1. Ethan

Chapter 1

Ethan

I press the handle and the fire extinguisher spews foam all over the lab table. Tanner, one of my students, stands with his hands behind his back and a glum look on his face.

“Sorry, prof,” he mumbles.

“Is anyone affected?” I ask as I wave the fumes from the potion gone wrong from my face and try not to breathe in the acrid air.

The half a dozen students all shake their heads, and as I look on, my head spins. But I push on, like I always do. I’m practically immune to these beginner potions, aside from a few headaches when they go wrong.

“Does anyone know why the potion backfired like that?” Florence, my best friend and co-teacher, asks. Their long dark blonde hair is braided and wrapped around their head. They wear a calf length dress with a cute pumpkin pattern. Black ankle boots and a silver belt complete the look. Flo always loves to dress for the season and we’re inching closer to Halloween and my birthday. How cliche, a witch born on Halloween.

They drop a hand to my shoulder and steer me towards the front of the classroom, where we share a single behemoth of an oak desk.

Lettie, an advanced student who shouldn’t even be in this class, raises her hand. “A drop of sweat made its way into the ingredients, messing up the proper components.”

“Good catch,” I say as I yawn, starting a chain reaction through the class. I plop into the chair behind the front desk and scrub at my face. I haven’t been sleeping well.

Lettie preens at my words and nibbles on her bottom lip as she eyes me. Every year since I started teaching at the ripe old age of seventeen, students try to catch my attention. And every year I turn each of them down.

Unlike Universities out in the human world, it’s not frowned upon to date the students. In fact, students are encouraged by family to hook themselves a teacher since we’re all from prominent families, either here in Hex or any of the other towns just like it. We’re hidden behind veils and seals created by witches and demons to create a town safe for the likes of us and any other supernatural that wishes to live in peace.

Florence stands next to me and places their hand on my shoulder, giving it a squeeze. Everyone also knows Flo and I are engaged. Technically.

Neither of us wants it and never has. We love each other to the moon and back, but doesn’t mean we want to tie ourselves down with each other.

For one, I’m gay. For two, Flo is non-binary, which isn’t a problem, and neither is them being aroace. All they want is to finish their teaching contract, then set up shop for hedge witchery. That’s what they’d be doing now if not for their family forcing them into teaching.

I, on the other hand, have always been passionate about magic and teaching it. We make for a good teaching team. For the most part.

“What would have been a good counter to the sweat had Tanner caught the mishap in time?” I ask the class.

“It depends on the potion.” Lettie bats her lashes and her cheeks go pink. “Tanner was working on a protection potion. He could have countered the saltiness of his sweat with a few grains of sugar to neutralize it.”

“Perfect,” Florence says, making Lettie’s face sour.

I have to bite back a snort. I don’t tease the students because it gives them the wrong idea.

“But—” Lettie focuses on me. “He could have added a variety of things. Like I said, it depends on the potion.”

I nod and address the entire class. “How about we get the table cleaned up and everyone start again? Finals are next week, and we want everyone to be able to do each of the potions on the list without a problem.” I raise said list from the desk. Each potion is child’s play for most of the students in this class, yet they all opted to take it because of me .

Ethan Speller. Sole offspring of former Speller coven leader Aiden Speller. Nephew of Drake Speller, who almost ran Hex into the ground. The Speller name brings awe, fear, and respect behind it. And apparently people think I’m cute. No one knows if I’ll be strict and fearsome like my father, or a deadbeat who soul tethered some unsuspecting immortal to him like my uncle had. Hell, I don’t even know, except I lean towards kindness as much as possible.

The students clear off the lab table and everything’s reset quickly. Flo and I still have tests to grade and essays to read, not to mention make sure that the potions are done properly. It’s exhausting. I’m just grateful we have resources unlike our human normie counter parts. I couldn’t be a teacher of any sort out in the human world. That’s too much for me, but behind the veils, we’re safe, and well compensated.

Glasses clang softly and the chatter of students fill the air. I put my head in my hands and massage my temples.

“Still not sleeping?” Florence asks softly as they slide into the seat across from me. Concern clouds their face.

“Hardly. I get a few patches of sleep every night, but nothing substantial.”

“Do…” Florence leans in. “Do they still show up?”

I nod. “Every time I close my eyes. I’ll be laying in bed, half asleep and then the demon shows up. Just smiling that charming smile of theirs.” The demon in my dreams is gorgeous. All blue skin with big gray eyes. Plump lips. A fun tail that gets darker towards the tip. Horns. And a laugh that fills my heart with joy. But it’s that smile that steals my heart.

“And you still don’t know who they are?” Flo’s brows scrunch together. “Do you ever think it’s something nefarious?”

I shake my head, knowing the answer. “They’re familiar. I just can’t place them.”

“They’re familiar because you’ve been dreaming about them for years .” A smile tugs at Flo’s lips.

I can’t help matching the smile. “True. I don’t even remember when they started showing up.”

“I do. It started when Cordia sent us to Hellion, Illinois, for our first full year of teaching. You had nightmares for weeks, then they showed up.”

I tip my head as I try to trace back my memory. It was my first time away from Hex and everything I knew. My grandmother wanted Florence and I to teach at several different witch universities before we came home to Hex. Wanted us to be more worldly, so we’d be better teachers. We’ve only been back in Hex for about six months now. “I think you’re right.”

“Somehow they’re protecting you, I think. But it could still be for nefarious reasons.” Florence taps their bottom lip. “Though I can’t think of why a demon would want to take away nightmares.”

“Exactly. I don’t understand. Are they even real?” That’s all I want to know. Through the years, I’ve hoped they’re more than just my imagination.

“We’ll figure it out some day.” Flo reaches for and squeezes my hand. “But I have something more fun to talk about.” They wiggle their brows as they whip out a hot pink flyer covered in glitter. “I know what we’re doing for your birthday.” They wave the paper in my face, raining glitter everywhere as I try to read. “It’s a masquerade party at this place called Flutter and Fangs. It’ll be perfect for your twenty-fourth. Maybe you can find a lover before our ridiculous wedding.” Their eyes roll at the same time I roll mine.

“I still plan on getting us out of the arranged marriage.” I’ve been saying that since I was nine, though.

Finally, I snatch the flyer from their grip to read the details. “I think my uncle Drake used to own this place before…” Before he lost his ever loving mind over a Fae. I never met Lark, but I hear he’s living his best life between three realms.

“Maybe? Come on. It’s been so long since we’ve been in Hex proper we need to explore one last time before we’re locked down for whatever the covens have planned for us.” Florence shivers at the same time as I do. We’ve been begging for years to be released from the contract, but our families never budge. We’re supposed to join the Speller and Hallow covens as one.

My grandmother leads the Speller coven, the leading coven in Hex. All Hex decisions come down to her. For now. If Florence and I have our way, Hex will have a leading council that shows the blend of the town: witches, demons, vampires, shifters, everyone. But as it is, Spellers rule and the two of us aren’t sure it’s the best decision for the town any longer.

Florence’s father leads the Hallow coven and I’m not sure between him and my father, who was more demanding.

In the beginning, demons and witches worked together to create Hex and the barriers that keep us safe from prying human eyes. In the beginning, there was a balance of leadership. But over the decades, witches slowly took over, and the demons retreated back to the demon realm. That’s not how it was supposed to be. Demons aren’t even allowed on campus property, which I find ridiculous.

“We just have to find a way into Hex proper without your grandmother finding us.”

“About that?—”

“Professor Speller,” Kayla calls out sweetly before I can tell Florence I have a plan for that, but I have to smooth out the details.

Flo and I both bite off a laugh.

“Yeah?” I look around Florence without getting up, which gives me the hint of a pout from the student.

“What happens if?—”

There’s a pop and shouts ring out as a glass bobble rises in the air and spins as it glows so brightly it’s blinding.

I push to my feet. “Shut. It. Down, Kayla.”

“But—” She bats her lashes just like Lettie had.

“Don’t but me.” I stomp towards the lab tables. “You were the top of your high school graduating class and know exactly how to disassemble this. In fact, I know this exact potion was your senior study project. So shut it down. As for the rest of you, anyone else that incorrectly makes potions on purpose to gain my attention will recieve a zero for the class. Am I understood?”

The students stand to attention and nod.

“Prof?” Tanner lifts a hand.

“You’re fine, Tanner. I know you didn’t do it on purpose.” He’s one of the students that actually needs the class and takes everything seriously.

The spinning bottle wobbles in the air as Kayla reaches for it. She glares at me the entire time, but I think I got my point across, finally.

There’s a pop from the other end of the table and she smirks.

“Duck!” Tanner yells before shards of glass shred across the room.

Squeals peal out from Lettie and Kayla. I shield my face with my arms. The other three students thankfully had time to listen to Tanner’s warning and dropped to the floor.

“Is everyone okay?” I ask as sweat breaks out on my hairline and I swallow over and over, trying to keep bile from rising.

“Ethan?” Florence reaches for my hands and tugs me closer to them as I shake. I’m not scared of what happened. I’ve had much worse happen to me or around me, but I’m not reacting well to something in the potion.

“Prof?” Tanner’s eyes go wide and he races to me just as my knees collapse.

“Someone go get Abigail!” Florence commands so loudly in my ear I wince.

“I’m fine,” I wheeze out, absolutely not fine at all. My head spins. What the hell is happening? “Everyone okay?”

Florence rips the cuffs of my sleeves open, exposing my forearms, and I hear the ridiculous whimpers from a few of our students. I mean… rolled up sleeves is my catnip, but this isn’t the time.

“What have I done?” Tanner paces behind the table.

“I don’t think this is your fault,” I say behind gritted teeth as Florence picks glass from my arm.

Lettie’s and Kayla’s eyes go wide.

“What do you mean?” Lettie asks as she clasps her hands behind her back, no doubt trying to look innocent.

Florence backs away from me as I push to my feet.

I wipe the sweat from my brow while I take a shaky step closer to Lettie and Kayla. “Are you aware that Tanner takes every opportunity to use office hours and asks for tutoring? He’s actually very very competent and well on his way to being an excellent magic user. Yet when we get to the lab, his potions always find a way to backfire. Why would that be?” I glare at Lettie, then Kayla.

Lettie shrugs, and Kayla stands there, not meeting my glare.

“Does anyone know why I now suspect Tanner’s potions are being tampered with? Extra credit, if you’re right.” I’d thought he just had performance anxiety, but I know better now. I tremble at the effort of being on my feet. My vision goes hazy. I have to fight to keep upright and awake.

“Shit,” Florence whispers, so only I can hear as they catch me before my knees slam into the floor.

“I’m only allergic to one poison and I’m very careful never to touch it, let alone allow it in my classroom. It’s a little thing. Just tiny. But packs a big impact. Anyone know what it is?”

“Get havenhowl root. Now!” Florence barks the command as they frantically pick out the rest of the glass from my left arm while Tanner works on the right.

I’m on the edge of consciousness. When you’re allergic to something magical, most of the time it’s not as deadly as a food allergy or bee sting, anything, but it goes deep into your soul and wraps around until you don’t know if you’re dead or alive. And if you’re alive, you want to be dead. It’s cavenlock hallowroot for me, rumbling around and finding every pain and bad memory I’ve ever had and using it against me. Only my grandmother, the coven healer, and Florence know and Florence would never, ever use it against me.

Our arranged marriage has been a hot topic between the four covens of Hex since the announcement so many years ago. I’m the strongest witch in centuries. Again cliche, I know. And if I’m not married or otherwise bonded with someone and sharing my magic by the time I turn twenty-five, I’ll be ripped apart by the very thing I love. Fun times, fun times. That’s all according to different tests conducted by every healer my grandmother could find. Everyone wants to pair me off with their child-bearing offspring and all I want is to be left alone… unless the demon in my dreams is real. Then I want to get to know them.

The last time I tried to get out of the arranged marriage, six years ago, memories went missing. I don’t even remember what I’d done because my grandmother stole the knowledge. I just don’t know how, what, or who, but I suspect it has something to do with that demon in my dreams. The demon now smiling at me from behind my closed lids. The demon whispering sweet words in my ear as I black out in Florence’s arms.