Page 2 of Hexmate (Widdershins Supernatural Academy #1)

Chapter 2

Caden

TWO YEARS LATER

“ M agic has become all too rare these days,” the professor said, slowly walking around the room with her hands clasped behind her back. “Widdershins Academy has only twenty-four active students in its magic program for all four years. Our sister college in Oregon has only nineteen.” She took a long pause, staring around the room at each and every one of us. “That means, in the United States, there are less than fifty witches your age. By the time you graduate, there will be even less.”

“It’s no small secret that magic is dangerous,” she continued, pacing once more. “Fatality rates among young witches are exceedingly high. If not due to silly accidents, then due to a lack of proper training.” She stopped in front of me, staring down with an intensity that made me shudder. “If you don’t learn to control the power, it will destroy, consume, and eradicate you from existence.”

“The other problem is thinning of magical blood. Now I know it’s unpopular to say, but the thinning of magical blood is leading to its erasure from the paranormal community. Witches who mate with other creatures or humans take the risk of destroying their magical lineage completely.”

I raised my hand and she turned toward me. I didn’t wait for her to give me permission. “But isn’t it also true that witches and magical creatures have produced offspring that are far more powerful than either parent?”

Her expression darkened, but her cold smile stayed in place. “That is true. However, their power is chaotic and unreliable. Unlike us ,” she said pointedly, gesturing to the class. “Our power has a scientific precision that can be duplicated over and over again. A witch and a dryad may produce a child that can grow an entire forest overnight, but be unable to levitate a simple coin with any efficiency. Precision is what we want, not chaos.”

“But that kind of chaos leads to discovery!” I shot back. “That’s how we found our magic to begin with–”

“If you’ll excuse me, Mr. Cromwell,” she said, no small amount of venom in her voice. “I’d like to continue with my lecture for this session.”

“But you’re leaving out important facts–”

She clapped her hands once, the sound like thunder echoing through the room, enhanced by the magic swirling between her fingertips. “You will be silent or you will leave my classroom. And if I’m not mistaken, Mr. Cromwell, your father wouldn’t react well to you being dropped from the magic program that he paid so handsomely for you to join, despite your obvious lack of… talent.”

Giggles erupted around me, and I felt the burn of embarrassment wash over me. Even after two years of being called weak and pathetic in this new world, it still got to me. And the worst part was, they weren’t wrong. I was pathetic and weak. It was my claim to fame and the reason everyone at Widdershins avoided me like the plague.

Sinking down in my chair, I tried to make myself as small as possible. I didn’t hear much else the professor said as the lecture carried on. Speaking out in class wasn’t something I did often, anyway. But whatever had possessed me to question the professor’s lecture… that had to stop. For witches like me that had very little power, lying low was the smartest thing I could do.

As the class finally ended, I hurried to gather my books, desperate to escape the stifling atmosphere of the lecture hall. Just as I was about to slip out the door, a hand gripped my shoulder, stopping me in my tracks.

“Mr. Cromwell, a word,” Professor Blackwood’s icy voice sent a chill down my spine.

I turned reluctantly, meeting her steely gaze. “Yes, Professor?”

She leaned in close, her voice barely above a whisper. “Your... opinions are not welcome in my classroom. You’d do well to remember your place here.”

“But-” I started to protest, but she cut me off with a sharp gesture.

“Your father may have bought your way in, but that doesn’t mean you belong. Prove yourself useful, or you may find your stay at Widdershins cut short.”

With that, she turned on her heel and strode away, leaving me trembling in her wake. I stumbled out into the hallway, my mind reeling. As I made my way across the campus, the whispers and stares of my fellow students followed me like a cloud of shame.

I found myself at the edge of the forest that bordered the academy grounds. The ancient trees loomed overhead, their gnarled branches reaching out like crooked fingers. I hesitated for a moment, knowing I shouldn’t venture in alone. But the forest called to me, offering solace from the cruel whispers and judgmental stares.

With a deep breath, I stepped onto the mossy path and through the magic barrier surrounding the school. The barrier was invisible to humans and if one touched it, they would suddenly forget why they were in the woods and turn around to head back home. That’s why the school, nestled in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains, had never been found. My only way back in was my enchanted student ID hanging around my neck.

The forest outside the school was where I felt most at home, surrounded by nature’s wild energy. My own meager powers may have been a joke to my classmates, but here among the trees and earth, I could feel them stir.

I wandered deeper, losing track of time as I let the forest’s magic wash over me. Leaves rustled overhead in the breeze, their colors starting to shift as winter approached. The soft crunch of twigs beneath my feet and the rustling of unseen creatures meant I was alone. And that’s just the way I liked it.

Over the past two years, I’d spent a lot of time in those woods, trying desperately to make sense of this new world I found myself in. Still, I wasn’t sure I’d come to terms with the fac that my entire life leading up to eighteen had been a lie. My mother wasn’t my actual mother, but a woman hired to raise me by a father I’d been told was dead. Not only that, but the moment I finally met him, he threatened to kill me if I didn’t prove myself worthy of his name.

Trauma? Who’s she?

As I wandered deeper into the forest, my thoughts drifted to the night I first arrived at Widdershins. The memory still sent a chill down my spine...

The iron gates had creaked open, revealing a sprawling ancient college nestled between the mountains as lightning flashed overhead. A man came to meet me, claiming he was the dean of the college. However, he also informed me that he was given strict orders to do nothing to help me. Only to show me to my room and explain my class schedule that had already been chosen for me and would start in the fall.

That summer I spent by myself, on a mostly deserted campus, lost in my own thoughts. I remember spending day after day in my room, trying desperately to figure out what had happened to me and how I, Caden Cromwell, a perfectly ordinary guy, could possibly be a witch with magical powers. But no matter how much I agonized, no answers came. And, thanks to the wards around Widdershins Academy, my phone didn’t work either. To all the world I’d known, I’d just up and disappeared one day. And the most horrifying part of that was that nobody came looking for me.

So, I waited through the summer, exploring the grounds and the library, hoping that when the students arrived at last, I would finally no longer be alone. And for one brief moment, when that portal lit up once more, I thought I was right. But the instant the students found out who I was and my lack of power, they abandoned me.

A witch without power wasn’t much of a witch. Magical families, like my professor said, were rare, old, powerful, and rich. All of those things came with a cost, usually in the form of favors from fellow witches. And considering I was not powerful, and my father spoke so openly about how much he despised me, the rest of my peers kept their distance.

And that’s why I was always in the forest, by myself, without anyone to answer to. I spent a lot of time there between classes and even more during the summers when I was forced to live on campus. My father wouldn’t allow me in one of his many sprawling estates since I had yet to prove myself. And even though I studied and practiced and read every magical book I could get my hands on… my power just wouldn’t get any better. In fact, if things didn’t shape up soon, I was in very real danger of flunking out of Widdershins due to my complete lack of talent.

As I walked deeper into the forest, I felt a familiar tingle in my fingertips. This was the only place my meager powers seemed to respond. I knelt down, placing my palm against the damp earth. Closing my eyes, I concentrated, willing a tiny seedling to sprout. After a moment of intense focus, I felt a faint surge of energy. Opening my eyes, I saw a delicate green shoot pushing up through the soil.

A small smile tugged at my lips. It wasn’t much, but it was something. Out here, away from the judgmental stares and cruel whispers, I could pretend I wasn’t a complete failure. Besides, there was something about making green things grow that felt… well, magical. Father called green magic the weakest power, but I found it strangely beautiful. It was like creating life.

The snapping of a twig nearby made me jerk my head up. My heart raced as I scanned the trees, suddenly aware of how far I’d wandered from the academy grounds. The forest could be dangerous, especially for someone with as little magical ability as me. And there were no guards or teachers to watch my back.

“Who’s there?” I called out, trying to keep the tremor from my voice.

Silence answered me. Then, a low chuckle that sent ice through my veins.

“Well, well. What do we have here?” A tall figure emerged from the darkness. As he stepped into the light, I gasped. He was the last person I expected to run into out there in the woods.

“F-Father?” I stammered, scrambling to my feet.

Damien Cromwell’s lips curled into a sneer as he looked me up and down. “I see you’re still wasting your time with these... parlor tricks,” he said, gesturing dismissively at the tiny seedling I’d just coaxed from the earth.

I felt my cheeks burn with shame and anger. “It’s not a trick,” I muttered. “It’s magic.”

“Magic?” He barked out a harsh laugh. “You call this magic? This is child’s play, Caden. Hardly befitting of a Cromwell.”

I clenched my fists, willing myself not to show how much his words stung. “What are you doing here?” I asked instead.

He took a step closer, looming over me. Despite being fully grown, I still felt small in his presence. “The Academy is having a fundraiser tonight,” he growled. “I thought I’d check on my investment before I went.” He looked me up and down. “And as usual, I find myself disappointed by the mere sight of you.”

I swallowed hard, fighting the urge to step back. “I’m... I’m trying my best,” I said, hating how weak my voice sounded.

“Your best?” Damien scoffed. “Your best is pathetic. Do you have any idea the shame you bring to our family name? The Cromwells have been powerful witches for generations, and now...” He gestured at me with disgust. “Now we have you.”

His words cut deep, reopening old wounds. I wanted to argue, to defend myself, but what could I say? He wasn’t wrong. I was weak, my magic barely a flicker compared to the roaring flames of power my classmates wielded. And compared to my other thirteen brothers and sisters I’d never even met… I was less than nothing.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, dropping my gaze to the forest floor.

“Sorry isn’t good enough,” Damien growled. He reached out suddenly, gripping my chin and forcing me to look at him. His touch was like ice, sending shivers down my spine. “You have one year left to impress me, Caden, or I will pull the plug on this entire thing.” He glanced down at the seedling once more before stomping it into the ground. “Clearly you have too much time to waste on your hands. You’re arguing with professors and now you’re out here wasting time.”

Clearly, Professor Blackwood had informed my father what I’d said the moment class was over. I’d have to watch myself from now on. “I came out there to study?—”

His hand flashed through the air, a resounding crack echoing through the trees. A white-hot pain burned through my cheek as I stared at the ground, my heart racing.

“Don’t lie to me!” he barked. “If you studied, you’d be worth something by now!”

I just stood there, doing everything I could not to cry. I wouldn’t give him another reason to despise me.

“So, starting tomorrow, you can get a job on campus instead of wasting your time.” He let go of me at last, taking a step back and straightening his blazer. “Then at least you’ll be a little less of a drain on my wealth.”

“The… the only jobs are tutoring,” I said weakly. “And I’m… I’m not…”

“Good enough?” he scoffed. “Shocking. But I’m sure there are plenty of jobs even the custodial staff is too talented for.” He waved a hand in the air, a shining golden portal opening up behind him. “I’ll speak to the dean. You’ll start tomorrow.”

Without so much as a backward glance, my father stepped through the portal. It snapped shut behind him and I was left in the forest by myself, my shoulders quaking as I tried and failed to hold back my sobs.

At this rate, I wasn’t sure I had much longer to live. And even though I was Damien Cromwell’s son, I had no doubt he would get rid of me long before he endangered the family reputation.

I wished more than anything I could do some real magic. Or run away. But neither seemed possible, not when my father was one of the most powerful and well-connected witches in the entire country.