Page 67 of Magic in the Woods
This suit wastight in all the wrong places. The tie squeezed my neck, making it hard to breathe—as if I wasn’t already suffocating enough. This was the day I’d been dreading since Robinson began preparing me for it—the day I’d be forced to choose a partner. It was early, everyone else was still sleeping, but I couldn’t stay in my room, not after what happened between Dafni and me.
Of all the witches at the Academy, of course I’d be attracted to a Sarracenia. It was natural selection or some of that Darwinian crap Robinson had made me read during our meetings. Dafni was the strongest witch at the Academy, and I was the youngest male. How had I not seen it? The way she knew so many potions even though she’d claimed to be human-born. That’d all been a lie. She’d obviously been trained herwhole life to be Prime, a leader, the strongest witch in the Coven.
I’d found another word—a Latin word—on the wall in one of the mostly abandoned hallways I’d been casually pacing as I waited for the water task to begin. It was a short word, only three letters:I-R-A. Too bad I’d pushed Dafni away and she wasn’t here to translate it for me.
Finding out she was Matilda’s daughter had shocked me, and I hadn’t reacted well. The Sarracenias’ lineage was legendary and intimidating. Their family produced witches with at least two powers. I knew Matilda. She’d kept an eye on me growing up at the Academy. She’d been frightening, flexing her multiple powers, snuffing out lanterns with her air magic and making students’ potions boil over with her water magic during class for her own amusement.
The worst was when she’d used her earth magic, causing a student’s body parts to grow or a vine to come up from the earth, wrapping around their ankles, leaving them in tears and with red welts on their skin. She’d made sure everyone at the Academy knew who she was. That was how she kept her place as Prime—by threatening everyone with her powers.
Still, I couldn’t get Dafni out of my head. The way she’d looked at me after I’d told her to leave. The sadness that’d come over her face, only to be replaced with anger.
I’d put on this terrible suit that the Coven was making me wear and come out here to pace, to work through my thoughts. Finding another word etched into the brick had only reminded me of her, brought back those feelings I’d had when she’d first read what was on my papers. I was in awe of Dafni. Her power, her naivety, her need to help others. I’d pushed her away. With every scratch of the chalk on the paper, I realized I needed to get her back.
“It’s almost time.” His voice interrupted the back-and-forth movement of my chalk.
I quickly rubbed on the last half of theAbefore shoving the paper and chalk into my pocket.
“Let’s have a chat while it’s still quiet, before the excitement of the upcoming evaluation begins.”
Excitement? I could argue he might be the only one excited about today.
I followed Robinson down the hall outside the Academy and into the Coven. It was noticeably quieter in the Coven. It didn’t have the same buzz of excitement as the Academy did.
Robinson held open the door to his room and followed me inside, latching the door behind him. “Have you given any thought to what we’d talked about?” He motioned to a chair with pilled gray fabric covering the seat.
“I’ve thought about it,” I said.
“It’s good, Gideon. It’ll strengthen the bloodline to have new genes introduced. Maybe she’ll give birth to another male witch.”
I rubbed my palms on my black pants.
Robinson stood and began pacing in front of me, rubbing his chin with his hand. His word choice always felt wrong, too sanitary. Like we were talking about animals instead of witches, people. “Tonight you’ll make Petunia the happiest witch in the Academy.”
“And what if I didn’t choose tonight?” I didn’t know where I stood with Dafni, and there was no way I was picking Petunia.
Robinson’s silence spoke volumes before he even opened his mouth. “You will choose, Gideon. You will choose Petunia Fox.” He grabbed ahold of his remote, turning on the televisions. “Are you having cold feet?”
I shook my head. Not my feet. My heart. It’d only feltwarm when I’d been with Dafni. There wasn’t another witch who’d make me feel that way—I was sure of it.
“Don’t tell me another witch has caught your eye.”
I stared at Robinson.
“If you don’t pick Petunia, I’ll make sure Matilda knows you didn’t listen to me. She won’t be happy with your defiance.”
There it was again. The pressure, my life being planned for me—right in front of me. Expectations. The complete loss of control. Beads of sweat popped up along my hairline. I wiped them with my hand, pulling them into my hairline as I ran my fingers through my hair. I couldn’t let Robinson see me sweat. He’d take advantage of my nerves, see them as a weakness he needed to correct.
Robinson used his thumb and index finger to smooth his mustache as he looked at me.“She’ll find out who you pick.”
Is Matilda back?A cold sweat broke out on my upper lip.
“She’s not here yet, but Matilda will be here. We’ve been planning for this for years—since you were born.”
Would Matilda know that less than a day ago I’d had my fingers between her daughter’s legs? That her daughter had made me come through my briefs? Maybe that was some witchcraft she’d been taught. It had to have been. No other witch had made me stoop to that level.Coming in my briefs. Get a grip, Gideon.
“Here…” Robinson pointed the remote at the TV, his thumb pressing buttons, the screen illuminating with a familiar scene.
The outside of my room.
