“The physical test went pretty well. I came in second alongside the witches I teamed up with.”
Ms. Seeley beamed, and the air began to shimmer around her. At Spellcasters, only Ms. Seeley and Professor de Spina could claim a mix of magical heritages and it really showed in their appearances. Slightly less so with de Spina, seeing as he was only a smidge demon. But Ms. Seeley, with her white-blonde hair, violet eyes, and shimmering aura, was definitely part-fae.
“That’s our girl!” Ms. Seeley’s voice rose as she nodded a greeting to another family. “I’m guessing Phoebe and Tabitha were with you? Who beat you?”
As subtle as possible I glanced around Agnes Sampson Hall. It took only a moment to find Alex as a small crowd of students surrounded him and his family. I recognized a few of the families as legacies who had sent older siblings to the academy before. A couple had even had lunch with my mother when they dropped off their students, which meant that they donated money to the school. I nodded at Alex. “Do you see that black-haired boy with glasses?”
Ms. Seeley looked in the direction I pointed. “Oh yes, dear. I see that young man.” She shot me a sly look, and my stupid cheeks heated, giving me away. “He’s an attractive one, isn’t he, Miss Diana?”
“Yeah. And really skilled at healing. He’s actually the one who saved Father. If I had to guess, I’d say he and I are the ones to beat in the exam rankings.”
Ms. Seeley nodded, a twinkle in her eyes. “Of course, dear. Perhaps you should go confer with him about strategy then? It seemed to me that dark-haired girl is getting rather close. I believe her name is Wilhelmina Köhler, younger sister to Leni Köhler.” The professor’s eyebrows arched. “As you know, Leni is quite popular among the wizards in the upcoming Crucible year. You wouldn’t want to lose a potential ally to a charming young lady—especially such a skilled ally.” She winked.
My heart rate kicked up at the mention of Leni. Who didn’t know her? Most of the incoming third years were totally head-over-heels for Leni, and if Wilhelmina, was anything like her sister, Alex would be half in love already.
Just the thought was enough to send me striding across the hall. I ignored the witches I didn’t know who requested a word, and forced myself to merely smile at the few families who I actually would have liked to speak with. Hopefully, I could catch up with them later.
“Mr. and Mrs. Wardwell! It’s so good to see you.” I smiled warmly as I joined the Wardwells. “I wanted to thank you again for seeing to my father last week. I don’t know if you’ve spoken to him yet, but he’s recovering quickly thanks to your ministrations.” My gaze trailed to Alex who had stopped speaking to the Köhler girl upon my arrival and smiled at me.
“I’m glad to hear that, Diana,” Alice said. “We’re so happy everything worked out. And that we could be here today.”
“Of course.” I nodded seriously. “You deserve to be here. How could we deny Alex’s skills after such a display of magic? My mother doesn’t give much away, but I can tell you that I know for fact that she was impressed. And I was too.” I beamed at Alex before catching Wilhelmina’s gaze and sending a not-so-subtle message.
She shrunk back, clearly catching my drift, and cleared her throat. “You know what? I just realized that my parents are trying to get my attention. I’ll catch you in the initiates tower tonight, Alex?”
Alex’s lips curved up in a small smile. “Yup. I plan on staying there.”
“Great. We’ll chat later!” Wilhelmina twiddled her fingers and then traipsed off, hips swinging like she knew how to use them.
Jealousy arose in me at the idea of them both staying in the tower, but I brushed it aside quickly. As much as I wanted Alex to notice me, there was no way I was staying in the initiate tower tonight.
At dinner Mother had announced that the mental examination would be held tomorrow, and it was notoriously difficult. I’d need all the brainpower I could get, which meant a good night’s sleep was a must. Plus, I could just ask Phoebe to keep an eye on Alex and the younger Köhler. She’d make sure they didn’t get too close.
I was just about to try to strike up another conversation when Alice motioned at something across the room.
John looked in the direction she pointed and gaped. “Well, well . . . I believe we should go mingle too,” John said, pulling Alice’s arm into his. “We’ve been hoping to meet the Easteys all day, and Alice has just spotted them without their usual entourage. You two have fun.” They waved and melted into the crowd.
It took all I had not to fist pump. His parents are gone! This is perfect—
“Diana!” My elation evaporated as Miss Iris appeared at my side. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you. I want to hear all about how the exam went!” She offered us drinks from a tray of champagne that she was carrying. I declined, but Alex selected one. As he did, Miss Iris beamed at him. “And while you’re at it, introduce me to your handsome friend here.”
I sighed, performed introductions, and gave Miss Iris the rundown on the physical exam.
“I just knew you’d do superb, love! I must tell Jagger.” She whirled around and her eyes widened. “Well, damn. I wonder where he’s gone off to now? I told him to circulate by the stage.”
My eyebrows knitted together. “Wait . . . Jagger is here? I’m surprised Mother allowed that.” The entrance exams and the events surrounding them were limited to hopeful initiates, their families, a limited number of Spellcasters staff, and previous headmasters. Miss Iris usually came to at least one of the exams as an extension of her father, who hadn’t attended for the last three years.
Miss Iris sighed and rolled her eyes. “Yes, well, your mother requested that I bring extra champagne in for the parents of those undergoing their exams. The bistro usually provides it, but apparently they couldn’t this year. And you know how she is, she doesn’t want to keep a stash of alcohol in the school, but won’t ever deny potential donors of their drink.” Miss Iris wagged her eyebrows. She was totally right. Mother only allowed alcohol inside the academy during special occasions or during the bartending workshops put on by Professor Medulla. It was her way of ensuring that there was no underage drinking. Little did she know that savvy students just paid certain staff members to sneak it in for them.
“Anyway, when Jagger heard I was coming to the academy he offered to help as part of my staff. Apparently, he was a student at the Shifter Academy of Spies for a couple of years before dropping out. Academic places interest him.”
My ears perked up. So my first impression of Jagger being a spy had been right. “You didn’t mention that before.” As soon as the words left my mouth my cheeks began to burn. “Not that I expect you to tell me all about your dating life, but—”
“I usually do? Lord, I must learn to keep my mouth shut.” Miss Iris chuckled. “Rest assured, love, I’m not keeping anything from you. I just discovered that little tidbit about Jagger for myself a couple of days ago. I think he might have been embarrassed to tell me. You know, him dropping out and me being an ex-headmaster’s daughter. So silly really! I didn’t even attend Spellcasters, so who am I to judge? But if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that men will often hide their tarnished pasts to impress a lady.” Her lips pursed in amusement. “Anyway, I vouched for him so your mother allowed him to come work this event with me. Although I’ll admit it was clear she didn’t really want to.”
Miss Iris turned to face the wider room and swept her free arm around dramatically. “But honestly! How she expected me and my little staff of five to serve over one hundred people is beyond me. If she doesn’t want me bringing people then she shouldn’t cut most of the Spellcasters staff loose until after testing is over.”
“Well, I’m glad he’s helping,” I said, trying to appease Miss Iris. “But if he wandered off, you better find him. You know that the academy is a maze.”
Miss Iris pursed her lips. “Don’t I know it. And he already seemed pretty interested in the school. I had to go out of my way earlier
because he was dying to see a portrait of Dad. Said he wanted to see how my genes were going to hold up—the dog!” She rolled her eyes. “Anyway, I wouldn’t put it past him to take a self-guided tour. Why are the men I date always trouble?”
“Like Mother always says, trouble attracts trouble.” I teased, which earned me a playful poke from Miss Iris.
“I’m sweet as pie, and you know it!” Miss Iris winked, making me chuckle. “Well, I best be off. These drinks aren’t going to serve themselves. I’ll catch you later, love. Good luck tomorrow. You too, Mr. Wardwell.”
Finally alone again, I turned my attention to Alex. He was watching Miss Iris go, an amused look on his face.
“She owns the café in town. Her father used to be Headmaster here, so we have a special connection.”
“That makes sense. It’s a unique situation to be in,” Alex said, pivoting to face me again. “Speaking of unique, that was some challenge today, huh?”
“Did you expect any different?” I asked my tone light, although I was truly curious. As a non-legacy, what had he been expecting?
“Ha. Not really. My parents were fanatical about being the best and trained me as if I was going into Hell itself. I knew these exams would kick my butt. Something tells me you were prepared similarly?” Alex quirked a sexy, dark eyebrow.
My hand flew to my heart. “Me? No way!”
We both laughed, and when our mirth petered out, Alex shook his head. “I guess I can’t say for sure what I expected, but I was pretty positive that whatever I came across would kick my ass. And I was right. That river challenge was almost the end of me!”
“How did you make it across, anyway?”
“Shielding saved my butt. Twice a fae creature almost got me but his hand—or webbing, I guess—ran into the shield. If he made his move a second earlier, I’d have been taking a swim.” He paused and then added. “How is your injured friend, by the way? She was rushed off pretty quickly after you guys crossed the finish line.”
“Tabitha,” I said, trying to hide how impressed I was that Alex could manage to create a shield while he was in motion. I had to be stationary to make one. “She’s fine. She got her leg caught in a trap, which sucks, but it’s totally healable. Not like some of the more serious injuries.”
With only thirty seconds remaining in the challenge one kid had been carried across the finish line by four others because he’d lost so much blood from a wound inflicted by a tiger-shifter. As soon as participants had crossed the finish line, or the time was up, depending on which came first, the injured had been spirited away to the infirmary. Since then the healers had been working hard to ensure everyone was cured quickly.
“No one said these tests were safe. In fact, they assured us that they weren’t. Why else would we have to sign a waiver? These exams are meant to stretch us to breaking. After all, spying isn’t safe,” Alex muttered.
“Yup. Some people just don’t prepare well.” An image of Jackson flitted through my mind, and I pushed it away, unwilling to think about him when Alex was standing right in front of me. “So, what do you think—”
A boom of laughter cut across the room, loud and vivacious, prompting us to turn around. When I saw who was making the commotion, I smirked.
Hunter stood in the middle of a circle of hopeful initiates, mostly female. All the girls were shrieking with laughter at something he’d said, but his influence didn’t stop there. A few older men were on the outskirts of the group literally grasping their guts from laughing so hard.
Although he couldn’t have known it, Hunter had probably just earned himself a couple of brownie points with Mother. Charm mattered when applying to Spellcasters. It was one of the reasons my mother chose to hold this function and the dinners, which everyone was encouraged to attend. She wanted to see who mingled well and who was awkward. It wasn’t an official part of the testing, but everything we did during these three days mattered and was taken into account as a reflection on our character.
I turned back to Alex, ready to make a smart ass remark about how my friends were crushing hard on Hunter, but stopped short when I saw his face.
He was staring at Hunter, lips pressed together and blue eyes blazing with irritation. For a split second, I was confused. But then his parents’ mention of their family feud came rushing back, and I realized that I’d nearly said a very dumb thing.
It was obvious that the families had staked out spots on opposite sides of the room. Their backs were even to each other. A blatant snub.
Right then and there I resolved not to bring Hunter up again. Even though he was nice enough and had helped me get through the first exam, I didn’t want anything to damage my chances of getting closer to Alex.
Chapter Ten
My body sagged as I trudged to Alice Kyteler Hall, where the mental examination would take place. Thankfully, even though my muscles ached from yesterday, my mind was clear and zinging. I was pleased with my choice to sleep in my family suite, rather than in the first-year tower with most of the other hopeful initiates. Hell, I’d even gone to bed two hours earlier than normal, because while I had no idea what we’d encounter during the mental exam, I did know that this was the test most students failed.
Rumor had it that one year the students were instructed to write a twenty-page paper on the workings of the United States government. Another year, they had to discuss liaisons with various fae courts. As usual, my mother never confirmed or denied these rumors. She didn’t even tell me about her own entrance exams and those had been forever ago.
My nerves began to tingle, as they always did when I thought too much about this particular exam. Shaking them off as best I could, I turned into another hallway and caught sight of Phoebe and Tabitha giggling outside Kyteler Hall.
“Hey, ladies,” I said when I got close enough. “How’s your leg, Tabby?”
They both jumped, apparently so embroiled in whatever had made them laugh that they hadn’t heard me coming.
“Oh, it’s fine,” Tabitha said, giving me a cool wave of her hand. “The healers took care of it in like five seconds and instructed me to take it easy for twenty-four hours. Which works out perfectly since all we’re doing it sitting today. By the time the magic exam rolls around I should be all healed up.”
“You really should have stayed in the tower last night, Di.” Phoebe paused to smile at five people who slipped by us to enter the examination room. “It was a blast.”
My eyes ran over her. Dark circles rimmed her usually bright eyes. “I bet. But you look tired. Aren’t you worried that your partying might affect today’s exam?”
Phoebe lifted a thermos and pretended to cheers me with it. “That’s what coffee is for! I promise, it was sooooo worth it. We had a ton of fun last night. You have to come tonight. Pu-leeaaasssse!”
“Three minutes until the exam begins! Two and a half minutes until the doors close! If you’re not inside at that time, you will be barred from taking the mental exam,” a voice rang out.
I glanced inside Kyteler Hall to find Professor Umbra, the stout Conjuring professor, pacing between the desks.
“And do not open your exam packet until I say so,” she added, her tone terse. “I shall know if you do.”
Her gaze shot through a short, blond guy in the front row who had been fiddling with the packet that the exam was sealed inside. All the blood drained from his face as he dropped the envelope and sat on his hands.
“Maybe I’ll swing by tonight,” I said, not ready to give my friends a straight answer. I’d have to see how I felt after the mental exam. I was hoping to feel confident about my performance and finish first—that would even Alex and me out in the rankings with one test left to go.
The post entry exam rankings were important because they were made public for anyone involved with Spellcasters to view. If anyone looked, I wanted my name to show up at the top.
“I’m going to find a seat.” I gestured to the desks. “Talk to you guys later.” As I walked into Kyt
eler Hall I searched the room for Alex. I found him almost right away. He was sitting near the back and trying to fend off a girl who was clearly flirting with him.
Something inside me roared in displeasure but I pushed it away, not willing to let anything distract me before such an important event. Instead, I focused on finding the perfect spot. I’d barely gotten comfortable in my seat when the doors to the room snapped shut on their own accord.
Thirty seconds to go.
Professor Umbra took up pacing the rows once again. “This year’s test is one of my favorites. It is based on logic and riddles, for to become a spy you need more than just a head full of facts. You need to be able to reason through scenarios. To deduce what is true and what is not. It is, I believe, one of the most relevant exams we have given.”
A door opened at the front of the room, and my mother appeared. Her eyes were narrow and her lips set in a frown that made my spine straighten. I rarely saw that expression, but when I did, it was because Mother was truly frustrated about something. I wondered what it was.
Only after Mother took one of the two seats at the proctors’ desk did Professor Umbra speak again.
“You have five hours to complete this exam. If you have not finished at that time, you will simply hand in what you have completed. Points will be deducted for not finishing, just as points will be given for completing the exam, finishing under time, and the order in which you complete the exam.” Umbra pointed to the far side of the room where skinny Professor Tittelbaum sat reading a book next to a second set of doors. “Restrooms are through that door and to the left. Only one student may leave this room at a time. Professor Tittelbaum will be keeping track of who leaves and enters. Any questions?”
No one spoke.
“Very well,” Professor Umbra clapped her hands, releasing a spray of magic.
A second later, the hooting of an owl sounded. A few people looked confused, but I wasn’t. The hoot was a marker that identified the beginning and ending of classes or special events.
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