DISPEL

Alchemy class is unusually boisterous today. Probably because Professor Finlay has yet to make an appearance. And my fellow mages are more than taking advantage of that fact.

I rest my chin on my palm, glancing toward my cousin. “You think they’ll make you drop the class?” 

“Oh, I’d love to see them try,” Tegan snorts with a roll of her brown eyes.  

She’s putting on a brave front, but I know that it bothers her. Just how much harder she has to work to achieve the same level as the rest of us. 

Tegan may be clever as a kraken when it comes to books, but she’s only got a thimble’s worth of magik. A pinch less, and she wouldn’t have even made it into Bealnora. And that would have been the greatest loss in this world. 

Though sometimes I wonder if she secretly resents me because I have enough magik to be considered a threat to public safety if not properly trained. 

As I watch Tegan busily studying alchemic formulas, Rián McAvoy—one of the Hippogryphs’ Vanguard Knights—leans far over the aisle between the worktables. He’s grinning at me and Tegan in that mad fashion I’ve come to realize is pretty standard for him. 

“So are you two nervous about who will make the cut?” he questions, the grin spreading a bit wider.

It would be a fucking lie to say I wasn’t. But I’m not about to tell him that.

Fionnán pokes his twin in the side hard enough to make Rian wobble on his tall laboratory stool. “Captain said no teasing the newbies.”

“But, Fi, what if they’re too fragile like…” He tips his head dramatically toward my dormmate in the front corner of the classroom. 

Who seems to be amidst another row with Reginald Smoot.  

“What in the hells is this?!” Astaroth demands angrily from the other end of the classroom. 

My brow rises in utter incredulity. Only a complete lunatic would consider Zalan Astaroth fragile.

I miss Smoot’s retort as Tegan drops her logbooks loudly on the worktable, drawing our attention back to her. 

My cousin gives Rián a look that has made lesser men piss themselves back in the village. “Only an utter fool wouldn’t give me a spot on the team. And Captain Fenwick didn’t strike me as a dullard.” 

Rián’s grin turns particularly feline. “Hmm…you’re right about that.”

His gaze shifts to me. “What about you, Keen? Ya feelin’ cocky like your cousin?”  

Fortunately, I’m saved from answering because Professor Finlay and his assistant Klym Yanev arrive at that very moment. Blowing into the classroom like they’ve just survived something harrowing, and more than a little on edge.

“Alright, everyone, take your seats,” the professor orders as he slings a heavy satchel over the back of his desk chair. “Our time for today’s lesson has already been cut short. So you’ll excuse me if I ask that you please hold the questions until…”

Professor Finlay lets out an audible huff of annoyance. “Mr. Astaroth, is there a reason you have chosen not to take your seat?” he questions loudly. 

My dormmate offers no reply.

I sit up a little taller in my seat to get a better look toward the front corner of the classroom, but can’t catch a glance of Zalan.

“Mr. Astaroth?” the professor questions again as he pulls a thick stack of logbooks from his satchel. 

Once again, Zalan says nothing.

My brow furrows as I stretch up as far as I can to get a look. What is he doing?

Now clearly more than infuriated, Professor Finlay slams his stack of logbooks on his desk. He marches over toward the front corner of the classroom, but as he nears Zalan, Finlay comes to an abrupt stop.

The professor suddenly whirls back toward the classroom at large, demanding, “How long has he been lying there? Did anyone see him fall? Did anyone see what happened?!”

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Chapter 15 – Dispel: Part Two, ExSpelled © 2025 by Kat Vancil

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