I pinched my lips to keep from laughing as Imogene spoke loudly and slowly, making sure they did not forget her name. I certainly wouldn’t.
“Perfect,” the friendly redheaded registrar chirped as if she never heard the filthy words spoken to her. “Here is your room card and ID. Keep it with you at all times. If you have any questions, Ms. Behar, please reach out to any staff stationed around the castle or any of the people you see with a purple lanyard around their neck.”
The foul-mouthed older woman nods and then flashes the redhead a wicked smirk. “Got it. Now what are the rules about sexual relations on the premises?”
I choked at Imogene’s confident question and tried to cover my mouth. Her comrade looked at me quizzically.
“What?” I hissed with a raised brow. Imogene asked loud enough for everyone within a fifty-foot radius to hear. I wasn’t the only one around here who was shocked.
The young woman, who couldn’t have been older than twenty, quickly grew flustered as she handed Imogene a trifold pamphlet. “Um, yes. We are all adults here. The um, rules are… um… In there.”
Imogene brought the paper closer to her face and squinted. “I’ll have to get out my reading glasses when I get to my room.” She shoved the pamphlet in an orange bag at her side. Then, her friend nudged her shoulder. “Right. Are the rooms co-ed?” Imogene asked, obviously for her friend. The employee shook her head with a forced smile.
Good to know.
Imogene and her crew scampered off with the mention of the welcome feast in the ballroom.
While the check-in staff rummaged through boxes of papers, something brushed against my bag. The sparks of magic constantly buzzing beneath my skin recoiled. No, not a something, but a someone stepped close behind me. And my magic wasn’t a fan. Before I turned around, a male voice spoke close to my ear.
“They sound like trouble. Probably need to watch our backs around that group.”
Chapter Three
You’re glowing
“I’m Ethan.”
Perhaps I was being rude by not also introducing myself, but to say I was hungry and tired was an understatement. I’d flown the seventeen hours from the Appalachian Mountains to France and hailed a cab straight to the castle’s iron gates.
So, I gave the tall blond man standing a little too close a polite nod and then refocused on the check-in table. Rude or not, I didn’t care.
“I’m Ethan,” he repeated, clearly not able to take a hint.
“Nice to meet you,” I tossed over my shoulder just as the redheaded staff member turned my way.
“Welcome to the McKenzie Institute. What’s your name?”
“Temperance Carmichael.”
The redhead scanned her tablet for my name, then mumbled something about being pre-registered. I shifted from one foot to the other while waiting for my room card.
“Beautiful name, Temperance.” Ethan’s voice was so close, his breath brushed against my ponytail.
Did the guy not know what personal space was?
I almost vomited flowers again. Magic thickened in my throat, and I forced it back down with a gulp.Was he being weird or was it my magic being the weirdo?
The redhead smiled, her finger tapping on the tablet triumphantly, and saved me from having to acknowledge his compliment. “Got you! Let me get your room card.”
Murmurs grew near the entrance of the courtyard, and the redhead stopped her searching to look behind me. I turned to glance past Ethan, who followed my movements, to see what all the commotion was about. A small crowd stood by the magical fountain with someone in the middle, but I didn’t see who.
A fuzzy feeling thrummed, like a heartbeat in my stomach. The difference between the way my magic recoiled when Ethan arrived and how it practically buzzed with this newcomer were staggeringly different.
My magic clearly liked this other person’s energy.
Tingles dances along my hands and through my fingertips as I stretched my neck to see the individual standing in the middle of the crowd.
Suddenly, an unnaturally hot gust of air swished around me. Sweat broke over my brow and I reminded myself to focus on the most important tasks: room key, food, and sleep.
