Chapter 10 – Wave
Wave stared into the mirror at the outfit Chrissy had made for her and gulped. The spider silk sweater was thin, smooth, and soft to the touch. It molded to her frame without looking indecent and the deep midnight color brought out the blue in her hair without making her look pale.
Carefully, Wave ran her hands over the material, but it didn’t feel flimsy, just looked like it.
At least Chrissy had taken mercy on her and the jeans were almost normal.
Just a little bit of silver threading around the pockets to accentuate things.
And the pockets were spelled to fit plenty of stuff.
“Here.” Chrissy rushed into the room, holding out another pair of sneakers.
“Thank you.” Wave hugged her. “I really love your sneakers. Almost like they are magic or something.”
Chrissy poked her tongue out at Wave and pushed the shoes at her. “Try them on.”
Wave sat down and pulled them on. Her eyes widened immediately.
“Good?” Chrissy looked anxious.
“What did you do?” Wave wiggled her toes. “They feel like a… I don’t know what, but they are amazing!”
Chrissy’s shoulders relaxed. “They are my best work, if I do say so myself. Maybe now you’d be willing to try some heels?” She looked pleadingly at Wave.
She hesitated, got up, and bounced a bit to test the soft feeling out. “You can make heels feel like this?”
“Well, not exactly, but…”
“You know what, fine. I’ll promise to try them, but I won’t promise to leave the apartment wearing them. How’s that?”
“Yes!” Chrissy’s squeal brought laughter from the living room, where Ginny and Diana were waiting.
After Wave made sure her Chrissy-approved mascara was in place and added some gloss to her lips, she felt like she was ready to face the campus.
She was an heir apparent and looked the part.
Even her grandmother would approve of the quality of the clothes Chrissy had put her in.
She would certainly find fault in the style but not the quality.
Wave squared her shoulders and took a deep breath. She would need to sort things out with the administration soon, and wouldn’t that be lovely. If she could avoid that, she would, but Grandfather certainly wouldn’t let things slide.
“It’ll be just fine. You can always freeze their noses off,” she muttered to her reflection before walking out of the room.
As soon as they stepped through the dorm’s front door, Wave felt the change in the atmosphere.
People were moving in groups. Some even held visible shield bubbles.
Wary looks were thrown around and all of it was compounded by the sound of construction going on.
Most of the damage had been already fixed during the month Wave had spent in a cell, but landscaping crews still littered the grounds. Hedges were in the process of being replaced and flower beds replanted, while a fresh layer of paint covered most surfaces.
“Everyone’s on edge,” Ginny muttered as they walked.
“Still, it’s Tracthesia. This is not the first time. It’ll bounce back,” Diana said. She exuded serenity and good cheer. “None of the students died and the Council Force has arrested most assailants. It’ll blow over soon.”
“But there was death,” Ginny said. “One demon and one fire spirit.”
“Well, let’s not focus on that now,” Chrissy said. “We already rehashed all that yesterday. Today is Wayla’s proper debut into the Academy, and I, for one, am not going to be a downer.”
Wave chuckled. “It’s not a debut.”
“Yes, it is, and everyone is watching, so look regal and self-assured.”
“Uh-huh,” Wave hummed as they neared her classroom. “And you’re sure Jarred is not teaching today?”
“I’m sure,” Ginny said.
“Fine. Good. Okay. I’ll see one of you after the class? And I need to swing by the library to talk with Mrs. Riverson and plead for my job.”
“Salis will be here,” Diana replied. Ginny’s plan demanded that Wave didn’t walk anywhere alone so that the rest of them could run interference. “And I already emailed Mrs. Riverson on your behalf.”
“You did?” Wave’s eyes rounded as she pulled up her email and found one from Mrs. Riverson. Quickly, she scanned it and sighed in relief. “She’s expecting me back next week. Thank you, Di!”
“I guessed you were stressing out about it. It’s not a big deal, Way. Now quit stalling and get to your class.” Diana used her stern voice that made Wave smile.
“Thank you!” She suddenly hugged the druid. Di returned the hug and then pushed her away gently.
“Now go.”
“I’m going!” Wave slipped through the door into the classroom, feeling like a kid whose parents had walked her to school. It was a pretty nice feeling, considering that her parents had never done such a thing.
Professor Kilkenny was early for once and glared at Wave, singling her out immediately.
“How gracious of you to join us, Lady Stormwell,” he remarked snidely.
Years of etiquette training under her grandmother’s unforgiving eye came to her rescue. Wave inclined her head slightly and her voice came out breezily. “Oh, it’s no bother, Professor Kilkenny. I do enjoy your expertise.”
The man harrumphed but didn’t have anything else to say until everyone was seated. Clearly, something had crawled up his ass because he motioned at Wave.
“As some of you may know, we have a new student in class. Please rise, Lady Stormwell. Let’s all give her a warm welcome to the Tracthesia Academy.”
Inwardly groaning, Wave plastered a wide smile on her face and rose. She half turned toward the class and tried to find Tulias’s eyes, but she evaded her gaze. Wave debated giving a little wave but decided against it and after a small nod, sat back down.
“Most of the class missed the excitement a couple of weeks ago, since we were actually studying the Hell Moon. Would you like to give a little recap of those events for the class, Lady Stormwell?”
“No, thank you,” Wave stopped him before he could rattle on. “I find it quite distasteful to refer to an attack on the neutral ground as ‘excitement.’ Lives were lost, and the campus is still recovering. As a member of the faculty, I expected better of you, Professor Kilkenny.”
That shut the man up and he didn’t quite meet Wave’s eyes.
Wave crossed her arms and waited him out.
She might excel at holding her opinions to herself, but that didn’t mean she didn’t know how to express them and if this little man thought he could trample all over her, he had another think coming. Grandma ate men like him for a snack.
“Right, right,” Professor Kilkenny said after a long, awkward silence. “Let’s get to today’s lesson, then. I expect you to keep up and not disturb the class anymore, Lady Stormwell.”
“By all means, proceed, Professor Kilkenny,” Wave replied and enjoyed immensely the red color rising to his cheeks.
Originally, she had wanted to ditch the title, but Ginny had pointed out the power it held. After this interaction, Wave agreed. She would never allow the dear old professor to drop her title when addressing her. It might be petty, but damn if it didn’t feel good to push back.
“So, how was class?” Salis asked as soon as Wave was through the door.
“Fun.” Wave huffed. “Kilkenny made a whole show about ‘new girl in class’. Asshole.”
Salis groaned sympathetically, wrapped an arm around her shoulder, and pulled her along. “Let’s go find out what Dr. Johanson has to say about it.”
While they walked, whispers followed. Ginny had prepared her for the fact that her friends would probably have to run interference for her, but it didn’t look like anyone wanted to approach.
Dr. Johanson motioned Wave over the moment she walked into the class.
“I got word that your schedule will be changed, Ms. Spin—Lady Stormwell.”
“Ms. Stormwell is just fine, Dr. Johanson,” Wave hurried to say. She actually liked the woman and her no-nonsense attitude. “If it is all right with you, I’d like to stay in this class.”
Dr. Johanson’s brow rose. “This is not an advantaged class. The headmaster implied that you’d be moved to higher classes.”
Wave couldn’t help her grimace. “Not if I can help it.” Then she looked pleadingly at Dr. Johanson. “I really like the way you teach and I learn new things every class.”
“Really?”
“Yes! I may have the… raw power, but I lack the finesse and precision,” Wave confessed after looking around to make sure no one was too close to hear her whisper.
“So you haven’t been faking it in my class?”
Wave blushed. “A bit. I can catch any electricity, but containing it in small doses and manipulating it neatly…” She shrugged helplessly.
“Well, that’s actually quite a normal issue with stormbringers and other high-powered elementals.” She looked thoughtful. “If you wish to stay, I won’t object. Have Mr. Glowfeather stop by after class. I need to make a few adjustments to his lesson plan with you.”
“Thank you, Dr. Johanson!”
“Now go take your seat. We are about to begin.”
Wave almost danced back to her place. Elisa, the bitchy angel, was trying her best to look friendly and gave Wave a syrupy smile. She decided to ignore her and focused on Salis.
“Dr. Johanson wants to see you after class,” Wave told Salis.
“What?”
“Some adjustments for the earth lessons,” Wave replied and Salis relaxed.
“Ah, okay.” He pulled out his phone and fiddled with it until Dr. Johanson started the class.
Wave let herself actually enjoy the exercises this time, since she didn’t need to fumble half of them. The class flew by and didn’t leave her time to worry too much. She was gathering her things when Salis nudged her.
“What?”
“Irishen will walk you to lunch.”
“What? No!” Wave dropped her books back on the table. She wasn’t ready to face her possible mate. She hadn’t had time to have a meltdown or sort her mind. A mate!
Yes, she knew mates weren’t that rare, but that was inside a race. Mates between breeds were not unheard of either, but she was a cross-breed. A siren cross-breed. Sirens didn’t get mates or any other supernaturally assigned companions.