It was awkwardly quiet at the library table. You’d think quiet would be normal. But then if you think Dragons behave normally in a library then you haven’t been paying attention.

  “Did I do something wrong?” I asked after catching Jarec glance at me and then immediately look away after being caught.

  “No. But if there’s something you want to share…” He trailed off not looking at me.

  Oh gods. “Is this about what happened in Spellcraft?”

  “You mean what’s been happening all day?” Celica asked with a scoff.

  I hated everything. “It’s not my fault my magic refuses to behave in any way that in convenient for me or the rest of the world.” I flinched at my tone. That was way harsher sounding than what I had meant to say. Not that I knew what it was I meant to say.

  I got an eyebrow raise.

  “Sorry. I just…” I hate hormones. “I’m not mad at you.”

  They were all staring.

  “My eyes are doing the thing again, aren’t they?”

  Jarec nodded. “For the last twenty minutes.”

  “I am not in control of it.” Or anything really. My life has been a disaster from the moment I stepped foot on this campus.

  “Well, I think they look lovely,” Celica stated. “The flickering might take some getting used to but I’ve seen worse.”

  “And I still can’t cast magic or use runes while they do this. It’s unfair,” I ranted.

  “Right. If your magic wants to do something weird at least be weird and helpful,” Russel’s tone implied a joke.

  “Exactly! This is bullshit!”

  “This is the most heated we’ve seen you.” Russel sounded way too damn amused for my liking.

  Fethris sighed. “Okay. If nothing’s happening then why not just leave it be?”

  “Thank you Fethris!”

  I wasn’t even that upset! I set my forehead on the table and let out a long-suffering sigh. How many puppies did I drown in my previous life to deserve this? I hope it was worth it, Past Me.

  If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

  (*********)

  Life was pain. I don’t know why everyone was so worried about what lies in the deepest layer of the hells when this was what life had to offer. Weren’t these supposed to be the best years of my life or something?

  I demanded a refund.

  “Still coral city?” Angelina asked.

  I gave her a glare with little heart behind it. I was laying on my floor looking upside down at the door where Angelina stood.

  “What do you think?”

  “Actually. I had an idea. You don’t have to! But…well…remember when I said something blocked me from reading your fortune?”

  “Okay…?”

  “I want to try again. While you’re like this. Maybe whatever blocked me is causing this? Maybe it’s weakened right now.”

  Honestly, it was about as valid as any other theory right now.

  “Why not?” I sat up and ignored the stabs of pain in most of my body.

  “I’ll get my stuff!”

  I wondered if the pit of dread in my stomach was cramps or regret. Probably both.

  We were allowed bring stuff from home. There were basic restrictions, nothing too dangerous and nothing that was alive.

  Angelina’s crystal ball, the size of snow globe and filled with flecks of red and pink, was well within the rules. She also had with her a deck of tarot cards. Judging by the unevenness of the edges, and the matching but not identical floral pattern on the back, they were probably handmade.

  “Give me your hands.” Angelina had a soft smile on her face.

  I did what I was told. I wasn’t wearing the gloves anymore.

  “Wow. That still looks bad,” she said as she cradled my wrists on either side of the sphere. She was staring at my scars.

  I rolled my eyes.

  “Okay. Just breathe for me, let’s see what we can see.”

  I stared into the glass sphere.

  It didn’t do anything. I started counting in my head while looking at the growing frown on her face.

  Her eyes slowly started turning red.

  My left wrist started to burn. Like it had been scalded by a cup of way too hot liquid.

  The mark was glowing a dark green, and was sparking out.

  The glass filled with familiar red smoke. For a single moment I saw a figure glowing blue that was wearing a red coat before Angelina and I both jumped back. The smoke, and the figure, vanished.

  “Are you okay?!” she exclaimed.

  The pain was gone just as suddenly as it had appeared. The glowing stopped.

  Well, now I was convinced that this thing was the source of my problems. Whatever it was.

  I rubbed at it and Angelina continued to breathe heavy. “I’m fine. That was weird.”

  “We are not doing that again.”

  “Nope.”

  “Great.”

  “I assume that is as far from normal as everything else that has happened to me this year?”

  “Yep.”

  “Wonderful.” I hate everything. “Did you see that though?”

  “Which part?”

  “The figure in the smoke.”

  “A little. It wasn’t for every long.”

  “That was who I saw in Dragon Tower,” I told her.

  Angelina’s eyes got wider. “I didn’t get a good look at her.”

  “Neither did I.”

  “It felt the same. For that moment. It felt like the other attempt.”

  “Same vison, just clearer maybe?”

  She nodded, “I think so. It’s common to get the same vision again and again until it happens. So that’s actually normal.”

  “Wow. Something being normal? I’m almost impressed.”

  “Serafina!”

  “We’re both fine.” I shrugged. “But let’s not try that again until I know more about whatever this is.”

  Why did it turn dark green?

  That wasn’t my mana. That was coral pink. Angelina’s was bright amaranth red.

  Why was someone else’s magic in my system?

  It couldn’t be a protection spell from Mom. Her magic was pastel yellow.

  A mark unable to bleed, that glows with unfamiliar magic, and can block both my magic and others’?

  I cradled my wrist, covering the mark.

  Did…did someone do this to me?