Rylan thanked her and then ran his hands through his medium-brown hair. Was that a dusting of gray shimmering in the light?
I didn’t get to find out as a swarm of swooning women surrounded us.
“Rylan saved the day!”
Whatever spell I’d been under popped like a bubble. I may be figuring out who this new version of me was, but I definitely wasn’t the type to stand in front of an attractive man with the tummy flutters and a gaping mouth. The group kept talking to him, shoulders nudged me, and my chest tightened. I was overstimulated. Adrenaline from the blast had worn off, and I was done.
“Thanks for saving me,” I blurted out.
I had my room key and could figure out the rest.
Breaking free from the group was the easy part. The castle’s open double doors were a few steps away when a warm hand gripped mine. My head swiveled and followed the tanned skin of Rylan’s wrist, all the way up the sweater-covered muscles of his arms to his face.
“See you in class, Star.”
Star?
I supposed just because I knew his name didn’t mean he knew mine.
Wait… Did he say he’d see me in class?
No way.
So, he wasn’t only here as the founder, but a student as well. Did that mean he was fumbling with newfound magic as well? Oddly enough, that thought comforted me.
A part of me hoped I didn’t share a class with him. He could easily become a distraction if I let him. I wanted to focus on learning and coming up with a plan after Magic School. Not men. They’d never been my favorite subject, nor one I was particularly good at.
His thumb rubbed a circle against my skin and suddenly a golden light pulsed from our joined hands. I quickly jerked away from him… again.
“We’ll see,” I murmured with a shrug.
I walked into the castle ignoring the way my magic swirled in my palms, reaching for the billionaire behind me.
Chapter Four
Why were croissants flying?
The foyer inside the castle stretched multiple stories high, and dustings of blue shimmered along the stone walls. Like magic had been painted on every surface. Beautiful paintings with golden frames hung on the walls. Some art even escaped the paintings into reality. A waterfall flowed out of one canvas and vanished once it hit the floor.
Incredible.
Later, I’d have to inspect them more closely.
I read about the castle on the plane ride. There were four hundred and sixty-two rooms, three hundred fireplaces, and ninety staircases in this fifteenth century French castle.
Thankfully, McKenzie Institute designed an app to help us find our way around. It had a navigation system set up for extra assistance.
From what I’d learned in the past couple of months, Rylan spent considerable money to find solutions to the magical uh-oh his construction crew uncovered. After Nathuria convinced our world's governments that they weren't a threat to humanity,the two worlds came to an agreement to educate the newlymagically giftedin a system of schools just like this one.
“This is wild, isn’t it?” someone said nearby, and while they weren’t talking to me, I nodded anyway.
Because, yeah, it was wild.
People walked around with their suitcases. Some hurried to the feast or their rooms while others stood in awe like me.
We were in a castle full of magic.
MAGIC.
