Victory: Year Four

by Amabel Daniels

  “She didn’t ask. Well, she did. But that wasn’t it.” I told him everything about what Glorian had done to me. Manipulating and screwing up my college applications. Previously asking me if “Mr. Mason” had visited me after the mold incident last year. About her all but demanding me to give her the neala.

  “That’s…” Disgust and rage lined his face. “That’s a threat,” he declared after I said Glorian didn’t want to let me leave Olde Earth with the neala.

  I’d viewed it as much as well.

  “That neala…” He sighed and scratched at his forehead. “Your grandparents had two of them. Let me back up. There are several elements that can help and hinder elven powers. Metals”—he gestured at the leather bracelet with rivets he’d given me—“are excellent for curbing power. That wristband was Anessa’s. Nevis asked me to keep it locked up here before he left. I kept it in my safe until you arrived.”

  I stroked the soft worn leather edge, appreciating another connection to the mother I never knew.

  “Other minerals, specifically gems, can add to elven power. Either by increasing the strength of it, assisting to make a clearer path for energy to flow—like a conduit. Some can help to speed up the conveyance of power. Celestite, hematite…” He pointed at my neck, where he likely guessed my necklace remained. “Alexandrite.”

  “Any piece of those stones and gems can do it?”

  He nodded a little. “Yes and no. It’s not as though they can make or break elven power. Consider them more of accessories. What you and Nevis, and a select few others have, are rarer. The gemstone Nevis gave to you is one of a pair. Two cut from the same larger stone.”

  Wow. From what I’d researched and what the pawn shop guy said, my piece of alexandrite was already a large size. To imagine an even bigger one…very valuable.

  “But they ceased being simply alexandrite when they were embedded with ancient spells. This is a long, long time ago. And many of the elves who’d specialized in spells are no longer alive. Those bloodlines were the first to be lost. Those nealas, though, are the remaining artifacts of those elven lines. Your grandfather received them as a family heirloom and they were passed down to Anessa and Nevis.”

  I pulled the gemstone out from its safety under my shirt. As I stared at it, I frowned. “I thought Anessa and Nevis were outsiders.” That meant they wouldn’t have known they were elves. If they’d grown up unaware they were elves, then did my grandparents simply lie and hide that truth?

  No, that’s not right either. Ethel said Anessa was tired of her family expectations. Dad said she hadn’t wanted to tell her family she was pregnant because she was sick of their control.

  Suthering nodded. “They were, ironically. Your grandfather was a very influential elf. Your grandmother was as well—a strong Impressor. Yet she’d grown depressed from her power, her ability to heal others. She’d used her energy for the better, but it took a toll on her. When she was pregnant with Anessa, when Nevis was likely only a year old, she went to work at the hospital, taking Nevis with her, and disappeared. They found her deceased in a car accident several months later, and Anessa and Nevis were lost. Your grandfather searched everywhere, but she’d ended up putting them for adoption. Unfortunately, a family of politicians adopted them—a conservative and strict couple who couldn’t have children of their own. The headmaster at the time found out about their unique habits and then brought them to Olde Earth.”

  I blinked at the tragic story. It was so much to take in.

  “The politicians were actually aware of Olde Earth and elves to begin with. They were Low Diluted elves but didn’t speak of their heritage—out of fear of alienation among humans. Once they were here, and Nevis and Anessa showed signs of their powers, it became clear to the council that they had to be the lost siblings. Your grandfather was still alive then and asked for blood to be compared to his.” Suthering splayed out his hands with a slight rise of his shoulders. “And that confirmed it. Knowing they were his children, he gave them the nealas. He passed away a week after they confirmed the relations.”

  I stroked the neala. “Who was the headmaster who brought Anessa and Nevis here?” His predecessor, I assumed.

  He pursed his lips and eyed the floor for a moment. “Reginald Andeas. Glorian’s father.”

  I flung my hands up and slouched back in my seat. Well, that was nice. Both daddy and daughter were vying to have my family under their command.

  “I don’t think I need to tell you how imperative it is that you don’t let Glorian get that neala.”

  I mocked a deadpanned duh expression.

  He went on. “Her father wanted it. She wants it. Even though she’s personally unable to use that neala, because it is meant to correspond to Pure power, there’s no telling what she could do with it.”

  I nodded and frowned at him. He hung his head low, elbows on his knees and hands folded together in front of him.

  Glorian might not use it herself, but I could definitely see her dangling it like a carrot for a Pure elf to work for her. “I can guess.”

  He raised his face to me.

  “She could lure Aura with it.” That raven-haired brat was the first not-so-nice Pure who came to mind.

  “Or, she could lose it and Stu could come across it.” He sat up fully, pushing on his knees. “That’s my bigger worry. Aura is still learning the extent of her power. Stu knows how to use it in all the worst ways.”

  Again, he was a model for exhaustion.

  Suthering wasn’t always here to guide me, and I appreciated that he tried to leave me in good hands, like Wolf, Marcy, and Ethel. When he was absent, though, he had more than a challenge on his hands. Having detectives seek out mad-scientist Griswold, other PIs looking for Stu. And that was just two examples of elves-gone-bad. All those “cases” he loosely referenced around the world. How he and Wolf had gone to assist in Brazil after the rainforest fires. Then the need to help Nevis last year.

  There was no way one man—elf—can take on burdens of that scale himself.

  I scoffed and he raised his brows.

  “Why can’t there be…an elf police?” I laughed at my thoughts. “Someone, something to do handle all the non-school problems out there.”

  He almost smiled. “They’ve tried. Over the years, and long ago, traditional families attempted to make a governing body to oversee and discipline Rogues and other elves who show signs of abusing their powers. It only turned into arguments and wars among elves, everyone wanting to be involved and categorized as authority over others. Feuds that showed no sign of ending because they couldn’t. There is no such thing as an all-powerful elf. We all host energies in different ways. Pures are more powerful, but there is always at least one energy that can defeat them as a weakness.”

  “No elves have ever shown connections to all three sects?”

  He shook his head. “It’s not possible. Even if a Terraine and Airine elf such as yourself had a child with an Aquine elf, the bloods wouldn’t mix. Having all three presented in one is simply not possible.”

  I nodded. That actually eased my mind somewhat, knowing there wasn’t some master elf out there who could wreak havoc everywhere.

  “It’s actually a good thing talks and rumors about forming an elven governing body died down. Those times, from what my parents told me, were ugly, vicious examples of fighting. Having enemies based on name alone. It’s only now gotten better with the most narrow-minded traditionalists gone. Glorian’s father was an extremely hard man to work with, and he’d always been for an elven policing task.”

  “How’d you get to be headmaster, then?” If his views were so different, it didn’t seem likely he’d be on the council.

  “I’m a full Pure.” He shrugged. “The only one on the council, in fact.”

  “Well, it’s only you and Glorian now. So that’s half of the council.”

  He held up a finger. “Not for long. With Griswold…gone. And Bateson quitting, we can’t operate on just two. The biggest role th
e council can play is voting on important matters, and with just Glorian and I, we’d never agree.”

  “How do you get new blood then?”

  He smiled at my phrasing. “Voting. I was voted into the council and into the role of headmaster by all of the Olde Earth faculty heads voting. Someone nominates you, and then the entire faculty votes. The department heads, the superintendents at the affiliate schools, they vote in councilmembers. I’ve nominated Ethel and Marcy to fill in the vacancies. And—”

  He licked his lips and didn’t continue.

  “And?”

  “And voting should be finalized by the end of the month.”

  I nodded. Uh-huh. He’d almost slipped something there… “That’s a lot of girl power.” I pumped my fist.

  He tilted his head. “It’ll all work out. With others available to depend on for Academy matters, I might have more balance of handling Rogues and other issues outside of school.”

  Sounded like he wasn’t going to even be a headmaster anymore. Selfishly, I was glad he was going to at least be here while I was here.

  “And your future doesn’t have to be so…bleak, either.”

  “How so?”

  “There’s no excuse for Glorian interfering in your college applications. That is a step too far. But there are programs available through Olde Earth where she won’t be able to reach you, or at least she’ll have less authority over you.”

  “How so?”

  “The abroad programs. It might not be an ideal fit for a Doctorate of Veterinarian Medicine. But a technician program. Or even something like general animal science degree.”

  Being able to get a degree and not having to worry about Glorian sounded perfect. But I doubted it was possible. Glorian had proved more than once that she was determined to be my boss in one way or another.

  “I’ll think about it.”

  “And I’m hoping to recruit help in my own mission as well.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “Such as what?”

  “Going after Rogues. What I do depends on the many connections and often-tricky collaborations with various government agencies around the world. I’ve tried to get Wolf—even Marcy—to follow in my footsteps but they seem reluctant to leave this school.”

  Well, hello there. I’m not reluctant to leave.

  He stood, though, not offering more information. “Just think about it. We can discuss it more later, after… Well, I’ll be able to plan more appropriately nearer the end of the school year.”

  Why? What’s happening then? Unlike with the headmistress, I wasn’t sinking with dread at the idea of him having something secretive up his sleeve.

  “Thank you for talking with me, Layla. I hope you know I’m always here to help explain the best I can. And if I’m not here, I’m a text or phone call”—he huffed at himself—“well, a voicemail away. I’d never let you fall astray.”

  “I know. And thanks. I appreciate it. All of it.” I followed him to the door.

  “I’d hate for you to regret my invitation to enroll here in the first place,” he said once Bella came to him, ready to leave the dorms.

  I shook my head. Sure, I’d had plenty of…er, adventures and mishaps. Danger as well. And I was eagerly anticipating graduation and the freedom to be done with classes. But I didn’t regret coming here. Otherwise, I’d never had met my friends and found my various pets. “I don’t.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Winter hit us hard and furious with above-average snow and ice. Sub-zero temperatures and wicked rains. It felt like spring was a long way off, and with that mopey mood, it seemed like May and graduation would never come.

  The new year certainly brought many changes. Many of them, I’d been prepared for from Suthering’s talk in my dorm room.

  Marcy and Ethel were almost unanimously voted in as new councilmembers. When I’d read the update in one of the several weekly Academy reports and newsletters, I’d wondered how Glorian felt about the two women joining her rank. Paige conspired with me, as well, and she’d said it shouldn’t be a headache. Glorian had already worked with and depended on both the greenhouse manager and the head librarian. She’d hired Marcy for the dorm supervisor job and trusted her as an employee. As for Ethel, Glorian was frequently working with her and asking for data about certain tasks. Sometimes, it seemed the headmistress might have an issue with viewing Ethel as something of a personal assistant rather than a colleague.

  Griswold’s vacancy as the head of Chemistry and such was easily filled with another instructor from an affiliate Olde Earth school in Japan. And Bateson’s position was filled with a very lively and funny professor from Amsterdam. Mr. Hagin made Zoology fun, for the first time since I’d been a student there, and I wished we could’ve had him as a teacher all along.

  Another change came from Martino. I continued with the self-defense and martial arts intro classes. We all did. Near the end of January, when it felt like winter would never end, he introduced something new.

  Weapons. No, he didn’t arm us with guns or machetes. He began with gun safety and a basic crash course on weaponry—with a heavy emphasis on how to disable those tools. I’d been alarmed, to say the least, and when I mentioned it at the Menagerie one day, Wolf said, “Good.” Suthering had been passing through and overheard my comment, and he’d said that he’d asked Martino to incorporate safety. One, for Sabine to have some early start on what she’d go through for her peace officer training—since she’d gotten accepted in an Olde Earth affiliated law enforcement training. Basically, she was planning to be a cop. Secondly, though, Suthering wanted to provide a lead-in to some training he wanted for graduates who might help him with Rogues.

  The headmaster had yet to explain any more about his plans for seeking out Rogues, but I’d gathered that Lorcan was on board. I’d given more time to peruse the information about Olde Earth programs after this year, but I was hesitant to choose anything.

  Any time definitive discussions came up among my friends, I shied away from giving input about what I planned to do. I’d already had my college goals squashed—I was reluctant to dive into a backup direction. Each time Flynn confidently stated he was excited to start his college coursework here, my heart crumpled smaller. There was no chance he’d entertain another school, and I admired him too much that I wouldn’t want to sway his goals. His commitment to continue learning at Olde Earth did encourage me to more seriously consider one of those affiliate programs. If, and that was a big if, I were to enroll in one of the degrees Suthering had gently nudged me to think about, I’d only select ones that would take me away from the Academy here in Canada. Regardless of what Suthering hinted at, that Glorian wouldn’t have as much pull to manipulate me in post-secondary classes, I wanted distance from her. I needed it. Just like, it seemed, Anessa had from Glorian’s father when he’d been headmaster.

  On an unusually warm morning in March, albeit a soggy one with puddles everywhere from the last night’s downpours, I set out for my run. Knightley was at my side as we left Flynn and Lorcan’s room. I’d be sleeping over more often than not. My solitude in my room was sometimes too loud when I had so much on my mind and it helped to spend time with them. It gave me ample chances to talk with Lorcan about what he anticipated as a Rogue “agent” in training—he’d taken to considering himself an agent. Whenever the redhead got started on being an “agent”, Flynn would tease him, taunting that he was kind of going into law enforcement like Sabine legitimately was. Any mention of my sister riled that boy up, and even I could admit it was fun to poke at him about his unrequited crush.

  Flynn was still sleeping in so I headed out of the dorms, excited for peace on this run. Only, the opposite of peace waited for me outside the foyer. Dressed in a warm sweatshirt, running shoes, and a sparkly warm headband, it seemed she was going to linger too.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked Sabine.

  “I wanna run with you.”

  Clearly. “Why?”

  Sabine had wowed me
with her commitment to the “gym” classes we’d had with Martino all year. Maybe it was because it gave her more than enough opportunities to “secretly” ogle Lorcan and his physique. Or because if she wasn’t training with us, she’d have to do something else not as fun. Exercise—straight-up cardio—was still something I couldn’t tag to her name.

  “Well, I’m going to be doing boot camp or whatever this summer, getting ready for academy, so I may as well start now.”

  I sighed. Yeah, I’d help her. But she had zero stamina for running. It was how I’d survived the bulk of my childhood, being faster than her to get away from her and her teasing.

  So much for a peaceful start to the day.

  “Just…don’t whine, okay?”

  She glared at me.

  “And follow my lead.”

  I thought I’d started out slow, but it was still too much for her. Much to my chagrin, we alternated between jogs and walking—a pittance of a workout for me.

  I’ll just do a real run later.

  I didn’t begrudge her company. Maybe I did a little when she griped about Lorcan. I still had a hunch his unrequited love wasn’t as one-sided as it seemed. What Sabine’s hang-up with the laidback guy was, I didn’t know. Nor was it any of my concern. Who was I to offer her relationship advice when I’d only just this year managed to return my affection to Flynn, and we were facing an inevitable rift after graduation. No matter how much he insisted we could stay together long-distance, it would still be a challenge. I wasn’t about to deny him a chance with me though, and I’d work hard to stay with him.

  We chatted—when she could “catch her breath”—about me working for Suthering someday. I’d told her about my semi-likely goals to enter in a vet tech program through Olde Earth, off this campus, of course. She’d also listened to what Suthering had vaguely invited me to. But as we talked about me ever going after Rogues and being Suthering’s assistant, the more the chat turned into a discussion about Lorcan. And those always ended on some other, far-off tangent about her not understanding why he was so hard to agree with.