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After several more minutes, the rest of the students finished their laps, and the Guard broke us into combat groups by size and power. All Drax and Shifters were grouped together so they could practice with their extra abilities without harming another student. Eli stood in front of me, and the Guard called out for everyone to begin fighting. Eli and I squared off but didn’t make a move, choosing to speak instead.
“Do you think this will be enough? If the Council really wants her gone, they’ll make sure she’s at the attack.” Eli asked, glancing at Halley every few seconds.
I followed his gaze, seeing Halley across from Kalani, the two of them chatting as if nothing else mattered in the world. Neither of them even bothered raising their hands or getting in a proper stance, even when the Guard looked their way. They were playing their parts perfectly, but part of me worried they weren’t getting any practice. We wanted them to avoid the Hunters attack, but that didn’t mean these skills weren’t important. Especially if any of our plans ever came to fruition.
“If they choose her, we’ll be able to complain. Ask why someone so unprepared was chosen. Don’t worry Eli, we’ll protect her.”
Eli nodded, but I could tell by his tight shoulders he didn’t completely believe me. That was the first time in our entire lives I felt his doubt in me. I felt a pang of sadness, but I couldn’t blame him. I wanted to promise everything would be okay, the way I often did when we got into trouble growing up, but this time I couldn’t make that promise. I wanted to believe that everything would work out well and when I wasn’t searching into Lenora or Halley’s past, I was searching each of our futures, hoping for a sign. Unfortunately, there were so many different paths right now that everything was blurry. And part of me knew I couldn’t keep looking forever, there were only so many times I could see a path that ended in one of their deaths before it drove me insane.
Breaking the conversation, Eli and I began sparring, shuffling around each other and landing jabs here and there. The fight quickly fell into a scuffle, us roughhousing on the ground, laughing with each other like we used to, when a loud voice called out for everyone’s attention.
Standing up, we gathered around the Guard members lined up, the students warily staring at the men and women who held our futures in their hands.
“We have received word from the Council. They have planned the date for the attack on the Hunters. We will now read the names of the Divines who will be joining the attack.”
The man in charge, towering over six foot with a bushy brown beard, began listing off students. As the names were called, each person had a different reaction. Some looked proud, others terrified, and some stunned as if they still weren’t sure what was going on. My expression remained neutral as my name was called. Eli’s shoulders tensed when he heard his and I squeezed it reassuringly. Madden smirked, Wilder grinned. Maeve’s name was called, and she stood proudly, holding Kalani’s hand. A few more names were spoken, totaling about twenty of us, and I thought that was the end.
“Halley Jameson.”
Every head turned towards the girl. Although it had been months since her arrival and gossip had died down, everyone knew of her. The last Enchantress. The girl who healed dozens the night of the Hunters. The girl who had been absolute shit in every training session, now chosen to fight against our deadliest enemy.
Looking across the crowd, I locked eyes with Halley, hers filled with disbelief and understanding, a contradiction. And in that moment, I knew three things: my plan had failed, we were finally going to get some closure with the Hunters, and I was right. The Hunters may be the Divines deadliest enemy, but the Council was hers.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Halley
After the Guard announced the students who would be fighting against the Hunters, we were all dismissed. Most students went to check in with their families, but the seven of us sat in my dorm, trying to wrap our hands around what had just happened. Six of us were set to leave soon to attack the Hunters. Thankfully, our plan had worked for Kalani, and she would be left out of this. On the other hand, I’m positive that no matter what we had done, I would be in the fight. Immediately, Eli had wanted to go to the professors, demand that my performance wasn’t worthy of me going, but I stopped him. They would have an answer for why I must go, whether it be I was the last Enchantress or something else. The Council was determined I’d be there and so be there I would.
Madden and Eli were both grumbling about the unfairness of it, Kalani joining in with snarky remarks and Maeve backing her up. Even Knox and Wilder looked concerned, but I didn’t bother worrying about something I couldn’t control. At least I knew one thing for sure, the information Knox shared after the initial attack was true. The Council truly did want me dead. I was content with the knowledge that we had at least one answer.
“This is bullshit! If she shows up there, she’s as good as dead. We all know it.” Kalani yelled, forever sticking up for me. Even though there were days I wished Madden had never found me, I was grateful I had found the best friend I’m certain I would ever have.
“There’s nothing we can do about it now. We tried our best to prevent it, but now we just need to change our plan.” Knox spoke, the clear leader of this rag tag group.
The rest of them continued the conversation, talking about ways to protect me during the fight, but I tuned it out, grabbing my favorite book and sitting on the floor. I figured if I was going to war with the Hunters, I really needed to get a hold on these offensive enchantments. I knew with the right amount of emotion I could heal those around me, but I needed to start figuring these things out on my own. I couldn’t always rely on fear and anger to get me through situations. I needed to be the one in control of my power, not the other way around. As I thought about it, there seemed to be a lot of that going around lately. First with Kalani and her creature, then with Wilder and his bloodlust. I worried we had too many problems pounding on our door and not enough time to focus on the power that would protect us.
“That’s what you did.” A smooth voice said from next to me and I startled to find Wilder sitting by me on the rug. Even though he showed up to these group meetings, he mostly stood in silence at the door, ready to bolt.
Looking down at the page I was on, I saw an enchantment for combusting a person from the inside out. I shuddered to think I had done that and without even realizing it. I knew I had seen this page before, I had read the book front to back numerous times, but I didn’t focus on the excruciatingly violent enchantments for a reason. I didn’t want that to be me. The page detailed the enchantment, explaining that my power entered another person’s body, putting pressure on the internal body until everything exploded. And beneath the explanation, a detailed illustration showed an Enchantress facing off with hundreds, the inky shadow covering their body. The same one I had seen the morning after the attack and Wilder had seen the night of.
“It looks similar to Kalani’s creature, don’t you think?” I whispered to Wilder, tracing the shadows delicately, as if I could feel them.
Wilder leaned closer, looking at the picture, and I couldn’t help the shiver that ran up my spine from his closeness. The day he had dragged me out of the cafeteria, he had looked so broken. Although I told myself it wouldn’t happen again, I didn’t like seeing him like that. As much as he antagonized me, I preferred the anger in his gaze instead of the brokenness. Maybe it was because I saw myself too much in that stare. Everyone had asked me what had happened in the room, but I didn’t want to call out Wilder’s problems like that. They weren’t gossip. I also didn’t want to admit that I had melted under his touch and if it hadn’t been from the dizziness of losing blood, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have stopped. I didn’t know what was wrong with me, but I couldn’t deny the physical connection between me and three men. And if I really wanted to admit it, the fourth man in the room did something to me as well. Especially with how much time we had been spending together, always sitting close and usually touching when he searched through the past. I caught myself on multiple occasions resisting the urge to climb into his lap, taking him out of the past and into the present.
Wilder began speaking, pulling me out of my thoughts. “Similar, but not the same. Almost as if they were made from the same source. Probably something from Agrum Di Vinum.”
Taking the book from my hand, he began inspecting it, flipping it back and forth, as if searching for something.
“What are you looking for?” Wilder ignored me, continuing his appraisal, before calling Knox over.
“What do you think of this book?” Wilder asked him, gaining the attention of the entire room. I glanced at the two of them, not entirely sure what was going on. I had assumed something was special about the book the first time I had found it, but I deducted it was just specifically chosen for the dorm. Clearly, as Knox eyed the book as intently as Wilder, they believed differently.
“Princess, where did you get this book?” Wilder asked and I shrugged, not sure what kind of answer they were searching for.
“It was just on the bookshelf in the dorm when I moved in. I knew there was something different about the book, but I didn’t think much of it. You two have a different opinion?”
Knox nodded, caressing the book’s spine as if it held all our answers. Maybe it did. “This book is clearly millennium old, which can only mean one thing – it came from Agrum Di Vinum. Books like this aren’t available to just anyone. Even the Council has limited access, supposedly many of the ancient texts were lost.”
