“I know about your sloppy little secret, don’t forget.”
I remained silent at first, but couldn’t let her go unpunished. “That’s for the Doctor to decide, I guess. I heard he isn’t fond of you. You’re the first Mage of your line and quite weak, to be honest.”
“You’re a leech,” she snarled, “uncultured, irrelevant, replaceable. You learned to talk and dress like us, like a puppet. It won’t last. You’ll see who’s weak.” When she got up, she pulled my chair and made me plunge on the floor. “Oh, goodness, Verra!” she exclaimed. “Be careful.”
She had me tied up and I could not scream at her, no matter how much I wanted to.
After Bloum checked up on me, I excused myself to go to the infirmary but proceeded to the Di Centi mansion instead.
Elvora’s nasty behaviour took physical form and I would not allow it. I could set Tonio on it or Evrett, even Kress. Either way, I had to tell Claire all about it first.
I rushed past Loyra who looked at me with her eyes ripped open before she bowed down to me and I did the same. She must have been surprised since alchemy took up all three course hours of the day. Usually, I fell straight into bed afterwards, alone. That particular day, anger powered my legs.
When I entered her room. Bryon was lying on Claire’s bed. He chewed on grapes while she rolled around on the carpet. She jumped up as soon as she noticed his quietness.
My knees liquified. With wobbly steps I approached them, figuring out the situation.
“Verra!” Claire squeaked and hugged me. She led me to the bed, but I refused to sit until she said something, anything, to calm my suspicions.
They looked at each other before Bryon inspected my body. I didn’t expect to see them together until I realised that he brought her home more often than I would.
“Did something happen? You’re whiter than usual,” he asked and reached out to me so I would sit beside him.
“Elvora, she-,”
“Will get herself executed,” Claire completed my sentence, and I didn’t doubt her ability to invoke that punishment.
“Let’s kick her out of the academy already,” Bryon said.
“Her great-grandparents donated most of the books to our library. Murdering her would be less complicated.” Her seriousness made me remember how scared I was of her power, and rightfully so.
“Anyway,” she said, “now, that you’re here. Why don’t you join us?”
When Bryon unbuttoned his shirt, I shrugged back. My assumptions were true, and I tried to hold back my words. I had a lot to say after a long day. In my mind, I expected Kress, not Bryon. He was supposed to marry her.
We never agreed to be exclusive in our relationship, but I wanted her to be obsessed with me so much that agreements would be unnecessary. They were for me.
“I thought, assumed, we…,” I stuttered.
“Oh no, don’t be scared.” Claire brushed back my hair and kissed my cheek. She smelled of alcohol more and more recently.
“She told me, you can’t enjoy guys. Let’s see if I can change that,” Bryon said.
I rushed away from the bed. She told him about me, and I hoped that she kept my biggest secret to herself. “No, I–I don’t want this.”
They looked at me with questioning faces. It may have been natural to them, but I couldn’t concur. It struck my core while I was vulnerable, and it defeated me.
I stormed out of her room and locked myself inside my loft for the weekend. Apart from sneaking in and out for food, I pretended to be absent—even when Claire knocked on my door, asking me what day I preferred for our birthday celebrations.
17. Happy Birthday
During the next days, I cried, studied and picked up witchcraft again. I had read every history book I could get my hands on and found out about prince Fellis’ Oracle bloodline and their connection to The Eye. His family had ruled Heior for centuries. Because of that, their calculation of time had stopped focusing on Eras. Instead, they counted years and months only. The Eye was ever-present, watching over the citizens and the jurisdiction. All family members of Fellis were initiates of this organisation. They founded a supervised, utopian state and expanded Heior’s territory by eliminating crime in nearby villages and promising protection under their rule.
Being a Witch, had become my last worry.
The inner circle were not just rich children with a hunger for power, they had political battles in dimensions outside of my grasp. We all had become figurines on a chessboard, and I feared to be the first one to fall.
On the last day of the weekend, a strong presence pounded on my door again. “I can feel you, Mage,” Tonio yelled. “Open the door or I’ll use a key.”
I crawled under my blanket and moved as little as possible.
“Fine, I hope you’re dressed,” he said, turned the key and walked in.
“You can’t do that!” I barked.
“Have to disagree on that one.” He sat down, fondling my curves through the blanket. “You neglect your responsibilities. Claire-,”
I waved him off. “Let Bryon handle her, apparently he knows what he’s doing.”
“So, you found out. That’s how she is. I told her to confess it to you, but she sees no problem with it. Their thing has been going on longer than you think. Bryon should be mad at you, but he isn’t.”
I let him see my swollen lids by pulling the blanket off my face.
“Don’t tell me you have been crying because of these animals,” he whispered.
“I should’ve known, but I expected Kress all over her, not him. You told me, that she’s promised and our fling would end—I didn’t listen.” My cheeks burned from constant wiping, and I got sick of crying.
“Don’t take it personally,” he said. “If you can’t change it, you might as well enjoy it.”
“What’s the point then?”
“Ensure
