“What the absolute fuck did you just do to me?” I demanded.
“Now, dear, I’ve done nothing but uncover your magic.” She smiled, patting my shoulder as a manila envelope flew into her other hand. “I know it can be startling sometimes, especially for our students from the human realm, but you should be pleased. Fire mages are quite powerful once they learn to harness their magic.”
“Absolutely not. I’m not a mage. I’m not magical at all. I’m telling you, there’s been a mistake.”
The woman frowned at me. “No, dear. I assure you there has not. The school’s magic doesn’t make mistakes, and the test has shown you’re clearly a fire mage. There is a map inside theenvelope that now holds your house and room information. It is spelled to show you the way. Hurry along now; there are more students who need to be tested.” She said, shoving the envelope at me.
I sputtered in shock as she leaned around me to motion the next person forward in a clear dismissal. With no other recourse, I looked around the packed cathedral and spotted the exit in the back, heading toward it as I opened the envelope she’d thrust into my hands. Inside were a handful of papers. As I slid them out, I noticed a detailed map on top. There was a red dot labeled with my name and dotted lines leading to a building labeled ‘Magus House’. As my eyes scanned over the map, I realized there were no exits from the campus anywhere. The archway I’d entered the grounds through with Mr. Scowly wasn’t even on the map.
“Fucking hell!” I muttered to myself before slipping through the back door of the cathedral. My eyes widened in shock as the red dot that represented me moved along the marked path on the map. “Guess we’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto.”
Chapter Three
Caulder
Bechora Knight was going to be a problem. My dragon perked up the moment she stepped out of the seedy strip club, and I caught her scent, pressing for control hard enough that smoke blew from my nostrils. Two hundred and thirty-five years of control were the only thing that kept him in line when I touched her to pull her through the portal. The electric current that shot through my body confirmed the tiny woman was my mate.
I stalked through the crowd of students toward the white brick building that held my office. As if sensing the storm brewing under my skin, students moved out of my way, none of them daring to make eye contact. My office door was open slightly when I arrived, further adding to my irritation. Stepping inside, I scanned the room and found Vallynn sitting in my chair, his pristine boots propped on my desk.
“Get your feet off my desk and your ass out of my chair before I fry it,” I growled at the dark-haired fae.
“What’s got your tail in a twist?” He smirked, moving his feet to the floor.
“None of your fucking business, Vallynn. Why are you here?”
“That’s no way to speak to the crown prince, you overgrown lizard.” Dante, the Fae’s gargoyle bodyguard, spoke from beside the window.
I eyed the other raven-haired male, wondering if he was worth the trouble it would cause me to let my dragon eat him. Before I could decide, Vallynn cleared his throat, drawing my attention back to him as he moved around my desk. I movedto my chair and began sorting the papers he’d kicked around, ignoring the presence of both males. The high and mighty Prince Vallynn would tell me why he was in my office when he was ready. I’d learned early on that not even my dragon could scare him into speaking before he wanted to.
“Professor Waylon is missing.” He spoke after several minutes of silence.
“Yes, well, he always was a bit flighty,” I replied dryly. “Why is this news?”
“I have reason to believe my father had him taken.”
My eyes snapped up from my desk and scanned over Vallynn, really taking him in for the first time since I’d entered my office. While he was dressed in the Academy’s standard black uniform, his tie was slightly askew, and there was a slight, nearly unnoticeable wrinkling to his white button-down shirt. The fae prince was nothing if not always perfectly put together, with never a single hair out of place.
“What do you know about Waylon’s abilities?” Vallynn asked.
I leaned back in my chair, my brows drawing down as I worked to recall everything I knew about the missing professor. “He was an air mage. A powerful one at that.” I started, rubbing my hand over my
chin. “He also had the ability to manipulate other supernatural’s shields if I recall correctly.”
Dante hissed and moved to one of the empty seats opposite my desk, collapsing into it. The high-backed chair groaned under his weight in protest.
“Break my chair and I will eat you, Gargoyle.” I snapped.
“Try me, lizard,” he smirked in response. “I’ve heard stone is rather hard to digest.”
“How did I end up stuck working with such an impudent child?” I huffed, a puff of smoke blowing from my nose.
“Because you tried to storm the castle like an idiot after my father slaughtered your clan,” Vallynn replied. “You’re only lucky that it was Dante that caught you and not one of theother gargoyles that guard the castle. You’d be one very dead dragon otherwise.”
A low warning growl rumbled in my chest, but I forced my dragon to calm his temper. Vallynn, the arrogant prick, was right. When I’d returned from the human realm nearly three years ago and found my entire clan slaughtered, their magic drained entirely, I’d followed the scent of their attackers back to the palace. I didn’t have a plan, only sheer rage and grief driving me forward.
It had been reckless of me. If Dante hadn’t dropped on me from above and managed to bring me to the ground during my single-minded focus, I’d have been at the executioner's block for treason the next day. Vallynn appeared shortly after the Gargoyle subdued me and gave me a new purpose to channel all of my anger.
I’d been in disbelief when the fae prince told me his father was behind the missing supernaturals. That the King was draining them of their magic and slaughtering entire families to cover his tracks. If Vallynn had not used his magic to show me proof, he never would have convinced me. The disappearances were being blamed on the thinning veil and our people choosing the human realm over our own. With the decline in births from all species and the lack of true mate bonds in the last century, it made sense that people would defect to another realm in hopes of finding their mate or building a family. No one would believe their King was the true source of the disappearances.
