I sweep my arm toward it. “And here’s the new halfway house that’s going up!”
Sorsha perks up. “That’s the one Quinn’s helping design?”
I smile at her enthusiasm. “Yes! Hail’s really liked getting to work with a real architect and making something that won’t melt without magic.”
Quinn, Rollick’s partner from whom his academy got its name, did most of her work from afar in sketches and diagrams. But the couple of times she visited the city to see the site and talk with the people here, she was nothing but delightful. I’mguessing we can thank her for any softness the demon ever shows.
“When it’s done,” I go on, “it’ll be a temporary residence for students who’ve graduated from the academies or are doing long-term practicums, where they can get some extra support while they’re getting used to really living among humans. We’ve already got a bunch of beings volunteering to act as mentors.”
“And speaking of academies…” Sorsha tips her head toward the sprawling brick complex the next block over.
With the existence of shadowkind now public knowledge, more and more beings have emerged from hiding—a lot of them seeking help from those of us who’ve established ourselves. Rollick founded a sister school right here in the city where voluntary students who present little danger to humans and each other can learn, while his more isolated original facility will focus on the involuntary students and those with dangerous talents.
Nobody was more surprised than me when he announced the new building was going to be called the Periwinkle Academy. I’d have pointed out that the name wasn’t really fitting, since technically I was both an involuntary student and uncomfortably dangerous when I was first dragged in, but I’ve decided it’s the spirit of the thing that matters.
And the spirit of this thing is very sweet.
As we approach the school, Sorsha’s gaze sweeps over the streets. “Have you had any more trouble from the hunter groups lately?”
There’ve been a few incursions from shadowkind hunters insisting all of us “monsters” need to be taken down, the most recent one a couple of months ago. My smile tightens a bit at the memory.
“Thankfully, there are a lot fewer of them than there are people who are okay with us here in the city. I think the send-off they got last time made them afraid to make another attempt.”
It was more human residents than shadowkind who ran them out of town. Since then, all I’ve seen is clips on the news of them ranting about the “monster invasion,” but the more time passes without any further supernatural catastrophes, the more ridiculous they look.
I know I’m spreading all the joy I can. If some humans don’t want to welcome it, that’s on them.
We ease past the academy’s doors into the broad front hall. Jonah glances over from where he’s chatting with a couple of students in the front office. He finishes up with them, giving one a friendly clap on the shoulder, and comes out for our planned meeting.
“Hey,” he says to both of us, and winces a little when Sorsha ruffles his hair with the oddly maternal air I only see when she’s next to him.
She only does it briefly so as not to jeopardize his air of authority and then nudges him in the arm. “How’s the new headmaster gig going?”
“Co-headmaster,” Jonah corrects automatically.
Gnash moved to the city from the old academy to help run things here. I can’t say the growly tiger shifter is my favorite being ever, but his fierce temper and Jonah’s strict practicality seem to balance each other out well. Lilah, Jonah’s temporary sorcerer colleague, has taken over his old wrangling duties for the original academy.
Sorsha rolls her eyes playfully. “Almost the same thing. You’re not working too hard, I hope.”
He grins back at her. “It can’t be too hard when it’s work I enjoy this much. Some of the new students… It’s pretty incredible what they can do. Once they get a firm handle on theirpowers, I think the human world will be excited to have them join in.”
Gracie pokes her head out of a room down the hall and hustles over. “Peri! Giving a bit of a tour?”
“Something like that. I hope we’re not interrupting?”
She waves her hand dismissively. “Nah, I was just finishing some paperwork.”
After the new academy opened, Gracie left her old job to come work here. I’m not sure what her exact title is, but she does a mix of guidance for the shadowkind students from a human perspective and outreach to the human community to encourage more acceptance.
It hasn’t been smooth sailing across the board, after all. While the humans who live in the city see the supernatural elements as a bonus, there are still plenty around the world who are scared of the shadowkind. At least once a week, I stumble across a fear-mongering news story that makes me cringe.
But a year ago, I saw several of those a day. Things are definitely getting calmer as people have adjusted—and seen just how much shadowkind powers can make their lives easier when floods of darkness aren’t suffocating their cities.
Some parts of the human world are more dangerous for us than others… but any time hunters or sorcerers have tried to make trouble here in Jackson City, they’ve been arrested before they got very far.
It helps that Colonel Hueber and Major Yin both got discharged from the army after the bombing mission was a flop—Hueber ending up in prison after he disputed the affront rather violently, and Yin taking a position consulting with federal law enforcement. The former major has helped nudge policies in a friendlier direction for shadowkind. Partly, I think, because he wants to recruit some beings to help with all that enforcing of laws.
“It’s been too long since we really hung out,” I say to Gracie. “We should do another girls’ dinner sometime soon.” Fen, Brine, Vim, and Sorrel usually join us for those.
