Javi frowned. “Of course not. He’s an ass.”
My eyes slid to his. “Seems like an oversupply of those around here.”
A chorus of “Ooohs,” echoed around the table.
Tyler grinned at me. “You thought it was cool, I know you did. I heard you gasp.”
I blinked. Was he for real? The creep thought I was impressed by his bullying?
Before I could retort, a loud horn blared. The table shook. I glanced at Javi.
“Ugh. Drill,” he explained.
Everyone stood, chairs scraping against the floor. I rose to my feet and glanced around. Every student was up, facing the middle of the room. I followed their gazes, wondering what the heck was about to happen.
The blare grew louder, and the lights went out. I gasped, the sound echoing in the silence.
Fear crept up my spine. I shifted closer to Javi, blinking against the dark. What were they doing? What kind of drill was this?
As quickly as they’d turned off, the lights came back on. I scanned the room. My heart pounded in my ears as I tried to make out what was happening.
A burly man stood in the center of the room. He waved a large, hairy arm in the air. “The pixies have been released. You have fifteen minutes to find and catch them all. The house with the most wins.”
My mouth dropped. What?
I threw a look at Javi. “Wins what?”
“House points,” he responded.
My eyebrow arched. “Like as in… ten points Gryffindor?”
Someone snickered.
Javi shook his head. “Come with me. Try not to mess me up.”
I glared at him as he led me out of the dining hall. The others stayed behind.
“What’s going on?”
He paused. “We don’t have a lot of time. Come on.”
“Not until you tell me what is going on.”
He sighed. “We have to catch the pixies and return them. Didn’t you see them? They’re not real. They’re figurines enchanted to look and act like real pixies. It’s kind of like a training drill. They can glamour themselves, so we have to look past the magic and find them.”
His words shook me. What. The. Hell? Pixies?
“Let’s go. We’ll cover the library. They love it in there.”
I hurried to catch up to him. All around us, students were breaking off into pairs and groups and spreading out. The professors stood, studying us and my eyes met Professor Cassiano’s. I suppressed a shudder and turned away. There was something about that man that made me feel like he could see right through me.
Javi led me out of the building and raced for the classroom building. We weren’t the only ones. It seemed the whole school had devolved into chaos. The students swarmed all over the campus, but not a single professor was in sight.
“So, what are we supposed to do exactly?” I asked as my cousin swiped his card against the reader.
He held the door open for me. “We corner them and subdue. Air trap.”
I fell into step beside him as he led me through the hall to the library. “Air trap? I don’t know how to do that.”
“I know. I’ll do it. You just… watch, I guess.”
His eyes flashed with excitement and determination. We made it to the giant library, but there were no pixies in sight. Or at least that I could find.
Javi motioned to the back. “Check over there. I’m going to take this side.”
I gaped at him. “What am I looking for?”
“You’ll notice a strange ripple in the air. Like an invisible… I don’t know. Like something is off. Keep watching it and ignore the instinct to look away. Call me and I’ll come and get it. Don’t let it get away.”
With that, he took off to the other side, leaving me speechless and just as confused as before. I groaned and turned to investigate the back rows. My shoes slapped loudly against the wooden floor.
A strange ripple. What the hell did that mean?
I sighed and traced my finger along the book spines. My eyes landed on a giant tomb at the end of the row.
Luna Negra. My mom’s old coven? I frowned and pulled the massive black book out.
The pages were so thin, I worried they would rip as I flipped through it. I squinted at the tiny black script. How did they even read that?
An old photograph caught my eye. It was black and white, and the caption was too faded to read, but it looked like the photographer tried to take a candid shot. A woman in a long dark dress was standing outside, holding a basket full of what looked like decapitated rabbit heads. It was a shot of her from behind, but she was glancing back, facing the camera. Her unsmiling face and dark eyes were startling. Even from the photo, I could tell, this woman was not someone to mess with.
Creepy.
“Check over there,” a voice made me jump.
“I don’t take orders from you, Gray,” another voice drawled.
I snapped the book shut and looked up to find Brady coming toward me. His dark eyebrow lifted as he spotted me.
He glanced at the book in my hands. “You’re supposed to be looking for pixies, sweetie. Not witches.” His lip quirked into a smirk.
I frowned. “Don’t call me sweetie.”
Brady chuckled. “So feisty. You and your cousin have that in common, huh? Looks better on him though, I think.”
I shoved the book back in place and turned to face him. “Don’t tell me you’ve fallen for his charm too. Sorry, but I’m pretty sure he doesn’t feel the same.”
He snorted. “Oh. I know. Your cousin is about as straight as they come. But can’t fault a guy for looking.”
“Can we not talk about my cousin’s looks?” I made a face.
Brady shrugged. “You got a thing for coven history?” He nodded toward the book.
“Just bored. Have you found any pixies?”
“Nah. I’m sure Gray and your cousin will catch enough between them to win for our house.”
My eyebrow arched. “You’re in dragon too?”
He gave me a flat look. “I’m the house president. Of course, I stepped down this
