Second Chance Fate Read online

  The moment our magic touched, the scent of wet leaves and dark, rich earth combined with the bite of ozone. Nothing happened for a moment, and I pulled more power from inside my core.

  This was a very delicate operation because I could easily hurt Kiernan if I lost control. At one point he flinched. Oops, too much. Mumbling an apology, I pulled back a little until his body relaxed. Slowly, the sand began to change as the onlookers murmured in surprise. In the middle of Kiernan's hand sat a large piece of multi-colored crystal glass on a cushion of soil.

  When we’d practiced this before, sometimes we’d ended up with tiny crystals, other times with a smelted lump of dirt. But this was perfect. Kiernan had managed to manipulate his earth power and combine it with my lightning power to create a beautiful, pure piece of glass.

  When Kiernan stumbled, I knew we’d reached the end of our presentation. I pulled back my magic as quickly as possible. Then I squeezed his hands and whispered, "We’ve done it. You can stop now."

  Kiernan skin was the pallor of curdled milk. I’d never seen him that exhausted after our practice sessions, but in his hands rested the most gorgeous evidence of our effort. The lump of glass was at least three inches in diameter.

  Mrs. Palmer didn’t say anything at first, but her face expressed deep awe. "That is beautiful. You’re both extremely talented with powerful magic. Very impressive, especially for freshmen."

  Kiernan still held my hands. He squeezed them before pulling back.

  The teacher continued, "Congratulations. You two have to be very attuned to each other to pull this off."

  My smile dropped as I saw Julian's expression. He didn't look hurt or angry, but sad. Smiling weakly, he turned away with his hands in his pockets and his shoulders pulled up. Oh, no. He’s gotten it all wrong.

  I pushed Kiernan. "Come on, we need to talk to him. Right now. "

  Kiernan nodded. "Yes, I think you're right."

  I shouted as we tried to catch up with him. "Julian, wait for us. "

  He turned around, his expression weary. When I stopped in front of him, I didn't know what to say. Kiernan had no such hesitation. "I’d like to date Amber."

  Julian nodded. "I know. It’s obvious. So what do you want from me? My blessing?"

  This time, I found my voice. "Julian, I’d like to date you as well.”

  My heart was thumping in overdrive while I waited for his answer. Julian stared at both of us for a long time. I was half expecting him to say, "Are you crazy? You can't date both of us. You have to choose."

  Instead, his frown lightened into a grin. "I'd like that. Kiernan is a cool guy. Do you think you can handle both of us?"

  I stared at the two boys who were grinning broadly at me. Huh. I hadn't considered that. Apparently, I was now dating two guys. Which would mean in the not too distant future, I would kiss two guys and maybe have sex with both of them. How does that even work?

  My face must have shown my anxiety because Kiernan put his arms around my shoulders and said, "Don't worry. This is new to me as well. And Julian, I suspect. We’ll go slowly. Isn’t that right, Julian?"

  Julian pushed closer so that I was sandwiched between them. “Yep. You call the shots."

  Looking up at both boys, I laughed. Exams were over, I had two boyfriends, and tomorrow, I would go to the ball with both of them.

  28

  After all the excitement of the exams and the conversation with my, wait for this, two boyfriends, I couldn’t wait to go to the infirmary and tell Slug. I want him home with me. The thought had run through my mind every single day since I had to drop him off.

  Poor Slug had been attacked ten days ago. Mr. Odwell had woken him from his magical coma after two day, and since then, the cat had recovered very slowly. For the first few days, I’d asked when he would be able to come home, and every day, the teacher had shaken his head. One day he’d said, “We don’t know. It’s a miracle he’s alive. Every day improves his chances, but he’s not out of the woods yet.”

  My eyes had widened as the shock at his words chilled me to the core. I’d known it was serious, but I hadn’t know Slug could still die. “What’s wrong with him? Apart from being hexed?”

  Mr. Odwell’s mouth had tightened. Apparently “hexing” was not a proper magical term. Sue me. I wasn’t going to apologize for not having grown up with the proper terminology.

  “Your familiar has been fed a magical substance that is drying him out from the inside. If you hadn’t brought him in, he would have drunk and drunk to ease the pain until the amount of ingested liquid killed him.”

  I’d stared at him, not understanding.

  “Come on, did you fail biology in your dud school? Too much liquid causes an imbalance in electrolytes and will make your heart stop. If Slug hadn’t reacted with vomiting, you likely wouldn’t have noticed until it was too late.”

  My hand had flown to my mouth as I’d held in a sob. The teacher’s irritated expression softened. “He’ll be fine. I’ve neutralized the poison’s power but it’ll take at least a week for his body to absorb the noxious substance.”

  True to Odwell’s words, today Slug was in a cage rather than the cot the nurse had kept him in. When he saw me, he crouched into a ball and hissed. His tail whipped from side to side, expressing his supreme displeasure.

  Right. Stupid cat. He probably thinks this is all my fault. Sighing, I knelt down in front of him. “Come on, tiger. I missed you. Aren’t you looking forward to coming home soon?”

  Defying his threats, I stuck my hand into the cage, fully expecting to be clawed. Instead, the cat relaxed and allowed my fingers to push through the soft fur on his head. Within seconds, he had rolled onto his back and purred as I scratched his tummy.

  “You’re just a big, bad pussy cat, aren’t you.” Slug opened his eye, thought better of it, and closed it again. His purr grew by several decibels. By the time I left, I knew he’d forgiven me. It shouldn’t have mattered since he was just a stupid cat, but somehow it did. I couldn’t wait to get him back home with me.

  The next afternoon, I walked to the infirmary to pick up Slug. He was completely back to his usual, cranky self. The nurse gave me a bottle of pills and instructions on how to feed them to him. “Would you like to borrow a pet carrier?”

  Slug’s head whipped towards us, his ears went back, and he hissed like a steam kettle. That was a definite “no.” I shook my head as I held his gaze. Sometimes he seemed more human than cat. “No, I don’t want to freak him out. I’ll carry him if that’s okay.”

  I regretted that decision halfway to my room. Even though he’d lost some weight, he was still heavy. Carrying him with a hand under his butt, holding him like a toddler, I staggered under his bulk. His head was pressed against my cheek and his paws squashed between my shoulder and his body, as I kept one hand against his neck to keep him steady.

  Two girls from the Elementals class passed us, laughing at my struggle. The smaller one called out, “Hey, Amber, I didn’t know we were allowed to keep mountain lions as pets.”

  “Hardy har har,” I grumbled. “You’re so funny, you’re killing me.”

  The taller of the girls laughed again, although not in a mean way. “Don’t mind her. He’s cute. See you tonight at the ball.”

  She waved over her shoulder, before continuing her conversation with her friend. As they moved away, I caught her saying, “Wait until you see my dress.”

  I stopped so suddenly, Slug had to use his claws to stop himself from sliding off. Oh, crap. With all that’d been happening, I hadn’t ordered one. Even though Beth had reminded me over and over again.

  “I screwed up, Slug,” I whispered to him. “Now what? I can’t go to the ball tonight with nothing to wear.”

  Even though a quiet voice whispered in the back of my mind, “It’s only a dance,” I felt like crying. What a disaster. How could I have forgotten to get an outfit?

  By the time I opened the door to the dorm room, I had talked myself out of attending. I�
�d rather not have gone at all than show up in jeans and a T-shirt. Dropped the cat, I shook my aching arms. But before I could sink onto my bed and sulk, Beth squealed and hugged me tightly.

  “You lucky bitch. How did you manage to snag two of the best looking and nicest guys on campus?”

  Apparently rumors spread fast in the academy.

  “I honestly don’t know.” I really didn’t. It had just kind of happened.

  “Right. I want you to tell me all about it while I do your makeup.”

  I swallowed hard. “What’s the point? I’ve got no dress.”

  My lip trembled as I fought tears. Beth slapped the back of my head. “Idiot. Just as well you’ve got me as a friend. I ordered one for you. But let’s do your makeup and hair first.”

  Really? My mood lifted immediately. I could barely sit still, I was so excited. Beth was surprisingly good at making me up. By the time she was done with me, my hair had been plaited into an elegant updo, and my green eyes were accentuated with eyeliner and soft shades of brown.

  She hadn't bothered with foundation but had added a dusting of mineral powder to keep my skin from getting sweaty later. Instead of lipstick, she’d added pink lip gloss. I stared at myself in the mirror. I looked more grown-up than before and more elegant than I could ever have imagined.

  While I was staring at myself, Beth pulled a box out from underneath her bed. Inside was a dark-blue satin ball gown, cut off above the knees. The bodice was tight, and the wide neckline allowed the dress to slip off my shoulders.

  I put on the dress, tugging at the zip. My face fell. It didn't fit. The zip wouldn't close, no matter how much I sucked in my tummy. I barely recognized my voice, it sounded so despondent. “Oh, Beth, it’s too small. Now what?"

  29

  Beth laughed. "I told you. I ordered three sizes for you. This one is the smallest. Let's try on the next."

  Man, if I were only half as organized as that girl. The next outfit fitted like a glove. The bathroom mirror only went as far as my waist, so I couldn't get a full view of myself.

  “You look drop-dead gorgeous. Trust me, the boys will swallow their tongues when they see you.”

  I didn’t know my face could blush as bright-red as it did right then. Beth threw her head back and laughed loudly. She was pulling on her own dress when somebody knocked on the door. Beth squealed and ran to open it.

  Her girlfriend stepped inside, took one look at her, and broke into a huge smile. “Wow, darling, you clean up nice."

  I asked, “Where’s Luke?”

  Kenzy smiled. “He’s waiting for us at the party.”

  Beth rose on her tiptoes and planted a big kiss on Kenzy’s lips. I sighed happily, watching them. They were adorable together.

  "Don't get the party started without us."

  Kiernan sauntered into the room, followed by a grinning Julian. There was no sign of the sadness that had surrounded Julian ever since the little plant had died in his palm. My jaw dropped. Both boys wore tailored tuxedos, drawing the eye to their narrow waists. My admiration was mirrored in the way they looked at me.

  "You look beautiful." Kiernan closed the distance between us and kissed me chastely on the cheek. Julian did the same on the other side. Then they linked their arms with mine, and we were off to the ball.

  The gym was decorated in swathes of rich fabric in dark colors, embroidered with silver stars. Draping from a central point at the ceiling to the top of the walls, they fell vertically to the ground. The effect was stunning, creating an intimate setting in the huge sport hall. I stared at the hundreds of yards of fabric, trying to figure out where the indirect light came from. The effect was like something out of One Thousand and One Nights.

  Kiernan noticed my astonishment. “I keep forgetting you’re not used to this.”

  “Is all this done by magic?”

  Julian laughed on my other side. “No. Some of it, sure. But magic on a large scale is difficult to maintain, so most of the decoration has been done with old-fashioned hard work.”

  It was as if a huge weight had been lifted off the entire academy. There was no alcohol, but the atmosphere was electric anyway. Ms. Farkas had arranged for a local band, and even without amplification, the music was at the perfect volume throughout the academy.

  I made the mistake of asking what kind of magic was involved in this, and Julian spent five minutes explaining the art of manipulating sound waves. My eyes must have glazed over at one stage, because Kiernan elbowed him. "Stop. You’re putting her to sleep."

  Julian shook his head good-naturedly before offering to refill our glasses. Kiernan took his chance and asked, "Would you like to dance?"

  As we stepped onto the dance floor, the music changed to a slow song I hadn't heard in a few years. Kiernan pulled me close against him, wrapping his arms around my waist. I clung to him, comfortable and safe in his embrace. We moved together to the rhythm, my cheek pressed against his shoulder, his face against mine. It was heaven. Our breaths mingled, and our lips sought and found each other.

  I forgot everything around me, the other students, the teachers. We kissed for a long time, gently, sweetly. I was glad he was holding me up, because my knees felt weak. And yet, there was something missing. Or rather somebody.

  And then a boy stepped behind us and put his hands on my hips, his body swaying in the same rhythm. I recognized Julian immediately, even before I saw his black hair above my shoulder. Kiernan looked up and smiled at him. Together, we swayed in time with the music, in perfect harmony. The song changed, and my boys adjusted seamlessly.

  Julian pulled me back against his chest, and Kiernan moved forward until both my back and front were pressed tightly against them. The intensity of the moment made me breathe faster. The deep bass of the music rolled from my feet into my stomach.

  One of Julian’s hands was moving lower until it rested between my legs, gently pressing. At the same time, Kiernan placed his palm on my breast. The two points of contact seemed to pulse, even though they held their hands perfectly still. Instead, the push and pull of the dance moved my body forward and backward, my hips swiveled in time with the music, and my breathing grew more and more labored.

  My arms rested on Kiernan’s shoulders, and I pressed my forehead against his collarbone, trying to hide my growing arousal. I didn’t do a good job, because Kiernan whispered, “Don’t hide, acushla. Are you turned on?”

  I nodded, the heat rising in my cheeks. I could feel his grin as he gently rubbed his palm over my nipple. A tremble ran through me at the jolt of sensation.

  “Don’t be embarrassed. Can’t you feel we’re hard for you?”

  Julian moved his pelvis sideways, and his erection pushed against me, rubbing against my dress. I shivered again and sagged against Kiernan. Julian’s hand on my crotch tightened, and I released a shuddery sigh. I fought against the urge to surrender, to let the two boys ravish me whichever way they wanted.

  At this stage, we weren’t so much dancing anymore as rubbing against each other in a sinuous wave of want. Then the song stopped. The two guys stepped back, and I stumbled, disoriented by the sudden change. Julian steadied me, and we turned towards the stage where Ms. Farkas stepped up to the microphone.

  For the next few minutes, the speech washed over me. It was no different from my old high school, exams are done, bla bla, have a great time, bla bla, thanks to the teachers. While the head witch addressed the audience, I looked around me. Quite a few people weren’t listening as much as cuddling against their partner. Or partners. There was Beth leaning against Kenzy, while Luke had his arms around both of them.

  There was no sign of Paul and his gang. Ever since I’d told them I wasn’t interested in their plan, I hadn’t seen them in any of the classes we’d shared. Maybe Ms. Farkas had had them expelled? I didn’t care either way, so I pushed the thought of them out of my head as quickly as it had entered.

  Even farther back in the room, I could barely make out Sharon playing tongue hockey with a g
uy I hadn’t seen before. Which was weird because I could have sworn she was dating another guy from my Elemental class.

  None of my business. If she wanted to date a few guys at the same time, I wasn’t in a position to judge. Shrugging, I turned back towards the front where Ms. Farkas finished up. I had more important things to do, like spend the next few hours dancing and flirting with my two boyfriends.

  For this one night, I was determined to enjoy myself and not think of deadly conspiracies and the danger my parents might find themselves in. All that could wait until tomorrow.

  30

  After the ball, there was no school for a few days. Kiernan left the next morning to spend some time with his family. He’d been oddly reluctant to talk about it when I asked. We were only at the beginning of our relationship, but it felt weird that I didn’t know where he was from or where he spent his break at.

  Julian was going to leave at lunchtime to a special intensive camp to work on his elemental magic. Sharon wasn’t going home to Canada, but she also was reluctant to talk about where she was going to spend the time off.

  Beth, Kenzie, Luke, and all other students I’d have liked to hang with—they were all going away. I wasn’t the only student left on campus, but there weren’t enough of us to warrant any special meals. The canteen chef had prepared some dishes and left them for us in the large fridge behind the steel counter.

  On the morning of Thanksgiving, Slug woke me by jumping on my belly with all his furry weight. After I’d cursed him out, I scratched his back absentmindedly. Just about now, Mom would have put the turkey in the oven, and I’d have been called down for potato duty. Dad would have been peeling carrots, and we’d have spent the morning chatting and laughing.