Chapter 14. Eloise
Eloise
I take back every quasi-nice thing I’ve ever thought about Grayson Stone.
He’s the most infuriating jerk that ever lived.
If he thinks he can follow me around and tell me what to do, he’s in for a surprise.
Not to mention he’s treating me like I’m some amoral criminal who might stab him in the back if he turns around, and now that I think about it—murder doesn’t sound like a bad idea.
We don’t make it two steps out of the library before a spell chimes, announcing in a disembodied voice: All first-years are required in the dining hall. Immediately. The voice sounds like it belongs to an Irish version of my gran.
I don’t say a word to Grayson as we follow the navigation spell, the blue orb leading the way.
Grayson opens the door to the dining hall for me, which only frustrates me more. And when I walk through, he has the nerve to smile like he just won something.
I ignore him and redirect my attention to the large room.
Trunks sprout out of the floor to craft long rustic tables beautifully set with flower garlands, and the chairs are made from woven branches.
There is a giant chandelier crafted from a tangle of roots in the center of the ceiling.
And half of the walls are glass, providing a fairy-tale view of the sunset valley below.
Grayson, whose family definitely has a house nearby, like all the influential Mage families do, doesn’t look impressed. In fact, he sighs in resignation.
I immediately scan the crowd for Maggie, my heart leaping at the thought of seeing her, hoping her presence will make everything make sense again.
The disembodied Irish Gran voice chimes throughout the room: Take your seats. The Welcome Ceremony is about to begin.
“Come on,” Grayson says, and I follow his eyeline to a table where Bas, Naomi, and Ivy sit. It’s in the front of the room near the podium.
“Not in a million years,” I say, because nothing in the world could convince me that’s a good idea.
He eyes me for a moment, probably calculating if he should press the issue. “Yeah, okay,” he says finally. “I’ll come find you when it’s over.”
He watches me walk toward a mostly empty table in the back by the glass wall and it takes all my self-control not to flip him off. What does he think I’m going to do? Run the moment he’s not staring at me?
As I pull out a chair I glare across the room at Grayson, which only makes him raise an eyebrow as if to say: What did you expect? It isn’t until I sit down that he finally joins his friends.
“Good riddance,” I say under my breath.
“Something unappealing over there?” a guy asks in a French accent, sliding into the empty seat across from me. “Or rather, someone?”
I drag my gaze from Grayson to the French guy, and find myself taken aback. He’s handsome, for one. Strong jaw. Dimples on both cheeks. Hazel eyes and neat brown hair. And even though he’s in white like the rest of the first-years, his belt is oddly gray?
“Uh, yeah. I mean, no,” I say, my brain trying to recalibrate. “Just my roommate.”
The guy smiles and it only makes him more attractive. He extends his hand to me and I take it. “Adrien,” he says.
“Eloise,” I reply, and I’m surprised to find I’m smiling back.
“So, this new roommate—I take it this person wasn’t your first choice?” he says, leaning in like we’re sharing a secret.
I glance momentarily at Grayson, who’s surrounded by people staring at him like he farts 24 karat gold.
“You have no idea,” I reply.
Adrien laughs and it’s an easy sound.
“Bread?” a server asks, and offers me a beautiful fresh roll with steam coming off it.
“Thank you so much,” I say, feeling both uncomfortable about being served and also a little envious of the Laborer. Getting to live here in the University town where the wards are rock solid is my dream for my family.
I once again search for Maggie. Where the heck is that girl?
“Tell me, Eloise, what guild are you?” Adrien asks as I reach for the wooden dish of butter.
“Alchemy,” I tell him. “You?”
“Gifted,” he says, and my eyes whip up.
“That’s incredible,” I say. That also explains his gray belt.
He shrugs nonchalantly. “I’m not saying I’m not happy, but I also don’t love all the one-on-one time it earns me with Chancellor Stone.”
I choke on my buttered roll so hard that he grabs the pitcher of water and fills my glass.
“Thanks,” I say, catching my breath.
“Was it something I said?” he asks with a grin.
“I just wasn’t expecting you to—” I stop short, not wanting to say anything publicly against the Chancellor.
But Adrien doesn’t hesitate. “Talk shit about the Stones?”
I quickly glance to either side, worried someone might overhear, but the room is buzzing with excited conversation loud enough to drown us out.
Adrien chuckles. “While I have to admit your look of surprise is adorable, you don’t need to worry. Everyone who grew up in Europe knows that family is—”
But he doesn’t finish his thought before the arched wooden doors open and Chancellor Stone walks in, flanked by Akari and a handful of professors.
I tense, but Adrien doesn’t.
“To be continued,” he says with a wink.
All the first-years fall silent as the professors take their seats at the elevated table. The Chancellor approaches the platform and Akari remains standing a couple of paces behind him.
“Welcome, first-years,” Chancellor Stone begins, magically projecting his voice in a somber tone. “I’d say good evening, but it isn’t good, is it?”
I once again look for Maggie, who’s still nowhere to be seen.
“For the first time in thirty years, the Lawless breached one of our school wards, raiding the entirety of the American Academy’s greenhouse,” he says, and students gasp. I understand he’s getting in front of this before gossip runs wild, but I also didn’t expect it to be the first thing he said.
“This was not the welcome I planned on giving you,” he says like he could hear my thoughts.
“But the threat to our community is very real. If an Academy ward can be crossed by the Lawless, it’s not a far cry from the University wards being breached.
” The tension in the room levels up. “And so, I ask you to be vigilant. Not only with your training, but with each other. Because the threat is more than just the criminals on the outside, it also exists among you.”
I inhale sharply, and even from a distance, I notice Grayson tense.
“We have not ruled out that someone may have aided the Lawless during the raid,” he continues, while students look around the room like they might spot the culprit. “Report anything suspicious to the Guardians, and as always, mind your curfew.”
The Chancellor scans the crowd. And when his gaze falls on me, I feel it like the tip of a dagger.
“You’re the best students from the Academies,” Chancellor Stone says.
“And I’m counting on you to become the best Mages.
” He looks pointedly at Grayson. “Within these walls, you’ll learn complex magic.
Strategy. Battle techniques and how to outsmart your opponent.
From you, we need nothing short of extraordinary. And I will make you just that.”
I’m not sure if that’s a promise or a threat.
“Welcome to the most important four years of your life,” Chancellor Stone says. “May you be the class who finally defeats the Lawless.”
Cheers sound around the room, and while I absolutely agree with him in principle—I can’t bring myself to clap for a privileged Mage who’s not above threatening my six-year-old sister.
Laborers serve food and I once again search the room for Maggie. Where the hell is that girl?