Page 41 of Magic in the Woods
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Dafni
That learning included watchingthe earth evaluations. They were the first competitors, and my relief at water being the last competitor filled me with guilt. Brooke, an earth element, was first, and she’d been so nervous when I’d left the room this morning to join the audience.
The witches of the air and water elements filed into the giant oval-shaped cavern, taking seats, their knees pressed to their neighbor’s on the creaky metal bleachers that were erected on one side of the space. A stage stood against the wall opposite the bleachers, leaving the middle of the floor empty. Sconces mounted to the walls lit the space, casting a circular glow around cavern.
“This will be fun,” Petunia whispered, her thigh pressed against mine. To my surprise, she’d followed behind me all the way to the cavern, choosing the seat next to me. The tightringlets she usually sported looked wind-blown and loose—probably from all the haphazard air magic practice she’d been doing, or maybe from the rolling and the sleep-talking. She tucked the sides behind her ears, but I still felt the tickles of her fly-aways against my cheeks.
“Fun?” I questioned.
“Yeah, I can’t wait to see who wins…who my competition is.”
I stared at her, unable to formulate a response. This wasn’tfun, this was unsettling and uncomfortable. The Coven was making the female witches at the Academy compete in what most likely would be a ridiculous task, to prove who was the most powerful in each element. Then those three witches would line up, like slabs of meat at a butcher, and Gideon would choose one witch as his partner. Whomever he chose, the Coven would expect to be his partner inallways.
It was what the Coven wanted, to create powerful witches, and if they got a spectacle out of it as well? All the better. I didn’t blame them for wanting entertainment—life here was dull and the witches were all gossips.
A shiver traveled down my spine as the image of Gideon’s eyes burst into my brain, those dark shadows that had threatened to pull me beneath the surface. Was this what he wanted? Did he want to choose his partner from a contest?
“Oh! There he is!” Petunia bounced in her seat, her arm extended as she pointed.
I followed her finger to the stage across the cavern. Gideon was sitting in one of two wing-backed armchairs, his legs parted, his arms relaxed on the armrests. His back slouched against the back of the chair, and his eyes stared directly at me.
“It’shim!” she squeaked, her thigh now vibrating against mine. “He’s looking right at me!”
I looked at Petunia’s face before looking back at Gideon.His eyes never wavered; his head never moved. He was staring at us, but I knew in my gut he wasn’t staring at Petunia, he was staring atme. My body heated, starting in my core. I was hot. The confined space next to all these bodies wasn’t helping.
I tried to look anywhere, at anything else—the other witches, the tall ceiling, the way my heeled boots had to sit on top of each other in the small space I had on the bleachers, but my eyes always found their way back to his.
Double doors we’d walked through minutes ago, between the stage and the bleachers, reopened, and the earth magic witches began filing into the cavern. They walked in a single-file line. It was easy to spot the human-born witches—their bodies trembled. My eyes honed in on Brooke, who was walking with shaking knees, her hands clasped tightly together in front of her. She hadn’t had much time to practice her magic, especially as a human-born witch. Her opponents were witches raised in families that taught and encouraged magic. At least she’d had the forethought to tie her long hair up into a tight bun on top of her head. I made a note to do the same during the water evaluation.
“I hope Brooke will be okay—” I whispered.
“Shhh…I can’t hear!” Petunia snapped, smacking my thigh with the back of her hand.
I looked back to the stage where Robinson now stood in front of the empty wing-backed chair. Next to him, Gideon was still sitting in the chair staring at me. Another shiver went down my spine, this one shook my entire body.
“Stop wiggling!” Petunia smacked me again with the back of her hand.
Robinson cleared his throat and smoothed his mustache with his index finger and thumb before he spoke, his voice echoing off the cavern walls. “It is known that male witches produce powerful heirs. That’s why we’re cherished andbeloved by our community.” He smiled, looking out over the crowd. “Today a male witch has come of age, and it is time for him to pick a partner, someone who will help him produce powerful witches that will continue to provide for our Coven.”
The earth element witches stood in a tight group on the floor—the human-born witches huddled together in the back.
“Some of you grew up in our community, and others of you are new.”
“I wish I’d never been born from humans…” Petunia said beneath her breath.
“Yet you are all witches of producing age,” he continued. “You all have the chance to compete to be Gideon’s partner.”
I looked at Gideon, along with everyone else in the cavern. He was still watching me.
“Since our Prime, Matilda Sarracenia, is gone searching for new ways to better our Coven, I’m here to stand in her place.”
I snorted.Yes, she’s been very busy in the Velkans’ freezer.
“And to run these evaluations, as our Coven’s traditions command. I am Arthur Robinson. I’m sure many of you recognize me—I can feel your admiration from here on the stage.” He held his arms out to the crowd as if he was collecting said imaginary admiration. “The three elements—earth, air, and water—will compete in that order. I will give each element a task that coincides with its magic,” he explained. “At the end of the evaluations, the winner of each task will come forward. Gideon will choose one of those three witches to be his partner. Those three witches are the most powerful witches in each of their elements, any of them a complementary partner to Gideon’s flame.”
He motioned to Gideon to stand. “Show them, Gideon, show them your flame!”
