At least until they started glancing at me and whispering things to him that made him chuckle.
I narrowed my eyes. This game of his had proven to be very dangerous, mostly because I didn’t know how to properly play it. He bit me, seduced me, pretended to protect me last night, and guided me today, all the while issuing insults, and now it appeared he was making jokes about me.
Were they taking bets on how quickly I would fail?
Well, I’d just have to prove them all wrong.
Except I had no idea what I was doing or how to use my wand.
And the choker around my neck resembled a noose.
Shade’s words echoed in my mind.“Prove your own worth and figure it out yourself. I have faith in your failure, baby.”
Pompous jackwad,I thought at him now. His goading fueled a fire inside me, one that blended with the cerulean energy I’d created last night. I felt it humming beneath my skin, having not quite died even while I slept. As if it now belonged despite the foreign sensation of its presence.
I studied my fingers, half expecting to see them glowing, when a loud crash at the front of the room sent my focus upright.
A burly male appeared from a cloud of smoke, his cape flapping around him like bat wings. An appropriate entrance considering his small head. It didn’t quite fit his robust physique. Not fat, so much as solid. His neck bulged with strength, his thighs the size of my waist. And he had to stand at least a foot taller than me.
He reminded me a bit of Sol, causing my heart to skip a beat in my chest. Not in the way it used to when I had a crush on him, but in a familial way. The male had practically raised me with hismother’s help. And his sister had been my best friend before she died.
It felt like a lifetime ago.
A distant memory when faced with my current reality.
Which included a pacing giant at the base of the classroom, his hands holding a scroll. Everyone had gone quiet, waiting for him to speak.
A pair of midnight irises scanned the room, landing on me.
Here we go.
But rather than say anything, he shrugged and went back to his scroll. The parchment went up in bright purple flames a moment later, and he clapped his hands. “Welcome to Advanced Conjuring. Most of you are familiar with my teaching methods. For those of you who are not, I prefer pair teaching. Now, get your wands ready and we can begin.”
All the students pulled out their conduit tools, so I did the same.
“You know the spell,” he added. “Well, maybe not.” That last statement was for me, something he confirmed when he met my gaze. “When I count to three, wave your wand in a crisscross pattern three times and saySharikana.”
I nodded to display my understanding, but he’d already looked away.
“And go,” he said.
Echoes of the spell chanted from around the room, and I quickly followed suit, only to startle as energy zipped around me. A lasso of sorts formed around my wrist, the magical substance roped directly to Shade across the room.
His lips curled and he blew me a kiss.
I tried to yank myself away from him, which only tightened the connection and sent a piercing whistle through the air.
Cringing, I ducked into my desk and nearly dropped my wand.
Then felt Shade’s subtle tug back. A taunt. And it shoved me right over the cliff into a puddle of fury.
Angling my wand at him, I snapped, “Let me go.”
Which did absolutely nothing other than amuse him.
So I sent a blast of blue fire down the rope, directly to his wrist.
He jumped out of his chair, dropped his wand, and wrapped his hand around the flaming line. This time I fell out of my chair when he yanked.
