AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Loren collected herself and cleared her throat, the low sound carrying far. “I’m here to see Agatha.”
“Are you her new errand girl?”
Errand girl? “No, I am…a new student.”
The witch pinched the arm of her glasses and slid them down her hooked nose. She peered at Loren like she was a new insect she’d never seen before, her furry brows pulling so closely together that they became one. “I hope I don’t sound rude when I say this, dear, but you… Well, you…” She cleared her throat and smoothed her shirt, the fabric a colorful pattern with turnips and watering cans. “You are human, dear.”
Loren tried not to roll her eyes. “I’m aware of that, thanks.”
“Is Agatha expecting you?”
“No. I actually work for Mordred and Penelope. They suggested I talk to Agatha about taking classes here.” The lie came so smoothly, she almost believed it herself.
The witch’s chair groaned as she heaved herself to her feet. “Come with me. Agatha still has another fifteen minutes left of her class before she can see you, so let’s find you someplace more comfortable to wait.”
—
Loren paced by the tanks and terrariums in the stuffy room, trying to think of what to say to Agatha when she got here. She breathed deeply, the different fragrances from all the blooms—some of them honeylike, others herbal or musky—filling her lungs and making her nose twitch.
Time was passing at a turtle’s pace. Or maybe it only felt that way because of how eager she was to get this conversation over and done with. She’d paced the same few feet of floor so many times she wondered how it was possible that she hadn’t dug a hole in it.
The enormous door groaned open, and she stilled.
A witch with a mass of curly brown hair that fell past her hips stepped into the room. She was beautiful, her tan skin dusted with countless freckles, her full figure voluptuous in a way that surely drew attention everywhere she went. Big eyes that were like emeralds slid over Loren with critical and thorough assessment before humor pulled her lips up into a tiny smile.
“Rickie wasn’t kidding,” she said. “You are human.”
“My name is Loren Calla. This might be an odd request, but I’m hoping you can help me.”
She shut the door and crossed the room, the dress that matched her eyes swishing across the floor. “Rickie told me you’d like to discuss the possibility of taking classes here.”
“I was thinking more along the lines of after school sessions. One on one time, just the two of us.”
“And what would you like me to teach you?”
“Magic.”
Agatha raised a perfectly shaped brow.
“Aura healing, to be specific.” It was the safest thing to say. A lot safer than telling Agatha that she wanted to learn how to open another door into Spirit Terra, how to freeze people where they stood, how to project her aura outside of her body …
And how to kill her enemies with it.
Agatha’s lips inched upward at the corners. “And what would you do during these lessons? Take notes while I talk and demonstrate?”
Loren suppressed the irritation she felt from Agatha’s condescending tone. “I’m currently attending Angelthene Academy, but they lack in my field of interest. And no, I would not just be taking notes. I would also be using my magic.” Loren knew the simple fact that she was a student at Angelthene Academy would make Agatha even more unwilling to believe her. As the top post-secondary education institution in the city—a school that taught mainly magic—humans were rarely ever accepted as students, since it held very little appeal to most of her demographic. If it weren’t for Roark and Taega’s influence, Loren never would’ve received an acceptance letter, but she’d wanted so badly to attend AA that she didn’t take no for an answer. It was the best education she could receive, and her best chance at getting into the field of herbal magic.
Agatha stared at her with a stony face for nearly a full minute. Slowly, her mouth stretched into a smile, and a short cackle bubbled up her throat. “Rickie put you up to this, didn’t she?”
Loren lifted her chin, teeth grinding audibly. “I didn’t come here to be mocked. I do have magic, and just because you've never seen a human with powers before doesn’t mean we don’t exist. We deserve to be treated the same as anyone else.”
“You’re serious?” Agatha was still looking far too amused. “That’s cute. Look, Lauren, I am a very busy person. I simply don’t have the time to take on extra lessons after school. I’m tired by the end of my days and would like to go home.” She began to walk away, hips swaying.
“What if I told you Darien Cassel referred me?” She didn’t want to play this card, but if this was what needed to happen for her to be taken seriously, then she didn’t have much of a choice.
Agatha’s dress swooshed like water over smooth stone as she turned back around to face her. “Now I don’t know which is the more far-fetched story.”
Loren ignored the snide comment. “I’m dating him, and he recommended that I come talk to you. I bet he wasn’t expecting you to be so rude.”
