“It’s an old story,” Aliya began, “which means we don’t know how factual it is. Much of it has become legend rather than truth.”
Victoria nodded, leaning forward in her seat. She’d heard bits and pieces from Leto, but it’d always felt disjointed to her. “Please, I’d like to hear it from you.”
Aliya shot her a searching look before diving into the tale. “Thousands of years ago, a daughter was born to Circe, one of the Goddess Mother’s favorite moon priestesses. Her name was Thaia and she was destined to be a moon priestess. Thaia was beautiful and pure of heart. Many sought her hand because of her beauty, goodness, and charm, but Thaia did not choose any of them. Instead, her right to a consort was stolen from her by a demon, one that spirited her away to his dimension.”
“A demon?” Victoria gasped.
“Yes. This demon was a powerful spirit demon that captured Thaia against her will. After almost a year of fruitless searching, Circe and the Goddess Mother were finally able to track the beast to his dimension. But they were too late. The demon had forced Thaia to become his consort and she’d died in childbirth, bearing a daughter who was forever cursed with the demon blood of her father. Circe and the Goddess Mother took the child and punished the demon for all eternity for his crime.”
“What did they do?” Victoria said, lost in Aliya’s story.
“No one really knows. He was banished from his dimension and this one, never to be heard from again.”
“And the baby?”
“The baby grew to be a powerful witch when she came of age at sixteen.” Aliya paused and looked Victoria full in the face. “The witch born of Thaia and the demon was the first Cruentus Curse witch.”
Victoria huffed, her hands fluttering to her throat. “So you’re saying that my b … blood is from a demon?”
“That is the legend. It is also said that the Goddess Mother saw the child as an abomination. Her impure demon blood and her untapped volatile power could not be controlled, so she tried to kill the girl soon after her magical awakening. But Circe, despite being bound to her oath as a moon priestess, helped her granddaughter escape. To protect her, Circe attempted to banish the girl’s demon gifts with a spell. It worked … partially.” Aliya’s eyes were sympathetic as she paused. “The transfer of the blood curse became sporadic, every few hundred years, as you know.”
“I see.” Victoria sighed, sinking back into the leather seat in a daze. The story made uncanny sense. And the more she thought about it, the more plausible it became—with its blackly red color, insane power, and terrifying ability to think for itself, blood like hers had to be demon blood. Which meant that she, too, was part demon. Her blood trilled softly and she shivered. Witches and vampires, she could handle, but demons? They were worse than monsters. And she was one of them.
Victoria swallowed past the surge of bile in her throat. “So you’re saying that demons exist?”
“Yes.”
“In this realm?”
“Not often. They rarely stray from their own dimension, but warlocks and dark witches summon them as part of black magic rites—in which you have to give up a part of your soul for the summoning.” Aliya’s face was tight as if caught in some awful memory, but as quickly as it’d come, her expression morphed into a bright smile when the car slowed. “Ah, we’re here.”
The limousine rolled to a stop in front of a gated estate. The golden sign on top of the entrance read Belles Fontaines. Victoria frowned, noticing that the forbidding perimeter fence on either side of the gates was mounted with high-tech surveillance equipment. It looked like a prison more than a school. From what Leto had told her, modern covens were esoteric and communal in nature, shrouded in secrecy like a specialized kind of cult. A small voice in her head reminded her that nothing good ever came out of secret organizations, but she shoved the warning away. The gates were designed to keep people out, that was all.
The car glided past the gates and meandered along a tree-lined street. She turned to stare at the black steel bars of the gate closing behind her, and a sour feeling invaded her stomach. She flushed at Aliya’s questioning look and directed her gaze to the surrounding landscape. She could be in a different place. It was strange that this hundred-acre wooded estate existed so close to the center of Paris, yet seemed to be worlds apart. The car swung left down a side street and pulled to a stop in front of a stately gray mansion.
“Here we are,” Aliya said, exiting the vehicle. “This is the main house.”
“This is the school?” Victoria asked as they walked into the building.
“Yes, Belles Fontaines.” She smiled at Victoria’s look of surprise. “It’s imposing at first, but we value our privacy for what we do here. The awakening of a witch’s power is no small matter, and the students need a lot of room for practice. Much of the training takes place outside.”
Victoria frowned. “But if you value secrecy, won’t regular people be able to see what’s going on?”
“There’s an illusion charm around the perimeter,” Aliya said, gesturing with her hands. “All anyone would see are tree tops and your standard estate property.” She smiled. “As you will no doubt discover, magic has its uses and benefits.”
Aliya walked down the entrance foyer to a room marked REGISTRATION, which was bustling with activity. Although there weren’t many students here yet, as this was their summer period, Aliya explained that preparations for the forthcoming fall year began early. After a few greetings, she led Victoria into another room off to the side with a door marked HEADMISTRESS and ushered Victoria in to meet Madame Starke, a diminutive woman with a mop of black curls and penetrating green eyes. She looked like a forest imp, more girl than headmistress, until she spoke. Her voice was low and resonant and demanded attention. Victoria could feel the power emanating just from the tenor of it—leaving no doubt in her mind that she was a force to be reckoned with.
She introduced herself. “I’m Victoria Warrick. My friends call me Tori.”
Aliya had warned earlier that she’d had to confide Victoria’s true identity to Madame Starke, so Victoria was not surprised to see her person subjected to a thorough and piercing assessment. The woman’s stare stripped away her defenses like they were nothing, and Victoria’s paper-thin confidence dissolved in seconds. This woman had the power to decide her future and whether she would be accepted as part of the school. Fighting the urge to flee, Victoria regarded her in tense silence until the headmistress finished the lengthy perusal.
“It is an honor to have you here, Mademoiselle Warrick,” she said finally. “As you must expect, the nature of your”—she paused, searching for the right word—“ancestry is interesting, to say the least.”
Victoria swallowed hard—interesting hardly covered it. And the less people knew about her ancestry, the better. “Thank you, Madame Starke,” she said in a wary voice. “If you don’t mind, I would rather not have my identity be common knowledge.”
“Bien sûr. Of course.” Madame Starke nodded. “Only senior staff will know about your background for their own protection, and yours, should anything untoward happen.” Her manner turned brisk, authoritative, as she opened a folder on her desk. “Now, Aliya suggests that you would benefit from some of our accelerated courses. She has also said that you’ve gained some rudimentary knowledge from your familiar. Is that correct?”
“Yes, I’m familiar with the basics, but I’d also like to understand more about magic and its use. I am not accustomed to your laws and rules, and I’d like to know them.” Victoria hesitated. “I know I’m not a part of your coven, but it’s important for me to appreciate how it operates.”
Madame Starke was nodding as Victoria spoke, a hint of a frown drawing her brows together. “Excellent. We have already assigned you a mentor. Here’s your course schedule for the next few months. You’ll start immediately.”
“My mentor?”
“A senior graduate who has to complete a year of apprenticeship,
which includes mentoring younger students,” she said. “I’ll introduce you to him in a moment. And as discussed, it’s your choice to take anyone into your confidence regarding the Cruentus Curse.” Victoria flinched inwardly at the mention of it, but displayed no outward reaction. “You’ll also need to do a standard assessment examination, which is required for any new matriculating students.”
“Assessment?”
“Yes, we need to gauge your abilities.”
Victoria bit her lip, fear making her stomach dip at the thought of showing what she was capable of. She didn’t want to hurt anyone, or worse, be ruled a danger to people at the school.
“All my abilities?” she asked. Madame Starke’s answering nod was firm, but Victoria thought she saw something wary flash in their depths for the barest moment. Anxiety or maybe concern, but she couldn’t be sure. Just as she was about to object, a knock on the door interrupted them, and a tall young man walked in.
“Ah, Panthèse. Perfect. This is Victoria Warrick, the new student we discussed. I trust you will take her under your wing.”
“Of course. Call me Pan,” the boy said in a jaunty voice, clasping Victoria’s hands in his. Something warm and familiar leapt between them, putting her instantly at ease. She stared at him with a shy smile. Pan was the most beautiful boy she’d ever seen. Spiky white blond hair framed his heart-shaped face, making him look almost elfin. His eyes were as blue as pansies, and his ears—oh my god—her eyes snapped to his. Pan winked and grinned at her slack-jawed expression.
“Ah, I see you’ve noticed my Achilles heel, my fatal flaw,” he said with dramatic flair. “That’s what happens when there’s elf blood in the family. It shows up in the most unexpected places.” He waggled his pointed ears and Victoria giggled in spite of herself. She liked his unaffected warmth already.
Madame Starke cleared her throat. “Pan, her assessment is this afternoon, so if you could escort her through the basics of the school program until then, that would be most appreciated.”
Victoria’s eyes widened at the timing. She’d expected some time to prepare, talk to Leto, and figure out how she could perform magic without going blood crazy. “Wait, what? This afternoon?”
“The sooner, the better,” Madame Starke said. She straightened, her manner becoming dismissive. “It was a pleasure, Victoria. Please do let me know if you have any questions about our school. Pan will take it from here.”
“Thank you.”
In a daze, Victoria followed Pan outside, saying goodbye to Aliya, who had some business to attend to. Pan chatted nonstop during the brief tour of the academic program and the premises, and she struggled to take it all in. After the tour, she decided to explore at her own pace since Pan needed to check in with his advisor.
“Don’t worry, I’ll find you.”
“How?”
“You’ll see.” He smiled and winked.
Victoria shook her head, grinning at his confidence. Part of her blood’s magic included a special cloaking ability, but she was interested to see how he would fare.
The compound was picturesque, its perfectly groomed grounds stretching for miles with flowering trees and shrubs dotting the landscape. Victoria looked up at the overcast sky and wondered about the magical ceiling. She mentally projected herself upward until she could sense the pliable barrier, shimmering all around her like silvery blue dust. It was complex magic.
Awed by the sheer intricacy of it, not to mention the power behind it, she floated back to herself and continued her walk, studying the map in her hand. The buildings were arranged in a star shape with the main house at its top-most point. They were all connected by walkways leading to a central circular building. As she walked toward it, other tree-shrouded groves caught her attention, and she realized that they were outdoor classrooms. The thought of participating in an open-air class with other Belles Fontaines students made her smile.
Aliya had explained that most students matriculated when they came of magical age, usually between thirteen and sixteen, and that magical training had to be concurrent with regular academics. Since she’d already graduated, she would only focus on the magical piece. Victoria looked at the small handbook she’d received. There were five years in total, not including the apprenticeship year, and were split from rank one through rank five She would not participate in any of those, as her handbook was clearly marked Advanced Program, which meant that she’d be studying with other specializing students. Unless, of course, she failed her assessment.
Great. Not that she wasn’t putting enough pressure on herself already.
She leafed through the book. The Advanced Program was a fast-track placement that occurred after rank five Not everyone made it into the AP classes, and some chose to not to specialize, but for the most part, witches entering the program had to specify their area of study in addition to taking General Magic Theory. From what she could see, the specializations ranged from Elemental Magic to Healing Charms to Quantum Spatial Magic to Crystal Enhancement. Luckily, she would have a few weeks of accelerated immersion before most of the other students came back in September, and maybe she’d be lucky enough to figure out a specialization before that.
If she got that far.
Victoria pushed open the door to the massive central building surrounded by tall gray columns. She exhaled when her eyes adjusted to the dark as the huge arena came into view. Stadium seating surrounded an indented gym-like center as big as a soccer field, scattered with all kinds of apparatuses, pads, and weapons.
“Illustro,” she said, and all the lights in the darkened hall came on. It looked exactly like a medieval dueling ring, except without sand and blood. Climbing down the steps to the railing around the enclosure, she stared in fascination.
“Whoa,” she whispered.
A voice behind her made her jump nearly out of her skin. “It’s impressive, isn’t it?”
Victoria whirled around so quickly that she almost tumbled over the side, but relaxed when she saw that it was Pan. “What is this place?” she asked.
“It’s an exhibition ring. Each week during the term, we have all kinds of competitions. Students can earn extra credit in various classes—telekinesis, shape shifting, you name it. We also have duels, where any student can challenge another student, within the same rank, of course. It’s all supervised so no one gets too badly hurt.” He grinned noticing her shocked expression. “It’s a healthy way to settle disagreements.”
Victoria stared at him, belatedly realizing that he’d found her just as he said he would. She frowned. “How did you find me?”
Pan smiled wider. “Ah, that’s my specialty,” he said in a sham mysterious voice. “Guess.”
“I don’t know—smell?” she guessed. He shot her a patronizing look at her response and Victoria flushed, but then she remembered the witch who had found her on the mountain because of her heat signature. “Heat radiation?” she asked and he shook his head. “Fine, how did you do it?”
“You’re no fun. Come on, be inventive!”
“Projection?”
“Now we’re getting somewhere, but no.”
“I give up.”
Pan flung his arms wide. “The trees.”
“The trees?” she repeated.
“Yes, I can talk to them and they talk to me.”
Victoria stifled the giggle that rose in her throat, her face twisting into a sarcastic expression. “Yeah, right. You saw me come in here, didn’t you?”
“I’m serious, Victoria. I talk to trees, plants, bushes, and flowers.” He paused. “Why so surprised? They’re living things, too, and can communicate just as well as anyone. It’s why I was placed in the Advanced Program. I study Dendrology. It’s a rare gift.”
She stared at him. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize that was even possible,” she apologized, despite feeling like he was playing her. “And my name’s Tori.”
“Here, I can see that you don’t believe me. I’ll show
you.” Pan gabbed her arm and pulled her out of the building. He waved his hand above his head, and sure enough, the branches swayed, rustling in the wind as if in response to Pan’s special brand of magic.
Victoria glanced up into the boughs of the trees stretching above them and shook her head in wonder. “Now that I think about it, it makes sense. Out of every living thing in the world, why would they be any different?” She smiled. “So what are they saying now? I can hear their leaves rustling, but that’s about it.”
“They’re saying, ‘Pan, your friend is greener than we are. But she’s oh, so pretty,’” he said with a mischievous grin.
“No, they’re not.” She laughed, drawn in by his playful teasing. Feeling determined to hear them on her own, she focused and summoned the blood magic to her center, but all she could discern was a muted whispering and a few indecipherable words. Still, her eyes widened in surprise—they were talking, although it seemed to be in a language she didn’t understand. “What are they really saying?” she said. “I don’t understand their language.”
Pan shot her an incredulous look. “You can hear them?” She nodded, and this time, it was Pan’s turn to look surprised. “You truly are gifted.”
“Where are you taking me, anyway?” she asked, blushing at his comment and noticing that they were headed back to the main manor house.
“I was sent to fetch you for your assessment,” he said in a fake ominous tone. Despite his jovial eye roll, Victoria felt a nervous weight settle in her stomach as they walked toward one of the other points of the building. Her blood swirled restlessly, as if it, too, knew that something was in the wind. She quieted it with an unspoken command. There would be no display of rogue blood magic today, not if she could help it.
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