Page 40 of Magic in the Woods
The door to the classroom opened, and Robinson entered, standing with his legs apart and his arms crossed in front of his chest. With one hand he smoothed his mustache. This was only the second time seeing him, but he already gave me the creeps.
Arcana fluttered over to him, doting on him as she’d done the last time we’d seen him. The witches in the room continued to work on their magic as both Arcana and Robinson scannedthe room. He pointed over at where Petunia was floating, nearing the tall ceiling, whispering something to Arcana.
Just below Petunia, another air magic witch floated up, her head parallel to Petunia’s boots. After a quick glance down, Petunia bent her knee before delivering a swift kick to the witch’s head, sending her tumbling several feet down to the ground. She landed with a thud, a cracking sound echoing along the brick walls.
I couldn’t help but wince and wish I’d kept that healing potion instead of giving it to that ungrateful witch earlier. I was too far along in my potion in today’s class to be pulling ingredients to make another one without drawing attention.
Robinson’s eyes never left Petunia as Arcana rushed over to the witch Petunia had kicked. Arcana clicked her tongue at the injured witch as she held her limp arm up in the air, the witch crying out in pain. It looked from here like it was broken. She helped the witch to her feet, guiding her to the side of the room and pushing her back down into a seated position against the wall.
The witch with the broken finger had been right. They weren’t about to help injured or even sick witches down here. We were all disposable, contestants in their sick game ofevaluations. This wasn’t right.
Loud, slow clapping caught my attention as I turned away from the witch with the broken arm. Robinson stood clapping, his eyes locked on Petunia.
She smiled, floating up there in the air, her fingers still blowing wind to the ground to keep her afloat, looking down on all of us.
That night, I lay in bed next to Brooke. She’d taken a long time to fall asleep, shifting between crying and simply shaking at the realization that the earth magic’s evaluation would be tomorrow.
She’d finally fallen asleep, her breathing still short and choppy at times as she recovered from hyperventilating. Brooke was a strong earth magic, but the witches here were vicious, as we’d seen with Petunia today. With their futures on the line, they were unpredictable and prone to violence. I empathized with Brooke—my whispers ofEverything will be all rightfalling flat—as they should’ve. Tomorrow everything might not be all right. She could very well be hurt…or worse.
It was late once my eyes finally became heavy with sleep. Above me the mattress springs flexed and squeaked as Petunia shifted.
“I will win.”
I sat up, holding the sheet over Brooke so she’d stay sleeping.
“I’m powerful—the most powerful witch in my class.”
Petunia was talking…whispering. Was she talking in her sleep?
“He’s mine. He will choose me. I will become the chosen.”
A shiver ran down my spine.
If she was talking in her sleep…those were her subconscious thoughts. If she was awake this late, speaking those words aloud to a quiet, dark room…she was more disturbing than I’d previously thought.
I kicked one foot out of the bed, careful to get off the mattress without disturbing Brooke. Both Brooke’s and Petunia’s breaths stayed even as I crossed the floor—I had to assume both were sleeping.
I closed the door to the bathroom before I switched on the light. Using the toilet, I let myself relax on the seat.
Petunia had been sleep-talking. People said strange things when they slept. Her words weren’t unexpected. Judging by the attitudes of the witches down here, I was sure almost every witch had thought the words that’d come from Petunia’s mouth at some point. But the way she’d said them, so sure of herself, so determined, made me uneasy.
My bare toes dug into the dirt ground. There was no staying clean here. The only time we cleaned our feet was in the shower, and then after, it was either straight into our boots or keep our feet bare and deal with the dirt on the ground. I wasn’t about to sleep in my leather boots, therefore my toes were already filthy all over again. Sighing, I looked up. There was hardly room between the toilet and the brick wall in front of me, and my eyes traveled from the dirt floor to where the brick wall began.
What’s that, there?
I bent over, looking at the etching in the brick. It was light and uneven, but it was there.
A heart with the lettersGandPinside.
Gideon and Petunia.
Gag.
My stomach felt like it had butterflies flopping around inside it. Petunia had never kissed Gideon; had she even spoken to him?
Is this jealousy?
No. I didn’t get to feel like that. I was supposed to become Prime. Feelings of attraction…of jealousy didn’t apply to me. They couldn’t. I had too much to learn.
