“Whoa... that was weird...” she said as she recoiled, her bright eyes flashing to mine with panic. “Is tha... is that like, normal?” she asked.
Instinctively, without thinking, I reached for her hand, taking her finger in between my thumb and index finger, inspecting the fair, soft pad of her fingertip for energy burns or residuals. But I saw nothing of the such. It was almost as if the power had just... absorbed into her skin.
What I felt, however...
My own magic ebbed beneath the surface as I let my fingertips stroke her skin, on the pad of her fingertip to the edge of her fingernail, and I didn’t miss thecalmthat washed over me as I did so.
My gaze met hers, and I could see the faint glow of lilac around her blue irises, like a lunar eclipse.
Whatever it was I felt, I had a feeling she could feel it, too.
I didn’t want to let go, but I did.
“Some magic is rooted deeper than others,” I said darkly, dropping my hand to my lap.
Violet sighed again, the motion drawing my attention to her heaving chest.
Which did not help to squelch my twitching cock.
“I don’t really know much about my magic, to be honest,” she said as she pushed the runes around in front of her, focusing on their arrangement. “Or magic in general.”
Little swirls of purple and pink energy pooled at her fingertips as she ran her fingers over the symbols again. Sparks gathered where she touched the shell, but she didn’t pull away this time, though a part of me wished she would, so I could touch her again... so I could feel that wave ofcalmnesslike a lullaby.
“I was hoping I’d learn more about how... how to control it here, but none of my classes today even remotely cover that. Instead, I’m learning about dragons and runes and I feel like I’m in over my head...” She diverted my gaze as she fingered through the pages of her book, looking back and forth at the runes in front of her.
I’ve never been one to go out of my way to help people. Not because I think I’m better than anyone, but because it just wasn’t something I was good at. I didn’t know how to not take over a situation. How to let others fail or watch them make the same mistake over and over.
My entire life was about being the best, the most powerful.
Powerful incubi could sway favor in the highest of places, and that was what my family wished for me. Notoriety.
Well, I achieved notoriety all right, among my peers. As a fucking murderer. Which of course, is completely unfounded and untrue, but hell if anyone would believe me.
I pushed the negative thoughts aside for the moment, choosing to focus on Violet and the actual task at hand.
But like that day Violet crashed into me, I felt something in me shift.
I feltcompelledto quell her worries, her concerns.
“Maybe you just need someone to guide you, show you the ropes,” I said as I took a peek at the arrangement of her runes. The Hegalaz, Bekarna, and Wunjo symbols beckoned to me, calling to my magic, to my soul, like Violet and her essence seemed to do when I walked into this damn room.
“How’s it going over here, Violet?” Professor O’Connor stopped at our table, pulling me from my stupor.
Violet looked up from her book. “Oh, um... it’s okay I guess, I—”
“What do your instincts say?” Professor asked as he nodded to where her book was open.
“I’ve never really read runes before, I’m not sure I know what they even mean,” she said.
“That isn’t what I asked. What do your instincts say? Look at the runes,listento them, and your gut. Open yourself and let the runes speak toyou.Feel their magic.”
I rolled my eyes. While I understood what he was saying was true, as I’d seen other professors take this approach with students, it sounded like a bunch of bullshit.
This is why I’d make a terrible teacher.
I glanced down at the runes, opening myself to hear them, even though I was not the target of his advice.
I knew what the symbols meant. Destruction, love affair, pleasure. That magnetic pull ebbed around them, calling me like a ghost.
