Free Arkadia (Halfway House Series Book 1) by Dzintra Sullivan Page B

life because she couldn’t cast a spell correctly. The other part was the fear of her secret getting out. If the humans, her friends, found out she was a witch, the ripples that would cause throughout not just her town, but her country, would be devastating. The most frightening thought was if the PSC, the Paranormal Safety Council, got word of this, and viewed her as a threat to the safe living of both humans and paras, she would be instantly removed. Whether removal by the PSC would be to the island or six feet under, nobody knew, but they didn’t take this kind of thing lightly. Arkadia hoped it wouldn’t come to that, and Diane would just settle down, get on with her business, and leave Arkadia alone, but there was that niggling little voice that didn’t know if hope alone was going to be enough.
    Arkadia heard the ding of a text message received on her phone as she walked to class with Chey close by her side. Vi and Cat had a class in another building, so it was Chey’s turn to play security officer. Arkadia reached for her phone as Chey asked softly, “Want me to check it for you? In case it’s Diane ‘I’ve lost my marbles’ Coulter, you don’t need a double dose in one day.” Arkadia smiled and handed her phone over to Chey. There weren’t many she would trust so completely, but Chey was one of the few. A true-to-the-end friend and she loved her like a sister, a sister of the craft. “Oh,” said Chey with a chuckle, “you might want to get this one yourself,” and handed the phone back to Arkadia. She read the text.
     
    u, me, coffee, aftr schl? Boh
     
    Arkadia just stared at the phone. “Hon, you might want to shut your mouth, or Sebastian won’t be the only one catching flies.” Chey nudged her and chuckled. Arkadia sheepishly shut her mouth, unable to stop smiling. How did he know my number? Of course, I want a coffee with you, Boh, coffee, dinner, babies, whatever. Arkadia laughed glad she had kept that last thought to herself.
    “Well, are you going to text loverboy back or leave him hanging?” Chey interrupted her thoughts.
    “I want to, Chey, but I don’t know. Have you seen his Mark? I don’t even know what or who he is,” Arkadia whispered.
    “Yeah, I saw his mark, whatever he is its powerful. I can feel it rippling off him like waves at the beach, and that’s just him at Rest, Lord knows what power he gets when he is all worked up,” Chey said in a quiet voice. This was not a conversation anyone should overhear.
    “Exactly,” Arkadia replied. “Should I go or not?”
    “Oh sweet Mother Earth, YES you should go! He is hot, he is interested, he is a para, and did I mention he is HOT?” Chey bumped my arm playfully and laughed. Her laugh was so earthy it sounded like a wind through the treetops on a cool spring morning, light and fresh.
    Arkadia laughed at her friend, and texted Boh back.
     
    whre’d you get my #? stalkr mch? And yup, where?
     
    She pressed send, both her and Chey still giggling as they walked into the classroom to wait for the teacher. Arkadia was relaxed with her mind being taken off the incident earlier DING. She jumped as the text went off, and Chey started laughing again as she looked quickly before the teacher came in.
     
    Cat, only stalking you, Timmy’s, C U L8ER
     
    Arkadia let Chey look, both of them bursting into another fit of the giggles, dropped the phone into her bag, and she tried to focus as class was beginning.
    The rest of the day was a blur of classes. Arkadia vaguely remembered eating lunch, well, at least being in the cafeteria. She was unsure how much food was consumed, but she was there. Arkadia’s mind was like a revolving door, one minute it was all about Diane and her impending departure to the island of shadows, and then the next second it was all about Bohdan’s sexy brown eyes and how much she would like to have those strong muscular arms wrapped around her protecting her from the world. Impending doom vs. Mr. Sexy