“Magic reacts to our emotions. It responds faster than your mind can send the signals to do so. .” I felt the Professor’s stare and knew I was the example for how quickly magic changes.
I’d been thinking of others’ fears, not exactly feeling it myself, but the sensations were on my mind.
Okay, so that would be easy to remember. Our thoughts equal reality.
“We’re going to continue working on connecting to your essence of magic. The more comfortable you are with feeling it, the easier it will respond to you.”
I closed my eyes and thought of the first snowfall of winter each year. White rose petals appeared in my palm. Winning the Little Miss and Mom Gingerbread House award with Piper… Honeysuckle, like the vine growing on my apartment balcony appeared. Rylan’s smile….
My eyelids shot open, and I glared at Rylan, like the man himself had somehow made me think of him. But he was focusing on his assignment, green smoke rolling around in his glass ball. Great. So, it was all me and me alone.
An intercom positioned near the door rang around the room, and I assumed that meant class was over.
“Very good, students! Your first class is complete. Make sure to practice, and we’ll continue our lesson tomorrow morning!” Professor Jules whirled her hands at us in goodbye. It looked odd coming from her, like the act of waving was foreign. Perhaps in Nathuria, they did something else as a farewell gesture.
The broad body beside mine stood as I did. “You must have some good memories. Your flowers were beautiful.”
Rylan stretched his arms above his head. Naturally, his green shirt rose an inch higher, and I noticed the sliver of his tanned, muscular abdomen. Ugh. Why does he have to be so good looking and distracting?
Before I could respond to his comment, a short blonde woman in a tight blue dress stepped up to our table. She stopped and posed like a seasoned pageant winner back home. And by her overly practiced big smile, I felt like my assumptions would ring true.
“Mr. McKenzie, my name is Delanie Templeton. Miss Kentucky. When I saw you in our class, I knew I had to introduce myself to the man who made all this possible. We are just so lucky to have you looking out for us.” She leaned closer, her perfectly manicured hand pressing against Rylan’s chest.
He stepped back, and Miss Kentucky brushed it off with a tilt of her head.
“Hello,” Rylan said politely as I grabbed my bag.
I had a feeling she wasn’t one of the nice ones that really did want world peace.
“See you later, Star,” Rylan said to me, ignoring our table guest as he quickly left the room.
Without him watching, she sneered in my direction, then stormed off with a huff.
Great.
With a few words from a man, I didn’t want to be attracted to, I gained an enemy.
Chapter Eight
You must learn to hold the crayons before you can color
“What a day.” I belly flopped onto my bed after finishing my fourth and final class of the day.
Remy calmly fiddled with her tablet on her own bed. “It was educational. I’m ready for the Witches Fair on Friday.”
Creating magic took so much mental energy that I needed a jug of coffee every hour to keep up. Who knew something within you could drain you so much?
Of course, it was the same as starting anything new. Every time I started a workout plan, I ached and felt exhausted until my body adjusted.
Remy sipped her coffee and looked my way. “It’s good we share potions together. I enjoyed working with you.”
Professor Hingley taught us how to mix a blueberry juice that glowed bright blue to get to know how cauldrons worked. We all burped a glowing bubble afterwards, which made for a fun class.
I was grateful for the simple lesson with all the overwhelming information coming at us every minute. If the professors had jumped into moderate spells, I think many of us would havestruggled even if they sounded interesting. You must learn to hold the crayons before you can color.
Ethan, the guy who’d almost blown me up in the check-in line, had tried to sit in the seat beside me, but luckily Remy had gotten there first.
I didn’t hold Ethan’s magical mishap against him, but his flirty smile had been off-putting while I was focused on the professor.
