Page 1 of Baneful Magick

Chapter 1

Isla

FRIDAY

“Ring around the rosie,

A pocket full of posies.

Ashes! Ashes!

We all fall down!”

Isang the twisted children’s rhyme as I walked among my garden of poison, my fingers trailing along the deadly and beautiful white petals of jimsonweed. The tendrils of the plant curled around my hand, the lethal seeds calling to me as my singing faded into the early evening fog.

Dark murmurings filled my head, and a smile curled my black-stained lips. Someone was watching me from the shadows, and I couldn’t wait to see them make their way through my garden. Jimsonweed was just one of the poisonous plants I grew here. Wolfsbane, yew trees, and oleander were some of my other favorites in this part of my garden.

My moms didn’t want me to become too extravagant with my plants, limiting me to a small fenced-in section, but I was determined to convince them I needed a greenhouse soon. Eventhough I was working on my plans to move out, I knew I wouldn’t be able to take everything with me.

Some of these plants wouldn’t survive the move, and some were too deadly to even chance moving. I’d miss them, but if I could create a beautiful home for them and take care of them on my visits home, it would work out. Plus, they wouldn’t want any of my siblings to get into them… What a disaster that would be.

A branch snapped behind me, and I tilted my head, not bothering to turn around to see who was there.

“You might as well show yourself if you’re brave enough to enter my domain,” I called out, my voice husky and deep. “I have enough weapons within reach that I have nothing to fear from you.”

“A bold claim,” a honeyed voice replied, then I heard the brush of fabric along the grassy path. “But I’m impressed with your audacity to remain with your back turned to me.”

“You’ve invaded my private garden at my family home. It is notIwho should be worried,” I retorted.

Slowly turning around, I arched an eyebrow. The unknown man in front of me would have instantly piqued my interest if not for the invasion of my space. His wavy ash-blond hair fell messily in front of his face, though it didn’t hide the orange and red eyes that were fixed on me as he stepped even closer. He had on a black coat with beautiful detail work along the edges, which were so long they skimmed the ground.

Maybe he was intimidating to others, but considering who my moms were, he would need to try harder to make me nervous.

“My eyes are up here,” he teased.

I ignored the suggestive sentence and focused on the intricate design of the coat. It appeared to be hand-stitched. “Your coat is beautiful.”

“It was a gift,” he replied, a hint of true happiness brightening his tone. I looked up to meet his gaze, realizing he was close enough that I could see specks of black in his odd-colored eyes. He held out an envelope with my name scrawled across it in swirling cursive. “Take it.”

“Why should I? Didn’t you ever learn to not take things from strangers?”

He remained silent for a moment before laughter burst from him, amusement clear in the ringing tone. “The dean was right. You’re going to be fun, Isla Hallowes.”

“How do you know my name?!” I asked, wanting to hide when I remembered it was on the damn envelope he was holding out. I took a half a step back from him, suddenly very aware of how alone we were at the moment.

“Welcome to Greywood Conservatory, witchling. May the baneful darken your days and illuminate your nights.”

With that cryptic parting, he stepped into my personal space and tucked the envelope in the pocket of my jacket. His closeness was intoxicating. I had no other way to describe the exhilarating feeling that rushed over my body as I breathed in the smoke and ash scent that surrounded him.

As if he could tell what I was feeling, his fiery gaze flicked up to meet mine, his lips parted in shock and pupils blown. One minute, he was standing there, and in a blink, he was gone.What the actual fuck is going on?

The heady feeling didn’t disappear with him. It flicked along my body until darkness took over my vision. A chill ran down my spine that had nothing to do with the cold, and a deep growl echoed in my mind. With it, the lust vanished.

This is ridiculous.

‘The envelope, little beastie,’Cassius rumbled.‘Focus with something other than those damned hormones trying to fuck everything.’

‘Real rich coming from you,’I shot back at the voice in my head. Cassius, the soul who’d been attached to me for as long as I could remember, was just a pain in the ass. He filled my life with random commentary and orders whenever he felt like it.

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