My spirits lifted slightly.
The hoot of an owl sounded, and Eva stiffened. “Oh crap! We’re late.” She yanked my arm and pulled me down the stairs.
“Initiates, line up!” a man with braided red hair, bulging muscles, a barrel chest, and a booming Scottish accent bellowed just as we rushed into the classroom.
We fell in line, and I took a second to look around. Cement walls surrounded us, absorbing most of the light from the plain bulbs hanging from the ceiling. Two massive racks of weapons adorned walls opposite each other. Nothing in this space whispered of the dark opulence that thrived just a floor above.
Instead, it screamed of war.
My gaze trailed down the column of students in this period, taking in Amethyst Rhines, Diana and her minions, and Hunter and Alex Wardwell, among eight others. I sighed. Of course both Diana and Alex, the two people who’d made it clear they disapproved of me, would be in this period.
Suddenly, a body appeared in front of me. I blinked and jerked backward.
The professor shook his head, displeased with my jumpy reactions. “If you two will insist on dressing so inappropriately, I suggest you arrive to my classearlyto change.” His jaw clenched, and I wished I’d worn pants and a top like everyone else. “As this is your first day, I’ll let it slide. But only this once. I don’t do second chances.”
I nodded. “Yes, sir!”
The professor jerked his thick neck toward the door. “There are some old sparring uniforms that we used to require students to use through there. Go find your size and change. The rest of you, we’ll begin testing. Let’s see what you got.”
Chapter Eight
Ireadjusted my ‘sparring uniform,’ which was code for ugly-as-hell and smelly black jumpsuit. Either I had a long torso, or Spellcasters just thought all their female spy trainees would be short, because I only found one that fit. Sort of. And it definitely smelled ofcheese. I wondered when the last time someone had worn one of the jumpsuits was. I suspected they’d been in their wrinkled pile for years. Whatever the case, it would have to work, because there was no way I was going to traipse out of the locker room in my dress and ask if Professor Thrax had a few more sizes lying around.
“About time,” the professor said when Eva and I entered the classroom again. “I’ve split your class into pairs. Your partners are over there, waiting.”
Amethyst Rhines and a guy I’d met at the mixer named Efraim Eastey were waiting for us. “Why can’t we pair together?” I asked, realizing how odd it was that Professor Thrax had made two students wait off to the side while others had already begun practicing.
“Because, Miss Dane,” I jerked back at his use of my name, which I hadn’t given. Then I remembered I had introduced myself during my speech at orientation, and relaxed. “I want to see what you can do, not how friends can go easy on each other. You think this is the first class I’ve taught? Now get over there and pair up.”
Eva and I scurried over and split. Amethyst was my partner, and we made our way to a large, empty circle drawn on the floor.
“A sparring circle,” Amethyst said, catching me looking at the circle. “We’ll practice inside it, often under shields so we don’t hurt others.”
“Gotcha,” I grinned at her and was pleased when she smiled back. Making friends had been rough so far, and I’d take all the good vibes I could get. “So, any idea what we’re supposed to be doing?”
Amethyst shook her head and began pulling her long, purple hair into a ponytail. “He just told us to pair off and warm up.”
Warm up?I looked around, and saw people were playing with magic. Diana’s power was bright purple, and she was practicing levitating a bunch of knives. Mina, my fellow taco-loving Californian, was using her power to open and close the door to the class from fifty feet away. One team was shooting weak spurts of magic at each other, none of which hit the other person, while another group was stretching.
Obviously, no one else knew what was going on either. I settled for shadowboxing, which I’d learned in a self-defense class that Dad had forced me to take. My choice earned me a few strange looks, and I was glad when Professor Thrax blew his whistle and called us to attention.
“All right, now that you’ve had a moment to work out the kinks that being at a desk can bring on, we’ll begin testing. I have paired you up so that I might assess your range and brute power. Your goal is simple.” He extended his arm toward the far end of the room, and targets shot up from the ground about thirty yards away. “Make a bullseye with your magic.”
I pressed my lips to the side, confused. “So why do we have to be in teams?”
An amused smile split Professor Thrax’s face. “Because your partner will try their damndest to stop you. Which team wants to go first?”
My hand shot up. If given the choice, I always preferred to go first. That way, I didn’t have to watch everyone else perform while my nerves grew. Thrax nodded, and Amethyst and I stepped up to the line he indicated.
“Amethyst Rhines, correct?” Thrax asked, his Scottish accent thick.
My partner nodded.
“Very good. Stop Miss Dane.”
Amethyst took up position.
I turned to face the target, which was so far away that I was almost sure I wouldn’t hit it, but still, I had to try. I called my magic. A familiar sensation of squeezing something out of a tube flowed through me as my power moved from my center, through my arms and toward my fingers. A slight pressure built up, and I held it back, knowing that I wouldn’t have many shots to impress the professor. When the sensation grew to be almost too much, I extended my hands and let it go.
