First class with sassy witches

"You sleep in the nude?" she hissed. "Have you no decency?"

"Well, do you have a habit of watching people as they sleep?" I asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"Just get up and get dressed," she snapped and averted her gaze. "You're about to start your first day of classes, and I'm not in the mood to wait around for you to get ready."

"Alright, give me a moment," I whispered and scruffed my hair to get my blood flowing. "Jesus."

Yennefer flinched again, and then her eyes went wide with disgust and panic.

"Don't ever use that name around here," she whispered as if it were some horrible secret.

"Okay," I said as I raised a hand in defense, "noted."

She stared long and hard at me again before shaking her head and crossing her arms.

"Just hurry up," she said before she whipped around and left the room.

She made sure to slam the door on her way out as if to make a point.

"Jesus," I muttered again, under my breath.

What crawled up her ass and died?

I got out of bed naked and padded barefoot over to the velvet chair.

There was a button-down, white collared shirt, a pair of black trousers, black boots, and a cloak. I put on the shirt, left three buttons open, and slipped on the pants and boots. I left the cloak behind, though, because I didn't see the point of wearing it.

Before I left, I caught my reflection in the mirror that hung by the chair. I looked brand new, compared to last night. My blue eyes were clear and bright, and my black hair was clean and shiny.

It was as if nothing had happened the night before.

I rolled up my sleeves and headed out the door, where Yennefer was tapping her foot impatiently as she waited for me.

"About time," she snapped as she gave me the once over and then hissed under her breath.

"Now what?" I asked and rolled my eyes.

"You look as disheveled as a common farmer," she snarled. "Come here."

She grabbed my collar and yanked me toward her, and I noticed she smelled sweet like honey as she buttoned up my shirt and then tried to tuck it into my pants.

"I can do that," I said as I pulled away.

"Then do it," she huffed. "Now … follow me."

I sighed and trailed after her down the spiral staircase. We headed toward the direction of the classrooms, and when I looked around me, it wasn't just the eyes of the paintings following me.

Today, there were women, or rather, witches scattered in the hallway. Some were more human-looking than others, but they all whispered and stared in my direction. The astonishment and disgust were evident on each of their faces. Even one witch, with ginger-colored skin and horns, was so shocked she dropped her books as soon as her eyes landed on me.

To say that all this attention was off-putting would have been an understatement.

Yennefer finally came to a halt and pointed to an open door.

"Here we are … Blood Magic," she sighed, "your very first class, which I will be teaching, so you better pay attention."

When I looked up, I saw words scribbled in red that hung over the frame of the door.

The feral she-wolf emerges at night, with only the moon to guide her way. Hide the lambs, the children, and the weak – because she will only leave blood and bone in her wake.

So, that's why she said those words last night.

Yennefer turned her nose up at me and then waltzed inside, and I could still feel all these eyes on me before I took a step into the classroom and mentally prepared myself for one hell of a class.

As soon as I stepped inside the classroom, all eyes were on me.

Five witches were already seated, with their books and tools out. They were all dressed in the same uniforms, which was a white button-up shirt, small black and white checkered skirts, and black knee-high socks.

The classroom itself, like much of the castle, had sleek, black walls and one small, silver candle chandelier that hung high above the class. The long white candles were lit because there was only one tiny oval window that barely allowed any sunlight through. Not that there was much light out there. I could spot one steel gray cloud outside, which indicated the weather was probably just as somber as the classroom. As I looked around, I realized the ambiance and style of the room reminded me of a church.

If the church had been decorated by a group of hardcore Satanists.

The witches were still staring at me as I stood there. I was unsure of what to do, so I cleared my throat and wondered if I should make a public introduction, but Yennefer beat me to it.

"Class, welcome to Blood Magic," she said as she strode to the front of the room. "Before we begin, I'd like to introduce you to Neon … our firstever male preschooler at D.A."

The room was massive, and the awkward silence that followed was deafening. As I stood there by Yennefer, I could feel it weighing down on me, and it was practically crushing my shoulders.

"Hey," I muttered after I couldn't take the quiet any longer, "nice to meet you all."

The women simply stared at me, and Yennefer sighed under her breath.

"Just take a seat next to Rin," she instructed.

Yennefer pointed to a long, black desk, and I sat down next to the witch who must have been Rin. She had chin-length black hair and pale skin, her eyes were as dark as coal, and her lips were painted black. She was gorgeous, in a dark and mysterious way. Her features were perfectly symmetrical, and she probably knew it. I also noticed a raven tattoo on her neck, and when she caught me staring, her dark lips curled with disgust.

"Does it have to sit next to me, professor?" she growled.

"It?" I echoed and arched an eyebrow.

What the fuck was her problem?

"Unfortunately, yes, he does," Yennefer sighed, as if she were dealing with a group of real, four-year-old preschoolers.

"Can't you make him sit next to Faye?" Rin grumbled and averted her eyes. "And Morgana can sit here instead? I wouldn't feel comfortable with him breathing down my neck during the entire class."

"Fuck you!" snapped a voice from behind me. "I'm not sitting next to him. I might catch something."

I turned around to see whose voice that belonged to, and it must have been the pretty redhead with her arms crossed across her chest. Her greenish-gold eyes were furrowed in my direction, and she was fuming.

The witch next to her was covering her mouth and trying not to laugh. She had long, dark hair that fell into loose curls over her shoulders. Then her blue eyes caught mine, and she instantly stopped laughing and scowled in my direction.

"Oh, so it's fine if I catch something?" Rin snapped as she glared over her shoulder at Faye. "Is that what you're saying?"

"Enough," Yennefer barked, and the room went deadly quiet again as all the girls bowed their heads. "Now, let's get to work … everyone pull out your books."

Everyone grabbed a mud-brown leather textbook that looked as if it were at least a thousand pages long. Rin's clunked loudly as she set it down on her side of the table, but I didn't have one, and I doubted Rin was willing to share.

"Uh … Professor?" I said before I raised my hand. "I'll need a copy."

"Oh, right," Yennefer sighed.

"Why bother giving him one?" Faye's voice muttered from behind me. "It's not like he'll learn anything, anyway, with that thick-headed male mortal skull of his."

I rolled my eyes as the rest of the witches snickered at her remark. Meanwhile, Yennefer marched over behind her large, black desk and violently yanked open a drawer. Then she pulled out a rough, beaten-looking textbook with a ripped leather cover and a loose spine, and it was also stained dark red in some spots.

"Here," she said before she tossed the moldy tome on top of my desk. "Sorry about the blood … it belonged to the last student who failed the finals."

"Wait, what?" I gasped, and shock flooded through my veins like ice.

"What happens if we fail the finals?

"If you fail the final exam," Yennefer echoed with a flat expression, "you will die. Apologies, but that is pure common knowledge to the rest of us here, and I'm not in the mood to waste class time explaining it to you and only you. Perhaps I'll explain the finals to you toward the end of class, but do not be rude and ask questions until I say so."

I heard a small snicker next to me, and when I turned to look at Rin, it seemed like she was doing her best not to laugh, but she was failing miserably as her shoulders shook.

"Fine by me," I muttered as I opened the book.

On the first page, there was an ink drawing of some kind of goat with a pentagram surrounding it. Writing of some sort surrounded the image, and when I touched it, a strange shiver coursed through my entire body.

This place was so fucking weird. How the hell did I end up here?

"Now, everyone turn to page six hundred and sixty-six," Yennefer ordered. "We'll start at the beginning. Now, who can tell me about the origins of Blood Magic … yes, Blair?"

I followed Yennefer's gaze and turned to see a strangely beautiful woman with light lavender skin, long sea-green hair, and molten silver eyes. She was sitting directly behind me, with her hand raised, and her ears were pointed and pierced heavily.

I tried to stop staring at her, but it was a challenge.

"Blood Magic has been used since the dawn of Wicca time," Blair said with her chin raised, and her slightly husky voice made goosebumps rise across my skin. "It derives from our sisters who were persecuted by the elder gods. They needed to use magic powerful enough to perform sacrifices for power. Not only did they conduct sacrifices, but they also learned how to use the blood of various creatures to concoct potions."

"Correct," Yennefer said with the first genuine looking smile I'd seen since I met her. "Now, what other skills can be acquired when one learns the mechanism of Blood Magic?"

"Possession," Rin said without raising her hand. "We can use our own blood to possess, charm, and manipulate others."

"Well done, Rin." Yennefer nodded. "Now, we just have one more ability no one has mentioned."

"Crafting weapons," growled a deep voice from behind me.

I slowly turned and did my best to discreetly look at the demonic-looking witch who sat next to the stunning lavender skinned beauty. I hadn't noticed her before because her head had been bent down, and her long, dark red hair had been hiding her face, but to my horror, I realized she barely had any face at all. Her skin was heavily scarred with hideous gashes across her nose and lips … but perhaps the most terrifying thing about her was the fact that she had no eyes. There was just scarred skin in place of where her eyes should have been, and it briefly made me wonder how she would learn anything at all if she couldn't even see.

I quickly turned around so I wasn't staring at her.

"Excellent, Sweeny," Yennefer said with a proud smile. "Now, let us start by reading and practicing the pronunciation of the first incantation. Who would like to go first? Perhaps our newest addition. Neon, would you start us off, please?"

I knew this wasn't a request. It was a demand.

"Sure," I said, not backing away from the challenge.