Page 69 of Forbidden Magic
Calling forth this magic isn’t that much different than calling on my elemental powers. It’s a path less traveled, but the door was smashed open by what I did the other day, and as soon as Miss Eillis asks me to breathe and connect with that incredibly scary part of me, I find it again with ease. Ants run along my arms, prickling beneath my skin like a lost limb that sparks to life again. It feels like mine, but also eerie.
The magic sparks off my fingers, purple veins running along my arms. I recoil from the intensity of it, but the more I try to set it loose, the more it spreads, clinging to my fingers. Long dark strands lick my hands until a tremor engulfs me from head to toe.
Miss Eillis twines our fingers, and the power melts into her, the wisps of smoke disappearing into nothingness. “Good. That’s very nice for a first try.”
“It feels… untamable.”
“It’s wild, not untamable. We will practice again. Every day if we have to, until you learn to disengage by yourself.”
She leaves with my empty cup, my mind full of questions.
* * *
Later in the day,I’m walking out of History of Magic with Trent when we both reduce our pace at the sight before us. Across the main pathway, Lydia is arguing with Blane.
Blane’s arm is wrapped around Lydia’s shoulders as he leads her toward a dark corner. She’s shaking her head vehemently, but the snake shifter pushes her along.
“I’ve got it.” Trent hurries off and puts himself in their paths.
Blane shouts something that I can’t hear, but Trent gives him one dark look, and the snake throws his arms in the air, releasing Lydia.
My ex-roommate hugs her chest.
Trent jogs back toward me. “I’ll walk her home.”
I squeeze his arm, touched by his concern. “Thank you.”
“I’ll come back.”
“No need. I’m going to head out. See you tomorrow.”
They depart toward Lydia’s new dorm, and I feign to head to Summer Hall but double back instead. Blane is still lurking on the outskirts of the main building, probably looking for another victim. The twin is tall but gangly, and his sunken cheeks aren’t very intimidating. I can totally take him.
In long strides, I accost him right by the entrance and flatten him against the wall, my arm braced across his collarbone.
The snake slithers into a mocking grimace.
“We need to talk.”
“Keep your hands off me, witch.”
I let a trickle of flames singe his scruffy beard and drain the warmth from my voice until it’s sharp, cold and totally badass. “Afraid I’ll blow your head off? You should be.” I tilt my head slightly, inching closer to his face. “You’re going to leave Lydia alone. No more pranks. No more threats.”
He hisses in such a way that I half expect his tongue to come out and taste the air between us. “Or what? If you use forbidden magic again, you’ll be expelled.”
I let a smirk fester on my lips, the type of empty grin Flynn would serve me. “Only if they find out…”
I’ve got to turn my new reputation into an advantage, and I know from the sweaty fear flowing from Blane’s underarms that he’ll keep his distance. Pride tickling all over, I puff out my chest and spread my shoulders to scare him off, and the serpent slithers away with its metaphorical tail tucked between his legs.
A genuine smile chases away the cold act.
Fuck. That was fun.
“Being bad is addictive, isn’t it?”
Cole’s casual voice seeps through my clothes, skin, and cells like torrential rain, and I stiffen, slowly spinning on my heels.
He’s leaning casually against the brick wall like he hasn’t missed a lick of what transpired.
