But it wasn’t just the first period where Alaric paid me attention. It was in betweeneveryclass as he walked me from room to room throughout the day, even when doing so was definitely going to make him late to some of his classes that were across campus. But without fail, he was standing outside each of my classroom doors, ready to walk me to my next class. He even walked me to lunch, even though he had lacrosse training on the field that period.
Sara-Kate was all smug as I sat down and Alaric sat my lunch tray in front of me. Did I mention he insisted on carrying my satchelandthen carrying my lunch tray as we went through the line in the school cafeteria?
“I see someone is taking his babysitting duties very seriously.” Sara-Kate giggled as soon as Alaric ran off, most likely in trouble with his coach for being late.
“Shut up.” I fumed, tugging at the ring that seemed to throb when Alaric wasn’t nearby.Stupid cursed ring. “So what is the majorly importantthingthat you have on Friday night that you can’t come to dinner with us?”
“Thing?” Sara-Kate asked innocently. “What thing?”
I threw a grape at her in retaliation for her clear attempt to force Alaric and me together, annoyed at how my best friend was determined to be my wingwoman no matter what.
Before I could reply, a cold shiver ran down my spine, my exposed skin erupting in goosebumps. I glanced over my shoulder, finding some of the same girls from my history class sitting at a table a few yards away. Among them sat a tall, pale girl with long, straight, onyx hair. Her dark eyes locked on me, one hand holding her cup of coffee while the other hung in the air by her head, her pointer finger seemingly making little shapes in the air. Another shiver ran up my spine, and just as I turned away, I swear I could have seen shadows dancing around her fingers.
I shook my head, pushing the memory of my bizarre lunch out of my mind as Alaric and I headed into the library. I followed him up to the second floor, but paused when I noticed he kept walking, heading directly towards the staircase to the third floor.
“Where are you going?” I asked, confused as to why he would go up there where students weren’t allowed.
“To a safe place where we can talk. Follow me,” he commanded.
I looked around, afraid a teacher or another student would see us, but it looked like we were alone. I followed him up to the third floor. We passed by the door to the storage room and the teacher’s lounge, making for the special collections room.
“Wait, don’t we need the librarian’s key to get in here?” I looked over my shoulder, nervous we were going to get caught.
“Not necessary when I have my own copy.” He shrugged as he waved the key over his shoulder.
“Where did you getthat?” I whispered, following him into the special editions room after he casually unlocked it, like it was the door to his own home.
“Perks of being me,” he replied mysteriously.
He closed the door behind me, leading me past the long table in the center of the room. On the other side of the long table were rows of bookshelves that were encased in glass, presumably to protect these special editions. Alaric led me down one shelf to a dark corner. He motioned for me to sit on the floor as he started to make strange motions in the air, as if he were writing something. Just like the girl from lunch.
At first, nothing seemed to happen, but then there were flashes of light, and symbols in a dark red and orange glow came forth from his fingertips, like fire. The symbols didn’t make sense, but I sat entranced as I watched him spell them out. After a moment, I felt a deep thrumming through the floor, and the air surrounding the corner we were in felt muffled, as if a sound barrier had been put in place.
Alaric turned and smiled, sitting down, legs crossed in front of me, pulling his bag in between us.
“What was that?” I mumbled, dumbfounded. He really could do magic.
“It’s called a blood sigil ward, and it is a protection and silencing spell,” he replied easily, pulling an ancient tome from his bag. “You’ll learn it soon enough.”
“So, you are my mentor, huh?” I held up my pointer finger with his ring, now mine. “We’re bonded or whatever?”
Alaric looked up, his face blanching. “How much did your uncle tell you?”
His sudden change in demeanor surprised me. Was there some rule that only your mentor could tell their apprentice about magic?
“Not a lot,” I admitted. “Just that my constant headaches are caused by death echoes and that with this ring I’m cured of them for now but also bonded to you in that I am your student and you need to teach me how to harness my powers so I don’t go crazy.”
He sighed, seemingly relieved as he turned the pages in the book, flipping to the first page. He turned the book toward me, where I saw a long description of Bloodwright magic and a symbol much like the one on the ring I was currently wearing.
“This ring has what’s called a Bloodroot Circle ward embedded within it, meant for protection,” he began to explain, pulling my hand into his as he showed me the red markings on each side of the ring leading up to his family crest. “It is also a bonding item between a newly awakened Bloodwright and a more experienced one who will act as a mentor.”
“Right, my uncle already explained this.” I nodded. “He said that this typically only happens between Bloodwrights inthe same family.”
He nodded, his dark green eyes focused on the ring and my hand tucked into his. “Yes, we are odd in that regard.”
“But why did you give it to me? How did you know it would work?”
“I didn’t.” He looked up. “I couldn’t stand to see you in pain, so I gave it a shot. Turns out it worked.”
