I left the parlor, followed by my knights, leaving the rest of the men behind. This day had gone on for far too long and completely messed up my schedule. Too many things had surfaced that I couldn’t even begin processing them in my head. That Lord, whoever he was, would definitely pay for delaying my research.
I was just glad my distraction worked, that they didn’t ask for specifics on how I escaped, because I wouldn’t be able to explain it without making things worse.
Chapter Twenty-Two
I wanted to say the rest of the week had been normal, but I would also be deluding myself.
I didn’t have to attend classes the following Wednesday — not that I could — and woke up to my knights sleeping with me on an enormous bed. Like, sleepsleep.I asked for a comforting hug to help me rest and they complied; Reuben spooned me while I hugged Robin. When I woke up, I had hugged Reuben, and Robin spooned me. It was very amusing.
After a huge breakfast courtesy of the Prince, I left the mansion as quickly as I could. Mia patiently waited for me at the dorm. She cried when she saw me. The tightness in my chest at the sight had me fearing it would be harder to escape in the future.
Again, future Bea’s problem.
Spending the day cooped up in my room, reading through Teleportation books Mia checked out for me from the library, helped me calm down a lot. Like I didn’t have big problems waiting for me.
Then I dreaded Thursday. While the men assured me that the incident was kept under wraps as they investigated, I couldn’t help but think if the event somehow leaked. Not to mention the perpetrator, who was almost certainly among the thousands of students and staff, would watch and observe me.
I refused to appear scared. Whoever they were, they’d see me go through my day as if nothing happened. As if the kidnapping didn’t affect me at all.
And I did go through my classes. The excuse for my absence had been a minor accident during one of my extracurricular with Vincent Lovell. Apparently, accidents with his experiments were common enough that the administration didn’t even question it. Dahlia didn’t question it too when she asked what happened to me, but something told me she didn’t wholly believe it. Or maybe it was my paranoia again.
The classes went as expected, and Professor Uriel Strom put off our one-on-one class in favor of letting me get more rest. Friday would be the first year’s assessment, and the extra time of rest would only be beneficial for me.
I didn’t hear about the investigation at all. Claude was my classmate, but he never talked about it. I knewhe knewsomething about it since it was the Prince and Lord Grimwald investigating the case, both Champions like him. Did they even plan to tell me?
I asked Claude about it once. All he said was, “They’re still looking into it. Be patient, baby girl.”
Hard to be patient when a literal guy hated me so much, he had me kidnapped.
The rest of the men were either busy enough that I didn’t see them, or they were purposely avoiding me. Which was true? I’d never know.
Friday came. After External Magic class and lunch, it was time for Physical and Combat Training again. Last week, we did basic exercises while our three professors observed us, taking notes here and there about our physical capabilities. Aside from the bullshit incident, it was fairly simple. Like gym class.
Dressed in our training clothes, I headed to the field with Dahlia, followed by Elias and Claude who had taken over beingmy bodyguards since myactualbodyguards could only sit at the wayside. When we arrived, it was like a repeat of last time; aside from our three professors, the Prince was observing too. Vincent in the garden, tending to some plants, while Amos had his class next to ours, and knowing Theodore, he was here … somewhere.
“Today will be your magic affinity assessment,” Samuel — Professor Grimwald announced, looking over at us, glossing over me. “The test will determine the Element you are most attuned to. Your magic will tend to favor a specific Element, and if not, you might have the gift of Recovery magic instead.”
Would the weird block on my magic affect my result?
My heart stammered in my chest as my gaze found Professor Strom, who was whispering something to Professor Grimwald at the same time.
The professor continued. “You do not need to cast any spells. Everyone will be assessed at once, externally. I ask only that you comply when you feel your mana being drawn. It’s part of the process.”
Great. Mana drain. I’d read a book where the author lamented the effects of having their mana pulled involuntarily. Headaches and body aches, among other things.
“Professor Altha’s here if you feel any negative effects after the test,” Professor Grimwald gestured to Professor Derrick Altha, who squirmed a little where he stood, face pink. I couldn’t help but smirk; he probably felt shy from all the attention, and that was decidedly cute.
Ireallyshouldn’t be thinking of my professors as cute.
“Wonder what you’re smirking about,” Claude chuckled from my right.
“Nothing worth discussing,” I grumbled. I got caught ogling. Distracting myself from that embarrassment, I turned to Dahlia to my left, but she frowned as she concentrated on the dos anddon’ts announced to us. This must be a big deal to her, so I decided not to bother her.
“I’ll probably get Fire affinity,” Elias mumbled from behind me, more to himself than us. “Or maybe Earth. I could cast some of both.” That made sense to me because of his dragon-ness.
“Air for me,” Claude replied. “I make a mean swing with my sword.”
“That doesn’t affect your magic,” Elias laughed. I was glad these two could get along despite the circumstances.
