I leaned into his side and soaked in his warmth. After that night with Theo four months ago I had thrown myself into my relationship with Winston. I genuinely enjoyed spending time with him and because I loved him but wasn’t in love with him I could never have my heart broken. I never wanted to experience that broken-hearted feeling ever again. It was too painful.
Theo sulked in the corner of the hallway dressed all in black with a black mask fixed over the top half of his face.
Apparently, it was tradition for everyone to wear masks on Halloween. Since it was Thursday, most of us had classes but the masks added a tiny bit of fun and eased the pressure.
“Ready for breakfast?” Winston asked me.
I grabbed my rumbling stomach. “I’m starving.”
His crooked teeth flashed with a smile and he kissed my cheek. “Breakfast it is then.”
I laughed out loud when I reached the buffet set up. There was toast cut into the shape of bats, Boo Berry cereal and even Count Chocula, the pancakes and waffles were in the shapes of ghosts, bats, and witches. Everyone found the witch shaped ones hilarious.
Owen, a guy my age who lived here because his family had been separated for their protection, tapped me on the shoulder and held one of the witch pancakes aloft. “Do you have a wart on your nose, Mara? Do you ride on a broom and brew potions in a big pot?”
“All the time.” I giggled at the ridiculousness.
He took a big bite out of the pancake. “Not anymore. I just ate you,” he said around his mouthful of food. “I’ll see you,” he called over his shoulder as he went to sit at a table with another guy.
I made myself an egg sandwich that came out a bit lopsided due to the bat shaped toast. The top piece teetered a bit and I held the plate in one hand so I could steady my sandwich with the other.
Winston and I sat down together and Theo took his position at the end of the table. Ever since my birthday he’d been keeping his distance and acting even more like a bodyguard than usual. In the hallways, there was always a bubble of space around me thanks to Theo’s menacing glare. The only ones who dared break the bubble were Adelaide and Winston. Even Ethan seemed to stay clear of Theo now.
Winston held my hand underneath the table and made funny faces to try and get me to laugh.
These past few months our relationship had really progressed. I found myself opening up to him. He understood what I was feeling with being sent away from home and the pressure of being a Chosen One.
I got a lot of flak because I was a Chosen One and Chosen Ones are supposed to be these amazing enchanters. Despite being pretty good at most of the spells, there were still times when I struggled. Winston didn’t experience this to the extent that I did since his status as a Chosen One was hidden from the teachers and students. But the Committee did call him to their office once a month to demonstrate how he was doing. Apparently, the Committee could be rather cruel if he did something wrong or was too slow in performing a spell.
One thing, a major thing that I hadn’t shared with Winston, was the fact that both my parents were Chosen Ones and my dad was now the leader of The Iniquitous. I was afraid he’d judge me based off that information and think I was like my dad, a man I’d never met. I would always remember Steven Pryce as my real dad, and I hoped one day I would have the chance to see him again and thank him.
“You seem lost in your thoughts.” Winston took a bite of his toast and jam.
“Sorry.” I shook my head free of my negative thoughts. “Just thinking about my dad.”
“Och, I’m sorry, love.” He slung his arm over my shoulders.
I had told Winston I had lived with my dad in the human world before coming here and my mom was a Chosen One and had been killed. So, I wasn’t lying, at least not completely. I was only omitting bits and pieces of the truth. It was totally different than lying.
I shrugged. “I’m okay. I just miss him is all.”
My eyes met Theo’s at the end of the table. He quickly flicked his gaze away and stared at the wood grains of the table. He made me feel like I wasn’t allowed to even look at him. He acted as if I was the one who mauled him when it was, in fact, him doing the mauling. He told me he loved me and now he acted as if I had a disease. It was completely unfair and every day I felt my heart crumble a bit more. Right now, Winston was the tape holding the pieces together.
“Finished?” Winston pointed to my plate.
I hadn’t eaten much, maybe two bites, and had begun to pick apart my sandwich.
“Uh, yeah.” I handed my plate to him and he devoured it quickly.
I slung my messenger bag over my shoulder and waited for Winston. “Thank you for being my rock,” I told him, and I meant it. He truly was a great guy and I was lucky to have him.
He kissed the top of my head. “Thank you for knocking me down in the hallway.”
I laughed. “You’re never going to let that go, are you?”
“No. Never.” He smirked.
We stopped outside of Donovan’s room to say goodbye. He cupped my cheeks between his hands and looked into my eyes like he was searching for the answers to all the world’s questions. One of the feathers from his mask floated down to the floor and away.
He brushed my cheeks with his thumbs. “I’m worried about you. You’re … I don’t know. Depressed or something. You barely eat and look like you’ve lost ten pounds, and if these circles under your eyes are any indication, then you’re not getting much sleep either.”
“I’m fine.” I rested my hand on his, over my cheek. “I’m stressed about all this magic stuff. It’s a lot to process.”
“No, that’s not it.” He shook his head with a sigh, clearly disappointed in me for lying. “I want you to be honest with me, Mara.”
I plastered on the biggest smile I could muster, just like I’d been doing for the last four months. “I’m tired, that’s all. I’ll try to go to bed early tonight.”
“Do you want to study tonight?”
“Can we do it tomorrow?” I asked and bit my lip. Winston had been helping me in the evenings to perfect spells so I didn’t feel as behind as the others. While we didn’t come into our powers until eighteen, most still had a leg up on me since they grew up in enchanter families. They heard the spells and saw the signals whereas everything was entirely new for me.
“Sure.” He kissed me quickly. “I’ll see you at lunch?”
“Of course.” I smiled.
He grinned one last time, but his eyes reflected worry, and disappeared around the corner to head to his room or whatever it was he did during the day.
“You’re going to be late if you keep standing there,” Theo said from beside me.
I threw my hands in the air. “He speaks!”
He rolled his eyes and motioned for me to enter the room.
“Bossy,” I snapped.
Adelaide was already sitting down so I slid in beside her. Donovan was sitting on his desk with his legs swinging back and forth. His eerily-pale green eyes surveyed the room.
“Today,” his voice rumbled, “we are going to learn about the origins of The Iniquitous.”
He turned and wrote the words on the chalkboard.