I do as I’m told, and the light dims as I close my fingers into my palm. The light goes out.
“Neat.”
He’s still holding onto my wrist. “Yeah.”
Gravel crunches under feet, and I can sense someone drawing near.
“Maaaaax!” Celeste’s nasally voice rings out, cutting through the otherwise peaceful courtyard. Max snatches his hand back, his features tightening with irritation. I need Cass to tell me the nitty-gritty details about these two…though at the same time, I know I shouldn’t get involved. Max is here to help me learn as much as I can in a short amount of time about being a reaper, and if he wants to marry Celeste…well, maybe there’s something about her I’m just not seeing.
I inch away and Celeste crowds in, bumping me out of the way with her perfectly toned butt.
“Hey, Celeste,” I say, figuring I’d try my hand at being nice and give her the benefit of the doubt. I would be shocked to see some strange girl in my fiancé’s room too.
She throws her arms around Max and stands on her toes, kissing him. Then she looks at me with a smug smile on her face, as if she’s trying to make me jealous.
“You’re doing magic?” Her pristinely plucked eyebrows hike up. “What spell was that?”
“Invenio,” I say, and wonder how I’m able to say the spell without anything happening. It has to be the lack of intention to cast…I think? As much as I want to keep shadowing Max around the rest of the day, I think it would be more beneficial to start with the first years. I’ll suck up my pride and take a page of out Billy Madison’s book, going back so I can do things right.
“Awww, how cute,” she sneers. “Basic first year stuff.”
Max frowns at her. “Most first years don’t get it right on the first try.”
Celeste shrugs. “So she’s lucky. Guess that makes your job easier, doesn’t it? The sooner you’re done with her, the sooner you can get back to spending time with me,” she purrs, wending her arms around him. She leans in and brushes her mouth against his ear as she speaks. “Now, how about you come up to the dorm and study with me?” Her tone of voice makes it clear she has no intention of opening up textbooks or practicing spells.
Max sucks in a sharp breath as she nips at his ear, his skin suddenly flushed. For a minute it looks like he’s tempted, but when he meets my gaze, a look of intense revulsion comes over his face, and he gently but firmly disentangles himself from her embrace.
“Maybe some other time,” he says, not looking at her. “I’ve got to finish up with Addy.”
Celeste shoots me a glare filled with such hatred, I’m amazed I don’t disintegrate on the spot. “Of course,” she says sweetly, her voice full of venom. “I wouldn’t want to come between you and your latest pet project.”
She flounces away in a huff, her blonde hair ripping behind her. Max pinches the bridge of his nose, eyes closed, and I stare at him. There are so many questions running through my head right now, but judging by the look on his face, I’ll be shot down in an instant if I try to pry into his love life.
Instead, I try a safer route. “You didn’t have to defend me to her, you know.”
Maxon blinks and shakes his head, as if coming out of a reverie. “What?”
“Celese. When she was trying to put down my spell work. You didn’t have to defend me.” I sigh at the puzzled expression. “Your girlfriend is clearly never going to warm up to me, and I don’t care what she thinks. Besides, I’m used to the ridicule and the hatred. This is nothing compared to what I used to deal with.”
Max scowls. “That’s bullshit. Just because you had to put up with that bullshit in the human world doesn’t mean you should accept it here. You’re among your peers now, Addy, and you’re crazy advanced considering your experience and training level. You should own it.”
I raise my eyebrows, surprised. “It’s a little hard to be confident about myself when you’re snapping and snarling at me all the time,” I point out.
I expected Maxon to look a little repentant, but he merely crossed his arms over his broad chest. “If your level of confidence is dependent on whether or not other people like you, you’re going to have a bad time.”
A burst of annoyance flares up inside me. “What are you, Dr. Phil?” I roll my eyes at his nonplussed expression. “I’m not here for therapy. I’m here to learn how to be a reaper.”
“Fine.” He pulls his spellcasting textbook out of his bag and slaps it onto the table. “Start from the beginning. Knowing what spell to use to neutralize demons can be the difference between life and death.”
“Isn’t cutting off their heads equally as effective?”
“Yes, and it’s the only way to kill them. But not all demons are created equal. Some demons have powers they can use to kill without laying a finger on you.”
A chill runs down my spine. “That demon in the alley…the one that almost killed you,” I say, and Max’s eyes narrow at the reminder of the night he got his ass beat. “Did it have powers?”
“All demons do, in a sense,” he says. “Like reapers. We all possess the same ability to perform spells and activate the magic within a scythe. Some of us are better at certain things than others—naturally—and then, of course, the more you practice, the better you become. Demons are similar, but get their power from consuming souls. Typically, the more souls they’ve consumed, the older they are. Did you notice the red slashes on the demon’s face that night?”
“Yeah.” I blink, and its horned face swims to the forefront of my mind’s eye. I can smell the putrid stench of its breath as it bellows at me, threatening to kill me. “The others had slashes, too.”
