Page 28 of Shattered Illusion

Something nasty coils in my gut as these chicks flutter their eyelashes at him, but he pays them no mind. It’s that move alone that reminds me he has a girlfriend and wouldn’t be interested in any of us.

The bell finally rings, signaling the start of class, and Thaddeus’ whole demeanor shifts from that of a carefree man to a professor ready to get down to business. Not the kind of business I’d like to get down to with him, but that of the teaching variety.

Shit. Fuck, Bailey. He’s off-limits. Stop thinking about him that way.

At some point, most likely tonight, I’ll have to spend a littlemetime with myself and take care of this lust coursing through my veins. I’m sure it’s only because he and I have basically spent every moment of the past few days together and, at one point,I was practically naked in front of him. Maybe, just maybe, I should call Axel and see if he wants a tumble in the hay. I don’t think he’d turn me down if that kiss we shared was anything to go by.

“Alright, class.” Thaddeus pulls me from my lust-ridden thoughts as he backs away from the circle and starts pacing in front of us, his hands tucked firmly in his pockets. “Today we’re going to continue what we started last week. I want everyone to spread out, make sure you have your own space bubble from the person next to you, and start working on clearing your mind.” Every starts shuffling to open spots as Thaddeus continues. “You need to have a clear mind to focus on your steps to build your portal and the precise location to which you want to go. If you form your portal, remember to not step into it. You could get yourself stuck in the nether if you so much as have one wrong thought.”

Stuck in the nether? He’s joking, right?

The more and more I learn about the world I’m now a part of, the more I wish I never showed up to the lagoon for my awakening. Granted, I’d probably be sitting in jail currently—or possibly holed up in someone’s basement dungeon—but some of the shit they spout is just off-the-wall crazy.

“While you all get started, Miss Matthews, could join me at my desk, please, so I can get you caught up?” A few scowls from the girls—cause who else would it be—follow me as I head to Thaddeus’ desk tucked into the corner of the room.

“Quite the fan club you have,” I mutter quietly, tossing a glare over my shoulder.

Thaddy chuckles, drawing my attention back to him with the wondrous sound. “Ignore them, sunshine,” he murmurs quietly. “I’m more worried about you. What happened today?”

Well, shit. Now I know for sure that my almost puking incident is all over school. Especially if the professors know already.

“Thaddy,” I groan, “it was a nightmare. They were having us make a potion to cure warts. Warts, Thaddy. And if that wasn’t bad enough, have you seen the ingredient list?” I shudder, my gag reflex threatening to kick in again at the mere thought of some of those things.

“Say no more.” He holds his hands up placatingly. “Professor Hannigan brought your stuff to me at lunch since he saw on your schedule that I was your next professor. I put it in my room since you wouldn’t need it for the rest of the day. We can grab it after your last class. Also, Jasper replaced your broken tablet.” Oh, thank gods.

“Thanks, Thaddy. Anything else I need to know?” I rock back on my heels, tucking my hands in my back pockets.

“Just work on focusing your magic. You know where it’s supposed to go.” His words cause me to giggle.

I know where it’s supposed to go. To my portal rune. On my ass.

“Aye, aye, Captain.” I salute him before spinning on my heel and returning to the empty spot in the room I previously claimed as mine. His laughter follows me all the way there, warming my heart.

While Thaddeus walks around the class, quietly speaking to other students, I close my eyes, focusing inward on myself. The first place I go is straight to the source of my magic. My heart. And there it is. Burning brightly. And pink. Unbelievably freaking pink. But it’s so damn close, I feel like I could reach out and touch it if I wanted to.

Taking Thaddy’s advice from the containment room, I grasp the smallest amount of magic I can—just barely a pinch—andstart to push it through my body. Tingles erupt on my skin, following the flow as it courses its way toward my rune.

A snort escapes me, and I break out into a fit of giggles, losing the tenuous hold on my magic as I think about sending my pink power to my butt cheek. Groans from my classmates respond to my giggles, along with a series of muttered curses and people telling me to shush.

Ope. My bad.

But if they only knew.

“Sorry,” I whisper-hiss, grimacing at the major side-eye I’m currently on the receiving end of.

Trying again, I close my eyes and sink back into myself. My magic greets me like a friend, dancing around my subconscious, but when I try to grasp it this time, it zips out of the way. Almost like the damn pink power ball is messing with me. I huff and mentally stomp my feet as it continues to play around instead of just doing the one thing I need it to do. But I refuse to force it like I did last time. I’d probably cause a damn vortex and suck everyone out of the classroom instead of opening a portal.

I don’t know how long I sit there while my magic plays games with me, but finally, it relents, and I get a hold of it again. Right as I start directing it where it needs to go, something bumps into my shoulder, causing me to lose focus.

“Fuck!” I grunt, as my magic slips through my fingers. My eyes fly open, connecting to one of the bitches that scowled at me for talking to Thaddeus.

“Oops. My bad.” The smug grin on her face tells me she knew exactly what she was doing.

“Back to your spot, Gretchen,” Thaddeus grumbles, his finger pointed on the opposite side of the room.

What the fuck. How the hell did she end up all the way over here?

You know what? I don’t even fucking care. She’s like all the other stuck-up bullies in the human sectors. Just because you’re stuck behind a massive wall, doesn’t mean people are kinder to others. I’ll do the same thing with her as I did to the others. Ignore them. She isn’t worth my time, and I refuse to let her hinder what I’m trying to do.

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