Or Adam.
I chewed my lip while staring at the letter. There had to be something I’d missed here.
Selena, the witch in the room opposite me, had nearly self-combusted in excitement when she opened her door to see Zane sauntering away. No doubt the entire dorm would be ablaze with gossip about the slutty witch on the third floor.
I didn’t care to check the dorm group chat. It was better not to know what they said about me.
The longer I sat on my bed staring at the sheet of paper with its purple scrawl, the more it bothered me. Then something clicked in my head.
When I was younger, we’d used code to communicate. Nothing magical, as I didn’t have any magic back then. Just a simple method of concealing text within books and regular notes.
Words written in lemon juice were invisible to the naked eye until exposed to heat. Then the words appeared. It was so ridiculously simple that it made sense Willow might use it here. The witches in the admin office would scan incoming mail for magic, but I highly doubted they’d be on the lookout for words written in lemon juice.
I held the sheet of paper in one hand and summoned a tiny flame in my other. When I brushed the flame lightly across the sheet of paper, rows of tightly packed brown words appeared. Willow had added additional sentences in between the lines of purple ink.
When I was certain there was nothing else to reveal, I peered closely at the words she’d added.
Raven, I’m so sorry I got you into this mess. Adam was so mad at me for letting you go to the stupid market. He’s worried too, I can tell. I overheard him talking to Veronika last night; he said you’re in danger and we need to get you away from Starfall and hide you again. No clue what he thinks you’re in danger from, but from the bit I heard, he plans to break you out at the winter solstice party when families can visit the school. Hang in there, birdy, and we’ll soon bring you home. I promise I’ll bake your favorite chocolate cake and we can binge the latest season ofThe Witching Hourwhile stuffing our faces. Miss you to the stars and back, love Willow xxx.
If Willow had said these things the day I arrived, I’d have rejoiced and begun packing my bag. But my life had changed in a million ways since that day at the market.
Leaving Starfall Academy now would mean leaving Maverick, Glynda, and the annoying incubus behind.
Adam would lock me up again. Hide me behind impenetrable wards where nobody could find me.
Maybe Adam was right. Perhaps I really was in danger, but at least here at Starfall, Ihada life. Sure, it wasn’t perfect, but looking back, I could see how small my life on the farm had been. Adam may have thought he was protecting me, but even a comfortable cage was still a cage.
I took the letter into the bathroom, tore it to shreds, and flushed it away. Seeing Willow again would be amazing, but I wasn’t about to let Adam spirit me away from here, even if he thought it was in my best interest.
Luckily, the winter solstice was still a few weeks away, so I had plenty of time to think of a way to stop Adam from stealing me from here against my will.
A huge yawn escaped as my body lost the fight against exhaustion. Between Zane’s talented mouth and the unexpected letter from Willow, I needed some restorative sleep. I ducked back into the bathroom and quickly brushed my teeth. Kenji still hadn’t returned, so I made sure the window lock was in place and then switched my bedside lamp off, ready for sleep.
Kenji grunted something unintelligible when I crawled out of bed. It was still dark outside, but I’d had enough of being ghosted by Kai. I got that he was likely embarrassed or whatever that a witch had saved him, but seriously, the guy needed to get over himself.
We lived in enlightened times. Females could be strong and dangerous too!
If he had a problem with my rescuing his ass, I wanted him to tell me. To my face. Preferably while he was shirtless so I could shamelessly ogle his chest and shoulders. Oh, and arms.
I had a weak spot for arms, I’d decided. Was arm porn a thing? I resolved to ask Glynda at breakfast. I figured she’d know.
The incubus would know, but no way in this realm was I asking him about anything porn-related. He’d see it as an invitation into my pants. And we weren’t going there.
Ever.
Maybe.
Pushing down all sexy thoughts before I lost focus, I pulled on a pair of shorts and a loose tee. The mornings were cool, but the chilly air would wake me up. Once dressed, I tied my hair back and padded downstairs, passing by the empty common room.
There was nobody around outside as I hurried toward the sports complex. Light drizzle quickly soaked through my thin tee, and by the time I reached the entrance to the swimming pool building, it was almost translucent.
Stars above, this was a bad idea. I should have stayed in bed. Humid, salty air tickled my nose when I opened the door. It smelled of the sea in here. Not that I’d ever been to the coast, but I had seen photographs and imagined what it would be like to paddle in the waves.
My jaw dropped when I saw the swimming pool. I’d expected a simple rectangular pool, but this was way nicer. It had a rock formation at the far end, with platforms at different levels, presumably for diving, and a waterfall feature. Smaller, shallow pools lined the edges, with deeper sections where swimmers could dive.
I scanned the surface of the water but saw barely a ripple. My shoulders sank with disappointment. I’d been so sure I’d find Kai here. Merpeople needed to swim daily to keep their scales and gills healthy. After the incident with the wolves, I figured he’d swim in the morning instead, while the wolves still slept.
What a waste of time. I should have stayed in bed.
