Something didn’t add up. ‘How did you even attend the university if nobody knows about the Isles?’
‘Bless your innocent heart, child. Admittance is a sham… You pay them well enough, and they will enrol that snake off your shoulders.’
Not quite. ‘They still need to know what your kingdom is…’
‘I lied. Said I was born of an air fae and a human mating in the human lands.’
‘And they believed that?’ It seemed ridiculous that anyone would deem that colossus of a man a human halfling.
A wide, toothy grin stretched his lips as he wondered, ‘Why wouldn’t they?’
But I would kill him before I gave any praise, especially regarding his physique. Bleh. ‘You don’t command air.’
‘Ava, baby. You have no idea what I’m capable of.’ Alec sent a gust of air at my face, throwing my brown locks into a state deprived of gravity. Working my fingers through them, I couldn’t help the smile that etched itself on my face.
What? ‘How? Is your mother from the Air Kingdom?’
‘No. Command shadows long enough and you can make them invisible.’
‘This is so cool.’ I kept reaching for my strands that levitated against my will, just as I imagined they would if an air fae sent them flying. ‘So did you find your real mate?’
‘Not yet. Not everyone does anyway. Look at our father,’ he replied softly, analysing my face. ‘Can I ask you a private question?’
My heartbeat increased in pace; it seemed only fair given how many times I’d asked him, I nodded compliantly.
Alec looked unsure how to proceed. Brows furrowed, he inquired, ‘Is there something going on between you and River?’
A stab to the heart. ‘I thought there was.’
The hilly meadow my supposed father plastered me on with shadows overlooked the estate, though from such a distance I could also spot a village a few miles back.
Dark houses among thick trees and specs of tiny glowing bits on the ground, presumably the strange mushrooms I had noticed earlier.
I made a mental note to ask about them after the training session, since my witchy curiosity was unable to move past it. It was an itch I couldn’t scratch: a restless, twitching horde of green coils of power that kept trembling with excitement at the opportunity to connect to something new. But I decided against it, not until I understood the Isles better. With how turbulent my life had become, I didn’t need to tempt fate for any more surprises.
‘Show me your shadows.’ A tall, tanned man in a tailored black suit appeared behind me, his tone a grave bark, as though my mere presence had already ruined his day.
Taking a step back, I wondered what it was about me that evoked such explicit negativity in people I had never met before.
Perhaps they needed to be given a reason to respect me. My fidgeting witchcraft swirled excitedly at the opportunity to teach him a lesson. ‘How about a good afternoon or hello?’
Snarling, the man stepped closer, trying to intimidate me by using his size to take up space around me.
Tough shit, I was used to that already. Not a smidgen of originality marked his actions… Was that a universal go-to when it came to the bothersome overload of testosterone?
Lame.
‘What makes you think you can talk to me this way?’ His energy enveloped us, ready to strike if he wished to. But my overactive witch powers felt confident he wouldn’t.
‘What makes you think you can talk to me this way?’ I mocked his serious tone, unbothered by his growing frown and clenching fists.
Was it wrong that I enjoyed seeing the stranger at his wits’ end? After all, he wasn’t the cause of my frustration. Or not entirely.
Considering my options, I took a minute to calm myself down. A sigh or two later, I turned to face the scowling tutor. ‘Perhaps we got off on the wrong foot.’
Arms folded, I treated the display of toxic masculinity like bad theatre—hard to watch, harder to take seriously—as he threatened, ‘Perhaps I should just let my shadows teach you a lesson.’
I would love to scorch some marks into his stupidly polished face, too. ‘I can’t see Daddy Lord of the Isles being too happy with that.’
