She had been drugged or cursed somehow.
Under the circumstances, leaving the party was probably the last thing she should have done. But it was too late to turn back now. Without her magic, she felt completely vulnerable. She was damn good with a knife from years of slicing and dicing in the kitchen, but that didn’t mean she knew how to handle herself in a proper fight.
Even so, she would do her best to defend herself if she had to.
The situation she found herself in made it clear she’d been far too dependent on her magic. If she lived through the night, she swore that learning how to fight would be her top priority.
A loud beeping sound made her glance down at her phone. She blinked in confusion when she unlocked it and saw an icon pulsing with purple light on her home screen. Curiosity had her clicking on it, then the screen turned black before the wordsArcane Assistappeared in an appealing script. The large purple letters disappeared in a puff of smoke that blew across the screen, then more words appeared.
Welcome to Arcane Assist-Beta Version, your magical assistant app. Need someone to walk you home? Someone to fix your car? Arcane Assist is here to help! Are you in need of assistance?
Starla couldn’t recall seeing the app on her phone before, but that didn’t matter. She clicked the bigyesbutton. It felt a little silly, but it couldn’t hurt to try it since she really could use some help.
How may I assist you?
In the blank space provided, she quickly typed out that she was being followed and needed an escort home. As soon as she pressedEnter, she realized how crazy it was to believe the app could actually help her. How could they possibly have someone close enough to get to her in time? Was a magical being going to pop out of her phone and save her?
Ridiculous.
Then again, magic was a wondrous thing. Sometimes it made sense, and sometimes it was a chaotic mystery. Her brows furrowed when the screen turned purple and large white words appeared.
Assistance is on the way.
The words were replaced by numbers that began counting down on the screen.
Despite her skepticism, Starla couldn’t shake the small spark of hope that flickered inside her. It was hard to believe that real help would appear out of nowhere with the tap of a button, but she was running out of options.
She was fading fast and needed assistance.
And she needed it right now.
If Arcane Assist managed to send someone who could escort her back to her dorm safely, she would definitely be giving the app a five-star rating.
But for now, all she could do was wait.
Chapter Three
Remington Fortier didn’tfeel like being social.
In fact, all he really wanted was a few beers to help him relax before he fell on his bed, where he planned to sleep like the dead for the rest of the weekend. Just the thought of loud music, forced conversations, and the inevitable hangover from drinking a variety of magical brews was enough to make him cringe.
The pre-season football training schedule over the past few weeks had been brutal. While the two-a-days with the entire football team weren’t bad for someone with his strength and endurance, the late-night training sessions that had been set up for the supernatural players were a completely different story.
Since most of the coaching staff were also supernaturals, they were well aware of what each of their players was capable of. Because of that, they didn’t hold back when the humans weren’t around. Training was such a tame word for what they were put through.
They literally beat the hell out of the players.
And when they were done, they did it all over again the following day.
He couldn’t count how many times he’d actually fallen asleep standing up in the showers after practice. And when he finally got back to his apartment, Remy was often too tired to do anything but shove some food in his mouth before collapsing into bed. Even though he cursed the coaches for torturing their players, there was no doubt they got results.
The Trifecta University football team’s championship record proved it.
While there were some who believed supernaturals should completely abstain from participating in human sports, it was widely accepted as long as they followed the rules. To qualify toplay football, supernaturals had to learn how to hide their true strength. They could excel, but they couldn’t be too good.
Otherwise, they could put the whole supernatural community at risk.
It was a tricky balance, but it got easier the more they practiced. While some people would consider it an unfair advantage, Remy thought it was even harder because of all the additional restrictions that had to be considered. Magic was strictly prohibited on the field, and their strength and speed had to be carefully controlled.
