I was completely fucking obsessedwith Rune. That was a given. I’d only known her for about three months, but I knew without a doubt that I loved her.
I’d never once justsleptwith someone like I had with her. We slept together the last few nights—slept, not fucked—my arm under her head, and Slater at her back. Nothing happened except dreams.
Slater and I both stared at her long after she’d fallen asleep on us.
Essence Craft was our first class, and Drecken Grimsworn was our professor.
I knew for a fact that he had a thing for Rune, and it made me wonder if he was her mate, too.
The Arcane House’s classroom had a stone floor etched with some kind of magic chalk and burn marks. Shelves brimmed with stoppered vials, bone boxes, coils of twine, and tomes. The whole place smelled like an old library mixed with a laboratory.
Drecken crossed the front of the room wearing an enchanted lab coat over the black academy-issued suit; his hair was abrighter green than Rune’s. His blue eyes scanned us before resting on Rune for a second too long.
She squirmed in her seat, and I couldn’t hide my smile.
The warlock made her nervous—interesting.
“Good morning,” he greeted us in a monotone voice that somehow contained amusement. “This is my class.”
Slater leaned toward me. “Is it? I hadn’t noticed.”
I rolled my eyes.
“I’ll be blunt. Teaching isn’t really my forte, but I know more than any other warlock out in Kalista, so I’ll just tell you what I know and make you do the same,” Drecken continued as if he didn’t care that Slater made fun of his little greeting. He probably didn’t. “Essence Craft is the practice of making things reality with your magical essence. That means crafting your intent. All supernaturals have that power.”
Runes appeared beneath his feet as he walked.
“Today’s objective is to transform your intent into matter you can use. Bind will to material. Tools, charms, constructs, wards, whatever you wish. Control the emotion that fuels your essence and give it a structure that holds.”
He clicked his tongue, and words ribboned into thin air like magical banners:
Matter can easily be tied to intent.
Power without purpose creates a door for evil.
Purpose sharpens the most powerful wonders, barriers, or weapons.
He sliced his hand through the glittery words, and they faded. Then, he launched into a lecture about magical essence and intent and material binding with intent.
It wasa lot,and it wasn’t very…captivating like the other classes had been. Rune, however, seemed to disagree because her eyes were trained on him as he spoke.
He glanced at her several times, maintaining eye contact as he lectured. That oddly didn’t make me jealous, and it confirmed to me he must’ve also been her mate.
Perhaps I was delusional, but I truly believed she was my mate.
Drecken clapped softly, and the runes on the floor reconfigured. “Your assignment today isthe living manifest, as the former arcane professor titled it. Basically, you’re using your essence to bind your intent to an item. Yes, that means you are essentially enchanting the item. I will come around and boost your intent to make it a lasting enchantment. You may pick any item on the table to my left. Create something that means something to you.” Drecken plastered a fake grin that turned real as he looked at Rune. “You’ll know if you fail because your magic will backfire. If you need instructions, I’ll put them on the board.” He snapped his fingers, and the instructions appeared on the board.
On the table to his left was a tray with a bunch of unique items: bones, crystals, metals, old teeth, glass, thorns, salt, threads, coins, and a mirror.
We each got to our feet and grabbed an item we liked. I grabbed a coin from the table and sat back down at my desk with it.
My magical essence sparked in my chest as I pushed my intent into it, staring at it with my special power. I cut my finger on my fang and bled a little onto it to make channeling my magical essence into it easier—a little trick my mom taught me ages ago when I was first gathering my favorite torture items.
I bound the intent:burn when lied to;hum when told the truth.
The coin sizzled with my magic before the weight became heavier. An orange glow emanated from it before dulling.
“Pass,” Drecken told me, pointing at the coin.
