2. “You’re Mason’s brother, aren’t you?”

"Oh man,I don't know what to do. I am soooo failing my necromancy class."

Jace's long face gets even longer, if that's even possible, and I give him a hug. He's been panicking about his power since the start of the last semester.

"I thought you were getting better."

He scoffs.

"Better my ass. I can't raise them for more than a couple of seconds and don't even talk to me about controlling them or anything like that. Mr. Sorrowhand is so disappointed in me. I'm like the only one in my class who's so hopeless."

"You're not hopeless." I rub his shoulders as I let him go and we walk out to the beautifully green courtyard.

It's full of students and magic lingers in the air just as much as it does in the halls and rooms of the castle.

"I am. Out of ten necromancers, I'm the worst. Ergo, hopeless."

"But you're so good with spells. Maybe you just need practice." Says me, who's so brand new to magic I can't even feel the magic of a spell, let alone be able to use it.

I may be an eldritch witch and quite powerful when invoking, but I'm an absolute novice in anything else magical. Well, except maybe potion making, but even then, my knowledge is more theoretical than practical.

"Yeah, that doesn't count for squat if I can't use my natural power."

I purse my lips and sigh.

"Maybe there's a book we can get from the library? Or I can check the apothecary for any potions that might help?"

I could also ask Lucian for advice since he knows so much about the world of witchcraft.

Of course there's a demon's potent load, but I'll die before I let Lucian fuck anyone else. Not that I control him or anything, but yeah, seeing him fuck my best friend just so he can get stronger is not how I picture my relationship with Lucian or my friendship with Jace.

"Hello there." A tall blond guy steps out from behind a tree and approaches us with a group of guys trailing behind him.

They're all wearing shirts and suit jackets as if they're trainee businessmen rather than students.

Jace hooks his arm around mine, and I resist the urge to run. The blond guy is the same one who spoke in class. The one I recognize from Mason's get-together last year.

"Hi," I tell him.

I want to see if I recognize any of the others, but the blond guy is staring too hard. What if this is a subconscious cock fight? The last thing I need is to lose status on day one.

"You're Mason's brother, aren't you?"

I raise an eyebrow and stand a little taller.

"Stepbrother."

The blond guy smiles and bobs his head.

"I knew I recognized you from somewhere. I don't know if you remember, but I think we met last year at his party."

"I remember you. Paul, something?"

"Ryan," he says, and I bite back a smirk.

How's that for a power move? I don't even vaguely remember his name, but if he's going to be an ass, I might as well save myself some time and be an ass first.

"Ah yeah. Ryan. That's it. How are you?"

Ryan shrugs and puts his hands in his pockets.

"I'm great. Great. You? First day at Lockwood, right?"

"Yeah. I'm a late starter, I guess."

In more than one way, but they don't need to know that.

"Welcome to Lockwood, man. You'll have a great time here. Right?" He checks with the other guys, and they all nod, smiling.

Why are they being so weird? Or is it just me who thinks they're being creepy.

"What's up with Mason, by the way? Is he coming back?"

My body tenses, but somehow, I manage to keep my composure. Maybe it's because he deserved what he got.

"No idea. I don't live with them anymore. No idea where he is."

Ryan shrugs. "Oh well. Maybe he's on vacation. He'll turn up eventually."

I very much doubt that.

"And if he doesn't, no big loss, right?" His friends—are they lackeys?—chuckle, and despite what Mason put me through, I'm not sure I'd want friends who laugh at my absence.

"Right," I say and glance at Jace. We start walking, but Ryan speaks up.

"Well…we're here if you ever need anything."

I stop and look at him.

"What's that mean?"

I can interpret it a hundred different ways, and none of them are the kind way he's trying to pass it off as.

"You said it yourself. You started late. If you need any academic help or anything else whatsoever…"

"Aren't you in my class?"

Shit. I shouldn't have said that. There's no point getting aggressive. That will only draw more attention to me. And I don't need that.

But Ryan doesn't falter.

"Yeah. But we're all friends here. All of us with different skills and backgrounds. We can all help each other."

I bite my tongue and force myself to smile.

"Cool. Thanks. I'll…I'll keep that in mind if I ever need anything."

I try to walk away again.

"You come from a line of eldritch witches, don't you?"

I freeze. My entire body aches from how tense I instantly get and my heart races.

"I…" I turn to the side to face him and take a deep breath. "I do. Yeah. My mom was one. You know about the eldritch?"

I leave the dimension out. If he knows about the eldritch dimension, he'll know what I mean. If he doesn't, it'll trip him up. But I need to know either way. Not many people know of eldritch magic, let alone the eldritch dimension.

It's rare, even in a world full of magic and creatures of all kinds.

"Oh yeah, man. It's a fucking great power. We're actually having a party tonight to invoke a creature from the eldritch dimension. It's gonna be rad."

Cold sweat forms in the small of my back and trickles down my butt crack.

"You…you are?"

Ryan takes his hands out of his pockets and slaps the shoulders of the two nearest guys.

"Sure are. You should drop by. Always handy to have someone knowledgeable about the eldritch around."

The other guys nod.

They're doing an eldritch invocation? How the hell are they doing that? My mom was the best eldritch witch out there and never told me other witches could invoke them.

Unless they know something I don't. And if that's the case, I need to find out.

"Yeah. That…that sounds fun." I try a smile, but I have no idea how successful or convincing I am.

"Rad! See you tonight then. After midnight, at the old gym. No need to bring booze. We've got it all covered."

I give him a thumbs-up that even I feel is pathetic and Ryan and the gang walk away, getting into a discussion about a rock band or something.

"Please don't tell me you're seriously considering going to their party."

I glare at Ryan's back and nod.

"Why the hell would you go?"

"Because…I need to know what they know about eldritch magic."

"Pfft, they know nothing. They're a bunch of spoiled rich kids whose daddy bought them a place in Lockwood. They're not worth your time."

"That, my friend," I start and finally look back at Jace, "is where you and I disagree."