Free Magic Resistant by Veronica Del Rosa Page B

toast.
Shouldn’t take me too long.” She kept her back to him, avoiding all
eye contact. She needed time to wrest her thoughts under control
along with her racing pulse. He left the room and she sighed in
relief.
    Absentminded, unfocused on her task, she
grabbed some eggs from the fridge and cracked them into the
bowl.
    “Damn it.” She muttered. Shell fragments
mocked her, marring the perfection of the yolk. A tiny burst of
magic lifted them out and she directed it towards the sink.
    Turning on the stove, she placed a frying pan
on the heating element. Her thoughts in turmoil, she beat the eggs,
trying to work out what had just happened. Butter tossed into the
frying pan, the sizzle reminding her she needed to dip the bread
into the beaten eggs.
    She didn’t read anything into it on his part
though. She wasn’t the sort to attract the attention of someone
like him: smart, good-looking and talented. While cute, she wasn’t
anything special. When she dressed up to the nines though, playing
up her sleek body and healthy chest, she easily turned heads.
    Now, she wasn’t even close to looking her
best. No make-up, ratty clothes and lacking a shower. A glance in
the mirror earlier made her fervently wished she hadn’t bothered.
And while she’d had boyfriends over the years, none of them had
been anything like Jackson.
    And then there was the Enforcer upbringing to
consider. After being handpicked and joining the Academy at six
years old, they raised the students as siblings. Lumping each age
group together, they went through schooling and training the same
as humans. Once puberty hit, they separated the students according
to their talents. Most couldn’t access their magical ability until
they were older, but still showed an affinity for a certain school
of magic.
    At that point, instructors of their preferred
school trained various ages as the talents developed at different
rates. The teachers encouraged the pupils to view each other as
part of a large family. Familiarity helped foster deep bonds and
protecting one’s family was instinctual. Julia thought it was an
ingenious way of making sure Enforcers always had each other’s
backs. It’s why they dealt with traitors so harshly. The betrayal
cut deep, shaking the woven tapestry of their existence and
beliefs.
    Jackson probably thought nothing of it.

Chapter Five
    JULIA BEGAN EACH day
as if at home. Thirty minutes of work out followed by an hour of
sparring. Normally her opponent was a punching bag suspended from
her ceiling. The physical activity helped clear her mind and kept
her body limber which it needed after sleeping on that dreadful
couch. Damn thing should be burned, put out of her misery. And
while it wasn’t much better than the bed in terms of comfort, at
least she fit on it.
    Unlike at home though, she wasn’t alone.
Awkward at first, she gradually got used to spending so much time
with someone she barely knew, sharing intimacies such as waking up
in the same room, splitting bathroom time and accommodating for
each other’s tastes buds.
    Mushrooms , she thought in disgust. He had to be a mushroom lover. So gross .
    She smiled, recalling their argument about
dishes.
    “How can I do my fair share if you keep doing
them? I’m not useless.” He huffed.
    “I don’t think you are. It’s force of habit.
It’s what I do.” She washed as she cooked, simple as that. Living
alone meant either she did them immediately, or dealt with crusty
and perhaps moldy dishes later.
    “Well, stop it. Keep it up and you won’t like
what happens next.” A tough growl, one meant to intimidate her;
except he was irritated because she left no cleaning for him. The
absurdity of it had her ignoring his not-so-friendly request.
    When he realized she had no intention of
stopping, he threw his hands up in the air and stalked out of the
kitchen. To her amusement, she found him defiantly tidying up their
small living space, which consisted of him pushing the chairs in
and