WE HEADED TO OUR NEXT lesson—magic theory.

Theo was still seething and even more of a bother than normal.

“Hurry up!” he snapped at Adelaide and me. She rolled her eyes and then stuck her tongue out at her brother’s retreating figure.

“He’s always such a moody girl. Only girls aren’t as bad. Theodore’s just a species of his own,” she rambled.

I giggled in agreement.

Theo ushered us into the room with an annoyed swish of his hand.

I followed Adelaide to a table in the corner. Theo lounged against the door, staring at his fingernails. He appeared bored but I knew he was actually very alert. Even if he was perturbed with me he was still going to do his job.

“Welcome, welcome,” said a woman in front of the class. “I am so happy to see such bright smiling faces.” I looked around; no one looked bright and no one was smiling. “I’m Jessamine.”

The woman clapped her hands together and blinked at us. She had large owlish eyes, gray flyaway hair, a beaked nose, and she wore clothes one would associate with a fortune teller. She was the first enchanter I had seen that actually looked like a witch.

“Well,” she said and drawled out the word. She looked around as if confused and shuffled the mess of papers on her desk. “In magic theory you learn about … the theory of magic!” she said as if the idea had just struck her. I could see now that this class would be interesting. She moved through the classroom, her hands skimming the wood tops of the tables we sat behind. “In this class, we will discuss the ways in which you can and cannot use magic. Fun, fun, lots of fun!” she chimed. I glanced over at Theo and found him trying to hide a laugh.

“Okay, okay, okay,” Jessamine repeated like she couldn’t get her thoughts straight. “How many of you have already come into your powers?” When no one made a move, she said, “Hands, up, up, up.”

There were only eight of us in the room, but the majority raised their hands.

“All right, all right, all right,” Jessamine chanted. “I’m assuming the rest of you will be coming into your powers sometime in the next few weeks.”

She giggled at nothing and then said, “Okay, let’s get started.” She looked around like she was lost and then sat behind her desk. As soon as she sat she stood back up. “I hate being behind that thing. It makes me feel like there’s a wall between us.” She began to pace around the room. “Let’s talk about some theories.”

Everyone waited for her to continue and, when she didn’t, she let out a small giggle.

“Silly, silly, silly, me.” She clasped her hands together and asked, “What do you all think are some things you can’t do with magic?”

I figured most of the students knew all about magic, having lived with magical parents, and believed this class was a waste of time. I, on the other hand, was fascinated. I knew nothing about magic. I had no idea what I would be capable of.

A girl raised her hand.

Jessamine pointed to her. “What’s your name?”

“Meredith,” the girl said.

“Ah, Meredith, Great Ruler, what is it that you’d like to share with the class?”

“We can’t heal,” she answered, “at least not regular enchanters.” Her gaze shot to me and I saw Theo straighten out of the corner of my eye.

“Yes,” said Jessamine. “Enchanters cannot heal but the Chosen Ones can. I believe we have a Chosen One here with us.” She looked around the room and I sunk down in my seat.

“Right here.” Adelaide pointed at me. I shot daggers at her.

“Your name?” she asked Adelaide.

“Adelaide,” she replied.

“Adelaide,” she repeated, “means noble and kind.”

Adelaide smirked and glanced at Theo with a look that said, “Hear that?”

“Chosen One, what’s your name?” Jessamine asked.

“Mara,” I spoke softly.

“Mara, Mara, Mara. Do you know what Mara means?” she asked.

“No.”

“Bitter. Are you bitter, Mara?”

“Uh … no,” I hesitated. “I’m not bitter.”

Jessamine smiled and said, “Good, good, good. That’s good to hear.”

I let out a sigh of relief.

“This lovely gentleman standing in the back must be your protector. What’s your name?” she asked him. Was she going to ask everyone in the room their name and then give the meaning? We’d be here forever.

“Theodore.”

She appraised him as if she was looking right through him. “Divine gift or gift of God. The name suits you.” She shrugged, and I rolled my eyes.

Theo was going to eat this up. Gift of God? Oh, dear.

“I quite like it,” said Theo as he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall. One booted foot rested at a right angle touching the wall.

“Yes, yes, yes.” She waved her hand and looked around the room. “What had we been talking about? I forgot,” she mused. “Oh! I remember now. Enchanters cannot heal but Chosen Ones can.” She looked right at me as she spoke. “Chosen Ones have many abilities that we regular ol’ enchanters don’t have. They are known to read minds, heal, and communicate with the dead among other things. Protectors also have more power.” Her gaze drifted to Theo. “They’re stronger, faster, and highly underestimated. They can pick up on the emotions around them to sense if anyone is a threat to their charge. Protectors are even rarer than Chosen Ones. If the protector dies, the Chosen One is left bared to the world.” Sensing my confusion, Jessamine added, “While a protector is alive their magic disrupts yours making it difficult for you to be found. That’s not to say you can’t still be found” —I remembered the night we were attacked— “but it makes it harder.”

Her eyes found the clock and she jolted. “Oh, my, my, my, I’ve kept you all too long. You best be going.”

I grabbed my bag and slung it over my shoulder. “That was weird,” I said to Adelaide.

“Theodore said she was weird. Apparently, both her parents were Chosen Ones and she saw them murdered as a child. Story is, she’s been like that ever since. I don’t know why they let her tutor us. If you ask me, she needs to be in the loony bin. Just sayin’.”

“Has she not always lived here then?”

“No, she used to live at the London safe house. Theodore said she’s bounced from safe place to safe place since her parents’ death. While she’s not chosen, she’d be a hot commodity for The Iniquitous to get their hands on. A trophy of sorts.”

“That’s … sick.”

Adelaide snorted. “Believe me, you have no idea how bad those bastards are.”

Theo leaned against the outside of the door waiting for us. “What took you so long? Having a scintillating conversation without me?”

“Contrary to what you believe,” Adelaide drawled, “you don’t need to be a part of everything.”

“I disagree.” He placed a hand to his chest as he led us down the hall. “I’m amazing and, therefore, you’d be crazy not to include me.”

“The fact that you think you’re so amazing is all the proof I need that you’re not.”

Theo swung his gaze to me. “And what do you think, doll face? Am I amazing or am I amazing?”

I pretended to think. “Annoying is a more accurate term.”

He mock winced. “I’m hurt. Mortally wounded.”

“I think you’ll live.”

Theo rubbed his hands together. “Only one more lesson of the day—honestly, I didn’t think it was possible for this stuff to get more boring but it has.”

“Actually,” Adelaide came forward to burst his bubble, “there’s two more. Astronomy is after dinner. The new guy teaching it is delicious.” Adelaide sighed dreamily.

“You know him?” I asked.

“Yeah. He’s been gone a while but he’s back. Theo knew him.”

“I did?” he asked stupidly.

“Yeah, it’s Finn.”

Theo blanched. “I never thought he’d end up back here. He hated it here.”

“Maybe it was too good of an opportunity to pass up,” she reasoned.

“Have most of the teachers been here a while or do new ones come along a lot?” I asked.

She shook her head. “Most are like Jessamine and move from place to place. Donovan has been here for a long time but he’s a rarity. Most of the adults don’t stay long unless they have to, but once they take a position they’re locked in for a year. A lot of kids get dumped here because they lose their parents or it’s safer for whatever reason so you’ll almost always see more of them.”

“Believe me, I’ve seen plenty come and go over the years,” Theo muttered. “Most don’t like living so far removed from society like we do. It’s safe, but it can be lonely.” Theo stopped outside a door. “Here we are.”

“What are we learning next?”

“Magical control,” he droned as I stepped inside the room.

This room wasn’t like any of the others. It was large with stone walls and the floors were covered in mats like gymnasts used.

“Sit down,” boomed a large man as he came into the room. Everyone sat down on the floor except for Theo. The doors slammed closed behind the man. He didn’t even touch them.

“I am James Beauregard—you can call me James—and in my class, you are going to learn to control your powers.” He hopped up on the top of his desk and drummed his fingers on his knees. He wore a nice navy suit and pale blue button-down shirt. “You can think of this as a gym class of sorts,” he explained. His salt and pepper hair was brushed back from his face and the same colored hair covered his cheeks and chin. He looked more like a banker than a gym teacher.

“I think he’s wearing the wrong clothes for a gym class,” Adelaide muttered. I ignored her. I was getting used to her funny commentary.

“You’re going to sweat in this class. Therefore, there are dressing rooms provided for your convenience.” He pointed to opposite sides of the room. One had a door labeled Gents and another labeled Ladies. “You will need to bring your own dress down clothes, however.” His gaze landed on Theo in the back. “Mr. Meyers, how wonderful to see you again.”

“Not that wonderful, James,” he mumbled.

“I see you still have the same attitude.” Theo saluted James. He laughed and shook his head. “I’ve been informed of your special situation with Miss Pryce and therefore I expect you to participate in class. You’ll be Miss Pryce’s partner. As protector and charge, you should be able to work together.”

“I don’t need to learn to control myself,” Theo snapped.

“Ah, but Mr. Meyers, you’ve never exactly mastered control, have you? Besides, if you and Miss Pryce are going to be partners, for lack of a better term, you need to learn to work together. This class is as much about working together as learning to control oneself.”

“Whatever,” Theo sneered. “I’ll participate if it means you’ll shut up.”

“Excellent,” said James with a slight smirk like he’d expected such an answer. He hopped off his desk and walked around the circle of students before stopping in the middle. “Maybe you have learned some control after all. You seem … calmer.” Sarcasm dripped like sticky syrup from his words. Theo was the farthest thing from calm. Anyone could see the anger boiling under the surface. “Since you’ll be participating I’d appreciate it if you would help me with a bit of a … demonstration.”

“You betcha.” A challenge glimmered in his gray eyes. He shrugged off his leather jacket and tossed it onto the floor. He rolled his shoulders back and forth and then strode forward to meet James in the middle. “You’re on, James.”

James grinned in challenge.

I heard a few of the girls commenting on Theo’s impressive physique. I hated the jealousy I felt. Theo was my protector and that was it. He didn’t like me like that; he wasn’t even allowed to like me like that.

I hated that I found comfort in that thought. I should have wanted him to have a life but the thought of having to see him with another girl tore me up inside. I knew I shouldn’t care. More often than not Theo made my blood boil. He was always pushing my buttons and I pushed his. And the fact remained; if he wasn’t stuck with me he’d be off with some bimbo like Naomi. Theo would never look at me and see someone like Naomi. I was just me. Gap-toothed, child-like Mara.

I looked up and met Theo’s gaze. He was so gorgeous but there was so much more to him than his looks. The Theo under the surface was the one that called to me. I enjoyed the moments when he was being honest and bearing his soul instead of throwing around a cocky smile and making a rude comment or suggestion. But I needed to let go of this silly crush and look at Theo as no more than my protector.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts and focused on the two men preparing to fight.

James shucked his suit jacket and laid it on his desk and then proceeded to remove his tie. I had to agree with Adelaide; he definitely wasn’t wearing the proper clothes for gym class.

“When you’re coming into your powers,” explained James, “you are very volatile, and it does not take much for you to have a magical … catastrophe, we’ll say. Sometimes a simple insult from someone will set you off. In here, you will learn to handle difficult situations while keeping your magic in check. You definitely don’t need to lose your cool if you come face to face with a member of The Iniquitous one day.” The students laughed softly but I didn’t. I could clearly remember the night Theo and I were attacked, and it was not something to laugh about. “I want you all to watch closely as I provoke Theodore.”

We all sat, riveted, and I held my breath. Theo had a temper, I had witnessed it many times, and I was curious to see how he would handle this man. He had seemed fine when fighting The Iniquitous and the grindor but something about James and even Donovan seemed to stir a restless energy in him.

“I hear you were responsible for getting your charge kicked out of Donovan’s classroom. That’s not good.” James clucked his tongue. Theo tensed and clenched his fists. The man’s lips tweaked. “Obviously, you’re not quite as volatile as you once were. Maybe you did learn something in my class.”

“Doubtful,” Theo retorted.

James began circling Theo. His hand shot out, a dark blue shimmering fire sparkled in his hand, and he caressed Theo’s face. Theo’s gray eyes narrowed and his chest heaved. The veins in his neck and arms were beginning to stand out.

“Don’t insult me, Theodore.” By now, my breath was out of control. I was worried that Theo was going to go nuclear on the man. Everyone in the room waited with bated breath for what Theo would do.

Theo twisted his face to the side to escape the flames that flickered near his cheek.

James chuckled. “You are different than I remember, Theodore,” he said and then came to me. He smiled at me and tugged my ponytail back. I gasped from surprise, not from pain. The flames crept toward my face and I could feel the heat. Sweat beaded on my skin. “I guess it’ll take more to get under your skin than I originally suspected.” Theo turned and saw the man’s arms around me.

“Get away from her!” he screamed and thrust his hand out. A force hit James and he went flying across the classroom releasing me in the process. His cackle filled the room.

Adelaide looked at me with wide, dark-blue eyes. Her plump lips were open in surprise and she couldn’t seem to form a coherent sentence so she just stuttered.

We both turned to watch Theo stalk toward the teacher. He lifted the large man up by his shirt and said, “I think it’s you that needs to learn control. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll stay away from her.”

James’s eyes dilated in … fear? I couldn’t blame the man for being afraid of him—when Theo was like this he was a total bad ass. Theo dropped the man and stalked toward me. His movements were quick and smooth, and I found myself once again comparing him to a ninja. He had a grace to him.

Class was over, but no one moved. Theo picked up his jacket and shrugged it on. Everyone stared in awe at him while James quietly stalked out of the room. Theo turned around and looked at the people lingering in the room. They ceased their excited babbling. The silence filling the room seemed somehow louder than a thousand voices.

“You do know it’s time to go, right?” he asked, looking at them like they were idiots.

Several people jumped up, gathered their bags, and ran out of the room. I guess they were afraid he might attack them next. Others seemed frozen. Theo shook his head and rolled his eyes while he came toward me. “Honestly,” he said with a cocky grin and then took my hand in his, “you’d think no one had ever seen a fight before.”