Page 68 of Forbidden Magic
“Eillis and Oz siting in a tree…” Trent chants below his breath.
I press my head into his shoulder and twine my fingers at the back of his neck. “I should go and study for my test tomorrow.”
“Because of the deal you made with Cole.”
My breathing hitches. I hardly think something like that would be public knowledge.
“Why did you let him under your skin?” He scolds.
I puff my chest, standing taller. “I can beat him.”
He observes me for a minute like he’s measuring my resolve before grinning. “You better. I don’t want to visit my girlfriend in some second grade school.”
I’m grateful for the humor in his voice, grateful that he doesn’t try to baby me or talk me out of it. I’m going to beat Cole and already regret not asking him to leave the Academy if I win. I’ll burn his pedestal down until he and his friends are barefoot in the mud and forced to see us as equals.
27
The Bad Guy
Alight knock resonates across my silent room. “Julia. I made some tea,” Miss Eillis says, entering my sanctuary.
I rub the fatigue away from my overworked face and sip on the offered cup.
She sits on Lydia’s bed, the mattress barely sagging under her weight. Her knuckles grip the sides, and she tilts her head. “You’re studying a lot these days.”
The concern on her face is genuine, and my shoulders hunch. “I have to.”
“I don’t want to add to workload, but your father asked me to tutor you.”
The warm liquid warms my throat. “I know I missed a few key questions on that last test, but I think—”
“Not in Herbology. In infernal magic.”
My mouth hangs open, and I consider Miss Eillis in a different light. Her long white hair is still alive with magic, and her troubled stare always seems to mask how young she actually looks.
I play with a thread sticking out of my duvet. Does she know about me? About my mother? I doubt it, but you never know. “How do you know infernal magic?”
“That’s not important. What you have to focus your energy on is controlling this incredible power you possess.”
“Thatwepossess?”
“Yes.”
I meet her gaze head on. “What are you?”
The corners of her lips quirk up. I’ve been skirting around the issue since we met, and I detect a hint of satisfaction in her grin. “Do you have a theory?”
“No,” I say honestly.
“Good. I wouldn’t want to think my secrets are too easy to discover.”
With that mysterious statement, she grins and opens her book. “I’m going to teach you how to channel infernal energy safely.”
“But my dad said I shouldn’t use these powers again.”
A sigh heaves her chest. “But you will. Not today, but someday, the magic will come to you, and I want you to know what to do with it. Don’t worry, we won’t break any rules to do it.”
So I nod and pay attention.
