Angel's Feather (A Castor's Grove Young Adult Paranormal Romance): Castor's Grove

By A.J. Renwick

AN ANGEL FORCED TO ATTEND AN ORDINARY HIGH SCHOOL.

When her brother is arrested, Evangelina Heaven finds herself fallen from grace. Her parents hide away, her friends desert her, and she has to transfer from an elite school of magic to the unremarkable Dashmoor High, where everyone hates her. It's torture, and Eva is determined to get her old life back by accepting a position as a guardian angel. Until she receives her assignment… 

 

HER CLASSMATE WITH NO AMBITION.

Nathan Ward is a senior at Dashmoor–again. Not surprising, given he only attends half of his classes. There's no one at school he finds quite as annoying as Eva. The new transfer student is frustratingly perfect and a constant reminder of how terrible his own life is. Unfortunately, she refuses to leave him alone. 

 

TO SAVE HER FAMILY, SHE NEEDS TO GUIDE HIM TO GREATNESS.

But Nathan has a secret that could make Eva's goal impossible. Will this fledgling guardian angel discover the truth before it's too late, or will she lose her wings and be condemned to mortality?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Plotworks Publishing
• Release date: Jul 18, 2023
• ISBN: 9781960936219

Book preview

1

EVANGELINA

Most people would be annoyed to have to transfer schools at the start of their senior year. Eva preferred to think of it as an opportunity to make new friends.

Sure, Dashmoor High School was a far cry from Cassel, which she’d attended since first grade. But it wasn’t without its charm. Brown and gray weren’t bland colors. They were the earth and clouds on a muddy, rainy day. And there were no uniforms at Dashmoor. That was a positive. She didn’t miss her purple plaid skirt or white button-down with the famous crest. And she definitely didn’t miss her friends.

They’d turned on her over the summer anyway.

Eva tried not to think about the summer as she took a seat near the front of the class. She smiled as some of the other students filed past her.

They didn’t smile back.

One girl nudged her friend and whispered something. The two snickered and went to the back of the room.

A flutter of nervousness went through Eva. She turned her eyes toward forward and pressed herself against the uncomfortable, wooden chair. What are they laughing about?

Eva reached over her shoulders and ran her fingers along the top of her back. She couldn’t feel any wings.

Phew.

Interesting dress.

Arms still wrapped around herself, Eva looked up to see a large girl with gorgeous brown hair studying her.

That your name? The girl tapped her fingers against Eva’s notebook on the desk.

Yes, but you can call me Eva. It’s much shorter.

Huh.

What’s your– Before Eva could learn the girl’s name, the teacher walked in. Mr. Harris was a short man with a bald spot on the back of his head. He taught functions and calculus. Unfortunately, Eva was taking the latter. Math had never been emphasized at Cassel. After all, when you had magic, advanced mathematics seemed much less useful.

But there was no magic at Dashmoor.

Mr. Harris gave only a brief explanation before he began clicking through a series of slides. Eva struggled to keep up as the math teacher raced through examples. Her brain threatened to melt and leave her gaping at the equations with drool dripping from the corner of her mouth.

But it was Eva’s hand that gave-in first. At Cassel, she’d had a magic quill that had written everything for her. She wasn’t used to spending almost an hour making notes, and now her fingers cramped and locked themselves around her pen in protest.

Please can we take a break for a few minutes?

As if in answer to her silent plea, the door opened.

A tall boy with long limbs strolled into the classroom. He had one hand in his pocket; the other pushed long wavy black hair out of his face

Mr. Ward. So pleased you could join us. Mr. Harris sighed and pointed to a seat in the second row near the front. Again.

Of course. Figure if I’m around for at least half the classes, I’ll have a full year of work under my belt.

Some of the other students laughed. Eva didn’t get it. But what if it was something that a regular human should understand?

She decided to join in a beat too late. The class had already gone silent, and Eva’s giggle hung awkwardly in the air.

The boy turned to her.

His head tilted so that his large brown eyes peered at her through thick eyelashes. He looked sweet, sort of shy, almost reminiscent of a doe. Maybe they could be friends.

Eva smiled and raised her hand in a wave.

The boy snorted, pulled a face, and turned away.

Perhaps he wasn’t so sweet after all.

Other than the horrible pain in her hand and a few peculiar looks as she went through the hallway, Eva’s morning was thankfully uneventful. Neither the history teacher nor the biology teacher encouraged discussion. Both took a similar approach to Mr. Harris, flicking quickly through slides.

Most of the other students had laptops or tablets. Eva stared at them wistfully, but she had to remember that envy was a vice. Plus, she wouldn’t need to write in her final class before lunch.

Eva hurried toward classroom B4, feeling oddly excited. She’d never taken a French class before. Why would she have bothered when she could speak every language?

By now, Eva was starting to recognize some of the other seniors. There were the girls that had laughed at her in math, the one who’d commented on her dress but never given a name, a boy in a backward baseball cap who’d slept through most of history.

He was leaning against the wall, ready to take another nap Eva guessed, but he straightened as she took a seat beside him. Hey, new girl. What’re you doing in the back with us slackers?

Eva glanced around for a moment, expecting another student to suddenly appear. That used to happen at Cassel quite a lot when people turned invisible. But, of course, no one did.

Don’t you talk?

Oh. Yes. Eva shook her head, feeling embarrassed. I’m taking a break. My hand’s tired.

She held it up, showing him the way her fingers had stuck together and curved in a twisted claw.

Yikes. That’s why you should never work too hard. He grinned and held out his hand. Chris.

Evangelina, but you can call me–

He snapped his fingers before she could finish. Blue eyes.

Eva.

The French teacher entered then. Ms. Lyle was a tall, thin woman with tight, downturned lips. She greeted the class, connected her laptop to a cable on the desk, and projected a slideshow onto the board.

Not very creative in their teaching style here, are they? Eva whispered to the boy beside her.

Now you’re getting it.

But it was a hasty judgment. Ms. Lyle deviated from the typical slideshow, and soon the class was abuzz with chatter and laughter as the teacher had them pronounce different words. About halfway through, she instructed the seniors to pair up and practice using the new vocabulary in sentences.

Not for us slackers, Blue Eyes, Chris informed Eva as he turned toward her. So, where’d you transfer from?

Somewhere far away, Eva said. It bordered on a lie. Cassel was downtown, only a few miles away, but it wouldn’t do to mention she’d gone there. Most of the humans in Castor’s Grove were aware of the school, but they considered it snobbish and elite. After all, they never knew anyone who’d been accepted.

Mysterious. Chris rubbed the end of his rather pointed nose. And what do you think of the Grove so far?

Love it.

Ahem. Ms. Lyle cleared her throat beside them.

Eva jumped. She hadn’t noticed the teacher approaching.

That doesn’t sound like French.

Aw come on, ma’am. Chris leaned back in his chair and shrugged. "It’s the first day. Let us just chat for once, s’il vouz plait."

He butchered the pronunciation so badly that it could only have been intentional.

Of course. Ms. Lyle smiled. She clapped her hands and turned toward the rest of the class. Everyone, listen up. Chris and his new friend here want to have a chat. Let’s listen.

Eva’s heart pounded. She could feel everyone’s eyes on her.

Ms. Lyle asked Chris a few questions. He put on a phony French accent. Other than oui, oui and mademoiselle, he answered in English.

This time, Eva laughed at the same time as the rest of the class.

Ms. Lyle silenced them with a wave. Charming. But you’ll impress a lot more girls if you can speak the language. Right now, they’re simply laughing at you.

The smile vanished from Chris’ face.

The teacher turned toward Eva. "And you? Parlez vous avec moi, mademoiselle."

Afraid to make Ms. Lyle angry, Eva complied. She answered the teacher’s questions in perfect French, explaining how she’d spent her summer, giving an opinion on a new movie, and describing her cat, Halo.

The bell rang signaling the start of lunch, but no one in the classroom moved. They were all staring at Eva.

I’m sorry, what did you say your name was? Ms. Lyle switched back to English.

Evangelina Heaven. But you can call me Eva.

You’re the transfer from Cassel.

A series of whispers broke the silence. Eva saw Chris’ eyebrows shoot up into his cap as she nodded.

I see. Ms. Lyle did not sound impressed. Your French is quite advanced already. Perhaps you should challenge yourself with a new language. Spanish perhaps? Or German?

Eva had no idea what the teacher was hoping she’d say. I’m fluent in those too.

There were more whispers. Eva’s heart pounded in her chest. She tried not to listen. Still, she couldn’t help but hear.

Such a showoff.

Seriously.

What the hell?

Why is she even here?

Ms. Lyle’s nostrils flared for a moment before she forced her mouth into a tight, small smile. My, my. Well, I do hope we here at Dashmoor can find something to teach you. Class dismissed.

Eva grabbed her bag and slung it over her back as fast as possible, then bolted for the door. She shouted sorry to at least a dozen people as she brushed past them, racing down the hallway. But she couldn’t stop. She needed to get to the bathroom before anyone noticed what had happened.

Her angel wings had popped out.

2

NATHAN

D ude, you should NOT have skipped French today. Chris slammed his food tray on the table before sitting down. The brown mashed potato cafeteria mush dripped over the side.

Nathan’s stomach growled at the sight of it.

Damn, he must’ve been hungry if even that looked good.

Nathan grabbed a small packet of peanuts out of his pocket. Only half left. He’d have to ration them until he had a chance to go shopping. He poured three onto his palm and put the rest back in his pocket.

Don’t tell me Lyle missed me. Nathan popped one of the peanuts into his mouth.

Chris barked out a laugh. Please. I don’t even think she knows you take her class.

Nathan inclined his head in a fake bow. In the past four years, he’d missed a lot of his classes at Dashmoor. But French was the only class he skipped on purpose. He had a particular hatred for languages.

The new girl is in it.

Who?

Oh, come on. You noticed her. She’s pretty.

Nathan nodded, pretending to think it over. Of course, he knew who Chris was talking about. The blonde girl had been sitting at the front in both his first two classes that day. You mean the one who’s dressed like she’s going clubbing.

Ding ding ding. Chris snapped his fingers. Blue Eyes.

I don’t know what color her eyes are. She’s wearing white feathers all over. That’s what I noticed. And she had nice legs. Nathan had noticed those too despite himself. The dress was rather short.

Yeah, okay, I get it. She’s not your type. None of them ever are. Chris waved his spoon in dismissal, wasting more flecks of mush. But you’ll never guess what she did in French class.

Speak French?

Well, yes. Chris sounded disappointed. Nathan grinned, feeling smug, and his friend slapped his hand with the back of his spoon. But she didn’t just sort of speak it. She’s fluent.

Wow. Are you telling me someone can speak two languages? Call the newspaper. Alert the media.

Not two languages. Four. She said she speaks Spanish and German too.

The hair on the back of Nathan’s neck rose. He stared down at his final peanut. She’s multilingual. So what?

You don’t think that’s impressive? Chris laughed. Seriously, what would a girl have to do to get your attention?

More than they have to do to get yours. Nathan smiled and ate his last peanut. He chewed it slowly, eyes glancing around the cafeteria, searching for a feathery white dress. So what? That’s it? No more intel on the new girl.

A sly smile came over his friend’s face. He rubbed his nose and adjusted his cap. So she is your type.

I didn’t say that. Nathan grabbed the spoon out of his friend’s hand. He stole a bite of the brown mashed potato mush and almost spat it back out. Surely, it would be better to starve.

Chris laughed at the expression on his face. His nose twitched suddenly as he glanced down at the table. You didn’t bring food today?

I’m watching my figure. Nathan stuck the spoon back in the mush. So come on. The new girl.

Right. Chris’ eyes were still narrowed, staring at the table. But one of his best qualities was that he didn’t ask too many questions. He took another bite of his own lunch, talking with a mouth full of what the cafeteria claimed was potato. Well, maybe you figured out what she did in French, but that one was easy. You’ll definitely never guess where she transferred from.

Nathan’s stomach tightened. He didn’t think it was hunger. Where?

Cassel. Chris mimed his head exploding with his hands before resuming eating. She must be some sort of genius or something. Have you ever even met someone who went there before?

No. I don’t think I have. Nathan’s entire body felt tense, but he forced himself to smile as though just hearing the name of the school didn’t leave a bitter taste in his mouth.

3

EVANGELINA

Eva locked herself in the nearest available stall and pulled her backpack off. If she twisted her head, she could see the edges of her wings. They formed an elongated heart down her back with the top peeking just over her shoulders.

Most creatures with wings were able to control when they appeared. But Eva’s wings had a tendency of popping out when she felt overwhelmed. It had been a cute quirk while she was at Cassel. Now, it was a magical disaster waiting to happen. If enough of the humans at Dashmoor spotted her wings, they might realize what she was. And there was only one belief that all of the magical species of Castor’s Grove shared.

Secrecy is our salvation, Eva whispered to herself as she ran a finger along her feathers.

The softness of the down tickling her skin was soothing. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and imagined her wings vanishing.

When Eva opened her eyes, the only feathers remaining were on her dress.

Thank you. She sent up a silent prayer, then leaned against the wall, sighing in relief. But maybe she shouldn’t be too happy. She’d been at Dashmoor less than a day, and she’d already had trouble with her wings. That was a bad sign.

No. Because I’ll get better.

Hello? Are you okay in there? A sudden knock came at the stall door.

Eva jumped and grabbed her backpack. She hadn’t realized someone else had come in. I’m fine. Just talking to myself.

In the bathroom?

After a quick double-check to be certain that her wings hadn’t reappeared, Eva exited the stall. A short brunette gave her an odd look.

I was just reassuring myself. I’ve had a weird first day. I’m new. She held out her hand.

The girl grimaced as she looked down at it. I didn’t ask. She vanished into one of the other stalls.

Another failed attempt at making a friend.

Eva’s shoulders drooped as she left the bathroom. Why was it so difficult? Was it because there was something fundamentally different about humans or was Eva just out of practice? She’d been at school with the same people for most of her life. Her core group of friends hadn’t changed since she was six.

Only, now they’d abandoned her.

Eva hugged the straps of her backpack closer as she walked toward the cafeteria. She shouldn’t think of it like that. After all, it wasn’t her friends’ fault that the Heavens had gone from admired and respected to under investigation in the space of a few days.

No, the only person Eva should be angry with was whoever had framed Zeke.

Even without students flying, transforming, and casting spells, Dashmoor’s cafeteria managed to be just as loud and chaotic as the one at Cassel. Teenagers weaved through the large room, carrying trays of strange-looking food that matched the school’s brown and gray color scheme. A pair of students near the door staged a sword fight using broomsticks for props and climbing on one of the tables. A group gathered around them, chanting and cheering. Yet their voices vanished in the general din of conversation and music as Eva stepped further into the cafeteria.

She took three deep, calming breaths, and searched the tables for a friendly face.

There had to be at least one, didn’t there?

Eva’s eyes locked on a pair of large brown ones. She blinked in surprise as she recognized their owner: the boy who’d been late for math. What had the teacher called him? Somebody Ward.

Why was he staring at her?

She noticed Chris sitting beside him, and Eva’s deep breath turned into a sigh. That would explain it. She’d misled him about where she was from.

I bet he hates me now.

Eva smiled and raised a tentative hand.

To her unexpected delight, Chris grinned and waved her over.

Maybe she had made a friend.

Feeling suddenly more confident, Eva made her way toward the two boys. But before she could sit, someone grabbed her arm.

Trust me. You don’t want to sit at the Gross Ward table. You’re better than that.

Excuse me? That’s incredibly rude, Eva objected, but she was forced down onto a seat at an empty table.

The large brunette who’d commented on her dress sat opposite her. Don’t be silly. It’s a compliment.

You shouldn’t call people gross. Eva didn’t know either of the boys well, but she felt the need to defend them all the same. They’re nice.

They call themselves that. Gross and Ward are their names. The brunette grinned. Chris Gross and Nathan Ward. You have so much to learn. You’re lucky I grabbed you.

Oh. Eva didn’t feel lucky. She glanced back at the boys, but they’d forgotten about her and were having their own conversation.

Nathan’s head turned toward her. Their eyes met once more.

Eva snapped her face forward. She didn’t want him to think she’d been staring.

The brunette giggled, apparently having witnessed the whole exchange. You think he’s cute?

I suppose, Eva admitted. She hadn’t looked at him too much. But I don’t know him.

That’s fair, said the brunette. Nate is cute. But he’s not worth it, trust me. She pulled out a brown paper bag.

Eva might not have had experience starting a new school, but she’d watched enough movies to guess what that meant. Are you dating him?

The brunette dropped her sandwich. She threw her head back and laughed. It was unusually deep. Definitely not. I said he was cute, not that he’s my type. I like my men with at least a bit of ambition, and Nate is the opposite of that. You know he and Chris were supposed to graduate last year, but they had to repeat. And not to shame anyone, but Dashmoor’s not exactly competitive. They’re trying to get us all out as soon as possible, you know?

Eva took out her own lunch. She dipped the carrots into the dressing and crunched them as she listened to the brunette, who seemed set on explaining who every person in the senior class was. Don’t even try to talk to those two, they think they rule this place. The boys over there are the robotics club, probably run the city someday, but for now they’re best avoided because of their captain’s atrocious breath. Oh, and the girl in the green is just boy crazy. She was all over my brother’s friend last year.

But who are you? Eva finally managed to ask when the other girl paused to take what was only the second bite of her sandwich.

Mm. The brunette’s eyes widened. She hurried to swallow the sandwich, coughing slightly. After taking a sip of her drink, she held