Chapter 11: Potion Perfection

“Hollis, you slept through the alarm again,” Kenley singsonged.

I quickly jumped out of my warm bed, changed clothes, and looked in the mirror. My eyes were red. I hadn’t even finished doing my homework. I was a wreck.

It’d been a few weeks since I got the news, but my friends didn’t bother me with a million questions. They didn’t take pity on me either. I was thankful for it. I also had to remind myself why I came to Oswalda in the first place, and how badly I wanted to find my purpose.

The administrator was right. No matter what was happening in my personal life, I had to focus on my studies.

So, I did just that. The day started with a healing class. It was uneventful, aside from the fact that Tanner and Hunter stared at my puffy face all morning.

When I stepped into the potions classroom, I felt my mood lift.

“Today, we’re going to have some fun,” Master Rhoslyn announced.

She parted the curtains that concealed the tall shelves. They were filled with bottles and jars of all sizes. Then, she made her way around the classroom, placing five corked bottles on every desk as she went.

“Watch this,” Master Rhoslyn said and started mixing different ingredients with great precision. When she was done, she poured the liquid into a clear vial.

Within seconds, the vial shattered. We barely had time to hide under our desks before smoke covered every inch of the classroom.

“This is the perfect potion to use in battle, especially when the enemy is approaching and you have nowhere to hide. It’s a great distraction,” she said. “Your turn. Don’t forget the steps—one mistake, and the potion will rip your arms and legs right off.”

Even though she made it look easy, the potion was actually very hard to mix. Tanner was struggling, but I was slowly getting the hang of it.

Before coming to Oswalda, I hadn’t thought of potions as an important part of the magic curriculum. Since a non-magical being could mix a potion too, it didn’t seem like something that would help us win the battle against Arachnid.

Master Rhoslyn didn’t think so. She explained how our magic connected us to the world around us. How we drew power from everything, like the sky, the air, and the herbs. Our bodies couldn’t hold on to all that power, and we could release the buildup into our potions, making them stronger and more potent. One day, some of us would even be able to see it flow out of our fingertips.

“Are you okay?” Tanner asked, after keeping quiet for a good half hour.

“You’re being nosy.”

“~We~ just want to know what upset you last night.”

Even though Hunter sat tables away, I saw him perk up.

~Yes, definitely nosy~, I thought. ~But who wouldn’t be?~

“Be careful,” I warned, and snatched a vial out of his hand. “You were about to add the wrong ingredient and cause a fire. I don’t know about you, but I would like to keep my eyebrows, thank you very much,”

The prince took a step back and let me do the pouring. “You really like this stuff, don’t you?”

“I guess so.”

“Master Rhoslyn, I think we’re finished,” I called out after a few more minutes of mixing and pouring. I should’ve said ~I’m finished~ since the prince did nothing.

She took the vial from me, wiggled it between her fingers, and dropped it to the floor.

Tanner grabbed my right forearm and pulled me away, just before the glass smashed, and black smoke filled the room. People started coughing all around us, and then suddenly, the smoke vanished.

“Well done, Hollis! A student has never mixed it right on the first try before,” Rhoslyn said and clapped. The rest of the class joined her. The only one who didn’t clap was Allyah.

“Since you are the first to get it right, you can either go study, or you can help your fellow classmates. If you do decide to stick around, you’re only allowed to verbally guide them. Clear?”

“Clear,” I said.

Kenley waved me over to her desk. Her partner was a shy girl with red hair. She introduced herself as Raylyn and didn’t say much after that.

Tanner popped up behind me. “What are you doing wrong?” he asked Kenley, examining the ugly orange sludge inside her vial.

“If we knew that, then we wouldn’t need any help, would we?” Kenley asked. Then, she frowned at me. “Hollis, potions are ~so~ not my thing.”

I could tell she was disappointed. Kenley was great at combat, but she’d been struggling with the other classes since we started. Still, she did the best she could.

“Maybe you should pour it out and start over. I’ll help you.”

Celestria was skilled enough to mix her potion on her own. Soon, she came over to Kenley and Raylyn’s table. It was a team effort, but after a good twenty minutes, the master shattered Kenley’s vial, and smoke filled the classroom once again.

When all the students filed out of the room, Master Rhoslyn asked me to hang back.

“I’m very impressed by you, Hollis,” she said. “That’s why I want to give you this.”

She handed me a small book with a four-headed snake on the cover.

“It’s a very special book of potions. You’re more advanced than the rest of the students. I want you to challenge yourself. But don’t show this book to anyone, okay?” she asked. “I don’t want the other students to get jealous because they think I’m giving you preferential treatment.”

“I understand. And thank you. This means a lot to me.”

I couldn’t tell if she’d been informed about my family drama. Either way, she didn’t bring it up.

“I’d like to give you extra lessons, if you’d like.”

“I’d love that!”

“Good. I don’t want anyone to interrupt us, so meet me in my classroom at midnight.”

“Hollis, are you coming?” Celestria shouted.

“Yes, I’m right behind you.”

I thanked Master Rhoslyn again and we ran to our shifting class.

Master Bavol, the lioness, was already standing in the center of the class, waiting for us.

“There will not be any shifting today,” she announced. “You may think shifting into an animal is easy. Well, it’s not. And if it’s not done properly, you can break a bone, dislocate something, or die.”

“This year we will study every magical creature in the world. There will be a few non-magical creatures in my lessons, but not many. We need to know everything there is to know about these creatures, before we can even attempt to shift into them,” she said. “Today we are going to begin with winged animals. Can anyone give an example?”

“Hippogriff,” Celestria said.

Kenley’s hand shot up. “Griffin.”

“Very good! Not only are these animals used to send messages back and forth, but they can also be used to fight in battles.”

Kenley clung to every word the master spoke. As for me, as soon as the master mentioned broken bones and dislocations, I mentally checked out.

“What about dragons? Can we shift into a dragon?” Tanner asked.

Master Bavol smiled. “Yes, but before you get your hopes up, just know that it takes several years of practice to shift into something that big and powerful. The larger the creature, the more power you need. Think of the animal as a glass bottle. To shift properly, you must fill the bottle all the way to the top with your magic energy; otherwise, the animal will come out wrong. She tapped her wand against the side of a large desk, and a large-winged bird appeared.

“Let’s start with the phoenix. This one is only a baby, and it only stands three feet in height, but they can grow to twenty feet. Their wings are filled with fire, and when the time comes, the creature can ignite itself, turning its body into ashes only for it to be born again and rise from the ashes to start anew. They are extremely beautiful creatures.”

“Can we transform into pixies?” Celestria asked, eyeing the phoenix with excitement.

~Pixies?~ I thought those only existed in fairytales.

“No, pixies are complex, but delicate creatures. They have magic, just like us, and our relationship to them is unique.”

After class, we picked up our lunch trays and headed to a little park outside.

“He keeps asking about you,” Celestria said. “They both keep asking about you.”

“Who?”

Kenley giggled. “The prince and Hunter, of course.”

“Why don’t you like them? You look distant and sad, which I know you are, and you have every right to be, but they’re nice. You can’t be mad at them for worrying about you,” Kenley said.

“They’re always surrounded by girls who give them plenty of attention. I don’t understand why they care about me and my problems.”

“Like I said, the prince is kind,” Celestria said. “As for Hunter, he definitely likes you.”

“And something tells me that you like him too,” Kenley said. She snatched an apple from my tray and took a big bite. “Sure, technically he’s not available, but it doesn’t mean that you can’t have some fun.”

“Maybe Hollis doesn’t want just ~fun~. My parents met at Oswalda, and they’re still together. Maybe she wants something serious too,” Celestria said.

“I need to focus on school,” I repeated the administrator’s words. “Besides, I don’t even know Hunter.”

Kenley shrugged. “But you don’t have to know him or have feelings for him. Besides, if you’ve never had a fling before, you would be learning something. Just think of it as a new class you’re taking.”

The girls giggled again.

When I lived in Madison, I was isolated and busy working, so romance never crossed my mind. Taking a stab at flirting with Hunter could keep my mind off my parents. Or it’d be a major waste of time—after all, I had family secrets to discover.

And yet, there was something about Hunter that made me want to forget all logic and follow my heart.