The next day, Callie was determined to get the sugar cookies to Enoch. She wasn’t going to be deterred. He would be walking back from the Greenhouses soon and she could catch him alone in the woods. She sneaked out of her Magical Zoology class and sat under a tree to wait for Enoch’s class to end.She carefully took out the pink box from her backpack and placed it on the ground. She opened the lid and looked over the cookies. The crushed cyanide she’d sprinkled over them looked like powdered sugar. Enoch wouldn’t suspect a thing.Guilt wasn’t a foreign feeling to her. She had nothing against Enoch but he could be dangerous to her. Her anonymity was her biggest advantage in reaching her goals and she didn’t know how much he’d seen in visions. He was a liability.A growl made her look up. A large dog that looked like a Doberman stepped out from behind a bush. The red eyes and the forked tail told her it was more than an ordinary

After spending the long weekend being counterproductive, Callie was eager to get back to Shipton. She had less than two weeks before the Council’s Winter Ball and her anticipation was growing with each day. She woke up one morning to Aubrey jumping on her bed and shaking her. She opened one eye blearily as her roommate pointed to the window.Aubrey exclaimed in excitement, "It’s finally snowing!"Callie sat up and stared at the snow outside before deciding she was uninterested. She lied back down and pulled her comforter over her head. Aubrey tried to shake her again. Her roommate tried to plead with her, "Let’s build a snowman."Callie muttered through the comforter. "You’re too old to be playing in the snow, Aubrey.""I’m sixteen, not sixty. I’m not that old.""You’re not six which is the only appropriate age for this nonsense."She couldn’t see her roommate pouting but she knew Aubrey definitely was.

On the way to their first class, Nadia grabbed both Callie and Aubrey’s arms and stopped them from walking. They both turned to her in confusion as she told her familiar, Tiya, to fly through the hallway first. When nothing happened, Nadia looked relieved and encouraged them to move forward. This continued on until they were outside the Potions classroom."Any reason why you’re acting weird?" Aubrey asked as she opened the classroom door for them to enter."Enchanted mistletoe. It’s a prank by some devious Second Years," Nadia answered as they made their way to their usual seats. "The professors have gotten rid of most of it but there are still a few around causing havoc."Ah, it explained why Nadia was using her familiar as a canary in a mine. Aubrey bit back a smile. "I heard about them."Callie questioned, "What do they do exactly?""You get caught under the mistletoe and you’re stuck until somebody gives you a kiss," the oth

Exams were a nuisance. Callie was irritable and exhausted as she finished with her last exam. Everyone was going home for winter break the next day and she needed to pack all of her belongings. She made her way to the dining hall for lunch when there was a commotion at another table.A First Year girl fell from her chair and was convulsing on the floor. Her friends surrounded her concerned as the professors rushed over. Doctor Crane was checking over her as the girl continued to writhe on the ground. The girl sat up with a big gasping breathe, making everyone step back from her.She turned and stared directly at Callie with eyes completely black. Demon eyes. "Mother!" the girl shouted in a voice several octaves deeper than her own. The girl got to her feet and ran towards her, arms stretched to reach for her. Callie could barely think about running away or fighting before Nadia folded her hands together and pushed a blast of energy at the girl. It knocked back

Callie threw the strongest sleeping spell she could conjure at her father as his mouth opened to say something. His eyes closed and he collapsed face forward to the ground with a loud thud. She had to work quickly. Cloaking the two of them in shadows, she dragged his body towards the terrace at the side and to the Greenhouse on the property, adrenaline giving the strength she needed for the task.She closed the glass doors of the Greenhouse and every locking and silencing spell she knew. She reached under her skirts for the knife she strapped to the holster around her thigh. It was dark but that didn’t deter as she cut into her forearm to draw blood. She drew a circle around him and the sigils quickly.When she finished, she got to her feet and stared down at her father. He almost looked harmless when he was asleep but she knew better. She threw another spell to wake him and conjured a small fireball for illumination. His eyebrows furrowed as he blinked to consciousn