Summoned By Magic by Lexie Scott

Chapter 15

Aknock sounded on our door, and I looked up from my history book to check if Natasha was going to get it. Even though it was late, I wanted to read through the first chapter of all my texts before tomorrow’s classes, so I didn’t feel as behind going in for my traditional classes I’d missed for my assessment.

Natasha had her emerald headphones on, so I slid off my bed and went to see who our visitor was. When I opened the door, I stepped back. A tall, pale boy had his arm up, holding a plastic bag out at my eye level.

I cringed at the contents. Fingernail clippings. Gross.

“These are for Natasha.” He waved it, and I took the offending bag. He left without another word.

I closed the door and tossed the bag next to my roommate on her desk. She flinched and pulled off her headphones to glare at me. “Who are these from?”

“How many vampires do you have bringing you their nails?” I climbed back on my bed and resumed my reading position.

“A few.”

That wasn’t comforting. I didn’t like the idea of strangers’ body parts laying around our room. Even if it was just nails, hair, and venom. My human-raised brain had trouble adjusting.

“He was really tall, thin, and super pale.”

She rolled her eyes. “Jesper.”

At least Hannah and the guys warned me about the exchanges between the three species, or this would have been a much different conversation. “Are you working on a spell?”

Her gaze snapped to me. “What if I am?”

I wasn’t going to back down just because she was trying to intimidate me. It might be a stupid idea, but I was sick of quietly taking it when she tried to push me around.

“I was just curious. I haven’t seen one that uses any vampire contributions yet.”

Her eyes narrowed just slightly. “I’m helping a friend find their bonded. I’ve tried with hair, but it didn’t work. I’m trying nails this time.”

Bonded? Hannah’s mentioned that before, but it was also with so much other information that I never really paid attention.

“What’s a bonded?”

She turned in her chair, completely facing me. “You really have no idea what you’re doing here do you?”

I shrugged. “I’m here to learn about my abilities.”

She rolled her eyes. “I mean, you don’t understand our world.”

“It’s been one day. Cut me some slack.”

The corners of her lips flicked up for a nanosecond, almost like a smile, but stopped. I had to be wrong. No way was Natasha softening toward me.

“But your parents didn’t even tell you? About the bond?” she asked.

I shook my head. “They’re human. They don’t know anything about this world either.”

“Right.” She pulled her headphones from around her neck and sat them on the desk. “The bond is a magical connection between two supes. Sometimes we call those two people pairs. When a pair finds each other and forms the bond, it can amplify their abilities making them individually more powerful, as well as together.”

I’d read enough fantasy romance novels for this to make sense. I never thought I’d be living in one though.

“How do you find your pair?” I asked.

“That’s the tricky part. There is no way of knowing who it is until you meet them, and even then, sometimes it isn’t an instant connection. Some people say they feel a sort of energy around their pair, but others don't. Some just get lucky.”

“Then why are you making that spell?”

She grinned. “Because it’s one of the few magical ways to find your pair. The problem is that it takes some trial and error customizing it for the bond. The one I’m working on is close. We’ve been able to narrow it down to the school, so now I’m working on getting it even more specific.”

And nail clippings were supposed to help with that?

“It’s one of the tricks witches have that shifters and vampires want access to. Finding your pair is a big deal,” she continued while looking back at her notebook.

Yeah, most people would want to be more powerful.

“Can the bond be between anyone?” I asked.

“Like shifter and witch?” she asked to clarify, and I nodded. “Yeah, but there are some traditionalists who refuse to accept that. Or they think that the bond is only platonic in those cases.”

“Are they not all that way? Is a bond more than just about powers?”

“Most––if not all––pairs end up in a romantic relationship if that’s what you’re asking,” she said with a smirk.

“So it’s like your soul mate?”

She shot me an exasperated look. “If you want to turn it into a fairytale, sure.”

“And your friend’s pair is here? At the school? That’s amazing.” What were the odds of that happening?

“It’s not that unusual. There’s a reason the student body is so diverse. This was the only school that accepted all three species for a long time, and it’s the best one in the world. With such a high concentration of supes in one spot, it makes finding your pair a lot easier.”

That reminded me of what Hannah said on my very first day. “The bonded pairs live with the older students?”

“Yeah, once you bond, you don’t really want to live apart from your pair so the school allows them to live together, no matter their age.”

I leaned against the wall. “So have you tried to find yours?”

She shook her head. “Not yet.”

“Why not?”

“Because I don't need or want anyone telling me what to do or trying to control me,” she snapped back.

I flushed. “Sorry, I didn’t mean––.”

“It’s fine. You didn’t know.” She sucked in a breath. “Not everyone wants to be in a bond. They don’t always end in a happily ever after.”

I wanted to ask what that meant, but she spun back to her desk and put her headphones on, ending the conversation.

My history book could no longer hold my attention, so I grabbed my shower caddy and headed to the bathroom.

Later that night, when I was lying in bed, fighting to keep from falling asleep, a familiar tug pulled at me. I closed my eyes, allowing it to take over.

When I opened them, I was in my wildflower field with a brilliant cotton candy sunset hanging over the horizon.

Warmth spread through my chest. This was one of the only constants left in my life. A piece of who I used to be that wasn’t going away. I cherished every second of being here.

A shrill call filled the air, and I scanned the skies for my hawk. His wings spread wide, gliding in circles over me before he dove and landed on a patch of grass next to me.

I stroked my fingers over his russet wings before bopping him on the yellow dot on his beak. He snapped at me, and I laughed, “No, I will not stop doing that.”

He ruffled his feathers and hopped a foot away from me.

I rolled my eyes and returned to the gorgeous view. “I wasn’t expecting to see you so soon.”

He flapped his wings and landed on my bent knee, facing me.

“Miss me too much?” I teased, and he nodded. That was how I knew this was a dreamland. Birds couldn’t understand English, and they certainly couldn’t respond, but my hawk always had. He’d been there for me wherever I needed him over the years. He listened to me complain about how strict my parents were when girls were mean and when boys didn’t like me back.

It was probably a weird way for my brain to process, but I wasn’t sure lucid dreaming was all that normal. Maybe it was for witches.

“It was a really long day.” I dropped back and stared up at the orange sky. “I knew I was behind, but I was reminded of it in every class. This boy, who I’m pretty certain hates me, has to tutor me. I don’t know how that’s going to go over. We’ll see if I survive one day with him.”

My hawk hopped lightly onto my thigh, stomach, then chest, before peering down at me with his head cocked to the side.

“I’m not sure why he doesn’t like me. It’s been one day, and I have an enemy.” I sighed. “There’s something about him. I can see it in his eyes. He’s lonely. Sad. I get that. Maybe he doesn’t like that I can recognize that in him.”

Or maybe I was overthinking, and he just didn’t want to be bothered by people who kept telling him to help me.

“Also, I had the strangest thing happen to me, which is saying something since I’m at a witch school now,” I huffed, and he waited. “I think I had a premonition, and not like my dreams. I was completely awake. I bumped into a guy here, and I had this flash of seeing us together in the future. It was so bizarre. I told my friend that it felt like a memory, but she didn’t know what I was talking about.”

He snapped his beak, and I studied him. Sometimes, like now, it felt like he was desperately trying to communicate with me, but even after all these years, I wasn’t great at deciphering his movements and calls.

“What?”

He ruffled his feathers around his neck. He didn’t look happy.

“Is that a bad thing?”

He nodded. I swear he did.

“Why?”

He snapped again. Huh. He didn’t like me having premonitions? But why? I kind of thought it meant I was getting more powerful, but maybe I was wrong. I was just happy I didn't see anything bad. I could have seen Sai get hurt or die. I’d much rather see us laughing and holding hands.

“Fine, we don’t have to talk about that.” I thought over the rest of my day. “I learned about bonds and pairs.” I waited to see if he would react, but he didn’t. “I guess some people, well, supernaturals, have a pair in the world that helps strengthen their powers. Cool, huh?”

He made a low sound, but at least he wasn’t grumpy anymore.

“What else?” I ran my arms along the soft grass. “Oh, my new friend has a crush on another one of my new friends, but she doesn’t think he likes her back. I think she’s wrong, though. He would have to be stupid not to like her. Maybe I’ll be their matchmaker.”

He shrieked, and I laughed, “Geez, you’re not into the gossip either? What do you want me to talk about?”

His golden eyes held mine, and I swore he was trying to talk to me through his signals. I sighed. “Maybe if I had a pen and paper, I could play twenty questions or something until I knew what you were thinking. Could you answer my questions?”

His head turned to the side.

“Or maybe, I’m crazy for talking to a bird like he understands me.”

He shrieked again and snapped at me. “Okay, fine! You do understand me.”

He shuffled on me like he was pleased I understood that.

“It would be really convenient if I were a shifter. Maybe if I had an animal form, we could communicate.” I didn’t understand why I didn’t take after my dad’s side. Did all hybrids only have the characteristics of one parent?

Theo was a vampire and a witch. Maybe I should ask him some questions. That would only require me to work up the courage to talk to him again.

My hawk cawed again, and I looked around. The sky darkened, and the wildflowers faded. My dream was ending already. I stroked his feathers one more time.

“I’ll see you soon.”

When I woke up this time, I was lying on my stomach with my Water Magic textbook still open next to me. It was the only chapter I hadn’t finished, but hopefully, I’d have time during class while everyone else was getting sorted into their specialties.

As long as nothing unexpected happened, I was pretty sure I was ready for my classes. I let myself drift back to sleep, hoping it was dreamless.