Summoned By Magic by Lexie Scott

Chapter 23

The dining hall was mostly empty, and there were nearly two full cakes left, which Malik and Daniel quickly grabbed while Carter and Sai collected plates and forks for the table. Hannah didn’t go to where we normally ate, instead claiming the middle table at the end furthest from the doors.

“We’re celebrating, and I don’t want anyone complaining about us being too noisy,” she explained as I took the spot to her right.

Theo sat across from me, and the guys filled in around us. Sai sat on my free side, sliding the enormous cake in front of me. Only one slice was missing, and he made another cut and carefully laid it on its side on a plate before handing it to me.

“Congratulations, Saige. You proved how incredible you are and how much you belong here.” His words made my chest tighten.

Did I belong here? Every day felt like a struggle, but maybe now that I passed the assessment, things would settle down. I wouldn’t feel like all eyes were on me, watching and waiting for me to fail.

“Thanks.” I smiled at him, then looked around the table. Theo caught my gaze and winked. I pulled my bottom lip between my teeth. Had Sai seen that? Did it matter? He was too busy serving everyone. I doubted he noticed, but it still made me nervous. What would he think if he saw Theo flirting with me or vice versa? Would either of them get mad? Would they even care?

We were all just friends. I’d only been here for a week. I didn’t need to overthink it.

“You guys are amazing. I wouldn’t have stood a chance without each of you. I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you.”

Hannah held up a forkful of cake. “To Saige and the excitement she brought to our dreary lives.”

The guys all laughed and held up their forks.

I held up mine. “To the best friends I could ever ask for.”

We all said cheers and took the first bite. I moaned as the decadent, moist cake hit my tongue.

“Told you it was good,” Sai whispered.

I grinned and took another bite.

“I think we should have a party to celebrate Saige,” Theo proclaimed as we ate.

Hannah swallowed. “Yes! That’s a great idea. We can invite the other fourth years so they can get to know her too.”

Theo and Sai both spoke at the same time. “No.”

I looked back and forth at each of them while Hannah leaned around me to do the same. “What’s wrong with you two?”

Yeah? Why didn’t they want me to meet more of our classmates?

Theo rubbed the back of his neck. “I just don’t want you to get overwhelmed.”

“Yeah, not everyone is as cool as us,” Sai added.

I narrowed my eyes. “You don’t think they would like me?”

“I think they would like you too much,” he muttered under his breath.

“Somehow word hasn’t spread yet about you’re different. I think it’s best we keep it that way for as long as possible.” Theo kept his eyes on his plate.

I turned to Hannah and Daniel. “What does he mean?”

Daniel shrugged. Hannah was still glaring at Sai and Theo, so Malik answered, “Most people don't know about you having two affinities. Either the witches haven’t noticed you going to two classes or they don’t care.”

“Oh, they will.” Hannah’s voice was low. “They just haven’t realized it yet. It’s only been a week, and she’s kept a pretty low profile.”

“It’s a matter of time,” Sai agreed.

“So what? You said people would want to be friends with me when they found out. That doesn’t mean anything to me. I don’t want to be friends with people who are only interesting in what I can offer them. I’m not ditching you guys.” None of them seemed to believe me. I wasn’t sure how to make them trust me. It would take more than words. I’d prove it to them.

“Once you realize what some of the others can offer you,it could change your mind.” Hannah’s shoulders slumped.

“What could anyone offer me that’s better than what you guys have already done? You all stuck it out with me this weekend. You sacrificed so much time and energy to make sure I passed that exam, and thanks to you guys, I can stay in this year and on track. There’s nothing that can beat that. I promise.”

They went silent at my declaration until Malik slammed his fist on the table. “That’s it. I don’t care what the rest of you say, we’re keeping her.”

Sai balled up a napkin and threw it across the table at him. “Shut up.”

Theo shook his head. “Don’t listen to him. If anything, we’d vote to kick him out to make room for you.”

“Oh, in a heartbeat,” Sai said.

I smiled at their teasing, but their easy banter put me on edge. I got the initial impression Theo and Sai were friendly, but not actually close friends. After this weekend and seeing how they interacted, I realized how wrong I was. They had different class schedules, which was why they were rarely with each other throughout the day, but now I knew they were really close, which was bad news for me.

How was I supposed to hide my crushes, as teeny tiny as they might be, on both of them? What would happen when they talked about me and realized I flirted with both of them? That I was drawn to both of them?

I’d never been in a love triangle before, not that I was in one now, but as romantic as they seemed in books, I doubted having guys fight over me was something I’d enjoy. I needed to let one, or both, of them down. But how could I choose?

“Saige?” Hannah’s voice cut through my panic.

“Yeah?”

“We’re talking about the party. Do you want to do it in the woods?” I glanced around and realized everyone was watching me. How long had she been trying to get my attention?

“Sure.” Since I had zero experience with parties here, I wasn't sure why they were asking for my opinion. I didn't know any of the other options.

“We should have as many as we can while the weather is still nice and we can be outside,” Theo said.

“What do you mean?” He made it sound like there will come a time when we can’t be outside.

“Come November or December, we’ll be stuck inside until spring,” he answered. “Except for the shifters.”

“Yeah, most of us can brave the cold, and none of us want to go without shifting for months at a time,” Sai explained.

“How do we get to our classes if we don’t go outside?” I was obviously missing something if no one else seemed to think it was a big deal.

“The tunnels the vampires without amulets use,” Theo replied.

Oh. Right. Daniel mentioned those, but I hadn’t given them much thought.

“All the buildings, even the barn, are connected through the tunnels. It takes longer to get from place to place, especially with everyone having to use them at the same time, but it works.” Hannah took another bite of cake.

The entire campus crammed into tunnels? That wasn’t something I wanted to spend too much time thinking about.

“There isn’t a spell or something that can keep you warm enough outside?” It seemed like a realistic solution, but I didn’t know very much about the limits of magic despite my weekend of studying. My suggestion was really based on movies and books.

“Fire witches can,” Theo answered. “Some of the Earth witches with the season’s specialty can manipulate the weather around them, but it takes way too much energy to spread that over the entire campus.”

“Yeah, it would take a seriously powerful, bonded witch to do that for even a few minutes.” Hannah seemed entertained by the thought.

“A bonded witch? Why would that matter?” I asked.

“Because bonded supes are far more powerful.” Sai sliced another serving of cake. I wasn’t sure how he could eat another bite, but I was too concerned with the bonded business to ask. Natasha explained about bonded pairs, but I was still curious.

“So, being bonded really can make that much of a difference? Going from keeping yourself warm to warming the entire campus?”

“It’s more than that, but yeah, I guess that’s a decent visual for you.” Theo said.

“Dormant powers you didn’t even know about can develop after you bonded.” Malik leaned forward with a wicked grin. “My aunt can change specific parts of herself rather than a full shift. Like make her nose more sensitive or draw out her claws. That takes a ton of control and power. Most shifters can’t ever learn to do that, but it’s a hell of a lot easier as a bonded pair.”

“Whoa,” I gasped. “Does everyone have a pair?”

They all went quiet, sharing looks I couldn’t decipher.

“That’s not an easy one to answer. There’s no proof either way. Since you might never meet your pair, does that mean that they don’t exist or that you just never found them?” Daniel shrugged.

“My roommate, Natasha, told me she was working on a spell to help locate her friend’s pair. Why don’t more people do that?”

Hannah choked, coughing uncontrollably, and Daniel jumped up to run toward the food line for a drink. He brought her back a bottle of water, and she carefully sipped until she could breathe.

I was frozen, watching her with dread filling me. What had I said wrong?

“She told you that?” She finally got the words out.

“Yeah, a vampire dropped off his nail clippings at our door, and when I gave them to her, I asked what they were for.”

She sucked in a deep breath with her jaw clenched. “She shouldn’t be doing that.”

“Why?” I glanced around the table, but the guys were looking anywhere but at us.

“Because it’s forbidden. That’s manipulating fate.”

“But she said it was one of the few ways to use magic to find your pair. She made it seem like it was what everyone did.”

Theo groaned. “Natasha’s always pushing the boundaries. She thinks because of her family she’s above the rules.”

“Her family?” She hadn’t said anything about them.

“Her grandfather is on the council,” Hannah explained.

“The council? Like the main one?”

She nodded, and I looked to Theo, who unfortunately confirmed. Huh. Well, that would make anyone think they were above the rules. It wasn’t like she would get into too much trouble if her grandfather was in charge of the entire supernatural world.

“I didn’t know.” That seemed like something she would brag about. But maybe she didn’t like what everyone assumed about her. I’d have to ask her one day, maybe once she did more than tolerate my existence.

“She’s taking a huge risk doing that.” Theo blew out a breath. “Try not to get mixed up in her drama, okay?”

I agreed since that wasn’t really an option. We barely spoke to each other. I hadn’t even told her about my assessment.

“Can we talk about something fun again? This was supposed to be a celebration,” Sai complained. “Back to party plans!”

“Sure, are you thinking Friday night or Saturday?” Hannah asked, and I, too, was grateful for the subject change. I’d had too much new information thrown at me this weekend. I wanted a break from the supe drama for a little while.

“I have tutoring on Saturday morning, so can we do it that night?” I asked. Having to get up early to meet with Mrs. Hedgings after spending the night in the forest didn’t sound at all fun.

“Perfect.” Hannah beamed and delegated who was in charge of what.

Sai put his arm over my shoulders. “I’m really glad you’re sticking with us.”

I turned enough to meet his eyes and smiled. “Me too.”

The soft look in his eyes made my stomach flip. It was so sweet and tender, and if we were alone, I’d think he wanted to kiss me.

A fork dropped onto a plate, pulling my attention to where Theo was glaring at Sai. He didn’t say a word, but I could feel the tension building. I didn’t want to be around when it snapped.