Foretold (St. Bastian Institute 1)

“Is this okay?” he asked quietly, and I nodded. I wasn’t about to make this moment any more awkward for him by saying no. His eyes went to my lips, and he inhaled sharply. At my back, I sensed Peter’s jealousy thicken, which was a revelation in itself. To be jealous, he had to have a thing for me.

Ergo, Peter Girard was attracted to me.

My stomach did a flip.

Nic finally brought his lips to mine, and weirdly, it wasn’t terrible. I’d never thought about kissing Nic, but this was a good kiss. No, a great kiss. The boy was a natural. I closed my eyes and felt his hand come up to clasp my cheek. He deepened the kiss, his lips parting mine. I lost myself for a moment, falling into a deep abyss of sensation. Grace’s shy next-door neighbour was a dark horse. A shudder went through me when his tongue briefly touched mine. Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined that kissing him would be this good. Too soon, it was over.

His lips left mine, and I sucked in a small gasp.

That good, huh? Peter’s voice rumbled unhappily in my head.

You sound jealous.

He didn’t have any response to that, and he obviously had no clue that I caught a glimpse of his true feelings just now. I straightened my shoulders, my lips still tingling. I cast a glance at Nic. He was looking in the other direction, his fringe falling over his face.

Maybe I just hadn’t been kissed in a really long time, and that’s why I was so affected.

“It’s your turn, Darya,” Sophia said encouragingly, and I snapped back to the present.

I scrambled to arrange my thoughts.

“Wow, that kiss was either amazing or terrible because you looked shellshocked,” Anna cackled.

I narrowed my gaze at her, refusing to respond to her comment. “Truth or dare?”

“You’re choosing me?” she said, sharing an amused glance with Belinda. “I’m honoured.” There was a pause before she went on. “I pick truth.”

She was trying to look brave, given the truth detector spoons still hovering over the coffee table. I knew just the question to knock the smug look off her face.

I folded my arms and shot her a smile. “Tell me, Anna, do you sometimes wonder why everyone treats Belinda like the queen bee when in your personal opinion it’s you who’s the superior witch?”

I watched her throat bob as she cast a nervous glance at her friend.

“That’s a ridiculous question.”

“You haven’t answered.”

At this, Belinda glanced at Anna, her eyes narrowed in suspicion. She suddenly seemed interested in the answer, too.

“We’re waiting,” I said, clasping my hands together.

“No, of course, I don’t think that,” Anna sputtered, and almost simultaneously, her spoon fell to the table with a clattering ping.

“I can’t believe you,” Belinda muttered, her expression furious.

“I wasn’t lying. I swear.”

“Oh, just shut up. You’re embarrassing yourself.”

Anna fell silent right as Nic spoke. “Is it my turn?”

“Knock yourself out,” Belinda replied, no longer so thrilled to be playing this game. Oh, how the tables had turned.

“Sophia,” Nic said, “Truth or dare?”

“Hmm,” Sophia said, rubbing her chin. “I think I’ll go with a dare.”

Nic thought about it a moment, then said, “I dare you to go over and steal the bottle of whiskey from the locked cabinet in the kitchen.”

I glanced at him, eyebrows narrowed. “How do you know there’s a bottle of whiskey in there?”

“I spotted Mrs Kanumba slipping some of it into her tea,” Nic replied with a sheepish grin. “I might’ve also overheard her muttering about needing something strong to get through this night.”

“I take it that was a jab at being stuck here with a bunch of teenagers,” Sophia said wryly. “Okay, dare accepted. I can use an unlocking spell to get into the cupboard.”

“Better hurry up. She and Miss Cristescu should be back soon,” Anna encouraged. After the evil look that Belinda had just sent her way, I expected she might need a swig of something strong to get through this night, too.

Sophia crept across the room, first checking to ensure our teachers weren’t on their way back yet. Once she confirmed the coast was clear, she hurried back inside and over to the locked cabinet. I watched as she whispered an incantation and the cabinet clicked open. She tucked the whiskey bottle inside her blazer, closed the cabinet, and made a quick dash back to us.

“That was exciting. Who wants some?”

“I’ll take that,” Anna replied, uncapping the bottle and knocking back a large mouthful. She offered it to Belinda, who only shook her head and folded her arms in refusal. Evidently, Belinda had decided they were in a fight.

“It’s your turn, Peter,” Sophia said. He’d been sitting next to me quietly, and I itched to know what he was thinking.

I cast a side-glance his way while he ran a hand through his hair. He looked like he was done with this game. “I forfeit my turn,” he said, standing up and leaving the room.