Page 346 of Sigils & Spells

SMH.

“Tana? Brandon? Where are you guys? I passed! I finally passed!”

Jade came hobbling into my secret little clearing, waving her tablet in hand. The earth witch had been worrying all semester about failing. Whatever. She was a smarty pants, and we all knew it. But I was glad she was happy.

“Jade! What the hell happened?” I gasped, standing up to run to my friend’s side.

One leg was in a cast, and she had a pair of crutches dangling under one armpit. Brandon turned to see if we needed help, but must have drawn his own conclusions since the tiny female could not shut up about her class.

“Today was the final exam in Earthquake Anatomy, and we were supposed to show the class a small demonstration on a model, only, well, mine went a little far.”

“A little far? Jade, what the hell happened?” I asked again.

“OMG, fine! I created a mini earthquake in the Tellus Coven Ampitheatre,” she said shrugging her shoulders up to her ears.

“Ah, I thought I heard a rumble,” Brandon commented, and I glared at my mate.

“A little rumble? She could have died!”

“No way. I can move dirt and rocks and stuff, Tana. I was fine,” she said.

“Fine? Then explain that,” I said, glaring at the cast.

“Oh, well, that happened because Emma Jacobs, that hoity toity brat, was playing damsel in distress. What do I know? I thought she needed help, so I used some magic to move a few rocks, then she started screaming, and the rest of the class panicked, and well, I tripped over a crevice, dropped a twenty pound piece of granite on my ankle, and I have to wear this freaking thing for a month,” she mumbled. “But I passed!”

I threw my arms around Jade, pulling her in for a tight squeeze. This bubbly, bouncy, friendly earth witch was going to be the death of me. I turned my head at Brandon’s sudden snarl, picking up what he must have already heard.

Someone was coming.

“Brandon?”

“Not one of ours,” he confirmed, and I moved in front of Jade.

“What is it? Should I call the girls?” she asked.

“Miss Montrose? Miss Montrose! Finally, there you are,” the young wizard grumbled, and I recognized him as Arlo Glenn.

He was a student at Westwood Academy, affiliated with the healing magics, if my memory was correct. I recalled seeing him when I had been in the infirmary, recovering from my encounter with Miss Stolbright, who had not been seen on campus since. Anyway, it explained why the wizard was racing after Jade with a bag in hand.

“You know, I would not have spent forty-eight minutes setting up charms to mend your leg if I’d have known you were going to flout my orders,” he grumbled, kneeling in front of Jade to check on the cast.

“You followed me all the way out here?” she asked, eyes wide.

“Well, yes. You need your healing potion. Besides, you’re,er, you’re my patient,” Arlo said, and I noticed his cheeks had gone all ruddy.

“Oh,” Jade replied, appearing disappointed.

“That’s it, this is coming undone. Let’s go,” Arlo said, standing up and taking hold of Jade’s shoulders.

“Oh, I was just talking to my roommate—”

“Perfect. Here, you can follow with these,” Arlo said, handing me the crutches and potion, and Jade’s other personal effects. The woman brought a huge purse filled with enough snacks, water bottles, portable charges, and a million other things everywhere she went. Even when she was just walking to the trash chute.

Jade’s brows furrowed, and I could tell the earth witch was ready to blow. Too bad the blond giant was having none of that.

“I suggest you stop speaking now, Miss Montrose, or I might drop you,” he winked at me as he leaned down and scooped my petite roomie up into his brawny arms, princess-style.

“Hey! I am too heavy! You can’t possibly carry me—”

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