Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

IZZY

P ushing out of the classroom, I walk toward the front of the Gallagher building, where I have most of my Hawthorne Grove University classes.

I glance down at my homework for the evening, startled when a hard shove to my back sends me flying. All the books and papers I'm holding soar through the air.

" Defensare ," I whisper under my breath. One of the perks of being a mage is that I'm able to shape the raw magical energy that powers our planet to my will. In this case, I quickly form it into a barely there shield that flickers into place underneath my knees. It saves them from the worst of the fall.

As soon as my knees hit the dingy beige tiles with a loud thud, I let go of my shield. My knees throb where they connect with the ground. Tears prick my eyes at the flash of pain, but I'm able to battle them back for now.

My golden-blonde, wavy hair falls like a curtain in front of my face. I gaze at the purple and blue ends of my shoulder-blade-length hair to distract myself from Danielle Fletcher and her clones.

Danielle is Hawthorne Grove's resident mean girl and the bane of my existence. Making my life hell seems to be her favorite pastime. She should really try getting a normal hobby, like knitting or jumping off a cliff.

Hawthorne Grove is a small town in New England. It has lush, tree-lined streets, historic architecture, and a main street that's so cute it makes me sick. Hawthorne Grove is also a short distance from the frigid waters of the Atlantic. The only thing that makes Hawthorne Grove stand out from other small towns around here is that it's populated with mages, instead of normal humans, unfortunately for me.

"Watch where you're going, vilis." Danielle sneers at me, flipping her stick-straight platinum-blonde hair over her shoulder. She narrows her dull brown eyes at me when I glance up through my lashes.

Wow. How original. Calling me the mage slur for magicless, vilis . I haven't had someone remind me that they think I don't have magic in a whole five minutes. If she's going to insist on tormenting me, the least Danielle could do is come up with creative insults.

For some reason, mages feel the need to use Latin for everything. Insults, spells, swearing—you name it—mages have a Latin word for it. At least Latin words for spells make sense because it helps focus magic. Most mages don't have enough control over their magic to cast without a focus word.

"No one wants you here," Madison Redman informs me in a shrill voice. She's wearing the same country club housewife outfit as Danielle and Tina Ward. Only, her button-down and matching skirt are pink. Danielle's are yellow, and Tina's are powder blue. "Why don't you just leave?"

Oh, trust me, I would if I could.

If I don't finish school, the mage council will hunt me down and drag me in for testing. That's just about the last thing I want.

The mage council is the governing body for all mages. They make the laws, enforce rules, prosecute offenders, and execute those convicted of the most serious crimes. Having one group of old guys acting as judge, jury, and executioner ends up being pretty corrupt. Shocker.

Hawthorne Grove is the council seat for the mage council of North America. I'm counting down until I can leave here and never see the council or the mages of this town again. I only have one more year of this hell left. One hundred and forty-six more days. I can totally do this.

Maybe if I keep telling myself that, I'll start to believe it.

"You're such an embarrassment to your family. They'd be better off without you," Tina adds. With brown hair, lightly tanned skin, and deep brown eyes, Tina could be pretty. That is, if you ignore all the ugliness on the inside.

Tina's dig is the only one that lands. My family isn't embarrassed of me in the slightest. They couldn't care less that the town thinks I don't have magic. But she's right about my family being better off without me. I put them all in danger just by existing.

The hot tears I've been trying to contain finally leak out of my eyes and cascade down my pale cheeks at her barb. As the silent tears splash onto my ripped jeans, I curse the fact that I cry at everything. Happy, sad, angry, frustrated, you name it, and I cry because I feel it.

I hate it.

It's hard to be a badass when I cry at literally everything. I don't bother wiping up the tears, because I don't want to clue Danielle and her minions in that I'm leaking. Hopefully they'll get tired of this soon and leave. Lord knows I'm fucking tired of dealing with it every day.

My magic stirs in my chest at my strong emotions. It crackles in agitation behind my breastbone. Unlike what everyone in Hawthorne Grove thinks, I do have magic. Enough magic to level this and surrounding towns without breaking a sweat.

But I can't tell anyone that. It's bad enough my family knows.

Danielle huffs at my lack of response. " Accendere," she says, pointing at my books and papers. They light on fire with a whoosh . With a cackling laugh, Danielle and her groupies stride away, ridiculously high heels clacking on the tile.

Sighing, I mutter, " Restinguere ."

The fire instantly goes out. My books and papers are perfectly fine. I learned a long time ago to spell all of my belongings to protect them. A simple defensive spell on everything keeps the worst of the attacks from destroying my stuff.

The assholes here love to fuck with me. I get away with magically protecting my things because people think my brothers do it for me. They still enjoy lighting my stuff on fire, dumping water on it, or covering it in caustic goo.

It's super fun when people mess with my stuff while others watch. I totally love having to deal with their magical attacks without any magic. All while the peanut gallery laughs at my struggles.

I fucking hate this town.

"You need help?" a deep voice asks from behind me. My shoulders sag in relief that it's not one of my other main tormentors, Mason, Richard, or last year's new addition, Tyler. It's just Levi, my combat teacher. He's one of the only people in this hellhole who is actually kind to me.

"Yeah, that'd be good. Thanks." My voice is rough from crying, but Levi doesn't comment on it. Instead, he just walks around in front of me and kneels down, uncaring about getting his dark-wash jeans dirty. We work in silence to pick up all my papers and books.

Once we have everything gathered, Levi unzips my backpack and puts his stack inside. I follow suit. As I'm zipping up the backpack, he pushes to his feet. He doesn't offer me help up, but that's not unusual for him. Levi always makes sure not to touch me anywhere, skin on skin. It's a little weird, but I assume it's so he doesn't get into trouble for perving on students.

My worn white Chucks squeak on the tiles as I stand. When I'm steady, I crane my neck up and up to meet Levi's gaze. He is probably the tallest person I know, clocking in at around six-and-a-half feet tall. When my eyes finally land on his face, I meet his otherworldly eyes. They're obsidian, with a thin red ring around the pupil.

"Was it Danielle, Tina, and Madison who did this?" he rumbles. I look away and press my lips into a thin line, refusing to tell him. Levi sighs. "I'll report them if you'd just confirm who it is and what they do."

I scoff. "You and I both know this school won't do jack shit about it, Levi. Reporting them will just make my life harder." Since I supposedly don't have magic, Hawthorne Grove University doesn't particularly care what happens to me. Bullying, insults, and attacks are all fine and dandy with the administration, as long as it's only lower mages or me subject to it.

Mage society is separated into higher and lower mages. Higher mages are the ones with money, power, status, and clout in the community. They have access to the best jobs, preferential legal treatment, and make the decisions for mages as a whole. They're also incredibly snobby and stuck-up, thinking their family name makes them better than everyone else.

Lower mages, on the other hand, are the everyday mages. They don't come from prestigious mage lines or hold high mage offices. Instead, they're just regular people who happen to have the ability to harness raw magical energy.

Because the council is located in Hawthorne Grove, there are way more higher mages here than other mage cities. Here, the lower mages are treated particularly badly. Since everyone thinks I'm magicless, I'm automatically lumped in with the lower mages.

Levi shakes his head at me, resigned to the way things are but not liking it any more than I do. "The option is always open if you change your mind."

"I appreciate it. I better get going," I tell him reluctantly. While I hate spending time at HGU, I do weirdly enjoy hanging out with him.

"I'll see you tomorrow." He gives me a crooked grin before walking off.

"See you then," I whisper to his retreating back.

Slinging my bag over my shoulder, I make my way to the front of the school. I push open the heavy front doors and step out into the blinding sunlight. It's so bright, I have to squint and blink my eyes for a few seconds.

When I can finally fully open my eyes, I start the trek home. Keeping up appearances that I don't have magic means I can't just portal to my house. Instead, I have to do it the old-fashioned way—walking. That's one thing I don't mind, though. Hawthorne Grove is full of forests, shrubs, flowers, animals, and more to keep me entertained on the fifteen-minute trip.

Halfway home, I feel my phone buzz in my pocket. My lips tip up into a small smile, already knowing who it is. Pulling out my phone, I glance at the screen.

Bishop

Wanna go to the Poisoned Vine 2nite?

Bishop is my best friend in this shithole town, and he enjoys beating things up, just like I do. The Poisoned Vine is our favorite MMA gym. It's a few towns over, so I get a break from Hawthorne Grove for a little while.

Hell yeah, I do. What kinda question is that?

Bishop

I'll pick you up in 30 mins.

K

I walk the rest of the way home with a goofy smile on my face. While my day has sucked, at least I'll get to hit things tonight.