by Alice Wilde
"What you don't have much time," Fenn says. "Classes start tomorrow, and if you don't think of something by then, I want to go about things the way I like to."
"Don't you think I know that," I snap. "I just don't know why she’s still here."
"None of us do," Rhys says. "I was sure once the Academic Council found her after the exam, she would be expelled from the academy immediately. Looks like we were both wrong."
"It's not just that," I say. "How did she even survive? I thought for sure tearing the wings off her would…"
"Would what?" Fenn asks, his curiosity piqued.
I pause for a long moment before answering, not sure why I feel so uncomfortable saying the words.
"I don't know, I'd read somewhere that if you tore the wings off one of them it would… That it would kill them."
"Now that you mention it," Rhys says, "I think I may have read that somewhere as well. Guess it isn't true. Still, I don't know how she's managed to keep from being expelled. Her charm must be even more powerful than we thought."
"It doesn't matter, I won't make the same mistake twice. To hell with what the headmistress says about fate, there's something else at play here and I'm not going to let Eden drag me down with her. She may have made it through her first year, but this year I'll make sure enough of her second blood soaks the ground that she'll never make it to the third year."
"Damn, Thorne," Fenn says. "That's a bit dark, even for you. Shouldn't Rhys be the one saying these kinds of things?"
I ignore Fenn, pushing past the two of them as I make my way back to the dorms. I'm glad neither of them can see my face as we walk through the grounds. As harsh as my words may have been back there, I'm terrified by the reaction I had when I first realized she was still here.
I don't know how to describe the feeling. It was almost like a been punched in the stomach, and at the same time my heart sped up in my chest. I thought for sure she'd be gone by now, or at the very least her charms would've worn off, but they only seem to have gotten stronger.
The other two don't seem to be as affected as I am by her, or perhaps were all too afraid to admit it. Whatever this game is that she's playing at, it won't last much longer.
Get ready Eden, if you thought last year was bad… You haven't seen anything yet.
7
Eden
Once again, I'm up before the crack of dawn…well, I suppose I should say the crack of evening that sounds weird. As soon as I'm dressed, I throw my bag over my shoulder and step out of my room. I half expect all three of the Demigod Trifecta to be waiting right outside my door for me, but there's no one there.
Perhaps this year will be different.
I make my way over to get breakfast, and find a number of other students already there. I find it odd that there are so many people as early as I am, but as I take my seat and look around at the other students, I soon realize that they are all new First Bloods.
Their eyes are sunken, and their skin is ashen as though they haven't slept all night. Although each one of them has a plate of food set in front of them, they have barely eaten a thing. I can't help but wonder what happened to them, and, picking up my own plate, I move to sit next to a group of females.
"Hi," I say softly but cheerily. "My name is Eden, you're all new First Bloods, aren't you?"
Even as softly as I've spoken, the girl next to me jumps. She looks up at me, her eyes wide and frightened.
"Oh no," she says. "Not again!"
"I'm so sorry," I say, "I didn't mean to startle you. What do you mean by not again?"
The girl looks over at her companions across the table, her eyes searching their faces.
"Do you see someone sitting next to me?" She asks them.
The two girls sitting across from her slowly look up in my direction, and then frown and look back at their friend. After a long pause, they both nod their heads, and the girl next to me sighs deeply in relief.
"I'm so sorry about that," she says. "It's just that… We all had quite the night."
"You can say that again," one of the other girls at the table says.
"What happened?" I ask.
"I'm not really sure how to explain it," the girl says. "All I can say for sure is that I barely slept a wink, none of us have. Whatever that mixture was that… That Freya put on us, it made us see things. Frightful things, it was like living through your worst nightmare…"
The girl trails off, her eyes glazing over as she thinks back over what happened. I try to draw her attention again, but it's almost as if she's slipped into a comatose state. After a few minutes, I give up and finish my own meal, still wondering why they had to go through that and I may never know.
As I get up to leave, the Feasting Hall begins to fill with other students eager for their own breakfasts. I slip out and head across grounds towards the Hall of Antiquities, hoping to catch Janus to set up an appointment before I have to go to class. I breathe a silent sigh of relief as I come into sight of the door and find there's no sign hanging outside.
Entering the building, I am pleased to see that Janus is standing behind the desk, watching me.
"Janus," I say.
"I'm fine, Eden," Janus responds.
"What happened?" I ask. "You were gone almost the entire holiday. Why didn't you tell me?"
"There was no time," he says. "Besides, it was a matter of great importance, and I did not see fit in wasting any time dealing with it."
Janus' face remains calm, but I'm sure he's not telling me everything. Not wanting to pry too far into his personal affairs, I decide to drop the matter and simply be thankful that he's returned.
"Can I make an appointment?" I ask, surprised to find he hasn't beaten me to the question by answering first.
"Of course," Janus says.
"Okay, how about tonight, after my classes are finished?"
Janus continues to look at me with an odd expression, and a chill runs down my back.
"No," he finally answers. "I don't think that will work for you, but perhaps I'm wrong."
This response only makes me even more worried.
"Tomorrow then?"
"Perhaps."
"Janus, is everything okay?" I ask. "You're not behaving like your normal self."
Janus turns away from me at this, and walks slowly across the room. I'm worried I've offended him as a portal opens in one of the walls to let him through. But just before he steps into it, he turns back to face me.
"Tomorrow, before classes start," he says, and then vanishes through the door.
I don't know what just happened, but that was by far the strangest encounter I've ever had with Janus...and that's saying something.
As odd as it was, at least I was able to secure a time to do some research of my own.
Pulling my class schedule out of my bag, I check it to see which class I have first and can't help but frown. It's with Freya, not exactly the kind of class I'm looking forward to today, but perhaps she'll mention something about what happened with the First Bloods. Besides, I'd learned quite a lot of new things from many of the books in that dormitory library. So, maybe this was exactly the right class to have as my start to a new year.
I slip my scroll back into my bag and hurry off to Freya's class in the hopes of getting there early enough to find a seat before I'm stuck sitting with the Demigod Trifecta...or Nyx for another year.
The classroom is still empty by the time I reach it, except for Freya lounging at the front of the room.
"Oh, hello Eden," she says the soft lilting voice. "You're here early. Class doesn't start for another twenty minutes."
"I know," I say. "I just thought I'd get here early, to claim a seat."
"I'm afraid your efforts are in vain," she says, without looking over at me. "I've already assigned your seats for the year, but you can choose where you want to sit in for the next twenty minutes."
Unease rises up inside me as she says this, but I turn and make my way to one of the seats near the b
ack. I try to keep myself calm while we wait for class to start, and the other students to fill in. For all I know, I've been working myself up over nothing. I'm not even sure if they share most of the same classes as me this year, so perhaps there's nothing for me to even worry about.
The next twenty minutes drag by as I try to keep myself from overthinking things. Finally, other students start to enter the classroom, and I am surprised to find that I actually recognize many of them.
But it isn't until Kate enters the room that I start to wonder what's going on. I wasn't sure about the other students, but I know Kate is still a First Blood, and I'm not sure why we would be sharing the same class together. I look around the room once again, and realized that I recognize several of the other faces but not necessarily from last year. There seem to be a number of new First Bloods in the room as well, making the whole situation that much more confusing.
The time gets closer for class to start, and I see no sign of Nyx, Tink, Trixie, or the Demigod Trifecta, I start to wonder if I've done something wrong. I check my schedule again nervously, but it says I'm supposed to be here and so, I decide to wait and see what happens. Just as Freya goes to shut the door to the class, three large figures enter the room and my heart stops in my chest. It's them.
The Demigod Trifecta.
Perhaps I had made a mistake after all, not that seeing them made me any less uneasy about the whole situation.
Three of them take a seat on the other side of the room, none of them look my direction. Hopefully, things will stay like this, we can all just stay out of each other's way.
"Welcome class," Freya says in her silkiest voice, glancing around the room until her eyes land on the Demigod Trifecta. "I see we have many new faces this year, and a few more…experienced ones."
"It's weird to be in this class without Nyx," one of the other students mumbles.
"We'll be doing things a little bit differently this year," she says. "To start things off, you've each been assigned seats. You are not to move from, or switch seats with anyone else for the entirety of the year."
Several of the students groan.
"There's no use complaining," Freya says. "I'm not one for rules, at least not most rules, but this is one I cannot bend. So, let's get this over with so we can get started with the good stuff."
Freya begins walking around the room. As she points to each seat, she calls out the name of the student meant to sit there. I watch anxiously as each of the seats is taken by the other students, whereas my name and those of the Demigod Trifecta have yet to be mentioned.
Almost all the seats have been taken now, even the one that I had chosen earlier, and I'm left standing in the corner waiting for the professor to call my name. Freya comes to a stop in front of the large cushion the Demigod Trifecta has already claimed. She turned slowly to look at me, and I know what she's going to say before she even opens her mouth to say it.
"Thorne, Fenn, Rhys, and Eden."
The tension in the room is palpable at this point, not that anyone had expected anything less… But I still think it comes as a surprise to many the four of us would be paired for anything.
I make my way slowly across the room to take my seat with them, my stomach twisting uncomfortably. Before I can make it all the way to the seat, one of the other students sticks out their foot and I don't see it in time to keep myself from tripping. But, before I hit the floor, someone catches me.
The whole room suddenly deadly silent, and I look up into the face of… Thorne?
He looks just as bewildered as I'm sure I do, and as soon as he realizes what he has done, he lowers me to the floor. As he straightens up, he gives the student who tripped me a terrifying look, as if challenging him to ever try that again.
I'm not sure what to make of this, but it is so completely out of character for Thorne that I can't help but feel extremely wary, instead of grateful.
"Please, Eden," Freya says, "pick yourself up and make your way to your seats so we can begin class."
I do as she says, my face flushing hot at the attention, and quietly slip into the empty space on the Demigod Trifecta's cushion.
Freya moves the front of the classroom to begin teaching, and I do my best to focus on the lesson, but I can barely make out any of the words she saying. My mind is far too occupied on keeping me from looking around at the men sitting beside me. I can only imagine what they’re thinking, and I'm not sure I want to confirm it by seeing their expressions as well.
"Hello, Eden," a low, surprisingly gentle voice whispers.
I nearly jump out of my skin, as I turn my head ever so slightly to find Rhys leaning in close. He's barely more than a few inches away from me, close enough that his breath tickles against my skin. My mouth goes dry as I try not to move, my mind spinning away wildly for some way to respond to him.
When I don't say anything, Rhys leans in closer and it takes every ounce of strength left in me not to run away in terror.
"I thought you knew better than to remain silent when someone was speaking to you," he says in a husky voice, that sends shivers down my spine.
I don't know what's gotten into them, but their sudden, unwarranted shows of affection are throwing me off. It's almost worse than them being downright cruel to me, at least when they are mean to me I know what they are up to.
"I'm trying to pay attention to the lesson," I finally say, the word spelling lamely from my mouth.
"But don't you think we should get to know each other better now that we’re paired together?" Rhys whispers.
"We are not paired together," I whisper back fiercely.
"Perhaps pair is the wrong word for it," Rhys says with a smirk. "Does foursome work better for you?"
He's chosen to say this in a much louder voice, so that student sitting closest can overhear our conversation. Several are classmates cover their faces as they giggle at this, and I can feel my face flush hot once again.
I'm starting to wish I hadn't read all of those books in the secret library, and that I had no idea what he meant by foursome.
"No, please," I say. "All I want to do is get through class, I don't want any trouble."
"You didn't want any trouble, you came to the wrong school," Rhys says, leaning back away from me.
I turned my focus back to Freya, who appears to be discussing some form of seduction and my three study partners remain silent for a long while. Just as I'm beginning to hope that we can finish class without further interruption, Freya turns to look at us.
"Lucky for us, we have four Second Bloods in our class this year," Freya says. "As they all somehow managed to pass my class last year, I expect them to be quite well-versed in my teachings. So, that being said, I'm volunteering them as my assistants when it comes to any questions you have. This way, you will all get to see firsthand how to apply the lessons I have taught you, and hopefully more than a handful of you will pass my class this year."
I look on in shock, trying to comprehend what she has just said. It takes me a moment to snap out of it, and then I turn to look at my three companions who appear to be just as shocked as I am.
"Excuse me," Thorne says, standing up from his seated position. "I do not agree to this."
"But it's a good thing I don't need you to agree," Freya says, giving him a sharp look. "As your professor, you will do as I say or you can forget ever passing this class."
"I'd sooner fail then be your little circus monkey," Thorne growls.
"Very well, it's your choice," she says. "But just know, your choice affects the other three. Even if they decide to do as I say, your refusal will reflect just as poorly on their grades."
Thorne's jaw tightens at this, and he clenches his fists as he tries to remain calm. Watching him, and knowing how important grades are to Thorne, I can't help but wonder if his refusal to participate is more an effort to get her to back down than anything else. Not that I have any desire to be part of this either.
Thorne in Freya stare each other for a long mo
ment, and then someone finally looks away.
"Fine," Thorne says and then sits down.
"Excellent," Freya says, "I would like you all to study chapter seven before next class."
I don't open my book to check what the chapter focuses on, but as Freya turned slowly toward us, I can't help but worry.
"And I expect that for you to study together," she says. "Prepare demonstration for next class, and don't you dare come from prepared. Class dismissed."
No sooner than the words out of her mouth, but I'm out of my seat and shoving my books back into my bag. I'm the first one out of the door, and I'm thankful that there is a break between classes as I had off into the gardens for some fresh air.
I sink down onto one of the benches in the hanging gardens and tentatively pull my textbook for Freya's class out of my bag. For several long minutes I stare at it as I hold it in my lap.
I take a deep, steadying breath, and then flip through the pages to find chapter seven and read the title.
The Kiss
It's not nearly as bad as I thought it might be, although not great either. The entire chapters focused on the inner workings of "the kiss," and how to perfect your technique. As I have very little experience with this, I can only begin to imagine what kind of studying we’ll have to do… Or what kind of demonstration Freya expects from us.
Wait.
I feel like such an idiot, does Freya really mean for us to all…kiss in front of the class? This has to be a nightmare, there's no way in all that is good and holy that the Demigod Trifecta would ever, ever agree to this.
No, this can't be real.
I think back over the day I've just had, all of the strange interactions I'd had with the demigods as well as Janus, and I'm flooded with relief. There's no way this isn’t a dream, I've never lucid dream before but I've heard about it. Yes, this explains everything!
Placing the book back in my bag, I sling it over my shoulder and head on to my next class feeling much more lighthearted about everything.