Page 34 of Zero Happily Ever Afters

“Am I the only one who hears it?” Gael hovered sideways, mind lost in perverse musings. “Get a room, you two. And make sure your partners are cool with it. Or better yet, in on it. Foursome fun, yum.”

Kenzo hurled a bolt of hexed electricity at Gael, which he only evaded thanks to his clucking rooster, who kicked his human partner in the head and out of the path before dragging Gael away and back to their coven.

As much as Gael irritated the ever-living fuck out of Kenzo, he silently thanked the irksome boy for his awful timing. Kenzo tasted a bitter compliment lodged in his throat, mixed with memories and sentiment and a craving to bury their past. He didn’t want to release his anger for Caleb, though. Not yet. He wanted to hold onto it, hold onto something between the two, as he believed they had nothing but Kenzo’s rage connecting them anymore.

So Kenzo, being the dramatic, angry brat that he was, decided he’d use what remained of the competition time to beat Caleb to a bloody pulp as his way of acknowledging the branchless kid who he tried to cut out of his heart did, in fact, belong at Gemini Academy. Kenzo didn’t know any other way to express how he saw Caleb as a worthy rival in the industry.

I did my best to pull my attention and telepathy from them, but unfortunately, the cameras and my magic remained locked on the conflict.

The instant their fists collided, they landed a solid hit on each other’s jaw—enough to draw blood, enough to bruise, and almost enough to create a crack of bones. But the crackle came from the collision of their telekinesis.

It rippled in waves from the sheer force of their strikes, yet neither fell back. Instead, they redistributed the flow of telekinesis they kept synced with their levitation root, allowing them to maintain a steady stance in the air as they kicked and punched at one another.

I rubbed my temples, drowning out the prying surface thoughts of other students questioning why two people from the same homeroom coven would be attacking each other. Thestories about each boy painted legends and rumors in the minds of their peers, believing more than anything they must’ve been friends.

After all, they’d faced off against warlocks together, they’d survived demons, devils, criminals, life-threatening ordeals, and stood victorious in last year’s Spring Showcase side-by-side. Not to mention, they did all the same extracurriculars, spending nearly all their free time together. Surely, they were bonded, friends—much like their significant others Gael and Katherine, who connected many of these dots that others had concluded about their introverted boyfriends.

Few people knew Kenzo or the animosity he held toward Caleb. Even fewer knew Caleb or the regret he clung to because he believed he’d surrendered their friendship too easily all those years ago. Sure, everyone knew of the boys. Even the staff and scouts watched in awe of their continued combat.

Uff, speaking of… I winced at the hard kick to the chest Kenzo delivered before knocking Caleb into random bystanders.

The thing was, no one really knew either of the boys well. Kenzo’s aggressive nature kept most at bay, while few had a chance to get to know Caleb since he kept his face buried in a book at all times. All they knew was their reputation.

Caleb headbutted Kenzo with a solid, concentrated blow of telekinesis that allowed him to move in closer and lock one of his arms around Kenzo’s, so he’d have a harder time countering.

The two of them spun round and round, plummeting toward the lava pit, hearts racing, bodies locked in battle, senses distracted by observations of the other’s next move. It didn’t matter. Each boy fought with a fearlessness of consequences, believing failure couldn’t touch them. Not in this moment.

Both of them pivoted, kicking at the other and casting a wide divide between themselves and the lava that splattered chaotically against their channeled telekinesis.

Kenzo cracked his knuckles, pressing his thumbs against his fingers and popping them one at a time, releasing static with each crack.

Caleb weaved around bolts of gray lightning, dodging trace amounts of static that darted across the auxiliary gym. Disruption Kenzo had laced throughout since the competition kicked off.

Once cornered by hex magic in all directions, Caleb closed his eyes and focused on his banishment root. Doing everything possible to draw on the same emotional release Caleb had the day he accessed his perfected casting, he released magic in waves.

Caleb’s banishment cleared the wisps around them and sent the encroaching gray static curling backward on itself. Not enough to silence the magic, but Caleb stalled its pursuit of him. The technique hadn’t gone unnoticed by anyone. Not me. Not the scouts in attendance. And certainly not by Kenzo.

While he didn’t demonstrate a perfected banishment, Caleb came quite close and proved he still had access to such immense, skillful power.

It didn’t take long for the effects on Kenzo’s hex to fade, and he channeled his magic as he prepared to send forth endless bolts of disruption.

They’d each studied the other since day one of arriving at Gemini Academy, yet they’d only fought once, very briefly—because of my own stupidity of pairing them against each other—but now they’d both grown so much. This sparring between them was merely a warmup, an opportunity to gauge the strength and strategy of the other one.

Now, the true fight between them would begin.

BUZZZZZZZZ!

The timer screeched, and everyone froze.

Headmaster Dower took a deep breath, inhaling the tempered lava she’d lain about the floor of the auxiliary gym.

Chanelle cheered for everyone who’d remained afloat for the full hour.

The massive screen above whirled and whipped through names and faces as it calculated who finished among the top ten in each category.

I half-smiled, proud to see each of my homeroom students’ covens land among the top ten, especially since only about a quarter of the students had full teams at this point. Then that glimmer of joy twisted into a snarled frown when Gael’s coven name appeared on the big screen.

4th Place: Ben Dover’s Coven

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