Page 31 of Forbidden Magic
The kiss was fine. No, the kiss wasgood.
He held my hair while I puked my heart out yesterday, and I thought he would shove me in the friend zone, but apparently my barfing habits aren’t as deterring as I’d thought.
The back of my neck prickles from the hateful glare Jessa is throwing my way.
Trent brushes my shoulder. “You made an enemy yesterday.”
I hug my knees. A handful of students stroll in and sit in the other section. From the skirts and blazers, I gather they aren’t here to partake in the class.
“People can watch us fight?” I ask, surprised.
“Are you kidding? Half the boys here only take the class because they want to get laid.”
I wet my lips. “Which half are you?”
He wiggles his brows suggestively, and I smack his arm.
Mr. Osbourne whistles, the sound made thunderous by an amplification spell. His voice resonates across the dunes. “Welcome to Duel class, better known as get-your-ass-kicked-weekly-by-choice.”
The students snicker, and a few “you’re going down” and “pray for your mama” resonate across the sand.
Mr. Oz looks different here than he did yesterday at the library. He takes up more space. His feet dig in the sand, a large gap between them, and his back is straight. The inquisitive gray eyes stare right at us in turn. “You’re either here because you want to show off or because you want to try your hand at one of the most dangerous and selective career path in the three realms. Make no mistake, half the students from last quarter are gone, and half of you will not return. This is not only about raw power, this is about strategy and cunning. If I didn’t fail half of you, I wouldn’t be doing my job. It’s not shameful, either. Not everybody is made for this life.”
The sand scratches underneath his shoes when he strolls closer to the bleachers. “We’ll do one on one skirmishes for now, so I can see what the newbies are made of. Alphabetical order. The first one to yield has to write an essay on his opponent’s powers and why they failed to beat them for next week.” He peeks at his notepad. “Bastiani and Desyris. Will you do the honors?”
Cole peels himself off his seat and stretches gingerly, arms above his head. From my lower position on the steps, I catch a glimpse of his bare stomach, the bottom of his sculpted abs visible for a moment. With a slightly bored expression, he climbs down, not sparring Trent or me a glance.
An imp with small leathery wings is already in position in the middle of the pit.
Flynn brings his hands on either side of his mouth. “Ladies and gentlemen, I give you your Prince. Today, he’ll be flattening bad-hair Marco.”
The crowd shouts out encouragements and whistles.
Little red horns stick out of the imp’s shaggy brown hair, and my heart goes out to the guy. Nobody is cheering for him, except maybe me. The audience is under Cole’s spell. The applause doubles when he takes his place in the circle.
His frosty amber gaze roams the crowd.
Our eyes meet for a fleeting moment, and it’s like a million snowflakes are falling down my windpipe, stinging my insides as they melt.
I swallow hard but keep my head high.
I can’t show him he’s getting in my head even though he is. I can’t shake the impression he’s putting on a show for my benefit, but that’s crazy. He just wants to impress his groupies.
A shiver rattles my ribcage, and a stormy wind blows the hood off my head.
Cole snaps his fingers. All of the sudden there are eight copies of him circling around Marco. They are all wearing his trademark smirk.
Marco glances at each one of them in turn.
I draw a sharp intake of breath. Mirror image is an expert-level spell, and a pretty cool one at that. I’d kill to be able to cast it so seamlessly. Last time I tried, my reflections were glitch-y and in black-and-white.
The flawless mirror images of Cole extend their hands, and black wisps of energy crackle from his hand.
My mind flashes back to the shadow I saw in the library, and a bitter ball stings my throat.
It doesn’t look quite the same, the Fae’s powers giving off a bluish, electric current, but it’s close.
The Coles in the pit lunge straight for Marco.
