humans. He can’t do that. No way he can do that... right?” Odette questioned.
“He can do anything he wants.” I sighed. “So long as he’s king and the Circle obliges his orders. Which it looks like they will.”
My amulet plan was a ridiculous idea. I’d been foolish enough to assume the Circle had good hearts, and wanted what was best for the people of Malovia, and not themselves. What a stupid bastard I was.
“But the potion,” Delmare stammered. She was in disbelief as she turned to Emma. “Are you sure she drank the potion?”
Emma nodded “I didn’t take my gaze off it once I snuck it into her bottle. She drank the whole thing. I watched her with my own eyes.”
Delmare’s eyes watered, and her hands shook. “Dammit.” She threw a glass potion vial— it shattered against the floor, and she put her head in her hands as she turned away from us.
“Irena,” Stefan said gently. The tone was so heartfelt it bothered me.
“I knew it wouldn’t work,” Delmare said. “I’m a shit sorceress.”
“Hey, that tiny sip knocked me on my ass, babe, and I’m a lot bigger than Gabby is,” Stefan said as he rubbed her back. “It should’ve thrown her for a loop.”
“But it didn’t,” Delmare snapped. “It did nothing.” She didn’t turn into Stefan, but she didn’t shy away from his touch, either. Stefan’s concerned gaze remained on her.
“It wasn’t your fault, Delmare. Gabby is obviously messing with things she shouldn’t be,” I raged as I paced around the room. I threw my hands up in an obvious bout of frustration. “She did incredible things in the King’s Contest. She performs advanced magic in class. She can put an illusion on hundreds of people. Hell, she levitated a tree last semester! No, it wasn’t the potion. She’s pulling power from a source that’s not her own. That’s why she was able to overpower the effects of the potion.”
Delmare’s eyes cleared, and Stefan stood straight.
Emma raised an eyebrow. “Do you think she might have an Unseelie necklace, like I used in the Contest?”
“She couldn’t use it unless she has Unseelie blood, though,” Odette said.
“She just might,” Theo said. “Just how much do we know about her, anyway? I bet she’s got night court blood in her.”
“I don’t know what she is, or what she’s using to get so powerful,” Emma said.
My knuckles cracked as my hands became fists, and I added, “Neither do I. But we need to find out.”
Chapter Fourteen
Emma
While Ethan was at the competency trials I’d gone to the cathedral, and prayed to the goddess Milonna to stop Gabby and Elijah from being successful.
For whatever reason, my prayers had been ignored. Gabby and Elijah had freaking passed, and their coronation was being planned at this very moment.
Did the gods want them on the throne? Why? Was their bloodthrist and desire for battle so great, they wanted the Arcanea to slaughter and enslave all the other races? I knew the gods liked honor and glory. But was starting another brutal war worth it?
I didn’t understand. Milonna felt so far away from me, and I didn’t know how to please her, or earn her favor. I was supposed to be her champion, but I felt like I was doing a terrible job.
On March twentieth, I met Kiara at ten a.m. for our Protection Against Dark Magic course. The classroom was circular, with stone floors and walls, the desks set up in an oval beneath tiny windows.
Professor Mara taught this class. Her glittering blue robe sparkled like starlight as I took a seat next to Kiara.
“How are you doing?” Kiara asked.
I shrugged. “Okay, I guess. Ethan’s been down all week.”
And it’d been a hell of a time pulling him out of it. I was quickly learning when Ethan was in a bad mood, it was best to give him space. And no one quite got under his skin like Elijah.
Kiara frowned. “I’m sorry I couldn’t help you guys. I wish I could.”
“It’s fine.” I stopped myself from being resentful. We needed Kiara, but it was too late. Gabby and Elijah had passed their trials, which meant they’d be king and queen by the time the semester was over.
Unless the Phantom did something crazy to stop them. Which was exactly what I was worried about.
“Pay attention, everyone,” Professor Mara said. “Today we will be learning the difference between white magic and dark magic.”
She strode in front of a rolling chalkboard. As she did so, drawings began to emerge— the shapes