Ugh. Why did someone so nasty have to be so pretty? What a pity his personality didn’t match the packaging.
He dropped into a chair and man-spread, giving me ample opportunity to admire the significant bulge in his pants. Not that I fell into such a trap. As a strong, independent witch with boundaries, I had willpower in spades.
“So, I hear you’re having trouble controlling your magic.” He chuckled. “Caused quite a stir in the dining hall.”
Something about the mocking tone of his voice made me look up. My magic spiked and flared in my veins, drawn to him like always, but I ignored it.
“Were you there?” Of course he was. No doubt he took great pleasure in my embarrassing reaction to a stupid prank.
“No, but there are videos online.” I didn’t have access to social media, but my magical hiccup seemed like the stuff people would record and post to WitchTok. “Look them up on your phone.” His grin widened when I gritted my teeth. He knew I didn’t have a phone, which was something else Maverick went nuts about when he walked me back to my dorm early yesterday morning.
I wasn’t sure why it mattered, but since I had no money, there was nothing I could do to change the situation.
“Oh yes, you don’t have one.”
My patience snapped. “Look, if you have nothing useful to say and don’t want to help me, then please go away.” I grabbed my pile of books and went to leave, but a hand caught my wrist.
The tether between us tightened and hummed with magical power. Sparks burst into life in the air like a crazy firework display. I panicked at the thought of all these amazing books bursting into flames and yanked my wrist away. Almost immediately, the sparks vanished.
“What the actual fuck?” Alaric choked out, looking almost as shocked as I felt.
“And that’s why I need help,” I whispered, close to tears. If the stupid mage refused to help me, I’d have to help myself.
This library contained a vast number of books. Surely one of them would have information that might help me.
“Yeah, you do,” Alaric agreed, a lot more sober than he had been five minutes earlier. He raked his fingers through his hair and sighed. “Sit down and let’s see where you’re at.”
An hour later I was ready to punch Alaric in the face. He’d forced me outside into a courtyard at the back of the library, to “make sure you don’t destroy all the irreplaceable books”.
After taking a seat on a stone bench, he’d barked instructions at me and made me feel like a useless lump of clay.
“No! Concentrate, dammit!” he yelled as my magic set fire to a potted rose bush. The poor thing burned brightly for a few seconds and then collapsed inward into a pile of ash.
“I’m trying! But you’re not helping!”
He muttered something rude and then stood. Rain had begun to fall a few minutes earlier, but he seemed oblivious. Not that I was complaining. A downpour might stop me from burning the place down.
“Focus, Raven. Where can you feel your magic? Mine sits in the pit of my stomach, like a small shiny ball. When I call on it, that ball expands and spreads outward.”
I chewed my lip while thinking hard.
“In my chest?”
Alaric rolled his eyes. “You don’t sound sure about that.”
“I’m not!” I huffed. “It feels like it’s everywhere all at once. Not in one place.”
“Then focus on where it feels strongest.”
I did as he suggested. When I pinned it down, my magic seemed strongest in my upper chest, tucked under my breastbone. I tapped the amulet resting beneath my wet shirt, which sat right over it.
The mage’s eyes drifted to the same space, lingering on my breasts. The heat between us kicked up a notch, blurring my focus once again.
In a flash, he moved behind me, his arms around my waist. His magical energy anchored me to the floor.
“Can you feel it, Raven?” One hand curled around my hip while the other covered the hand that rested between my breasts. A subtle shift of his hips provoked a small gasp.
“I… can feel it.”
