by Leia Stone
Hmm. Yesterday he’d called for the prankster’s head. But maybe his perspective had changed. Relief washed through me. If she thought it was just a prank, then maybe nothing more sinister was going on like I’d originally thought.
“No worries…” I didn’t expect her to be so cool and nice. She was probably a big part of how Noble and Honor got their personalities.
I glanced down at the paper, and the smile slid from my face.
Naima, Crescent Clan Heir:
7:00-8:00 a.m.: Work the coffee cart, east side of campus
8:05-11:00 a.m.: Fire Element studies with Master Carn
11:05-12:00 p.m.: Serve lunch in dining hall
12:05-3:00 p.m.: Water Element Studies with Master Jin
3:05-5:00 p.m.: Alpha Studies Main Gym
5:05-6:00 p.m.: Serve Dinner in dining hall
“Coffee cart?” I gulped and reached up to scratch my neck.
The headmistress winced, bringing her shoulders up, her discomfiture shrinking her posture nearly half a foot. Shaking her head, she said, “All of the clans pay an Alpha Island tax, which covers tuition for their heirs, along with books, maintenance of the dorms, and uniforms and such. Your father and Crescent Clan don’t pay, so you’ll have to earn your way here. I’m so sorry.”
Why the hell would my clan pay an Alpha Island tax when we didn’t even live on Alpha Island like the others? I wanted to scream with frustration.
I scrutinized the schedule more. “Serving lunch and dinner too? When exactly am I supposed to eat?”
I tried for a light tone, but it came out laced with sarcasm.
Her frown deepened. Nolan was right. We would be worked to the bone just to get by.
“I’m afraid the king made your work chart, I’m only in charge of the classes. I tried to persuade him to only give you one dining duty, but…”
“It’s fine.” I shoved the paper into my back pocket. “I’ll be fine.”
If King Douchebag wanted to try and break me at this school, he had another thing coming.
“Books for all your classes can be checked out from the library in your free time,” she informed me.
Free time? Hah. I had none of that.
With a nod and a thank you, I left the room and headed for Master Carn’s room to start my first day of Fire Studies.
My thoughts drifted to my father. He’d be so proud to learn I was a fire elemental too. It would be nice to call him … but obviously impossible between the magic lands and Earth. Maybe I could get a letter to him through a trader. How much could I reveal with the magic binding me?
My gaze fell to the paper in my hands. Based on this map, my class was clear across campus, and I was already late.
I broke into a jog, turning a corner quickly, and slammed right into someone’s chest.
“Oof!” I clung to his shirt, and the heat from his skin radiated through the butter-soft material as he steadied me.
Pulling back, I looked up into the deep green eyes of Justice Midnight. I swallowed hard, and my gaze dipped to his lips. Green eyes, full lips … I tried to imagine what he’d look like with a mask on…
“Sorry.” He let me go with a small smile.
A smile?
“What?” Was he … being nice to me? Suspicion rose in my gut. Justice was the number two asshole on the island—no, number three, just behind Rage and the king. My gaze fell to his left ring finger.
Nada.
No mate marks.
“Nai?” He waved his hand in front of my face. “You were running like a madwoman. Are you late?”
His gentle reminder was too nice. Then his words registered.
“Shit!” I side-stepped him with a wave and shouted thanks before taking off in a run, my mind racing just as fast.
Could Justice be my fated mate? He certainly had the eyes, and he was being way nicer today than yesterday…
After finally finding the room, I wrenched the door open, panting.
And … of course, Rage was here.
Mother Mage, have mercy.
Master Carn’s head lifted, but my attention was captured by the Midnight Prince standing beside him.
My knees went weak as I zeroed in on his green eyes.
I was going to lose my mind, thinking that every guy I ran into with green eyes and full lips was my freaking fated mate.
“What is she doing here?” Rage snapped.
Well, maybe not every guy. Surely my mate wouldn’t talk to me like that. Was it my imagination, or did his gaze flick to my fingers? Just as quickly as the thought came, his attention was back up to my face. His cold, hard, and unforgiving gaze.
I let my own eyes linger on his fingers, my heart sinking a little when I saw they were bare of marks. What was wrong with me? Rage was the last man I should want to be mated to. I returned his glare, adding a middle-finger salute when Master Carn faced him.
“I’m sorry, Prince Courage, we weren’t expecting an extra student this year. Especially not one with two affinities.” He pivoted and looked down his nose at me.
Even for a mage, Master Carn was tall, at least six and a half feet, and he was thin. But I’d long since learned that bulk didn’t necessarily equal strength. His eyes swirled like a high mage’s, only the colors were limited to his affinity: red, orange, yellow. He was an elemental mage. There were different kinds of mages, as many as there were shifters: healer mage, potion mage, war mage, the list went on. He pursed his lips as he assessed me, and I tipped my head high, feigning strength I didn’t feel inside.
“Does she have to be in my private session?” Rage asked the master, his voice low.
The teacher’s mouth pulled into a frown. “The high mage was the one who ordered me to work with her, but you’re right. I’m sure she can join someone else's private hour. I’ll speak to the headmistress at once.”
Rage waved off the professor quickly, his eyes narrowing at the mention of this being reported to his mother. “Nah, it’s fine. Don’t bother my mother with this. I’ll need a moving target for practice, and this will be a trial by fire for her.”
“Ha-ha.” I crossed my arms, giving Rage a scowl.
“You’re sure?” Master Carn wrinkled his nose as if the idea of me studying with Rage was disgusting.
Rage nodded. “If she gets in the way of my progress, I’ll speak to my mother myself.”
Ouch.
Snitches get stitches, buddy.
“Very well,” Master Carn said. Looking at me, he pointed at the door. “Go to the library and get the text An Intro to Fire Elements and return promptly.”
“The library?” It could be on the other side of campus for all I knew. “Could you tell me where—?”
He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.
“Just sit down,” he snapped and rolled his eyes. “In the interest of time, I’ll get it. But you will get the remainder of your other books on your own time.” He walked to the door with an air of superiority. “Be right back.”
As soon as the door closed, I stepped closer to Rage, determined to go into full-on detective mode.
“So … were you at the party last night?” If my mate was a friend of the Midnight brothers, then maybe I could get some names from him.
He crossed his arms, his expression giving away no emotion. “Obviously, it was at my house.”
“Riiight.” He wasn’t giving me any help. “Were many of your friends there? Like friends who might know about a secret garden in your woods?”
He stiffened. “What?”
My heart pounded, climbing up into my throat. “I mean, you know … what friends of yours were there?”
Rage furrowed his brow, looking at me like I was an alien. “All of them. Pretty sure the entire student population was there, all fifteen of us plus some guards I grew up with. Why?”
“Hmm.” Really not helpful. “Can I get a list of your closest friends? Ones who—”
“Umm, no, psycho stalker,” he said, shaking his head. “I�
��m not giving you a list of names.”
“Why not?”
“Let me guess, you hooked up with someone, and you’re trying to find out who it is now? They said they were my friend?”
I felt like I’d been punched in the gut. “Yeah… how did you…?”
Rage chuckled, but the sound held no mirth. “You and every girl in school. It’s common after the masquerade party for people to try and find out who they got together with, but it’s against the rules. It’s why we have it masquerade-style. And it’s why the Samhain party will stay fun too.”
My throat went dry. “You do a party like that for Halloween?”
He nodded. “In the past, it’s been a regular costume ball, but we’re thinking about making our Samhain masquerade-style too.”
That was months away, but it gave me something to hold on to, a date to put in my calendar when I could walk up to my fated mate and punch him in the face.
“You totally should!” I blurted out too eagerly.
“Yeah?” He drew back, his expression suddenly serious. “You really wanna see this guy that bad again?”
My body gravitated closer to him, and my gaze dropped to his lips. It wouldn’t be Rage, right? He’s not that good of a liar.
“Rage?” My voice was small.
He swallowed hard, and I fought the urge to reach up and trace his jawline. “Yeah?”
“Where were you last night when that fight broke out downstairs?”
Something flared in his eyes, a flash of yellow, then it was gone. He cleared his throat, heat pinking his cheeks. The silence stretched, growing awkward before he muttered, “Hooking up with a redheaded chick. But some hothead ruined that, and the party broke up.”
My heart plummeted into my stomach, and I took a step back. I hated Rage, so why did I want it to be him?
“Right.”
Before I could further my interrogation, Master Carn was back. He dropped a five-billion-page book onto the desk in the corner and glared at me. “Read the entire thing three times … and then, maybe I’ll let you try fire magic.”
I eyed the four-inch-thick spine. “That’ll take me weeks!”
“Then you’d better start reading.”
He couldn’t be serious, but by the way Rage was grinning, he totally was.
Master Carn turned back to Rage, and they resumed their lesson, talking about balancing heat and light.
Great!
I spent the next three hours reading an ancient lame history of fire wielders and all they could do. Occasionally, I stole glances at Rage making cool fireballs in his palms.
So cool. Ever since I was a little girl, I’d longed to do what my father could do. Boil water with a thought, toss a fireball into the lake on the Fourth of July, boil a rogue wolf’s blood and kill him instantly. Fire magic was arguably the strongest element, and I was sitting here, reading a book. My father’s magic had trickled to me as a member of his pack, but other than making my index finger a lighter, I couldn’t do much. And apparently, Master Carn wanted it to stay that way.
When the bell rang for lunch, I was nearly catatonic from boredom.
“Don’t you need to go, Nai?” Rage asked, tapping the schedule that I’d set at the edge of my desk, one he’d obviously been nosy enough to read.
I blinked and—Crap! I was serving lunch.
Without a word, I bolted toward the cafeteria that Kaja had pointed out on our way to campus. Darting through the courtyard to the right, I opened the large double-doors and was greeted with a legit movie-style high school cafeteria—Formica tables and everything.
“Umm, hello?” I called out, scanning the large and—thankfully—still-unoccupied room.
Crossing the space, I stepped behind the counter of the lunch line. Kids piled in behind me, but no one was here.
Please don’t tell me I have to do this on my own!
“I’m guessing you’re Nai,” snapped a woman. Her tone held zero tolerance.
I froze, spinning on my heels, and faced a terrifying woman.
Holy frickin’ mage!
Her black hair was neatly plaited all the way to her waist, and the symbol for dark magic hung from a necklace at her throat. Tattoos covered her skin, crawling and moving underneath as if vying for territory, with the exception of her face, which was unblemished. She looked maybe twenty-five, but she might be four times that.
Why would the school let a dark mage work here?
“Yes, ma’am,” I muttered.
She noticed my gaze at her throat and rolled her eyes. “I owe a lifetime of servitude to the king for turning one of his wolves into a goat. Are we done with that?”
My eyes snapped back up to hers, and I nodded. “Yep. Totally. That’s cool. We’re cool.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m Kalama. Your cousin is in the back. You’ll dish out front while I ring.”
She tossed me an apron, hairnet, and plastic gloves.
Hairnet.
Hairnet.
Hairnet.
I couldn’t look away from the small piece of social suicide I held in my hand.
“Put it on, princess. We’ve got hungry wolves to feed!”
Oh mage.
Why me? I quickly tied the apron and—gulp—slid the hairnet over my high ponytail. Then, I slipped on the plastic gloves.
“Come on, honey, we don’t have all day,” a catty female called out as I made my way behind the counter.
My gaze flicked up to the young wolf shifter. The bitchy blond chick glared down her nose at me. She was Daybreak Clan. Shocker. I recognized her from the ceremony last night. Mallory, the Barbie girl. Clearly an evil Barbie.
Daybreak thought they were superior to everyone, including Midnight. My father said they had a history of always talking about making a bid for the crown, but their alpha changed too often to make definitive plans. Superiority complexes seemed to run in their pack. According to my father, their heirs were cutthroat and constantly fighting for dominance.
I swallowed my pride and picked up a pair of tongs.
I looked down at the options. “Pizza or burger?”
“Burger, no bun, with avocado on the side.” She tapped her foot, and I looked up to see over a dozen heirs behind her. Kaja waved to me. And just behind her were the Midnight brothers. Great. Freaking hairnet.
I yanked off the bun and threw a meat patty on the plate. “We’re out of avocado,” I told her, handing her the plate.
“You didn’t even look!” she hissed.
“Come on, Mallory,” a girl who looked a lot like a Barbie too, only older and with short-cropped bangs, called to her. Sisters or cousins?
Mallory, AKA Evil Barbie, flipped her ponytail at me and stormed off with her relative … who was, apparently, not eating today.
I filled plate after plate, keeping my attention on the food to avoid having to see the stares of the other students, ignoring the whistles and pick-up lines.
Why did everyone have to…?
“That hairnet is super sexy,” Noble said.
I looked up at his familiar voice and grinned.
“I’ll be teased forever for this, won’t I?” I grabbed some pizza and a burger and loaded up a plate for him.
He nodded, his lips squished together like a duck. “I need a picture”—he turned and held his phone out for a selfie—“Smile!”
I flipped him off but mimicked his duck face. After he took the pic, he looked at the image and laughed.
Noble was my homie, BFF spot #2.
“Hurry up! Hungry back here!” Rage called out from where he stood with Justice and Honor.
I ignored him but started fixing the three boys’ plates while I continued my convo with Noble. “Hey, when you have time later, can we chat about the party last night? I want to ask you something about your friends.”
His face fell, body going rigid as he turned somber. “Sure, but—”
Whatever he’d been about to say was drowned out by the sound of high-pitched screamin
g.
What the—?
Everyone in the entire cafeteria slapped their hands over their ears, myself included. The pressure in my head swelled like my eardrums were going to explode and bleed. Then, the screaming waned in volume, becoming a hissing sound like a teapot about to boil.
“Shit!” Rage burst out from the lunch line, diving under a nearby table. He reached underneath and pulled out a long, sleek sword as he shoved something into one ear. He switched the sword into the other hand and put his other hand up to his ear…
I was still processing why he was touching his ears when Rage said a word that made my blood run cold.
“Selkies!” he hissed. “Call the palace. We’re under attack.”
Selkies. Seal-shifters, who mortals mistakenly called mermaids or sirens, had once guarded this island. Why were they here, and why were we under attack from them?
Rage turned to Justice and cocked his head toward the kitchen. Justice nodded.
As the doors of the cafeteria blasted open, Justice leapt over the counter and reached for me.
“Nai, come on!”
I followed his lead, ducking to the ground, my heart pounding against my chest.
Why were the selkies attacking?
“Let’s go. There’s an exit behind the kitchens,” Justice whispered, tugging me forward in an army crawl.
“Huh?” I scrunched my face and stared at him. Did he think I couldn’t hold my own in a fight? “The school is under attack. Why would we run?”
More importantly, was this an alpha test I’d fail if I was a coward?
Justice gripped my underarm tightly. “You don’t understand. The selkies’ call—”
Just then, a beautiful melody picked up and carried throughout the air.
Chapter 9
The complex melody dipped and then soared, the beautiful singing nearly spellbinding—
“Nai!” Justice bellowed, pulling on my arm.
I shook my head, wanting to hear the music, but my attention caught on the other shifters. Every single one of them stood rigidly, staring at the air in front of them. Nell, Honor, Kaja, evil Barbie, they all stood… frozen. Everyone except for Rage.
