He smiled kindly, and I wondered how I’d ever thought he could hurt his daughter. There didn’t seem to be a mean bone in either of their bodies, and considering they were vampires … the myths messed up that one.
He spun then to pick up a stack of books from a shelf behind his desk, holding them out to me, and I lifted the heavy load. “The books are for your classes,” he said. “There’s notebooks for each class, along with pens and all that fun stationery stuff.”
I personally loved stationery. New pens were life.
Ilia leaned closer, her red springy curls bouncing around. “Additional textbooks and resources are given out in class. Plus there’s the library, of course.”
“So, all of my food and accommodation is provided?” I wanted to double-check I wasn’t accumulating a huge bill or anything.
“All included,” Princeps Jones assured me. “Food, lodging, uniforms, and any excursions you might have to undertake for the school. The allowance is just for extras: clothing, dinners in town, movies, and such. We want you to learn, but also to enjoy your life. You’re only young once, and this is not a prison. It’s a highly regarded, state-of-the-art learning facility.”
And I’d been chosen to be here—literally hunted down. I almost couldn’t believe it.
“Have you made any leeway into figuring out her race?” Larissa asked her father, and I was grateful she remembered to ask that.
His lips thinned. “Not really. Your power is too locked down. You definitely have some magic user in you,” he said, fingers forming a steeple in front of him. “You might be a pure mage, or … there’s a possibility of a mixed race. If that’s the case, you could actually be any of the other three: shifter, vampire, or fey. Clearly your supernatural side has been suppressed for some reason. For now, let’s not rule any race out.”
“Half fey, half mage makes the most sense,” Ilia piped up from behind.
The princeps nodded. “That does make sense, but I’ve never sensed any affinity for elemental magic in Maddison’s energy, and it’s usually quite strong.”
“You sensed it when my magic flared occasionally?” I asked.
He nodded.
Elemental.Well, I definitely didn’t do anything cool with fire or water. Except swim like a fish, but I decided not to mention that, because it felt like misleading information. That was a skill, not magic.
“I’ve sent out a request for a very strong sorcerer to visit soon,” Princeps Jones said. “Hopefully he will be able to figure out why your energy is locked down.”
As scary as it was to think of a sorcerer messing with mymagic, I was more than ready for answers.
“Until then, the teachers are aware of your unique situation,” Princeps Jones added. “They’ll give you leeway and then we can reassess everything once your magic is unlocked.”
Larissa and I stood, and I shook the princeps’s hand. “Thank you for this opportunity,” I told him seriously. “You’ve already changed my life.”
Thank you, pink hair.
10
We left the princeps’s office early enough to grab a quick breakfast. The first meal of the day was my favorite, so there had to be a damn good reason to miss it. After we’d ordered from the magical hologram screen again—French toast with blackberry syrup for me—the three of us got down to some hardcore gossip.
“So I heard a rumor, Maddi,” Ilia said, leaning in close to me, “that you caught the attention of the Academy kings. What happened last night after I left?”
Larissa shot me a knowing smirk and I wrinkled my nose at her. “What exactly did you hear?”
Ilia’s smile broad. “Well, apparently Calen was all over you on the main floor of the magic dorms, and I heard you rejected him. Straight-up badass style.”
God, supe-whispers was as bad as human-whispers.
“Then last night at dinner, you took off when they got close.” She lifted her eyebrows at me. “Everyone was losing their minds, because it’s the Atlantean-five. No one runs from them.”
I groaned, resisting the urge to drop my head in my hands and hide. It was exactly what Larissa had laughed about last night. “I think the rumors are greatly exaggerated,” I said.
Her grin got wider, and I felt my own lips twitching in response. “It’s not funny,” I snorted. “I barely know shit about this world. I really need to focus on catching up. The last thing I want is to deal with this drama on my second day.”
“There’s something about you, Maddi,” Ilia said, leaning back in her chair, arms open on either side of her. “It’s what we talked about yesterday, and it was something I felt from the first time I started tracking you. Your energy, for lack of a better word, draws supernaturals to you.”
My face must have gone very pale, because she shook her head and chuckled. “Not in any crazy way, girl, don’t freak. But … it might have been enough to grab their attention. Only time will tell.”
