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T he infirmary was tucked away in the quieter wing of the castle.

The smell of medicinal herbs permeated down the hallway.

It left a bitter taste on the tongue. The large room had several beds that were lined up against a wall, each of them separated by an ornate wooden screen.

The walls were covered in rows of shelves stuffed with various crystals, many differently sized mortars and pestles and weathered looking books.

On the far side was a large cabinet that housed hundreds of tiny vials full of tonics and potions.

Lilith was surprised to see the faint etching of runes engraved in the stones above each bed.

There was a woman dressed in a simple white gown and apron that was quietly making the rounds to her patients. She smiled and welcomed the group.

Tamara was laying on one of the beds with her arm, head and her left foot all bandaged. Next to her was Quynn. His pale skin had a sheen to it and he laid unconscious. On a nearby table, ointments and balms were scattered on the surface.

“Oh Juniper, it's so lovely to see you,” Tamara exclaimed as she slowly sat up. “My first visitors.”

“Tamara, look at you and Quynn. What happened?” Juniper asked as she carefully sat on the edge of the bed .

“We were just shy of reaching the stairs when we were attacked,” Tamara explained.

“It was horrible. This large, scaly grey creature with razor sharp teeth and long claws came out of the woods. Quynn tried to run away, but it ran after him and mauled him. My screams must have shocked it because it stumbled around and knocked me into a tree.” She started to cry. “I woke up here.”

“I’m so sorry Tamara.” Lilith went to gently pat her on her unharmed leg. “We heard your scream. I can’t believe a creature like that would venture so close to the school.”

“Quynn got the brunt of it. I overheard the healer and Lord Helmer talk about sending us home.”

“Both of you? Won’t your injuries heal?” asked Taran.

“Yes. I asked that and, well, then I got to thinking. I’m not really suited to being here and my parents must have lost it at Lord Helmer when they found out what happened. I’m actually quite relieved.” Tamara blushed. “That sounds horrible considering Quynn’s condition.”

“Will he make it?” asked Nym.

“I’m not sure. The healers keep it hush-hush.

” Tamara looked past them at the approaching healer.

“You guys need to know, it’s been crazy here.

Lots of students coming in with broken arms, cuts, you name it.

They think the usual creatures that roam the forest have started migrating north.

Whatever's happening in the south is pretty serious.” She wiped her tears with her free hand.

“I want to go home.” Her loud sobs filled the infirmary, drawing the quiet healer’s attention to the source.

“That's enough visiting,” the healer said as she ushered the students out of the infirmary .

“Well that’s unfortunate,” Lilith said. Down to fifteen students after the first day.

The group made their way to the main hall, where the delicious smell of meat and bread beckoned them.

Most of their classmates were already tucking into their meals, and they waved at the group as they entered the hall.

“Hopefully they’ve increased security measures around the school. Creatures like that should not have such an easy time wandering close to this school,” Taran said as he took a seat and loaded up his plate.

“Considering we were being intentionally hit from the trees and attacked from fire sprites, I’d say that the school has a loose grip on student safety,” Lilith responded.

This is ridiculous. I should be brewing potions and be busy reading books like Arlen and Jasper did in their first year.

They never came home with these stories.

She was lost in her thoughts as Felicia handed her a cup of tea.

“Cheers,” she laughed, pulling Lilith out of her bad mood. They filled their other classmates in on what happened to Tamara and Quynn over their supper and then made their way over to the Elemental Incantations classroom.

They entered the familiar looking classroom that they were ushered to upon their welcome to the school.

It was teeming with older students who were casually joking with each other and waiting.

In the back, Prince Demetrius was surrounded by a team of men, while Lilith spotted Narticia, Iris and Danai on the far side of the classroom, deep in conversation.

They smiled at several of the ladies. Danai gave Verrona the death glare.

Felicia elbowed Lilith. “The prince is watching you,” she whispered.

Lilith looked over to the prince and saw him casually glancing at her as the men surrounding him continued talking.

All conversations died down as a burly looking man appeared at the entrance.

He had to duck under the door frame to move into the class, making him scowl.

He had a scar running over his right eyebrow, which accentuated his intense hazel eyes.

His face was framed by a wild mane of thick blonde hair which reminded Lilith of a lion.

With unnatural grace he walked to the small wooden podium in front of the lit hearth.

Similar to Mistress Rhodes, he wore a black leather uniform that highlighted his impressive muscles.

“I am Sir Tornbury, your Incantations professor.” His voice was deep and commanding.

“Following one of our long-standing school traditions, we will be holding a tournament amongst first years. The fifth years will be serving as your coaches. They get leadership experience while preparing you to fight and defend yourselves, as you face off with your fellow first years. There are fifteen of you and ten of them, so I will split it as such. Nartrcia, Iris, Fang, Luriel, and Demetrius will have two students as they are at the top of the class, Danai, Sun, Sypher, Marciel and Bear will each get one student. Narticia, go ahead and pick yours.”

Narticia scanned the first years. “I choose Felicia and Meira.” Meira exchanged a worried look with her sister, Meridith.

“Iris,” Sir Tornbury called.

“I will go with…” She looked at the group and smiled. “Storm and Ruven.”

“Hang on, how do they know our names?” Silver asked.

“They observed you yesterday,” Sir Tornbury impatiently responded. “Fang, your turn. ”

“Orin and Silver,” Fang called out quickly.

“So yesterday was a demonstration of our abilities?” Lilith questioned. “Did they receive any additional information about us?”

“Do you have secrets, Lilith?” Sir Tornbury asked. Does he know? she thought as she blushed.

“Luriel, your choices?” Sir Tornbury continued.

“My brother, Amir, and also Nero.” Luriel answered.

“Demetrius, you’re next.”

Demetrius starred at her. “Lilith.”

I beg your pardon? Why did he choose me? Lilith tried to mask her shock and annoyance. Demetrius gave her a smirk.

“I’ll take Taran as well,” Demetrius added.

“Danai, choose one.” Sir Tornbury called out.

“Meridith,” she answered.

“Sun?” Tornbury gestured to an olive skinned guy with dark curly hair.

“Nym.” Sun winked at the male nymph, which made him blush.

“Sypher.”

“Cosmo,” said the short man with pink hair and bright red eyes. He had been watching Cosmo, who had similar red eyes.

“Marciel?”

“The doe eyed one… Juniper.” Marciel was lean and had a pompous attitude about him.

“Which leaves Verrona to Bear.” Verrona waved to the giant blonde.

“You’re all sorted. First years go and meet your ‘teachers.’ You will have one month until the first tournament. ”

Lilith joined Taran and headed towards the prince. He eyed them like a predator sizing its prey.

“Cousin.” The prince greeted Taran happily.

“Demetrius, so kind of you to pick me.” Taran patted him on the shoulder.

Lilith thought back to when she first met Taran.

He had mentioned they were distantly related.

With them standing side by side, it didn't seem like there was much distance in the relation.

Taran had more feminine features, with a narrow chin and soft cheeks.

Prince Demetrius had more hard lines in his features, which Lilith found more striking.

“Well, if you’re anything like your father, we will be sure to win. Plus, your father is one of my father’s advisors. So I’m hoping you’ll be an asset.” The prince looked intently at her.

“How am I to address you? Your Highness? Or do we dispense with formalities?” said Lilith. Others have used Prince, so I bet he'll go with that. Gods, his stare is so piercing. Why can't I think of anything else?

“I would suggest when you can’t think of anything, to just say nothing.

” He smirked. He can read my thoughts. Rude.

Lilith built a protective shield over her mind and glared at him.

The prince’s grin grew wider. “However, you may call me 'sir,' while I am your teacher.” Lilith often heard her father complain about King Amadeus’ self-absorbed attitude.

She hoped this prince would not be like his father.

The prince stared at her with intensity, his ice blue eyes boring into hers.

Lilith did not back down and held his gaze.

“Well, unless you plan on winning this tournament from a staring contest, I suggest we move on.” Taran kept his tone amiable. Lilith broke her focus on the prince and looked around. Most of the other teams had disappeared from the room. Only Bear and Verrona remained behind.

“Come, we will go away from prying eyes.” Demetrius sauntered out of the classroom and led them downstairs to the lower levels.

“The library?” Not a befitting place to be throwing spells, thought Lilith about the damages they’d do to the poor books.