“Thanks. Do you need blood?”
“I will soon, but I don’t know how to not make it hurt, so I’m going to bite Liam.”
I liked Liam. Like, Ireallyliked Liam, but I couldn’t help laughing. Liam was off to the side in some intense debate with Khalid. That honestly could have been the merits of Mazen being our big bad or Liam’s obsession with were-corgis.
I ate my fairy bread and looked around. The witches had drawn their line, too. It made a ton of sense Lola’s magic got triggered and was hiding her. I originally went there before Mazen said it out loud.
The witches were giving her filthy looks like they didn’t believe that. And I didn’t feel vindicated at all that I didn’t trust Lola all that much, either. I still felt like shit. Of course, they could literally just be glaring at her because they didn’t like that they couldn’t read her. I could be feeling the way I was, too, for the exact same reason.
“Does everyone have their crystal and is everyone accounted for?” Zephyr asked.
We all did and no one else was missing. All in all, two people had disappeared without a trace. Even one would have been too much. They weren’t dead or Khalid would have known. They were just…gone. And everyone whoshouldhave known what was going on either didn’t or they couldn’t talk about it.
I didn’t know if we’d be any safer back at the castle, but I’d feel that way with actual walls between me and whoever was doing all this.
It was weird, and a little fucked up. Everyone seemed to be expecting us when we stepped through the portal back to the castle, but no one got arrested. I didn’t even know how that worked in the magical world. Did you call the cops if someone hexed you? Did vampires get arrested if they bit you without asking? I needed to know the rules so I could break them discreetly.
“So, welcome to Ouroboros Academy. Sometimes, the trials go off the rails because a bunch of you get reincarnated for a reason and that reason is out there with you. Head to the dining hall and I’ll be meeting with your teams individually. Mr. O’Breen, why don’t you and your team go first?”
“I knew you missed me,” I said, winking at her. “I want my switchblade back.”
“Why do you want a knife when you have magic?”
“It’s like Squishmallows for psychopaths. Doris is my emotional support switchblade.”
“So, it’s generally against the rules to tell any of you who you are before you know, but in your case, I have to or you’re going to be confused. You’re one of the ancients. Your original was here when this planet was created and your reincarnations were various gods in different places.
“You were Cernunnos to the Celts and Pan to the Greeks. You were the original nature and fertility god, so you didn’t stay in one place. You went where you were needed. As a fertility god, you sired plenty of demigod children, so you can reincarnate literally anywhere.
“The Horned God is a total anarchist, so it makes sense I confused you with a trickster. He used to get reincarnated a lot. The last time he showed up, he thought the industrial revolution was a threat to nature and tried to stop it. When he failed, he said he wouldn’t come back until nature was going to die for good. And here you are.”
That made sense, but I had a very important question because I knew a little about Pan.
“I’m pretty sure I’m growing horns, but please tell me I’m not going to end up with goat legs. I look good in a speedo and it’s going to ruin that.”
“You can shift your lefts if you want, but you can also hide the horns once they come in.”
“Oh, no. I’m fully going to abuse having horns. It’s going to make head-butting people loads easier. Everyone loses in a headbutt unless you have horns.”
“The Horned God and Loki at the same time are going to be very trying. I’ve decided to try to keep the teams together, butpair you with an older student. Lucian, you asked for a single. It’s up to you if you want to keep the single or room with Liam, Khalid, and the student I’ve chosen.”
Lucian visibly shuddered.
“I wouldn’t mind Khalid, but I absolutelydo notwant to share a room withhimand a stranger.”
“After I let you put your mouth all over my neck and suck? You wound me, Prince of Darkness.”
“I really do hate you.”
“One day, you’re going to love me more than drain hair.”
“Liam is exactly what I expected, knowing who he was, but you are not,” Headmaster Mykene said.
“If you’re going to start the Vlad hate, don’t. I’m not exactly thrilled.”
“No, it’s more of a vampire thing. If someone is disrespecting them, they make them stop.”
“Oh, I’m planning on it, just not with my fists.”
