“What now?” She stepped forward a pace so that they stood side by side.
“Now” —He looked down at her, and the moonlight danced off of his dark hair— “I make good on my promise to show you how to use that wand.”
Chapter four
Arabella Marudas
Arasatatherdressing table and brushed her hair as she went over the list of things she needed to accomplish to consider the day a success. She ignored the reflection in front of her, staring instead out of her window onto the misty moors that stretched out before The Whispering Woods. Dew clung to each blade of grass except for a swath that someone walking from Calami had cleared into the woods.
Ara paused mid-brush. Her face was so close to the window now that the tip of her pert nose was almost touching the cool glass. Not someone, a boy, and truly not a boy, but a man. What was he doing on the grounds? He glanced back, as if hearing her thoughts, and looked up into her window, into her very soul. He stopped and cocked his head, raising a hand in greeting. She would know that face anywhere. Calder Darkmore. She had never spoken to him, but she found herself drawn to his face at every gathering between witch and wizard. His strange orange eyes seemed to seek her out as well, though she knew it was foolish to think so.
She jerked away from the window and stared into the mirror, her breathing rapid. What was he doing on the grounds of Calami? She chanced a glance out of her window again, but he was gone, the only evidence he was ever there at all was the lingering dark green magic, hanging in the air like mist.
Roxie perched on the edge of the table and leaned over, her red curls falling into Ara’s face. “Is there any line in the text you haven’t annotated in some way?”
Ara laughed as she pushed her away and looked down at her copy ofImperial Witcheryand laughed.Only a few weeks ago, the book was just as crisp and clean as Roxie’s, but now the pages were marred with underlines and notes in the margins. She marked the more important chapters by folding the corners of their pages, so she could easily return to them during her studies.
The Kingston triplets sat down at the table in front of them, each tossing their long, brown hair over their shoulders in a display of bone-chilling synchronization. They weren’t truly triplets, but cousins so indistinguishable, many had trouble telling them apart. Even their familiars were identical. Gray rats with beady red eyes that glinted in the light and disgustingly long bald tails that dragged along the ground behind them.
Ara had learned to tell them apart, though. The triplets seemed to seek her out for humiliation. She had gotten on the wrong side of Ariminta Kingston and, by extension, her cousins, Hazel and Temperance, during her first year at Calami. She bested Ariminta during one of her trials, but also because Juniper innocently pounced on one of the rats found in her room. She suspected the triplets sent it to spy on her and had given Juniper extra chin scratches for his bravery as the rat was as big as he was at the time.
Ariminta’s tormenting only grew worse as Ara rose in the ranking and now was only a few spots behind Ariminta’s top spot. The triplets went out of their way to confront and intimidate Ara whenever they saw her, as if she would drop out of Calami if tormented enough. If anything, it made Ara work harder.
Ariminta glanced over her shoulder at the used book and wrinkled her nose. “Arabella, are you so poor you can’t afford new books? Had I known, I would have taken up a collection on your behalf.”
Ara’s cheeks burned as Hazel and Temperance laughed. Roxie narrowed her eyes and opened her mouth, but Ara grabbed her hand and squeezed it hard, whispering, “I’ll fight my own battles and this one isn’t worth it, Rox. I’ll beat her in the rankings. Her words mean nothing.” She looked Roxie in the eyes and willed her to understand.
Roxie twisted her lips and Ara knew her friend was fighting the words that were threatening to spill over, but Roxie nodded and sat down, crossing her arms as if she needed to physically hold herself back from retaliating. She released the augere clutched in her hand, the emerald amulet hung from a delicate golden chained pendulum that wrapped around her wrist like a vine. The golden orange magic she had channeled to it quickly faded.
A dark-skinned witch with long skinny braids and light purple eyes stood in the doorway to the classroom, scanning each table for an open seat. Roxie’s anger was soon forgotten as she waved the young woman over and pulled out the empty chair. All talk ceased as she walked over, everyone watching her. Whispers of blood witch crossed the room as she did.
Ara admired the way her sister’s roommate held her back straight and her eyes forward, ignoring it all as she took her seat. Roxie took the open chair next to the woman, effectively sandwiching her between them. Ara recognized the look in her friend’s eyes and shook her head. Roxie stuck her tongue out in response.
“I’m Roxie.” The redhead’s voice dropped, forcing the other girl to lean in to hear her.
Ara bit her lip to keep from smiling. She could have written a handbook on Roxie’s seductions methods by now. Introducing herself was ridiculous, though. The class only held twelve witches and had been in session for weeks.
“I know who you are.” Lilith paused and then added. “I’m Lily.”
The headmistress of Calami swept into the room, the heavy door shutting behind her, cutting off whatever Roxie was about to say. She was a heavy-set woman with dark skin and the same purple eyes as the witch next to Ara. She stood in front of them, a serene smile on her lips, her hair woven into intricate braids similar to the style Lily wore. The entire room seemed to wait with bated breath for her words.
“Who can tell me where we left off in our last lesson?”
As one, the room exhaled, and hands shot into the air. Ara tried to resist the lure to prove herself, but the pull was too strong, and her hand shot up with the rest. She ignored Roxie’s giggle.
“Miss Marudas, with your extensive note-taking, I believe you may be more qualified than even I to tell me where I ended the lesson.” Headmistress Sidonia Sinclair’s voice was warm and inviting, with no hint of reprimand or reproach at Ara’s studious nature.
Still, Ara ducked her head, her cheeks warm, when the room tittered with laughter. “You were explaining the Imperial Witch’s importance to the whole of Lynoria.”
Sidonia nodded. “Our wizarding counterparts like to think they don’t need witchkind, but truly, without an Imperial Witch at the helm, the land would wither and die.”
The class grew quiet at the thought.
“Like when the vessel was lost and the Magnus Wars began?” a girl in the front row asked, her voice timid.
Ariminta scoffed, her voice dripping with disdain. “The vessel was never real, you idiot. It’s a myth.”
“Aren’t all myths rooted in some measure of truth?” Sidonia asked. “Perhaps there was a vessel centuries ago that enriched the land and brought peace to all, and when she perished, our world plunged into darker times. Or, as I like to believe, human and wizardkind wanted someone to blame for their mistakes and we witches were an easy target. Our magic is so closely intertwined with the fertility of the land around us. More so than that of the wizards. So when a famine or flood befalls the area, a witch is likely to be placed at fault, regardless of the true reason it happened.”
