Chapter Four

“ I can’t believe it’s Finesse and Mercury Rising, ” Caleb thought, studying the two pro witches here to test out my homeroom coven’s casting skills. “ They’re…they’re Enchanter Evergreen’s personal coven. Mr. Frost got pros who work side-by-side with The Inevitable Future to train with us. So cool! ”

After Ellie and Lena helped Milo put a stop to the demons plaguing Chicago earlier this year, he’d taken them on as his official acolytes, where they landed on everyone’s radar, and their stage names became the talk of the city. Milo and his need for stage names, anything to offer a performance to the citizens he swore to protect. Although working with Milo often saddled these acolytes with cases he claimed bettered the future for all, when in actuality, he was probably too lazy to do the paperwork involved. I couldn’t complain, considering it offered me acolytes to gauge my student’s proficiency in a way I’d never had the opportunity to do before.

That said…

“ There’s supposed to be three, Milo. ” I furrowed my brow, linked to his mind but staring at Lena and Ellie.

Lena straightened her shoulders, glaring back, assuming my scowl had to do with her, and gave me a clear piece of her mind with profane thoughts on how this exercise was beneath her time. Ellie, on the other hand, smiled in an attempt to break the tension. Her mind wasn’t even remotely fixed on the lesson I had planned. She’d gained more weight since the last time I’d seen her, already a short and stout woman, but the stress of balancing two jobs on top of working full-time at Cerberus made for a lot of evenings catching up on missed lunches during rush hour traffic and eating her feelings of the pressure.

Geez. Now I felt like shit dragging her here.

“ Three what? ” Milo asked.

“ Acolytes. I specifically said— ”

“ Oh, yeah. On it. Don’t you worry. Totally got it covered, babe. ”

“ Covered? ” My face flushed. “ And don’t call me babe. I’m a grown-ass man. ”

“ Whatever you say, lover. ”

“Whoa. We’re really facing off against these two?” Goosebumps traveled up Jamius’ arms, sending pin prickles along his neck and steering my attention back to my students.

I blinked away the sparkles in my vision from the tether of Milo’s sight. “Yes. You won’t be fighting them independently, however.”

“Oh, I never cast solo.” Jamius grinned; his cheeks twitched, forcing a smile almost as bold as the one his copies maintained every time he created one.

His timid nature was still deeply rooted in his reactions, but since landing into the Spring Showcase finale, Jamius had begun to brush away the whispers of self-doubt that dwelled inside the well of his inner core. Instead, he prioritized the assurance of his copies that he’d always hoped to express independently. The massive jump in his ranking added to the boost in his ego, too. A shame I’d have to burst that bubble by knocking him down a few pegs like everyone else in my homeroom. Once the dust settled and the lesson was seared in each of their minds, I’d help rebuild that confidence again.

Each of my students stared in awe, curious and bewildered by what I had in store. My emotions bounced between the bubbling pride I had for making these arrangements, excitement to see my students in action, and uneasy nerves that wafted from a few kids, latching to my telepathy. Settling the rollercoaster of emotions took work, but I maintained a calm composure so none of them could gauge my intentions. Not even our class empath.

“Since this is their first time training with you, we thought it’d be best to see what each of you is capable of,” I explained.

“Wait.” Katherine raised her hand. “First time? As in there will be a follow-up combative lesson? Or…hmm… What is the lesson here? I’m not sure what I’m supposed to be learning. I already know our magic can’t compete with a pro witch.”

“ Your magic, maybe.” Kenzo scoffed, turning his scowl toward Katherine. “Are we actually fighting them, or is know-it-all going to insist on a lecture the entire morning?”

Whereas others shied away from Kenzo’s temper, either intimidated or too annoyed to engage, Katherine refused to relent. Rarely did her upbeat demeanor shift, yet almost every single time these two interacted, they shot daggers at each other—one of these days, I worried it’d be actual daggers. The silent fury raging between their unblinking eyes was only fueled by awkward, mousy grins Gael and Caleb gave one another.

“The purpose of today is to see where your collaborative and combative skills are,” I said, attempting to get the topic back on the objective. “Today, they’ll be evaluating your casting limitations just like me, and we’ll determine what type of regimen will be best suited for you this year. Ideally, this will ensure you’re each ready for your third-year internship.”

It’d also help me cut the strings loose on this group next year. And yes, a year away sounded far, but school years tended to drag one second and vanish in a blink the next. I wouldn’t waste a moment. In the past, I was able to follow my homeroom coven all three years at the academy and have a hands-on approach when guiding them during their internships, helping smooth over issues, talking out difficulties, and so many other hiccups that occurred. The academy’s new motto meant they’d be virtually independent next year.

So, with some suggestive nagging, I convinced Milo it’d be imperative the students got to work with actual acolytes during their second year to hopefully mitigate the drop in proficiency that’d already been reported based on last year’s newly independent third-years. Who would’ve thought one administrator couldn’t properly coordinate or conference with six hundred student interns? Shocking, truly.

I buried my own smug satisfaction over the state’s approach to independence backfiring. The joy was outweighed by the cost of education those students would never get back. Their shot was spent on a new strategy, nothing more than guinea pigs meant to collect data and improve success rates in the future. I wouldn’t let my homeroom coven end up lumped into a percentile.

“The first thing I need everyone to do is split up into your four-person covens. We’ll be—”

“ Whoa. That light. ”

“ When’d they get here? ” “ So fast. ”

“ So pretty. The glitter’s nice, too. ”

“ Holy fuckity fuck. Clucks! ”

I squinted. Milo and his third acolyte flew into the auxiliary gym.

“ See. Told ya I had it covered. ”

When I asked Milo for this arrangement, I wanted all three of his acolytes for symmetry, allowing each of my student covens their own unique opponent and an opportunity for them to see different techniques, training backgrounds, and magics, all leading to the same career path.

“ And I told you I didn’t want you to come. ”

“ What? You love it when I come. ”

I grimaced, partially from Milo’s innuendo and partially because his acolyte left a trail of glitter on the way toward us. Sunlight reflected off each speck, casting light in every direction. Christ. He didn’t need to stroll in with his branch at the ready. He was already late.

Kenzo ground his teeth almost in unison with me. “ Motherfucking disco ball looking witch. ”

He practically took the words right out of my mouth. Or head.

“ The Infinite Light, ” Caleb thought, mind trailing off to a thousand notes he’d taken on Milo’s newest acolyte: Hayden Russo.

I couldn’t believe Milo showed up. I’d explicitly explained multiple times, slowly, his presence would ruin the purpose of this exercise.

It took everything I had to ignore the flurry of thoughts. No point attempting to continue discussing the objective of today’s lesson since none of them would actually hear the words coming out of my mouth with so many gushing over Enchanter fucking Evergreen’s arrival.

“ Enchanter Evergreen! He’s actually here. ”

“ He’s gonna see my star shower fireworks in action! ”

“ I’m too tired to cast. ”

“ I knew I should’ve reviewed my grimoire last night. ”

“ I can’t drop the ball. Gotta make sure my vitality is ready for anything. Combative, defensive, support. ”

“ Wait. Is Mr. Frost gonna make us fight Enchanter Evergreen, too? ”

“ With Mr. Frosty as our teacher, we’re all but guaranteed an internship with The Inevitable Future. Definitely why he brought him. ”

“ Is he here to evaluate us or his acolytes? ”

“ Everyone’s too emotional. I’m gonna puke. ”

“ Me pregunto si mi magia sería útil para Enchanter Evergreen. ”

“ Is it bring your boring boyfriend to work day or something? ”

“ Enchanter Evergreen would be amazing to work with—not that he’s ever taken on an intern before. Then again, he has acolytes now, and that’s a first for him, too. But maybe I should be aiming for easier guilds. Cerberus is likely to reject any branchless witches. Still, Enchanter Evergreen is the dream mentor. And… ”

I clicked my tongue against the roof of my mouth, drowning out the drizzle from all their thoughts. As if I’d ever recommend one of my students to intern with Milo. He was too aloof when it came to training young witches—they wouldn’t learn nearly enough stuck handling all the paperwork the great Enchanter Evergreen was too busy for. Well, if his poor acolytes were any indication. Then again, I was grateful Milo pawned them off on whatever task met his fancy. Not that I’d exploit it too much, but it made for a hell of a first day and a strong year ahead.

Jennifer huffed, her body vibrating from the visible aggravation of standing beside both Gaels. “ Fucking fanboys. ”

Fiddling with the silver chained necklaces hanging around her neck, Jennifer scoped out her classmates. “ I get it—he’s cool, but Christ…is everyone’s emotional state really this wound up? It’s not even the first time he’s been to our class. ”

I might’ve lacked empathy on the magical level, but I had enough to understand her frustration as she fought to quell everyone’s eager emotions.

“ Frost’s typical irritation won’t cut it. ” She bit the inside of her lip, careful not to smudge the black lipstick while she subtly scanned her classmates. “ Plus, he’s probably thrilled showing off his hottie boyfriend for some secondhand high. Poser ass. ”

Well, fuck you too, Jen.

She looped her branch toward Kenzo, believing for good reason he wouldn’t be bursting with positivity over Milo’s arrival like the others. She was half right. But exhilaration exploded off Kenzo in waves while he calculated strategies on how he’d dominate today and prove he could hold his own against any of the acolytes. Seriously, his thoughts were methodic and maniacal but too abrasive. His internalized shouting gave me such a headache, I had to latch my telepathy onto others to keep from passing out.

Equally exhausted or hit by a wave of my mental fatigue, Jennifer wobbled.

“Hey.” Carter gripped her shoulder until she steadied. Well, until Jen’s gaze turned sour, and her glare was strong enough to melt faces. “Sorry.”

Carter released his grip and returned to the quiet anxiety festering in his mind. The trepidation that dripped from his surface thoughts didn’t carry the wave of dread and blood like last year.

My dying body no longer haunted him, something I was grateful for, but the fear of mastering his branch to its fullest purpose and beyond continued worming its way into his training goals. Goals he apparently slacked off on, ignoring the entire summer. I should relish teaching him this lesson, yet all I wanted was to absolve him of the horrors he endured while tending to my injuries, my slashed throat still carrying the light scar of that event. But I couldn’t remove the trauma etched into the cracks of his subconscious.

I continued fearing I’d failed Carter.

“Check your emotional baggage at the door, Preppy Dick.” Jennifer leaned over, shoulder-bumping Carter. “No one’s got time for that shit.”

“But, of course, Emo Queen.” Carter took a dramatic bow, a spark of joy striking when Jennifer made a queasy expression of revulsion.

A smile filled Carter’s face. Elation swelled into certainty and then nosedived into a bit of cockiness, which Jennifer’s empathy fed on. The pair stood silent, sharing in an emotional high. They’d grown closer, so much closer, they seemed to share subtle gestures, inflections, secrets even their thoughts kept guarded. Apparently, the pair regularly tossed gentle barbs back and forth—and some not-so-flattering ones, too. Though, that wasn’t so different than when I roamed the academy halls at their age, telling Finn and Milo to fuck off, secretly delighting when they brushed aside my phony annoyance.

Whatever lingering guilt I held for Carter’s trauma, however our emotions synced in the air, Jennifer had used her empathy to shatter those shackles linking us in this moment. It was funny because in all my years of teaching—even with telepathy—I never registered a full-scale read on the emotions that radiated off others, the way they bounced in the air, shifting the chemistry and hormones in a classroom.

As my mind pulled away from Carter’s, I found myself drawn to Milo, seamlessly syncing to the joy he held above all else. He enthusiastically chatted up my homeroom coven, doing his best to recall their names—though he only had about half memorized.

Beneath that wave of professional positivity lay hidden concerns. I tilted my head, studying his thoughts but finding no real answer. It could be a fleeting feeling from when he thought his acolyte’s late arrival would ruin my lesson. It could also be a case he didn’t want to discuss. Something about this concern gnawed at me, though. All the same, I’d learned my lesson about interfering with Milo’s work more than once.