Chapter 17

Barbie

Itold Killian that I hadn't fully recovered, but he said that if I could run that fast when I overheard that there was a special dinner in the house, then I was in better shape than almost every student. He'd also pointed out that I'd forgotten to limp on two more occasions.

"But I'm still afraid of my own shadow!" I protested. "I'm not ready to go to class, since everyone looks like a kidnapper to me."

Killian shook his head at my whining while his men laughed.

"You don't know a werewolf can smell lies, do you, Barbie?" Rock asked.

So, I started to go to class, as it was mandatory, and the prince's cronies made sure of it. However, Killian allowed me to attend fewer classes. He went through my curriculum personally and cut out one-third of them, despite some professors' protests, especially from Headmistress Ethel and her druid.

I was overjoyed that I no longer needed to go to the druid's divination class. Killian told the druid to fuck off, since I was still going through intense "therapy" after being kidnapped and maimed. He emphasized that he needed me to be mentally available for the benefit of the ongoing investigation into the campus kidnapping.

Headmistress Ethel had opened her own investigation and summoned me. Killian had insisted on being present, and the other princes had as well. I had to recount the events over and over until Killian put a stop to it.

The other heirs also backed up Killian on my attending fewer classes, and offered to let me have private lessons with them when they practiced advanced dark magic that was exclusive to the heirs. The princes were no doubt rivals, but they always presented a united front when facing any outsider forces.

I limped into Professor Longweed's magic conjuring class.

Instead of a confined classroom like the one I'd stumbled into while trying to lose the vamp prince on a blood hunt, the class was set in an open space with warded fences on three sides. The fences were spelled to withstand magical attacks, which the students would carry out soon by throwing their elemental magic and swinging their dicks around.

I could rip off the spells on the fence, but I didn't want to stir the shit. I was going to turn over a new leaf.

Students hung out with their cliques, their chatter filling the space. I recognized half of them, since they'd tossed their magic at me last time I crashed their class.

A group of students who struck superior poses and shared important looks gathered around Professor Longweed in the center, and her sultry voice pierced the open space.

I spotted Bea, Wyatt, Jinx, and two other geeks from the House of Chaos in the far corner. They were my crowd now. Wyatt had officially become a member of the chaos house after I'd put in a word for him to Pucker and Killian.

I rushed toward them in glee.

"Stop, Little Bob—Barbie!" Professor Longweed's shriek cut through the room.

Shit!

How had she seen me while being surrounded by her favorite elites, especially America? It helped that America was also Headmistress Ethel's niece.

I forced myself to halt while all I wanted was to join my friends.

The crowd in front of Professor Longweed parted, and she stepped out, a shawl wrapped around the shoulders of her pink dress. The fae professor narrowed her sharp gaze on me. Why were her pale silver eyes so wide apart? Maybe I should ask her so she could do something about it?

"Hello." I smirked. "Professor Weedlong, right? Long time no see!"

"It's Professor Longweed!" she hissed, her accent growing thicker, her lips pursing into a thin line. "You're the most dishonest student!"

"Pardon?" I blinked at her innocently. "How so?"

"You pretended to be a servant boy and fooled everyone, especially the esteemed princes!" she accused. "It was distasteful and unforgivable!"

"But I didn't fool all the princes. Prince Killian singled me out and humiliated me in a scandalous manner!" I cried out. "Also, it wasn't my fault. Prince Louis named me ‘Little Bob' and made me his squire in the first place. The whole affair was unfortunate and distasteful." I nodded at the professor. "But all the esteemed princes have forgiven me. If you don't believe me, you're more than welcome to check with them, and I'm sure they'll vouch for me. Prince Cade even gave me two jars of honey made in China as a get-well present. He's too kind. I don't know if you heard about my kidnapping or not?"

I waved my new hand at Professor Longweed. "It grew back, but the tragedy left more scars inside than outside. Anyway, let's go back to the matter of the jar of honey. Prince Killian pointed out, accurately, that the size was too small." I spotted fire in the professor's eyes. "Longweed, no, My Lady Longweed, if you're worried about my going back to being a boy, you can rest your mind." I shook my head in dismay. "That's not going to happen. Prince Killian has strict house rules."

"Silence!" Professor Longweed ordered me.

"Okay, I'll comply." I lifted my hands. "I'll go silent now. Happy?"

Professor Longweed's eyes only spat more fire.

"Barbie never takes responsibility for anything!" America said, her lips also thinning, but her glare had somehow lost its usual sharpness. Her friends' glares were more acidic.

"That's not true," I said, then I consulted Professor Longweed humbly. "May I have your permission or blessing to speak and explain to My Lady America, Professor Longweed? Or would you like to place a silence spell on me?"

It wouldn't work, but I was trying to be respectful and responsible.

"That's unnecessary!" Longweed barked. "Remember to behave. I won't allow any shenanigans in my class!"

She shooed me away like I was a bothersome pigeon perching on the lunch table. I gave her a smile and dashed to my friends before she could change her mind and stop me again.

My friends punched me on the arm, big smiles on their faces, to welcome me. This was my first class since the kidnapping. Not that I cared about any organized study and strict schedules, but hanging out with my friends made up for all the bullshit.

"Class!" Professor Longweed clapped her hands to get everyone's attention. "Today, you'll practice conjuring your elemental magic." Her piercing gaze found me in the far corner, and her lips thinned again. "For those who are of a lower status, you'll need to improve your skills fast if you want to progress into next year's program or have a better chance at employment after your graduation, even if you fail at the Brides Selection. Go join your group practices."

I didn't have their type of magic. There was no such thing as a learning curve when it came to my power, as it was innate.

This class wasn't for me, but Killian insisted this was a lowkey class, and that if I kept cutting back my class schedule, I might just drop out of Shades Academy and go sleep on the streets. In the end, his tone was harsh and sarcastic, and I knew when to stop pushing his buttons. He wasn't a patient man.

No way could I explain to him or anyone that I wasn't a builder. I was an eater.

I couldn't create spells, but I could eat them or siphon them and turn them around to send them back to the original casters. The others mistook me for an Echo, who could nullify magic. That had been Professor Longweed's first diagnosis of my power, and others took it for granted, except for the druid.

The princes also suspected that I was more than an Echo.

My dormant core power had nothing to do with my siphon ability. I didn't know what it could do exactly, but it must be dangerous even to my father, since he'd gone to great pains to spellbind it. I needed to figure out a way to break my father's spells so I could access it before Ruin came calling.

The students spread over the practice field. The same houses stuck together, but there were a couple of mixed groups as well. America and Medea's minions joined forces, throwing fireballs and brandishing wind, water, and ice as if they were the shit.

Our small group was the other mixed one. Bea, Wyatt, Jinx, and their geek friends from other houses formed a horizonal line and let out their magic.

Every student possessed one form of elemental magic, a requirement to be accepted into Shades Academy.

Only the heirs were powerful enough to hold two elemental magics. Killian's magic, however, was of another caliber. He'd confessed to me that he was Hades's grandson, so he owned death magic, but he was careful not to show it to anyone else.

Vampires could summon wind. Shifters were affiliated with water magic. Fae took for them the earth magic. Mages mostly used spells to push out their elemental magic due to their weaker elemental power.

I slid beside Bea, engaging her in a hushed conversation while I watched others wielding their magic. I was trying my best to blend in and lie low until the class was over.

Fire, water, and wind flew around. Vines shot out of the ground.

"The princes still haven't found the bad actors behind your kidnapping?" Bea asked in a low voice.

I bit my lip. "All the clues died in—" I motioned Bea closer. She leaned toward me while moving her wand in a circle, pretending to be hard at work on her magic. Her wind stirred our hair. I cupped my mouth near her ear and whispered, "CrimsonTide." Bea's eyes widened at the name. "Prince Killian isn't giving up, and nor will the other princes. They've set a plan to lure?—"

"Barbie!" Professor Longweed shrieked.

Bea and I jumped. I whipped my head in the direction of the snobby professor.

"This isn't a gossip class!" Longweed snapped. "And since you've whispered your poisonous lies into that witch girl's ear, care to share with the rest of the class?"

Many students stared daggers at me, and some snickered at my being singled out again. Bea's face paled. She wasn't a good liar, and she hated confrontation, but I had her covered.

A few students pulled out their magical tablets, ready to record another "Barbie being humiliated" livestream, but Longweed darted them a stern look, prompting them to pocket their devices.

"I wasn't gossiping, Professor Longweed. I followed your instructions to the letter," I offered. "And my teammate's name isn't ‘witch girl.' Her name is Bea. I was trading tips with Bea on how to level up. Her magic caliber belongs in a mage's rank, but she's unfairly treated as a low-ranking witch."

"And you, of all people, know how to fix it," Longweed retorted, "by recategorizing and recalculating Bea's magic caliber that was evaluated and scored by the magic committee in Mist of Cinder upon her registration?"

Medea and America's minions laughed mockingly.

"I think so, Professor Longweed," I said humbly and sincerely.

"Really?" Professor Longweed's thin brows rose with her tone of ridicule. "Why don't you share your miracle tips so the class can also benefit?"

Shit!Longweed was being sarcastic.

My friends darted nervous glances between the professor and me. They felt bad for me, but they didn't want to lose their places in the academy by taking a stand against a professor.

Bea's face paled further. She'd been flying under the radar, but for my sake, she'd been pushed to the front over and over. She sent a pleading look at Professor Longweed, but fae weren't known for being merciful, and Longweed was like a bitch who wouldn't let go of a bone.

No one, except me, had seen that Bea's mage power had been spellbound.

In the House of Mages, druids and mages perched on the top, with Cade ruling them all. Sorcerers stood on the next rung, and witches were shoved to the bottom. Among the witches, there was a strict hierarchy in their covens as well.

Bea's humanity didn't help her case, only made the supernaturals push her around. She'd been mistaken as a low-powered witch, and today I would right a wrong, and then those coyotes would bow to her—including Fake Blonde, now Fake Silver, since she'd dyed her hair silver after I pointed out her dark roots to Cade.

I was planning to find the right time to talk to Bea about her magical block since it might shatter her world if it was her family that had bound her magic, but Professor Longweed had forced my hand, so I had to push the schedule up. Since there was no gentle step to guide Bea now, I'd have to make a loud statement, as loud as American tourists.

With a bang!Sy cheered.

As I unleashed my siphon power, a black wind entered Bea, sending her bending over. She struggled to raise her head and stared at me with wild eyes.

It has to be done, but it'll be over soon, friend,I promised her silently.

My power sank its merciless teeth into the elaborate spells that bound her and swallowed them. I was an eater of magic, spells, curses, and the world after all.

A ray of light swam in Bea's eyes. I knew she felt it, the difference, the heaviness in her gone.

"They say show, not tell, Professor Longweed," I said. "How about we let Bea demonstrate it?" I patted my witch friend on the shoulder. "Fly, little Bea bird, fly. You're free now."

Bea raised her wand, hesitated for a second, and flung its tip forward.

The wind she conjured, stronger than any student could summon, crashed into the fence, chipping away a portion.

Gasps choked out through the field.

None of the other students could fucking achieve that. Even their strongest fire couldn't scorch an inch of the fence warded by top-tier mages and fae. But of course, I'd aided Bea a little by weakening the spells a notch.

"Turn the tip of your wand toward the ground, Witch Bea!" Longweed shrieked.

Bea obeyed, lowering the wand to her side, and turned to me, tears in her eyes, a smile on her quivering lips.

"She faked it!" shouted Fake Silver.

"It had to be a fluke," America agreed.

"Bea is the weakest witch in the House of Mages," Fake Silver shouted louder for everyone who was willing to hear her, jealous anger tainting her eyes. "She shouldn't even have been accepted into this elite school." She recycled her fae boyfriend's mean words. "She's from one of the exiled families!"

"Yeah? Fake Silver, a.k.a. former Fake Blonde, right?" I said. "You just can't stand that Bea is the real deal and ten times more powerful than you. I suggest you lick the bottom of Bea's dirty shoes to make amends."

"My shoes aren't dirty," Bea murmured.

Fake Silver's face reddened in rage. "How dare you, Fake Servant Boy! Fake Little Bob!"

I laughed. "That's a good one. Keep going, Fake Silver."

"That's enough!" Professor Longweed barked in her shrill voice, and pointed at Bea.

Bea panted nervously at all the pointing fingers and accusing glares. I laid a hand on her slender shoulder to give her strength as she'd done for me, and Jinx laid her hand on Bea's other shoulder. Then all our geek friends laid a hand on her person to support her. Wyatt couldn't find a spot to lay his hand, so he glanced at her butt, likely debating if he should press his hand there.

"Try it again, Witch Bea. I won't tolerate cheating in my class!" Professor Longweed ordered Bea while shooting her long finger at me. "Stay away from the witch girl, Barbie, so you can't help her fake the results."

I reluctantly stepped a pace away. "But Bea needs my moral support."

"Come running!" Professor Longweed barked. "And stay by my side so I can keep an eye on you."

I had no choice but to zoom to her, causing the wind to flap her hair. The professor gave a yelp, not expecting that I could sprint faster than a vampire. One second, I'd been with Bea and our friends, then the next, I stood by the professor, shifting my weight from my left foot to the right.

She gave me a hard stare full of distrust. "Stay right here, and don't you dare try anything." She gave America a fond nod. "Lady America, watch Barbie. If she tries to cheat, stop her!"

America puffed up her chest. "I will, Professor Longweed!"

Longweed gripped the ruby charm hanging around her neck and spewed incantations in an ancient fae tongue. A minute later, a new ward rose up in front of the fence a few yards away from the partially shattered one. Professor Longweed's fae spell was potent, since she'd used her fae artifact to strengthen it. It wouldn't matter to me, as I could eat it in my sleep, but I wouldn't want to anger my pesky professor.

Also, this was the time for Bea to truly shine in front of the coyotes.

"Go ahead, Witch Bea." Longweed pursed her lips, her eyes gleaming with confidence at the ward she'd put up in front of Bea.

Bea waved her wand, and everyone stepped back to be out of her striking range in case her spells went awry. Some students raised their shields.

"Now! Don't waste more of your classmates' time," Longweed called.

Bea's spell, boosted by her new power, lashed out. This time, her wind carried a spark of fire. Her blue hair flew in the current. Her wind speared through the professor's ward and shot into the fence, breaking it in two.

Silence fell over the practice field. Longweed turned to narrow her eyes on me.

"I didn't do anything." I spread my arms. "It's all her. Should we call her Mage Bea instead of Witch Bea, Professor Longweed?"

Our geek friends rushed to Bea to hug and congratulate her. I was about to shoot toward her too, but Professor Longweed flung her arm in front of me.

"What have you done for that girl, Barbie?" Longweed demanded. "Don't you lie! I can tell, and you don't want the lowest grade from me!"

I sighed. "My good friend little Bea must be from a powerful mage bloodline, but someone put a magical block in her without her knowledge. All I did was remove it."

Longweed widened her eyes. "Spellbound?"

"Now you're paying attention." I nodded. "Even you didn't see the hidden spell, did you, professor?"

She narrowed her eyes at me in displeasure. "I don't think you're exactly an Echo. How dare you keep up the act and put on another deception?"

A school of students rushed to me, wanting me to make them more powerful as well. A few of them even offered to pay me for a private lesson. Sweet!

Professor Longweed shooed them away and turned to stare down at me again. "I'll have to report you to Headmistress Ethel, and Prince Killian as well."

I blinked at her. "But you were the first one who said I was an Echo. Aren't they going to hold you responsible too, Professor Longweed?"

Speaking of which—Headmistress Ethel in her impeccable pantsuit appeared at the entry of the class, her light gray eyes like shards of ice snagging on me right away.

Shit!

My heart rammed into my ribcage. I calmed down a little when I didn't spot her creepy druid in tow. The headmistress and the druid hadn't been thrilled that Killian had blocked their access to me. The chaos heir had almost come to blows with the druid by refusing to let him take me away under the name of investigation, and countered that the druid had scared me so much that I'd fallen right into the trap of the kidnappers.

I tried to duck behind Professor Longweed at the sight of the headmistress, but the professor held my elbow firmly, as if she had a sixth sense that could detect my intention of bolting.

"What did you do this time, Barbie?" Longweed asked in a low voice, her gaze glued to the headmistress.

Headmistress Ethel was a middle-aged beauty and one of the sternest women I'd met. But this time, she didn't have a squad of sentinels rallying around her, but half a dozen horned students.

I smirked. "They aren't coming to arrest me, which is nice for a change. And look, the new students have horns!"

"Silence," Professor Longweed ordered me, and dragged me along with her to meet her boss.

"Headmistress Ethel." She bowed.

"Professor Longweed." Headmistress Ethel nodded. "I'm bringing the new students from the House of Underworld for an orientation."

Professor Longweed gasped. "So, it's true, then?"

My heart skipped a beat. I pricked my ears to absorb the information.

"We don't want to make a big splash due to the resistance in the realm, as you know," Headmistress Ethel said, and Longweed nodded gingerly. "So I'll introduce the new students from the House of Underworld to each class instead of holding an assembly. We can always announce it when the House of Underworld is officially acknowledged as the sixth house in the realm. Shades Academy has to make a stand first by accepting the students from the new house. Diversity is the goal. We'll add over a hundred new students, including the ones banished by another house unfairly, from the House of Underworld."

Headmistress Ethel shot me a scathing look, obviously blaming me for the banishment of Bellona and other former chaos house members. Well, what an interesting development. Killian had kicked out those delinquents, but his betrothed took them all into her house. I tried to hide the glint in my eyes as I planned to run back to Killian and tell him about this news. Maybe I should find every chance to drive a wedge between them?

Pucker had been gathering intel for me besides his duty of patrolling the Veil. He'd warned me about Queen Lilith bringing her House of Underworld to Shades Academy. The campaign for establishing the House of Underworld as the sixth house in the realm had been going on for a while, and the queen's engagement to the heir of House of Chaos had played a big part in her gaining a footing in Mist of Cinder.

"Of course," Professor Longweed said. "Queen Lilith of the House of Underworld is the biggest donor to Shades Academy."

"It's not about the academy fund, Professor Longweed. Though with it, we can upgrade all our facilities." Headmistress Ethel gave the professor a sharp look. "It's about fairness, and it's time the sixth house has its rightful place in Mist of Cinder!"

So Headmistress Ethel was either Queen Lilith's ally or her pawn.

I surveyed the six new giant students who stood behind the headmistress. Their skin varied in shades of light or dark. Four of them had scales along the sides of their necks, and all of them had twin horns protruding from their heads.

They were pure-blooded demons from the Underworld.

The demons stared at me openly. Two of the alpha types sniffed at me, and their eyes glowed a menacing crimson.

My nostrils flaring, I pulled my lips back in a silent snarl, challenging them back.

The largest demon, whose arms were bigger than my thighs, smirked nastily.

My heart pounded. This shit had become real. Killian's betrothed, the Queen of the Underworld, would come to the academy soon and stake her claim not only on this realm but also on Killian.

My head suddenly swam, and my mouth tasted like ash. The rest of the headmistress's words flew through my ears, and the rest of the class passed in a blur.

Thoughts of Killian and his betrothed filled the dark space in my head.

Would he still shield me when she was here? Or was I a toy he'd toss away?

We'll drag down the bitch queen by the hair and stomp our foot on her face, and Killian will see who is more beautiful and powerful!Sy said. Should he refuse to see sense and still choose her, we'll dump him. You can hook up with Cade, or another. There're plenty of big dicks in Mist of Cinder.