Page 9 of The First Trial
Now that I thought about it, the latter was the more likely conclusion.
With a shrug, because you couldn’t win over everyone, I dismissed her and tried to give Hawthorne a grateful smile, but all I caught was the back of his head as he was already walking away. My heart sank, but I refused to let it show. Hawthorne was one of the most sought-after Warlocks at Aurora Academy. He always had been. And while he’d had his fair share of the female population in his bed if the rumours were to be believed, I could never be one of them.
With a disappointed sigh, I left Kendra behind as I headed deeper into the mass of confused and curious Witches and Warlocks. I kept Oz in my sights (and Hawthorne, since my twin was whom he’d stalked off to after that altercation… not that I was complaining about the eye candy), and moved closer to the front lines of the crowd. Professors had already gathered towards the edge of the clearing to discuss our next move. I nodded at a few who taught at the middle school alongside me, but as a grad student, there was still a divide that kept us from forming any friendships beyond surface-level pleasantries and professionalism.
I would wait until they called upon me and the other older students for assistance, but until then, I didn’t want to get in their way.
Another body came to stand beside mine as we stared up at the newest campus feature that had replaced the forest surrounding Academy grounds, but I didn’t bother turning to see who it was. A pang of sadness passed through me at what had been crushed by the structure’s arrival. At the loss of so much life. There would have been countless animals living amongstthe foliage, all wiped out and for what? What was the purpose of summoning such a thing here?
I just couldn’t think of any possible explanation.
‘Alright, folks!’ The Dean emerged from within the circle of staff, his arms spread wide as he addressed us all. ‘Time to head back inside. Stay in your dorm buildings until otherwise instructed. Let us investigate these strange happenings without needing to worry about you causing any more problems by poking around, yes?’ he half-heartedly joked, earning a few nervous mutterings from us. He wasn’t wrong, and we knew it.
I turned on my heel and headed back towards my dorm building as soon as he dismissed us, eager to get away from the overwhelming sense of foreboding that emanated from the onyx skyscraper.
Or perhaps it wasn’t the structure itself but those strange, swirling markings. They looked decorative from the first brief glimpse I’d gotten, but after another look with the sun shining directly on them, visible more so through shadows than the actual carvings themselves, something about them struck me as odd. There was a pattern to them I couldn’t outright decipher, but I’d noticed it only because it was reminiscent of the Old Fae writings Oz and I had been decoding.
I would bet that they were words, not just pretty pictures, and if we could figure out what they said, then maybe we could get ourselves some answers.
‘Miss Olwyn, if you wouldn’t mind staying behind, please,’ Dean Winters called me to a halt. I did as I was told, heading back towards the circle of staff members, though I remained on the outskirts. I may have been a twenty-four-year-old grad student with a job teaching at the middle school, but these Witches and Warlocks were far older and more experienced than me, so even being in their presence made me feel like a little kid trying on my mother’s far-too-big heels.
I relaxed a little when the dean called more of us over and Oz took up position a few spaces to my right. It seemed we were being included with the senior staff, even if we were technically students as well. I wondered what tasks we would be given, though I tried not to feel too worried about it cutting into my research with Oz. Despite the years of research, we were hardly any closer to figuring out a way to free ourselves from our curse, and whatever was going on here was already making things more difficult for us.
As with anything else in life, it seemed we were going to continue having to jump through hoops to get the answers we sought. Firey hoops that dangled one hundred feet in the air and moved as soon as we got close, because nothing could ever be simple for us.
Ozzie was worth it, though, so I would do it without complaint. I just wished we could at least communicate in public, because there was nothing more frustrating than being forced apart from the one person who felt safe in a time of crisis.
A blinding stab of pain slashed through my skull, but it was gone so fast I wondered if I had merely imagined it. I eyed the strange new structure like it was to blame.
I wish they would just hurry up. We’ve got more important things to do than stand around and wait for them to pull their thumbs out of their asses,Oz’s voice rang out, and I glanced at him from the corner of my eye in confusion. Why was he speaking so disrespectfully in front of the very people he was talking about?
Dammit, I could have been deciphering the tomes if it wasn’t for this shit. I hope Junie’s okay after scaling the building again. And Kendra is a bitch. I never should have fucked her. Though she did do that thing with her tongue…
I tried my hardest to keep the shock from my face (and the repulsion, becauseew), because Oz’s lips weren’t moving. Hewasn’t speaking out loud. Somehow, I’d just heard my brother’s thoughts, and rather than the joy I probably should have felt for that small connection suddenly forming, I felt sick. I didn’t dare to acknowledge what I’d just learned, but I was stunned by both his voice in my headandthe content.
I wasn’t given the opportunity to ignore it, however, because his thoughts went down a rabbit hole of horniness that was traumatising for a sister to hear. Unable to draw attention to what was happening for a multitude of reasons, I tried to tune him out as he continued reminiscing over not only the things my old roommate did to him, but also what he’d done to her. The longer it went on, the sicker I felt. With this new development, I decided to try and see if it worked both ways, if only to stop him from continuing down this avenue, because I couldn’t take another second of it.
‘Oz!’I attempted to push the thought towards him and sent a pleading prayer to Hecate that it would work. When he winced like I’d shouted in his ear and his head whipped around to stare at me, the whites of his eyes showing in his shock, I almost did a happy dance.
‘Junie…?’
‘Apparently, we can hear each other’s thoughts now, so I would appreciate it if you stopped thinking about my ex roommate’s naked body and the things she can do with her tongue.’
‘Oh, fuck… How?’
‘I don’t know, Ozzie, but now’s not the time.’I darted my eyes to where Dean Winters was circling back around in our direction. Suddenly, I got the weirdest feeling that Ozzie nodded his head in acknowledgement, but his head didn’t actually move. It was an odd sensation that jolted me out of reality for a moment, and my head swam with everything that had happened in such a short space of time.
What next?I thought to myself dejectedly, though I realised Oz had caught it when his shoulder shrugged almost imperceptibly in response.
That sense of foreboding grew as the dean practically jogged back towards us, concern shining in his tired brown eyes. He glanced between us, then gestured for those of us he’d just gathered to form a tight circle around him.
‘Alright. You may still be students, but as teachers, you also have a responsibility towardsyourstudents. You will be reassigned to a new room in the lower schools’ dorms to help keep the younger ones calm and in line. Hopefully, they won’t need protection, but you and the dorm supervisors will be their first line of defence if the need arises. In the meantime, all other faculty members from across the campuses will be conducting an investigation. We are entrusting you with the safety and well-being of our younger students. Please take that seriously.’
He waved three professors over, one from each of the campuses. ‘These fine Witches will be assigning you your new rooms. Please pack only what is necessary and retrieve your keys as soon as possible. They will be waiting for you in the youth dorms.’
‘At least we’ll be closer and have a reason to be seen together that the curse will allow,’Oz’s voice sounded in my head again, and I forced myself not to outwardly startle. It felt weird, like someone trying to stroke my brain from inside my skull, and it sent shivers across my skin, my hair standing on end.
I answered as we were departing to collect our belongings, pleased with the way things were suddenly turning in my favour.‘We’ll just need to be careful not to draw attention to this new ability. I don’t want to imagine what people would say if they learned we can communicate mentally,’I warned.
