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Laughing, I walk back over to Corin, who gives me a searching look, before we head towards the tree. The area itself inside the glamour is huge, and I’m not quite sure how something of this size even fits inside the forest on the Academy grounds, unseen. Hell, as we stride across the large field, that’s full of knee-high grass—that strangely doesn’t make my legs itchy—and I can’t help but wonder how a place this big could fit on the Academy grounds at all. It’s probably about the size of the main campus, minus the forest surrounding the edges and is mostly made up of this grass field and small foliage closer to the reticulated roots at the base of the massive tree trunk.
I open my mouth ready to ask Corin if the grass feels silky to him too, when a sudden cloud of bright purple erupts from the grass making the both of us flinch back. It takes me a moment to realise what it is. Butterflies. Giant, glowing butterflies. They’re roughly the size of my hand, some closer to Corin’s hand size and they’re fluttering around us lazily. I pause to watch them, in awe at the beauty of this place. It’s like a paradise.
Unable to resist the urge, I do a twirl, arms splayed out at my sides as I move through them. Corin laughs at me, but grabs my hand when I hold it out to him and clumsily guides me into another spin. It has me cackling with joy, a permanent smile on my face as we continue through the field side by side.
It’s when we get about fifty feet from the end of the first tree root that I feel it. A shiver rolls through me and my body starts to hum; it’s a barely there feeling at first so I brush it off, but by the time we’re almost at the base and climbing over the large roots it’s almost unbearable. Unicorn has taken to hovering near me, watching me. Corin moved ahead of me a few minutes ago to help lead the way, so he hasn’t noticed yet and I don’t want to alarm him, so I send Unicorn a stern look.Don’t tell him a thing. I try to tell her with my eyes.
Fine trembles wrack through my limbs and I clench my hands, unable to keep from groaning at the pain.Fucking hell,it’s like I’m being skinned from the inside out. Corin glances back at me, hearing the noise and when he sees me he steps into my space, grabbing my forearms gently—which isn’t a bad idea since weakness is now steadily weighing down my body—concern creating a groove in his forehead.
“Goddess, are you okay? What’s going on?”
I swallow roughly and Unicorn lets out a whine. “I-I’m not s-sure. It s-started when we got-t closer to the t-tree,” I whisper.
Still holding onto my arms, Corin starts pushing me back and I take a few steps with him before freezing as a sharp tug rocks through my sternum, forcing me to jolt forward into Corin’s chest, whimpering. “No, we can’t move b-back. I have to get up there,” I cry, pointing up to a place partway up the trunk, somehow innately knowing that’s where I need to go. I don’t know why but I need to fucking get there. Get there and the pain will go away.
Corin’s face pinches in concern, but he obeys and slides his arm around my waist, helping me hobble closer to the tree. In my distraction I missed a narrow staircase that spirals up the trunk. It must be the one he was talking about before and appears to be made of the same wood as the tree which helps it blend in well.
I go to take the first step, but I miss it. The shaking is so bad now that my teeth are audibly chattering. Corin lets out a scoff and before I know what’s happening he has me up in his arms in a bridal carry pose and is climbing the stairs at a steady pace. I chuckle weakly. “I h-hope y-you know that if-f you d-did this any oth-ther day I w-would f-fight you tooth and nail t-to get down, r-right?” I clarify, grinning despite the discomfort rolling through me.
I catch his eye roll and chuckle again. “Yes. I know you’re a badass, Nessa. Now shut up, and save your breath, we’re almost there.”
Unicorn shifts to her cat-sized form and lands on Corin’s shoulder, nosing me gently with her snout, the worry clear in her expressive eyes. I relax into his arms, trying to control the shakes wracking through me, but they only get worse as the steps level out and Corin steps onto a deck of sorts. I suck in an unsteady breath as the well of magic in my chest suddenly flares to life, writhing around angrily. I let out a yelp and scramble out of Corin’s arms—or at least Itryto—but the big bastard simply tightens his hold and scowls down at me. I dislodge Unicorn from him in the process, but I’m in too much pain at the moment to worry about that.
“Put me down now! You big grumpy Mountain Man ,” I growl in frustration, tensing further as I swallow the urge to gag when my magic rolls again violently, tears streaming from my eyes.
The aggravating man simply raises an eyebrow at me. “No.”
I snarl, an animalistic sound, deepened by the powerful magic rising inside of me. “Please, I don’t want to hurt you. My magi—”
I’m cut off when it hits its tipping point and explodes out of me, hitting Corin’s body, Unicorn and everything around us. Pain shoots through me, nothing like I’ve ever known, and I let out a silent scream, body seizing like I’m being electrocuted. My ears ring and everything goes white for a few moments before my vision returns and Corin, and I find ourselves standing side by side in the corner of the deck, only everything looks different and Ghost Girl is standing in front of us—corporeal. I suck in a startled breath and my eyes dart to Corin’s to make sure he’s seeing this as well and he looks confused as hell, but is staring at Ghost Girl. He can see it too.Great, I’m not going completely crazy then. That’s always a positive. My attention goes back to the scene in front of us, catching on Unicorn who is standing beside us watching the same thing we are. I’m about to make sure she’s okay when a guy appears at the top of the staircase, focused on Ghost Girl as well. I tense at the anger wafting off him, the strong spicy scent burning my nose.
Ghost Girl flinches when she catches sight of him and backs up. Flexing her hands as she glares at him, a look of horror dawns as she looks down at her hands. “No,” it’s barely a whisper.
My brows furrow as I try to figure out what’s going on.
The man takes a step closer and Ghost Girl falls back against the wall. “This isallyour fault, Aurora. You know why I need to do this. You deserve this,” he growls.
Her gaze is hollow as she stares at the floor, accepting whatever is about to happen. “What did you do to my magic, Steven?”
His head tilts to the side. “I blocked it.”
A shiver rolls down my spine as a smile tilts his cracked lips. Ghost Girls fear slams into me and I stumble back a step, gasping as the wind is knocked out of me. I can’t look away as the man purses his lips before reaching out his right hand in a quick movement. As he does, the air tingles with his power and Ghost Girl is pressed back against the wall, grasping at her throat, eyes wide with panic.
I have to fight the urge to groan as her absolute terror rolls through me. My mind goes fuzzy with pleasure at the feel of it and I can feel my body growing physically stronger.Holy shit she’s powerful. My slightly dazed mind is fighting against both my body’s and power’s instincts as I try to focus on what’s happening instead of falling into the pleasant haze of my powers.
Ghost Girl’s face turns purple, the whites of her eyes red from the blood vessels bursting as she slowly suffocates.
Finally, as though breaking out of a daze in my peripheral vision, Corin lunges forward, aiming for the man using his powers on Ghost Girl. I swallow thickly and shake my head, trying to shake off the pleasure racing through me as my powers relish in the fear coursing through the room, and help Corin, but it seems that his efforts are futile anyway. When he reaches the blonde haired man, instead of slamming into him, he passes straight through his form without causing so much as a ripple let alone drawing the man’s attention. It’s as though we’re not even here. Like we’re watching a memory or flashback that’s in third person.
My eyes dart back to Ghost Girl as the fear coursing through the room vanishes and I find her unconscious against the wall, the man moving closer, hand still outstretched in front of him, strangling her with his magic. I sink to the floor as the feeling my powers evoked falls away, my shaky limbs giving out on me. It was so much more potent than when it happened last time and I can’t help but ponder whether it’s because in this scenario the person the fear was coming off was being physically harmed and thought they were going to die. I lick my lips, my eyes half-lidded as I suck in shaky breaths.
Minutes must pass as I try to get myself together and Corin, having given up, stands off to my side staring at the gruesome scene in front of us with a resigned slump to his shoulders. I hear the moment Ghost Girl’s heart gives out and the man releases his powers, allowing her lifeless body to fall to the floor with a sickening thud.Disrespectful asshole. Then again I suppose he did just murder her. I blink, my eyes narrowed. “I don’t get it, what was the point?” I ask Corin in a low voice, my nose crinkled. “Why only show us this part?” I murmur.
Those swirling rainbow eyes slide to mine, but he doesn’t speak. I return my focus to the man and find him now crouched over Ghost Girl, holding something while muttering under his breath. “Uh oh, that can’t be good.”
I don’t realise I’ve spoken allowed until Corin grunts under his breath in agreement and we watch helplessly as the man’s chants grow louder until he’s shouting, his magic filling the space. I have to swallow the urge to gag as its scent hits me, changing as the enchantment progresses and the smell of death, rot, and stagnant water overtakes everything. Unicorn lets out a grunt, lips peeled back in a snarl as she watches the man and Ghost Girl. Finally it reaches a pinnacle before sinking into Ghost Girl’s body with a resounding boom that rolls through her and into the deck. Almost immediately the ground starts trembling and I claw at the floor in surprise, trying to gain a hold. Corin drops to his haunches, leaning over me protectively, seeming unaffected by the magic induced earthquake and is instead glaring daggers at the man who is now standing—despite the earthquake—over Ghost Girl’s body with a smug expression on his face.
Then the oddest thing starts to happen. The wooden floor splinters and thick branches burst through to wrap around Ghost Girl’s body. The tremors stop as theglowingbranches curl around her limbs like snakes and drag her towards the back of the room which I now realise is the trunk of the tree.
