Page 15 of Forbidden Magic
Lydia fans her neck dramatically with her hand. “His behavior is appalling, and yet…”
The heels of Melanie’s knee-high boots dig into the puddle without hesitation, and she stops an inch short of us. “Can I count on you ladies to keep your mouths shut? I can’t handle another lecture from Trent.”
I make a zipping motion over my lips and blink away the heated images that are imprinted on my brain. The last thing I need is for my mind to associate Fae and sex more than it already does, but the two together are like oatmeal sticking to a burnt pot.
Melanie checks her skirt, the black and white plaid falling at her mid-thigh. “Can’t believe I got him as a partner. He’s going to torment me all quarter. You, you got lucky.”
I assume she’s talking to Lydia.
“Jeremy seems nice,” my roommate admits.
Melanie purses her lips in disgust. “I wasn’t talking about the wolf. I was talking to Winslow.”
I scoff. “How didIget lucky?”
“Cole takes his grades seriously. Unlike…every other boy I know.”
I consider her answer. If she’s right, I won’t have to do the whole project by myself, but it means I’ll have to workwithCole.
Lydia frowns. “What’s wrong with Jeremy?”
“Jeremy got expelled from Lunar Academy for tearing out his girlfriend’s throat. He caught her cheating on him, I heard, and wolfed out. She barely made it to the hospital. Be careful, Red.” The rain eases down to a drizzle. Melanie hooks her arms in ours and pulls us along. “Your sister did herself a favor by breaking up with him.”
The mention of Allie starts an itch on my neck. Despite this new information that Jeremy is a serious creep, the wolf was onto something. Allie’s been acting too weird. “Speaking about Allie, did something happen to her? Maybe on Halloween?” I ask lightly. I don’t want to come off as a paranoid freak.
Melanie shrugs. “Not that I recall. She had a great time at that party.”
We cross Night Hall, the dorm dedicated to creatures who prefer to live in the dark. The absence of windows would make any house look bleak, but this one’s got a definite coffin vibe, and a cold patch glides across my shoulders.
Melanie’s boots cracks against the fallen leaves at our feet. “Well, I’m overdue for a nap. See you ladies later.”
Lydia and I return to Summer Hall, the cold rain giving way to a warm breeze, and we unbutton our jackets. What kind of magic can uphold a spell of this magnitude? I figure the whole faculty strengthens the weather-influencing spell regularly for it to be so damn strong.
As we near the wild vegetation, Miss Eillis’ high-pitched voice erupts through the trees.
She’s chasing gnomes in the garden, her long skirt drenched with mud. One of the brown, hunched creatures has got her gardening gloves in his gnarly hands. He waves them around to taunt her.
“You little thieves will find another garden to squat!” Miss Eillis roars, the sound making the earth shake, her long white hair flowing around her like it’s alive.
The gnome grimaces, spinning around to flash her. Engrossed in his victory dance, he fails to notice us arriving, and I snatch the gloves from his hand. The fucker bites my index finger. I shake him off me with a yelp.
He scampers off before I can kick him, and I return the stolen gloves to my dorm supervisor.
“Thank you, Jules. You should sanitize that cut,” Miss Eillis says.
A drop of blood pearls on the tip of my finger, the puncture wound inflamed and itchy. “I’ll wash it later.”
“No need. Use this.” She snaps a small bean-shaped pink fruit from one of the bushes and hands it over.
“What is it?” I ask.
“Pink bean stalks. They’ll seal a superficial wound in no time. You’ve never used one?”
I spurt the insides of the fruit on my wound. “I’m not much of a green thumb, I’m afraid.”
The sun peeks from the morning clouds, the fog clearing by the minute. A trail of sweat drips down my back. It’ll be warm today.
“This garden is just a dream,” Lydia trails off with stars in her eyes.
