Page 7

Alina

“LET’S SEE...” I HOLD UP the parchment in my hand and trace my class schedule with a fingertip. “On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I have Introduction to Elemental Magic with Professor Stone.”

“At one thirty?” asks one of my roommates, Lyra Wilder. She’s seated on the rug in front of the couches, her legs crossed, one hand braced against the floor as she leans back and regards her class schedule. Her spirit companion, a pretty cinnamon-colored rat named Juniper, is fast asleep in her lap.

I take another look at my schedule and nod. “Yeah. Guess we have that class together.”

The four of us are seated about our sitting room, schedules in hand, comparing our class lists. My other two roommates, Poppy Waverly and Maeve Vandermere, sit on the couch beside mine. Poppy adjusts her round glasses while Maeve fans herself with her schedule .

“You want to get out of here?” Maeve asks. She uses her free hand to lift her straight violet-black hair off her neck. Despite having our window open, our room is a touch warm today. “We can walk around the castle, find our classrooms.”

“That would be great!” Poppy says. “I’d hate to be late on my first day...” She shivers a little. “I started having nightmares about that right after I got my acceptance letter.”

“Why? Were you naked or something?” Lyra asks. The summer sunlight illuminates her curly red hair, which bursts out around her head like a halo, with tight ringlets hanging down past her shoulders.

Poppy blinks up at her, lavender eyes wide and light brown cheeks going a touch red. “What? No!”

“I don’t get it.” Lyra’s crimson eyes narrow. “What were you having nightmares about, then?”

“About being late ,” Maeve clarifies, pushing to her feet and tapping Lyra on the head with her parchment. “Some of us actually care about being punctual, you know.”

We’ve known each other for less than a week—we first-years moved in early, before the older students—but already, I’m coming to know these girls like close friends. Lyra was the last of us to arrive on move-in day, and since then, she’s shown little regard for being anywhere on time, including our welcome ceremony a few days ago.

“Oh.” Lyra smiles. “Yeah, that doesn’t scare me.”

I laugh and shake my head, then reach down and draw a hand over Yuki’s soft ears. “What do you say?” I ask him. “Want to walk the castle with us? ”

“Sure.” He stands up and stretches, then yawns, showing off his sharp white teeth. “Maybe we can stop by the dining hall too? I wouldn’t mind some more of those cinnamon buns...”

I smile. “That can probably be arranged.”

“I THINK IT’S DOWN HERE,” Lyra says. She’s holding a map of the castle—it came in the welcome packet all the first-years received—and pointing down a corridor. She starts down the hallway, her loafers clipping along the stone as she goes. We follow behind her— all of us, including Raelan. I told him he didn’t need to come, that he could have the day to himself, but in the cold manner I’ve come to expect from him, he declined.

Now he follows behind our group, so obviously different from all the other students drifting through the halls that he draws stares wherever we go. At least he’s not wearing his gleaming metal armor today. He tried it our first full day at the academy, intending to wear it to the welcome ceremony, but I refused to go anywhere with him dressed like that. We’re at an academy, for goodness’ sake, not riding into battle. The fitted trousers and dark long-sleeved tunic he’s wearing today are much more suitable for walking the academy’s halls on this sunny August afternoon.

“Yup, this is it.” Lyra reaches out to try the door handle, but it’s locked. “Some help here, Juniper?”

The rat immediately scurries out of Lyra’s pocket and runs down her arm, then uses her sharp little claws to descend the wooden door. She slips under the door, and a moment later, the lock on the other side clicks.

“Wait!” Poppy whispers. “What if someone sees us? We can’t just break in like that!”

“Just blame it on me.” Winking, Lyra pushes open the door to the classroom, then steps inside. She scoops Juniper up off the floor, then disappears into the room. Poppy glances both ways down the hall before following her, and the rest of us trail behind, Raelan bringing up the rear and closing the door behind us.

The classroom is lit with sunlight from the big windows. The golden beams illuminate the stacks of books in one corner and the plants crawling across the big desk at the front of the room. Shelves line the back wall, filled to the brim with all manner of items: crystals and rocks, jars of sand, twinkling bottles of mysterious liquids, and tall, slender candles of many colors. There are rows of desks and empty chairs, just waiting for the schoolyear to begin.

“This is where we’ll be on Tuesday, Alina,” Lyra says. Then she stops and turns sharply to look at me. “Or should we call you Princess Alina? Or Your Highness?”

I make a face and shake my head. “Alina is just fine.”

Maeve boosts herself onto the edge of the professor’s desk, swinging her long legs. “When I heard you’d be attending, I thought it was a rumor.” She tucks a straight lock of silky hair behind her ear. “I never would’ve guessed I’d be rooming with you.”

“Me either,” Poppy says. She’s lingering by the door, a few paces away from Raelan, looking uncertain about having snuck into the classroom .

“One of my grandfather’s witches picked you,” I say, taking a seat on the desk at the front of the classroom. Yuki sets off to sniff around, exploring the books and potted plants.

“What do you mean?” Maeve tilts her head and narrows her vivid purple eyes.

“She’s a seeress. I don’t know how her magic works, but she saw you three...” I glance around at the three girls, all so different and interesting in their own ways. “Hopefully that means we’ll get along.”

Lyra lets out a crisp laugh, but it’s harmless. “We’ll see.” She looks out the window, then turns around and pops a hip, crimson-eyed gaze landing on Raelan. “And what about you, Sir Ashvale? How’d you end up here with the princess?”

My chest tightens up as my gaze slowly slides to Raelan. He’s not spoken a word since we were up in the north tower. He’s quiet as a shadow, though substantially more intimidating than one.

His dark eyes shift to Lyra. “His Majesty chose me for this duty. It’s an honor to protect Her Highness.”

Raelan’s words make my stomach squeeze. “While we’re here, you can just call me Alina,” I tell him. “No need to be so proper.”

Now Raelan’s eyes are on me. His sudden eye contact sends a shiver up my spine. In this light, his skin glows with a hint of gold, and something around his neck flashes. Looking closer, I notice it’s some sort of jewelry. A chain, maybe?

Odd.

None of the other knights wear any sort of adornment—as far as I know, that’s not within dress code. I can’t recall if I’ve seen it on Raelan before or if he’s just started wearing it as of late.

At first, I think Raelan is going to refuse, to insist upon calling me by my proper title. But then he gives me a barely perceptible nod and says, “Very well, Alina.”

Another shiver goes down my back, accompanied by a single skip of my heart. He’s never said my name before. And somehow, it sounds different on his lips. Prettier. Foreign, almost.

The girls give me varying looks, but Lyra’s is by far the most obvious. Her crimson eyebrows are lifted, mouth turned into a sideways smile.

But before she can say anything, the door handle jiggles, and then the door swings open.

Poppy gasps and jumps out of the way so fast you’d think Maeve’s spirit companion, Isis, had just tried to strike her. Not that Isis bites—according to Maeve, at least. I’ve not yet become quite used to looking for the red-bellied snake before sitting on the couches. Lyra almost sat on her just the other day, and she probably would have if Poppy hadn’t pushed her swiftly out of the way.

A witch stands in the doorway, blinking at us in surprise. She’s wearing a robe trimmed in yellow—I believe that designates her as a second-year, while our robes are all trimmed in blue. Her gaze flits between the four of us, then lands on Raelan, and her eyes widen.

“Wh-what are you doing in here?” she asks. “Classrooms are off-limits outside of class hours.”

Poppy shrinks like she wishes she could disappear. Maeve just swings her legs some more, looking unbothered, and Lyra glances out the window into the sunlit garden like no one even said anything.

I open my mouth to reply, but Raelan shifts, turning so he’s facing the witch.

“It’s Nella, right?” he says. His voice is warm and soft, so unlike the tone he uses when he speaks with me.

Immediately, the girl’s cheeks flush pink. She blinks up at him. “That’s right. We met on move-in day.” Her fingers grasp for the hem of her school robe. “I didn’t think you’d remember, Sir Ashvale.”

His smile is quick and easy. And it’s so startling, I realize I’ve never seen it before. Every time we speak, he regards me with a neutral expression at best. Sometimes, though, I catch him watching me through narrowed eyes, his jaw tight, like he can’t stand having to be here and watch over me, like every moment spent in my presence is a nuisance to him.

But that’s between him and Grandfather. If he doesn’t want to be here, he should’ve said something before we departed for Coven Crest.

“Of course I remember. Your help was much appreciated.” He gives her another one of those smiles.

A kernel of heat flares to life in my stomach. Why is this annoying me so much?

“I was happy to help, but...” Her eyes scan the four of us again, then land on Yuki where he’s seated beside a potted plant, soaking in the sunlight. “But what are you all doing in here?”

“Just finding their classrooms before the semester begins tomorrow. We didn’t mean to intrude. ”

“Oh.” Nella’s gaze slides back to Raelan. Her cheeks flare again, and she glances away like she can feel their heat. “It’s okay. I did the same thing my first year. But you’d better hurry up—the professors just got out of the faculty meeting, and they’ll all be getting their classrooms set up for tomorrow. I’m sure Professor Stone is on his way here now. And he can be a bit... moody. But don’t tell him I said that!”

Raelan’s dark eyes sparkle. I clench my teeth.

“Thank you for the warning,” he says. “Guess that means it’s time to go.” Raelan looks over at me, but as soon as his eyes meet mine, the smile he was giving to Nella vanishes.

What’s his problem?

Poppy immediately scurries past him and Nella and into the hallway, mumbling a quick “excuse me” as she passes. Maeve pushes off the desk and walks from the room languidly. I stand just as Lyra steps in front of me. She sweeps her arm through mine, then leads me from the classroom.

“Thanks, Nella,” she says as we pass by. “You’re a lifesaver.”

“Oh, sure.” Nella’s gaze lands on me. She quickly bows her head. “Your Highness.”

My eyes flash to Raelan. Would she have known who I am if not for him?

Some people know what I look like, have seen me over the years, either at festivals and parades or just enjoying the shops and goods Wysteria has to offer. But Raelan is obviously not a student here—all it takes is one glance to know he’s not a first-year wandering the maze-like halls. And as long as he’s with me, everyone will know who I am.

The princess. The outsider.

For the second time today, I’m just glad he agreed to forego his armor for the foreseeable future.

After we’ve all exited the classroom, Nella steps into the doorway behind us.

“If students aren’t allowed in classrooms yet, what are you doing here?” Lyra asks, her tone bordering on accusatory.

Nella shrugs. “I’m Professor Stone’s student assistant.” Her gaze flicks down the hall. “He’s coming this way now.”

Sure enough, voices drift down the corridor, and a few faculty members pause in the parallel hall, talking and laughing amongst themselves.

“Thank you, Nella,” I say.

Her smile is quick. “Of course, Your Highness.”

“Just Alina,” I tell her. “Alina is fine.”

I get the feeling I’m going to be saying that a lot in the coming days.

But here, in these halls, I just want to be me, not Grandfather’s granddaughter, not the woman who may one day sit on Elarwyn’s throne.

Just Alina. Just a witch trying to master her magic. Just a student, like everyone else.

Except for my bodyguard, who’s now ushering me and my roommates down the hall and gesturing for Yuki to keep up.

“Bye, Sir Ashvale,” Nella calls out from behind us. “S-see you around!”

I glance over my shoulder just quickly enough to see the smile he gives her. Then we’re ducking around the faculty members and starting back down the wide hallway, as if we didn’t just break into our elemental studies classroom.

Once we’re out of earshot of the professors and Nella, Lyra skips over to Raelan and bumps him playfully. He arches a dark brow at her, stride not faltering.

Immediately, something in my stomach squeezes.

“Thanks for rescuing us, sir knight,” she says, fluttering her eyelashes dramatically. “You’re our hero.”

Raelan doesn’t respond. But his eyes find mine again.

And I don’t quite understand the fire they light inside me.