As soon as I stepped inside the classroom, all eyes were on me.
Five witches were already seated, with their books and tools out. They were all dressed in the same uniforms, which was a white button-up shirt, small black and white checkered skirts, and black knee-high socks.
The classroom itself, like much of the castle, had sleek, black walls and one small, silver candle chandelier that hung high above the class. The long white candles were lit because there was only one tiny oval window that barely allowed any sunlight through. Not that there was much light out there. I could spot one steel gray cloud outside, which indicated the weather was probably just as somber as the classroom. As I looked around, I realized the ambiance and style of the room reminded me of a church.
If the church had been decorated by a group of hardcore Satanists.
The witches were still staring at me as I stood there. I was unsure of what to do, so I cleared my throat and wondered if I should make a public introduction, but Vanessa beat me to it.
“Class, welcome to Blood Magic,” she said as she strode to the front of the room. “Before we begin, I’d like to introduce you to Cole … our first-ever male preschooler at Scholomance.”
The room was massive, and the awkward silence that followed was deafening. As I stood there by Vanessa, I could feel it weighing down on me, and it was practically crushing my shoulders.
“Hey,” I muttered after I couldn’t take the quiet any longer, “nice to meet you all.”
The women simply stared at me, and Vanessa sighed under her breath.
“Just take a seat next to Akira,” she instructed.
Vanessa pointed to a long, black desk, and I sat down next to the witch who must have been Akira. She had chin-length black hair and pale skin, her eyes were as dark as coal, and her lips were painted black. She was gorgeous, in a dark and mysterious way. Her features were perfectly symmetrical, and she probably knew it. I also noticed a raven tattoo on her neck, and when she caught me staring, her dark lips curled with disgust.
“Does it have to sit next to me, professor?” she growled.
“It?” I echoed and arched an eyebrow.
What the fuck was her problem?
“Unfortunately, yes, he does,” Vanessa sighed, as if she were dealing with a group of real, four-year-old preschoolers.
“Can’t you make him sit next to Faye?” Akira grumbled and averted her eyes. “And Morgana can sit here instead? I wouldn’t feel comfortable with him breathing down my neck during the entire class.”
“Fuck you!” snapped a voice from behind me. “I’m not sitting next to him. I might catch something.”
I turned around to see whose voice that belonged to, and it must have been the pretty redhead with her arms crossed across her chest. Her greenish-gold eyes were furrowed in my direction, and she was fuming.
The witch next to her was covering her mouth and trying not to laugh. She had long, dark hair that fell into loose curls over her shoulders. Then her blue eyes caught mine, and she instantly stopped laughing and scowled in my direction.
“Oh, so it’s fine if I catch something?” Akira snapped as she glared over her shoulder at Faye. “Is that what you’re saying?”
“Enough,” Vanessa barked, and the room went deadly quiet again as all the girls bowed their heads. “Now, let’s get to work … everyone pull out your books.”
Everyone grabbed a mud-brown leather textbook that looked as if it were at least a thousand pages long. Akira’s clunked loudly as she set it down on her side of the table, but I didn’t have one, and I doubted Akira was willing to share.
“Uh … Professor?” I said before I raised my hand. “I’ll need a copy.”
“Oh, right,” Vanessa sighed.
“Why bother giving him one?” Faye’s voice muttered from behind me. “It’s not like he’ll learn anything, anyway, with that thick-headed male mortal skull of his.”
I rolled my eyes as the rest of the witches snickered at her remark. Meanwhile, Vanessa marched over behind her large, black desk and violently yanked open a drawer. Then she pulled out a rough, beaten-looking textbook with a ripped leather cover and a loose spine, and it was also stained dark red in some spots.
“Here,” she said before she tossed the moldy tome on top of my desk. “Sorry about the blood … it belonged to the last student who failed the finals.”
“Wait, what?” I gasped, and shock flooded through my veins like ice. “What happens if we fail the finals?
“If you fail the final exam,” Vanessa echoed with a flat expression, “you will die. Apologies, but that is pure common knowledge to the rest of us here, and I’m not in the mood to waste class time explaining it to you and only you. Perhaps I’ll explain the finals to you toward the end of class, but do not be rude and ask questions until I say so.”
I heard a small snicker next to me, and when I turned to look at Akira, it seemed like she was doing her best not to laugh, but she was failing miserably as her shoulders shook.
“Fine by me,” I muttered as I opened the book.
On the first page, there was an ink drawing of some kind of goat with a pentagram surrounding it. Writing of some sort surrounded the image, and when I touched it, a strange shiver coursed through my entire body.
This place was so fucking weird. How the hell did I end up here?
“Now, everyone turn to page six hundred and sixty-six,” Vanessa ordered. “We’ll start at the beginning. Now, who can tell me about the origins of Blood Magic … yes, Vesta?”
I followed Vanessa’s gaze and turned to see a strangely beautiful woman with light lavender skin, long sea-green hair, and molten silver eyes. She was sitting directly behind me, with her hand raised, and her ears were pointed and pierced heavily.
I tried to stop staring at her, but it was a challenge.
“Blood Magic has been used since the dawn of Wicca time,” Vesta said with her chin raised, and her slightly husky voice made goosebumps rise across my skin. “It derives from our sisters who were persecuted by the elder gods. They needed to use magic powerful enough to perform sacrifices for power. Not only did they conduct sacrifices, but they also learned how to use the blood of various creatures to concoct potions.”
“Correct,” Vanessa said with the first genuine looking smile I’d seen since I met her. “Now, what other skills can be acquired when one learns the mechanism of Blood Magic?”
“Possession,” Akira said without raising her hand. “We can use our own blood to possess, charm, and manipulate others.”
“Well done, Akira.” Vanessa nodded. “Now, we just have one more ability no one has mentioned.”
“Crafting weapons,” growled a deep voice from behind me.
I slowly turned and did my best to discreetly look at the demonic-looking witch who sat next to the stunning lavender skinned beauty. I hadn’t noticed her before because her head had been bent down, and her long, dark red hair had been hiding her face, but to my horror, I realized she barely had any face at all. Her skin was heavily scarred with hideous gashes across her nose and lips … but perhaps the most terrifying thing about her was the fact that she had no eyes. There was just scarred skin in place of where her eyes should have been, and it briefly made me wonder how she would learn anything at all if she couldn’t even see.
I quickly turned around so I wasn’t staring at her.
“Excellent, Sweeny,” Vanessa said with a proud smile. “Now, let us start by reading and practicing the pronunciation of the first incantation. Who would like to go first? Perhaps our newest addition. Cole, would you start us off, please?”
I knew this wasn’t a request. It was a demand.
“Sure,” I said, since I was willing to accept the challenge.
I turned to page six-six-six and stared at the text before me, which I could thankfully read. It was all written in a dark, dirty brownish-red ink, which I realized was probably blood. I was beginning to come to the conclusion that nearly everything here was written in blood.
“Blood magic for beginners, it is a trial for women to access the ability to--” I started to say, but then Vanessa wildly shook her dark curls.
“No, don’t bother reading that, skip to the incantations,” Vanessa sighed with an impatient wave of her hand.
Giggling ensued as I started to read the part that wasn’t in English.
“E-Ego … auto … ” I struggled to pronounce the words, and my irritation began to boil over. I knew Vanessa was only doing this to humiliate me. “Auto … auto--”
“Autem,” the professor corrected in a louder than necessary voice. “Ego autem le dealaset cor eius pythonissam, advoca en sanguinem luna.”
“What does it mean?” I asked with a raised brow.
“I, the Wicca with dedication and determination, summon the blood moon,” she replied. “It’s common knowledge, Cole. You’re going to have to go through an abundant amount of reading in order to catch up with the rest of us.”
Her patronizing and condescending attitude was really starting to grate on my nerves, but I considered myself to be a patient person, and I refused to let it get to me.
At least, I had a feeling I was patient. There was still no way for me to be sure exactly who I was.
“I’m a fast learner.” I smirked in her direction. “I’m sure I’ll pick it up quickly.”
“Well, your life depends on it, so let’s hope that’s true.” She folded her arms across her chest. “Continue, please.”
“Professor,” Sweeny growled from behind me. “When will we be able to sacrifice animals for blood rituals?”
“Oh, for Wicca’s sake,” Faye sighed loudly. “Is killing creatures the only thing that interests you, Sweeny?”
“It is,” Sweeny answered with no shame. “So what?”
“It’s pretty basic witch of you, if you ask me,” Faye scoffed and rolled her green eyes.
“Well, no one asked you,” Sweeny retorted in a deep rumbling growl.
“Ladies!” Vanessa snapped her fingers. “Let’s not lose focus here, shall we?”
“Apologies, Professor,” they both muttered in unison.
“Anyway, to answer your question, Sweeny, yes, we will learn to sacrifice animals.” Vanessa grinned. “And it’s a perfectly reasonable question. Sacrificial tasks are among my favorite to teach, so let’s stop with the bickering, especially among yourselves, ladies.”
I knew this comment was directed at me, as if to say, “your real enemy is the one who is not like the rest of you, so target him instead.”
That was fine, though. I could hold my own.
“Professor,” Vesta called out with her hand raised high in the air again. “Can we please watch you perform a sacrificial spell?”
“Oh, yes, please?” Faye added. “I personally learn best by example. Besides … most of us know how to pronounce these incantations already. Why waste time with the text?”
I shook my head and mentally sighed. This was going to be a long semester.
But I was determined to prove to these women I wasn’t the stupid, mortal boy they thought I was. The headmistress said I’d been brought here for a reason, and I damn sure was going to figure out what that reason was.
“Fine, fine.” Vanessa laughed. “Let’s start with something small then, shall we?”
She turned her skirts and headed toward a black, dusty armoire. Then she pulled the doors open, using only her mind, and retrieved a small potted red rose.
Everyone quietly watched as Vanessa placed the rose on her desk, and she stared down at the flower as if it were made of gold. Then her bright, eager blue eyes flickered back toward the class.
“Everyone knows the basics of a sacrificial Blood Magic ritual,” she said. “First, I take a small needle or a knife, which has already been soaked in a concoction. Now, who can tell me what the ingredients are for this potion? Yes …Vesta?”
“Vampire ash, black sea salt, spider’s eye, a red moth’s wing, nightshade, the blood of a beast, one’s own blood … and of course, a human heart.” Vesta smirked.
“Very good,” Vanessa replied. “Now, in today’s lesson, you will have to make your own potion. Normally, it’s up to you to find the ingredients, but for today, I have gathered enough for everyone to have a go at it.”
With grace and poise, Vanessa strolled back to the armoire and began to pull out jars, tubes, and goblets. There was a small black cauldron on her desk, and when she returned to it, she carefully began to take out all the ghastly looking ingredients that Vesta mentioned. Then she started to measure the ingredients in a tube before tossing them into the cauldron, and I tried not to wince when I saw a whole human heart being thrown in as if it were a potato or an onion.
When I looked down at my textbook, the exact measurements were all scribbled down, which brought me some relief. I would at least have a guide in a language I understood, so I knew I could figure this shit out in no time.
At least that’s what I had to tell myself when I thought about the mysteriously deadly finals.
“Now,” Vanessa said after adding the salt. “What’s one of the simplest spells we all know?”
There was a small pause, and then Akira jumped up in her seat with excitement.
“Illuminana?” the dark-haired witch suggested loudly.
“Excellent,” Vanessa replied, and she was clearly impressed with how quick-witted these women were. “So, once all the ingredients are in, we will use the spell to cast a small fire inside.”
Vanessa set down the cauldron, raised her hand, and closed her ice-blue eyes.
“Illuminana,” she whispered.
A bubbling sound erupted, and flames burst forth from the cauldron. It only lasted for about a minute before the fire died down as if it was never there.
Then Vanessa carefully picked up the small cauldron and handed it to Akira.
“Please pass it around so everyone can see the color and consistency of the brew,” she instructed. “If it doesn’t look like this, then it could end up killing you instead, so take heed, everyone.”
Akira peered into the cauldron and took a long moment to stare at the contents inside, but she didn’t even bother to glance at me as she handed it over to me. As I took the cauldron from her hands, my fingers accidentally brushed against her skin, and she shuddered so violently that she nearly dropped the whole thing, but I managed to grab it securely before it could hit the desk.
“Don’t touch me,” Akira hissed and glared in my direction.
“I didn’t intend to,” I muttered back.
“I don’t care what you intended, male. Just don’t do it.”
“Fine.” I peered inside the cauldron, and I saw a thick blackish-red concoction. It smelled rotten, like dead, decaying leaves, and was still bubbling, even though the stone wasn’t hot to the touch.
“That’s enough of an observation, Cole,” Vanessa cut in a moment later, and her voice was sharper than it needed to be. “Pass it back to Sweeny.”
I resisted the urge to ask how she’d even be able to see it as I turned around and handed her the brew. The scarred and eyeless witch snatched it from my hands as quick as a bolt of lightning, as if my touch would only inflict more scars upon her. Then she tossed back her long, dark auburn hair, and I couldn’t help but watch her as she lowered her face to study the contents of the cauldron.
How the hell could she see?
“What?” Sweeny snapped without looking up at me. “Stop staring at me, human filth.”
Ah, so she could see … and clearly. But how?
“My bad,” I grumbled before I raised my hands in defense and turned around.
The others took their time to study the potion, and when it was passed back to Vanessa once again, she set it back down on her desk and smiled.
“Now for the fun part,” she murmured as she retrieved a small needle from her dress pocket and then raised her white, dainty finger. She pressed the needle into her fingertip and dug deep into her skin until thick, dark red drops began to trickle down her finger. “Don’t be shy about how much blood you use. In fact, the more, the better.”
She then squeezed her finger and let the blood drip into the mixture. When she was done, a cloud of silver smoke emerged, and the potion began to bubble again.
“Now, what is the next step?” she asked the class.
“To recite the incantation?” I blurted out without thinking, but it seemed like the most logical and obvious next step.
“Yes,” Vanessa answered after a long moment, and she was clearly unhappy I was willing to participate and answer one of her questions correctly. “Now, observe me, carefully. Innomoss o pray sang luna.”
Instead of silver smoke rising to the surface, a light purple haze took its place, and I watched as Vanessa carefully took a small wooden spoon and stirred the liquid. She then took a blade and dipped it into the potion, which was now a dark plum instead of oil black, like before, and I watched with fascination as she neared the beautiful and vibrant red rose that stood on her desk. Then I watched carefully as she used the knife to slice into one of its petals.
At first, nothing happened, but then my mouth slightly parted as the rose began to turn ash gray and wilt. The flower finally turned into dust and disappeared, as if it were never there to start with.
“And now,” Vanessa intoned with a dark smile, “the rose’s life-force is tied to my own.”
The class clapped, and I couldn’t help but join in.
“As I said before,” Vanessa went on, “I will give you the ingredients this one time, but for the next class, it will be up to you to hunt down a creature and harvest its blood for your own potion.”
“Which creature’s blood did you use?” I asked out of morbid curiosity.
“A siren.” She smirked. “And it wasn’t easy to come by.”
With that, Vanessa began to hand out flowers to the class. She handed Akira a sunflower. Vesta was given a lilac. Sweeny had an orchid. Morgana, a black rose, and Faye, a lily.
I ended up getting a weed.
“This won’t be easy for you, Cole.” Vanessa winked. “So, I’ll be lenient this time.”
If that’s how she wanted to play this game, then I’d go along with it.
“Whatever you say, professor.” I grinned, and I planned to show her how vastly she was underestimating me.
Vanessa shot me one last glare before she twirled her skirts around and headed back to her desk to take a seat. No one moved an inch, and then Vanessa rolled her eyes.
“Well, what are you waiting for?” she sighed impatiently. “Get on with it.”
Ingredients began to mysteriously appear on the desk in front of me. I spotted the red moth wing, the black sea salt, a vial of blood and ash, spider’s eye, nightshade, and of course … the human heart.
A part of me still couldn’t believe I was about to take a human heart into my own hands and dump it into a fucking cauldron. How the fuck was this my life now?
I couldn’t bitch and moan about it, though. I just needed to keep rolling with the punches and make sure these crazy witches didn’t kill me.
Akira swiped her share of the ingredients without saying a word and began to concoct her own brew in fuming silence.
I ignored her and glanced down at the textbook. Then I carefully followed the instructions, measured out the ingredients, and mixed them together. Once I felt confident that I had it all together, I lifted the cauldron at eye level.
“Illuminana,” I whispered.
I half-expected nothing to happen, but then the brew began to boil. Some of the girls gasped, and Akira shot me a dirty look, most likely because she was still mixing her ingredients. I just smiled as the flicker of flames danced in my cauldron, and the brew bubbled.
Out of curiosity, I glanced up at Vanessa, whose expression was difficult to decipher.
I didn’t bother to dwell on it, though. Instead, I turned my attention back to the mixture and grabbed the needle. Then I pressed it against my fingertip as hard as I could, until thick, hot blood trickled down my finger. I hovered my hand over the cauldron and squeezed as much blood as I could into the mixture, and I breathed a smile of relief as the smoke emerged from the cauldron. I then took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and relaxed.
“Innomoss o pray sang luna,” I said as clearly as possible.
Even with my eyes closed, I could feel everyone’s eyes on me as I dipped the knife into the potion. I then carefully sliced into the weed, and the frail and pathetic thing instantly turned gray and collapsed into a pile of dust.
“Unholy hell,” Akira whispered after a long moment. “How did you do that?”
Before I could reply, Vanessa stood up and approached my desk as quick as a wasp.
“Beginners luck,” she snapped before she took the pile of ashes from my desk. She then looked at the rest of the class, and she was clearly irritated and confused. “Stop staring and get back to your own work.”
The other witches nodded, and I watched as Akira finally cut into her sunflower. It turned slightly brown, and some of the petals fell off, but it didn’t turn into dust.
“Fuck,” Akira hissed under her breath.
“It’s fine,” Vanessa said, even though it was clear she was disappointed. “It just takes practice. Ladies, how are the rest of you getting along?”
Everyone grumbled, and when I turned around, I noticed they were all struggling as well.
“I bet the only reason why he was able to do it was because he had a measly weed,” Faye whined when her lily only turned a dark shade of brown.
“Maybe you’re right.” Vanessa placed a finger on her lips as if she were trying to decipher an impossible calculation in her mind. “You know what, let’s try something else, Cole.”
“Sure.” I shrugged. “I’m game.”
The professor snorted before retrieving a large, Venus flytrap from her armoire.
Jesus … I thought she was going to give me a flower, not a fucking carnivorous plant.
“Go on,” Vanessa said as she slammed the plant down in front of me. “In fact, make a new potion as well.”
I scowled up at her but did as she asked. I repeated the same steps and said the incantation. Then, when I cut into the plant, it made a long hissing noise before crumbling into ash, dirt, and dust.
The silence in the classroom was deafening.
“Do I pass?” I asked with a smirk.
The classroom was still deadly quiet, and Vanessa turned to look out the small, oval window and then rubbed at the corner of her temples.
“Class dismissed,” she muttered. “I’m feeling a headache coming on … we’ll pick up tomorrow. Do not forget about your assignment. Even if you couldn’t sacrifice your flower, be sure to collect your blood from a beast for your quiz.”
Akira slammed her book shut before storming out of the classroom. The rest of the witches followed, and Faye shot me a dirty look before leaving.
I grabbed my own torn and bloody copy of my textbook, since I was hellbent on learning everything I could about blood magic, but before I could head to the door, Vanessa stepped in front of me.
“No,” she said, “stay behind for a moment.”
“Fine.” I nodded, but then I narrowed my eyes at her. “Look, can I be blunt, here, Professor?”
“Fire away,” Vanessa said as she crossed her arms.
“I completed the task, but you didn’t seem too thrilled by the turn of events,” I said as I stared her directly in the eyes. “Did you want me to fail?”
She said nothing, but her mouth tightened into a thin line.
“Follow me,” she said at length and just ignored my question entirely.
I should have expected her to dismiss my assumption, but I was also curious as to what she had to say. So, I sighed as I followed her out of the classroom, and to my surprise, the halls were completely empty.
“Where is everyone?” I asked.
“Banquet hall,” Vanessa replied, and her voice was icy and firm.
“Right,” I muttered.
It was probably noon. Now that I thought about food, I realized I was pretty famished. Who knew when I last ate?
I tried to ignore the hunger pains that were growing in my gut as I followed Vanessa down the corridor, and I ended up following her all the way back to Theodora’s office. Then Vanessa whipped around to face me when we came to the door.
“Wait here,” she ordered.
“Fine,” I answered, and I tucked my hands into my pockets as she unlocked the door and headed inside.
She made sure to slam it shut on her way in.
I waited patiently for about five minutes, but then I grew bored and curious, so I pressed my ear against the door and tried to listen.
“Mother, he was able to do it on the first try,” Vanessa hissed. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“You shouldn’t have doubted me,” Theodora replied. “I told you never to question the devil’s intent.”
“I didn’t doubt it--”
“Yes, you did,” Theodora snapped, “and I was severely disappointed in you.”
“Apologies, Mother,” Vanessa answered.
“Now, please do your duty and guide the young man,” Theodora sighed. “I won’t be repeating myself in the future.”
“Yes, Mother,” Vanessa murmured in a respectful tone.
I immediately jerked away from the door before it swung open again. Vanessa shot me a deadly glare, and I wondered if she knew I had been eavesdropping.
“Come along,” she demanded.
“I’m not a dog, you know,” I drawled, but she ignored me,
As we walked on toward the banquet hall, though, she spoke up.
“Now, since you’re not familiar with the way classes operate around here, let me explain it to you,” she muttered without looking at me. “As you already figured out, Blood Magic is the first course you must master as a preschooler … followed by premonition, necromancy, shadow, and finally curses.”
“Five classes, is that all?” I asked.
“No.” She laughed as if I were an idiot. “You will have more classes as a higher tier student, but you do not need to worry about that for now.”
“But I do have to worry about this final exam,” I said.
“Yes,” she replied after a long moment. “Each class will end with a quiz, one that ensures you are prepared to move on to the next course, but the final exam will encompass all class skills into one final test.”
“You mentioned someone died during their last exam?” I said with a raised brow.
“Failing equals death.” Vanessa nodded.
“Seems pretty intense,” I replied as my heart skipped a beat.
“It is our way,” she answered and shot a glare in my direction. “I do not question it, and neither should you.”
“I think I have a right to question what the fuck is happening to me,” I countered with a raised eyebrow. “You know, I think you’re just pissed because I caught on to blood magic faster than your other little girlfriends.”
Vanessa’s lip curled into a sneer, but she averted her gaze and marched down the hall ahead of me.
I smirked. Looked like I’d hit the nail on the head there.
A few minutes later, we finally arrived outside the banquet hall, and the room was packed with witches. Long tables stretched the length of the hall, and dozens upon dozens of women sat on the attached wooden pews. Every witch was dressed in the same black and white checkered skirt, white button up shirt, and matching knee-high socks, but some of the witches looked more human than others. I spotted witches with red, purple, orange, and blue skin, and there were others with wings and horns and all other kinds of unique attributes.
As usual, most eyes turned in my direction, and they all began to mummer amongst themselves. Some of the women, however, took no notice at all, including my own class, which sat in the back of the hall.
“You’ll sit with your preschool class.” Vanessa smiled tightly beside me.
“I gathered as much,” I answered.
She cocked an eyebrow at me before heading to what I could only guess was her own table. I recognized Luna sitting at the same table, along with another witch with beautiful, vibrant red hair. It was just the three of them at one table, and Vanessa instantly smiled when she was with them.
I sighed, ignored the hundreds of glares that followed my every step, and headed to my table.
All the women from my class were seated and talking amongst themselves, except for Vesta, who was leaning against the table with her back turned to me. She was bent down and whispering something to Morgana, and the green-haired witch stood with her ass sticking up in the air. I could see her white lace panties from a table away, and when I got closer, I caught a bit of what Vesta was saying.
“You do have to admit though, he’s not bad to look at,” she whispered. “He’s rather good looking, don’t you think?”
Morgana’s dark curls bounced as she nodded in agreement, but then she turned her head in my direction. Her eyes widened when she caught sight of me, and she pulled Vesta closer and forced the lavender-skinned witch to sit down.
I stifled a smirk and tried to go for a casual greeting.
“Hey,” I muttered with my hands in my pockets, and I pretended like I hadn’t heard one word.
None of them said anything as I sat down, and when I glanced at the table top, I had to do a double take. A moment ago, the table was just bare and empty wood, but in the time it took me to blink, a whole five course dinner had suddenly appeared on shining silver platters. There was something that looked like roasted quail, boiled potatoes, stuffing, greens, and some other kind of meat I didn’t recognize drizzled in a blood red sauce.
“What’s this?” I asked as I lifted a piece of the mystery meat up in the air. It had a greenish tint to it under the red sauce that was unappetizing, to say the least.
“Leprechaun,” Morgana replied without meeting my eyes.
I dropped the meat, and the girls started to cackle with laughter.
“It’s quite delicious.” Vesta grinned. “You should try it.”
“I know you’re fucking with me,” I grumbled before I plopped a potato into my mouth. The warm, salty butter melted on my tongue, and it took all my willpower not to moan from the pleasure of finally eating food after God knows how long.
Or, in this case, the devil knows how long.
“So, Cole,” Faye cooed in a faux, sugary-sweet voice, and she ran her fingers through her mane of thick red hair, “what will you be hunting down for your blood sacrifice?”
By the sharp glint in her green eyes, I knew she was hoping I would say something they could taunt me for, but I only sat back in my chair and smirked.
“I don’t know,” I said and played along. “Hopefully, it won’t have to be another onikuma.”
The witches all dropped their silverware and stared at me, except for Sweeny, who continued to eat as if I didn’t say anything out of the ordinary.
“What do you mean by another onikuma?” Vesta demanded, and her silver eyes narrowed. “You expect us to believe you actually killed one?”
“Yeah.” I nodded and turned my attention back to my meal. “With a rock.”
“Troll-shit,” Morgana hissed as she tossed back her sleek, blackish-brown hair.
“You can ask Vanessa.” I shrugged, since I didn’t care one way or the other if they believed me or not.
The women went deadly quiet, and when I looked up, they were simply staring at each other, as if they had lost their appetites.
“Well,” Vesta finally broke the awkward silence, “I’m going to find something like a werewolf or a wendigo for my sacrifice.”
“Good luck with that,” Faye laughed. “You’d be lucky to find a rabbit.”
“Oh, yeah?” Vesta replied with an arched green eyebrow. “Challenge accepted.”
“We’ll see about that,” Faye snorted.
I smiled to myself and was mildly enjoying their little banter, since for once, it wasn’t geared toward me.
That is, until Sweeny shot her head in my direction and sneered.
“Don’t let today’s little fluke make you think you’re better than the rest of us, Cole,” she hissed, and my name sounded like an insult from her twisted mouth. “You’re still nothing … no, scratch that, you’re less than nothing.”
The girls all smiled, and I just rolled my eyes as I finished my meal.
“Listen,” I said before I stood up. I was ready to head back to my own room and do some reading. “How about you just worry about your tasks and let me worry about myself? Deal?”
I flashed them a wink before walking off, and I wondered how I was going to step up my game and prove myself. As far as I could tell, I was already a couple steps ahead of them, and they weren’t enjoying one moment of it.
So, I just needed to keep beating these witches at their own game.
And, hopefully, I’d find some answers as to who I was and why I was here along the way.