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At his apologetic look, she quickly grasped for another argument.

“Akarnae is a school for the gifted, right? Well, I don’t have a gift. I’m completely ungifted. I can’t stay here—I don’tbelonghere!” she said. “Can’t you get a message to this Marselle guy and ask him to come back sooner?”Like, tomorrow, she added to herself.

“I’m sorry, Alex,” Jarvis said, sounding like he truly meant it. “If it’s any consolation, the headmaster was adamant that youdohave a gift, and that it will present itself in time. He assured me that you would find your place here at Akarnae.”

“How kind of him,” Alex muttered. She wasn’t overly keen about some random guy making decisions on her behalf, but she also couldn’t suppress a tendril of curiosity. She had a gift? What did that mean? Would she be able to turn invisible, like Jordan? Maybe she’d be able to fly or move things with her mind; that’d be pretty awesome.

Realising that there were some possible advantages to staying at Akarnae—not the least of which was that she could avoid the awful International Exchange Academy—Alex wondered if perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad to hang around for a little while. And it wasn’t as if she had any better ideas.

“All right, I guess I can wait here until he returns,” she hesitantly agreed, hoping that her parents stuck to their original plan and wouldn’t try to call her one final time. Judging by the alcohol-Valium cocktail her mother had ingested, Alex figured she was probably safe. Her dad would have his hands full keeping her mum conscious and out of trouble, so it was unlikely that either of them would even think about contacting her when they landed. Once again, Alex found herself feeling grateful for their inability to communicate over the next few months. If she had any luck at all, she’d be back to her world without them ever realising she’d been missing.

“Excellent,” Jarvis said, genuinely happy with her decision.

“You’re going to love it here,” Jordan promised, his eyes sparkling. “Just wait, you’ll see.”

Bear nodded his agreement, and their enthusiasm was so contagious that Alex couldn’t resist offering a tentative smile in return. At least she already had two friends in this strange place—that was more than she’d ever had in her world.

“Now we’ve settled that, may I please have your enrolment papers?” Jarvis asked.

“They’re not for here, you know,” Alex pointed out as she handed them over.

“I just need some basic information to create your personal file,” he said, skimming the forms before placing the paperwork into the top drawer of his desk. He closed the drawer and a moment later opened it again, pulling out an entire folder. Alex’s eyes widened when she read the label:Alexandra Rose Jennings.

Jarvis withdrew a document out of her newly created file and handed it to Alex.

“How did—?” She shook her head, realising that it was probably best if she didn’t ask about the apparently magical file. She was in another world—anything was possible.

“Just sign on the line and you’ll be officially enrolled,” Jarvis said.

She skimmed the paper quickly, taking in the rules and regulations of enrolment. Everything seemed pretty normal until she read four words at the bottom of the page: ‘Alexandra Jennings: Potential Untested’.

What didthatmean?

“Wonderful,” Jarvis said after she’d signed her name and handed the document back. “Now all that’s left is to see which classes you’ll be attending. I think the best way to go about this is to test you and explain the results afterwards.”

“Test me?” Alex repeated. “Test me for what?”

“For your potential, of course.”

“And that means…?”

“Before I explain, I need to tell you a little more about the academy,” Jarvis said. “We have five years of official education, with two additional years for students who are chosen to continue on as apprentices in specific subjects. Due to the demanding nature of the classes, the youngest enrolments we have are fourteen years of age, meaning that students graduate at eighteen—or twenty for the apprentices.”

“Ooo-kay,” Alex said, drawing the word out. None of this was really going to affect her since she’d be leaving as soon as the headmaster returned. “That still doesn’t explain what you mean by potential.”

“I’m getting there,” Jarvis promised. “Our classes are split into two categories: age-based and potential-based. There are five subjects for each. Core Skills, Medical Science, Species Distinction, History, and Studies of Society and Culture are all age-based classes; while Combat, Archery, PE, Chemistry, and Equestrian Skills are all potential-based.”

Combat? Species Distinction? Alex wondered if she’d heard right.

“You had your sixteenth birthday recently, correct?” Jarvis asked, glancing quickly at her file.

“Yeah, in July,” she answered, not sure if that meant anything to him. Was the calendar year the same on Medora as on Earth—err, Freya?

“That works out well then,” Jarvis commented. “Despite your lack of previous experience in the age-based subjects, you’ll still have to join with the third year class. Jordan and Bear are also in that class, so I’m sure they’ll help bring you up to speed.”

“Go team!” Jordan said, holding his hand up for a high-five.

Alex chuckled at his boyish expression before asking Jarvis, “How do you test for the potential subjects?”