Page 15 of School Spirits
Head spinning, I stepped back. I thought of my cousin, Sophie, and her boyfriend, Archer. The way they were always zinging one-liners back and forth. I should have a one-liner. Instead, I said, “Yes, it would be.”
I waited for his smile to falter, for a little bit of that light to fade from his eyes. But if anything, he lookedmoredelighted. “Well, then we’ll just have to hold off until we know each other better.”
Wait, did that mean he actuallywanted to make outwith me?
“And not only did you assault Ben McCrary—”
“I didn’tassaulthim,” I muttered, but Dex ignored that.
“You did it in defense of Romy Hayden, who is one of the least useless people at this school. I’m not joking. You are my favorite person today.”
From somewhere in the distance, I heard the electronic whine of the bell, and Dex frowned. “Sadly, our time together has come to an end. Unless you have Algebra Two next?”
I shook my head, thinking back to the schedule I’d shoved into my back pocket. “European history.”
“Ah, you’re a sophomore. I’m a junior, so ships in the night are we,” Dex said, heaving a sigh. “In that case, I’ll see you on the bus tomorrow.”
I blinked. “You ride my bus?”
“You didn’t notice me this morning? I’m wounded.”
I’d been too busy worrying about how I was going to navigate Mary Evans High to notice anyone, even a six-foot-tall boy wearing pinstripes.
“Not much of a morning person,” I finally said.
Bouncing on the balls of his feet, Dex smiled again. “Fair enough. I’ll save you a seat tomorrow. Until then, Isabella.”
“Isolde,” I corrected, and his smile widened.
“Even better.” He reached out to shake my hand.
Our palms touched, and a jolt went through me. He didn’t seem to feel it as he gave my hand two firm shakes before dropping it. “Try not to kill anyone else today!” he called as he began walking backward down the track.
I was still reeling, so it took everything I had to muster up a weak smile in reply. Once he’d turned around and started walking like a normal person, I glanced down at my hand.
My skin still tingled, like a low electric current was running through me. It was faint, and I’d certainly felt stronger, but it was unmistakable. Magic.
Dex was Prodigium.
CHAPTER 9
The rest of the day passed uneventfully. I guess after you’ve beaten someone up with a dodgeball and flirted with a monster, most anything else will seem pretty tame.
I wasn’t quite ready for another run-in with Dex, so rather than take the bus home, I decided to walk. It was a few miles, and by the time I got home, my calves ached, but the walk gave me time to think. What kind of Prodigium was Dex? Warlock seemed like the most reasonable explanation—I hadn’t spotted a bloodstone on him, and without one of those, vampires become barbecue in the sunlight—and there hadn’t been that weird animal smell that seemed to cling to shape-shifters. Wings were pretty conspicuous, so unless he was hiding them underneath that peacoat, I didn’t think he was Fae. But I’d been around lots of witches and warlocks, and I’d always been able to sense their power once I got within a few feet of them. I’d never had totouchone to feel their magic.
As I unlocked the front door, I tried to think of who I could ask about this. I knew I should tell Mom, but I’d never had trouble identifying a Prodigium before, and it wasn’t something I was ready to own up to. Besides, this was meant to be my case. My chance to prove myself.
I wondered what Finley would say if she were here. Probably something like, “Stab him with silver and see if it kills him.”
So that left me with only one option.
The house was quiet and dark when I stepped into the foyer, and Mom’s car wasn’t in the driveway. Still, I found myself walking softly as I made my way to the third bedroom. I hadn’t been in there since we’d moved in, and when I opened the door, it was like being punched in the stomach.
Finley’s things were in here. By which I meant her pillow and a photograph she’d had stuck to the mirror in our bedroom. It showed us when I was around six, Finn eight or nine. We were in the training yard, two little redheaded girls with our arms around each other’s shoulders. It was a sweet picture (if you ignored the fact that I was holding a miniature crossbow and Finn’s fingers were wrapped around the hilt of a sword), and I wished I remembered the day it had been taken.
There was also her belt, the one I’d found that night, slung around one of the bedposts. I wanted to go over to it, to hold it in my hands. Instead, I walked past the bed and over to the mirror that hung on the wall. It was, as usual, covered with a heavy piece of canvas. When I pulled it back, Torin was there, hip propped against the bed behind me.
He was examining his fingernails, bored, but when he realized I was there, his face brightened. “Hullo, Isolde. Pleasant day at school?”
