Page 33 of Mistaken Magic

"Noidea.Ididn't get the chance to ask."

Shelaughed once, then turned back around, butIwasn't offended.Infact, this hadn't been too bad so far.Intruth, it was incredibly normal, and afterLiam'swhole magic speech andAspen'slittle psychotic demonstration,Iwas braced for just about anything.Sofar, it was like a typical school, but with preppy-looking clothes.Imight actually be able to do this!

Itdidn't take long before the teacher, who my schedule said wasMr.Connors, cleared his throat. "Alright, excitement's over.LikeIwas saying at the end of classFriday,TamLinexplains some aspects of theWildHunt.Eventhough it's portrayed as an offering toHell, the medieval authors tended to put a religious slant on any literature at the time to prevent it from being dismissed as heresy..."

Yeah, we'd covered that poem in my last school, with a slightly different twist, soIfelt safe to let my mind wander.Aroundthe room was nothing but a sea of black, white, and green.Still, there were subtle differences.Mostof the girls wore fitted shirts, tailored to show off their curves.Somewere a bit heavier, so had gone with a more relaxed style.Socks, tights, and shoes were the major fashion statement, though.Isaw plenty of heels, ranging from kitten to impressive.Theguys tended tohave boots or dress shoes, but all of them were shined.Oneguy had on a pair ofChucks.AnotherworeCrocs.Thenthere was the jewelry.

Thatseemed to be how the social classes were divided.Somewore leather and rubber.Thepretty girls wore real gems and gold.Therest of us either went without or some mixture of the two.Evidently, no matter what the rules said, students would still find a way to mark ourselves, declaring our tribe.Theproblem wasIdidn't know the categories for this school yet.

Ihad a feeling they wouldn't be the typical stuffIwas used to.Jockswouldn't fit, since there was no athletics program.Iwasn't sure if allEnchanterswould dress alike, butIseriously doubted it.Still, teenagers would find a way, and it seemed the signs were there for anyone who cared to look.Unableto help myself,Iturned to check the cute boy again, wondering where he belonged.

Torianhad the sleeves of his white shirt rolled up to his elbows and dark bracelets lined his wrists.Oneside was a cluster of rubber, like the cheap 90s things.Theother was a leather cuff on his left wrist.Hishair was long enough to almost reach his shoulders, and slightly wavy.Hispants weren't crisp and pressed, but they somehow didn't look wrinkled either, and he wore boots, but the combat kind.

Thisguy had the same perfect skin asAspen, though.Thefreakishly amazing kind.TorianHuntwas beautiful in a wayI'dnever expected a man to be.Guyslike him walked down runways, not school halls - but this place was definitely different.Iwas so distracted trying to figure him out that it took a moment to notice he was looking back at me.Thenthe corner of his mouth curled.

Iwasn't exactly the kind of girl to turn away, butIwanted to.Myinstincts said to look down, smile, then glance back, butIwasn't here to flirt.Instead,Imet his eyes.Longlashesmade him look almost like he wore eyeliner, and the green waspiercing.Onlythen didIrealizeIcouldn't put a finger on his race.Hisskin was neither pale nor brown, but rather caught in the middle.Olive, maybe?Hishair was dark, but he wasn'tHispanicorMiddleEastern, not with the teardrop shape of his eyes.Granted,Iwasn't really sure how races worked with mythical creatures.Still, whatever he was, it looked good on him.

"So,"Mr.Connorssaid, but only half my mind was listening, "who knows howTamLinwas freed?"

"Felloff his horse?" guessed a guy near the front.

"Onlyif you consider his wife pulling him off as falling,"Mr.Connorscorrected. "Nexttime, try at least reading the assignment,Cliff."

"Truelove?"Thisfrom a girl in the middle.

ThenTorianpulled his eyes away from mine. "Trust."Evenhis voice was amazing.

Myhead snapped to the front of the class in time to seeMr.Connorsnodding enthusiastically. "Exactly."

"Wait."Aguy at the side was rubbing his head. "Howdo you figure that?Sheheld on to him until the cycle was done."

Toriandidn't give the teacher a chance to answer. "Theguy was turned into a whole list of monsters, but he'd promised his wife he wouldn't harm her.Shehad to hold on to him as theQueenwent through her powers.TamLinwas changed into some pretty terrifying things, but his wife believed he wouldn't hurt her - that the things she held were all still him."

"Exactly,"Mr.Connorssaid again. "Andwhile we don't know if this story is historical or allegory, the lesson from it is the same.Magichas limitations -"

Thedigital bell chimed, cutting him off, soIlooked over to the clock.Ihadn't realized how quickly time had flown.Crap.Ihad ten minutes to get to my next class, and no clue where it was.Ishould have been looking into that instead of those green eyes beside me.Pullingup the student app on my tablet,Itried to figure out the layout of my schedule.Mynext class was in roomD117.Thatmeant the first floor, but where?Onthe map, that should be the other side of the building, right?

"Ilike the skirt."

Myhead snapped up.Theroom was mostly empty, students rushing out before the teacher could assign homework, butTorianstood there, leaning right over my shoulder.CloseenoughIcould smell him, and allIcould think was summer grass.

HopingIdidn't look desperate,Iturned my attention back to my map. "Thanks, my uncle picked it out."

Helaughed once. "Lookslike you're lost,Rain.Yournext class is here."Hetapped the map with a long and perfectly manicured finger.

"No,I'mlooking for roomD117."

Hechuckled softly. "Yeah, look again.Yournext class is here, though."

RoomB210.Itwasn't even on the same floor, let alone the same side of the building asI'dthought.Ipulled up my schedule to prove him wrong, but paused.Hewas right.IthoughtIhadHistory, but that was third period.Next,Ihad math in roomB210.

"How'dyou know that?"

"WelcometoSilverOaks."Heblinked slowly and turned for the door, striding out like he didn't give a damn that he'd just blown off my question.

Chapter Sixteen

Ok, that guy was seriously hot, butIwas starting to realize quite a few people in this school had a pretty problem.Notthatthey'dsee it as a problem, but damn!Atleast half my class were drop-dead gorgeous - boys and girls.Thenagain, fairies, so it made sense.Iwas going to have to remind myself of that a few times, because it still felt strange to think of it as anything but a lame joke.

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