The Shadow Student (Wraithwood Academy #1) - Teresa Hann Page 0,5

toward the next Cly, the one running away to his left. “Boing,” he said miming the motion with his finger. The next step that she took, she bounced, arcing off the ground, kicking and flailing, and landing head-first into the canopy of one of the nice ancient oak trees.

Acubens wiggled his fingers at the third Cly. “I actually don’t know what sound effect to use for this one,” he admitted. Her limbs wobbled, like rubber, then tied themselves into pretzel knots.

And as his unnervingly pale gaze continued past the Clys, toward a faint, shimmering patch in the air, I knew he’d been toying with her, like a cat with a mouse.

And now he was ready to pounce.

“All three were decoys, huh,” Acubens drawled. “I never would’ve guessed. I should let the real Redbriar know just how clever I think she is!”

He crooked a finger, yanking the shimmer toward him. Cly gasped and stumbled to her knees, all her illusions puffing away like smoke. He crooked his finger again. Cly skidded several feet closer, bare knees scraping on the paving stones.

Acubens smirked. “Hello,” he said, stepping toward her.

“Aegis!” Cly screamed, all swagger gone. “Aegis!”

Acubens was raising his hand again when Aegis grabbed his wrist. Like always, charging in like a knight in shining armor to save Cly from the consequences of her actions.

The intricate tattoos on Aegis's arms were glowing, siphoning Acubens's magic away from his hand. Aegis was a Spellbreaker; the tattoos made him immune to magic other than his own, and capable of actively absorbing magic from other mages. Naturally, mages didn’t hand over the keys to their weakness to just anybody; Aegis had been specially honored with the procedure due to his family’s history of service and his personal loyalty.

I looked away from him in disgust. He’d swoop in to save Cly from getting a taste of her own medicine, but he hadn’t lifted a finger to save me from captivity and exploitation. I remembered his hands, gentle but inexorable, as he locked the shackles around my arms and legs on Leda’s order. If one day Leda decided I’d outlived my usefulness, would Aegis kill me, just as gently, just as inexorably?

My drifting gaze chanced across Arcturus, still standing a ways behind his brother. I blinked in surprise. Another boy was leaning against Arcturus, arm slung casually across his shoulder. He wore a neat enough combination of button-up shirt and slacks, typical of the student crowd around him, but he was definitely the only one with hair long enough to brush the grass. It flowed down his shoulders and back, dark and very faintly iridescent, like an oil spill.

He tipped his head up, eyes meeting mine.

I tensed. How the hell had he noticed me, with all the drama going on below?

For a moment, he regarded me. His eyes were like his hair, dark yet gleaming. His face had an eerie beauty to it, a little too perfect, a little too symmetrical, yet impossible to look away from. I couldn’t read his expression.

Then he smiled and turned away.

Arcturus was shrugging off his arm, stepping toward Acubens and Aegis, who were still locked in their stalemate. Acubens wore a pained grimace as he tried, unsuccessfully, to yank his hand free of Aegis's grasp.

Aegis looked up as Arcturus approached. “Tell your brother that the Redbriars can still defend their dignity if provoked. The Nightfelds shouldn’t get cocky just yet.”

Arcturus merely placed a single gloved finger against Aegis's hand. “You’re the one who should remember your place, Spellbreaker. This school is ours for a reason.”

Aegis's tattoos began to flare as Arcturus poured magic into him—arms, shoulders, back, chest, so brightly I could see them right through his shirt. Aegis's eyes widened; he himself was still immune to magic, but Arcturus was overwhelming his ability to drain magic through sheer raw power. Even I wasn’t sure if I could do that.

And that massive overload meant Acubens was no longer getting drained dry. He growled and yanked his hand free with a burst of magic-enhanced strength.

“We’ll be going now,” said Arcturus, removing his finger. “Behave yourselves at our school.” He turned and walked away without a second glance, as if it was all in a Sunday’s work for him. Acubens shot a final dark glare at Aegis, before following.

The gathered students dispersed, chattering among themselves about the show they’d just witnessed. Judging by the bits and pieces that drifted past my window, Cly hadn’t made the impression she’d been hoping for. I wished I