Supernatural Academy: Year One (Supernatural Academy #1)(44)

Mirth danced across his face. “I’m pretty sure I would have noticed you even if our powers weren’t colliding,” he said.

The heat in my body increased, and this time it had nothing to do with my energy. Then, with a hooded stare, his humor wiped clean, Asher nodded toward the sand. “We should get out of here,” he said.

It took me a moment to pull myself together, and then I was following.





18





That night I couldn’t sleep. Images ran through my mind: Asher’s hand on mine, the energy between us, the clarity under the water. Confusion and lust and heat kept me tossing and turning until the early hours of the morning.

I finally drifted off around 3:00 A.M., only to wake five hours later to a heavy pounding on my door. “Girl, get your ass up. We’re going shopping!”

I groaned and rolled over. “Go away,” I shouted back, my voice muffled against the pillow.

A minute later, a heavy weight landed on me as Ilia flung herself onto the bed. “I’m awake, so you’re awake.”

A tired laugh escaped, taking with it the last of the air in my lungs—she was surprisingly heavy. I shoved her to the side. “I never should have allowed you access to my room,” I groaned. “What if I slept naked?”

I felt her shrug. “Wouldn’t bother me. I sleep naked.”

Good to know.

I swung my legs off the bed and rubbed my face as I tried to get my brain online. “Okay, I’m up now. Give me time to shower and get dressed, and I’ll meet you downstairs.”

Ilia shot me a grin as she jumped to her feet, looking fine as fuck in a short denim skirt and tucked-in white tank. Her dark legs looked even longer than usual under the short hem, and I let out a low whistle.

“Damn, you look way too good to be just going shopping.”

She posed, fluffing her hair up. “I might have convinced Josh to come along and carry our bags for us.”

I high-fived her. “Good thinking!”

As I stood, Ilia eyed me closer. “You might as well sleep naked.”

Looking down I shrugged. “Sometimes I do. Depends on how much I hate my boobs that day.”

I was wearing a tiny pair of white panties and a matching soft bra. Turning, I rifled through my drawers, managing to find a clean set of denim shorts and a plain black tank. I grabbed the rest of my stuff, and by the time I turned around Ilia was gone and I was able to shower and change in peace.

Once my hair was brushed, some makeup slapped on, I was ready to go.

Ilia was in the communal area of the magic users' tower, chatting with a few girls I hadn’t met before. When I entered, she spotted me immediately and waved goodbye to her friends. She all but sprinted to my side.

“Someone likes shopping,” I observed when she almost knocked me over with her hug.

“Best part of being an adult,” she said. “Like Christmas every day of the year.”

That reminded me... “How do I find out how much money I have?”

The card from Princeps Jones was burning a hole in my pocket, and while I wasn’t quite Ilia level of excited, I also wasn’t dreading this trip. To think I could spend a little frivolously because my basic needs were being met here at the school was such a novelty.

She dragged me across to a small gray machine in the corner. I’d seen it before but hadn’t really paid attention. “Scanner is here. You can either withdraw cash or check your balance.”

Oh, so pretty much an ATM, or the supernatural version of one. There was no slot to insert the card, I just had to place my hand against the screen and a beam crossed my palm.

“Your card is linked to your magical resonance,” Ilia explained. “The same sort of thing as the lock on your room. The card is just for in town.”

When the total popped up on the screen, I almost died. “What in the heck?” I whispered. “Five thousand dollars!” I’d never had that much money in my life.

“Euros,” Ilia corrected. “It’s not much; the student allowance kind of sucks. I think they want us to be reliant on them. But the money will increase to a much nicer level once you get out in the world and start working.”

“It’s a lot,” I said breathlessly.

She blinked at me, and then it was like she remembered where she’d found me. The life I’d lived. Her cheeks went a little pink. “Sorry, Mads. That was insensitive of me. It is a lot of money, and you deserve to have fun with it. Let’s go shopping!”

I wasn’t upset at all. “I’m excited! What time do we have to be back for Louis, though?” I couldn’t miss that; I needed to know what the hell was going on with my power.

“Just after lunch. Princeps Jones will text me if he arrives early.”

Awesome, so we had the entire morning for retail therapy. As we walked toward the commons, Ilia asked me about Asher and our private lesson last night, and I told her a hurried, condensed version of what had happened.

“So you can’t touch him anymore?” Her tone was incredulous. “You’ve just won the worst lottery ever.”

I shoved her, grimacing. “Fuck. So true.”

Josh was waiting for us on the other side of the commons, his tall frame leaning against a table. Ilia’s face lit up as she waved, and he shot her a slow grin that almost had my stomach doing flip-flops. That was a nice look. If I ever got a boyfriend, he’d better look at me like that.