Hexes

Chapter Seventeen: Tested | Part 6

Rhea stooped to pick up the bag Thirtyx had dropped, and when she handed it back to him, she inadvertently smacked him in the shoulder with it. “Twins, I’m sorry,” she muttered. “I must have been distracted by these idiots who might need some reminding about what we’re capable of. A couple of well-placed hexes should do the trick.”

“Speaking of hexes…” Benn grabbed Thirtyx’s shoulder to stabilize him as Thirtyx’s foot caught a wrinkle in the carpet. “I think we need to check Thirtyx before he takes his Comp. All this clumsiness can’t be a coincidence.”

“That would explain a lot,” Thirtyx said through gritted teeth.

Seerla now looked more alert than she had all morning. “I still can’t believe how far these hellspawn are willing to go. Trying to tank Thirtyx’s career based on unsubstantiated suspicions!”

“I think it’s more to send a message,” Benn said darkly. “Everyone knows the testing rooms are inert. The hexes should fall off of him when he walks in.”

“But we’re not leaving that to chance.” Rhea pulled Thirtyx to a stop outside the testing room. “Go ahead, Seerla. We’ll catch up. Thirtyx, put your arms out.”

As Thirtyx stood like a tailor’s mannequin, Rhea and Benn each formed a purple field of magic between their hands and used it to scan Thirtyx’s body. Periodically, one of them would pull a gossamer haze off of his skin or clothing. He tried not to flinch as it tickled.

Professor C, stationed at the door to check students for contraband, gave the twins an exasperated sigh. “Aside from this room being inert, are you two really dumb enough to try and enhance his abilities with a professor watching?”

Benn’s mouth fell open, while Rhea’s twisted into a scowl. “We’re not adding buffs to him! We’re pulling hexes off of him!” she spluttered. “I didn’t even know one person could tolerate this many at once!”

“Pity,” Professor C said dryly. “Door locks in four fractions.”

Rhea and Benn sped up their hex stripping as Professor C tapped her foot. At long last, the twins patted him on the shoulder and wished him good luck.

Professor C waved a handheld detector over him before he crossed the threshold. “Why are you even here, Venmagalion?” she said quietly. “You know you can’t pass this test. Even if you could, you’d never become a real lawyer anyway.”

What was he doing? Thirtyx knew it was Selkie charm, but it preyed so precisely on his insecurities that knowing didn’t matter. It was remarkable that he’d even made it to the test. What business did he have going any further? 

“You’ve already humiliated yourself enough with those attacks on Grimmary,” she continued. “Today, you’ll just humiliate yourself more—”

“Ah, Professor C,” Benn interrupted. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but don’t you have a 100% pass rate for your time leading preparation for the Law Comp? Gosh, it’s got to be five years now, hasn’t it?” He cocked his head and narrowed his eyes. “Wouldn’t it be such a shame to lose that perfect record?”

Professor C looked suddenly like she’d eaten something bitter. Thirtyx took that as a dismissal and entered the room.

The seat beside Seerla was open. Thirtyx had never been more grateful as he sank into it, grappling with Professor C’s Selkie-charmed words. The problem was, they weren’t wrong. He likely was setting himself up for humiliation. What had he put himself and his friends through trying to do the impossible?

As he examined the school-issued pencil as if ensuring that it wasn’t also hexed somehow, he felt Seerla’s gaze. He looked up. A tingly feeling rose in his core and spread toward his extremities—one that had nothing to do with attraction and everything to do with their shared months of studying. Of hardship. Of conquering their obstacles together.

It was like a channel of pure encouragement had opened between them, coursing from her eyes into his veins.

The chime of 9th bar brought Thirtyx back to the present, and he reluctantly turned to face the front. Professor C closed the door and approached the desk at the front of the room, where a stack of testing booklets sat wrapped in twine.

Although Thirtyx’s heart hammered, and he twitched with visceral trepidation as Professor C cut the twine, he felt considerably more confident than he had a few fractions ago.

“Alright, students,” Professor C announced. “It’s time to get started.”