Page 13

Chapter

Eleven

Bloom

Magic Lessons

S indy and I slipped into the lecture hall just before class began, finding two empty seats in the middle row near the left aisle. We barely had time to settle in when the room fell silent, all chatter dying mid-sentence as every head turned toward the entrance.

He walked in like he owned the place.

Dressed in crisp dark slacks and a white button-down with sleeves rolled to his forearms, he moved with effortless confidence. A vintage gold watch hugged his wrist, its band engraved with symbols so ancient they predated written language.

His face belonged on a marble statue—high cheekbones, a sculpted nose, sensual lips that curled into a smirk as he basked in the attention. The room seemed to brighten when he smiled, as if someone had turned up the sun.

Next to me, Sindy’s mouth hung open. She wasn’t the only one staring. Every girl in the room had gone still, their eyes tracking his every move.

I recognized him right away, the pretty boy who’d sneered at Orren and called him a dog.

Sindy clutched my arm. “Oh shit,” she whispered, voice trembling. “He’s coming this way.”

I didn’t budge. “Why? We got here first, and he’s not getting our seats.”

Sindy elbowed me hard. “Are you serious? That’s Sebastian.”

The name rippled through the lecture hall in hushed tones:

“…never comes to first-year classes…”

“…third-year elite track, why is he even?—”

“I heard he dueled a professor last semester!”

I shrugged, keeping my voice flat. “So he’s a third-year hotshot who skips class. Big deal.”

I knew better than to trust beauty—that sweet poison that made you forget your own name. I’d learned that lesson when the devil first appeared to me, his cold, brutal elegance so arresting, his beauty a weapon, and I’d let him bite the peak of my most sensitive flesh!

Sebastian carried that same dangerous allure, though where the devil had been shadows and dark star, this golden boy wrapped his viciousness in sunlight. Every perfect angle of him was a hidden threat.

And now he was sitting right beside me.

Sindy practically vibrated with joy as Sebastian settled into the seat, his scent of sharp citrus, warm cedar, and something unidentifiably powerful invaded my senses. It was overwhelming. Deliberately so.

“Hello, new girl,” he purred, that golden lock of hair tumbling perfectly across his brow, his molten gold eyes regarding me. “We’ve met. I’m Sebastian.”

Next to me, Sindy swayed like a sapling in a storm as she drank in his flawless smile.

“Right,” I said, acutely aware of the entire room’s attention shifting between us. The boys’ gazes turned speculative, the girls’ downright hostile. I could practically hear their thoughts: Why her? “You called Orren a dog. I don’t think he appreciated the comparison.”

Sebastian waved a careless hand. “It wasn’t an insult. People are just too sensitive these days.”

“Speaking of sensitive, Sebastian,” I kept my voice just above a whisper, “maybe you could find another seat? No offense, but I didn’t sign up to be part of the tourist attraction.

” I was too polite to add the words freak show .

“You seem to bring the spotlight with you, and I’d rather not be on your stage. ”

Sindy’s heel connected with my shin under the desk.

Sebastian’s laugh rang out, a sound that would undoubtedly bring a challenge or two my way after the class was over. “I like how you say my name,” he murmured, leaning closer.

My fingers tightened around my pen. Flirting? With me?

Sindy looked ready to combust beside me, her eyes practically bulging from their sockets.

“Just wanted to welcome you properly,” Sebastian added in a low voice, amusement still dancing in his eyes. “Didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

A deafening bang cut through the room as the side door slammed open. Every muscle in my body locked whenhestrode in, his movements sleek and predatory, his long black coat billowing behind him like living shadow.

My hand flew to my mouth, stifling a choked gasp.

Him.

The devil who’d bitten me. The one who’d given me my first fantastic—andillegal—orgasm.

Nero Ravencrux had just walked into my gin joint.

My stomach dropped to my shoes. Ofcourse, the man who’d ruined me for anyone else would turn out to be my Magical History professor. Ofcourse, the one night I’d let go would be a cardinal sin at Forsaken Academy.

Shit!

I could practically hear the universe laughing at me.

I shrunk lower in my seat, silently begging: Don’t see me. Don’t look this way.

If the floor had opened up, I would’ve gladly leapt into the abyss.

I didn’t have my textbook yet, but Sindy’s lay abandoned on the desk. I grabbed it and yanked it upright like a shield, pressing the spine to my nose as if the flimsy barrier could save me.

It didn’t.

His gaze seared through the pages like they were glass, pinning me in place. How did healwaysknow?

The weight of the room’s attention split: some glueing to our professor, some clinging to Sebastian’s golden presence, and the rest zeroing in on me. Shit, I could practically hear their unspoken questions buzzing in the air.

The room, already hushed when Sebastian entered, fell deathly silent, the air crackling with nervous energy. Everyone feared the devil; though Professor Ravencrux wasn’t quite the devil, he was close enough.

“You’re holding The History of Oldest Magic upside down,” Sindy whispered to me.

“Don’t you have better things to do than harass the new girl, Sebastian?” Professor Ravencrux’s voice cut through the room, icy with rage.

I sighed and let the textbook drop. The professor’s dark gaze fixed on me, and like always in his presence, heat prickled under my skin. I clenched my thighs, trying to stifle the sudden ache between them.

Ravencrux changed course, moving between the tables with predatory intent. My right eye twitched; my left earlobe burned— unmistakable danger and sensation.

“I was far from harassing Bloom,” Sebastian said.

He knew my name without me telling him. His grin was lazy, provocative as he met Ravencrux’s glare without flinching.

“I was taken with her the moment she walked into the academy. Who wouldn’t be?

And where did you find her? I was hoping to get to know her better.

She’s quite exquisite, isn’t she? Makes a real man want to protect her at all costs. ”

That was odd.

And unlike everyone else, Sebastian showed no fear of Ravencrux—rank, power, nothing seemed to faze him. He was deliberately provoking the professor, itching for a fight. His words carried a taunting edge, like he knew some dark, dangerous secret of Ravencrux’s.

What was it? That had to be why a mere third-year dared to challenge one of the academy’s three most powerful figures.

Professor Ravencrux’s face remained icy, a storm gathering in his winter-green eyes. I swore the room was getting darker suddenly, as if shadows had crept in, ready to swallow everything. Then Sebastian chuckled, flicking his wrist, and just like that, the shadows lightened.

It was as if they’d just clashed in some unseen battle.

The other students couldn’t see it, but they felt it, the oppressive weight, the instinctive fear of two apex predators circling each other.

I didn’t know how I understood, but something in me justdid, like an intrinsic awareness beyond logic.

Yet I was still missing something. A vital piece.

And I hated the feeling of being a pawn caught between them.

“I’m right here,” I said. My voice was clear despite the tremor beneath it. A leaf caught in the storm of their power struggle. That’s all I was to them. “I’m a big girl, and I can take care of myself. I don’t need anyone’s protection.”

Neither man so much as glanced my way. They stood locked in silent battle—two forces of nature, one daylight brilliance, the other midnight darkness.

Ravencrux’s loathing burned unchecked, while Sebastian’s smirk never touched his sharp, assessing eyes.

The summer blue had darkened to something colder, harder.

“How charitable,” Ravencrux sneered. “Though entirely unwanted. You’re nothing but a distraction, and you arenotwelcome here. Get the fuck out of my class.”

Power crackled at Ravencrux’s fingertips.

I grabbed Sindy’s arm, surprised by my own sudden strength.

No way were we staying for this pissing contest and getting caught in the crossfire.

She stumbled as I hauled her past the rows of seats, but I didn’t stop until we were a safe distance from the two lethally beautiful and ruthless men.

“My, my,” Sebastian drawled. “No need for the theatrics. We’ve got our lady present.” He shot me a glance, knowing exactly where I stood, and pushed himself up with lazy grace. “Not that I’d stay anyway. Your lectures couldn’t hold my attention if you paid me.”

Hands in pockets, he sauntered toward the exit, whistling. At the door, he paused—then turned to me and winked.

“There’s a party at Kingsley Tower this weekend.” he said, voice like honey poured over silk. “You should come, Bloom. I’ll save you a dance. Bring whoever you like.”

Then he was gone, or nearly was, until Ravencrux hurled a violent gust of wind that slammed the door behind him. Yet through it all, the professor’s dark gaze never left me.

“You should be more selective about your company, Bloom,” Ravencrux said as he strode back to the black podium.

Hearing him say my name sent an illicit thrill through me—this man who’d orchestrated my kidnapping, touched me, pleasured me, knowing full well I’d become his student.

The man who broke every rule without hesitation.

“Not every pretty boy has your best interests at heart.”

I tilted my chin up. “What about pretty men?”

The class gasped. To them, this wasn’t boldness; it was suicide. Ravencrux could strike me dead where I stood, and the academy would simply note my absence in tomorrow’s attendance.