Page 10 of Forbidden Magic
Lucifer sits next to Flynn. The girl sprawls on his thigh, and he holds her to him, one hand resting casually between her legs.
“That’s Jessa Arabellameo. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll stay out of her way,” Melanie warns, but I can barely hear her sultry voice above the ringing in my ears. “And the guy behind her is our resident Fae prince, Cole Desirys.”
Lydia turns green. “Did you sayprince?”
Melanie’s smile turns cold. “Yep. Hold on to your panties, mortals. We have a royal in the house.”
Royal Fae are infamous for being irresistibly destructive. Wars were fought because they stole wives and husbands at will.
Cole angles his face to us like he heard his name, and his ardent amber stare collides directly with mine. It feels as though a ghoul ripped out my belly to play harp with my intestines.
He frowns and presses his lips to the girl’s ear. She peeks over the rows of students to us.
A volcano of fire builds in my chest, and I fear I’ll go Armageddon, so I push to my feet. “Excuse me.”
I run outside through the exit opposite the Fae and run up the cliff. My breaths are quick and painful, my body shaking from the effort it takes to walk away from these forbidden creatures.
A salty wind whisks my hair up, and I follow a sandy path until the sea comes into view. The sun is setting over the horizon, the red, orange and pink melting into a midnight-blue sky. My heart is bleeding with colors too.
My forehead is still feverish, the barely-contained fire beneath my skin waning in the cold night.
I can’t believe I almost made a fool of myself and set the cafeteria on fire.
Clutching my necklace, an oval-shaped natural emerald stone, I mutter the incantation my father taught me when I was five to tame my unpredictable flames. Raindrops mist over my skin and soothe the ache.
My mouth is sour, the bitter taste of my mortality taunting me. Strong witches don’t let themselves be bent by Fae magic. Not Winslows.Not me.
Glamors are a lie. They’re nothing but a physical manifestation of their powers. It’s an artifice, a vain attempt at bewitching weaker minds. Their beauty is tainted in that it is an artifice, a product of their corrupted DNA.
My dad fought against them for years, campaigning against their political ploys, pushing back at every turn to outlaw their wicked pranks against mortals. They used to abduct us at will, enslaving us in Fairy and herding us like cattle meant to satisfy their every whim.
They are the enemy.
When I’m sure my powers are responding to my commands, I drag my feet back down to the cafeteria.
Lydia is heading my way. “Are you okay, girl?”
“Yes. I had a bit of—”
“Hey, don’t bother explaining. Melanie had to physically restrain me so I wouldn’t introduce myself to him,” she says kindly. “The effects will wear off. And salt apparently helps.” She hands me a few packets.
Salt! Right. I dump three directly down my throat and gladly accept her unspoken offer to never talk again about the humiliating visceral reaction I just had. To a boy. A Fae boy.
My inner self snickers,Whatboy? Every inch of him was alllll man.
I bite my tongue hard and wait for the annoying laughter in my head to end.
Lydia points to the dining hall. “Melanie invited us to stick around and get to know her friends.”
I play with my necklace, the stone still hot between my fingers. Going back inside isn’t safe. “I’m tired. I’ll see you later.”
Lydia rubs her brow. “Okay. Sure you don’t want me to come back with you?”
“I’m perfectly fine,” I wave goodbye and continue down the hill.
The sun has fallen beneath the Earth, and stars are visible in the black sky.
Wow, it gets dark fast here.
