There was only one option.
I lunged right, and the fae moved left. My hands were on the cold, almost-solid blade a second later. I pushed all the magic I had into it, and nearly fell over from shock when a burst of strong, fuchsia magic that I’d never seen before flew from my hands, and the iron solidified.
Hell yes!
I scrambled to head-off the fae and Amethyst, who was screaming and dragging her feet, trying to slow her captor from abducting her. My feet moved faster than they ever had before. If I just got close enough, the iron would end him. Amethyst would be safe.
“Odette! Stop!” A woman’s voice shot through me.
But I couldn’t juststop. Amethyst was mere feet from being shifted through, and I was her best chance.
Or so I’d thought.
Suddenly, a cloud of lilac whooshed by me, the intensity of it sending a shockwave of energy through my body and throwing my balance off. My scream rang through my ears as lilac magic swirled all around me, nearly blinding me with its brilliance as I fell.
“Odette? Can you hear me?”
I groaned as my hand found my pounding temple, and my eyelids fluttered open to find Ms. Seeley leaning over me. Hunter and Eva knelt right behind her, their mouths gaping. Alex stood at our professor’s side, and whereas the others looked concerned, his lips were flat, his expression calculating.
“What happened?” I asked, taking in the smoky woods, and Mina on the ground crying, and Amethyst laying nearby, cradling her arm.
“Thank goodness everyone’s fine.” Ms. Seeley leaned back on her heels. “I’m so sorry. When I assigned this challenge, I didn’t expect an event like this to occur. I see now that I should do more thorough searches for faerie circles.”
Faerie circles. My eyes snapped open, and I twisted my neck to take in the tree behind me. The faerie circle we’d spotted was glowing lilac. “Did it get away?”
Ms. Seeley nodded. “I tried to capture the redcap, but couldn’t get a clear shot. So instead, I went a different route. It caused him to drop Amethyst, but also gave him time to escape.” Her lips pressed together until they turned white. “I still need to close up the circle.”
“But don’t you think you’d be smart to send someone through and see if we can’t find him? To question him?” I pressed on, needing answers. Deep in my gut, I knew that this had to do with the curse on our year; it was too big of a coincidence.
“Why would she do that? The longer we keep it open, the higher the chance that more get through,” Alex snapped.
“But wouldn’t it be worth the risk to understand what was going on?”
Ms. Seeley shook her head. “Alex is right. We can’t take that chance with students on the grounds. In fact . . . ” She clapped her hands together, and a cloud of lilac magic burst from them, then pulled out into a long thin cord, and slithered through the forest.
I watched in awe as she held one end of the cord, and not a minute later, a voice came out of it.
“Professor Seeley? What’s the meaning of this magical intrusion into my chambers?”
“I apologize, Headmistress Wake, but we have spotted a fae on the grounds of Spellcasters. And not the peaceful kind that live among humans.” Ms. Seeley’s tone dropped. “It injured students. Please send infirmary witches to collect them. I’m remaining in the forest to double-check that the faerie circle is sealed, and to patrol the area . . . just in case.”
The line fell silent for a moment. “Very good, Professor Seeley,” Headmistress Wake croaked. “I’ll send reinforcements right away.”
The lilac wire evaporated, and Ms. Seeley let out a long sigh. “Someone will be here to escort you back to Spellcasters soon. For the moment, we’re safe.”
Even though I wanted to believe her, I knew that after today, that was impossible. I’d only been at the academy for four months, and already one student had died, and another had almost been shifted through to Faerie. If there was one place on Earth where I was unsafe, it was at Spellcasters.
Chapter Seventeen
Since the fae fiasco, things had gotten a little better. Word had circulated that I’d tried to fight the fae, and as a result, fewer of my classmates ignored or sneered at me. My change in circumstances was fortunate. October was slipping through my fingers, and the Samhain Trial was approaching way too quickly. A few more friendly faces helped reduce my stress about the momentous event—especially seeing as one of my peers would be my partner.
Of course, not everyone changed their minds about me. Diana still sneered at me every chance she got, and although we’d worked together that night, Alex kept his distance.
I so did not understand that guy.
A small part of me had thought we’d bonded while saving Mina, but apparently, I was way off base. In fact, Alex seemed content to act likenothingof note had happened between us that day, whether it be saving classmates, or experiencing the electricity that had passed through us when we touched.
Thankfully, I didn’t have time to dwell or distract myself with Alex’s odd mannerisms. I was too busy studying, practicing, and hoping that my powers would strengthen in time for my trial.
