I spared a glance at my sister as she came to the front of the Jeep. She gaped, her lips curled up and her brown eyes wide. She had Mom’s eyes but must have had Dad’s black hair—whoever he had been. Mom had never talked about him, only mentioned that he had a kind heart and was gone.
The main building’s shadow fell over us as a black flag at the top flapped in the wind, the sun glinting off gold symbols that matched the guards’ insignia. It had to be five stories high, but the windows said it had three above-ground floors, and at the top was a parapet and three towers at the front, one in the middle, and one at each corner. A bell hung in the middle tower, and its smooth black exterior managed to glint in the lowering sun.
The academy’s exterior resembled a castle in the style of an old, large manor with a sprawling estate straight out of a fancy magazine.
“Follow me.” John waved us forward, but I hesitated and watched as the guards unloaded our packs, which still had our passports and money. I wasn’t sure if the guards would go through our stuff, and I didn’t want them confiscating our belongings.
“They’ll bring them to your rooms,” John said, following my gaze but continuing forward, the white fox in pursuit. I cracked the first knuckle on my pointer finger with my thumb, releasing tension, and turned to follow.
John led us through massive double stone doors, the surface etched like shale with a glossy black hue. I recognized the material. Tungsten—the strongest natural metal on earth. Powerful earth mages struggled to manipulate it, and no known mage had been able to create it. This place had been created to be a fortress.Maybe we will be safe here.
The foyer was just as extravagant with magic-lit candles, trees merging into the stone walls, and roots weaving into the black cobblestone floor. Off to the left, a wooden staircase climbed toward the vaulted ceiling, ivy crawling on its spindles. It was as if a princess fairy tale and a dark romance novel had converged.
If I had been brought here a week ago, before Mom died, I probably would have been allured by its magnificence and magical foundation. Now, it just made me want to run.
John’s office wasn’t far, and it matched the academy entrance and hallway vibes. The door was made of dark wood with elegant carvings, and inside, a large black chair sat on the far side of a substantial stone-slabbed desk with two tan chairs on the opposing side. The sturdy stone was held up by thick ebony wood pillars on either side, the subtle aroma of the smoky, sweet wood still present. A beige couch lined one wall and filingcabinets the other, and plants rooted in white ceramic pots hung from the tall ceiling.
A small wooden cart was made into a mini coffee bar, complete with a French Press coffee maker. I was going to avoid that deliciously painful liquid for a while. Mom had a French Press, and we loved adding cinnamon bark and vanilla to our cups.
Great. Every little thing—such as coffee—was going to remind me of her.
Candles lit the room from the walls to the glass jars on the shelves, and I couldn’t help but wonder if they were enchanted to stay lit and keep the flames contained. A single mage light protruded from the ceiling, similar to the ones in the hallway. The warm glowing quartz added to the cozy, natural atmosphere.
“We aren’t sure why this dark mage targeted your mother, but we will figure it out.” John waved at the two chairs for Viv and me to sit, slight wrinkles at the creases of his eyes. “I am so very sorry.”
“And how did you find out about her and find us?” I asked, wanting to hear more than justit’s my job.
“Three dark mages were reported in the area.” John rubbed his forehead as Viv took a seat. “They had a conflict with a couple humans near your home. It led to your house, and our guards figured out the rest. We were able to track you and your sister. The dark mages will be after both of you next.”
I thought I had covered our tracks well. Clearly, I was wrong—and clearly, I had some practice to do.
“I didn’t see the other dark mages’ palms, but the one that killed Mom had a black circle. Does that mean anything to you?” I slowly sat, and once I did, so did John.
“It does not sound familiar, but it could be their clan mark,” he said.
“And what makes you think they’re after us?” I asked.
The fox jumped onto the long desk, causing me to flinch as its feet landed quietly on the stone. It glanced at me with its brown eyes—which I swore had been black—and then went to what appeared to be its cleared, dedicated spot and curled up into a ball. The little creature did not seem to care about my presence in its master’s office.
“This is Aura.” John rubbed the fox’s chin. It closed its eyes and flicked its grey-tipped ear in approval. “Did you see the dark mages?” he asked.
“Not clearly.”
“But you still saw them.” John sighed. “Dark mages are merciless, and they don’t leave survivors. Do you know anything about why your mother might have been targeted? It’s doubtful three dark mages would attack a level-three air mage, as they can’t siphon their magic.”
I shook my head, unbothered by his classification of my mom, which he most likely read from the small folder in front of him.
“Nothing at all?” he pressed.
“No.” I glanced at my sister, who was letting me do the talking, thankfully. As much as I hated to admit that I—sometimes—loved her babbling, she could accidentally say more than we wanted.
“Your mother’s file did not contain much past high school. No address. No job. No phone records. Just that Anna Thomas had two children, Selene and Vivian Thomas—age sixteen and fifteen. Father unknown. The cabin we found you at had heavy surveillance.” John rubbed his chin. “Perhaps there was something else?”
After a few more attempts and realizing I wasn’t going to say any more, nor would Viv, he went through the entire welcome speech, initiation, handed us a map of the campus, and then explained that our classes wouldn’t start until next week, giving us time to settle in. We would have roommates in the same gradeas us—Viv a sophomore, and me a junior—and a student was on their way to give us a tour of the academy.
The headmaster also said Mom’s ashes would be delivered in the following weeks. Due to the severity of the dark mage’s magic, her body would need to be cremated. I bit back tears and held down the bile rising in my throat. I hadn’t been sure of what was going to come of her, and it was comforting to hear she’d be back with us and not left to decay in our ruined home.
My plan had been for Viv and me to still be in Venezuela, hiding. Instead, we were hiding at a teenage introvert’s worst nightmare—high school. My mom’s death and her name were not going to be public knowledge, leaving our reason for being here undisclosed, and hopefully making our task at hiding easier.
