Summoned By Magic by Lexie Scott

Chapter 24

Walking into my room had never felt so awkward. Normally, Natasha had her headphones on and ignored me. Tonight, the emerald barricade was missing, and she glanced up at me as I crossed to my bed.

“You’re out late.”

It wasn’t a question, just an observation, so I wasn’t sure how to respond or if one was even necessary. Yes, it was much later than I usually got in.

“I was having dessert with some friends.”

She made a humming sound and returned her focus to the textbook in her lap. I really, really wanted to bring up the pair-finding spell but decided my curiosity wasn’t worth the potential fallout. She would probably get mad at me for telling people. She didn’t tell me I couldn’t, and she knew how completely ignorant I was to the rules of this world. It was more her fault than mine.

There was something I wanted to ask her about since she was the only person I knew outside of my little group. Something I didn’t want getting back to any of them, even Hannah. For now, at least.

“Can I ask you a question?” I was taking the absence of her headphones as a sign she wasn’t too busy or focused.

Her eyes flicked to mine, and her perfectly arched brow raised a fraction of an inch. That was all the initiation I would receive.

I opened my mouth but stopped. Robert mentioned shifters could be small enough to sneak around and listen in on conversations. “How do you make sure no shifters are hiding in the room?”

Her brow rose higher. “The school wards against that. Shifters can change in their own rooms, but they can’t leave in that form.”

“But I saw some running around campus.” I didn’t tell her who they were.

She shrugged. “Outside is a different story. There’s a spell to reveal people that are trying to hide, but we don’t need to use it.”

That was comforting. “That wasn’t my real question.”

She rolled her eyes. “Please, take your time. I have nothing else to do.”

I really wanted to snap back at her but moved on.

“It has to do with the bond. You said people might not feel an instant connection or anything at all, so how do you know when you’ve found your pair?” I leaned against my bed and crossed my arms.

She tilted her head and ran her eyes up and down my body like she was searching for something. “Do you think you found yours?”

“I’m not sure. Probably not, but I’m curious how you would even tell.”

She kicked her legs over the side of her bed and lifted her chin until I felt like she was somehow looking down at me even though I was standing up. “Do you find yourself thinking about that person? Do you feel nervous or excited when you see them? A fluttering in your stomach?”

I nodded.

Her expression fell flat. “You have a crush, not a magical connection.”

Her tone was so condescending. I nearly had whiplash from her personality change. What the hell? Why was she being so mean?

I wasn’t going to give up that easily, not yet. “What about a sort of electricity when we touch?”

She side-eyed me, almost like she was considering whether replying was worth her time.

“Static buildup.” She deadpanned.

“Fine.” Ugh. She wasn’t taking this seriously.

I rolled my eyes and grabbed pajamas from a drawer under my bed and picked up my bathroom kit to brush my teeth and get ready for bed.

It was a one in a billion or more––I didn’t actually know the world population of supernaturals––chance that I would meet my pair, so it was pretty damn unlikely any of the guys at the school were mine. Let alone two.

Whatever I was feeling was just a simple crush. I just hadn’t had one in so long I forgot what it felt like.

The bathroom was almost empty. Just one other girl was brushing her teeth, so I claimed the sink at the end and put my kit on the counter and went in a stall to change. By the time I finished and walked out, she was gone. I took my time washing my face and applying a moisturizer. Unlike my friends back home, I didn’t have an elaborate skin routine. It was probably because my mom didn’t. She barely wore makeup, so I did the same. She taught me the importance of never going to bed with makeup on, staying moisturized, and using sunscreen. Other than that, we kept things simple. I used concealer when I had a blemish and blush or bronzer, depending on the time of year. My most high-maintenance product was the mascara I bought online. It was made by a company founded by fellow redheads and was tinted to match my lashes rather than the more common brown or black. I preferred how natural it looked, so it was my one splurge.

Maybe that was another thing I could ask Mrs. Hedgings to teach me to make. Then I wouldn’t have to worry about getting mail while I was here.

My phone vibrated on the counter, and I leaned over while I was rubbing the lotion into my cheeks to check who it was. Masie was calling.

I wiped my hands on my shorts and picked it up. “Hi.”

“You didn’t call me.”

It took me a second to realize what she was talking about. The assessment. I completely forgot the moment I walked out to see all my friends waiting.

“Sorry. My friends dragged me to the dining hall for dessert.”

There were a few beats of silence. “Oh, sweetie. What happened?”

“No, it was a celebration, not commiseration.” I giggled at my own joke.

“Really?” She squealed. “I’m so relieved. Tell me how it went!”

“I passed all my subjects. I can stay with the fourth years.”

“Saige! That’s amazing. I’m so proud of you.”

I leaned against the cold counter. “It was all thanks to my friends. They spent the whole weekend in the library with me. They even waited almost two hours for me to finish tonight. That’s why I forgot to call.”

“That makes me so happy, sweetie. It’s so good to hear you’ve already made such good friends.”

“Yeah, they’ve really gone above and beyond anything my friends from back home would have done. They’ve been really welcoming and make me feel like I belong.”

She sighed. “I’m really glad to hear that. I know none of this has been easy on you, but you’ve taken it all in stride. I wish I lived closer so I could be more helpful.”

New York never felt so far away. I wish she was closer, too, but being on my own has forced me to push myself without having a safety net.

“I think this has been good for me. I know I have to do this, and it will be for the best that I did it alone. If you or my family was closer, I would be tempted to run back anytime things got hard or I was scared of trying something new.”

“You’re so strong.” I swear I heard her sniff. “Your parents, your birth parents, would be so proud of the young woman you’ve become.”

I bit my lip, fighting to keep the tears at bay. Breaking down would only make things worse. “Thanks, Masie.”

Since the topic was on my mind, I decided to bring it up with her. “Do you know if my parents were a bonded pair?”

She let out a small laugh. “Wow, they get right to the good stuff now, don’t they?”

I giggled. “No, I learned about that from my roommate and friend.”

“Of course. The girls were always more interested in the idea of pairs and bonding than the guys, which is strange because you’d think they would be just as eager to become more powerful.”

“My roommate told me she doesn’t want to find her pair because she doesn’t want anyone to have control over her.”

She sighed. “There have been cases of people who misuse the bond and try to manipulate their pair, but I promise those are the exceptions. When you find your pair, it’s such a harmonious relationship. If you hurt them, you hurt yourself, so those that do abuse the situation are negatively impacted but endure it.”

I cringed. “That sounds scary.”

“You’d have to be a masochist, which is why it’s rare,” she explained.

“Oh.” Natasha made it seem like it was a very real possibility, almost like it happened to most people. What was she exposed to? Maybe she heard terrible stories from her grandpa. “So, my parents? Do you know if they were?”

“No, sweetie. They weren’t. It’s become rarer and rarer to find your pair as the supes spread out. We used to live in much more condensed communities, but it’s not that way anymore.”

It didn’t matter to me if they were bonded or not. I knew they loved each other, and me. “And you haven’t met yours?”

“No,” she sounded a little sad. “Not yet.”

Was that why she was single? I’d never even heard her talk about dating before. It was a topic that never came up. It didn’t feel like my place to ask, and I was too young to give it much thought, but now I wondered.

“I’ve got to run, but I’ll talk to you soon. I’m so proud of you, sweetie.”

“Thanks. Love you.”

“Love you too.”

I hung up and had the urge to call my parents, but it was already two in the morning there. I didn’t want to wake them up or have them panic. I could wait until tomorrow. I gathered my things, and when I got back to the room, the infernal headphones were back in place. I returned to being nonexistent in Natasha’s world, and after the night I had, it didn’t even bother me.

I climbed into bed and wished for a dreamless sleep. When I opened my eyes, I was in a different country. Somewhere tropical, if the humidity and plants were any indication. I spun around, looking for anything amiss.

If I was here, then something horrible was about to happen. My gut clenched. I closed my eyes, screaming to wake myself up, but it didn’t work. It never did. I was stuck here until whatever I was meant to see took place.

I stepped out of the thick foliage and onto a dirt path. I heard the chatter of voices and cars, so I headed in that direction. When I followed the turn, an open-air market appeared full of men, women, and children.

I couldn’t enjoy their smiling faces. Their friendly conversations or the hugs and handshakes. This was a community. Families.

And something was about to destroy them all.

I wanted to run into the middle of the market and scream for them to run! To take their children and go somewhere safe!

But I couldn’t. I wasn’t really here. I learned that the hard way after years of terrible dreams. I was forced to watch what happened, but I was helpless to stop it or change the future in any way. These people, wherever they were, likely wouldn’t be alive within a day or two.

My heart seized, breaking as I took in the joyful faces. They all seemed so happy. I hope they remembered this. That they appreciated how blessed they were. I’d seen areas before their destruction that seemed miserable.

Whoever these people were, at least they had known peace and love.

A crack broke through the air, sending chills down my spine. It was louder than anything I’d ever heard. I spun in the direction of the sound and my jaw dropped. A mountain—no, it was a volcano—spewed an angry cloud of ash into the sky.

The crowd behind me screamed, and chaos broke out. People ran, clenching one another and saying something in Spanish I didn’t understand.

I wanted them all to make it. I wanted them to survive.

It was just ash. That would be okay. Right?

But as I stared up at the volcano, a dark gray avalanche came barreling toward us. Images of Pompeii I’d seen in my history classes ran through my mind, and somehow, I knew. These people would all leave similar shadows. They were dying as they ran. Nothing could stop this.

A sob broke through my chest. No. It was too horrendous to conceive. I cried and shouted but couldn’t hear my own screams over the deafening roar of the wave of ash and rock crashing down.