The following two weeks were a magical whirlwind. I took classes I’d only dreamed of, diving into everything from Dragonology to Divination with unbridled enthusiasm. I devoured every book I could find about magic, reading late into the night beneath the soft, flickering light of the willowwisp. 

In a little ironic twist, despite lying about being a skilled Psychomancer, my best class actually was Mental Arts.

Professor Leovi would lounge behind his desk with his sunglasses perpetually perched on his nose, as if we didn’t all know he was using them to hide that he’d fallen asleep. Thankfully, due to the fact that he never paid attention in his own class, everytime we had an assessment I’d just regurgitate information from the Owen Thorn books and pretend I’d glimpsed it from seeing the future or past. Professor Leovi, usually half-asleep, would then reward me with stellar marks, his grading as lazy as his teaching.

Unfortunately, however, classes that required real magic were a different beast entirely. Faking magical prowess at an academy literally dedicated to the arcane arts meant I had to be ten times sharper than anyone else, constantly devising ingenious ways to cover my lack of magic. 

With Lucian’s discarded potion ingredients, I created explosions, fake fogs, and dazzling flares of light. Stolen magnets allowed me to make objects move with subtle but convincing twitches. And my brief and horribly embarrassing stint as a birthday party magician (it was truly a low point in my life) turned out to be a hidden gem. The sleight of hand and minor illusions I’d once used to entertain children now helped me maintain the facade of a competent magical student, earning me a respectable C+ in my classes.

But spending hours upon hours each night sneaking around and planning magic tricks was wearing me thin. I needed an alternative—and fast.

I’d remembered a crucial detail from the seventh Owen Thorn book: a wand capable of creating the illusion of magic. Wesley Wilds had used it to dupe Lucian into thinking he’d cast a forbidden Telekinetic spell on Owen, only to find Owen perfectly unharmed in class the next day. The book had mentioned that Wesley found the wand in the School of Magical Arts, but it never specified the exact location.

We were still only a few chapters into book seven, which meant Wesley hadn’t found the Wand of Illusions yet. If I could get my hands on it, I’d be able to perfectly mimic having powers without ever casting a single spell.

The only problem was that the book only mentioned that Wesley found the wand in the School of Magical Arts. It never mentioned where. 

I wore a black hoodie scrunched so tightly around my face that only my eyes peeked through as I tip-toed up the steps of the School of Magical Arts.

Suddenly Kita, the kitsu statue guarding the door, stirred to life. Her tails unfurled, swinging down with a whoosh to block my path as her glowing green eyes locked on me

“It’s paaaaaast curfew,” she cooed, her voice a silky, teasing melody that sent shivers down my spine. “Someone is being naughty, naughty, naughty.”

“Why, this isn’t the bathroom!” I exclaimed, throwing out my arms. “Whoops, must have gotten turned around in the dark.” I spun on my heels, attempting to march back down the steps. “Sorry for the inconvenience ma’am, I’ll just go—” 

One of Kita’s tails snagged around my stomach, yanking me back. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell on Naughty-Naughty-Niko. You’re my favorite.”

I blinked. “Seriously?”

“It shouldn’t be all that surpiiiiising.” Kita’s tail booped me on the nose. “This job had become mind-numbingly dull, day after day of watching boring students flow in and out, in and out. Until you, that is! You seeeee, I love lies and tricks. And all you do when you come through my doors is lie and trick, lie and trick, and lie and trick. A little human convincing everyone he’s something he’s not. Why, you’re the most fun I’ve had in ages.”

“Uh, thank you,” I said, adjusting my glasses. “I think…?”

Kita’s head swung down, bringing her face level with my own, her glowing green eyes boring into me. “And since you’re my favorite, and I knoooow you’re up to another one of your amusing little tricks, I’ve decided to break Banecliff’s stupid rules about blocking students past curfew and let you in.”

I perked up. “Could you help me get to the Wand of Illusion?”

Kita giggled, a sound that echoed like soft chimes. Then she shoved her head closer until we were nose to nose, her voice dropping low, “Of course not, silly. Where would the fun in that be?”

Before I could react, green fog began to swirl around me, wrapping me up in the shimmering mist. The world faded into an emerald haze, and the last thing I saw was Kita’s sly smile as her laughter echoed in my ears.

I blinked, the mist clearing away to reveal one of the narrow, dark hallways of the School of Magical Arts. My heart thundered in my ears as I tip-toed down the corridor, trying to keep my movements as silent as possible. A faint, ethereal glow illuminated the corridor ahead and my breath caught. 

Ducking behind a corner, I pressed my back against the wall, the rough stone scraping against my hoodie as I waited for the Willowisps to pass. They floated lazily down the halls, their pale, ghostly light illuminating the ground beneath them. The Willowisps drifted with an almost hypnotic grace, yet their presence sent the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end. They were the equivalent of security cameras, there to monitor the school at night. If even one of them caught me, Headmaster Banecliff or another staff member would find out in an instant. 

Knowing I had to be careful, I continued through the halls, ducking into classrooms or behind walls whenever a Willowisp passed. The corridors twisted and turned, a labyrinthine maze that followed absolutely no pattern. Stairwells spiraled upward only to end in dead ends, doors opened into vast chasms where the floor should have been. The walls seemed to close in around me, the passages growing narrower with each turn, the dead ends more frequent.

And no where I looked could I find any sign of the Wand of Illusions. 

As I rounded another corner, I was confronted by a massive mirror, stretching from floor to ceiling. My reflection stared back at me, the exhaustion from sneaking around the school all night memorialized in the bag under my eyes.

I let out a frustrated groan, my head falling back. “Ugh, not another dead end.”

“Ooooooor is it?” Kita’s voice rumbled through the stone around me. “Try stepping through.”

My eyes narrowed. “I thought you weren’t going to help me?”

Kita’s laughter echoed through the darkness, growing fainter and fainter as it faded into silence. 

I glimpsed a faint flicker of light reflecting off the hallway wall—the Willowisps were approaching. Adrenaline flooded my veins. With nowhere else to run, I prayed Kita was right. Taking a deep breath, I braced myself and charged forward, leaping at the mirror. 

I passed through it as easily as moving through air, the sensation like slipping through a veil of mist.

My feet stumbled as they met the stone floor on the other side. The room I found myself in was vast and shadowed. It looked like some sort of library, the air thick with the scent of ancient parchment and dust. Hundreds of ancient tomes were stacked high, their spines cracked and faded, yet bound tightly with thick, rusted chains draped over them like shackles.

I wracked my brain, trying to figure out if the Owen Thorn books ever mentioned a secret forbidden library. But no matter how much trivia I mentally went through, I couldn’t think of a single time it’d come up. Which was… weird. 

As I drew closer, I could make out glimpses of strange symbols etched into the covers of the books. They seemed to twist and writhe, their forms shifting in ways that scrambled my brain and made my eyes ache if I stared too long. It was as if the symbols themselves were alive, enchanted to defy comprehension. Just what was hidden in this room that was so secret it hadn’t even been mentioned in the books?

I took a hesitant step forward and an ancient floorboard creaked beneath my foot.

A low, rumble that sounded worryingly close to a growl reverberated through the dark, sending vibrations up my legs. I froze.

That’s when a pair of glowing golden eyes snapped open in front of me.

The air froze in my lungs as Wisteria, Professor Leovi’s dragon familiar, emerged from the darkness, her purple-black scales almost blending into the shadows. She was smaller than most dragons, only ten years in age, leaving her at about the size of a large horse. But small or not—it was still a fucking dragon. 

A wave of heat warmed my face as she snorted, plumes of smoke curling up from her nostrils. 

Maybe this wasn’t as scary as I thought. Like when a unicorn bows its head to a virginal maiden or something. Well, not that I was a virginal maiden… I mean yeah, the virginal part was true, but not the… you know what I mean! Maybe I had a natural way with magical animals and this would be a beautiful bonding experience. 

Willing myself not to faint on the spot, I forced a shaky smile and reached toward her. “Uuuuuh… nice dragon—”

She lunged at me. 

Okay, yeah, so I guess I didn’t have a natural way with magical animals then. 

Heart thundering, I flung myself forward, leaping back through the mirror. The world warped around me as I burst through the other side. When my feet hit the ground, I heard the terrifying swoosh of wings as Wisteria swept in after me.

I took off racing down the twisting maze of corridors, frantic and breathless, the walls blurring as I pushed myself to go faster. Wisteria followed close behind, her wings knocking against the walls as she swooped down them. 

“Kita!” I shouted, my voice echoing off the stone. “You only sent me in there because there was a dragon, didn’t you?”

The stone guardian’s laughter rumbled through the very foundation of the building. “See, I can play tricks, too.”

I threw a quick glance over my shoulder, my heart nearly stopping when I saw Wisteria closing in fast. The scales along her throat began to glow an ominous orange, heat radiating from her in waves. Her mouth opened wide, revealing rows of sharp teeth, and with a roar, she unleashed a torrent of fire that surged toward me.

“Oh shit!” I gasped, adrenaline spiking as I threw myself behind the nearest corner.

The searing heat of the flames licked at my heels, the air around me crackling. I looked down and saw the hem of my clothes was smoking.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” I gasped, frantically patting myself down, smothering the flames.

I was pretty sure the back of my hoodie was ruined, but I hadn’t been deep fried, so I guess that was a win. 

I continued to run, the wild beat of my pulse drowning out everything else. My sneakers screeched against the stone floor as I skidded around a bend, my heart hammering so hard it felt like it might burst from my chest. But there was no time to stop and catch my breath. I could hear Wisteria barreling after me, her claws scraping against the stone.

I made a mental note to never piss off a dragon again.

The hallway seemed to stretch on forever as I ran, my legs burning with the effort to keep moving. A small open door caught my eye up ahead. It was barely up to my knee, its edges just wide enough that I might be able to squeeze through. There was no time to wonder what it was or why it was there—right now, it was my only chance of not becoming the dragon equivalent of a McNugget. 

The pounding of wings behind me grew louder, the air stirring as Wisteria swooped in. My lungs screamed for air, every breath a burning effort as I pushed myself harder, limbs flailing in a desperate sprint toward the tiny door.

I hurled myself at it, colliding with the frame as I tried to wriggle through. My hips jammed against the sides, leaving me—stuck. 

Fuck. 

Cursing the extra honey bun I’d had at lunch, I thrashed to get free, kicking desperately. That’s when the temperature in the hallway abruptly warmed. My stomach lurched as I glanced back over my shoulder.

Wisteria’s throat glowed a fierce orange, and I knew what was about to happen. 

Panic surged through me. I kicked even harder, the stone digging into my sides as I tried to force my way deeper into the narrow space. Behind me, Wisteria’s mouth opened wide. Gritting my teeth, I gave one last, powerful kick.

My body lurched forward and I tumbled through the door just as the searing heat of the flames licked at the entrance.