Just Like Fire | J. Saltzman - Legacies [2]

S E V E N

"Pop Quiz, you have until the end of the class to complete."

Holding up her head with her hand, Stella purses her lips as she looks down at the sheet of paper. Math was never one of her best subjects, and yet, here she is, taking a quiz because she is still in a school. And not in magic school, where she could literally burn the paper and call it an accident.

As her pencil scratches against the paper, she gratefully notices that the quiz only has three questions. The constant itch on her shoulder makes her wince, dropping the pencil to scratch.

When she glances up, she sees two boys glancing into the room. Stella's eyes widen as she meets Rafael's gaze.

"Sh—"

The bell rings.

Stella jumps up from her seat, slamming her paper down on the teacher's desk. "Stella!" The teacher shouts as she runs from the room.

Students have already flooded the halls, surrounding Landon and Rafael. Stella pushes through the crowds before she finally makes it to the pair. "What the hell are you doing here?" Stella snaps as Landon's eyes jump around the halls with concern flooding his face. Stella glances around. "Where'd Raf go?"

Landon takes off down the hall without an answer. With an annoyed roll of the eyes, Stella rushes after him, calling out Hope's name.

Soon enough, Landon comes to a stop before Rafael, the wolf's back towards him. Stella pauses a good few feet away, her eyes narrowed at Rafael's stiff back.

"Go fail chemistry," Landon says to a random football player.

The boy sends Stella a wink; she flips him off in response. "Try that on someone who likes sucking—"

"Stella!" Landon cuts her off with his eyes wide.

She shrugs. "What? I like something else."

Landon shakes his head before turning back to Rafael. "Hey, I shouldn't have asked you to come with me. We can go." Rafael turns around with a snarl rising in his throat. "Raf?" Landon takes a step back. "Raf!"

Stella runs at Rafael, kicking him in the chest; the moment her foot makes contact with Rafael, her eyes flash silver. He flies back, his eyes glowing red as he growls.

"Scalare." Hope jumps in front of Stella, pulling her hands together. A metal gate shuts in Rafael's face, sprawling the boy on the ground. Stella lets out a sigh of relief as Hope glances back at Landon.

"How are you always in the right place at the right time?" Landon asks.

"That's funny." Hope sighs as she looks down at Rafael. "I was just thinking the exact opposite thing."

As Rafael sits up, his eyes glow red once more as he narrows his eyes at Stella. "Am I crazy, or are his eyes red?" Stella asks. "They are not supposed to be red—he's not an Alpha."

Rafael growls.

Hope takes a step in front of Stella and clenches her fist. "Ad somnum." The old falls unconscious on the floor as Hope turns to Landon. "Get Dr. Saltzman and meet us at his jeep. We'll get Raf there."

"But—"

"Go," Hope orders. Landon rushes off with a few glances over his shoulder.

Stella shakes her head as Hope opens the metal gate. "This is not normal, Hope. He has some dark magic, I can feel it."

"I know," Hope sighs. "So can I, but I can't place it."

Stella grabs Rafael's shoulders as Hope whispers an invisibility spell. As Hope keeps them invisible, Stella drags the poor boy across the school before she hauls him into Saltzman's jeep. At that point, Alaric and Landon had caught up.