Instead, she nodded. “The Witch herself.”
“Witch?” I blurted out, as I was sure there had been no more left of our kind.
“Excuse me, I mean, not a real Witch, but she’s cruel and nasty like one. Don’t be scared, I can make them change it.”
I fell silent, disgusted of myself. That was what she thought of Witches and I feared the moment she would find out I was one of them. She could banish me from the campus since she had the right to do so. If Tholome Di Centi was her ancestor, Claire would know a way to alter the lock’s rules. If the others knew about her status, perhaps this was the reason why they left her alone in the back row. At least, that’s what I assumed and stayed quiet for the rest of our break where she continued feeding me berries.
At the end of our lunch, Professor Harriet appeared behind his desk as did the other students who formed small groups and celebrated their triumph of choosing the same courses.
The effects of the potion wore off.
While the corners of my mouth dropped, Claire was her unbothered self. Clasping my hand, she grinned and made sure to look me in the eyes this time. I had not caught a direct look at her glistening iris until then and watched them wander to the door.
She seized a bottle out of her bag and took a big gulp when a young man in a white coat stormed inside.
She had awaited him.
“Harriet!” he exclaimed but didn’t stop at his table.
Instead, he headed in my direction and I trembled.
“Tonio, it’s wonderful to see you,” the Professor answered before slobbering over him. “That’s what a Dicheval graduate looks like.”
He stopped in front of our desk, and I couldn’t deny the attractiveness of his face. His full lips dominated it.
“Curly, are you fine?” he asked and made me speechless.
He wasn’t talking to me, but my heart fluttered which I assumed to be the aftermath of Claire’s potion.
She chuckled and took my hand again.
“Fine then,” he said, and turned to me. “You’ll take her home. I’ve got patient visits and need to meet Bryon afterwards.”
His tone shifted into a serious one. Before I dared to answer, he continued, since he wasn’t asking me, but commanded it. “I’d say… an hour before sunset at the latest. At the air mother’s temple.”
But he didn’t specify which house to look for.
Claire gripped tighter and I nodded in return.
Afterwards, he jogged down to shake Harriet’s hand and hug him. During their banter, Claire poked my leg. “My brother.”
When Tonio left, he winked, uncertain to whom, and let the class erupt into havoc.
That’s how it played out in a mixed academy.
My prior school had done an outstanding job at keeping the other gender, even the idea of them, outside of the campus.
Between you and me—I didn't mind.
5. Rose Petals
The relieving gong of the chapel’s bell vibrated through the classroom and ended my first official school day.
“You’re welcome to participate in festival preparations tomorrow,” Harriet said. “Otherwise, enjoy your day.”
I would’ve loved to run to the library and read every book in the magic section. The tingling sensation in my fingers had to wait as I was given the task of bringing Claire home. Afraid of her power over the academy, I concluded it would be best to do as she expected me to do, and pushed my studies further behind.
She was waiting for me and threw a cape over her shoulders. “You can never know when it will rain, can you?” she asked, pointing at the blackening sky.
When we stepped outside, the humid air stroked my sensitive skin and pulled my head to the chapel.
Meanwhile, the sun was defeated by clouds. Only a few minutes were left until they would swallow it whole. Raindrops announced their victory.
I turned my head to Claire, who hooded herself with a scarf.
“The chapel,” I said, “do you want to wait there until it stops raining?”
She nodded and grabbed my hand, pulling me from under the roof and letting the raindrops hail on me.
In the corner of my eye, I watched the library drift away and thought of ways to get the knowledge I craved from Claire.
The hinges cried out loud when she pushed her body against the iron door. The building hadn’t been visited regularly as it was only used for the bell. Here, we were the only ones present.
My clothes were sticking to my skin, drenched, as was my hair. A puddle formed under me—in which I now shivered.
“Wow,” Claire whispered, fixing her scarf.
The last beams of the sun flooded the room with light and the windows threw their colours onto our faces.
Usually, I would’ve avoided religious buildings of any kind, as they didn’t go well with witchcraft. Alternatives to the old religions had appeared as discontent with the peace-treaty grew. After they revealed their radical agendas, I avoided those cults alike. I’d never heard about encounters with Gods besides the common myths and stories. Magical abilities, which were said to stem from them, turned into a deformity as soon as the population became sceptical. Uraians despised everything with the slightest hint of magic. And even though they had to put their weapons down against the North, the Witch-hunt continued inside their own borders.
This time, the urge to follow the call of the wind pulled me in. Claire’s excited flapping of her arms was enough of a reward.
“Excuse me, Verra, why so red?” she chuckled.
“Is that so?” I asked, smirking. “What about you, blue?”
We broke out in laughter.
Harriet was right. Inside the chapel, it was beautiful.
After the rain stopped, we walked home and approached the door behind the night tower—the same one that I had used when I first arrived.
Claire opened the lock with a white key and showed it to me.
“My special entrance,” she said.
I scratched my wet head. “I walked through it,” I said, stuttering at every second word, “yesterday.”
“So I’ve heard. I must’ve forgotten
