Page 152 of Mistaken Magic

SoIkissed back.Oh,Ihad no idea howIwas going to explain this toAspen.Asmy tongue swirled against his, my hand fisting his coat to pull him even closer,Iknew this was a bad idea, but holy shit.Toriancould kiss!Hisarrogance and pride made him so confident, and there was nothing gentle at all about the way his mouth took control of mine.

ButIdidn't melt.Ididn't swoon like he was probably used to.Itook just as much as he was giving, andHarpercould see it.Shehuffed with anger, then shoved.Iwasn't shocked at all, butIstill staggered.Trippingsideways wasn't exactly my best move.

Ignoringme,Torianspun to face her. "Howdare you!" he snapped, the anger on his face forcing her to retreat before him. "Donotevertouch what is mine.Donotthink you are better than me.Neverput your hands onRainagain!"

"Sois that it?"Harperasked as she backed away. "You'rewith the stupid human now?You'reblowing me off for some bitch that can't eventouchmagic?"

Shemade it back into the open, butToriandidn't stop.Theguy was livid, andIhonestly had no idea what he'd do.I'dheardhe was powerful, but this was not whatI'dexpected.I'dassumed magic.I'dimagined him flicking a finger and casting a spell.Rightnow, he looked like he was ready to order her execution - or carry it out himself.

Desperateto fix the messI'djust made,Ihurried to follow, but they'd already created one hell of a scene.Otherstudents had noticed.Peoplewere starting to move closer.Someof them wereHarper'sfriends, the jester girls who always stood beside her.JustasIgot close enough to say something,Nevaehlifted her hand and pushed.

Abright spark flared at the ends of her fingers, butTorianflicked his hand at her almost absentmindedly.Aburst of white light went off like the flash on a camera, blinding me for a split second, andIwasn't the only one.Afew people groaned, looking away, but it was already too late to prevent the spots before our eyes.

"Howdareyou?"Toriangrowled, his attention snapping over to her.

Inall my life,I'dnever seen anger like his.Noteven on the day my mother had killed my father.Noteven whenI'dstood across from theHuntsman.Thiswas the kind of fury that toppled worlds, andTorianwore it too easily.Myheart stalled.

"Torian!"Brackensnapped, trying to diffuse the situation.

Fromthe far side,IsawLiamhurrying toward us, which meantBrackenhad to be somewhere near him.Scanningthe crowd for them,IsawAspenpushing through the bodies of people.Wilderwas with her.OnTorian'sother side,IsawKeirandHawke, but they couldn't get through.Somany people were watching, oblivious to anything but the downfall of the jesters playing out right before them.

Thatmeant stopping him was up to me.

"Knowyour place!"Torianyelled, and then he did something.

Ireached for him, but the world slowed.Whitenessbrightened.Nota light, but all the white already around us.Thefat flakes of snow grew in their intensity.Thedusting of it on the ground almost glowed.Everyspeck of white on the clothes of the people around us turned into so much more, and the air shimmered with it.Thiswas the kind of power people kept talking about.Thetype that couldn't be stopped, and he'd just unleashed it all.

Nevaehscreamed as her body bent back and pale sparkles burst from her chest.Likeglitter in the air, it floated for a moment before obeyingTorian'scommand, forming tendrils that swirled back to him.

"Torian!"Iscreamed, not sure what he was doing, butIcould tell it was bad.

Peoplewere gasping, stepping back, and horror took over the faces around us.Allof them exceptHarper, who looked even more livid than she had a moment ago.

"Releaseher," she demanded.

Andthen she flung her hand out toward me.Therewas no pause to control her magic.Nosplit second for me to react.Harpersimply cast everything she had, and the green glow of it rushed at me faster thanIcould comprehend.Ionly had enough time to realize this was going to hurt.

Greenslammed into me hard, her uncontrolled magic nothing more than an instinctual act of vengeance, andIwas the target of her rage.

Chapter Sixty

Aspen'sscream pierced the air as the wave of green slid into my body.Myhair flew back and my cap was forced off, butIdidn't move at all.Itfelt like a gust of air, nothing more - except for the surge inside me.Fora split second,Aspen'svoice was the only one splitting the night, and then everyone else joined in.Thecacophony was intense, butIwas still standing.Forthat single instant,Ihad no idea what was going on, butHarperdidn't slow down at all.

"That'swhat you get!" she yelled atTorian. "Youcome after mine andIwill come after yours!"

Thenshe threw her hand at him and green colored the air.Torianwaved that off, causing the magic to splinter like shattered glass.Anotherflick of his fingers sent green back.Itwasn't a glob or ball of it.Themagic was just like a transparent glint to the air, barely even visible.

Thena guy at the side thrust his arm out atTorian.Asif that was some kind of signal, all of the jesters attacked.Hawkewas immediately atTorian'sside, breaking up as much as he could, but the two of them couldn't stop it all.Isaw a rainbow shield flash and shatter, provingKeirhad just picked his side, and hewas standing with the court.Thenpale bursts began coming from the other side.

Somuch magic, the air sizzled with it.Therewas a scent too, like flowers and fresh snow, getting stronger with each brilliant flare of light.Whiteand green were the most common, soKeir'siridescent andHawke'sflat grey magic stood out.Ididn't know howIcould help, but as fast as this had started,IknewIhad to do something.

Overthe chaos,Icould hearLiamyelling.Atthe ring of trees, something was happening.Greenflashes of light resolved into people appearing directly between the massive trunks.No, not people.Thosewere our teachers - all of them.Brackenrushed in, trying to stop the war that had just erupted between the students, but he was only one man.Whenone of the jester guys slung magic his way,Ilost it.

Aroar burst from my throat, andIslung both hands towards the ground before charging in.Shadowspoured off me like smoke, pooling on the ground, but this was allHarper'sfault.She'dstarted it.Shewould be the way to end it, andIhad skills the others didn't - but the darkness kept growing.Moreblackness surged up from all the trees around us, but this time it had a voice.Itcawed like a murder of crows, because they'd all just taken to the wing.

"Harper!"Iscreamed.

Sothe bitch turned and threw another conjuration at me.Ibraced, but one ofKeir'sshields exploded before me, taking the hit.Fromthe corner of my eye,Isaw him rushing my way, which meantIwasn't alone.Ijust wanted to stop this girl, to make her never able to attack anyone else again.Verbally, physically, or magically -Ididn't care.

---