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When I reach a room with a black door, the doorframe pulses once in an identical glow as the stones before the magic disappears. This must be it. I knock once, and take a step back when a muffled crash comes from within. A few moments later the door opens and I come face to face with a flustered guy. A blush stains his cheeks as he steps back, ushering me in. “H-hi, I’m Dylan and you must be—”
“Nessa. Nice to meet you.”
His blush deepens when his palm slides against mine as we greet each other. My focus stays glued to his face as we shake hands. Beautiful. There is no other way to describe him. Definitely not a word I ever thought I’d use to describe a guy that’s not airbrushed. With sharp, yet fine boned features and lashes that are so long I’m jealous, I find that handsome just doesn’t fit his description.
Bright blue eyes hold mine as I take in the slash of his lips and the thick rimmed glasses that only make him more attractive. And, Goddess, when he gives me a sheepish smile a lone dimply winks at me.Yep, I’m dead.Completely, and utterly done. Three! Three guys. How the heck am I attracted to three guys? I’ve only been here for just over a week. Not to mention it’s confusing. In the past I hardly felt any attraction to anyone. I went through a period where I thought something was wrong with me and tried dating a few different guys, lost my V-card, and never felt much of it other thanmeh.I’m definitely going to hell.The fiery ass pits of hell, with desire at this rate.
Ignoring my thoughts while silently praying that they aren’t splashed across my expression, I slowly tug my hand from his and meet his shy expression with one of my own. An oddly vulnerable emotion flickers in my chest in the face of the hesitant air that hangs around the man in front of me, and I fiddle with a loose thread on my pants as he ushers me to a seat. Forcing myself to not focus on him, I study the room with interest, noting it’s by far one of the oddest I’ve seen.
Other than the two person desk I’m seated at, the room seems to be made up of padded walls and floor. But it is otherwise pretty empty and spacious. The lone desk with two chairs is shoved off to the side, and a few papers are strewn across it in a haphazard fashion.I wonder what the crash was?When Dylan shuts the door behind him, I swallow hard, the room silent and an unexpected tension crackles to life between us at the sound of the latch clicking. Our eyes clash and hold for a few moments before he clears his throat, gesturing to the room in a jerky movement.
“This room is designed so supes can practise magic safely. The walls and warding can withstand very high levels of magic without faltering. So you don’t have to worry about hurting anyone while you’re training with me.” He sends me a more confident smile as he slides into the role of my tutor.
My brows furrow when what he says registers. “What about you?”What if my magic hurts him? Heck, what if I have a fire affinity? I could cook him alive. I suppress the urge to gag at that mental image and wish I had some brain bleach.If only that was a real thing.
“I’m a blocker, your power would be neutralised before it even reached me.” Mollified, I give him a short nod in acknowledgment, then let him delve into the actual session and what we’re going to be doing.As he falls into the role of my tutor, his shyness falls away and I find myself distracted by his low voice while he explains how to access my magic.
After a while it becomes clear that I’m definitely not going to excel this year and am more than likely going to have to repeat the year. Despite the numerous different ways Dylan tries to teach me to access my magic, none of them work. At the end of our two hours together I’m dragging my feet and frustration has my body so tense I’m surprised my jaw hasn’t cracked.
Noticing my distress, Dylan leans forward in his chair, resting his elbows on his knees. “It’s okay, Nessa. Hardly anyone gets it on the first try. We can try a few more ways next time.”
I let out a breath, letting his reassurance settle me. He’s right, I can’t let this discourage me. The concerned furrow to his brow eases slightly as I get to my feet and grab my bag.
I offer him a terse goodbye, remaining polite because I know it’s not his fault that my magic wouldn’t cooperate. Rolling my shoulders I cross campus in a red tinted haze, contemplating all the excuses I could possibly use to get out of giving Lexi a rundown on my day. I freeze when I realise that the reassuring weight of my bag isn’t present and throw my head back, my face twisting into a grimace as I suppress a frustrated groan.I must have left it in the training room with Dylan. I turn on my heel aiming to head back that way only to come face to face with the creepy asshole that harassed me on my first day.
I try to move around his house-like body, but he copies my movements so I have to take a step back so I don’t run into him. “Move, I’m not in the mood today.” I bare my teeth at him in a semblance of a smile, alongside my best glare hoping the big dummy will get the message. Sadly he doesn’t.
His features grow dark and his lips tug up in an ugly snarl. “What did you just say to me?”
I scrub a hand through my hair. “You heard me.” I know I shouldn’t be riling him up, but I couldn’t care less at the moment. I just want to get my bag, head back to my dorm and crawl into bed. Possibly binge read one of my comfort book series as well.
I’m drawn back out of my thoughts when a meaty paw grips my arm,hard.
Chapter Seven — Nessa
MygutclenchesasI glare into the guy's steely eyes. “Let. Go. Of. Me. Right.Now.” The hand that’s still clenched around my wrist doesn’t move and a tingle starts in my sternum. The heady sensation bubbles up until it’s more like a burn, and my breathing comes in ragged pants. Without thinking about it, I turn my hand so my extended claws are now pressing deep into the skin of his palm.
My movement effectively breaks his hold on me, but anger curls low in my gut, growing thicker by the second.This guy thinks he has the right to just grab me? Bully me?What the hell is up with half the people at this school? My free hand curls into a fist, so tight that I know the tips of my nails will leave indents in my palm.
The world disappears as the sensation that’s building in my chest hits a crescendo, and for a moment everything is still—before it explodes out of me. The second it does I find myself somewhere else, darkness surrounding me and memories that aren’t my own flashing past my body. It’s rather disorientating and as though my new magic realises that, everything slows down.
I focus on the memories and suck in a startled gasp. They’re not real—or, well most of them aren’t—they’re dreams or daydreams, rather than real memories. To be more specific they’renightmares. Every single one is drenched in fear and discomfort. But in each one, something is a constant. The Asshole—he’s the centre in all of them. And in each and every one, I get a peek into a moment this guy was feeling scared.Is this his mind?Or, perhaps, it’s just a part of it.The deeper into his mind I go, the darker the memories grow and it transforms from just fear to terror. A bone rattling, spine tingling fear. Oddly, for me it’s like taking a breath of fresh air as I latch on to one that’s close to his centre. It’s him with a silhouette-like figure standing behind him eerily, its skeletal limbs long and ragged looking. I clutch the memory hard, then tug.
A slow sinister grin curls my lips and I suck in a deep breath.This one. Wind whistles through my ears as I’m dragged back to my body, finding myself now a few feet from the guy. I don’t flinch as I extend a hand towards him and a black and dark purple mist flows from my fingertips. I bear witness to it contorting into the creature from his mind and I blink slowly, letting out a relaxed breath. My magic settles and the creature is left standing directly behind the asshole who grabbed me. I watch with bated breath—unsure of what it’s going to do. It stays frozen, and unmoving for a long moment. Almost eerily so.
Finally, it lifts its gnarled hand, its joints clicking audibly, trailing a bonelike fingers along the previously unaware guy's shoulder. Fascination grips me as a squeak slips from the giant man. He whips around to face the creature and the colour drains from his cheeks when he spots the creature from his nightmare. With a whimper, he’s backing up quickly. A shiver rolls down my spine at his terror and I make a pleased sound low in my throat. My limbs loosen as I settle back to enjoy the show.
Unfortunately for the guy, he trips and lands on his ass,hard. A wince covers his features, but that doesn’t stop him—he instead scrabbles backwards. By now we’ve drawn the attention of the majority of the supes around us and they’ve stopped to watch the show. I belatedly notice Dylan and the guy who sits beside me in my runes class in the crowd, but they aren’t enough to distract me from my meal—I mean—entertainment.
The nightmares head twitches to the side, his vertebrae cracking at the movement, while the rest of his body stays unmoving as he hones in on his prey. Then, all of the sudden he vanishes, reappearing centimetres from the guy’s face. The asshole screams, and the distinct smell of urine fills the air. My nose wrinkles. Another high pitched squeal leaves his lips when the creature’s hand snaps up to wrap around the guy’s throat. Their chests brush as the nightmares' soulless eyes hold the bully’s as he starts to run out of air. Another unpleasant scent fills the space surrounding us, and tremors wrack the man’s body. Howfascinating… If this is how he reacts with this, I wonder how afraid he’d be if I drew out his worst fear?
I’m leaning towards testing the theory when several instructors appear in the centre of the circle that has formed around the guy, me, and the nightmare creature. My eyes narrow as their mouths start moving quickly, not computing a single thing they’re saying. It’s like I’m waking up from a deep—yet extremely energising sleep—as my focus shifts between everyone. I’m completely aware of everything I just did, but instead of feeling exhausted by it, I’m re-energised. My heart is thumping loudly in my ears as I fight the urge to stretch like a satisfied cat, and my body feels stronger than it ever has.
When sound filters back in I focus on the sobs that are slipping from the guys lips. Oh, the nightmare is still here, though he has stopped choking the guy. He’s simply hovering in front of him and sufficiently scaring the shit out of him. I heave another pleased sigh. Hmm, I kind of want to take a picture of this guy's face. The pasty skin and eyes dull from fear would make for some lovely art.
The teacher in front of me grabs my attention when he grabs my wrist, a scowl tugging at his features. Whatever look I aim his way as my eyes shift between his and the hand he has on me, has him blanching and he drops my arm like I burned him.Good.
“What do you think you’re doing? Stop it right now!”
