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I wasn’t all that sure about the food, but I ate it anyway because I was hungry. I was used to a lot more spices. I didn’t know any of these people. Most of them didn’t look like me. I was conflicted. If I was going to be going to university with these people, I should introduce myself and make friends. I just really didn’t want hate thrown at me because of what I looked like.

So, I sat by myself. No one joined me. I guess that was that. But when the pretty redhead came out of her meeting with Headmaster Mykene, she plopped down across from me and smiled.

“Hi, I’m Sage. I’m not interested in some of the cliques that are forming at the other tables. Do you mind if I join you?”

No, I didn’t. She was gorgeous. I wanted to make friends, but I wasn’t interested in joining a clique, either. Everyone should have left that behind when they graduated from general secondary.

“Khalid.”

“Nice to meet you. Listen, spoiler alert, I’m not sure what Headmaster Mykene is going to drop on you when she meets with you, but I basically just found out the man who raised me isn’t my father and my mother had an affair with some anonymous reincarnation in another country. Poof, there I was nine months later.”

“Are you okay?”

I loved my father. He was hard on me, but he was also amazingly supportive and kind when the situation called for it. I’d be devastated, but I’d still love him and want him in my life if he wanted that, too.

“Oh, my father is completely awful. He hates that I wasn’t a boy like this was the dark ages and he needs a male heir for the throne. He’s the kind of televangelist that swindles donations from his congregation by telling them God wants him to have a new car or private jet. I’m thrilled I have no blood ties to him, but it’s going to make figuring out who I am a little complicated. Sorry to dump on your when we just met, but this is honestly a lot.”

“Same. I’m Egyptian and Muslim. My country has a long, rich history. I could literally be anyone and anything.”

“So, you believe all this?”

“I’ve always had faith. I didn’t believe it at first, but then I saw magic.”

“Yeah, that part was wild. They snatched me right when I woke up, so I didn’t get a chance to eat or grab my glucose tabs. I was starting to feel bad, so I was able to eat it, even without my insulin with me. I can eat it as long as I have insulin, but my dad is an idiot and would never let me. That was honestly the best ice cream I’ve ever tasted.”

It was. And I was glad she got to enjoy it. Before I could say anything, I got called to my one on one with Headmaster Mykene and boy, did I have some things to get off my chest. I unloaded as soon as I sat down.

“You need to rethink this whole snatch and grab scenario. A lot of you can’t tell the difference between Muslims from different countries and you snatched me at the airport. I thought I was being profiled, arrested, and kicked out of Oxford for absolutely no reason. I would have heard you out if you asked me to listen over tea and if you had someone who could do magic like you did, I would have believed you. The only reason I’m not making an even bigger scene is because you took everyone like that.”

“I apologize and it’s not actually my idea or something I approve of. I’m the headmaster and I have a lot of sway, but things like that have to be voted on by the council and they think if we talk to you in your element instead of ours, you’ll refuse to come. Some of them also think if we sent a supernatural instead of having me do magic, some of you might react badly and hurt them. Supernaturals are hard to kill and most times, they can heal from bullets, but if they get shot in the heart or head, it’s hard to come back from that.

“So, I’m apologizing again and offering to bring this up to the council for probably the millionth time in the past hundred years. If you would perhaps want to come with me and tell them exactly why it’s a bad idea, that could have soured you from staying, I’d love that.”

That was reasonable. I could do that, so I just gave her a nod.

“Listen, we snatched you in the wrong way and we stole you from Oxford. I might be the reincarnation of Athena, but I’m also not an arsehole and want to make this the best experience all of you can have. Is there anything I can do to make this easier on you?”

“I saved up to pay for my first semester at Oxford and had a job lined up to pay for the rest. That first semester was a lot of money for me. I have no problem working here, but if you could get the money back from Oxford, it would help me.”

Was that even possible? I got a job as soon as I was able to and busted my ass keeping up with my grades and putting money away, If I wasn’t going to Oxford, I wanted that money I sweated for back.

“Done. We’ve done this before with colleges all over the world. What job do you think you would want?”

“I had a job as an assistant to a professor that has all kinds of history research lined up. I’m interested in history. Now that I know all these things exist that I didn’t think were real, I’m interested in that history, too.”

“You’d be perfect as an assistant to Professor Kane. She’s a witch and witches were some of the first supernaturals to exist. Most of the originals stole from some of the darker witches to become something new. She teaches history, but she also thinks a lot of what we know was twisted by humans when they started hunting us because of their Satan, so she’s been looking into it.

“Professor Kane is brilliant and a very strong witch, but she’s also quite scatterbrained. She’ll get into things, forget to eat, and end up fainting in class. She ends up with the healer getting fluid because she’s dehydrated. She could use someone interested in history, but she also needs someone to sneak water and food in and takeover while she consumes it.”

“I can do that and I think her research sounds fascinating. I also have another request. I want to be paired with Sage at the trials.”

I honestly didn’t know anyone else, and she seemed nice. Plus, one of my best friends had diabetes, and I knew what kind of hell that could be. I knew we were being given rations, but my father took us camping all the time and we lived off the land. I might be able to help if she couldn’t eat the rations.

Headmaster Mykene was just looking at me curiously.

“You’re the second person to request Sage on your team. That’s not necessarily a bad thing and often how things work with us. Sage is hard to get a read on because she comes from a melting pot and other things. Those of you that feel a connection and want to team with her are probably hints to who she used to be.”

“No offense, but I’m not sure how I’d be connected to another pantheon if I’m not an original.”

“Sometimes, you’re not connected to the same pantheon. You are a reincarnation and not tied to your original lives. Sometimes, it’s the type of god you were that connects you. A lot of them are closely related in power or purpose. Originals are connected the same way.”

“Interesting.”

It really was. I was dying to do a deep dive into this history of all of this.

“But yes, I can pair you up with Sage. The teams are a lot easier to pair up when people make requests instead of me meeting with you and trying to get a read on you. You’re free to leave unless there other requests?”

I didn’t. I might later, but that was pretty easy. I got everything I asked for.