That can’t be helped now. Just finish the test, Di.Pushing away my frustration,I looked down and read the next question.
You’re escaping a labyrinth, and there are three doors in front of you. The door on the left leads to a raging inferno created by an evil fire fae. The door in the center leads to a deadly vampire assassin. The door on the right leads to a bloodthirsty lion-shifter who hasn’t eaten in a month. Which door do you choose and why?
I puzzled over this one for a few moments. Fae fire was known to be severely destructive. But wouldn’t the choice surely depend on each magical’s strength? But no, that fact wasn’t given. Upon my third reading, I discovered the crux of the riddle and wrote my answer.
The lion-shifter because he’d be dead.
The rest of the questions were in the same vein, but Alex’s exit had lit a fire under my butt. I raced through the rest of the questions, sure of every single answer. When I was done, I set my pencil on the paper and released a heavy sigh. It was over and I still had ten minutes to spare.
A quick scan of the room told me what I already knew. No one had left the exam room since Alex. I was second, yet again.
Chapter Eleven
For the fourth time since I left my family suite, I questioned my decision to go to the party in the initiate tower.
Every exam participant had the option to stay with their family or in the tower. Most chose the tower so they could socialize and chill. But I generally thought it was much smarter to stay where it was quieter and prepare for the final test.
However, after the mental examination Tabby and Phoebe had dug in hard, insisting that I make an appearance at the party. I’d held out until Phoebe made a comment on how these get-togethers were a great chance to discover our opponents’ strengths and weaknesses.
There was no way I could argue with that reasoning, especially with the magical exam coming up early the next day. Who knew if we’d be using magic against each other?
But that wasn’t the only reason I was going to the party. I also didn’t want to be in my family suite at the moment. Mother was in a tizzy because, apparently, the door to her office had been tampered with sometime between the meet-and-greet last night and this morning.
Father had tried to calm her, saying it was most likely just a hopeful initiate or their family exploring the academy.
I thought he was probably right. After all, the academy was beautiful and most of the exam participants hadn’t seen much of it yet. While others were preoccupied at the mixer would have been the perfect time to take in the serene hallways and unique artwork that the academy boasted. I bet that they just stumbled upon Mother’s office, thought the door was stuck as so many in the old school were, and had tried a little too hard to get inside.
But Mother didn’t agree with either Father or me, and as a result you could cut the tension in our suite with a knife. Tension was not something I wanted bringing me down during the entry exam period. So I’d opted to leave for a bit and suss out the competition.
When I reached the door to the initiate tower I inhaled deeply. I wasn’t shy, not even close to it, but some of these people would soon be my peers. Even if my main objective was to kick their butts in the exams, I also wanted to make a good impression—particularly with Alex. A tingle ran through me at the thought of seeing the hot healer again, and I straightened my shoulders to project confidence. Finally, I shoved the heavy door to the tower open.
The circular common space was packed. Almost every single person taking the entrance exams was present, lounging on the couches and chairs with red cups in their hands. Some were hanging out on one of the six levels that spiraled upward, toward the massive domed skylight. Music with a heavy bass, giggles, and laughter filled my ears. And the scent of pot, definitelynota Spellcasters approved substance, wafted through the air alongside a more sour smell.
Beer.My nose wrinkled. Although Mother would not approve, I supposed this sort of thing was to be expected. Most of us were already eighteen, and in the witching world that was the legal drinking age. Plus, it was probably one of the first times a lot of these kids had been away from their parents. I couldn’t blame them for wanting to live it up—even if their parents were only staying a short distance away.
Although I wasn’t a big fan of beer, I didn’t want to feel out of place or appear unapproachable, so I grabbed a cup. Before I even got the chance to fill it with a light beer that smelled slightly better than the more pungent, darker one, Tabitha was at my side.
“Di! Finally, you’re here! I’ve just been chatting with Hunter.” Her voice grew breathy when she said his name. “Oh my God, Di, I think I’m in love. He’s so . . . perfect.” She tilted her head and shook back her long black hair, exposing her neck in apparent ecstasy.
I bit back a laugh. Tabby could be so dramatic sometimes. “Is that the alcohol talking?”
Tabby’s head snapped back to a neutral position. “Are you joking? I mean, yeah—I’ve had a couple beers—but come on! He’s like the hottest guy here and his magic is so strong.” She fanned herself. “I bet other parts of him are strong too.”
Blech.
I was saved from responding by the devil himself. Hunter slid up the pony keg and smoothly snaked an arm around Tabby. The other, I noticed, was already firmly around Phoebe’s waist. “We were wondering where you went, Tabby Cat. Phoebe and I were just talking about taking a little tour of the rooms. Wanna join?” He grinned down at her, all perfect white teeth, shaggy blond hair, and glimmering green eyes.
“Hell yeah,” Tabitha giggled. “Let’s do it. Wanna join, Di?”
“Yeahhhh, no thanks.” No way in hell was I “checking out the rooms”, which I was pretty sure was codespeak for having a group make out session with Hunter. “I’m networking.”
“Suit yourself!” Tabitha chirped and the trio skipped off, like the three horny teenagers they were.
“Hopefully the people who are already upstairs locked the doors behind them,” someone said from behind me.
I turned to find a girl I’d noticed before but hadn’t spoken to yet. She was short, and her hair was long and purple. If I recalled correctly, she had finished the physical test not long after me.
“Yeah, hopefully,” I said, knowing full well that there were no actual locks on the rooms.
