Capítulo 2: Chapter 2: Sandalwood

The sunlight from Sage’s window filled the room with a gentle warmth. She was awake before the sun, sitting in front of her vanity mirror rubbing her moonstone crystal between her fingers for luck. She had done and undone her hair three times before finally settling for a braided crown around her head. She made a mental note to later stop by the school’s apothecary garden to collect some herbs for her peace of mind.

Her first class was “Spells and Incantations”. Her strength, if you asked her. She slipped the moonstone down her dress bodice so that it sat close to her heart before standing up to head to class.

Luckily, Nikolas shared this class with her. When they arrived, the room was dimly lit. There were hanging plants along the edges of the walls and spell sheets pinned to a bulletin board by the door. Each table was set with two seats and Sage snagged the seat beside Nikolas before another witch could. She wasn’t oblivious to the looks some of the girls were giving him…and her as a result. Nikolas was handsome, tall, and charming with a smile that stole the oxygen from the room. He was dressed in all black today, unintentionally matching Sage, with his sleeves rolled up to show his biceps. His snowflake obsidian gem hung from a leather cord around his neck.

The class was only for witches and Sage found it to be a relief that her first class was among her own kind. The professor was a coven Elder, although she wasn’t from Sage’s coven. Elders were considered the wisest and most powerful in the coven and therefore upheld witch laws. They were highly respected and a little intimidating.

Sage aspired to be one.

This Elder didn’t look intimidating. She wore long robes with her hair in a braid down her back. Stitched into her robes were vines resembling ivy crawling their way from her feet to her neck where it curled into swirls along her chest.

“Watch this,” Nikolas whispered to her. Sage watched as he murmured a spell under his breath and the loose papers on the professor’s desk flew upwards and scattered.

Sage kicked him as the professor turned sharply to scan the room. Nikolas dropped his gaze to doodle on his notepad. The girl next to him giggled and he winked at her.

“I am Professor Circe,” the witch began after collecting her notes from the floor. “In this class, we will learn how to control our emotions to create stronger spells and incantations.”

Sage took diligent notes as Circe went over what they could look forward to learning which included complex spells using herbs and symbols. Sage loved magic. And not for the obvious reason of being a witch, but because she enjoyed the challenge of learning new things and memorizing different properties to create what she wanted. There was something simple and straightforward in spells that brought simplicity to her mind.

“You have all the girls enamored by your skills, Nik,” she told him jokingly as they walked out of class.

“I don’t know what you mean,” he said with a chuckle.

“I mean, the witch next to you only had eyes for a curly-haired warlock instead of her notes on spellwork,” Sage said, laughing.

He shrugged. “Walk you to your next class?”

“Sure.”

They chatted as they walked, Sage teasing him about the other witches.

“Well, I don’t think Professor Circe likes me much,” Nikolas said with a gleam in his eye.

“Probably because she knew you scattered her papers!”

“Nah, can’t be that–”

He was cut off by a loud laugh. Standing by the door to Sage’s next class was the ruby-haired female shifter that liked to sit in others’ laps. Today, she was standing with other female shifters, and she wore a bold emerald dress that didn’t leave much to the imagination. Her nails were in long stiletto shape to match her outfit. Her red hair was straightened in a sheet that fell to her hips. The hips in question swayed as she made it her job to giggle loudly in order to capture the attention of every eye and ear in the hall.

As Sage and Nikolas approached, she turned quiet.

“Witch,” she spat like the word was cursed.

“Is that supposed to be an insult, wolf?” Nikolas asked. Sage hid her smile at his retort.

“Stick to yourselves and we won’t have a problem,” the female shifter said. Although her voice was light, her eyes laced the air with an unspoken threat. Her gaze was directly on Sage, ignoring Nikolas entirely.

Had Sage just made an enemy without even speaking? There was that anxiety again, creeping its way into her chest.

“Thank you for walking me to class,” she said to Nikolas before he could respond. “See you later?”

He had the shifter locked in a staring contest. He smirked at her before nodding at Sage. “Yeah, catch you later.”

Sage slipped by the shifter, making her way inside the classroom. Her next class was history, situated in the large school library. The room smelled of old books and spice which calmed her growing nerves. She found an empty two-seater table and pulled her notebook from her bag. When she looked up again, someone slid into the seat next to her.

It was…him. The lap that warmed the female shifter’s backside at dinner the night before.

He wore a black cloak over his maroon tunic and smelled strongly of sandalwood as he scooted his chair in closer.

“Aren’t you supposed to sit with a shifter?” Sage blurted.

He smiled without looking at her. “Why, was this seat taken, witch?”

“No, but–”

“Then is there a problem?” his voice was low and it sent shivers down Sage’s spine.

Instead of responding, she turned back to her notebook and titled the page “History: Day One”. She took her time to sketch a book next to the title, determined to avoid eye contact with the man next to her.

He didn’t speak another word to her. Not as the professor introduced himself, not as he launched into a lesson about the Wolven Witch Wars, and not as he finally dismissed the students at the end of class. Sage wasn’t sure what she expected, but she sat a little stunned as he stood from his chair, collected his notes, and left without another word, leaving the scent of sandalwood burning her throat.

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