I sigh.
Going to have to use magic for this.
I pick up the lantern and scowl at the wick. “Oh, how I hate making up a new spell. Just light this fricking flame from hell.”
Whoosh.
A crimson flame bursts to life inside the lantern, and maybe it’s just me, but it looks a little demonic.
Um.
Shit.
Pretty sure I just summoned a bit of hellfire.
I glance at Nero. “You saw nothing.”
He stares unblinkingly back at me.
I worry my lower lip as I step into the room, lifting the lantern with its red flame. Not even one night in, and I’m already breaking the rules by using dark magic.
I can’t focus on those thoughts for too long, however, because the sight around me takes my breath away.
“Grimoires,” I whisper.
Hundreds of them. They’re packed along the shelves, their conflicting magic rolling off them. It’s already making my head throb; it’s like being sprayed with dozens of clashing perfumes.
There’s a long table that runs down the middle of the room, presumably where you can read over the books.
“Can’t sleep?”
I yelp, nearly dropping my lantern at the voice behind me.
I swivel around and face another witch, one who probably also lives here.
Her gaze drops to my lantern. “That’s some interesting light you’ve made for yourself.”
“Uh…” This is where I get kicked out not a day after I move in.
“It’s a head rush, isn’t it?” she says, stepping up next to me.
At first, I think she’s speaking about dark magic, but then I notice her attention is on the grimoires around us.
“Mm-hmm,” I agree, even as the throbbing in my temple increases.
“Many of these were supposedly written by coven members who lived here, though some of them are far older.” She gives me a conspiratorial look. “Maybe one day you or I will have a grimoire stored in here.”
The thought is so wild, it distracts me from the fact I’ve been caught almost literally red-handed with dark magic.
“I’m Kasey, by the way,” the witch says, holding out her hand.
I take it. “Selene.”
“I know. I saw you at the harvest party—you made an entrance with that familiar of yours,” she says, her gaze drifting down to Nero.
“Uh, yeah, he’s really a sweetheart. Totally misunderstood.”
Nero gives me a look like I’m so full of shit, which I obviously am, but Kasey and the rest of the witches living here don’t need to know that. I’m sure it’s terrifying enough to know you’re sharing your house with a panther. Never mind that he has an attitude.
Kasey’s gaze moves back to the grimoires around us. She points at one bound in plum-colored cloth. “That one helped me with the potency and longevity of my spells in my wards class—just a heads-up in case you’re taking it this semester.”
I don’t think I am, but—
“Thanks,” I say. “I’ll be sure to check it out.”
Kasey smiles at me. “Well, I’m heading off to bed.” Her eyes drop to the crimson flame in my lantern before rising to mine once more. “Oh, and by the way, be careful not to burn anything—magical fires are notorious for not going out, and flames like that”—her eyes flick back to my lantern—“hunger for power.
“Nice meeting you, Selene.” Kasey nods and leaves.
“Bye,” I call after her.
Once I’m sure Kasey is gone and the house is quiet once more, I speak to the lantern. “Thank you for the assistance, demon flame. Now go back to hell from whence you came.”
The candle flickers out, leaving behind a vaguely corrosive smell, and some magical black residue smudges the glass panes of the lantern. It’s that tar-like substance that gives it its name—dark magic.
It draws from forces of darkness and collects sin and blood as tithe. It’s forbidden, evil magic.
And my new acquaintance Kasey saw me using it.
CHAPTER 13
The week following my move-in flies by in a blur. I fully settle into my new room, Nero forms a routine with coming and going from the house to the woods around the coven. My bookshelves are finally all organized with my old notebooks, and my current one is filled with my class schedule and maps. I’ve picked up my course textbooks and even flipped through a few of them.
I’m ready for my first day of classes tomorrow.
I clomp down the stairs now, Nero prowling next me like a shadow. From the hall to my right, Sybil chats with another witch.
When my friend sees me, she calls out, “Selene! Where are you going?”
I should definitely be doing a better job of getting to know the witches I live with, and now is an opening to do so. I’ve already chatted with a few of them, and I’m embarrassed to admit that when I’ve been able to, I’ve written down their names, their familiar’s species, which rooms they live in, and anything else distinct about them, like some sort of obsessed stalker.
I mean, it does work.
“I’m going to take pictures of the different buildings on campus and put together a map.”
“Didn’t you do that yesterday?” she says.
I hesitate now. Did I?
Sybil uses my hesitation to head over to me. “Babe, you can chill out on the studiousness,” she says quietly.
Over Sybil’s shoulder, the witch she was talking to now eyes me curiously.
I lower my voice. “You know I can’t.”
I wish it were different. I wish I didn’t need to work harder just to be treated normally by my peers. But it is what it is, and Sybil of all people knows this.
She frowns. “It’s just, we’re finally under the same roof, and yet I haven’t even gotten to hang out with you since you moved in.”
I swallow, feeling this tension forming between us. I don’t want that. I’m adamant about proving my worth here at Henbane, but I also don’t want to strain my relationship with my best friend.
“I’m sorry,” I say. “I just…don’t want to screw this up for myself.”
Sybil’s expression gentles. “You won’t. You’re brilliant.” She lets out a breath, then nods to the door. “Go ahead then. Map out the coven, and when you get back, let’s hang.”
I sit on a stone bench at the back of Lunar Observatory, the northernmost building on campus, as the sun dips below the horizon. One of my notebooks lies open on my lap, this one detailing all sorts of information about Henbane Coven, from my class schedule, to notes on where things are, to what times certain buildings are open and closed. There are also notes on the idiosyncrasies that certain buildings have, like the fact the chairs in Cauldron Hall are prone to levitating, thanks to a prank that was never fully reversed.
I smooth my hand over the pictures of Lunar Observatory that I’ve taped to the page, lingering on the glass dome atop the building that’s supposedly spelled to make the heavens appear closer than they are.
There’s a thrum building in my veins and tightening my chest. At first, I think it’s simply me wishing I had an astrology class this semester—I don’t—but…the feeling is persistent. It lingers even after I finish scribbling notes and close my journal. If anything, it seems to grow as I slip my notebook in my bag and glance up at the twilight sky.