Chapter Two
Early the next morning Avalon stood at her window, leaning sleepily against the frame. Everything was green, a welcome change from the white snow that had greeted her every morning at home. It was beautiful.
Avalon always liked seeing how different places looked from one location to another. It awed her, to see how diverse and huge the world actually was.
Fully awake now, she ran her fingers through her short, dark bob, washing and combing it with magic. Bubble baths were perfect for relaxing, but showers were a waste of time in Avalon's opinion. This witch preferred a couple of spells to exfoliate, shave and cleanse her skin.
Within two minutes, she was done with her daily grooming routine and stood in front of the mirror, deciding what to wear. Eventually, she chose a faux wrap shirt in deep purple and paired it with a black skirt and a pair of comfortable wedges. As she surveyed herself, she nodded, pleased with how she looked.
Some people might think that she got the short end of the genetic stick. She had inherited her mother's curves, which was fine on Elaine–she was tall, and with her proportions, she could be a model. Avalon, on the other hand, had inherited her father's shorter statue. As a result, she appeared twice as wide as her mother, although if they hemmed Elaine's clothes, they fit Avalon perfectly.
Avalon didn't much care what other people thought about her. She loved her body and knew she was sexy.
There was a knock on the door. Avalon answered it to find Vaughn. He wore more formal clothing than he had when they met the previous day, though he looked just as casual. A blue dress shirt was tucked into gray pinstriped pants, the top button unbuttoned and the sleeves rolled up to this elbows. The pants were well-fitted, not too tight but not baggy, either. All in all, he cut quite the impressive figure.
Avalon didn't realize that Vaughn was ogling her as much as she was ogling him until both their eyes flickered up at the same time. For some insane reason, a blush rose up Avalon's neck, but Vaughn only grinned at her, as though he had expected this.
"I thought I'd give you a tour of campus before your first class. And I want you to wear this." He thrust a golden bracelet with a deep green emerald in it at her.
Avalon rose a brow. Jewelry? "It's pretty, thanks, but it doesn't really match my outfit."
"It's a GPS tracker. Magically enhanced so that jammers won't work on it and water won't short it out."
Avalon frowned. "That's a little extreme, don't you think?"
Vaughn shook his head, leaning against the doorframe casually as two students walked by, chatting in Farsi. Avalon understood something about the ocean, but her Farsi wasn't as developed as it ought to be.
She added that to her mental list of things to work on. With her family's position, she needed to be fluent in as many world languages as possible.
"I can't be with you all the time," Vaughn said, his voice low. "If I'm going to protect you, I need to know where you are at all times."
Stane was similarly paranoid about her mother's safety, so Avalon shrugged and slipped on the bracelet. It fit her wrist perfectly. She tapped the emerald, muttered a quick spell and the green changed to a more appropriate amethyst.
"I hope it doesn't have a camera in it. I'd hate for you to be a witness to when I get lucky."
Vaughn scowled, his blue eyes flashing. "It doesn't have a camera in it."
"I was joking."
The dragon grunted and gestured for Avalon to follow him. She ducked back into her room for her key, then followed him outside. The air was crisp and fresh, with that cold, briny scent that only came from the ocean. Avalon drank it in.
They stopped at the cafeteria for a couple of bagels, then Vaughn showed her around campus, though all the buildings were labeled: Science for potions and water-based magic, Art for the creative and air-based magic, Defense for earth magic and finally there was Offense for the attack of fire magic.
A fifth building was for administration and the library. And finally, the sixth building was the dorms for students.
It was the fiery offense that Avalon had the most trouble with and where most of her classes were going to be held. She scowled at the building, hating it already.
"So will you take classes, too?" she asked, eyeing a group of dark-skinned students as they entered the science building. Why couldn't she be enrolled in more water magic courses? It was fun and practical.
"I'm not a student. I'm immune to all types of magical attack and can break through magical defenses, but other than being able to shift into the dragon, I've got no magic of my own." A smug smile spread across his face. "Not that it makes a difference. I could still demolish any one of you puny magic-wielders if it came to a real fight. That's why so many witches look for dragon bodyguards."
Smug looks good on him. Hmmm… Avalon looked away. Maybe confident instead of smug.
Vaughn jumped onto the rim of the fountain, crossing his arms over his chest in a way that emphasized the muscular nature of his biceps. "Tell me, wasn't Morgan le Fay the enemy of King Arthur?"
Avalon nearly groaned. "You're supposed to be a trained Red Dragon. Why don't you know what really happened?"
His eyes glinted. "Humor me."
"Well, it is difficult to know what the real story is, it happened so long ago. Most of the contemporary records were destroyed," Avalon admitted. "But the popular culture version of the King Arthur story has gone through a lot of misogynistic hands, especially when it comes to Morgan."
"Misogynistic?"
"People who thought a powerful woman couldn't be anything but a wicked witch," Avalon explained dryly.
"Ah."
"But if you look back far enough, even in the human records, you'll see that Morgan was actually on Arthur's side. She didn't like Guinevere, but she supported Arthur in his quest to unite Albian."
"Albian. As in England."
"Lots of scholars think it's more like the whole world. Hence why my family holds the keys to Albian, which is where we are, not where Arthur is. After the final battle against Mordred when Arthur was fatally injured, Morgan helped get his near-dead body to the Isle of Apples—"
"Avalon," Vaughn said, his eyes twinkling. "Just like your name."
"Ugh. I love my name, but I sometimes wonder what my parents were thinking."
Vaughn laughed, and Avalon found herself grinning like a schoolgirl at the sound. He had a nice laugh.
"The Isle of Apples," she quickly said. "Some scholars think it has some connection to the Tree of Life in the Christian tradition, or the golden apples of Asgard in Norse beliefs. It's said to be a place of eternal life and healing, anyway. But yeah. Arthur is “the once and future king,” so he's going to come back some time, unite the world and bring about peace between every nation.
"At least, that's the most reasonable interpretation," Avalon continued. "My mom made me write essays on the subject matter every year growing up, using various scholarly sources, arguing for different ways of explaining the prophecies."
Vaughn jumped down from the fountain, landing lightly beside her. "I hope that's the right interpretation. The world could use some peace, don't you think?"
He started away and Avalon's gaze drifted to his tight ass. It was a mistake. Her cheeks flushed and a surge of heat swirled in her stomach. Her eyes snapped up again as Vaughn turned and he smirked. Avalon wondered if her pupils had dilated, giving her away. She cleared her throat and hurried to walk next to him instead of behind him.
"It's time for your first class," he said. "This way."
Avalon's heart sank as they headed for the offense building. It was just her luck that she was going to end up humiliating herself in front of all her classmates–and Vaughn–on her first day there.
The class was taught by a tiny woman who called herself Madame Fire. She was shorter even than Avalon, with spiky black hair and a thick New Zealand accent.
"The trick to fire," she said, "is emotion. Sadness, anger, joy, hate. These are your tools. The stronger the better. Form your weapon from emotion, let it burn through you. The real challenge is to use your emotions, but not let them consume you."
Avalon tried not to grimace. Emotion. She was a mellow person. This was precisely why she was never that great at fire magic, despite how pivotal it was to learn.
Vaughn stood with several other men and women at the end of the classroom. Avalon wondered idly if they were all bodyguards and then wondered who she was rubbing elbows with as the students formed a line. Royalty, perhaps?
"We're not going to be practicing any magic today. Your assignment for the next class is to find something you react with strong emotion to. It doesn’t matter what emotion, just find it and bring it to class." Madame Fire surveyed them for a moment, then nodded. "Dismissed."
Well, that was easy. Avalon turned to Vaughn, but a tall, dark-haired, slender girl stepped into her path. "You're Avalon Grey, aren't you?"
Avalon nodded.
"I'm Elsa. My mother said you'd be coming to school. I'm having a little get together in my dorm on Friday to celebrate our first week. You should come."
Vaughn was suddenly at her side, practically glowering at Elsa. Avalon ignored him, glad there was at least one person here that she could get to know. "Yeah, of course I'll come."
"Great!" Elsa beamed. "Seven o'clock, don’t be late."