Page 61 of Monster's Mystery

Aiden grabbed my hand. “Modify it,” he said, calculating out loud for me until I caught onto his plan. It felt more like I was forcing a spell through the equation than the delicate work we had done in Professor Reynold’s classroom, but when I opened my eyes again, the ley lines were invisible once more.

Instead, I was able to see the soft green of the forest’s innate magic curling within each plant and tree. The two men blazed with power beside me, and I knew that if I looked at myself, I would be the same.

I squinted, trying to see past the swirls of natural magic, to see where it was tied, where it was pulling away from the verdant life of the forest.

Taking a couple steps forward, Aiden trailing behind me, still holding my hand, I stopped right in front of a tree. Hair-fine threads were spinning off from the trunk, leading deeper into the forest. I squatted down to get closer to the plants, and they were doing the same thing.

“Got it,” I said, standing up again. “It’s incredibly faint, but I think I have a trail to follow.”

“Lead on,” Aiden said. “We’ve got your back.”

“All right.” I swallowed down my fear of getting lost in the forest, and stepped in, my hands outstretched, almost touching the fine threads of magic that spooled off into the distance.

I was able to see for a very different reason than last time, the innate magic of each living being shining in my sight, rather than needing a spell to fool my eyes into thinking it was daylight. It was very weird. There wasn’t a better word for it.

An empty clearing was coming up ahead of me, and I eagerly stepped into it, looking around with my magic, trying to spot the end of the thread of magic.

“Why did you lead us back to the academy?” Bruce asked.

“I... What?” I removed the spell, and sure enough, I was facing the wall of the castle a hundred yards from where we’d entered the forest. “I don’t understand! I thought we were walking straight into the forest?”

“We did, but it curved back so gradually that we exited again,” Aiden said. “You might not have noticed with the spell on, but we barely walked ten paces into the forest.”

“No!” I gaped at him in shock. Then it hit me. “No, no, no, no, no!” I cried, each one getting louder. I stomped my foot. “I will not be beaten by this, this, thisforest!” I whirled around, casting my spell again. This time, I looked for a plant’s flow of magic instead of a tree’s. The furl of green wafted away from the plant, and I stomped after it, not caring what heard me.

The men followed silently behind.

I was sure they had no idea what to do with me. I certainly had never lost my temper like this in front of Aiden before, let alone Bruce, who I barely knew. I took deep breaths to calm myself down in anticipation of the spell leading me back to the castle once more.

I was glad that I had, because when the bit of green that I was following ended, I was once again back at the clearing around the academy.

I growled, “It’s like they were just... cut!” I made snipping motions with my fingers in the air. “Whatever was tethering them was cut off, and the plants haven’t figured it out yet, so they haven’t pulled their magic back in!” I seethed for a few minutes, staring up at the starry sky, blinking back tears.

Warm hands rested gently on my shoulders. “I’m sorry that this didn’t work out the way we wanted it to. Why don’t we take tonight to rest and come back to it tomorrow morning with fresh minds?” Aiden said soothingly, his voice barely above a whisper.

I wanted to rail at him, scream, beat at him with my fists, anything that would make me feel better. Instead, I twisted around and buried my face in his chest, my tears immediately soaking through the fabric.

He rocked me slightly, his arms squeezing me tightly and anchoring me in my frustration.

“I’m just going to...” Bruce trailed off.

“I’ll meet you in our room in a bit,” Aiden said, his voice echoing pleasantly in his chest under my ear.

“You sure?” Bruce asked.

I sniffed. “I’ll be fine. I just... I wasn’t expecting this setback.”

“I’m sorry,” Bruce said, and then he was gone.

“Do you want to return to the dance?” Aiden asked. “We haven’t been gone too long.”

I shook my head. “No, I think I’d prefer it if you fucked me within an inch of my life.”

Aiden let out a bark of laughter. “Your wish is my command, my lady.”

CHAPTER17

The first thingAiden made me do when we re-entered the castle was transfigure my sweater back into a necklace.

---