“You’d better be careful. Dragons are hotheaded and only look out for themselves,” Lacy advised the next day when she saw how happy I was. I’d made the mistake of telling her about my evening with Logan—not all of it, but enough she was now eyeing me with a doubtful look in her eyes. “I’m not joking. You’re new to the shifter world, Claire. There are things about each of our kind that you don’t know yet.”
“Like what?” I prodded, hoping to get her off the subject of Logan. No way was I going to tell her I knew quite a bit about him now—possibly more than she did.
“You’ll find out in just a bit.” We were on our way to the first class of the day. Mythological Beings.
I nodded.
“This class is a fun one. Aeolith is a good teacher, even if she is a bit of a cold fish,” Lacy said.
Still, I wanted to know more about the shifters—just not Logan. “What other things should I know about shifters?”
“All right. For example, me. Mermaids are known for being able to enchant humans. We don’t really care about their well-being. That’s why there are so many sailor tales about sirens luring fishermen and such to their deaths,” she said, lifting a brow as if just saying those words would give her a tougher reputation.
“Okay, I won’t let you get me in the water,” I joked. “What else should I know?”
She rolled her eyes at my sarcasm and continued, “Water serpents are like the vampires of the water. If they decide not to kill you, their bite can either poison you just like a snake’s, or they can enthrall you to do whatever they want.” She scrunched up her nose. “They don’t do that often, though. From everything I’ve heard about them, they are more likely to kill you outright. They’re like dragons, in that way—not all that patient. Luckily, their bite is only poisonous when they are in the water.”
“Yeah, that is lucky,” I agreed. Victor was bad enough without giving him the power to poison people on land.
Lacy changed the subject, somewhat abruptly. “I’m surprised they haven’t had you for an actual shifting class yet. So far, only history, and today, mythology? They aren’t doing great with your schedule, if you ask me.”
I didn’t dare tell her about what had happened after history class yesterday, so I only shrugged. “I guess they’ll make up for it today. I have practical shifting this afternoon.”
“Ah,” she acknowledged with a nod.
In all truth, I was supposed to have had that class yesterday, but didn’t go. I was more than surprised that none of the teachers had asked me why I hadn’t followed the schedule. At the very least, I’d expected some sort of reprimand from the headmistress. Maybe she’s been too busy fixing the shields to worry about me. Maybe that’s why they didn’t notice that I hadn’t attended. I followed Lacy into the enormous room that was the school’s library, lost in my thoughts.
“I forgot to mention that Aeolith is rather…unique,” Lacy hissed in a whisper. “She’s not one I would want to be on the wrong side of.”
“What you are trying to say, Ms. Jennings, is that I am a Spriteblood, one of the last of my kind, and we do not tolerate tardiness, for a start.” A voice that sounded like pattering raindrops came from beside the door we just entered. We whirled. At first glance, I got the impression of a woman with dark hair that fell to her waist in waves, but a closer look told me she wasn’t human…not by a long shot.
Her eyes were black voids. Endless, bottomless…and when she noticed I was staring, she bared her teeth. They were extremely sharp and pointed.
Definitely not someone I want to tick off, I decided, agreeing with Lacy’s warning.
“If you are finished gawking, the other students are already in the classroom,” the teacher said, indicating the doorway at the other side of the library with a pointed finger. “Go and find your seats.”
“Yes, ma’am,” we said in unison, scurrying to the door where we found everyone else seated inside.
“Just Aeolith? Doesn’t she have a last name?” I whispered to Lacy as we grabbed two empty seats near the back.
“Nope, she’s fae,” was the answer, as if that, in itself, would be self-explanatory. I didn’t get to ask anything else, because Aeolith glided into the room and everyone’s attention focused uneasily on her. It wasn’t hard to see why. She’d made it a point to show off those razor-like teeth before she spoke to begin her lesson.
Each of us had a thick blue tome on the desk in front of us, the title embossed in a golden script. Mythological Beings.
“Turn to page eighty-three,” Aeolith instructed, without giving her class so much as a greeting as she took her place at the front.
Faerie godmothers? I thought, dumbstruck, as I stared at the heading over the picture of a popular animated film that involved pumpkins and the stroke of midnight. My mind vaguely registered the fact that Aeolith was reading it aloud.
“This is bullshit,” a very familiar voice said. I looked up to see Victor across the room as he slapped his book shut, crossing his arms over his chest. He fixed the librarian with a narrow gaze. “We’re supposed to be learning something in here. Not reading about imaginary characters from a nursery rhyme.”
Aeolith didn’t answer at first, only lifted one perfectly arched brow. “Mr. DeVenoss, this class is titled Mythological Beings for a reason. Some are true, if you hadn’t noticed, by the evidence of your classmates here in attendance.” She gestured to Benny, who sat in the front of the class, and to us, at the back, no doubt at Lacy.
“I still call bullshit,” Victor replied stubbornly.
“It’s not bullshit,” Lacy said, her normally meek, soft-spoken voice becoming shrill. I glanced over at her, shocked. Never in a million years would I have pegged her for standing up to anyone, much less Victor.
“It is,” Victor insisted, his eyes narrowing further when he noticed who had dared to speak up. “It’s a bunch of malarkey. Learning this is a waste of time.”
Aeolith looked as if she were getting ready to speak, when Lacy continued. “It’s not,” she insisted. “When I was two, I fell into the river in front of my house. My gills hadn’t fully formed then, so I couldn’t swim. The water rushed over my head. The last thing I remember seeing in the bubbles that spiraled upward was a bright light, then I felt it tug me out of the water. Fairy godmothers and godfathers are real.”
A few people cleared their throats at this story. Victor looked triumphant as he shot us a sleazy smile and leaned back in his chair.
“It’s true,” Lacy swore, muttering under her breath as Aeolith picked up where she left off, as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred.
When class was over, I followed Lacy out of the library. As soon as we cleared the door, Victor pinned her against the wall, forearm against her throat. “I don’t appreciate being made to look like an idiot, little mermaid,” he hissed.
If anything, Lacy was the one who looked crazy, not you. Unfortunately. The unkind thought flitted by as I stepped up to him.
“Leave her alone, Victor,” I said, pulling at his arm. Lacy’s face had turned bright red, and she was gasping.
“Leave her alone or what?” He sneered. “What are you going to do about it, fox girl?”
“I’ll do something that will make you wish you had listened to me,” I threatened, feeling the pulse of magic come off him feeding my own. I knew I could shift and become what he was—but I didn’t know what I’d do afterward.
Victor let Lacy go and she slumped forward, taking huge gulping breaths.
“Prove it,” he said, giving me a push that made me angrier. “Fight me.”
“Not here,” Lacy managed in a raspy voice. “At the Peak. Tonight.”
Instantly, my bravado wavered. I didn’t know what “the Peak” was, or what exactly I had been pushed into as my reward for saving my friend, but as I watched something dark slither beneath Victor’s eyes, I began to worry.
“Fine,” he said in a quiet, still voice that made him even scarier without him even trying. “I’ll see you there at nightfall.”
“Okay.” My voice sounded stronger than I was.
“And you’d better be there.”
“I will.” What in the world have I gotten myself into? I watched him saunter off. Better yet, what have you gotten me into? I thought, whirling around to stare at Lacy, who was looking as if she completely regretted having spoken at all.
“Well?” I asked, waiting for an explanation. “What on earth is the Peak and why do I have the feeling that this might be my last day on Earth?”
Lacy winced. “I’m sorry. It was the only thing I could think of. I had to stop him from fighting you now. The headmistress is strict on the no fighting on school grounds. I didn’t want you to end up on Purgatory.”
“Sorry…what?” I asked, taken aback. Never had I thought the headmistress to have enough power to send me to Hell. Maybe I’d been wrong in how powerful a griffin really was.
“Purgatory Mountain,” Lacy explained. “It’s in the Forest of Lost Souls, where they send the students who can’t be saved. Fighting can be dangerous when it comes to shapeshifters. Fangs, claws, and all, you know. If you break Imperium’s rules, you get a one-way ticket to Purgatory.” Her shoulders dropped, and she looked at the floor. “I’m sorry, Claire. I was trying to help you since you helped me.”
No one other than Blake had ever stood up to someone bullying me, and I was touched, but I still worried she had done more harm than good. “What is the Peak?”
“The Peak is a cliffside, about a mile away from school. It’s shielded with magic, so isn’t visible to humans, but the teachers never go there since it doesn’t fall within Imperium’s borders. It was the first place I thought of to make him leave you alone now,” she admitted. “I’m really, really sorry, Claire.”
I mustered a smile. “It will be okay. What’s the worst that can happen?”
She didn’t answer me. If anything, she looked ready to cry, which made me worry even more. Once again, I wondered if maybe my life before Shifter’s University hadn’t been safer than it was now. At least there, I knew what to expect.