Larissa took a seat next to Axl, who had multiple books open in front of him. Axl never stopped studying—advancing his magic. He was the smartest supe I knew, and I often wondered why he was still in school when he’d tested out of every single class here.
No doubt he stayed to be near his brothers.
“What ya studying?” I asked him, dropping into the chair across from him.
Calen, who was at the table also, threw an arm around me, giving me a lazy hug. “He’s calculating the magic that changes the weather in here,” he answered for Axl, who was too wrapped up in his books to even look up. “Apparently he’s hypothesizing that it’s fueled by the magic of the students and teachers in the Academy.”
“It’s far less volatile during the holiday periods,” Axl murmured, jotting more numbers and figures into his book. “I think I can figure out how to stop it completely, but it would require a mass evacuation of the school.”
Apparently a weather spell went awry many years ago, and now there was volatile weather inside the Academy grounds at all times. The weather often changed hourly … sometimes even more frequently. Today it was raining, and the shield was up over the commons, keeping us dry. It was freaking freezing though, and I wished I’d worn my heavier jacket.
Leaving Axl to his experiment, Larissa and I ordered something that would be quick and easy—French toast for me and bagels for her—before we settled back to wait.
Jesse ran up a minute later and took the other seat beside me, boxing me between him and Calen. “What did Princeps Jones have to say this morning?” he asked, locking me into his green-eyed gaze. “Bad news?”
Love for him rose up inside of me. He cared so much. Shifters—he was a lion—were pack creatures, and they loved fiercely. Sometimestoofiercely.
“No, it was mainly about Atlantis. Louis was there. He told me that it’s not rising like they expected. It’s … stuck or something. They’re investigating, but at least I don’t have to visit the site yet. Nothing to see and therefore no reason for me to make an appearance.”
“Does Connor know?” Jesse asked in a rumble, and I was forcibly reminded that he was a predator. I could practicallyseethe lion in his eyes.
I nodded. “Yep. Connor is going to contact me whenever it starts moving again. Louis bought me time, which means I get to go and enjoy school for a while.”
“Second year is challenging,” Axl said, still absentminded but clearly listening as well. “It’s quite the step up from the beginner classes. It’s good that you won’t be missing these early lessons.”
It wasn’t the first time I’d heard how challenging the second year was. “Now that my powers are unlocked, surely that’s going to make it easier on me.”
Axl finally lifted his head and I stared into the silvery gold of his eyes. They were piercing and uniquely stunning. “You’re strong, powerful, and determined. But your powers are very new and you don’t practice using them enough. You still fear them. That’s going to be an issue as you get into more advanced magic.”
The conversation around the table dried up. I tried not to let that depressing thought sink into my soul. “Way to help her confidence,” Jesse growled. “The last thing she needs is to worry about shit that hasn’t even happened yet.”
Axl’s features twisted in confusion. “Uh, I didn’t … that wasn’t what—shit.”He cursed a few more times under his breath. “I’m so sorry, Mads.” Axl didn’t always understand social cues and norms. His brain was very factual; that’s how he presented information to the world. Sometimes it was blunt and hurt, but he was rarely wrong.
I also accepted him as he was and would never ask him to change.
I patted his hand. “Don’t even worry about it. The truth is always the most important thing you can give me. Keep doing you.”
He shot me a grateful smile that faded as his eyes locked on something above us. Something to do with the weather no doubt, since that was his current obsession. He was back to writing in his book again, and I joined in the conversation, eating my breakfast and trying my best not to worry about the future.
After the quick meal, we made our way to the large hall where the assembly was held. It was a room I had only been in once before—at my first year welcome assembly.
“Your Attack and Defense classes will be here this year,” Larissa said. “They stack all the chairs up and use the whole space for sparring and training.”
“I’m pretty excited for that class,” I admitted. “I hate that I’m behind in fighting.”
Most supes learned from near birth how to fight and defend themselves.
Jesse wrapped his heavy-ass arm across my shoulder, yanking me into his side. “You’ll be kicking ass in no time, Mads. You’ve already got power and athletic ability. You just need to learn the techniques.”
I hoped he was right, because this was a dangerous world, and I couldn’t keep relying solely on my powers.
“You wanna sit near the front?” I asked Larissa. She liked to be close to her father—moral support and all that.
Calen cleared his throat. “Yeah, nah. Front row is for first years.”
Rone made a low rumbling sound from behind us, a mix between a growl and a snarl. It was almost his calling card, he made it so often. “We can make an exception for Larissa,” he said with soft menace … his “don’t fuck with me” voice.
Calen lifted an eyebrow and, when Rone wasn’t looking, exchanged a grin with me. I was trying hard not to laugh, because apparently Rone had decided that he was no longer wooing Larissa by pulling her metaphorical pigtails. He was taking my advice.
