Page 117 of Mistaken Magic

Ionly hopedI'danswered the right way.

Chapter Forty-Seven

Harperstopped trying to catch me alone after that.Instead, she and her friends resorted to the old tried-and-true methods of bullying.Everytime they saw me, they would turn to each other and giggle about it.Usuallywhile looking back to make sureI'dnoticed.Harperwasn't the only one doing it, either.Katrinawas just as bad.Elyssa,Nevaeh,Gabrielle, and another girl namedSierraall did their best.

Toobad for them,Ihonestly didn't care.Theycould laugh about me all they wanted.Solong as they weren't coming afterAspenor throwing magic at me,Iwas willing to call it a win.Thatdidn't meanIwasn't pissed about it, butIfiguredIhad bigger problems.

Threeof my teachers made it clear being new wouldn't be an excuse for a failing grade.Onthe upside, it wasLiterature, math, and biology.Onthe downside, there was enough fae knowledge in thereIwas going to have to bust my butt - or get kicked out of theAdvancedPlacementprogramIwas in.SilverOakswas a school for the fae, and sinceIwasn't a fae, my only chance of staying here was to make some impressively good grades.

WhileIcould now stop someone from casting a spell,Brackenmade it clear that ifIwanted to learn more, he was definitely willing to train me.SinceKeirwas always hanging around, he got pulled in to be my partner.Thistime, thankfully, there were no glitter bombs.Instead, it seemedIwas now inBracken'saccelerated learning program.

Itwas kinda fun, but fun didn't stop my body from hurting every morning.OnWednesday,Iwas barely out of bed when the sound of a crow had me looking out my window.Itwasn'tJack.Although, sitting on the glass roof of the atrium were about five or six crows.Theywere all pecking at the reflections, their feathers ruffling in the winter breeze.

Theforecast called for some intense snow tonight, but right now, it was still blue skies and sunny outside.Thatwasn't the same as warm, soIfound one of theSilverOakssweaters, my favorite plaid skirt, and pulled on some thigh-high socks just to make sureAspendid a double take when she saw me.

Sureenough, the moment she walked into my room, she did.Shealso purred in a way that made my pulse pick up.Istill had to put on my makeup, but like always, she was beautiful.Thisgirl would've given me a complex if she hadn't made it clear she felt the same way about me.

Atthe elevators,Neveahstarted the tittering and glaring.Irolled my eyes, though, becauseAspenhad let me in on a little secret.EvidentlyNeveahusedWintermagic.Theonly reasonshewasn't an outcast was because she wasHarper'scousin, so loosely tied to theSummerCourt.Notthat they got along!Itsounded to me likeNeveahwas trying a bit too hard to "prove" herself, so she was going over the top.

Afterfirst period, however, it wasSierratrying to shame me, earning her a warning look fromTorian.Thatactually made her stop and turn away, which was a little impressive.Thenagain,she was the newest addition to the jesters - and a high school junior - soTorianprobably intimidated the hell out of her.

Whichmeant they'd sent the weakest links after me.Thatwas probably supposed to be some kind of insult, but whatever.Letthe jesters do their stupid little high school bullshit.Thiswas college, and while it felt like half the students here were on thisAdvancedPlacementprogram, plenty of others were old enough - or smart enough - to ignore the pathetic attempts at drama.

Justas we turned down the hall to my second-period class, something rapped on the window behind us.Ididn't think anything of it, butTorianswung around like he was bracing for a threat.WhenIlooked,IfoundJacksitting on the second-floor window ledge, tapping at the window.Hislittle leg band reflected a rainbow of colors, making me positive it was him and not one of the other birds.

"Whatthe..."Torianbreathed.

"That'sJack,"Itold him. "Ifeed him whenIgo to the gym.He'sa little spoiled."

"Yeah,"Torianagreed, forgetting about it almost immediately.

IdecidedI'dbring him something better today.Clearly,Jackwas hungry.Consideringit was well below freezing outside, his options had probably all disappeared.Ineeded to figure out how to buy some bird seed or something.First, because it would keepJackfrom getting too attached, and secondly, the other crows weren't as pushy but were probably just as hungry.

WhenKeirwalked me past the atrium to third period,Igot proof of that.Anotherhalf dozen birds were sitting on the top of the atrium roof.Fromdown here, they looked like little black specks, butIknew what they were.Hadsomething happened outside?Becausethat was alotof crows.

Then, in fourth period, everyone was talking about the birds still on the atrium roof.Ourteacher said it was probably theirway of soaking up the warmth, yet people were muttering about it.Onimpulse,Idecided to sit next toTorianagain, earning a smile from him, butIwas here for information.

"Isthis something that happens every year?"Iasked. "Thecrows,Imean?"

"No, it's not," he assured me. "I'mnot sure if anyone's mentioned it, but crows are one of the - "

"Fewthings that can go toFaerie,"Ifinished for him. "Yeah,Keirtold me.Butthe gates are closed, and they've been closed, so this isn't some mystical thing?"

"Thetwo are not always related," he said. "Whatdo you think about walking past the atrium before heading to lunch?"

"I'mthinking they're hungry,"Itold him. "Somethinghappened to their normal food source.Insectsfroze, or something?"

"Possible," he agreed. "It'sbeen cold lately.Wecan just look."

Whichwas how the two of us ended up standing before the main entrance, staring up four stories to the top.Everyoneelse was going to the dining hall, but there were so many birds up there now the roof was almost completely black.Whilewe watched, more and more kept arriving.Ihadn't even realized there were this many crows on the grounds!

Thesound of thumping behind me made me flinch.Torianturned first and sucked in a breath.WhenIlooked,IfoundJackhopping back and forth, his little beak opening repeatedly like he was making a ruckus.Withoutwarning, he launched into the air, banging right into the exterior glass doors.

"Jack!"Igasped, butTorianwas already moving.

Heshoved through the inner doors and made his way to the oneJackwas in front of.Openingit wide, he letJackfly right in.NowIcould hear him cawing in the space between the two sets of doors, and it wasn't quiet.

"Whatare you doing?"IaskedTorianthrough the glass. "Ifhe gets loose in here - "Ididn't get to finish becauseTorianopened the inner doors andJackwas immediately in the air. "Torian!"Igroaned. "We'llnever get him out of here now!"

---