6. Serafina
SIX
“Serafina!”
Teos yells after me as I shove through the crowds, no longer caring if I bump into them or if my magic might scare people. I need to get out of here. Now!
Why is Teos here? He should be in the States with his family! Never in my wildest dreams would I have guessed he would be enrolled at Silverwood.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck!”I rasp as I shove through groups of students and finally make it off the grass. The building in front of me is large and imposing as I rush forward, running up the stairs as fast as my four-inch heels allow.
“Serafina Covington!” Teos shouts, his deep voice cutting through the buzz of voices in the courtyard, making me wince. I toss a look over my shoulder, finding Teos shoving through the hordes of students still stuck on the grass. “You stay right there, Bella,” he snarls when he sees me looking at him. His big finger pointed at me, making me shiver at the demand in his voice. I narrow my eyes at him, not liking his tone, before I turn and run through the doors like a damn coward. I don”t have the mental fortitude to deal with this part of my past.
It”s best if I can avoid him and forget he’s here. The school is large enough. All I need to do is figure out his schedule and ensure our paths never collide. I grimace when I realize the plan will only work if Teos chooses not to hunt me down. And from the way he’s currently chasing after me, I’m going to put my money on having to nut up and talk to him much sooner than I’m comfortable with.
“Jesus. How the hell is this the school he ended up at?” I mutter as I race down the halls of the gray stone building that Adam said houses the dining hall, hoping I’m heading in the right direction. I ignore the stares of the students in the halls and turn to the right, heading deeper into the building. Then I pull up short when I hear a familiar voice and frown.
“That’s not very sanitary,” Adam squeaks out as I walk around another corner, eyes widening at the scene playing out in front of me. There are two enormous guys glaring down at a terrified-looking Adam, who is pressed against the wall by the guy closest to me. Adam”s feet are dangling in the air, the big guy”s hands fisted in the horrendously ugly maroon and orange V-neck sweater he’s wearing, keeping him firmly pinned to the gray stone wall. “Do you know how many germs are on your hands after you use the bathroom? You could potentially spread hazardous germs to other students!” Adam points out his hands coming up to cover his face when the big guy”s best friend raises his arms like he’s about to punch Adam.
“You freak!” the big guy roars at Adam, making my… friend? Shit. He could be considered a friend since he said we would be, right? Ugh. Well, whatever he is, I probably should help him out if I want to know where my classes are located.
Adam winces, attempting to jerk back, whacking his head on the wall behind him.
“Let him down,” I say softly, squaring my shoulders as I stride up to the trio, my heels clicking on the stone under my feet. The big guy startles and looks down at me in confusion as Adam’s eyes widen with fear, making my stomach drop at the first flicker of the emotion coming from him. I knew it was inevitable, but it hurt more than I thought it would.
“Get lost, girl. The freak sprayed my friend in the face with fucking hand sanitizer! He’s got this and more coming to him.” I feel my brows rise as I look from Adam to the big guy”s friend, realizing that his eyes are bright red and bloodshot, the skin around his eyes irritated and swollen.
Jesus Christ. Adam sprayed him in the face?
“Uhhh, Serafina. You should probably wait for me in the dining hall,” Adam rasps, his face turning red as he looks at me with pleading eyes before nodding down the hall, and I blink at him in surprise.
This time, I can”t stop the slightest smile that takes over my lips as I realize Adam’s fear is not from being scared of me but because he’s scared for me. He doesn”t want these guys to hurt me, which is somehow adorable and insulting at the same time.
I eye the tall, skinny boy dangling from the wall and sigh, knowing his silly action of caring for me means I will now protect him from basically everything. Then I look at the two goons who have the fucking audacity to have him pinned to the wall. Hand sanitizer or not, that”s not going to fly. My magic slowly inches toward the surface, and I can feel my fingers itch with the need to reach out and take every ounce of life from their overgrown shifter bodies.
Damn, I have issues.
“Adam is sorry, and he won”t do that again. Will you?” I prompt my new friend, who frowns and looks at me like I’m crazy.
“He didn”t wash his hands and then touched the door handle to the bathroom where anyone else could contract god-knows-what. And then!” Adam stresses, and I glare at him. He’s not going to make this easy, is he? “He touched his face! I was only trying to help,” Adam replies, not sounding in the least bit sorry for his actions. “You could have gotten pink eye,” he scolds, looking at the big guy’s friend, who still has his arm raised like he’s about to punch Adam.
“Let him down,” I repeat, adding a bite of anger to my voice, really hoping these guys will listen without me having to do more. My magic shifts under my skin, and the big guy holding Adam frowns, eyeing me for a second. Shifters are typically the easiest Fae for me to be around. They don”t have high magic reserves. Most of them have none except for their ability to shift, so they rarely sense the deadly magic hanging in the air when I’m around. But their shifter sides usually warn them when a bigger predator is in the area, so hopefully these idiots will listen and let Adam go.
I look over my shoulder, frustration coursing through me as I worry about Teos catching up to me. If he happened to take the same turns I did in this building, he’ll be here at any moment.
“Now!” I snap, my magic flaring, making the big guy’s friends’ eyes widen, and his arm drops as he steps back.
“Uh, dude. I think we should go,” he whispers in a heavily accented voice to his friend, who still holds Adam and glares down at me like an ant under his shoe. The big guy glares a little longer, and just to help move this situation along, I release a sliver of magic into the air, causing the temperature around us to drop instantly. Adam shivers, blue eyes so wide they look like they’re about to pop out of his head, just as the guy holding him curses and lets Adam go, letting my friend fall to the ground at his feet.
“Don”t touch him again,” I warn, then look at Adam, who slowly pushes himself back to his feet, keeping his back pressed to the wall as he moves closer to me.
“Whatever,” the big guy snarls, glaring at Adam before giving a weird bro nod at his friend. They turn, heading in the opposite direction of the dining hall.
“Come on,” I grumble, gesturing for Adam to lead the way before tossing another concerned look over my shoulder. Teos hasn”t found me yet, so I”m guessing I’m in the clear. Odds are he gave up before he even came into the building.
Adam nods, moving forward and grabbing a simple navy blue backpack I hadn’t noticed from the ground and scowls at it, holding it out in front of him like it’s a bomb. “Gross,” he grumbles, reaching into his backpack and producing a small bottle that he yanks a clear cap off of and then sprays the backpack several times.
“Is that the sanitizer you assaulted Dumb and Dumber with?” I ask, nodding at the tiny bottle in amusement.
“I didn’t assault them,” Adam argues, as he looks over his backpack, then nods in approval before reaching inside, grabbing a lint roller, and proceeding to run it over his awful sweater and brown pants. “I was helping,” he supplies, and I roll my eyes.
“We need to work on your people skills. Also, spraying people in the face with sanitizer is not okay. In fact, it might even be illegal,” I point out, making Adam scowl at me.
“That”s ridiculous. It should be illegal not to wash your hands after using the bathroom.” He sighs, tossing the lint roller into his backpack before spraying his hands and clothes with the sanitizer spray. “All right. Now that that’s handled. Shall we?” he asks, shouldering his backpack and leading me toward the dining hall. “Are you hungry, or do you want me to show you to your first class?”
“I’m not hungry,” I supply, grimacing at the thought of food. I woke up nauseous, and my body is still sore from whatever happened last night with my dreams. Besides, I try to limit my food intake in the morning. My magic always seems more uncontrollable then, and it worsens if I eat. Keeping my body weak keeps my magic controllable. I watch Adam as he grabs the small tablet he had yesterday and powers it on, then scowls, muttering a few things under his breath.
“I could have sworn your first class was Intro to Magical Theory,” he murmurs to himself as he shakes his head. “Hmm, well, according to this, you have Advanced Studies of Necromancy for your first class, followed by Intro to English Studies after lunch. And then there are Magical Creatures and Spirits and Trigonometry. Oh, thank God! We have the Magic Creatures class together,” he says with a relieved smile before he winces and then shoots me an apologetic look.
“What?” I ask, confused. Is there something wrong with those classes?
“Your first class is with Professor Sarafin, and it looks like you got the new English professor, so I haven”t had him yet. He’s taking over for a professor who is on maternity leave. The Trig professor is actually one of my favorites, so that class should be fun for you. But we unfortunately got Professor Ambros for our Magical Creatures class.”
“And that professor is bad?” I ask as Adam continues to lead me down a long hall, then out a set of double doors at the back of the building. He moves down the stairs without looking up from his tablet, weaving through the crowds of students slowly making their way to their classes.
“No. I wouldn”t say bad. Maybe intense? His classes are the hardest to pass, and he’s known for being a hard-ass. Don”t miss any assignments; pay attention, and you should be fine. He doesn”t tolerate talking in class and doesn”t offer make-up work,” Adam says bitterly, like he’s upset over that fact.
“Great,” I mutter, frustrated at Atlas for sticking me in that particular class. I honestly don’t care that he altered my schedule as long as he doesn”t demand that I leave the school. I’ve always had decent grades, but was never at the top of my class. I also never really cared for school and had simply selected a few interesting and easy classes.
“We only have it on Tuesdays and Thursdays,” Adam adds, and I nod.
“Okay. So where is the first one?” I ask, and Adam points to the enormous castle presiding at the center of the school.
“All of your classes but one are in there. These three are even in the same wing. So they should be easy for you to find. I’ll lead you to the first class and point out the others on our way.”
I adjust the strap of my black bag as I follow him toward the castle, then frown when I hear something strange above. The area around us suddenly shifts, and a roar that actually makes me flinch echoes over the campus moments before four monstrous-looking dragons fly in a diamond formation overhead.
The first genuine grin lights up my face as I stare up at the sight, seeing two gray Dragons, one blue, and a larger black one at the front. One of my brother”s family members, my Uncle Zane, is a Dragon shifter. I’ve always loved seeing his Dragon and watching him fly.
“The Balaur Patrol,” Adam remarks, wincing when another roar sounds.
“Should we be concerned about them out like this? I thought they only ever showed up if there was any danger,” I remark, curious if the rumors about the Dragon’s were true. Silverwood takes great pride in their elusive Balaur Patrol, but it”s almost impossible to see them outside of an emergency.
“No, but if you hear those go off.” Adam nods to the giant pair of silver bells residing in the tall tower of the castle on the east side. “Then you know there are Demons nearby and to seek shelter. They are probably doing a rare fly over drill or something,” he says with a shudder.
“You don”t like Dragons?” I ask, and Adam shrugs.
“I don”t know any. A few students are Dragon shifters, but they’re taking classes to become part of the Patrol. I don”t cross paths with them. They are rather large and… scary looking,” he adds, and I scoff. This boy has zero fear of me or my deadly magic, but a giant lizard has him scared?
“You’re scared of large shifters?” I ask, and Adam frowns.
“I don”t like fire.” He watches the four Dragons circle the school before landing to the south, near the smaller black castle that houses the Balaur Patrol. Then he shakes his head, glazed-over blue eyes snapping back into focus as he continues toward the castle and practically runs up the stairs. I follow behind a little slower. Though I like to say I’m excellent in heels, my feet are already a little sore from running earlier.
My sister-in-law”s best friend, who was always around the house as I grew up, had a thing for dressing up, and I got my heel obsession from her. Kayla taught me how to walk in the shoes, which brands were the best, and all the small tips I would need to wear sky-high heels all day without getting blisters. Running is a no-go for any size of heel, so my feet are already protesting.
I follow Adam through the castle doors, weaving between the students as I try to stay by his side. He’s moving so fast that I barely have time to take in my surroundings. The castle seems to be made of the same gray limestone as everything else. There are lit candelabras and flickering sconces at every turn despite it being morning. The small windows of the castle let in very little light, leaving the area feeling cold, drafty, and somewhat spooky. I smile, loving how different everything is here.
Black Veil, the Fae University back home, has some older buildings, but for the most part, it”s all modern, with beautiful and expensive furnishings. All the small houses and apartments are bright and full of natural light. Basically the complete opposite of this place. My magic sparks inside me, doing a happy dance in my chest at the darker surroundings. It”s always loved to stay in the dark. It”s the happiest where no one can sense or see the black abyss of its deadly power.
When Adam turns and heads up an enormous staircase, I groan, trying to count the steps but losing track halfway up. Fuck my life. Why did I wear heels on the first day? I roll my eyes, hating that people are around, and I can”t just stomp up the stairs the way I want to.
“Fucking stairs everywhere. I’m going to mention to the headmaster that elevators are cool and necessary.” I grumble under my breath as I attempt to catch up with Adam, who is on a mission and hasn”t realized I fell behind.
“Over there is our Magical Creatures class that we’ll go to tomorrow.” Adam motions to a small wooden door that arches at the top. I study the students who are strolling into the classroom. Most of the guys look pissed about being there, but there are a few girls giggling as they walk hand in hand into the room. Maybe that”s what I need. A friend to make it through the class. “Right here is Professor Sarafin’s classroom, which is your first class, and if you walk up the hall and turn right, there is a single door that leads to the tower where your English class is.” Adam points up the hall, and I nod.
“Cool. I can do that,” I agree and nod, looking into the room I need to go to first.
“The Trig class, which is also on Tuesdays and Thursdays, is in the math wing downstairs. It”s in the first hall on the right. Super simple to find,” Adam mutters, scowling down at his tablet before his eyes snap to mine, and he nods. “See you at lunch,” he says abruptly, reaching into his pocket and holding something out for me. I hesitantly reach out, being mindful not to touch his skin as I grab the small item from him. Then, I watch in amusement as Adam turns on his heel and strides away without another word.
“And I thought I was bad with people,” I mutter as I glance down at the small, white, square packet in my hand. It”s a sanitizer wipe. The urge to smile hits again, and I roll my eyes in annoyance. Adam will be a dangerous friend to have around. He’s far too comfortable around me and my magic, and somehow, in under twenty-four hours, I already feel protective of him. I also haven”t felt the need to kill him yet, which is weird but refreshing.
Hopefully, that will last.