Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
I’M SORRY, WHAT?
I wake up to sunlight streaming into my face, outlining the silhouette of a man standing at the mouth of the cave.
My heart beats so loudly, I worry it’s going to alert him that I’m awake.
Without moving an inch or making a sound, I glance around to see my bags are now open, and most of my belongings are still packed exactly as they were when I went to sleep.
Except for the injured creature and the second bag I found. Both are noticeably absent.
“Where is he? Give him back,” I blow up as I jump to my feet.
That’s all I manage before the pressure in my head implodes. Black comets race across my vision, and my legs give out. I crash to the cave floor, pain spearing in all directions.
Warm hands guide me onto my back, and while I can hear him speaking, his words get sucked into the spinning vortex.
I fight to stay awake, to get away from him, but no matter how hard I try to stay conscious, I get swallowed by darkness.
A slow, steady beep pulls me out of my sleep. The noise makes my pulse pound, and it also draws someone closer.
Taking a deep inhale, I crack my eyes open slightly, not surprised at all to see I’m in a medical-like room. God, I hope it’s not a hospital, although the sounds and smells I’m picking up on and trying to ignore suggest it is.
I look around, still unsure where I am, and a woman’s face appears before me.
“I’m one of the nurses here.”
“Where’s here?” I ask, though my voice is broken and hoarse as a result of my growing panic.
“The clinic.”
All the rising terror stops in an instant. I’m still worried about where I am and who she is, but a clinic I can manage. A hospital? Yeah, no chance.
She moves closer, holding a glass with a straw. “How about some water? Not too much, though. You’ve been out of it for a few days, so your stomach might rebel if you try drinking all of this.”
The cool water is refreshing. I take a sip, then lie back against the pillows. After what I just went through, I have about a hundred or so questions that need answers, but I’m not sure she’s the person I should be asking. I stick to the obvious one. “Where am I?”
She takes a moment, assessing me before she answers. “You don’t remember coming in?”
“No.”
She looks surprised, then pulls a chair over and sits next to me. “You were in bad shape when you arrived, so that makes sense. As well as being hypothermic and severely dehydrated, you were also concussed. You really shouldn’t have been out in your condition.”
She gives me a small, empathetic smile before she continues to explain. “You’re at Thales Academy.”
“Where?”
She holds the water for me again. “Do you remember leaving the human settlement?”
I freeze like a deer in headlights. Given that I don’t know where the heck I am, I’m not responding to her question in case I’m being set up by the enforcers.
“Well, you did. You were found in a cave on the edge of Lycadia, which is predominantly shifter territory. You were brought to the academy.”
“Why?”
“Your blood work confirmed you are not fully human. But honestly, if the results showed you were human, you would have been left at the wall from which you came. As to why you’re in Thales, well, it’s not that hard to figure out.”
“What? Why?” I feel like a parrot stuck on repeat, asking one-word questions.
“Why are you at Thales?” I nod and she continues. “You’re a student here. Your tuition has been paid in full, upfront.”
“I’m sorry, I’m not following. That makes no sense, I’ve already graduated.”
She hums as she makes an impressed expression, except it’s saturated in sarcasm. Even with a wicked headache, I can figure that out. “Well, Maya…”
“How do you know my name?”
“Honey, in between passing out, you’ve been talking a fair bit since you arrived.
You just don’t remember any of your time here so far.
Not to worry, maybe the witches can teach you some handy recall enchantments.
It’s how I passed my nursing degree. Anyway, I’ll let you rest.” She stands up and gets to the door before turning back.
“House Master Maddern will be down to see you just before we serve dinner.”
“What?”
“Well, you’re neither a shifter nor a vamp, and your tests indicated no spell casting was in your DNA either. Considering you lack wings or smoky appendages; you’ve been placed in Nomina House. Master Maddern will explain everything. Try to rest.”
She walks out and leaves me wondering if I’m stuck in a fever dream. It’s the only plausible explanation, because what the actual shit?
As soon as I’m alone, I pull the blankets back and hop out of bed. I lock down my rising anxiety at being in a clinic and force myself to focus on other things, like the fact that I’m surrounded by others. And an academy? What the hell is that?
In the bathroom, the artificial lighting makes me look as bad as I feel.
My skin is washed out and the bags under my eyes are huge.
And I smell like a hospital. I drop my clothes to my feet and stand under the spray of the water until I feel more like myself.
Because I didn’t exactly plan my shower, I have no toiletries or fresh clothes with me, and I nearly put on the Thales-branded gown again.
A knock on the door scares the crap out of me.
“Your uniform got delivered while you were showering.” The nurse from earlier talks through the door before she cracks it open and passes the uniform through, along with a bag of toiletries.
“I’ll wait here, in case you need me,” she offers. Given her expression, it’s not like it’s an option, though.
While I want to know how someone figured out my exact size for every piece of the uniform I’m expected to wear, it’s not my most pressing question.
The nurse helps me with the small tie, then brushes my black hair out and shows me how I’m meant to style my hair.
Weirdly, I swear my hair color has lightened, but I don’t get any chance to figure out if it’s lighter or if I’ve still got a concussion because I’ve got bigger issues to deal with.
The uniform, the hairstyle, none of it matches what I thought I was walking into when I left the gates.
It’s pretty judgmental on my part, but seriously, I was expecting some dystopian wastelands where savage beasts battled for survival, yet here I am in a medical ward attached to an academy that appears to rival some of the best schools advertised in the city.
She runs her hands over my shoulders, but there’s nothing wrong with the blazer or the way it sits. I get the sense that she’s doing it because of the pride associated with the actual uniform. After being so used to living in fear, any other emotional display hits deeply.
“I’m always here. I mean, there’s more of us in the medical wing employed to help, but at the same time, I want you to know if you need something, at least you know a friendly face now. All this must be so overwhelming.”
“You have no idea.”
“It’s about to get even more interesting because Master Maddern is waiting out in the corridor. He’ll talk with you, but then he’s taking you for a tour of Thales and up to your room. Hopefully, I won’t see you again for a while.”
She must read my trepidation because her hand on my back as she guides me out isn’t a soft touch, it’s more of an insistent push.
Before I can ask, she opens a cupboard and unveils my bags. With them now in my hand, I do a final check to make sure nothing has been missed before I step into the corridor.
Master Maddern is talking with another member of staff, and he doesn’t interrupt them when I stop a short distance away. Again, I’m not sure what I was expecting, but a Viking-sized man who looks very much like any other fit, aging person isn’t it.
He’s dressed in blue like I am. As soon as the man finishes speaking to him, he excuses himself and turns to face me.
“You must be Maya.” He extends his hand. “I’m Master Maddern, in charge of Nomina House. Let’s walk.”
His hand is warm, his grip is steady, and he’s entirely… normal.
He passes over a small bag. “The doctor said to follow the instructions on the bottle, and he’ll see you for a follow-up in a few days. Any bad headaches or anything worrying, though, and you’re to come straight here. There’s plenty of signage around the academy.”
I have to jog to keep up with how fast Master Maddern walks, and when he notices, he slows slighty but I still trail after him.
“Thales is one of the largest schools in Quin-state. Quin-state is made of five independent territories. Like in life, at Thales we strive for balance, equality, and unity.”
“Why am I here, though?”
“Don’t you think you should be?” he asks, his temperament non-judgmental, but at the same time, there’s a hint of authority in his tone.
“I honestly don’t know. Only a few days ago, I was working at a community center, doing whatever I could to help, and now I’m here, at school again? I had no idea what to expect, but this was definitely not it.”
“Then perhaps you’re exactly where you’re meant to be. Have you thought of that?”
“Again, I woke up in a hospital bed an hour or two ago. I haven’t had time to think.”
“In Quin-state there is a requirement for all beings to attend a learning institute like Thales. Our curriculum isn’t like middle or junior school.
Families and individual communities focus on reading, writing, and arithmetic, while we focus on adults discovering who they are.
Intake is based on your DNA and is open to anyone over the age of twenty.
Don’t get me wrong, Thales is still a learning institute, and we expect our students to pass a range of subjects, to give you the opportunity to harness the ‘other’ part of you.
At Thales, you will discover what your role will be by providing a cohesive education in a safe environment regardless of your heritage. ”