“Soooo?” She wrapped her arm around my shoulder as soon as I joined her.
“The physical test went pretty well. I came in second alongside the witches I teamed up with.”
Ms. Seeley beamed, and the air began to shimmer around her. At Spellcasters, only Ms. Seeley and Professor de Spina could claim a mix of magical heritages and it really showed in their appearances. Slightly less so with de Spina, seeing as he was only a smidge demon. But Ms. Seeley, with her white-blonde hair, violet eyes, and shimmering aura, was definitely part-fae.
“That’s our girl!” Ms. Seeley’s voice rose as she nodded a greeting to another family. “I’m guessing Phoebe and Tabitha were with you? Who beat you?”
As subtle as possible I glanced around Agnes Sampson Hall. It took only a moment to find Alex as a small crowd of students surrounded him and his family. I recognized a few of the families as legacies who had sent older siblings to the academy before. A couple had even had lunch with my mother when they dropped off their students, which meant that they donated money to the school. I nodded at Alex. “Do you see that black-haired boy with glasses?”
Ms. Seeley looked in the direction I pointed. “Oh yes, dear. I see that young man.” She shot me a sly look, and my stupid cheeks heated, giving me away. “He’s an attractive one, isn’t he, Miss Diana?”
“Yeah. Andreallyskilled at healing. He’s actually the one who saved Father. If I had to guess, I’d say he and I are the ones to beat in the exam rankings.”
Ms. Seeley nodded, a twinkle in her eyes. “Of course, dear. Perhaps you should go confer with him about strategy then? It seemed to me that dark-haired girl is getting rather close. I believe her name is Wilhelmina Köhler, younger sister to Leni Köhler.” The professor’s eyebrows arched. “As you know, Leni isquitepopular among the wizards in the upcoming Crucible-year. You wouldn’t want to lose a potential ally to a charming young lady—especially such askilledally.” She winked.
My heart rate kicked up at the mention of Leni. Who didn’t know her? Most of the incoming third-years were totally head-over-heels for Leni, and if Wilhelmina, was anything like her sister, Alex would be half in love already.
Just the thought was enough to send me striding across the hall. I ignored the witches I didn’t know who requested a word, and forced myself to merely smile at the few families who I actually would have liked to speak with. Hopefully, I could catch up with them later.
“Mr. and Mrs. Wardwell! It’s so good to see you.” I smiled warmly as I joined the Wardwells. “I wanted to thank you again for seeing to my father last week. I don’t know if you’ve spoken to him yet, but he’s recovering quickly thanks to your ministrations.” My gaze trailed to Alex who had stopped speaking to the Köhler girl upon my arrival and smiled at me.
“I’m glad to hear that, Diana,” Alice said. “We’re so happy everything worked out. And that we could be here today.”
“Of course.” I nodded seriously. “You deserve to be here. How could we deny Alex’s skills after such a display of magic? My mother doesn’t give much away, but I can tell you that I know for fact that she was impressed. And I was too.” I beamed at Alex before catching Wilhelmina’s gaze and sending a not-so-subtle message.
She shrunk back, clearly catching my drift, and cleared her throat. “You know what? I just realized that my parents are trying to get my attention. I’ll catch you in the initiates tower tonight, Alex?”
Alex’s lips curved up in a small smile. “Yup. I plan on staying there.”
“Great. We’ll chat later!” Wilhelmina twiddled her fingers and then traipsed off, hips swinging like she knew how to use them.
Jealousy arose in me at the idea of them both staying in the tower, but I brushed it aside quickly. As much as I wanted Alex to notice me, there was no way I was staying in the initiate tower tonight.
At dinner Mother had announced that the mental examination would be held tomorrow, and it was notoriously difficult. I’d need all the brainpower I could get, which meant a good night’s sleep was a must. Plus, I could just ask Phoebe to keep an eye on Alex and the younger Köhler. She’d make sure they didn’t gettooclose.
I was just about to try to strike up another conversation when Alice motioned at something across the room.
John looked in the direction she pointed and gaped. “Well, well . . . I believe we should go mingle too,” John said, pulling Alice’s arm into his. “We’ve been hoping to meet the Easteys all day, and Alice has just spotted them without their usual entourage. You two have fun.” They waved and melted into the crowd.
It took all I had not to fist pump.His parents are gone! This is perfect—
“Diana!” My elation evaporated as Miss Iris appeared at my side. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you. I want to hear all about how the exam went!” She offered us drinks from a tray of champagne that she was carrying. I declined, but Alex selected one. As he did, Miss Iris beamed at him. “And while you’re at it, introduce me to your handsome friend here.”
I sighed, performed introductions, and gave Miss Iris the rundown on the physical exam.
“I just knew you’d do superb, love! I must tell Jagger.” She whirled around and her eyes widened. “Well, damn. I wonder where he’s gone off to now? I told him to circulate by the stage.”
My eyebrows knitted together. “Wait . . . Jagger is here? I’m surprised Mother allowed that.” The entrance exams and the events surrounding them were limited to hopeful initiates, their families, a limited number of Spellcasters staff, and previous headmasters. Miss Iris usually came to at least one of the exams as an extension of her father, who hadn’t attended for the last three years.
Miss Iris sighed and rolled her eyes. “Yes, well, your mother requested that I bring extra champagne in for the parents of those undergoing their exams. The bistro usually provides it, but apparently they couldn’t this year. And you know how she is, she doesn’t want to keep a stash of alcohol in the school, but won’t ever deny potential donors of their drink.” Miss Iris wagged her eyebrows. She was totally right. Mother only allowed alcohol inside the academy during special occasions or during the bartending workshops put on by Professor Medulla. It was her way of ensuring that there was no underage drinking. Little did she know that savvy students just paid certain staff members to sneak it in for them.
“Anyway, when Jagger heard I was coming to the academy he offered to help as part of my staff. Apparently, he was a student at the Shifter Academy of Spies for a couple of years before dropping out. Academic places interest him.”
My ears perked up. So my first impression of Jagger being a spy had been right. “You didn’t mention that before.” As soon as the words left my mouth my cheeks began to burn. “Not that I expect you to tell me all about your dating life, but—”
“I usually do? Lord, I must learn to keep my mouth shut.” Miss Iris chuckled. “Rest assured, love, I’m not keeping anything from you. I just discovered that little tidbit about Jagger for myself a couple of days ago. I think he might have been embarrassed to tell me. You know, him dropping out and me being an ex-headmaster’s daughter. So silly really! I didn’t even attend Spellcasters, so who am I to judge? But if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that men will often hide their tarnished pasts to impress a lady.” Her lips pursed in amusement. “Anyway, I vouched for him so your mother allowed him to come work this event with me. Although I’ll admit it was clear she didn’t really want to.”
Miss Iris turned to face the wider room and swept her free arm around dramatically. “But honestly! How she expected me and my little staff of five to serve over one hundred people is beyond me. If she doesn’t want me bringing people then she shouldn’t cut most of the Spellcasters staff loose until after testing is over.”
