Page 23 of Bonds of Magic (Vesperwood Academy: Incubus #3)

It was a little embarrassing, explaining why I had to dream like I did. But on the whole, it felt good to finally share this secret I’d been keeping locked up for so long. Neither of them looked grossed out. That counted for something.

It counted for a whole lot, actually.

I didn’t mention the part where Noah had discovered he could see into my dreams if he touched me. I still didn’t understand that, but it felt private.

“They keep telling me I have to learn to control my powers,” I said in the end. “Because I guess if I don’t learn, then someone else could try to control me. But there’s still so much I can’t do.”

“Wait, though,” Felix said. “You said Dean Mansur set Romero up to teach you. That makes sense, in a way. He’s a Historian.

He’s not an incubus, but he could probably figure out a lot through research.

” He cocked his head to the side. “But why Noah? I know Romero got hurt, but why would the dean replace him with Noah? It doesn’t make sense. ”

“Unless he’s also an incubus,” Ash said, excitement filling his voice.

“He’s not ,” I said quickly. “That much, I promise you.”

I was telling the truth, as far as I knew—though I still wished I knew more about what had happened to Noah.

“I can’t really explain why he’s the one giving me lessons,” I said, feeling uncomfortable. “It’s not my place. But he’s not an incubus. I hope you guys understand.”

“Not an incubus, got it.” Ash gave me a flippant thumbs up.

“We understand why you can’t tell us more,” Felix said.

“And I understand that you delight in torturing us,” Ash added, “holding back information to punish me, specifically.”

“Yes, Ash. My world revolves around you, so of course, this entire revelation revolves around you too.”

“Naturally.” He brushed an imaginary piece of lint off his shoulder. “I expect nothing le….”

He trailed off and narrowed his eyes, looking at something behind me.

I turned and saw Sean, Rekha, and Tim standing in a little cluster on the far side of the refectory. Nothing unusual about that. But the fact that they were talking to Valeria Martinez, Erika’s sister, was weird.

She was three years older than they were, and I’d never seen them interact before. None of those three had been friends with Erika either. I couldn’t imagine what they were talking about.

“I didn’t know those three even knew Valeria,” I said.

Ash wrinkled his nose. “Me neither.”

“It stands to reason,” Felix said. “Sean and Tim are Hunters. So’s Valeria. So they have that in common. And Rekha’s always with them.”

“Do Hunters have to go through the same interview and application process as the rest of us?” I asked.

Felix nodded. “They do, but it’s more of a formality. Unless they do something totally egregious, they’ll be accepted. And since they can’t do magic the same way other witches can, it’s really their only option.”

As I watched, Valeria said something to the threesome, then darted a glance around the refectory before leaving. I had the oddest sense that she was trying to be subtle. As subtle as a six-foot-tall Amazon could be.

Sean and the others seemed locked in an argument now. Or, rather, Sean and Tim were arguing with Rekha. That was odd too. Aside from that night in the library when they were looking at maps of Vesperwood, I’d never seen them so much as bicker.

But now, Tim and Sean were standing shoulder to shoulder, looming over Rekha. She didn’t look the least bit intimidated. She pointed a finger at them and whispered furiously. And then, as one, they all turned and looked directly at me.

I was so surprised, I didn’t even look away. I stared back, and it was Sean who averted his gaze first. If I didn’t know better, I’d have said he looked abashed. But I did know better, so I tossed that possibility out immediately.

He hadn’t looked in my direction once since that night in the showers, and he’d made an effort to keep out of my way.

Which was about the best I could hope for, I supposed, since I’d asked Noah not to do anything more drastic.

I didn’t want Sean kicked out. Not for that night, at least. But I never wanted to interact with him again.

And yet, here he was, darting glances in my direction. He wasn’t ashamed, but he was something . Furtive, maybe. Rekha was back to shaking her finger at the other two, and after a moment, she threw her hands up and stalked out of the room.

Nice to know I wasn’t the only person in the world she was annoyed with.

“What do you think that was about?” I asked, turning back to my friends.

“What was what about?” Ash said absently.

He didn’t look up from his plate, where he was sculpting the remains of his dinner roll into a miniature elephant. At least, I thought it was an elephant, but squished dough wasn’t the greatest medium for artistic clarity.

“Sean and Tim,” I said, glancing back at them. They were still talking on the far side of the room. Was it just me, or did they look too casual now? “Their argument with Rekha?”

“Argument?” Felix looked up. He’d gone back to reading his book and had clearly missed everything that had happened.

“The three of them were fighting about something. And then Rekha stalked off.”

I turned my head the teeniest bit, so I could watch them walk out of the refectory with studied innocence. No doubt about it, they were up to something. And I wanted to find out what.

I turned back to Ash, a plan forming in my mind.