I tugged at the bottom of my green and black plaid skirt, wishing I could close the gap between the hem and the top of my thigh-high
stockings. Wearing a skirt was so impractical if I was going to be burying bodies in the woods.
Even if my plan was to try to keep the violence to a minimum, I wasn’t known for my lack of impulsivity.
My reflection in the mirror was something I didn’t recognize. I’d left my hair down, falling around my shoulders. The color was glaring against the white of my dress shirt. My forest green blazer rested over the end of the bed, the black shoes they’d set out for me forgotten and tucked under the edge.
My combat boots didn’t look quite right with the thigh-high socks and the absurd little ribbon that knotted into a very loose sort of bow in the place of a tie. I’d deal with the skirt without a fight, but I’d go to war over footwear.
I lifted the blazer, shrugging my arms into it and settling it to rest over my shoulders comfortably. There were no buttons down the center, leaving it to drape open and leave the high waist of the skirt where the shirt tucked in visible.
I rolled my eyes as I moved to the door to my bedroom, pulling it open to find three faces staring back at me. They were all somewhere around my age, and I knew they were probably all descendants of the original families. At least before the school had closed fifty years ago, legacies roomed together. It didn’t matter that I was one of the thirteen students taken from
outside the barriers of Crystal Hollow. One of thirteen students who showed magical promise and could offer some diversity to the bloodlines.
I’d been born a legacy. I would die one as well.
“You must be Willow,” the first of the girls said, breaking from the other two to approach. She took my hands in hers as she beamed at me, her energy radiating off her in waves. “I’m Della Tethys.” She confirmed my suspicions of being a legacy, the name of one of the two original lines of Blue witches rolling off her tongue.
I slowly pried my hands out of her grip. Her skin was cool to the touch. Her turquoise eyes swirled like sea water as she relented, turning back with a flip of dark hair to smile at the other girls and motion them forward.
The one wearing a gray and black plaid skirt with a gray blazer stepped forward, wringing her hands more shyly. “I’m Nova Aurai,” she said, and something about her felt unsettled. Her eyes were devoid of all color, the lightest of grays staring out from a remarkably beautiful face. Her dark hair was set in stunning ringlets, her lips naturally dark and lovely against her deep brown skin. “That’s Margot Erotes,” she added, gesturing to the blonde in the background.
The Red witch made no motion to come closer, studying me thoughtfully as her blonde hair framed her face in a long bob. “Pleasure,” she said, her voice practically a purr. The hair on my arms rose in response to it.
“Don’t mind her. She doesn’t like to be touched,” Della said, crooking her arm through mine. “It’s nothing personal.”
I raised a brow at the Red witch, noting the slightest tinge to her cheeks.
A sex witch who didn’t like to be touched.
“That sounds absolutely torturous given your magic,” I said, the words slipping free before I could stop them.
Margot breathed a sigh of relief, her shoulders sagging forward when I didn’t pass judgment or mock her. “You have no idea.”
Nova moved to the kitchenette, grabbing four granola bars out of a jar on the counter. She tossed one to each of us. “We missed breakfast, so these will have to do.”
I tore open my package with my teeth, taking a massive bite. After the energy I’d expelled the night before, I needed more. I needed protein and food from the earth.
Nova smiled as she pulled the front door open, jerking to a halt when she found someone standing on the other side. Iban smiled somewhat shyly, running his free hand through his hair. “Headmaster Thorne thought you might need this, Willow,” he called over Nova’s shoulder.
I stepped forward, my brow furrowing as I took in the sight of the plate. An English muffin with eggs, Canadian bacon, and melted cheese was half wrapped in foil, and the plate was otherwise filled with fresh fruit, cherry tomatoes, and sliced cucumbers. I took it from him with a soft laugh, grabbing a grape and popping it into my mouth.
“That was thoughtful of him,” I forced myself to say as I chewed. It was considerate, suspiciously so, and I imagined the younger witches didn’t have any clue what a witch needed after that kind of offering to a source.
He might have been one of the only ones who did.
If any of them thought it odd that the headmaster had done something of that nature, they didn’t say it. The looks they silently exchanged communicated it clearly enough.
I stepped past Iban into the hall, pausing when I realized I hadn’t the first clue where I was supposed to go. I smiled sheepishly at him as I picked up my breakfast sandwich and took a bite.
“Where’s my first class?”
“Ah, I think Della may be the best to help you with that,” he answered, running a hand through his hair.
“Iban has no magic, Willow. What need would he have of classes meant to teach him such things?” Della asked. The words weren’t spoken cruelly, but Iban’s whole body flinched regardless.
“Then what are you doing at Hollow’s Grove?” I asked, my brow furrowing.
I hadn’t realized that those who made the Choice attended the school even after they’d given up their magic, but I should have realized it the night before.
“I serve the Coven in other ways,” he said, nodding down to the plate of food I held in my hands. “Besides, given my age, the best place for me is here now. I’m not going to find my mate anywhere else, am I?”
“You’re willingly looking for your mate? Aren’t you a little young?” I asked, my voice hitching. The thought of having children at our age was horrific to me. I’d barely even begun to live.
I hadn’t at all, if I were honest with myself.
“I gave up my magic in the hopes of finding a suitable match that the Covenant would approve of, and I could fall in love with. I’m not going to risk missing her,” he said, smiling.
I shoved a bite of melon in my mouth to buy time to push down the discomfort I felt over needing to answer. With the way he was staring at me, unease settled in my gut.
The Coven would approve of him as a match for me. He was a Green, keeping the bloodlines as pure as possible. While a witch only inherited the power from their mother, as the father was powerless by the time of conception, they still prioritized keeping the Houses pure when they could.
I had a feeling, with the closing of the school, they’d been forced to be less selective without fresh blood coming in every year for breeding. But neither of my parents were a Bray, nor were my grandparents, to my knowledge.
Beyond that, I didn’t know. I didn’t want to think about it.
I swallowed loudly, linking my arm through his. “Whoever she is, she’ll be a lucky woman,” I said, smiling as I took another bite. Iban’s cheeks heated, and I knew I would need to squash whatever this was sooner rather than later.
He’d given up his magic to have a family.
I didn’t intend to have one at all—even if I lived long enough.
It was far more likely that I would die trying to find my aunt’s bones— far more likely that Gray would drain me of blood and leave me to die when he discovered the truth of who I was.
I forced myself to smile through the stark reality, letting Della and the other girls lead us to our first class of the day. Iban seemed happy enough to go with us, so I let him walk beside me as I tried to gain a little of my strength back from my breakfast.
The faint hum of magic pulsed in my veins with each bite of fruit as the cycle of life rejuvenated me. I’d sacrificed, so now it did the same, but what was taken by force would never be as powerful as what was freely given.
I felt my eyes pulse with warmth as I looked up from my plate to the classroom my roommates led me into. Headmaster Thorne stood at the front of the room, a chalkboard behind him. He’d rolled up the sleeves of his dress shirt and tossed his suit jacket over the back of the chair at the desk. His cold stare met mine as my escort guided me into the room, and I flushed as that knowing look dropped to the plate of food in my hands.
“Thank you,” I forced myself to murmur beneath my breath. I wasn’t sure if even his hearing was strong enough for that, but he smiled just slightly.
Iban stopped me by the door, spinning me subtly and smoothly until my back struck the stone of the wall just inside the classroom. I giggled as he leaned into my space just slightly, keeping a respectable enough distance. He didn’t crowd me, didn’t put an arm above my head or make me feel trapped. Guilt swelled in me as I did what I shouldn’t, using the opportunity he’d given me.
I reached up, brushing a stray strand of hair away from his temple as his green eyes darkened in response. He leaned his head into the touch. “You’re playing with fire,” he said with a grin, his teeth shining and perfectly straight.
“I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about,” I said, fighting back a smile of my own. The fact that he saw through me settled some of my guilt.
He hummed, placing his hand above my head now that I’d made the first move to touch him. “Soon enough, you’ll realize that the Vessel isn’t a possibility for you,” he said, leaning in to whisper the words so softly I knew he was aware of our audience. I smiled up at the cooperative, playful man. “Maybe then you’ll see me the way you seem inclined to pretend you do.”
The smile drifted off my face slowly, leaving me to gape up at him as the meaning of the words struck me in the chest.
Iban leaned in, touching his lips to my cheek sweetly. “Enjoy your games, Willow, but just know I play to win.”
