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Fifteen Years Later
My eyes snapped open before the bells at the university even tolled. My body had been well trained by years of following the same schedule. Like a well-oiled machine, I executed my morning routine with a precision only time could bestow. The bells tolled right as I stepped out of my room, locking the door behind me. The rest of the bodyguards followed suit, all four of us in sync. They weren’t simply my coworkers, but companions. Levi, our omega, was far more than that, but I’d lay my life down for any one of them.
We had mere minutes to cross campus to the Arch Mage's tower, and none of us spoke as we headed out. At first, I’d questioned why we weren’t housed in the same building or even one nearby, but the Arch Mage’s tower was his sacred space. Staff weren’t allowed in after hours unless personally invited, which never happened. He was a private man, and though we might be his bodyguards, he could hold his own long enough for us to get to him if needed.
The moment we stepped outside of our building, something felt off. It took half a second to spot it, the early morning fog sparking with magic. But it wasn't the usual aura found on a campus for witches. A heaviness hung around the tower, a dense fog that made it impossible to see the campus clearly.
"Dark magic," Avi said, confirming my thoughts. He was our resident expert on dark magic. His previous coven had made sure of that fact. Pale blue eyes bounced over the dense fog, and judging from the tension in his body, it wasn’t going to be a good day for our beta. The alpha in me wanted to fix it, but we had a job to handle before I could let my instincts get their way.We may be a coven, but our job has to come first. It's why we’re here, after all.
"The Arch Mage wouldn't use it," Levi said, almost defensively, and none of us had anything to say in return. We trusted our employer, but he was secretive. Not all witches felt dark magic was bad as long as it was used for education or discreetly. However, the best of intentions still led, most often, to hell. When someone tasted the alluring boldness of dark magic, it changed them. It started slow and subtle, with the user becoming more closed off, breaking old routines. Then it consumed them until they were unrecognizable, lured in by the enticing power and kept captive by the demons that lingered there.
On a campus that specialized in magic, this wasn’t the first brush we’d had with the dark arcane arts, but it had never been this intense. Our steps quickened as we reached the Arch Mage’s tower, the fog now so thick it created a tangible wall. We shoved our way through, needing to ensure our charge was safe.
The tower was silent as we made our way up the ever-winding stairs to the Arch Mage's quarters.Far too silent.We weren't typically the only staff that congregated here at this time of day, but it seemed this morning was an exception. Even the usual blend of alpha, beta, and omega scents was absent. That should have been our second clue that something was wrong. The Arch Mage had personal servants and cooks that catered to his every need. He used them to their full potential, meaning all the time, so for it to be this quiet meant something had happened. I knew in my soul that this was going to end very badly. Call it the intuitive witch in me, but every instinct I had screamed for us to turn, to run. The alpha in me was desperate to save his coven from whatever fate had fallen on our charge, yet we forged ahead.
The magic sparked in the air here, both dark and light mixing in a riotous storm, strong enough that every hair on my head stood on end as we stopped in front of the Arch Mage's door. My hand twitched slightly as I pushed against it to enter, fighting the feeling that something was pushing back. No matter how hard I shoved, it didn't budge. The door wasn't locked, but magic danced along the edges of the door, seeping through the cracks.
"Magical block," I announced to the guards behind me. "Let's try together to break the seal." No one questioned my order. We had never professionally established a leadership role, but I fell into that spot from our very first day, and no one challenged it.
We all reached forward, focusing on overloading the spell to break it. But the moment our magic touched the door, we were slammed backward, nearly sending a few of us over the railing and down the tower stairs. It would have been death if I hadn't caught Levi, and I was more than a little angry now. Scrambling to my feet, I noticed the barrier was now done. After sharing a wary look with Kane, I shoved the door open.
The sight before us was pure chaos. The Arch Mage’s sitting room was in disarray, with furniture shoved aside to expose the center of the room. Runes were inscribed on the floor, ones I didn't recognize, and I'd been through every rune class this institution had to offer. Each one was splattered in blood, crystals, and herbs. Hasty spellwork was definitely the culprit for the dark magic. There was no doubt of that now.
"Dark runes?" I turned to Avi. He pushed his shoulder-length hair aside and crouched down. His hand hovered over them as he scanned. It took only a few seconds before he rose from the position.
"They aren’t familiar, but I believe so. This entire place reeks of it," he said, spitting out the words like a curse. He was right. Dark magic had a sharp, sour scent to it. That was part of the reason it was so easily detected. It always stood out despite the burning of herbs or spells cast to conceal it.
"Where is the Arch Mage?" I asked, not expecting a response. For the first time in my life, I was uncertain how to proceed. I turned around to face the others, my eyebrows furrowing when I saw Levi staring up at the ceiling. His mouth was gaping wide, and his eyes stared on in horror. With a shaky hand, his finger pointed upward. My head fell back as I glanced up, freezing at the sight of the swirling mass above us. Smoke and flashes of colors sparked, swirling just below the ceiling in a storm cloud that threatened to burst at any moment. It took a few seconds before I made out the man inside of the cocoon of magic. The Arch Mage looked like he was in some kind of peaceful stasis, his long white hair billowing around him, eyes closed. There was no blood or wounds in sight, not even tears in his expensive silk robes. But even from here I could tell he was gone; there was no rise and fall to his chest, no signs of life at all. Even under all of this, we should have felt his magic, the smell and presence of it almost as familiar as our own.
"What? How?" Kane struggled out the words as he moved directly under the volatile mass of magic. He started to reach up, but I snatched his hand away.
"Don't. We don't know anything about it, and it's dark."
"We need help," Levi stated. "This isn't something that we're trained for."
"You're right," someone's voice cut in. We all turned as the university's Board of Directors walked in. All four of them were present, which was odd. They were never seen together outside of hearings. Arius, the leader, eyed us up and down, while Romus, Kyler, and Phyros looked borderline bored. Even with their feigned disinterest, I could see shrewd calculation in their eyes. Along with the Arch Mage, the old alphas made any heavy decisions regarding the university. The disapproval and accusation on their faces had my chest tightening. Worry and panic stirred among our coven bonds, souring the air with their bitter scent. My alpha instincts were on full alert, wanting to protect my team at all costs, and I had to remind myself that these men weren’t our enemy…yet.
When the board stopped, glanced around, then turned their questioning gaze on us, I knew that whatever was going to come out of their mouth was going to piss me off.
The staff was missing, the dark magic obvious, and from the way they are barely reacting to the Arch Mage hovering above us… This board knew what was happening and let us walk right into the trap. What else could it be?My thoughts tumbled around, trying to make sense of this mess we’d stepped into. The realizations had me feeling like an idiot. The signs were there, but we’d been too focused on saving the Arch Mage to see them. We'd been careless and fallen into whatever trap this was. I’d failed my team. We never should have stepped foot inside.
"They always come back to the scene of the crime, don't they?"
I glanced at Arius, one of the eldest of the group. I'd always considered him old and wise, the kind of public figure that you could look up to and learn from. Right now, I wanted to punch him square in the fucking mouth. His voice was bored and lilting, like this was a big fucking joke to him—likewewere a joke to him—and that last thought had me clenching my jaw and taking a breath.
"Excuse me," I said, stepping slightly in front of the others.
Kane's alpha nature wouldn't let him stand behind me, so he moved to my side, protecting our beta and omega. Even though the protector in me hated it, I didn’t fight him on it. Keeping Levi and Avi safe was enough for my own alpha instincts and ego, and it was important that we worked together to make that happen. We'd always worked as a team to give each other what we needed, and this time I knew they needed me to be strong, to protect them from the bullshit coming our way.
Right now, this very much felt like an us-versus-them situation, and the board held more power and influence than anyone other than the Arch Mage himself. And seeing as how he was floating above us, he couldn't defend us. This mess was either an attempt to overthrow him or get us out of the way, or both. Honestly, I couldn’t figure out which was the actual intent considering this fiasco would kill both of those birds with one stone.
"We knew this had your signature all over it. You're the only ones that have access to the Arch Mage after hours. This place is spelled to repel anyone but you four, and clearly he did not do this to himself," Kyler added, his arms angrily crossed in front of him. He was on a witch hunt, literally, and was too far into this act to consider actual facts. This was a show, and they were playing their roles perfectly. Was this for the benefit of any sneaky, prying eyes or ears, or was someone else maneuvering not just us, but the board as well?
"To attack such an esteemed member of our university? You'll never see the light of day again," Romus added with a spiteful tone that cut right through me. This board had been established to protect the students and employees at this university, yet here they were, acting as judge, jury, and executioner without giving us the slightest chance to defend or protect ourselves. I wished I could say that I was surprised, but alphas in power often defaulted to greed, something I’d vowed wouldn't happen to me.
A choked sob escaped Levi at Romus' words. If it wasn't for Avi's hand locking around my wrist, I would have slammed my magic into these assholes for upsetting my omega. I'd never entertained such negative thoughts about these men. I'd always respected them for their position and we'd been in many board meetings or protected them when it was needed. Yet that clearly meant nothing to them now.
Phyros stepped forward, holding out a magical scanner. I knew exactly what he was about to say, and so did Avi, based on his whispered curse. "Hold out your hands… please." It was a direct order despite the pleasant word tacked on at the end. "We have ways of detecting dark magic, and this reeks of it."
