I grabbed a white mug and poured the liquid in. The smell was heavenly, and I found myself closing my eyes as the scent of chocolate filled the air. I used the tongs to add two large marshmallows to the top, and just because I could, I added a dollop of whipped cream and sprinkled cocoa powder on top. Perfection.
I grabbed a chocolate chip muffin and headed toward a table. Theo joined me seconds later taking the seat across from me.
“You need food, not—” he motioned to the mug of steaming liquid “—that.” He wrinkled his nose.
“Hot chocolate is delicious.” I raised an eyebrow, daring him to contradict me, and took a sip. The liquid seared my tongue but it tasted so good I didn’t even mind. I took another sip. Mmm, definitely homemade.
Theo made a face of disgust. “Hot chocolate is gross.”
I gasped and nearly dropped the cup. “Are you crazy? Hot chocolate is the best.”
“It smells weird.”
I peeled the wrapper off the muffin and took a bite. Crumbs sprinkled the table, and I brushed them off onto the floor.
“Do you like anything?” I asked, raising a brow as I fought an amused smile. As long as I’d known Theo I hadn’t really heard him talk about anything he loved.
I mean, I knew he loved his sister, his cat, and apparently me, but I meant something not living. Like a sport, or a candy, a book, something.
He grinned. “I like you.”
“Ha-ha,” I chortled sarcastically.
Suddenly he leaned in closer. The look on his face was almost … predatory. He grinned like he knew exactly what I was thinking. “In fact, you taste pretty delicious.” He looked pointedly at my lips.
My eyes widened, and I flushed all the way to my toes.
He smirked and leaned back. Winking, he took a bite out of a peanut butter sandwich.
My mouth opened and closed but no words came out. Finally, I stuffed the last of the muffin in my mouth.
Theo wore a very self-satisfied smirk the rest of the evening.
Chapter 20
MY REGULAR LESSONS QUICKLY TOOK a back burner to everything Theo was teaching me. I wanted to know how he knew so much about fighting and magic, but he would never give me a straight answer.
But thanks to having classes all day and then working with Theo in the evenings, I was always exhausted and fell asleep before my head even hit the pillow.
I dropped my bag on the library table and turned to Theo, crossing my arms over my chest.
“What are we doing today?”
He grinned, even his eyes crinkled at the corners. “I think you’ll be happy.”
My face lit up. “You mean—”
He nodded. “Magic.”
I resisted the urge to jump around and clap my hands in a demented happy dance.
“Spells are complicated, and they’re only as strong as the enchanter behind them.”
“So, the more powerful you are, the more powerful your spells are?” I asked.
“Exactly.” He smiled, pleased I’d gotten it right. After a pause, he chuckled and ran a hand through his wavy dark hair. “I’m actually a bit scared of what you might be capable of.”
“Afraid I might blow something up?”
“No.” His gray eyes sparkled. “I’m more afraid you might be better than me.”
I threw my head back and laughed. “You’re kidding, right?”
He quirked a brow. “You’re a Chosen One, Mara.”
“Yeah, except the whole Chosen One thing seems more like a pain in the butt than actually helpful. Everyone seems to want me dead.”
His smiled faltered. “I won’t ever let them get you. I promise.”
“Don’t make promises you might not be able to keep.” I smiled sadly.
I knew Theo wanted to believe he could always keep me safe, but the reality was he couldn’t. I didn’t know much about this world, and barely anything about The Iniquitous and what they were capable of, but I wasn’t dumb, either. Enchanters were afraid of them and that told me all I needed to know.
In three smooth strides, he was in front of me. He cupped my cheeks and leaned in close. His breath tickled my face making the tiny hairs there stand up straight. He stared fiercely into my eyes. Even if I had wanted to move I couldn’t have. “I will protect you with every last breath in my body.”
My breath came out raggedly at his words.
He rubbed his thumb over my cheek and leaned closer. I held my breath and his eyes flickered to my lips.
Suddenly, his muscles tightened and he clenched his jaw before pulling away. “You will be my downfall,” he whispered. He gave me a shy look. “No one has ever had the effect on me that you do.”
I didn’t know what to say so instead I tugged on my shirt and asked, “Magic? What do you want to teach me?”
He seemed relieved at my change in subject. “Some spells need to be said out loud while others can be uttered in your mind.”
“How do you know the difference?”
“Smaller spells can be said in your head … Like say you want one of the books—” He stared at the shelves and they began to shake. Suddenly, one of the books shot out straight at Theo. I ducked and he caught the book in his hand. “Now you try.”
I sighed. “Do I just think to myself, ‘hey, that book there, yeah you, come here?’ there’s not some spell or special something?”
“Just think of the book you want. It’s that simple.”
“Okay,” I said and turned to one of the walls of books. I picked one with a purple spine and gold lettering. I stared at it, narrowing my eyes. I held out my hand. Come here.
The shelf shook.
Theo grinned like a proud coach. “That’s it,” he encouraged.
Come here.
The book raised a little off the shelf.
Come here! The whole wall was now shaking and suddenly all the books along the wall shot straight toward me.
Theo crashed into me and rolled us under one of the tables.
I could hear the various loud thunks as the books hit the table and floor surrounding us. Finally, they stopped.
I looked at Theo and let out a breathless laugh. “Death by raining books.”
He laughed too. “Ah, doll face, you always make things so interesting.”
“I try.”
We climbed out from underneath the desk to assess the destruction.
“Geez, remind me to never make you mad.” He scratched at the back of his head as he looked at the mess.
Hundreds of books littered the ground leaving no room to even walk. Thankfully, only the one wall had been affected. If I had knocked all of them off we would’ve been swimming in books and picking them up for days.
Theo put his hands on his hips and let out a gust of air. It sent the dark hair covering his forehead swirling like it was caught in the wind.
“We have to clean this up.”
“I think that’s pretty obvious.” I was already bent down stacking books.
“We won’t have time to do anything else today—” he bent down beside me “—and this is going to taking forever.”
“Why don’t you just magic them on up?” I swished my hand.
“I can magic them all up but then they won’t be in alphabetical order.”
I stopped what I was doing, a large book in my hand, and said, “You have to be kidding me.”
“This is a library,” he gasped, scandalized.
“But … but … We’re the only ones who use it.”
“They have to be in alphabetical order. If they’re not, how do you ever expect me to find something to read?”
I snorted and went back to making another stack. “You? Reading?”
He seemed affronted. “I like to read.”