covens in North America.

A Hawthorne with baneful magick? That wasn’t something you heard of every day. I figured witches from a coven with that amount of prestige would have the influence to keep his tutoring private.What did he do to draw the attention of Greywood?

“You?” he asked when I didn’t say anything.

“Hallowes,” I replied.

Wells sighed when I didn’t say more. “You’re not going to act all weird now, are you?”

“I’m always weird,” I joked, then grabbed his arm and forced my arm to loop around his. He looked down at our arms entwined and then down at my face since he had a few inches on me. “But I do plan on annoying you with all kinds of random questions.”

“Names?” a rough voice called out.

“Hallowes, Isla,” I replied sweetly as Wells said his. We were quickly handed papers and dismissed. There were a few hundred students here, but we had managed to get our schedules in about ten minutes. Voices were loud in the hallway, with people comparing classes and groaning at early times. I tugged Wells and led the way outside. Scanning the crowd, I was relieved to find Zhara a ways off, sitting under a tree.

We made our way through the crowd until I let go of Wells to drop down on the grass beside the wolf. She grinned at me, mirth making her eyes bright, then looked up at Wells. He didn’t sit down right away. The witch appeared almost…nervous, though I had no idea what could be the matter.

“Wells, sit down before I trip you. You happened to sit down beside a group of people that attach quickly, so you’re stuck with us now.”

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