Impossible Magic (6 page)

“Ever stop to wonder why I’m such trouble for you?”

He sneers, his lips curling back. “You’re dreaming. If I wanted you, I could have you. Easily.”

The door whips open and Paige is standing there in a peach, silk dressing gown and matching pajamas. She glances between the two of us and frowns.

“May I help you? You do realize that it’s the middle of the night.” She’s still wearing perfect lipstick and not a hair is out of place. I doubt she was actually sleeping.

“I caught her in the hallway. Again,” Luke declares impatiently. “This time, it was in the men’s ward, doing who-know’s what.” His accusation earns a glare from me, but he’s looking at Paige. “I’m also sure that she sneaked outside, and she smells like a distillery.”

“I get the point, dear boy,” she says impatiently. “I will take care of this. Finish your rounds and then go get some rest.” She places a hand on his chest in a revealingly intimate gesture. The thought flashes through my head—I wonder if they’ve ever been lovers.

“Yes, ma’am,” Luke says, bowing his head.
Ma’am?
At least there’s one person he respects.

CHAPTER 9

“Well, well. Just one week and you’ve already been sent to the office.” Paige folds her hands across her chest and looks me over, her expression unreadable as she tilts her head to the side. “Follow me.”

She steps back so I can enter the door and then leads me into her private quarters, which contains a sitting area and a small kitchen with a round, two-seat table. Huge, framed posters of the Eiffel tower hang on the pale pink walls. The decorations are art deco and tasteful, a post-war time capsule compared to the Victorian castle that is the rest of Juniper Hall. Black fleur de lis candle holders offer comfortable, warm light. She gestures for me to have a seat at the table and I do. My stomach is a pit of acid, as I ponder what might happen to me.

“Have you ever been to Paris?” I ask, gazing at the posters.

“Many times,” she says, bringing over a teapot and pouring me a cup. She offers me sugar and I take one. “I’ve been all over the world, but I would say that’s my favorite place.”

I study her face discreetly and wonder again how old she is. Her skin is smooth and doesn’t show any signs of aging, and yet she exudes experience.

She sits across from me and crosses her red-lacquered nails on the table. “So, explain to me exactly what lead you to my quarters this late at night.”

I could easily implicate Melody for bailing on me, but I decide it’s better not to make enemies. I quickly craft a fib that I found the passageway myself and sneaked outside.

“And what did you do out there?” she asks. I feel like I’m being tested.

“Just looked around.” I shrug, hoping I look casual, but I know her bullshit detector is well-honed. I haven’t had to lie about sneaking out since I was fifteen. “There was a graveyard out there with an alcohol stash, I helped myself.”

“Hmm, we know all about that. Rather disrespectful to engage in revelry on hallowed grounds. I’ll have the wardens do a sweep.” She glances back at me with her striking lavender eyes, and I feel for a moment like she’s hypnotizing me. “You know those are both violations of our policies?”

“Yes. Are you going to kick me out of the school?”

“Of course not. That’s not how we operate. Would you like some tea? I’d offer you a glass of wine, but I wouldn’t want you getting blotto.”

I nod, surprised, and she stands up to put a kettle on her compact stove.

“I’m aware of the tricks of my students. They have an initiation for all the new ladies and gentlemen.”

I think about it for a moment, remembering her words the night she picked me up in Arizona, about reading minds.

“I think that…the girl who told me about the passage…knew that it was the wrong hall. I think she wanted me to take the fall for something.”

“She probably did. But you should have been smarter. You should have known you were being set up.” The kettle whistles and she takes it off of the burner, pouring hot water into two cups with tea cups. She brings the tea over and sets mine in front of me. “But we can cut you some slack in this instance. Hopefully, you’ve learned your lesson and won’t repeat your mistake.”

I nod slowly and lean my face over the cup, letting the steam warm my cheeks and the fragrant smell of jasmine fill my nose. She plops sugar into her cup and stirs it.

“Luke has been trying to catch me in something. I think he wanted you to spank me. Or maybe do it himself.”

It was a joke, but her expression turns serious. “Relations of any kind are strictly forbidden between wardens and students. Do you understand that? That is a much more serious infraction than merely sneaking out and drinking.”

“I don’t even
like
the guy,” I clarify, forcing thoughts of Luke out of my head, just in case she’s reading them. “I was just kidding.”

Her eyes narrow as she searches my face, and is apparently satisfied by my words. “He shouldn’t be treating you differently than the others. I’ll have a chat with him and get him to reign it in.” She rises to her feet and glides into the sitting room. “You’ve been having trouble with your magic, haven’t you?”

“You saw that, too?” I ask, wincing.

“Your Professors have kept me updated on your progress. Or lack thereof?” She smiles politely and rests back on the striped couch, spreading her arms out on the back. She gestures to the armchair across from her and I move there, leaving my tea.

She plucks a rose from a vase full of them next to her and lays it in the center of the coffee table.

“I think I’ve lost my magic or something,” I confess. “I can’t access it the same anymore.” I bite my bottom lip. “I’m worried that you made a mistake bringing me here.”

She smiles coyly, putting her robe over her exposed knees. “I don’t make mistakes. I want you to try something for me. Sit back and relax.”

I do as she says, positioning myself on her lush chair as I feel my backside sink in. She stares into my eyes, her purple ones quite unsettling as they probe into the depths of my soul.

“Now, try to levitate the rose. Hone your mind in on your intention and dig deeply inside.”

I stare at the rose, blinking. There’s no way I can do this. I’m way too nervous. Still, no harm in trying. She’ll see for herself and if she wants to send me home, better she find out now.

I’m shocked when I feel my magic, clear and strong, flowing like water up inside of me. I’m afraid to breathe in case the enchantment disappears. I move my eyes up in a straight line, and the rose floats up as if pulled by invisible strings. I let out a delighted, relieved laugh and sit back. “Why isn’t it this easy in class?”

“You just have to relax and let it happen. You might be tensing yourself more than you realize. Maybe your thoughts are elsewhere, on the life you left behind, perhaps?”

I nod at her. I have been distracted, maybe partially on purpose to ease the transition to being here.

“It’s not as strange as I thought it would be, but I still feel displaced. Everyone keeps repeating that I’m treating my magic like a joke, but I’m not trying to. It’s just a release.”

She smiles knowingly. “It’s natural to feel strange at first, you’ve been dropped into a fairy tale. But over time, things will even out, and you’ll feel quite at home here with your peers. You will only be weak if you accept weakness.”

I muse over her words for a moment. The anxiety has drained away from me.

“Thank you, I really appreciate this, ma’am. So, can I go?” I rise to my feet and stretching my cramped arms. After all this excitement, I’m ready for bed.

She chuckles and gets to her feet, retrieving a pair of reading glasses from the table. “You’re not getting off that easily.”

She laughs again when she sees my face fall. What does she mean? “What kind of example would it set for the other pupils if I let you get off with no reprimand?” She glides into the other room and I follow her as I hear the sound of owls hooting. It’s a small office, with bookshelves on the right and left wall, and an overflowing, mahogany desk in the center. Two barn owls are perched on posts in front of long windows behind the desk.

Paige coos and pets both owls like cats as she passes by, and they stare at me with their ghostly faces. One ruffles its feathers but makes no move to fly. Through the window, I see the clear sky full of glittering stars above the blanket of snow. She must have the best view in the entire house. Paige tilts the glasses on her nose and digs through the papers and books piled on the desk.

“You may call me old-fashioned, indeed I am, but your punishment is going to be cataloging books in the library.”

“Oh, that sounds fair.”
Phew, that’s it?
So not what I was expecting. Sounds like a piece of cake, but I’m not going to argue with her choice.

She finally finds what she’s been digging for, a black bracelet with chunky amethysts across the band. She sends it hovering into the air and it shoots toward my arm, locking around my wrist. It’s a snug fit, not uncomfortable, but reminds me of a handcuff.

“How long do I have to wear this?” I spin it around as it drags against my skin, staring at the dark amethysts.

“It will come off when you’ve paid your debt. Three library sessions. Be off with you now, time to catch up on your rest. And don’t worry, your magical control will come in time.”

CHAPTER 10

I was expecting a modest library, but when I step inside the next afternoon, I’m greeted with a massive, three story mausoleum of books. My eyes nearly bug out as I swivel my head, taking in the high shelves with rolling ladders, and the endless volumes of books. High above is a stained glass dome in the ceiling. I have a mild headache from drinking last night, but thank my lucky stars that it’s not a full-blown hangover. The librarian wrangles me and explains the catalog, slapping down a huge guide of where everything goes.

“You don’t even have the dewey decimal system?” I ask, paging through the guidebook.

She throws back her head and cackles.

Well, shit.

I push my overflowing book cart down the aisle, reading the guide to make heads or tails of the system. When I think I’ve got it, I start putting the dusty tomes away. My pace is broken when Luke strolls around the corner of the bookcase and heads toward me.

“What are you doing here?” I groan, putting my hands over my face in exasperation. “Did you come to gloat? Argue that my punishment wasn’t harsh enough?”

“I’m supposed to supervise you, to make sure you carry out your duties,” he says simply, crossing his arms and leaning back against the shelves opposite me. I can make out the hint of his toned biceps below his shirt sleeves, bulging as he presses his hands underneath them. He regards me coolly and I’m positive he’s thinking about last night. I divert my eyes before they can get trapped by his gaze.

“I don’t need your supervision.”

“Obviously the Headmistress thinks you do.”

“Why do you insist on always bossing me around?” I growl. My brain decides it’s the perfect time to embarrass me with memories of the things I said last night. I can’t stop my insides from quivering.

“I enjoy bossing you around,” he says with an annoyingly gorgeous smirk. He tries to suppress the smile, the corners of his lips twitching, as he waves toward my cart. He’s enjoying this. “Enough chit-chat. Get back to work.”

I glare at him, his smug face increasing my irritation. “Why are you such a jerk? Do you get off on it?” I slide the book in my hand with more force than necessary into its place, knocking over some others beside it. I lean over to retrieve them. When I look back at him, his hard, aloof expression has softened.

He glances away and runs his thumb across his bottom lip. “That was not originally my intention.”

I watch him as I slide the next book into its home, then scoop up another stack. “Then why
do
you come across that way?”

He considers it. “One has to maintain a certain character to be in charge. Simple as that. If I acted like a student’s friend, no one would take me seriously.”

He makes a little bit of sense, even if I don’t agree with his methods.

I push the cart down the aisle, taking in this new revelation. I make my way down the shelves and he follows me silently for a few minutes as I keep busy with my task. I can feel the electricity stirring between us, urging me to look at him. I tug at the black bracelet digging into my wrist, the one that’s supposed to come off when I’ve completed my punishment.

“Any way you could magic this off?” I ask, holding up my arm.

He scowls at me, back to his usual self. “You have to take this seriously.”

“I’m doing it, it doesn’t mean I can’t joke about it.”

He narrows his eyes at me, having trouble reigning in his anger.“But that’s the problem, you don’t understand the seriousness of being chosen.”

I whirl on him, my own irritation building inside, and I have to restrain my volume. “You keep assuming things when you know nothing about me.”

He struggles to keep his own voice low as he steps forward, his calm facade falling away. “I can’t help but assume things about you when that’s all I see.”