Page 24 of Messenger of Death (Ouroboros Academy #2)

W e didn’t have much luck sitting outside and trying to get in touch with our inner animals.

Mostly because a badger showed up and started arguing with Liam.

We couldn’t hear what the badger was saying, just Liam’s part of the conversation.

One of the wolf shifters pissed on his hole and he wanted Liam to avenge him.

He just didn’t know who the wolf was when they were human, so there wasn’t much Liam could do.

My care of familiar class was interesting. Like our shifting class, it had people with known familiars and people who didn’t know who they were because if their familiar showed up, it would be a hint.

My guys weren’t in this class, but Ivar was. Apparently, Thor had two goat familiars who pulled his chariot and Ivar had already met his. The goats were in class with us and Ivar was already attached.

“I already asked and I can’t keep them in our dorm room. Headmaster Mykene said no and they don’t want to. The English names for the original goats were Toothgrinder and Toothgnasher. See those horns? If a stupid dragon thinks they are sexy and gets any ideas, they’ll fuck him up.”

Oops. I guess we hadn’t let Ivar, Ari, and Alexios in on that particular plot, so I quickly explained that Blaize wasn’t actually going to try to have sex with his familiars, he was just getting some punishment for his dick pics. Ivar roared with laughter.

“Did you know Thor was also associated with bears? I think that’s why I’ve always been so drawn to Ari.”

“The two of you are relationship goals.”

“He hates all this. Not all the magical stuff, but people thinking we hurt someone. It’s worse since his shifter senses are coming in. He’s going to shift any day now.”

The classroom had more people than animals in it. Some of us had more than one familiar. My three crows and Ivar’s goats were here, but that was about it. The goats kept gently head-butting the backs of my legs.

“Do your goats need something?”

“They like their heads scratched and they seem to like you.”

Lola was in this class. She had everyone pulled to the side whispering about me as I played with Ivar’s familiars. She was staring at the goats like they were diseased. Ivar’s goats weren’t the small, cute variety. They were pretty big with large horns, but they were still really sweet.

“We could add her to Liam’s revenge,” one of my familiars said.

I remembered Morgana said I could talk to them in my head. It wasn’t safe to talk out loud.

“Did you see who hurt her?”

I didn’t know why I hadn’t asked before.

“We were watching you, not her. The other animals don’t know, either. Animals avoid bigger predators. They won’t go near her.”

“Do you know who she is?”

“Dangerous. Watch your back around that one.”

Before they could answer, a beautiful, androgynous-looking person came in followed by a hare. They were ethereal.

“Hello. I’m Professor Medis. I was Medeina in my first life.

Unless you’re Lithuanian, you’ve probably never heard of my original as our stories didn’t end up nearly as popular as other pantheons.

My domain is forests, trees, and animals.

We have a few new students with the rare gift to talk to animals, but I have that, too.

If you’re abusing your familiar, they can and will tell me. ”

Ivar and I looked at each other in horror. It took a sick person to abuse any animal, much less a familiar. Ivar’s hand shot up.

“I can’t keep mine in my room. I was told no by both people and my familiars. How do I stop other people from hurting them? What if someone tries to eat them?”

“Thor’s goats were magical. You can eat them and as long as you don’t lose the bones, they come back.”

“Yeah, but I bet that fucking sucks. I don’t want anyone eating my goats!”

“Well, it’s punishable by death to hurt someone else’s familiar, so you don’t have to worry about that.”

Ivar looked extremely relieved, but there were comments from the peanut gallery behind me about Ivar caring more about goats than the women he liked the best. It was loud enough for everyone to hear, but unlike the rest of my professors so far, Professor Medis just ignored it and chose to move on.

They gave a basic intro lecture that I’d already figured out.

You had to earn your familiar, and some were easier than others.

Some had to be wooed like mine and some just came when they felt like it.

There were familiars that liked people and were typically kept as pets and some were wild animals that would usually eat you if they weren’t magical.

All of this was fascinating. Ivar and I were riveted. I would have thought the rest of the class would be paying attention because they might have a familiar and it would be a hint, but Radames was the only person who was actually listening. The rest were gossiping with Lola.

Professor Medis wrapped up their lecture and finally addressed the people who didn’t listen to a damned word of it.

“Some of you have an insane course load right now that’s designed to help you figure out who you were.

You won’t have access to all your magic until you do.

If you don’t actually care about any of that, you won’t get access to the vast trust fund accumulated by all your reincarnations unless you graduate.

You don’t get a participation trophy degree because you passed the trials and went to all your classes.

You actually do have to pay attention and learn. That is all.”

I pretty much thought that was a given, but some of my classmates needed a reminder. Khalid was helping Professor Kane and Lucian was in some vampire class. I was curious about what happened in their classes and work study, but I was most curious about Liam’s class.

Liam had a class with the fairies and I didn’t. And I had a feeling these Forsaken Ones had something to do with Fairy.