I hid my amused smile to see magic being used so casually, and did my best not to get too excited and draw even more attention to myself.
The teacher gave a lesson on the American Civil War, and I took notes in a normal notebook.
I kept my mouth shut for the first half of class whenever Mrs. Sloak asked a question, but I soon realized that this entire class of people were clueless on the subject. We were in Virginia. How could so many people live right in the middle of the State of Virginia and know nothing about the American Civil War? I vaguely remembered a Great War mentioned by Jared and figured that must be what they all grew up learning about instead of whatever fighting the mortals got into.
The battle Edgar had described to me, that had to be it, but this was not a history class for the dragons and witches. This was about this country we lived in, and none of them seemed to understand how knowing that history was important, too.
“No, Darren. Gettysburg is in Pennsylvania,” Mrs. Slovak said, rubbing her brow in frustration. “We are talking about the battle. Please pay attention.”
Penelope raised her hand. “Did any dragons or witches even fight in this battle?”
“No, Penelope, not that I am aware of. There were a handful of warlocks who signed up for the Union Army, but the mortal soldiers were unaware of that fact, and all they did was make a mess of things before they were forced to remove themselves. Now, as I was saying, the Battle of Gettysburg was fought in July of 1863.” Mrs. Sloak motioned to the projector, and it magically changed a slide, as it had been doing throughout most of the class. This image depicted a number of different weapons that were used during the time. “Who can tell me why this battle was so significant for the war?”
Blank stares all around.
She sighed.
I was starting to feel bad for her; these people didn’t even care a little bit, and I was starting to realize how they must see all mortals, and why they disliked mortal-raised kids.
I finally just raised my hand, so we could get through this painful lesson. This was my subject, after all. Mrs. Sloak smiled and nodded in my direction.
“Well, most historians believe that this was the turning point of the war. General Lee pushed the advantage after a victory over the Union soldiers when he marched farther north and attacked at Gettysburg, but his overconfidence cost him, and after some of the heaviest fighting in the war, he was forced to retreat, losing a huge number of his men.”
Mrs. Sloak beamed at me, and the students around me fell silent.
“Very good, Everest,” she said proudly, and continued on with the lesson.
For the rest of class, anytime she asked a question, I was the first to answer, growing more confident with each answer I gave.
A few of the students glared at me, but others seemed impressed I knew so much. When class finally ended, I was amazed at how little these kids knew about the country they lived in.
Granted, they weren’t exactly normal, but history was history. They should know about where they reside and who died to make it what it was today.
As I exited the room, I spotted Jared waiting for me in the hall.
My bag was a bit heavier with that new textbook in it, but there wasn’t time to dart over to my dorm and drop it off.
I waved bye to Janelle, Penelope, and Amelie as they walked to their next class, and I followed Jared to Science which was of course in another building.
On our way there, we bumped into Little Miss Sunshine, Alana. She was standing with some friends, some of whom had been in the Mortal History class with me.
I held my breath as we neared her group, hoping we’d get by without any sort of confrontation, but luck was not with me today.
“I heard you know your stuff in Mortal History,” she sneered.
I started to speak, but she cut me off.
“Figures. I mean, you might as well, what with being mortal-raised, right?”
Being raised like a normal human being wasn’t much of an insult, but she sure was trying to make it that way. I wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction.
I paused and putting on my most charming smile asked, “Why, you need a tutor or something?”
She rolled her eyes, and a few of the girls behind her glowered at me. “I don’t need a tutor,” she snapped.
“Oh, well, I thought that’s what you were asking.” I smiled sweetly at her. “I wouldn’t mind helping you out and all, if you’re failing or something. I know learning can be hard for some people, retaining facts. Reading even.”
I should’ve stopped while I was ahead, but the words spilled out, and I heard Jared stifle a laugh behind me.
She bristled, and her glare shot from me to Jared before a sly smile spread across her face.
“So, what do you have going on after school today, Jared?” she asked, obviously flirting and deciding she was just going to ignore me.
Which was honestly fine with me.
He shrugged and returned his gaze to me. “Ready to get to class, Everest?”
He escorted me away from Alana, and I swore, out of the corner of my eye, I saw her stomp her foot like a toddler.
“Nice, by the way. Not many hold their own against her.”
“She’s just a bully,” I said simply. “I’ve dealt with plenty of those.”
“I’m going to guess they don’t give you too much trouble after you talk to them.”
“I wish,” I sighed. “It’s whatever. I’m here to learn, right? If she wants to be a pain in the ass, then she can be. I just don’t have to listen.”
Jared smiled, and I felt his hand brush casually against mine as we walked.
My cheeks grew hot, and anything else I was about to say died in my throat.
Inside the classroom—no stadium seating this time, rather, lab tables—Jared, tugged on my arm so I would follow him to his table and sit beside him.
I did so gladly and was equally happy the teacher didn’t pay me much mind other than handing over a textbook while he was addressing the entire class about today’s assignment.
I tried to pay attention in this class, but every time I shifted on my stool, my knee bumped Jared’s.
After the third time, I began to think he purposely shifted his leg the same time I did.
The girly side of me ranted about my not wearing a skirt today.
When it happened again, we glanced at each other and broke out into quiet laughter until Mr. Curtis shot us both a glare.
I mumbled an apology and ducked my head, focusing on my notes.
Class ended, and I was eager to get out of there and to my next class.
“Mystical History is going to be great,” I said excitedly as we exited the science building. “And I love being outside in between classes!” I threw my head back and soaked up the warm sun as he laughed.
“You have to be the only person on this campus excited for class.”
“It’s history, and I am a history nerd,” I explained. “Besides, this will be a good chance for me to learn about my new world, right?”
“Yeah, it will be.” His hand brushed over mine again, and I nibbled my bottom lip.
How lucky could a girl get? Starting at a new private school, learning she’s a witch, and already stealing the attention of a handsome guy?
I clutched the strap of my tote harder and let my hand nudge his back.
He glanced down, eyes wide, and I worried I read the signals wrong, but then he did it right back, and we shared a grin before he held open the door to the history building, and we were swept up in the rush of other students hurrying to their next class.
Chapter Two
Everest
We entered into the Mystical History classroom, and I smiled when I saw Amelie, Janelle, and Penelope, but I was not too pleased to see that Alana and her group of friends were also here. Not only that, but Jared had a group of friends here as well. They were all spaced out away from each other, and I realized this class had all the cliques in it.
Alana tapped her pen loudly on her desk, but all I did was offer up another sweet smile, and she squeezed her pen so hard, I was surprised it didn’t snap in half.
Janelle and Penelope sat in the two seats behind me and Amelie. Jared was in the next section of seats in the middle of the room, joking around with some other guys about something or other. But every few seconds, he glanced strayed towards me and Amelie nudged my arm playfully, making me blush more than I already was. I decided that this was going to be my favorite class—despite Alana’s presence.
There were still a few minutes left before class started when a charming young teacher entered, dressed in a black dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He couldn’t have been ten years older than us, and I could tell everyone in this room liked him. They immediately perked up, and the room fell quiet.
“Morning,” several students called out happily as he set his leather messenger bag on the desk at the front of the room.
“What’s up, everyone? I trust you all had a very productive day off classes?” he called back casually, and smirked when there was a burst of laughter. “Thought so.” He pulled out several books from his bag and tossed them on his desk. He scanned the group of students, and his red eyes landed on me. “Everest, would you come here for a moment?”
I was nervous at how all the teachers already knew my name, but it made sense. I was the only new student at this school and apparently being mortal-raised made me a bit of a celebrity, in a bad way.
He dug through his desk and pulled out a small book, handing it to me when I reached him.
“You much of a reader?” he asked politely.
“I love to read.”
“Great, me too,” he exclaimed.
There was something about his upbeat personality and that charming face of his that made me smile and relax.
“This isn’t a heavy read here, and while I try not to assign students extra loads, I think it would be good for you to have a look at it. I see you have a lot of classes already, so just read it in your spare time. It will help you get a little caught up. From what Headmistress Elsa tells me, you probably do not know much about Mystical History, so I snagged this from the library this morning.”
“Thank you, um…” I could not remember his name from my class list.
“Professor Fredwin,” he said politely. “Now, don’t feel overwhelmed. Today is actually a review day for us, so just sit back, listen, and take notes. I’ll do what I can to make sure you get caught up. If you have any questions about what we’re discussing today, don’t be embarrassed to ask. We’re all about discussions in this classroom.”
“Thank you, Professor Fredwin.”
He sent me back to my seat, then slammed a ruler down on his table, causing half the classroom to jump—myself included, but he was grinning as he did it.
“We awake?” he asked playfully, and some of the kids in the classroom chuckled.
“Professor Fredwin is the best teacher on campus,” Amelie whispered.
I nodded, already seeing how that would be so.
“All right, everyone, last week we were discussing The Shadowguard War,” Professor Fredwin began. “Alana—year?” he asked and pointed to her.
“It began in 1304,” Alana stated proudly from the back of the room.
“Excellent, Miss Shannen, and what political event lead up to the war?” he asked, still pointing at her.
“The Black Diamond Dragons formed an alliance with the Shadowguard Dragons,” Alana recited smartly, shooting me a haughty look as she did so.
“Wonderful,” Professor Fredwin said, and then his eyes darted toward Janelle. “Why was this significant?”
Janelle sat upright. “The Black Diamond Dragons at the time were already at odds with the Hollow Well over disputes on how to handle mortals. The Black Diamonds sought to rule over them, while the Hollow Well sought peace. Their alliance with the Shadowguard Dragons quadrupled their numbers.”
As Janelle spoke, I jotted notes down as quickly as I could, fascinated by what I was hearing.
Professor Fredwin bounced about the room engaging each student in the discussion, and it was endearing.
I would have had a much harder time dropping out of school back in Jersey had I had a teacher like this, clearly dedicated to his students learning as much as they could in a fun yet enlightening environment.
“Mister Winchester,” Professor Fredwin called. “Describe the Hollow Well’s initial strategy in defeating the Shadowguard and Black Diamonds. Go.”
Jared sputtered for a moment in surprise, having just been whispering with one of his friends beside him, but he pulled it together. “Take out the Black Diamonds,” he said. “They were the ringleaders, so the thought was to get rid of them and that eventually, the Shadowguard Dragons would be willing to negotiate a peace treaty and stop the war. Within the first two years of the fighting breaking out, the entire Black Diamond clan had been completely exterminated, and they assumed the Shadowguard would surrender. However, that didn’t work.”
“And why not?”
I was watching him curiously, too, wondering how this war had ended, even though there was something familiar about all this, from what Edgar had told me.
“Because by then, the Shadowguard had been hit hard several times by the Hollow Well attacks on their clan. Most believe it was about revenge at this point, claiming many innocents had been slaughtered by the other clan, and the Shadowguard knew they still had the numbers. Their leaders ordered heavier and heavier strikes against the Hollow Well, so the Hollow Well began forming alliances with every other dragon clan in existence at that time,” Jared explained, but there was something different about his voice.
He sounded angry almost.
I knew he was a Hollow Well, but this was ancient history, right? Why was he so upset about it?
“William,” Professor Fredwin called on a guy in the back. “This seemed like a good plan, wouldn’t you agree?”
“I think so.”
“Then why did this not work?”
“The Shadowguard Dragons are comparable in size to a Hollow Well Dragons, but their strength and stamina are unique to their breed. And, even though it was rare, some Shadowguard Dragons at that time carried a mystic gene that allowed the manipulation of water. It’s very similar to some Hollow Wells or Black Diamonds who could breathe fire, but that’s pretty rare now.”
That William guy looked my way for a minute as though he had just added that last part in for my benefit.
I appreciated it; I had no idea some Hollow Wells could breathe fire, or that this talent was considered to be rare. Silly me, I assumed all dragons could breathe fire; apparently, not everything in the movies was accurate. Surprise.
He continued. “Basically, a Shadowguard could swallow a Petite Emerald or even a Golden Sphinx Dragon whole, and then their specialty troops of mystic dragons could take out entire Hollow Well troops with their abilities,” William added. “If they had an entire unit breathing fire that is.”
I was becoming more and more fascinated with this history lesson. My hand cramped from writing so much, but I didn’t stop, not for a second. Jared said I needed to know about my new society, and history was a huge part of what shaped that and their culture.
“You’re missing one more strategic advantage the Shadowguard Dragons had, William.” He pointed. “Penelope, help him out.”
Penelope sat upright. “Um… they used mortals as shields. They would set up within their villages knowing the Hollow Well Dragons would not attack if it meant killing innocent humans. The Shadowguard Dragons would take entire cities under siege and use humans as war slaves—often using them to lure in Hollow Well troops to ambush them.”
“Bring it on home, Amelie,” Professor Fredwin said. “What was the tipping point of the war that would
ultimately result in the Hollow Well victory?”
“The Great Mystic Allegiance,” she said. “The First Communion.”
I dropped my pen as I sat upright in my chair.
They were talking about the same thing Edgar had been, and I strained to remember what exactly he’d told me, my hand straying to the necklace still hidden under my blouse.
“I knew it,” I whispered, but the entire class had grown so quiet, they all heard me.
I immediately blushed because I had drawn attention to myself and tried to hunker back down over my notes, but too late.
Professor Fredwin smiled at me. “Are you familiar with this history, Everest?”
“Doubt it,” I could hear Alana say from the back and then announced for the entire class to hear, “She’s mortal-raised. She doesn’t know anything about us, how could she?”
A murmur went through the class.
I glanced back, and I could see a few glares coming my way.
“I thought they didn’t let mortal-raised students here?” a few people whispered.
Professor Fredwin cleared his throat, and I looked back at him. He was smiling at me with this reassuring look.
“Are you familiar with the Shadowguard War?” he asked.
“A little,” I said. “My uncle told me about it once.”
“So,” Professor Fredwin said, pulling me into the discussion now. “Can you tell me anything about the First Communion?”
“Not much,” I said, shifting in my chair, hating how everyone stared at me. At least I had a good memory. “I know they were a group of six witches who used spells to protect the Hollow Well Dragons during battle…” I paused, remembering the dream I had the first night at Edgar’s home. I’d been on the back of a dragon, using magic to use a shield around it. Without thinking, I added, “They created shields and rode the dragons into battle.”
Professor Fredwin’s brow rose at that, and I quickly cleared my throat.
“And, I think that’s why the Hollow Well was able to win, right?” I finished quickly.
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