Page 240 of Castings & Curses

“Arlo healed me,” I replied with a grin at the sexy wizard, whose hold tightened around my hand.

“He healed you how, Jade? You’re not a shifter, and that was a lot of glass. I can’t imagine how many cuts—”

“One hundred and seventy-two,” Arlo interrupted. “Slices, cuts, and abrasions covered her back, shoulders, neck, and scalp. She had forty-six pieces of glass shrapnel embedded in her skin when she came to the infirmary and had lost a significant amount of blood.”

“Oh my Goddess, Jade,” Enid whimpered.

“I took Jade’s case the second I heard her name and treated her myself, extracting each piece of glass with the utmost care, stitching her skin back together using the smallest needle and thread, and glue where possible. Then I treated her with a special salve I’ve created and have been trying to get a patent on for the past year and a half. It is designed to speed up the healing process—”

“The salve is genius,” I quickly added. “I don’t feel a thing and look at this.” I turned around and tugged on the sleeve of my dress, exposing part of my shoulder and back. Dozens of wounds looked weeks old with shiny, new, pink skin. I was impressed as hell with the healing salve and appreciated Arlo’s efforts, knowing I would have no lasting scars this time around.

“Wow. That is amazing,” Rio said, and the rest of the group agreed.

“I would love to take a look at the ingredient list,” Enok said. “Maybe I can help with the Magical Patent Office,” he added.

“That would be great. It’s almost ready, but I am still tweaking the recipe.”

“Cool. Back toher. Why is she here, Jade?” Tana gestured toward Mabe, and the blood witch bit her bottom lip.

“Mabe is a special case,” Arlo began.

“She needs our help. I know we got off on the wrong foot, but I think we should try again. Professor Armstrong had her placed in this dorm for a reason—”

“Yeah, until she knocked you out with her evil eye!” spat Tana.

“I didn’t give her the evil eye,” Mabe said lamely. “What I did to Jade was much worse, and I don’t blame you for hating me. Look, we tried, it’s not going to work—”

“Damn straight, it won’t work. What do you mean you did something worse to her?” Maia asked angrily.

“Ladies, maybe we should just hear her out—” Enid began, only to be cut off by Rio.

“Excuse me, but you know less than I do about magic. Jade is too sweet and gentle, and we just don’t want her taken advantage of—”

“What did you do?” Tana demanded, slamming her hands on the table.

The men wisely stayed quiet, but the shit was definitely about to hit the fan. I looked at Mabe, her eyes were starting to glow, but I didn’t understand why. She’d just fed on the blood Arlo had brought her, but maybe nervousness made her reach out toward my magic.

“Back up, Tana,” the blood witch said between gritted teeth.

“Make me.”

“Stop it, you guys,” Maia said, moving between them.

Tana’s flames rippled down her arm and Maia conjured wind from the window. Rio gasped, raising her arm, and the sink turned on, allowing her to make a water ball from the liquid pouring from the spout. I’d seen the damage she could do with her magic and swallowed down my fear.

What could I do now?

My friends weren’t listening. They were at each other’s throats, and worst of all, they were talking about me like I was some child who couldn’t take care of myself.

What the heck?

It was one thing for me to get down on myself, another for them to have so little faith in me.

I felt a tug on my powers and heard Mabe gasp. Arlo’s gaze was riveted to mine. His lips were moving, and he was saying my name.

Crap.

I was not about to pass out again in front of the boy I was increasingly hot for.

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