“Ididsave your life. I’m not expecting to take time out of my day to rescue your pretty little ass again, so if you want to repay the favor, you’ll do as you’re told,” I snapped.
She huffed. “Fine. I’d say that was a fair deal.” She tapped her fingers against the balcony.
I kept my gaze fixed on her. “I’ll hold you to your word, Miss Sosna.”
I hesitated. Shit. I’d never meant to say her name. Her eyes widened, but before she could say another word, I started scaling the wall. In less than a minute, I was on top of the roof and out of Emma’s eyesight.
My heart felt like it was in my throat, making it hard to breathe. That was a close call. I’d nearly slipped up and given myself away.
I wasn’t so sure I hadn’t.
Chapter Ten
Emma
I’d met the love of my life. He was the Phantom.
It was a big jump to make, but when our hands touched and he interlocked his fingers in mine, there was no doubt in my mind. I felt the magic there, binding our lives and fates together. It was an undeniable attraction that nature itself couldn’t ignore.
The Phantom was my mate. I only needed to discover who he was, so that we could be together.
I was certain that I’d run into him before. He knew my name. He had to be in one of my classes. And Odette had told me about the wards around the school that were placed at night. You couldn’t pass in or out of them unless you went to school here, which meant that the Phantom was somewhere among the male students at Arcanea University.
But there were thousands of guys here. I couldn’t tell you how many I’d met in the past few days. The Phantom could be any one of them. Narrowing it down wouldn’t exactly be easy, but I did have hope… he’d bonded with me, which meant he was a wolven. Besides, nobody but a wolven would run around with awolf maskas a disguise. The guy really needed to up his game when it came to the secret identity department.
I’d have never met him if I didn’t make a spur of the moment decision to take a nighttime stroll through town. I missed my mom. I wanted to know more about the world she came from. Okay, maybe a midnight walk through townwasn’tthe safest way to do it, but I’d tossed and turned all night. I couldn’t sleep while picturing her at my age, roaming magical alleyways and performing magic like she was born to do so all her life.
I’d wondered why the streets were so empty, and I found out— the Black Claw cornered me long before I’d even realized they were following my trail. It had been scary learning about them in the first place, but actually seeing them in person, coming toward me with those freaky skull masks, had made them horribly real.
Then the Phantom had saved me. Even better, he’dbondedwith me. Now all I needed to do was solve the mystery.
A couple of weeks had gone by, but I still wasn’t used to things at Arcanea University. If I was useless at illusion, I was even worse at Intro to Enchanting. The enchanting classroom was in the shape of a crescent moon, with a wall of windows that looked out over campus. There were a variety of round tables covered in purple velvet cloths, surrounded by an assortment of large armchairs where we did the enchanting. Professor Calliope strode around the room, observing as we attempted to infuse swords with magical energy.
Professor Calliope was a dragon Marked who had long black hair and a robe that appeared as if it was made of starlight. She was old, dignified, and strict, but I liked her. She treated everyone the same, and if anyone had the nerve to get cocky, she’d take them down a peg.
“Clear your mind,” Professor Calliope spoke strongly over the girls struggling to enchant their weapons. “Focus your intention on the blade, then visualize the color of the spell— the color of the enchantment of protection isblue. Guide your hands over the blade, hovering slightly by an inch or two. If done properly, the blade will glow with a similar hue to the magic, and the sword will provide an added defense while taking down monsters.”
Calliope demonstrated again, and a sparkling blue magic floated from her fingertips and landed on the broadsword displayed on the desk in front of the table. “Enchanting is the magical art of infusing objects with a certain intention, similar to illusion,” she spoke. For example, if you enchant a teacup with the intention of happiness, whosoever drinks from that cup will immediately experience an elevated mood. Likewise, if you wanted to enchant a sword for better defense during battle, you would cast an enchantment of protection, like we’re attempting to do today. Alicorns in particular should experience ease while casting enchantment charms, as their magic is best suited for shield magic, but all Marked should be able to cast some sort of protective enchantment, should the need arise.”
Not me, apparently. We were supposed to use these swords in our next Monster Hunting class with Lord Lucien, so I wanted to get this right. I didn’t want to be the only loser without a working enchanted blade on Monday. Everything at Arcanea University connected together, and if you failed in one class, it would affect your performance in the others.
I held my hands over the sword and tried to focus, but I couldn’t see the blue light, nor could I picture my intention. I didn’t feel safe, not even within these stone walls. The Black Claw were out there, and they’d nearly killed me twice now. Who’s to say they wouldn’t try again? I didn’t feel protected at all. I felt scared.
The blade glowed red, and Professor Calliope stopped at my table. “That’s wrong, Emma. That’s the enchantment for fear. Which works well if you’re attempting to get the monster to flee, but is not the purpose of this class.”
She waved her hand, and the red color from the sword faded, drifting into air like smoke. “Take a moment to realign yourself.”
She walked off. I glanced around the room. Many girls had already gotten the spell. The room was lit up with blue. I was one of only three who hadn’t nailed it yet.
I sank low in my seat. I’d never get this.
“It’d be easier if you tried to relax,” Kiara said beside me. “I know it’s difficult.”
I was surprised at the sound of Kiara’s voice. She’d sat next to me in all my classes, and was my partner for most of them, but hadn’t said a word since Lady Korva had spoken nasty things to her face.
I huffed. “Is there an easier way to do this?”
Kiara shrugged. “You can add certain crystals to create a circle around the object for easier enchanting, but those are only to be used with advanced spells where the magic doesn’t want to take.”
