Page 25 of Blood & Betrayals

Professor Henley tilts her head, showing the Elder Futhark rune drawn on her skin just above her collar. It glows as she holds up her hand, sending her desk a foot away before pulling it back.

“This is push and pull. It can be accomplished with the more common Archaic Latin and Ancient Greek runic languages that Ambrose teaches you. But it is the utilization of each runic language combined with the being’s most powerful intentions that makes the greatest of spell casters.” She chuckles. “You’d never catch the headmaster using Archaic Latin or Infernal to move a desk, and that is the truth.”

The class lets out a chuckle of understanding, but I barely hear. I take down every word she says, my hand flying across the page in my notebook. My brain feels alight with the prospectof learning about this language and the ways these runes differ from the ones I already know. My thirst for knowledge was something I’d never truly been able to entertain, especially in the realm I came from. In my world, the reality of the arcane world was relegated to myths and fairytales.

When I was young, my caretaker forced me to lock my power away. Later, after Torin, I repressed it myself, pushing it so deep that I could only hear the whispers of it beckoning me, a haunting echo from behind an impenetrable wall. Even so, I could never extinguish my love of runes and the magic they hold. Though, without the full use of my powers, they are never as strong or effective as they should be.

Professor Henley turns back to the blackboard and writes out the Elder Futhark alphabet along with each character’s meaning in both the common tongue and a further translation into Latin.

“Once you have copied these down, I would like you to start on a 5,000-word paper on your current knowledge of runes. Include the implications of using them and the advantages of using them over base magic.”

The second I finish copying the alphabet, I dive into the text she assigned for research and start taking notes. I am so engrossed that I don’t notice the time, and class seems to end in a blink.

“Thank you, everyone! I am available for questions, but the papers are due by the end of class on Thursday. Until then!” Professor Henley says, dismissing us.

She waits a few moments but opens a portal when no one approaches her with questions. The rift glows brightly, the edges curling with yellow and green light. She steps into it, disappearing from view.

Alice is waiting outside my class, scrolling through her phone. She smiles when she sees me. “Ready for lunch?”

I nod. “How was your class?”

“Boring. My father insisted on me taking a class on the vampire monarchy. I think he’s hoping to radicalize me, and this is his last-ditch effort to get me on his side. How was your other runes class?”

I frown, wondering what she means. There is something about her demeanor that has shifted, and I sense that she cannot say anymore about the subject without exploding into a furious rage.

“Oh! It was fascinating! We were learning about…” Alice’s lips are pulled into a supportive smile, but her eyes are already glazed over with a look of soul-destroying boredom. I laugh. “Never mind.”

I sigh when I notice that our table from yesterday is not empty. Connor fucking Morningstar is sitting in the exact seat I sat in yesterday, his eyes sparkling with mischief. Alice covers her mouth, and I can tell she’s doing it to hide her smirk. Asshole.

We collect our food before walking to the table we’ve lovingly dubbedours, even if Connor is sitting there. I sit at the other side of the table, intending to ignore him. Connor is immediately on his feet, rounding the table and sitting right beside me. His thigh brushes against mine as he turns his large body to face me.

Hundreds of phones start going off, the sound of the alerts filling the canteen. Alice frowns, and I look around, watching people read their screens intently. Even Connor pulls his phone from his pocket and checks it.

I open my yogurt. “Your brothers are lost without you. How can they possibly breathe without the golden brother watching over them?” I snark, eating a spoonful of peach-flavored yogurt.

Connor’s deep laugh surrounds me like a blanket, and I can’t help the shiver of pleasure.

“You think you got me pegged, huh?” he asks.

Connor’s phone alerts again. “Shouldn’t you be checking your phone to read the message from… whoever is in this thousand-person group chat you have going on?”

“Nah, it’s just an alert,” he replies with a shrug, not taking his eyes off me.

“Who knows? It might be one of your million friends or followers desperately needing your attention.”

His lips curl into a half-smile. “The only person I want attention from is an evasive, beautiful fae.”

Alice rolls her eyes so hard I can practically hear it.

“Evasive and beautiful? Who could you mean? I’ve heard that Landon is pretty hard to get to know. I could get you an in, though,” I replied snidely.

Connor laughs again, and the sound is so full and infectious that I have to work to hold back my own. “So, are you going to be my date on Friday?”

“After I’ve put all this effort into setting you up with Landon? Ungrateful.”

Alice cackles into her blood bag.

Connor hooks his finger under my chin and gently tilts my head up so I meet his gaze.

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