Page 46 of Baneful Magick

‘Obviously, the magick and prophecy, Isla,’he chastised me.

‘I don’t know what was said when the magick went through me,’I told him, watching his brow furrow. He looked to be cussing under his breath.‘Do you?’

‘No. You should ask one of those boys.’

‘You mean Wells and Echo?’

‘We need to write it down. It could be tied to the greenhouse itself.’

I paused, wanting to ask Cassius more. It felt like he was avoiding telling me things, though it didn’t seem like he was lying. Right now, it was more like omission. He had information, but he just didn’t want to give it to me. If I pushed this, it could go one of two ways. He could be honest, sharing information or at the very least telling me he didn’t want to discuss it right now, or he would lie. I didn’t like the idea of being lied to, especiallyby someone who shared my brain and body with me, but I had to take the chance.

‘Cas?’

‘Yes?’

‘The greenhouse... It felt alive, and it felt familiar. Do you know why that is?’

Cas studied me, and something about the look in his eyes told me that he was about to pick option two.

‘No idea.’

Fucking liar.

After spendinghours working on homework in our suite, we all went to the dining hall to eat dinner. Aizel stayed close to his brother while keeping a possessive hand on Zhara the entire time. Whatever dating/not dating thing they had going on, Aizel and Zhara looked content with simply being near each other. It was such a one-eighty from our first run-in with the twins that I could barely suppress my laughter.

Focusing on Wells, I found him reading a book under the table while trying to eat sushi. He was failing miserably since the food was hanging just halfway to his mouth while he stared at his book.

"Wells." I called his name gently, nodding at the food when he jerked next to me. He blushed, giving me an awkward thank you before finally putting the entire thing in his mouth.

"So, I have questions," Echo said out of the blue, drawing all of our attention to him. "Your note said something about a horse brother?"

I threw back my head with laughter, unable to contain my delight when Zhara and Wells started choking. Aizel grinned. He seemed happy that his brother was talking again.

"I'm adopted," I told them once I managed to get my laughter under control. "Demir, my older brother, is a kelpie."

"Your parents adopted different kinds of supes?" Zhara asked, her eyes wide. "Sorry, I don't mean that in a rude way, just?—"

"I get it." I nodded, not offended by the question. It was one of the first things people asked me when they heard about my family. "My moms can't have kids, and they didn’t care what kind of supernatural we are. Hell, only two of my younger siblings are the same type of supe, but it’s never mattered to any of us."

"Do you mind if I ask what types of supes?" Wells asked, disregarding the book on his lap. Apparently, my life was more interesting.

"Witch, kelpie…" I counted them off with my fingers as I started to list them off. "Wolves, fae, and siren. So far, anyway. They finish raising some of us, but they hate an empty house, so they adopt more kids."

"That's crazy. In a good way," Wells said hastily when I shot him a questioning look. "My family... It wouldn't go over well. Let's just leave it at that."

"What are your moms?" Zhara asked, leaning forward to hear more.

"A fury and a vampire," I told her with a grin. "They're awesome."

"Well, I see why you aren't nervous about self-defense," Aizel said, both he and his brother shifting in their seats both appearing uneasy.

"I was suspended for a while because of bullies at the academy. Apparently, stabbing isn't the answer, so Demir andmy ma taught me how to defend myself. I'm definitely interested to see how much more I can learn from Professor Falke though. If I can kick Demir's ass when I see him again, he'll never live it down."

Aizel and Echo laughed, sharing a look that I totally understood. That innate sibling rivalry was ingrained in everyone. It wasn't something toxic, but there was definitely a need to one up each other whenever possible.

"Figures you're from some mixed-breed household," an annoying voice announced from behind me.

Turning around, I saw it was build-a-bitch Barbie and her group of friends staring at me with judgy, disgusted looks. Sadly, the supernatural world was full of as much prejudice as the human world we hid away from. Supes stuck to their own kinds unless absolutely necessary.

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