Even after leaving, the unease that followed my conversation with Alek remained. The way he'd looked at me left me feeling off. Why bother saving me from the embarrassment of sparring with him if he was just going to be a jerk about it after?

Naomi had caught up with me, seeming in slightly better spirits than before.

"Are you ready for our next class?" She asked, a smile crossing her face.

I scrounged around in my backpack for my schedule. "Which class is next?"

Naomi leaned in closer. "Magic class."

My stomach did an odd flop. Was I excited to learn magic? Obviously. What teenage girl who loved to read wouldn't want to learn magic? But then the image of my magic breaking free in the quad came to mind. What if I hurt someone?

If Naomi noticed my unease, she said nothing as she looped her arm through mine and led me to Alpha Hall. As we stepped through the doors, an odd sensation washed over me, like a burst of cold air.

"What was that?" I asked Naomi.

"It's a barrier spell. It prevents unaware students from accidentally seeing the other classes."

"I guess that's helpful," I replied. "Are there many spells like that around campus?"

She nodded her head. "There's a fair few. Inara says it's best when people find out about themselves organically. You can't do that if you accidentally stumble into a class where everyone is performing magic."

On the second floor, I followed Naomi into a large classroom. Arranged along the front half of the room were desks, leaving the second half open. I sat at a desk next to Naomi and nervously fiddled with a notebook.

For the first time, Naomi took notice of my nerves. "What's wrong?"

"What if I hurt someone?"

"Our instructor is pretty good at making sure that doesn't happen."

"Pretty good?" I questioned.

"Accidents happen," Naomi said, shrugging her shoulders. Her nonchalant attitude was wearing on me. Between the sparring and magic classes, it felt like the school wasn't safe. How many students were injured or killed during their studies here?

Jason pulled me out of my thoughts by sitting at the desk next to mine. "Hey new girl."

"Hey," I replied, though the nerves about class still churned in my stomach.

"How are you liking your new classes?"

"It's all a little strange," I admitted. "I didn't realize that I'd be learning a different history, fighting my classmates, and learning to use magic."

Jason laughed. "It gets easier, new girl."

I didn't comment, just turned my attention to the teacher, who entered the room with a smile on her face. She was older than most of the other teachers, her graying hair pulled back into a tight bun. Her face, etched with laugh lines, was friendly. Her green eyes were friendly and crinkled when she smiled. She almost reminded me of Ms. Rose.

She clapped her hands together and a burst of white magic released, like ghostly doves that flew over our heads. Most of the students were unimpressed, except for me.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Jason said as he saw the look on my face.

"It's amazing," I said as I watched the light dance over my head. I heard someone scoff and turned to see Mari roll her eyes as she looked at me. Then she leaned toward Nadia and whispered something. Both girls instantly broke into quiet, snickering laughter.

I turned away, but not before I could feel my cheeks flaming in embarrassment. Naomi gave me a small, comforting smile before turning her eyes back to the teacher.

The magic above our heads ended, and all eyes turned to the teacher. "For those of you who don't know me, my name is Katherine Tate. You may call me Mrs. Tate or Katherine. You may not call me Kate Tate." A few snickers from the class made it known that this was something Mrs. Tate had been called before.

Her friendly eyes narrowed on a few of the snickering students.

"In this class, I will teach you to control your magic. We start small, nothing too intense. It's important to note that magic is linked to emotion. The stronger you feel, the more magic you release. For the sake of this class, I will ask that you try to have a clear, calm mind."

I shifted nervously in my seat. Intense anger had caused my outburst in the quad.

Mrs. Tate continued. "While magic is liquid and can be shifted to many forms, your magic will all manifest differently. My magic manifests in light. For others, their magic may appear in the form of flames, ice, wind, electricity. Some things will come easier to those whose magic manifests in a certain way. For example, portals come easier to those whose magic manifests in earth or wind. Those who manifest in fire or water will struggle more with this task."

I remembered the lightning and the storm. Was that how my magic would manifest? In wind and electricity? Or was that just because of the circumstances?

"Today's lesson will focus on finding the element that your magic manifests. Knowing this information is key to figuring out control." Mrs. Tate grabbed a box from her desk and glass clinked within. She handed out a small crystal ball to each of us.

"I want you to take the crystal ball in your hands and release your magic. The ball will capture the essence of the element and allow us to view what it is."

Most of the class accomplished their task instantly. Crystal balls across the classroom were lighting up with unique magic. Light, flames, and other types of energy surged around the room. Next to me, Naomi's crystal ball grew a vine of ivy within.

Jason's ball lit with tendrils of fire, glowing bright orange.

Everyone's crystal ball filled with magic. Except for mine. As hard as I tried to focus, there was nothing. The swirling energy I'd felt that day in the quad had vanished. There was nothing but an emptiness inside of me. Was it possible to use up all the magic?

Mrs. Tate walked around the classroom, talking with each student about their element. She reached me last.

"Sometimes it takes a while to learn to manifest your magic in any form," she told me. "Since you've only ever used your magic unintentionally, it's hard to wrap your mind around the fact that you can perform magic."

She walked to the front of the room and clapped her hands together again. "All right, now that most of you have successfully determined the way your magic manifests, I want you each to read chapter one in your textbook, then answer the questions on this worksheet."

After handing out the worksheet, she dismissed the class. I packed up slowly before walking to Mrs. Tate to return her crystal ball. She gave me a warm smile.

"Keep the crystal ball. Maybe being alone with your magic can help. And don't worry about the worksheet just yet. Read the chapter and try to not stress. Your magic will come to you."

I thanked her before leaving the classroom and heading back to my dorm room. The crystal ball was heavy in my hand, and I took a seat on my bed.

For hours, I stared at the crystal ball. I went nearly cross-eyed, gazing into the clear depths. But no matter how hard I tried, nothing ever manifested. Loki eventually meowed at me, before shoving my hands away to curl up in my lap. I gave a small laugh and set the crystal ball aside to brush my hands through his fur.

Feeling too tired and disappointed in myself to attend dinner, I decided to take some of my medicine and go to sleep. But despite the medicine, for the first time in days, I dreamed.

The smell of smoke clogged the air. People milled around, drinking and partying. I stood with Hanna and Jordan, a shot glass in my hand and a bottle of beer tucked into the crook of my elbow.

Hanna held up her shot. "To the summer before senior year!"

I raised my shot glass to meet hers and Jordan's, but my eye caught someone in the crowd across from me. My eyes met a set of brown ones. Alek? His eyes locked with mine and an odd sensation washed over me before I brought the shot to my lips and downed it.

"Let's do another one!" Hanna yelled, her lips still puckered from the shot.

When I looked back up, Alek was gone, and I was sure I'd imagined the whole thing. Jordan refilled our shots with fresh tequila, and we raised our glasses again.

"To freedom!" Hanna chanted.

"Yes!" I downed the shot, the liquor burning in my chest. My world went dark before the scene shifted.

I saw the blonde girl, her eyes wide with terror. It was as if I were frozen to the spot. A large figure loomed over the girl, who let out a blood-curling scream. The figure reached out and, with speed like lightning, stabbed her repeatedly.

Before my vision completely went dark, I could have sworn I saw a familiar pair of brown eyes staring me down.

I woke with a start, my heart pounding in my chest. I ran a hand through my hair, which was tangled from my restless sleep. Was that dream a memory? Had Alek been there the night of the bonfire? Could he have some answers I was looking for?

Sitting up, I drew my knees to my chest. Loki was looking at me from his perch on the edge of my bed. I held out my hand to him and he came instantly, a little purring noise sounding from his throat. He rubbed his face on my hand and I scratched behind his ears, wondering why Alek would have been at the bonfire.

The entire town had pretended he and his mom didn't exist. So why come back? And why the night Samantha and Oliver had died?

Is that why he'd made those threats to me? Had he been the one to send the note threatening me if I didn't invite my mother to Parent's Day?

I chewed nervously on my lower lip as I scratched Loki. Could Alek be involved in that girl's death? And Oliver's? A shudder ran through me at the thought. He was a different person to the one I knew as a child, but had he changed so much that he could commit murder?

With that thought in my head, it was impossible to get back to sleep that night.