Page 12 of Obsidian and Frost

Although it was only two decades old, the architecture gave off a dark, gothic, timeless vibe, which spoke to its purpose and those who it invited within its walls.

Dark Fae. Wraiths. Revenants. Necromancers. Shadowmancers. Vampires. Sorcerers who traded on the dark side. Werewolves. Dragons. Hybrids of those species. Thosedarkersupernatural beings who were volatile and possessed misunderstood magic and abilities. It was like an academy for dangerous gifts.

The building was of modern construction using classical design as an intentional aesthetic. Every stone, every corridor, every tower wasdeliberatelyconstructed to echo something older.

It most definitely had a moody, mysterious vibe to it.

Surrounded by glorious mountains, the deep-red brick and black stone façade flickered with the power of its students and faculty from within. It was both thrilling and kind of creepy—and honestly, that was kind of my thing.

It was exactly what I’d thought when I’d come in for my day-long tour not long ago.

Gothic towers rose toward the sky, framed by black spires. Mist curled through the mountain pass and rose up the steep cliffs to envelope the school’s lower turrets. Wind lashed the upper balconies, sounding like eerie whispers. Hundreds of tall, arched windows glowed amber.

The front steps led to a grand archway marked in vibrant gold: WRAEVEN ACADEMY.

I adjusted my duffel bag on my shoulder that contained all my jewelry-making supplies, and then I sucked in a breath and dragged my suitcase behind me as I headed for the entrance.

I knew from the instructions I’d memorized several times over and the tour that I’d had where I’d basically analyzed the entire space—a survival mode thing that I did with any new place that I ventured into—that I needed to make my way toward the Grand Atrium.

I followed the path that I’d catalogued, striding down a couple of corridors, which were absolutely gorgeous. The floors were a soothing dark slate, the walls covered with deep crimson paneling and glowing in low light from the crystal orbs above that were hanging in place with iron vines, enchanted torches flickering with blue-black flames. Tapestries of mythic dark beings hung on the walls.

Voices reached me, a whole lot of noise increasing in volume with every step I took then, clearly coming from the Grand Atrium, as that was the space that led up to all the dormitories.

At this academy, students were sorted into five Circles: Obscura, Nocturna, Umbralis, Sanguis, or Bestia. And each dorm was a living system tailored to the powers and abilities of those within each Circle.

Obscura Circle consisted of beings with shadow and illusion magic like Dark Fae, Shadowmancers and Wraiths—perfect for me.

Nocturna Circle housed those beings who traded in death magic like Necromancers and Revenants.

Bestia Circle was for shifters like Werewolves, Wolf-dominant hybrids, Draconics.

Sanguis Circle was for bloodline magic like vampires and vampire-hybrids.

And Umbralis Circle was for mixed ancestry and magic that defied one field.

I reached the Grand Atrium, which was a vaulted central chamber on the ground floor that housed a staircase lit by magical lanterns for each Circle. They spiraled upward and downward, depending on Circle placement.

Students shared classes in the same Academy hallways but lived and slept in these specific environments tailored to their magical needs.

I eyed the left stone stairway that curved upward to the upper west wing that belonged to students of Obscura Circle like me.

There was no clear throughway, the area blocked by forty-odd students milling about, some headed up there creating a backlog as they chatted with one another, or stared at their Wraeven Academy Guidebook as they moved along, others hanging around at the bottom of the staircases and causing more blockages.

I couldn’t see any identifiable Faculty members around.

A shudder rolled through me, tension building the longer I shared space with so many people.

There was a few feet separating me from becoming an actual part of it and I wanted to focus on that distance, but I had to go right through the heart of it. I couldn’t teleport to my assigneddorm room because passage needed to be activated first by a key I had in the back pocket of my leather pants.

And I couldn’t use my shadow magic without causing a stir.

Son of a bitch.

I sucked in a breath, trying to ignore the fact that my hands were trembling and my breathing was now uneven.

Too many people.

No easy way out.