Behind me, the bear grunted. I twisted my head to see he’d shifted back into a male. A very large, sexy male.Oh my stars. I gulped. This was the first naked male I’d seen in the flesh.Were all males that… big?
“Hold on, witchling. This is going to feel unpleasant.” The mage gripped my wrist before the world faded. My stomach lurched as we landed outside a high stone wall and a set of beautiful wrought-iron gates.
“Welcome to Starfall Academy, witchling. This will be your home for the next three years.”
The mage gently pushed me forward when the gates opened. He seemed sympathetic to my plight, even though he had refused to listen to my pleas.
“What will happen to the bear?” My heart pinched painfully in my chest. The poor bear had tried his best to protect me and got zapped for his trouble. I hoped he wasn’t hurt.
“He’ll wake up with a nasty headache. I’ll let him go once he calms down.”
“You better!” I growled before cringing. Where did that come from? I wasnotthe kind of witch who threatened people!
“Calm down, witchling.” The mage took my arm and walked me toward a tall, imposing stone building with turrets that disappeared into the clouds. All around us, people scurried along gravel pathways while carrying books. None of them paid us any attention, and I wondered whether the mage had cloaked us in an invisibility spell.
Adam used those. Mostly to catch us out. It sucked being caught doing something banned, like watching bootleg DVDs. Or sunbathing instead of weeding the vegetable garden.
“Do I really have to stay here for three years?” I asked in a small voice as the mage steered me through a thick wooden door and down a corridor. Paintings of mystical creatures stared down at us. Some I recognized; others looked way too fantastical to be real.
Rare supernaturals like dragons, griffins, and hydras existed only in books these days.
“Yes.”
“I have none of my stuff with me.”
“Everything you’ll need will be provided and paid for by the Supernatural Council,” he said in a smug voice, like I ought to be grateful some anonymous dicks with bags of money were happy to cover the cost of an education I didn’t want. I’d learned plenty from the booksin Adam’s library. And besides, my magic was weak. Sure, I’d lit a few random things on fire once or twice, but I was hardly a grave threat to humanity.
Maybe the headmaster would listen? Surely he wouldn’t want a pathetic little witch like me in his school. The best I could do was cast a few minor spells and hexes. Yes, I knew a ton about herbs and stuff, but I would bet my last cookie on there being dozens of more powerful witches here.
We stopped outside a door at the end of the corridor. A prickle of magic washed over my skin, and I stumbled forward, feeling nauseous. The mage knocked. A second later, a deep voice rumbled, “Enter.”
The headmaster stared at me from behind his desk. With his shiny head, beady eyes, and leathery face, he reminded me of a tortoise. Was this male a mage? I assumed so. Mages seemed to hold most of the power positions in our world.
A deep blue aura pulsed around him, so bright I wanted to shield my eyes against it. Adam was a powerful mage, but this mage made my head throb the more I looked at him. Still, it made sense he was the most powerful person on campus. He needed to be.
I forced myself to focus on his craggy face and maintain a polite smile.
“Welcome to Starfall Academy, Raven Blackstone. My name is Headmaster Montgomery. Thank you for escorting her, Andreas. Please pass on my best wishes to your father. Tell him he owes me a game of golf.”
The mage behind me chuckled. “Of course.” The door clicked shut as he left me alone with the headmaster. The magical handcuffs burned my skin, making me shudder. Being cuffed reminded me of how vulnerable I was.
With no magic to call on, I had no protection. Anything could happen to me here. Sure, the mage claimed it was a school, but what if it wasn’t? What if he’d delivered me to a nefarious criminal organization that trafficked young witches?
Willow and I had watched human TV shows when Adam wasn’t around. One of them had a whole plot arc about witches being kidnapped and trafficked so Mafia criminals could use their powers for evil.
I shivered again while the creepy headmaster stared at me like I was a bug in a jar, then the magical cuffs vanished. Almost immediately, my magic surged back through my veins. I rubbed my wrists, even though the cuffs hadn’t left a mark on my skin, despite the horrible burning sensation. A sudden urge to set something on fire had my fingers tingling, but nothing happened. Much to my relief, as I’d caused enough damage for one day.
“Interesting,” the headmaster murmured eventually.
Nobody had ever called me interesting. Annoying, exasperating, and willful, yes. But notinteresting.
“I detect nothing but minor elemental magic.” Two deep frown lines appeared between his eyes. “But there’s something different about you, young witch. I’m not sure what exactly, but never mind. Your magical abilities will manifest in full during your time here, so we will discover your latent abilities in due course.”
“There’s nothing special about me,” I felt compelled to point out, hoping it might encourage him to send me home. “The only thing my magic can do is start small fires and make a few simple potions.”
“You’re uneducated, Miss Blackstone. You have a lot to learn.” I almost snorted. He had no idea I’d spent my whole life soaking up knowledge from books and whatever else I could find. Yes, I had no real-world life experience, but my head was full to bursting with theoretical facts.
Before I could protest some more, he plucked a folder out of thin air and handed it to me. “This contains all the information you need. Please read it before your lessons begin in the morning.” The door opened behind me to reveal a young woman with glasses and frizzy red hair. “Moira will show you to your room. Enjoy Starfall Academy, Miss Blackstone. This is a great opportunity for you to reach your magical potential, so please try to make the most of your time here.”
