My old tendencies returned full force as the desire to isolate myself grew. Being uncertain of who I could trust frightened me. The situation with Blake reminded me why I shouldn't have friends, and it had me prepared to lose the others before they left, too. My gut screamed at me that Killian was wrong. My gut whispered that Lucien Lacroix could be trusted. But maybe my gut wasn't working like it should be. What could I do if Lucien had his own agenda, anyway? Run? A fat lot of good that would do me.
"Vee? The new room is down here, remember?"
Glancing at Rhett, and broken from my stray thoughts, I shook my head and crinkled my nose. "I'm not going to class with him. I need to talk to Moore, anyway." I started up the stairs, earning a sigh as Rhett followed.
"There's no way he's going to let us stick around."
"We'll see."
The new Spirits professor for freshmen was Howard Costillo, an older gentleman that walked with a cane and said sweet things to almost everyone he crossed paths with. Everyone but me. We met a couple times, and the only greeting I received was a hasty, Mrs. Lacroix and a tip of his hat. I knew when I wasn't wanted.
When it came down to going to Spirits class, I'd rather sit in with Professor Moore's class, anyway. He made it memorable. I took up a pillow. Rhett did too. The moment Garth came in, he gave a flamboyant swing of his arm.
"I see we still have some freshmen. No trouble. This week's objectives are to learn Detection. You'll find the instructions in your textbooks. After, I recommend learning Sense and perhaps reading up some of the lesser-known planes. As for second years—" He scribbled something on the board and turned, face grim—"You'll be revisiting Echolocation. When you retrieve one of the objects I've hidden in the room, you're free to go. Seeing as many of my students struggled with their exam, this year, it may take you the entire period."
A dim mood fell over the class as they spread about to do their thing. Rhett and I stayed where we were. The fact that Garth just called out his own students gave me a snicker, though. There must have been some exam fails over the week.
"Vera. Mr. Collins. I'm rather surprised you did not attend class with our latest professor." Garth approached while rubbing his chin. "Yes, yes. He is an old master of the Spiritual Arts. A fine replacement for Briggs."
"I'd rather be here, sir," I said, smiling conspiratorially. "And I have a question about my intuitive abilities."
Garth's eyes widened and he rubbed his hands together with the delight of a child in a candy shop. "Indeed, indeed. Let's hear it."
"Headmaster Halsey says I should have instincts," I said, glancing around to make sure the others weren't listening too closely. "I don't feel it. At all. I was wondering if there was a way to, um, force it out?"
"Intuits are all so different in how and when they awaken their abilities," Garth began, his grin replaced with a contemplative frown. His eyebrows pinched together as he crossed his arms at his front. "Your abilities will come when they are ready to manifest. To force them out, as you say, I can't recall ever reading of such a thing. Have faith, Vera. They will come as fate wills it."
I sagged my shoulders, disappointed, but nodded all the same. "I understand. Thank you, sir."
"Of course. And I'm always happy to have the two of you in my classroom. Now go on and give your new spells a try. I'll be in my office if you need me!" Garth departed with a twirl, his robes swinging around him as he bounced energetically toward his office.
I smirked at Rhett. "What was that about this never working?"
"Ugh. Shut up, Vee," Rhett said, rubbing the back of his neck.
We flipped our books open. Detection. Used to check for enchantments, illusions, curses, and non-specific wards. Without having any of those around, I wasn't sure I'd have a way to check my success. I gazed at Rhett, puzzled to find his gaze afar and his hands running up and down his arms.
"Rhett?" I asked, frowning. "What's wrong?"
His attention snapped to me, and he shook his head. "I'll go first." He flicked his hand as the book instructed, and his stare floated between my chest and my neck.
Instinctively, I rubbed at the collar of my turtleneck.
"Your turn."
Right. I checked the instructions one last time and gave it a shot. Interestingly enough, I did detect something. My stare dropped to his wrist. "Rhett," I said, reaching for it. "Do you have a—" I couldn't finish the question. He didn't have to tell me anything. Not if he didn't want to. That much, I knew well. I withdrew my hand. "Let's look at Sense."
"Vee, wait." Rhett grabbed my hand, squeezing it as if to reassure me. "I'll tell you about it. After class."
"You don't have to." I met his gaze, his eyes almost brown in the dim room. "I get it, you know."
"I guess you would." A weak laugh escaped Rhett as he freed my hand and flipped his book a couple pages forward. "Sense looks close enough to Detection. You can go first this time."
Nodding, I flipped forward and read through the summary. It was a life-form detection spell. It was only logical that the process be almost the same. I tried it. Right away, my mind tugged in several directions like strings were tied to my senses. I rubbed my head, willing the sensation away, and nodded to Rhett.
"It worked. Your turn."
With a sharp inhale, Rhett flicked his wrist. Then he reeled backward. "Whoa." He gripped his head, like I had, and gave it a shake as if to free it. "I don't like that."
"Yeah. It's something else."
Leaning back on his arms, Rhett surveyed the classroom. "What do you think Nix and Naomi are learning downstairs?"
"Who knows?"
"Maybe we could try the spell they're learning."
I followed his gaze to the second-year students. A good handful had their brows pinched in frustration. Echolocation, the second-year spell, would be handy to know. All the same, I waved a hand. "Let's just do our reading. I don't wanna end up in the infirmary and get a lecture on my dangerous curiosity."
A grin stretched across Rhett's cheeks. "It's nice, you know, that he looks out for you like that."
I made a face. "Don't do that."
"All right, all right. I'll get the books." Standing, Rhett crossed the room to the shelf and brought two books back. He slapped one down before me and sat. "Pick something interesting, at least."
We chose to read up on The Primordial Reaches, an abundance of planes reserved for contract creatures. The bonds formed with these beings, was one of companionship, not slavery. The mutual exchange of respect and power would never allow that to be so. Because of the exclusivity of the reaches, entering those planes came at a risk should the contract be denied. Usually, that meant death.
I would have thought nothing of it if Rhett never decided to tell me about his curse, but as soon as noon rolled around, we left class and he steered me into an empty classroom where he shut the door.
"Okay, look," Rhett said tersely, rolling his sleeve up. After a deep breath, he turned his arm so I could see the nail-shaped mark on his wrist. "Graduation party. We went to Origin. Pat, Reshad, and I got into some trouble with a witch."
"What kind of trouble?"
"The witch who cursed us was . . . hideous. A pride curse. We laughed—it was wrong. We all knew it was." Rhett ran a hand through his hair, avoiding my stare. "Pat said something about how you lucked out on your curse. I can't remember, but the witch heard it all. Heard us laughing. She cursed us for it, with a conditional in all of them."
Goddess, I didn't like where our conversation was going. I anxiously stalked to the window, wrapping my arms around myself, and peered out at the white fields that rolled into the forest. "Tell me."
"After we became friends, I was never going to bring it up. My curse isn't even that bad. I can't see my reflection. I've gotten used to it. But the conditional. . ." He hesitated, clearing his throat. "The conditional was that another cursed witch had to choose forgiveness in her stead."
Ah. So there it was—the purpose behind our friendship. Betrayal gripped my heart. I dug my nails into my sleeves hard enough to feel on my skin, and exhaled a shaky breath. "I should have known."
"Vee, wait—"
"You don't get to call me that," I said viciously, craning my head around for a peek. His face was scrunched up, his eyes crinkled and mouth turned downward. I'd never seen him cry before.
"Please, let me explain—"
"Don't waste your breath." Crouching into the smallest shape I could, I brought my hand into a sign. I needed to get out of there. Fast. Picturing the burned, clerical building, I cast Relocation.
The world twisted away until I appeared in the forest. My blood was too cold for another cast, but I could walk back. The frosty air fell over me in a welcomed embrace. I sat on the cold, stone bench, my hands in my lap, and even though I wanted to cry, the tears wouldn't come.
Thanks for reading! Please vote if you enjoyed and let me know what you thought. 💕