Page 80 of An Arcane Education
The added stimulation causes the pressure inside me to intensify almost immediately. Alaric keeps up his relentless pace with both his thrusts and his fingers, pushing me closer and closer to the edge until I fall.
My orgasm crashes over me, every muscle in my body tensing as I come hard, falling apart beneath him. The strained expression on Alaric’s face tells me that he’s not far behind, and seconds later, he groans as he finds his own release.
He rests his forehead against mine as he comes inside me, his breath shaky, before he shifts to lie beside me and pull me into his arms.
“Stay the night,” he murmurs, stroking my hair while my head rests on his chest.
I nod, because that’s all I have energy to do after the day I’ve had. “Okay.”
CHAPTER 33
Ihad told myself I wouldn’t be going back into the forest, but I find myself drawn back to it like a moth to a flame. Whatever is going on out there has been a constant weight on my mind, especially considering Alaric’s ceaseless studying of the mushrooms. Maybe it’s my morbid curiosity or the nagging sense that I’m missing an important piece of the puzzle that my life has become, but whatever it is, I can’t shake it.
After spending last night with Alaric, my resolve only strengthened. Whatever this is has been eating him up inside, and if I can help him with this research, then maybe I can speed up this process. He needs to rest, and I need to satiate my curiosity.
Taking advantage of the three-hour gap between my second and third classes of the day, I head toward the forest, grateful that my Monday has been relatively easy so far. Clarissa didn’t bother me at all during Intro to Magical Theory when she did her rounds of observing students perform simple candle spells. Maybe she left mealone because she didn’t have a reason to demean me, considering I performed mine perfectly. I had elected to do a spell that assists with the revelation of truth for obvious reasons, using a white candle for clarity, carving my intention into the candlestick with a small knife, and anointing it with clary sage. Now, I can only hope that it will actually work.
Even Dr. Lowry’s class wasn’t as painful as usual today. He lectured through the entire class and didn’t call on any students for answers, which meant he ignored my existence and I walked out of the lecture hall unscathed.
The harsh November air bites at my exposed skin as I make my way down the familiar path, my boots crunching over dead leaves as I easily navigate through the trees, many of which have become bare as the season has grown colder. I’m not even sure if the mushrooms will still be growing now, considering the weather. From my mycology class, I know that some mushrooms thrive in cold temperatures while others die off in them, and since we don’t know the species, it’s impossible to predict whether they’ll still be there. Regardless, I brought a specimen jar and gloves just in case.
That same oppressive sense of dread overwhelms me before I even reach the area where the mushrooms have been growing, but I power through. The sensation is even stronger than last time, turning my stomach and creating a tightness in my chest.
The cloying scent of rot hits me, and I gag. I almost turn back again, every instinct in my body telling me that something’s not right, but I need to see this through. Iforce myself forward, pushing through the underbrush until the circle comes into view.
But it’s not the mushrooms that catch my attention. It’s the body sprawled on the ground beside them, its head twisted back at an unnatural angle just enough for me to see his face.
I recognize the face immediately, and my heart stops. For a moment, I can’t breathe, can’t think, can’t come to terms with what I’m seeing.
I take a step closer, and the only thing that brings me any momentary relief is the realization that it’s not AJ lying there unmoving with vacant eyes. It’s his twin brother, Mitchell, who’s been missing since Saturday night. He’s still wearing his clothes from the ball. Relief and horror crash over me. Thank God it’s not AJ, but whatever happened here is still a tragedy beyond measure.
With shaky steps, I walk closer to him, circling the area. Bile rises in my throat at the sight before me.
The mushrooms are growing from his body.
Black caps push through tears in his dirty clothing, erupting from his chest, and when I get closer, I see that they’ve begun to sprout from his partly-opened mouth as well. The mycelium has spread across his entire body, encapsulating him in delicate white threads like a net ready to drag him underground.
Mitchell’s skin is gray and waxy, and the thick smell of decay makes my eyes water and my stomach lurch.
What is this place? And why is Mitchell dead all the way out here? Did someone do this on purpose, or was it a terrible accident after him drinking too much and getting lost?
I stumble backward, nearly tripping on a root before catching myself at the last second, before I tear my eyes away from the gory scene and run.
Scrambling through the underbrush as fast as I can, I crash through the forest in an attempt to get out as quickly as possible. By the time I burst from the tree line, my legs and lungs are burning.
I don’t even think about where I’m going as I run straight toward the Natural Sciences building, only diverting my path when I notice that the greenhouse door is open. Forcing myself to slow down, I rush into the greenhouse where Alaric is directing a class of what seem to be undergrads.
His brow furrows when he notices the panicked expression on my face and my heavy breathing.
“Go ahead and get started on your labs,” Alaric announces to the class. “Your materials are all laid out on the benches there. I’ll be back in a moment.”
My head swivels as I check to make sure nobody else is around before I duck into one of the empty alcoves along the walls of the building.
“There’s a body,” I gasp out. “In the forest. The same place where the mushrooms were growing. I went out there to see if I could get more samples for you or find something that might help you with the research and I found a body. It’s AJ’s brother who’s been missing since Saturday and there are mushrooms growing out of him and I don’t know what to do and?—”
Alaric interrupts me, even as color drains from his face. “Breathe, Vivian. It’s going to be okay.”
I shake my head vigorously. “No, it’s not. He’s dead.That’s never going to be okay. I need to go tell someone. The Chancellor, probably.”
