I managed to go back to sleep for a little while until the plane was about to land in Paris. I had settled down some, no longer terrified about Mage Maggie, or whatever the hell her name was, stalking me. I had to assume she was there to be helpful, not to drive me crazy, though it would’ve been nice of Mage Nuthatch or Mage Jaye or someone would’ve told me that they were planning on putting someone on the plane with me.
I wasn’t as terrified when the plane touched down this time, even though I was far from home and was in a place where I didn’t speak the native language and would be relying on other people to get me where I was supposed to go. I’m sure I would’ve been more afraid if I didn’t have my powers. At least I knew I would be able to rely on my magic to get me out of any tight spots, should any occur.
Ben wasn&
Ben and I got out of the car. Lenny hopped out and got our bags, depositing them on the drive beside us as we both gawked at the building, and then he got back behind the wheel and drove away. My eyes were pulled away from the magnificent building in front of me as I watched him drive out of sight. I felt like a sailor who knew the life raft had just floated away, and the boat was about to go down.“Don’t worry,” Maggie said. “He’s just parking in the garage. We’ll see him later, I’m sure.”I smiled at her, as if it were Lenny I was lamenting and not the vehicle he was driving, not that I would’ve been able to figure out how to drive in France anyway. Still… I felt overwhelmed, looking up at the large school building, knowing it was behind a huge brick wall with a manned gate. “Shall we?”
Warm water trickled down my back as I stood in the shower with my arms wrapped around Ben. We’d taken care of all of the necessaries involved in showering--washing and conditioning our hair, that sort of thing, and now, all I could think about was how hot he was with droplets of water in his caramel hair, running down his chest, down his perfect abs, and lower.He smiled at me in that way that let me know he was thinking the exact same thing that I was, and then his lips devoured mine. I backed into the tile wall of the shower, steadying myself. This was one of those showers with just a curtain and a tub, so it wasn’t as if it had a nice sturdy frame to prop us up, but I thought we’d figure it out.I don’t weigh much, so Ben was able to lift me easily enough. I spread my legs and wrapped them around him, and he worked his way insid
“Distinguished council members,” Maggie said with a sweeping arm motion, “may I present to you, Mage Harlow Nightingale from Montana.” She made a little curtsey as she flipped her arm around in my direction. I felt a little bit like a princess being introduced to the king and queen of a neighboring kingdom, only there were five pairs of eyes staring at me from across the way.“Thank you, Margaret,” Mage Jaye said as she stood. She gestured toward the chairs on the side of the room, and Maggie took Ben’s arm and pulled him over there. I didn’t want to let go of Ben’s hand, but at least I knew he’d be in the room.Mage Jaye stood and walked around the room. She looked every bit as much like a witch as anyone I’d ever seen in a movie who was pretending to be a witch. She had a long, sharp nose
I am a mage--not a shifter. I have no idea what it’s like to be a shifter or what it feels like to shift. But with the entire board looking at me, waiting for me to change my form into something else. I had no idea what was about to happen, but I’d decided what I was going to shift into, so I took a deep breath and envisioned my body changing form.The strangest sensation took over my body as I expanded in places where I needed to grow and my bones had to break and reform in other places. It didn’t hurt, oddly enough. But it did feel weird in a way I can’t explain, sort of like when your hand falls asleep and starts to tingle; it isn’t really painful, it’s just uncomfortable. Within a matter of seconds, I knew that the shift was complete. I was looking at them through larger eyes, with four feet on the ground, staring at them as they gazed up at me.
I’d always wanted to see the Eiffel Tower. Seeing it all lit up at night was even better, especially with the wind gently blowing falling leaves from the late autumn trees across the lawn around the historic setting. It was breathtaking, something I’ll never forget.We had time before our reservations at a famous restaurant near the tower to go up inside of the landmark. The lights were on by the time we reached the top, and all around the city, buildings were turning on their lights, creating little pinpricks of white against the backdrop of the coming night. For someone who has magic in her life on a daily basis, it takes a lot to impress me by saying something is magical, but in this case, I truly felt like that this was a magical experience.Ben’s hand was warm in mine as we reached the top of the Eiffel Tower and stepped out on the
The next morning, we were awoken to a tapping on the door that was far too cheery for whatever time it was. I glanced at the clock on the nightstand as Ben got up to get the door, pulling his jeans on as he went, and realized it was almost 10:00. So it wasn’t that early, but it still felt far too early to be awoken.I couldn’t see Maggie’s face when he pulled the door open, but I could tell by her tone that she was surprised to see Ben, shirtless, at my door. “Well, good morning, Mr. Peterson,” she said as I struggled to pull on something more appropriate than Ben’s shirt, which is what I’d put on the night before right before I fell dead to the world. “Is Miss Nightingale… awake?” I wondered if she might say, “here,” as in, had we switched rooms or something, but I was dressed now and made my way over to the door, smoothing my hair a
The sound of Maggie’s heels echoed off of the marble floor as we followed her to Mage Jaye’s office. This was a different place than the one we’d been in the day before. I had a feeling it was just going to be the head mage and myself in a room alone, and my hands were shaking because of it. I hadn’t even brought my staff because they seemed to think it was odd, and I was pretty sure I didn’t need it in order to use my powers, but the forest had gifted it to me, so I felt a little odd walking into this meeting without it.We walked back to the offices Maggie had taken us to the day before, when we’d first arrived. The secretary, Daphne, was there, as she had been the day before. She greeted us warmly. “Hello, dearies!” she said to all three of us, hopping up to kiss Maggie’s cheek. “Mage Jaye is in her office and all ready for you, love.” Sh
“So… you’re sure you don’t want to do this?” Ben asked me as we walked along a sidewalk in one of the historic districts of Paris. We’d already explored a bunch of touristy sights, like the Arc de Triomphe and everything near the Eiffel Tower that we hadn’t gotten to see the day before. We were planning on going to the Louvre first, but I wanted to see some of the chateaus so we were casually walking around town, looking at whatever our feet took us past.He was asking about staying in Paris and going to school, as Mage Jaye had offered. “No, I’m sure I don’t want to do it,” I said, letting out a loud sigh. “I can’t even think about staying here with all of you so far away. It would never work for me.”He was holding my hand and squeezed it tightly in his grip. “I don&rsq