Chapter Two - Campus
CHAPTER TWO
Campus
WE MATERIALIZED IN front of towering, wrought-iron gates protecting what resembled a small, dark university.
Through the opened vine-covered gates, students wearing different versions of the academy uniform made me glad I showed up in mine. Some went for the sweaters and were already rushing around into different buildings with a purpose, while other students were looking at papers, then to glowing light orbs suspended above their heads.
I tipped my head, captivated by the magic being displayed so openly. I’d never seen magic used publicly since leaving the Realm when I was six. Even then, I didn’t remember much of it. I couldn’t use it until fifteen, it had to be so minor and used only at home.
Some orbs slowly dropped to the students who were gazing around, whirling around them before leading them off. Watching an orb lead one student away, my gaze trailed up to the dark brown and black stone buildings. Their many windows towered up to sleek, pitch-black painted spires that disappeared into the gloomy sky. Thick clouds created a gray film, like a blanket smothering the light that tried to seep through. A storm was looming, I could smell it in the evening air.
My lip pulled into my mouth nervously, knowing it wouldn’t take long before I’d make a fool of myself at an elite school and show everyone exactly how much I didn’t belong here. Or worse, create another disaster like the many Uncle Nolan had to help me hide when I nearly caught the house on fire without meaning to use that element. My uncle stayed silent while he tried to help me put it out. He was never mad, even though it took weeks to repair the damage, showing me exactly how dangerous it was to learn magic in the Unenchanted.
“It’s exactly how I remember it, and I was only a couple years behind your parents,” Uncle Nolan murmured, patting my shoulder after he pulled me into a hug and we said our goodbyes. “You’ll do well.”
I nodded silently, staring at the darkening clouds.
“Be careful, Harper,” he said, sounding more nervous than I was, before leaving back through a portal.
With my duffel bag over my shoulder, I sighed, stepping forward through the gates and the group of rushing students. My magic surfaced under my skin, reacting to the new surroundings, aching to be let out, as if it was being called to by all the magic around me and finally wanted to be let free. That was the last thing I wanted to happen. It already felt like a whole different world—though it really was.
My uncle described it as a veiled parallel from the Unenchanted. It existed in a vast expanse, over Scotland and stretching to Greenland, unable to be reached by those born without a hint of magic.
At the top of the steps before a main building covered in stone archways, a small, frail woman stood greeting students. Her gray hair was tied neatly back as her gaze scanned the crowd.
It caught my eye when the stares of the two people beside her both fell on me at the same time. One man towered over those around him with dirty blond hair. The messy hair nearly brushed his cobalt-blue eyes that looked over the students, inspecting them before I was trapped in his gaze. He turned to continue speaking to the elderly woman. The man on the other side of her stared down at the students, his light brown eyes were alight with a fiery look of clear distaste.
I spotted students off to the side, looking older than some of the others. They were recasting the light magic orbs hovering above the academy entrance.
Right as I was about to peer back down at my schedule, an orb swirled around me. I figured I’d follow, placing the crumpled up letter back in my pocket, unsure where dorm A24 was anyway.
I followed mindlessly until it led me straight toward the woman at the top of the steps and the two intense-looking students beside her .
“Hmm…” The elderly woman eyed the orb before staring at me, a soft curiosity arching her dainty brow. “And who might you be?”
“Harper—” I started.
“Oh, of course. I know exactly who you are. I am Chancellor Lastrada. Welcome. I’m truly glad to see you here this year. Trevor, why don’t you show our new student around? She’s from the Unenchanted.”
Her pale, bony hand brushed the shoulder of the man with deep brown skin and light brown eyes that were now glaring at me with suspicion.
“The Unenchanted?” Trevor said through clenched teeth.
“Yes.” The chancellor stared at another group of students before she turned back to us. “Sorry, I must be going. Do well to show her around,” she said in a sharp tone that left no room for argument.
Trevor’s body tensed, pulling his glare away from me. He turned and motioned for me to follow, leading me away from the crowd at the front of the academy. “Follow me. I don’t have a lot of time, so don’t ask questions.”
We walked through dark, towering arches smelling of damp moss until reaching a nearly empty seating area.
“Your classes will be over there to the west of the campus. The dorms are the building to the east.” He nodded over my shoulder before he turned on his heel, returning back in the direction we came from.
“Gee, thanks for the tour,” I muttered under my breath, knowing it was useless because he was already long gone .
A soft chuckle came from behind me. When I turned, the same man who was with Trevor and Chancellor Lastrada with messy blond hair was gleaming at me. Amusement shone in his deep blue eyes.
His hands rested in his pockets with his dress shirt untucked in a more relaxed version of the uniform. “Honestly, he’s never that helpful. Though, he probably felt he was extending himself. Lucky for you, you now have the best tour guide around.”
My brows rose at his sly smile. “Is that so?”
“Come on.” His head gestured for me to follow as he kicked off the moss-covered bricks. “I’ll show you around. I’m Caleb.”
I followed Caleb as he led me across a courtyard, completely surrounded by buildings. Tall, deep green trees nearly drowned out what little light the cloudy sky cast. Only the glow of more light-filled orbs, bigger than the ones leading students around, suspended within the tree leaves, lit our steps.
As we made our way through, Caleb fell back a step to walk beside me, his white dress shirt barely grazing my arm with each step.
We passed a tall, round building made up of cracked stones.
“The aura tower.” He nodded up to the top, where the spire was completely made of dark glass, matching its many windows trailing down and covered in dead vines. “Where you’ll probably find your mate through some sort of aura reading. ”
“What? Does that happen a lot here? I’m not ready for a mate.” I might have sounded a little too panicked as I blurted that out. It was hard not to remember the stories my uncle told me about mates. They were uncommon, happening to adults later in life. Sometimes the mate bond wouldn’t even be felt or reveal itself until after someone was engaged to their high school sweetheart. People had to have a high level of magic and be in proximity, sometimes for a while, to even register they had a mate. When they found each other, they’d be infatuated, never wanting anyone else when the mate bond fully snapped into place.
I definitely didn’t want that while at the academy. I wanted what the non-magical students did. If I had to be here, I wanted as normal an experience as I could get. I wanted to have the university type of experience while trying to fit into the best magical academy in the Realm without any previous magical practice. I wanted to learn my magic, have a couple flings, party, learn to fit in within a world my parents grew up in and apparently wanted me to learn from. Definitely not get tied down right after leaving a horrible relationship with my neighbor.
He stopped walking to look at my face before bursting out with a laugh, exposing bright white teeth and a boyish grin. “Oh right, you’ve been living in the Unenchanted. I was just joking.” He threw his hands up in surrender before continuing to walk. He looked back at me. “It almost never happens until later years, or at all. You’re good. Aura reading just gets really awkward for first-years because it’s on everyone’s mind. Anyway, this is the dining hall. It’s almost closed.” He nodded to a large square building with dark brown wood at the back of the campus. Golden light emanated from the tall, skinny windows.
I glared at the back of his head.
Our footsteps echoed off the stone path we headed down, growing even darker as the sun was setting.
“The library,” Caleb said, stopping at the building in front of us. “Those buildings over there are off-limits to students, anything to the right of the path from here.” He pointed lazily to what looked like a small neighborhood of townhouses. The area was bordered by a wall with an archway opening beside us and the library. “Why?”
“Staff housing.” He pulled open the door of the library and waited for me to enter.
The scent of leather-bound books and old paper instantly greeted my nose. Silence hung heavy except for the rustle of pages, along with quiet movements of students already busy between the towering shelves that I had to crane my neck up to see the top of. I stared amazed as a few students effortlessly used wind magic to pull copies down.
Caleb playfully bumped my shoulder with his and kept walking quickly through the quiet library. His long legs made it hard to keep up. He noticed and slowed before opening a smaller set of doors. “The classrooms.”
We turned a corner and kept walking down the long corridor in silence.
He blew out a slow breath. “So, how do you know Lastrada?”
“Um. That was my first time actually meeting her. She knew my parents.”
He must have caught the tone in my voice because his tone changed in a way that I was familiar with. “They were probably someone special for the chancellor to want you escorted around.”
“They used to be on the council. Ember and Devon Solace.”
“Whoa,” he said on an exhale, stopping in his tracks. He ran a hand through his messy hair. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize that question would get so heavy. So, you’re a Solace. Your family died in that fire.”
I stayed silent. “That explains it. That was a big deal—your family was a big deal. I’m sorry about what happened to them. Trevor’s mother died in the fire too, and his father is still on the council.”
I didn’t know when coming to the academy the fire would have been so well known or that I’d see students from those families. I supposed I should have expected it. “It was a long time ago,” I shrugged, though the conversation had my mind whirling.
“My parents must have known yours. They were members then and still lead, but they don’t really talk about the past much. You might not know this, not being from here, it’s some of the most powerful families that get chosen to lead. I bet you got some serious magic you’re hiding within you.”
“Why, because you do? Don’t think that hidden brag is going to go by unnoticed.” I mocked his tone with a light smile, pointing out how stuck up that made him sound. It helped to change the subject. This conversation was bringing feelings back to the surface, along with knowing I was standing in the same halls my parents likely stood in. It also helped to evade stating that I barely knew how to use my magic and wasn’t sure this was the right place for me. Even practicing in the Unenchanted would have risked some or all of my magic being taken from me.
He tipped his head back and let out another contagious laugh. “Hey, it’s not bragging if it’s true. That’s just stating facts.”
I rolled my eyes.
“Wait, is this a greenhouse?” I hurried off to the glass doors at the end of the hall.
Standing before one raised garden bed, I peered out at the numerous rows of garden beds, painted deep green and all filled with damp soil. Hanging plants of all colors draped from the glass above, revealing a now very dark sky.
“The Herbology and Potions classroom,” Caleb’s low, nearly silent voice sounded close as he stopped right behind me.
I took a deep breath, feeling him so close, his voice near my ear. He reached for my hand, I didn’t pull away before it closed over mine. He waved our hands over the soil. His magic brushed against mine, inviting the smallest amount to surface.
Earth magic was something I’d done, and mine had been wanting out since I got here when feeling magic all around me. I tried to let the smallest amount flow out, just like at home. Before I could stop it, my magic combined with his. In a burst, way too much soil blew out in front of me. No.
I sucked in a breath. It was all over us, mostly on me. My stomach sank. He was going to know that I only got in here because of my parents and really had no control whatsoever .
My fingers started trembling as my fears nearly overwhelmed me.
“No, wait,” he whispered. I shook my head, but he waved our hands over, trying again.
Little sprouts came up, blossoming under our touch. I gasped when they grew perfectly, better than in my uncle’s nursery. It felt so right.
His breath was hot against my ear. “So, is earth magic your favorite? That was quite the burst of magic. Maybe you actually are powerful enough you’ll find your mate here.” He was still holding my hand.
I laughed at how ridiculous he sounded being that serious and bumped him playfully, only to end up pressed into the hard muscles of his body. The stance emphasized how dark and isolated the greenhouse was, suddenly feeling very intimate. He didn’t back away either.
“I’m not looking for a mate at all,” I replied, unable to hide the amusement in my voice.
Tipping my head back, his eyes traced my lips. A playful grin stretched across his face. “I know I’ll be looking for mine.”
I stepped forward, pressing a hand to his chest. “That won’t be me.”
It was hard not to laugh at how ridiculous his expression was. How did he pull me out of my shell so easily? Everything was so overwhelming being here, even the conversations we jumped into, but he still made the evening seem fun. “Are you always such an obvious flirt?”
“Just for the new girl with sexy raven hair.” He winked and kept walking through the greenhouse. I’d be lying if my breath didn’t hitch at the stupid comment.
We made our way back to the front of the campus. He pointed out student services, which led to the dormitories. Passing through student services, we entered a large sitting room surrounded by bookshelves. A crackling fire sat in the center with leather couches and chairs surrounding it.
“This is your room,” he stated, staring down at the paper in my hands again before looking up to one of the doors in front of us. “All first-years stay on floor A, and this building goes up to floor D, for fourth-years.
“What year are you?” I asked.
He gave me a cocky grin, pulling his lip into his mouth in such an obvious way. “Second. Mine’s just up those stairs.”
“Okay, well, thanks for the tour.”
“See you around, Harper.”
My hand just grazed the door handle when someone else called my name.
Chancellor Lastrada stepped forward from the double doors at the entrance of the dorms. The warm glow from the fire reflected off her silver hair. “Oh, Ms. Solace. It appears you found your room. I remember teaching your parents during their third year when I taught Magical Combat. They had wonderful magic, such excellent students.”
I gave a slight nod.
She went on, glassy dark eyes crinkled at the corner and dragged down me in a clear assessment before asking, “Has your uncle been able to teach you the elements? ”
“Just a bit,” I replied.
She hummed silently to herself. Something about that felt like she might have already known that he had his powers taken away. “Your parents were very proficient in light magic.”
“It’s not my strong suit,” I admitted. Something familiar about the crease in her brow made me immediately feel very uneasy. The change in her expression was gone as fast as it came, as if she had a fleeting thought.
“I’d imagine it was hard to get a handle on your magic, being gone for so long. Don’t fret, you’re at the best academy in the Realm. Most first-years have no formal training either, and our professors will catch you up in no time.” Then she left without giving me much of a chance to reply.