“Go. I’ll take care of things here.”
Professor Towers grabbed her hand in gratitude. “If you could just plant the trees, that would be a big help. I can come back and take care of the weather spell later.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll try to fix it. If I can’t manage the spell, I’ll at least water the area before I leave. Then, we can fix it tomorrow morning.”
“Thank you, Starla!”
She watched as the two females rushed out of the building. Standing alone in the greenhouse, she was instantly struck by a wave of loneliness. That seemed odd since she’d never had a problem being alone before. But that had certainly changed since meeting Remy. Thinking of her mate, she automatically reached out to him through their bond.
“What’s wrong, babe? Are you done with class? Want me to come get you?”
His immediate response made her smile. Just hearing his voice was enough to make her heart sigh with contentment.“Class is over, but I’m heading down to the forest area to plant some trees and fix a weather spell. Once I’m done, I will meet you at the stadium.”
“Fix a weather spell? That sounds hard.”
“I’ve never done this type of spell before, but I think I can make it work. I guess it usually rains in the forest area for a few hours every night, but that enchantment was damaged by one of the Magical Combat classes.”
“That was my class this afternoon,” he admitted.“We had a team competition today, and people were flinging spells and hexes all over the damn place. It was a total fucking mess.”
Starla sucked in a breath.“You didn’t tell me that when we spoke earlier. Were you hurt?”
“Of course, not! You wound me, mate.”
“You better not be wounded,”she sniped back.
That made him chuckle.“I assure you, I am injury-free. But a few others had some minor injuries, including Anton. He was in his shifted form and got his ass singed…literally. Pissed himoff enough to take a bite of the cocky fae-mage hybrid who flung the fireball at him.”
She didn’t like the sound of that. She knew that there were healers standing by during the training sessions, but she still didn’t like hearing that one of their friends had been hurt. Remy was taking two Magical Combat classes this semester. The advanced class had been part of his original schedule, but he also insisted on accompanying Starla for her beginner’s course.
Although he understood her need to learn how to fight, he was fanatic when it came to protecting her from harm. To stop him from having a heart attack from worry, he had to physically be there to help her. However, there was nothing she could do to protect him in the advanced class.
“We are all fine,”Remy assured her.“Really. The healer took care of Anton. Everyone was treated right after class, but I don’t remember anything being wrong with the weather before we left the sublevel. Isn’t that spell something Professor Towers should be able to take care of?”
“She had to leave. Her daughter was injured during soccer practice, so she had to go to the middle school to be with her.”
“That sucks. Wait! So, you are there alone? I don’t like the sound of that. Maybe I should come help you—”
“I’ll probably be finished by the time you get here. Don’t worry. I’ll be fine, mate. I’m heading down to the forest area now. I will let you know as soon as I’m done.”
“Be careful.”
“I will. Love you, mate.”
“Not as much as I love you,”he purred back.
That particular loving tone of his always made her shiver. Even as she broke contact, she felt him lingering in her mind. That made her smile. She liked being connected to him, and if it made him feel better about being apart from her, she wasn’t going to complain.
Keeping up appearances for anyone who might be watching through the glass, she rolled the cart toward the hidden portal in the corner of the room that would take her to the lower levels. Once she was out of view, she used a pulse of magic to command the portal to take her to the forest sublevel.
She was glad she was holding onto the heavy cart when a gust of strong wind almost knocked her over the moment she arrived. The entire forest had been plunged into chaos. A raging storm had unleashed its fury over the entire sublevel. Fierce winds tore through the woodland, swirling around her like a living tempest, while a torrent of rain cascaded down from the ominous dark clouds hovering overhead.
It wasn’t just a little magical mishap.
It was a fucking catastrophe of epic proportions, and she had landed right in the middle of it.
Chapter Nine
Thunder rumbled overhead,shaking the ground with its fury as jagged bolts of lightning slashed across the dark sky. The trees groaned under the assault of the driving rain, their branches bending and swaying as gusts tore through the forest.
