Page 54 of Forbidden Magic
I’m fucked. He’s boning the girl I just punched.
But as his cold stare flicks to Lydia, his gray eyes soften, and he throws a look back at his lover with a sad frown. “You did this, didn’t you?”
“I—I” Jessa stutters, her eyes wide.
The other students are all here now, staring. Allie looks grim among them, her arms wrapped around her red academy jacket.
“Flynn. Detention for a week,” Mr. Brady barks at the tall Fae. “Jessa and Julia… pack up your stuff. You’ll be meeting the headmistress at three.”
“But—” Jessa’s voice breaks, a crack wide enough for tears to flood in, and I watch her with newfound interest. Maybe she’s not just fucking the teacher. Maybe she likes him.
Mr. Brady’s jaw is tight, his teeth clenched hard enough to pulverize diamonds. “I don’t want to hear it. Break it off. If you so much as brush each other again, you’ll be suspended pending a formal investigation.”
The shifter trots off like he’s about to burst into a horse and stomp on us all.
“You’re lucky he intervened,” Flynn seethes, inches from my face. His hot breath reeks of the same spicy scent as Cole.
“What were you going to do? Drown me in insults?” It’s dangerous to poke a bear, but I want to fillet Flynn until he’s in tears, and I’ve never felt that way before. It stings, the bitterness at the back of my throat pulsing every time I look at him.
Energy sparks off his hand, but he buries it in his black hoodie. “We can pick this up in Duel. I want a rematch.”
“I’ll tear your face off.”
“It’ll be my pleasure to send you to your grave, mortal. And the first one who yields has to quit the class.”
“You’re on.” As soon as the words leave my mouth, I know I messed up. I’m too proud to go back on a bet, but I need Duel to become a Magus. I shake his hand, my skin screaming in revulsion.
This was a pretty stupid bet to take, especially when Flynn beat me last time we faced each other, but that was weeks ago.
I’m prepared now; I can make him bleed.
And boy do I want to wipe that smirk off his face and see a bruise mar his perfect Fae skin.
21
The Devil Wears a Tiara
Cold eyes. Calculating gaze. Hateful vibe.
The woman in front of me is terribly beautiful, but her aquiline nose and piercing gaze aren’t exactly inviting. Her short black hair finishes right above her pointy ears, and the mid-night blue pantsuit hugs her lean arms like a second skin. She clearly doesn’t eat, but she doesn’t look frail.
I bite my bottom lip, squirming in my seat, and hold her hollow stare. Her office is at the back of the house and has its own entrance. I wonder why the headmistress wouldn’t keep her office near the administration only to remember Celeste Draco isn’t your typical headmistress.
She’s a Fae.
A Fae queen, a fact that is made crystal-clear by the intricate jade, silver and diamond tiara sitting on her head.
She is also Cole’s mother. Fae wives don’t take their husbands’ surname, and I remember Dad mentioned the Dracos once or twice over the years. Jillian Draco is the High Council’s treasurer, and her sister rules Dark Falls. No wonder they’re such a powerful family.
I bet she gets to do whatever the hell she wants. Like her son. Who liveshere.
She wets her red-painted lips impossibly slowly, her disdain betraying a hint of recognition as she reads Mr. Brady’s note. “JuliaWinslow. Why am I not surprised?”
“Huh?”
Hands twined over her desk, she jerks a glance to the Fae sitting next to me. “Jessa. What happened?”
“She punched me,” Jessa says through her teeth.
