Page 35 of Spellcaster (Weatherstone College #1)

“Talking about me?” I said, forcing a casual tone while on the inside I was all terror and panic. “All good things I’m sure.”

Rafael, better at hiding his feelings than Elder Monroe, smiled as if we were old friends. It was apparent who’d taught Logan

to hide his calculating manipulations under a cloak of civility. Only, the jury was still out on Logan and how dark he truly

was. “All good, Paisley. We were discussing this little monster issue the college appears to be having. Weird that it started

this year. Your freshman year.”

Smoothly done with the accusation there, Kingston, but since I was fairly sure I’d know if I was summoning monsters, the bite

didn’t really have any teeth. “The year Logan transferred in too,” I replied, smiling so pleasantly my jaw hurt. “Definitely

a weird coincidence.”

I swore there was a brief twitch in Logan’s lips even as his expression remained hard, his focus on his scary-ass father.

“I’m so happy you survived Walter’s attack. He’s a strong air elemental. How did that happen, Paisley? Also, you wouldn’t

happen to know where he is? His family is worried sick.”

I blinked, trying to keep up with his segue and rapid questioning.

Was he talking about Walter the Weasel? Kingston will thank me for this.

I’d already been on the edge of a panic attack, but the implication that all along that attack might not have been directed by Logan slammed into me, and I couldn’t help but burn a hole in the side of Logan’s face with my gaze.

His father noticed too, his grin satisfied in a way that hurt my stomach.

“Why would I know where he—?”

“Leave her alone, Rafael,” Dad finally cut in, done with the warlock’s baiting. “Paisley was attacked by the monsters, she’s

hardly the one bringing them to the school. You always were quick to blame our family for any wrongdoings.”

Mom was quiet, and so pale that I was worried she was about to faint. We needed to end this conversation immediately, before

it did more emotional damage.

“I wouldn’t dream of blaming anyone. We all know your family is above such reproach.” Rafael’s reply was smooth, the digs

subtle. “How are you, Beth?” Dad shifted his stance to block Mom, not that it stopped Rafael. “Still ignoring your magic?”

“We all lost Isabel that day,” Dad snarled at his former best friend. “Beth was hurt too, remember? We have all suffered,

none more than my wife, who saw her best friend get torn to pieces.”

“She was my best friend,” Rafael snapped, and for a moment the darkness in the spellcaster blasted like a beacon. “ Mine! And she was taken from me. I have never bought your innocent act regarding Beth’s magic, and now your daughter is neck-deep

in a situation where another was torn to pieces. I don’t believe in coincidences. You need to stop blaming others for your

fuckups, Tom. Not even our years of friendship can excuse what happened that day.”

Dad’s laugh was strained and without humor. “That blood oath clued me in on the lack of forgiveness, Rafe. We just want to

be left alone.”

“I think I should leave,” Mom murmured softly. “I don’t want to remind anyone of their loss.”

Her compassionate words only made Rafael angrier. The heat around him rose, and I wondered if it was harder to hate someone

who so plainly suffered for what happened that day.

“I’ll take you home,” Dad said, keeping her partially hidden behind him as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Paisley,

let your brothers and sisters know, and stay away from the Kingstons.”

“With pleasure,” I said, shooting Logan another glare. I’d asked him point-blank if his father was going to be here and he’d

ignored me all so his father could ambush Mom.

Asshole.

A duet of assholes.

There wasn’t a chance in Hel I’d be taking those extra training lessons with him. Not now, and not at any point in the future.

I hugged both of my parents, furious our time was cut short, but happy they’d be away from the spellcasters. “Be careful,”

Mom whispered as she held on tight. “Don’t go anywhere alone while he’s here.”

“I promise,” I whispered into her shoulder, the warm clean scent of her clothes comforting.

My parents didn’t exit the gates until they saw me reach the steps of the front entrance, and that was when I turned once

more, and made sure they got out safe. Logan and his father didn’t move, and their conversation didn’t look pleasant. Probably

discussing how they planned on taking over the world this weekend.

I was briefly distracted when Trevor and Jensen stepped down the main steps, followed by Alice and Jenna. I’d been early to meet our parents, which was lucky considering what I’d walked in on. Not that my presence did anything at all, but I was there for support.

“Where’s Mom?” Trevor asked, looking around.

Shaking my head, I quickly detailed exactly what I’d walked in on. “Fuck,” Jensen muttered, and that pretty much summed it

up.

For the rest of the day, I had a four-person bodyguard team. We skipped out on the shows and feasts to stay in the twins’

dorm, as it was larger than the normal rooms. By the time Jensen and Trevor deposited me at my front door, the school was

once again locked down to everyone except students and professors, and I found myself pulling crystals from my desk and placing

them on my bed.

I needed comfort tonight, and wished I could sneak to the phones and call Mom to check on her. But along with a blanket on

our energy, there was also a curfew in the halls at night, so the call would have to wait until morning.

Eventually, exhaustion dragged me under, but it only felt like seconds later I was startled awake, my breaths coming out in

rapid huffs. I still had periodic nightmares from the attacks, and at first I thought that was what woke me, until I felt

tingles racing down my spine. Along with those fear-inducing tingles, I noticed immediately that there was also no cloying

press of the blanket against my power. Ever since that magical protection had been enacted, it felt like my powers were contained

in a small space. Whenever I expanded them, they’d collide with the walls of the blanket, but now... there was nothing

holding them back.

Fear held me in place for a second, before I crawled out of bed and crept to the door, listening closely.

Too afraid to venture out, I hurried back to my bed, prepared to hide under the covers like a proper five-year-old afraid of the dark.

Lifting the crystals I’d fallen asleep with, because they were scattered everywhere now, I moved them back to the desk, catching sight of a shadow outside the window.

Wait, no. It wasn’t a shadow. It was a monster.

Holy fuck!

It slipped into the forest, and then another emerged, and another. Over and over. Closing my eyes, I forced my pulse to slow,

wondering if I was dreaming. Pinching my arm hurt a lot, and I knew that this was no nightmare.

When I opened my eyes again, the monsters were still there, emerging from the forest and drawing closer to the buildings.

There were too many. They were going to destroy the school and kill everyone inside. Who had lifted the magical blanket over

the college? Had it been Rafael before he left? Was this his way of telling us he was responsible for the monsters?

Knowing that I had to warn someone before they got inside, I opened my door and glanced along the hall to ensure they weren’t

already here. I huffed out in a rush when the hall was clear of any darkness, and taking a fortifying breath, dashed out of

my door and sprinted, turning right. It was only when I reached the black curtains that I realized I hadn’t headed for the

professors’ dorms.

Despite my fears and misgivings about him, instinct had still sent me straight for Logan.

As frustrating as it was to ask this asshole for help, he was thus far the only warlock or witch to be able to banish the

monsters. He would know what to do.

Lifting my hand to knock, I noticed my blood had been cleaned from the door. Why that bothered me I had no idea, but there

was no time for a mental break here. I had to save the school. Before I could knock, the door was opened, and this time he

was dressed in a pair of pajama pants. Just pants.

Holy fucking goddess.

The ink. His ink was . . . everywhere.

Monsters, Paisley.

Right, right. I needed to get my head in the fucking game. There were monsters surrounding the school and this was no time

to be devouring the broad expanse of bronze skin, marked with an array of darkly enticing tattoos. The few images I could

see spoke of a true artist’s hand, with the soaring raven across his right shoulder drawing my eye.

“Paisley,” he said, his gaze sliding down my body as if he was checking for injuries. I looked down as well, cursing when

I noticed I wore his hoodie.

“It’s fucking comfy, get over it,” I snapped, before he could say a word.

Crossing his arms over his chest, he leaned against his doorjamb. “And you’re here for more of my clothes? I don’t wear underwear,

if that’s what you’re after.” His gaze rested on the bare expanse of leg sticking out from under his hoodie, as if he was

wondering whether I had panties on under there.

If the monsters didn’t get me, embarrassment was about to straight-up murder me. Don’t think about him without underwear. Don’t fucking do it.

“There are monsters surrounding the school,” I blurted out.

His casual indifference faded as he lifted his head, towering over me. “The blanket is intact. That can’t be possible.”

Intact. Wait, what? It had been down. I’d felt that pulse against my magic, but... I expanded my power and it hit the cloying

sensation. The blanket had returned.

“I think it might have been down for a few minutes,” I whispered, trying to piece it together in my head. “The power pulse

woke me, and I saw dozens of monsters outside my window.” Logan’s room was an interior, so it didn’t have a real window, only

a magically created one. “I’ll show you in my room.”