“It’s a lot,” I said breathlessly.
She blinked at me, and then it was like she remembered where she’d found me. The life I’d lived. Her cheeks went a little pink. “Sorry, Mads. That was insensitive of me. It is a lot of money, and you deserve to have fun with it. Let’s go shopping!”
I wasn’t upset at all. “I’m excited! What time do we have to be back for Louis, though?” I couldn’t miss that; I needed to know what the hell was going on with my power.
“Just after lunch. Princeps Jones will text me if he arrives early.”
Awesome, so we had the entire morning for retail therapy. As we walked toward the commons, Ilia asked me about Asher and our private lesson last night, and I told her a hurried, condensed version of what had happened.
“So you can’t touch him anymore?” Her tone was incredulous. “You’ve just won the worst lottery ever.”
I shoved her, grimacing. “Fuck. So true.”
Josh was waiting for us on the other side of the commons, his tall frame leaning against a table. Ilia’s face lit up as she waved, and he shot her a slow grin that almost hadmystomach doing flip-flops. That was a nice look. If I ever got a boyfriend, he’d better look at me like that.
“Ugh,” Ilia groaned softly. “I really like him.” Her whisper was barely audible because shifters had great hearing.
“The feeling is clearly mutual,” I assured her.
Excitement lit up her features before she smoothed it away. They were still in the early stages of their relationship and she was playing it cool.
“So back to this Asher thing,” Ilia said. “Have you considered the fact that you might have Atlantean blood?”
I paused, because I hadn’t. “I mean, I guess it’s possible. It would explain my affinity for water magic, and the pull I feel toward the Atlanteans.” It had been pretty obvious at lunch, and now with Asher. “You said there was at least five hundred or so out in the world—not the best odds, but not impossible. How would I find out?”
“When your energy is unlocked, we’ll be able to tell,” Ilia said.
Josh strode over to meet us, dropping a kiss on her cheek. He shot me a welcoming smile. “Hey, Maddi. Ready for some shopping?”
I laughed. “I don’t have much experience in this whole shopping thing, but I’m guessing Ilia will keep us on track.”
She straightened her shoulders like I’d given her an important task. “You have no idea.”
I really had no idea.
Starting with her insane driving. She borrowed a car from the school, which were only given out to staff and certain students. It was a fancy Mercedes sedan, which would have been lovely if I wasn’t clinging to the door in panic. She was foot to the floor, sliding around corners, iced-out roads be damned.
When we entered Queensborough she finally slowed down and I unlatched my fingers, stretched them out from where they’d cramped in panic. “You okay?” Ilia asked, swinging into a parking lot, stopping less than an inch before hitting the curb.
I wrenched my door open and almost fell out in my haste to get out of the car. “You drive like a maniac,” I choked out, sucking in air. “A. Maniac.”
Ilia and Josh both laughed. “I’m magic, girl. I’d stop us before we hit anything.”
My stomach rolled and I had to swallow more than once so I didn’t vomit all over the pavement. Thankfully we hadn’t had a chance to eat yet. When my body finally stopped freaking, I stood straighter and took my first real look at the charming town.
It was so pretty, with a variety of unique and cute shops decorating either side of the long street. It was cold though, and I shivered because I was not even remotely dressed appropriately.
“Here,” Ilia said, and I turned in time to catch a thick ivory wool coat. “Figured you’d forget it wasn’t climate controlled out here.”
The Academy made me forget that the entire world existed, so that wasn’t surprising.
Ilia was buttoning herself into a tan coat, so I slid my arms into mine and sighed at how warm it was. It fell to midthigh, and I quickly buttoned it.
“Let’s shop!” Ilia all but shouted, and I sucked in a deep breath.
I was ready.
* * *
