He sat back down as I scooted forward and faced him.
“I think—k”
“I’m not—”
We spoke at the same time, and I shook my head.
“You go.” Maybe he was thinking the same thing as me. That this was fun, and hot between us, but we should go slower. He didn’t hesitate to speak, leaning in as he did.
“I’m not going anywhere. If you need time to process everything, I’ll be there to hold your hand.” His eyes bored into mine as he inched closer. “I’ll be whatever you need. A friend, a lover, a supporter, and a playmate. But I need you to think on my next words before placing me in a neat label.” His breath caressed my lips, and I gasped. He looked down at my mouth and I knew he’d go for it. He’d kiss me right here in this class, in front of everyone.
“When I know what I want, I always stack the cards in my favor to get what’s mine.” His nose lightly brushed against my jaw. “And Temperance.” He softly groaned my name and did it on purpose. I loved the way my name rumbled when he said it like that. My eyes closed and a shiver danced up my spine.
“You are mine.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
I didn’t want to be a bad witch
Professor Jules sang hello while entering the room and I shot back, nearly falling out of my seat. Rylan chuckled, leisurely returning to his section of the desk.
“Good morning, class. Today we’re going to talk about inner magic.” She flicked her wand and wrote “inner magic” on the chalkboard with a floating chalk stick.
“As you all heard or experienced, a creature entered this realm from Nathuria. It’s called an Immostable. They are territorial, but otherwise kind animals that live in the fire mountains.”
Kind? It literally was lava bombing us, but okay.
“How did it get here?” someone asked impatiently, and not another sound was muttered while we all waited for the answer. Even my erratic heartbeat slowed from the intensity that spread around the room.
Professor Jules nodded once, then clasped her hands in front of her purple dress. “There are no creatures with the power to jump realms. It was brought here by someone. We have authorities looking into the matter. Which brings us back toour lesson for today.” She turned and began writing on the chalkboard.
Who are you?
“Who are you? Inner magic is not the magic you can create. Inner magic is the essence of you, the person, who you are. Magic doesn’t make you kind, or smart, or funny. Magic only enhances the inner magic that is you. Or in some cases, it further corrupts and is used as a tool for harm if that is who you are.”
“I’m already amazing,” Delanie said from her table, shooting a wink Rylan’s way before facing the front. “Magic is just the sprinkles on top.”
A few of our classmates murmured before a soft-spoken man in the front of the class asked a question I think most of us had been purposefully ignoring. “So, it’s possible there are bad people with magic?”
Magic in movies and books always had dark witches and wizards.
When magic first appeared, the world’s governments were terrified of their citizens committing crimes with magic. But somehow their worries were gone after meeting with the Nathurian leaders. Whether that was a good thing or bad, we citizens were told not to stress about it.
I’d admit to being so caught up in the positives and wonder of magic, I dismissed the other side. Hence my panic.
“Yes, Sam. There are bad people, and those who take jokes too far in every world. So, for the rest of our shortened class, I want you to list in your notebook who you are. Afterwards, you can practice conjuring cups.” She strolled to her desk and pulled out a journal. This assignment shouldn’t be hard for most of us. We were all adults.
But the longer I tried to think of anything outside of kind, and a good parent, the more I realized the depth of the question.
I looked around and noticed many of my classmates’ pens were stalled in their hands as they contemplated themselves.
I didn’t want to be a bad witch. That I knew, but who else was I?
Then a sheet of paper slid into my view and with neatly written words.
You are stunning
You are smart
