“Oh, right, yeah, the whole bodyguard thing.” Was that the only reason he wanted to spend time with me? Of course it was. “How does it work exactly? Are you my personal knight? So you all have the same powers? Or do I get to pick? I mean what—?”
“Hold on a second there, tiger. One question at a time.” Tucker chuckled and guided me down the hall. “I’m not your personal knight. We all protect the queens and rotate doing so based on what the queens need. Right now you need me, next week it might be Beckett.”
I nodded. “Right, and what exactly is Beckett again?”
He pressed his hand to his chest. “Well, I am a phoenix shifter, which means if I want to I can take the shape of a phoenix.”
“That’s so cool, and the rest?” I leaned in excited to learn more.
“Well, um, Beckett is a witch like you. Grayson, I think you could guess is a vampire, or baby leech as I like to call him. Brax is our resident tiger shifter. Ashryn, well, you’ll have to ask her to explain it. And Adrienne is a Demi-Greek, the daughter of Athena. She’d utterly brilliant.”
We turned another corner, and I finally stood someplace I recognized. The courtyard. Archways ran the length of all four sides. At the center stood a large fountain, the fountain we crashed into, but today it was completely repaired. Students sat all around it, chatting with each other, looking over books and lounging in plush chairs. Everything seemed so normal until an overgrown jaguar darted through the center of it all and no one batted an eyelash. Three other students chased after it, all laughing and smiling. In one corner sat a group of students who looked like they were passing a ball of light from one to the other.
“You guys are quite the group. That’s pretty…amazing.”
“It is.” Tucker pressed his hand to the small of my back, and a small thrill shot through my body. “This way.” He pointed across the courtyard.
“Okay.” I stepped out from under the cover of the overhang and into the early morning sun.
Leaves crinkled under my feet, and a light chill hung in the air. Aside from being in Evermore Academy, there was something magical in New York City. Even surrounded by brick walls I could feel the life pulsing through it. Outside, horns blared, cars sped by and voices carried over the high walls. A light breeze drifted through my hair when I strolled out into the courtyard. The moment I did, I felt all eyes on us.
“Hey, Zinnia.” A girl that held the ball of light waved and smiled at me.
I waved back. “Hi.”
Another boy walked up to me, blocking my path. He shuffled from one foot to the other then smiled up at me. “Hey, Zinnia, I’m a big fan. Huge even.” He was only a couple inches taller than me, with a sweet boy-next-door face and a crooked smile. His brown hair was short but jutted out in all different directions.
“Um, thanks...” I wasn’t used to getting so much attention. What I couldn’t understand was why.
“Oh, yeah, I’m Jack.” He offered me his hand. “I’m a shifter, like Tuck here.”
I took his hand and shook it. “Nice to meet you, Jack.”
He pulled me in closer and smiled. “I’m really glad you’re here. I mean, my folks say this could be great for Evermore—”
Tuck stepped in front of me, forcing space between Jack and me. “She needs to get to class.”
Jack leaned back on his heels, gaping up at Tuck. He sucked in a deep breath and stepped back. “Oh, right, yeah. Well, bye, Zinnia.”
I reached out and grabbed Tuck’s jacket and pulled him back to my side. I gave Jack a bright smile. “Bye.”
Tuck leaned in closer to me than any guy had ever done before. “Making so many friends already.”
I bumped him with my shoulder. “You don’t have to sound so jealous.”
“But I am.” He whispered low enough for only me to hear.
Did he just say he’s jealous? There’s no way. I wanted to ask why, wanted to know if he felt pulled toward me the way I was to him. But I couldn’t ask, the words were stuck in my throat. And all I managed was, “Interesting.”
A comfortable silence hung between us, and when his heated touch fell on my back once more, I found myself moving closer to him. We continued on our way to class, heading out of the courtyard and into another building that stood five stories high. Cobblestones stacked on top of each other in a cylinder shape, and a staircase spiraled up the center of the it. Classroom doors shot off platforms spread up and down the inside of the tower. Above, tiny pixies fluttered about carrying notes. Every so often, they’d swoop down and pull someone’s hair, knock a stack of books from someone’s hands or flat out trip them up.
Three girls walked by with wild flowers in their hair and butterflies fluttering about them. “Hey, Zinnia.”
“Oh, hey.” I looked up at Tuck. “Why do people keep saying hi to me?”
“You’re more well-known in this school than any other student.” He shrugged. “Comes with the territory of being a queen, I think.”
We started climbing the stairs. One of the classroom doors shot wide open, and a boy flew out the door over the banister and plummeted down toward the floor below. His hands flailed, and he screamed all the way down.
An older woman with wild gray hair and a long straight nose walked out into the hall, then leaned over the banister with her hand extended. “What has flow, now must stop, I command you return to the top.”
The boy froze a foot above the ground, and he sagged with relief. The woman pulled her hands back one after the other, as if pulling a rope up. The boy slowly rose back over the banister and onto the third floor.
I stood motionless, staring at him, but no one else stopped going about their day or even looked up. “Oh my god, did you see that?”
“Yeah, it’s his first year in the witch building. Happens all the time.” Tuck motioned to a door on the next floor up. “That’s your first class. Potions with Professor Davis.”
I hesitated just outside the door. “Are you coming in with me?”
“Nah. That is a class for witches. And I’m no witch.” He shoved his hands into his pockets. “But I’ll be waiting here for you when you come out. Plus, it’ll give you a chance to get to know the others.”
I glanced in the door. “The others?”
“It’s time you got to be friends with your fellow queens.”
Chapter 11
ZInnia
I sucked in a deep breath and walked through the door. This was my second first day of school this week, so to say I was tired of this nervous feeling was an understatement. I’d expected the classrooms for witches to be in a dank basement someplace where everyone hid what they were. I couldn’t have been more wrong. This was set up like a lecture hall. The rows were tiered up from the main level, and tables were spread throughout the room with small black cauldrons on each one. At the center of it all stood a larger cauldron with smoke billowing from it. There, in the front row, dead center of the room, I recognized the other queens.
Nova, with her long white-blond hair and barely-there outfit; Serrina, with her model good looks and punk style; and Tabitha, with her earth child feel and flawless mocha skin.
The second I walked in, they immediately started staring at me. I almost turned around and walked back out, but Serrina called to me. “Hey, Zin, come sit with us.”
It was like being invited to sit at the the table with the popular kids in high school, something that’d never happened to me before. I didn’t know if we could be friends or if they felt obligated. No matter what, I would give it a try, even if it was doomed to fail.
I pulled up the nearest stool and sat down. “Hi.”
“Hey. So, you’re here.” Nova sat forward and rested her arms on table top.
“Um, yeah, I’m here.” I glanced around the room, trying to think of ways to get to know these girls. Out of all the information I’d gathered, I knew we had to work together to take down Alataris. So, if small talk would start that process, then I’d do my best. “How long have you guys be
en in this school?”
Nova sighed. “About three years. I’m still not used to the heat. But it’s getting easier. My parents couldn’t protect me anymore. We got tired of the constant raids, always living on edge. So we decided it was better to ship me off here.”
“The heat? It’s barely sixty degrees out… it’s the beginning of fall.” I glanced out the window at the changing leaves and the bustling city. This place was more than magical; it was a hidden gem among the greatest city in the world. Could there be anything better?
“I was raised in Alaska, Skagway to be exact. Our summers were fifty degrees. This”—she motioned to the window—“is hotter than my summer. But I’m adjusting.”
The story sounded so familiar, except now I wondered how my mother managed it all those years. “I know what you mean.”
“I’ve been here for about a year. I ran away from my family.” Serrina sighed. “I was tired of putting them in danger all the time, you know? This is where we’re safe.” She motioned to the walls around us. “So, this is home now.”
How could I think they wouldn’t get along with me? I’d spent my life trapped in my mother’s house and they were now hiding behind these walls. All because of Alataris. Everything was because of him. I’d lost my home and my mom, and these girls had lost their lives as well.
Tabitha sighed. “Do you ever think it’d be a lot easier if we weren’t, you know, the Witch Queens?”
I glanced at each of them. “Considering I have no idea what I’m doing, almost killed someone and blew up a couple cars, I’d say yes, it would be much, much easier.”
The four of us burst out into fits of laughter. In that exact second, I wished Elle could be here to meet them, to see this place and just witness the awesomeness of this world. There was so much to see and learn. The world I thought I lived in just got a whole lot bigger. Another girl with long braids running down past her waist, ebony skin and a serious studious look on her face raced into the room. Her foot caught on the back of her other leg, and she toppled over. Books shot from her hands and skittered across the floor. I jumped to my feet and began collecting her books from the floor. Serrina and Nova helped her to her feet while Tabitha helped me with her books.
At last, she stood up straight before us and brushed her hands down her legs. “I’m so sorry, my queens.” She shuffled from one foot to the other and looked down at the ground, seeming more embarrassed than ever.
I handed her books back to her. “Hi, I’m Zinnia. What’s your name?”
She collected the books from Tabitha and me and stacked them in her arms. “I’m Adrienne.”
“Oh, you’re the other knight Tuck mentioned. It’s so nice to finally meet you.” I smiled brightly. “I didn’t think you were a witch, though.”
The four of them exchanged worried looks but didn’t say anything. I raised my eyebrows. “What’s going on?”
“I’m not actually a witch.” Adrianne walked over to our table and dropped her books on it. “I’m the daughter of Athena, which Niche seems to think will help me learn to do witchcraft. I’m taking as many classes as I can right now, but I can only seem to produce a couple fancy sparks.”
“Why would you need to learn to be a witch? I thought you were either born one or not?” They all gave me sideways glances, as if I’d asked the wrong question. I instantly regretted saying it. “What I mean is, well, I’m not sure what I mean. I’m sorry I asked.”
Serrina, Nova and Tabi took their seats next to Adrienne and me. Serrina was the first to speak. “What do you know about the witch casts?”
“Um, I just found out I was a witch yesterday, so not very much.” I shrugged, feeling completely out of my element. When I glanced around the room, I realized I was more behind than the rest of the students. Many of them unconsciously toyed with balls of magic or played little tricks on each other. In the corner was a group of girls who sat around a cauldron, throwing in all kinds of ingredients and laughing when different colored clouds shaped like animals came out of it.
“Well, there are five casts of witches. And within each cast, a queen is born every so often. A queen is the most powerful of her cast and together we are the only ones who can stop Alataris. It’s the way it’s been for a thousand years.” Serrina shrugged. “And that about sums it up.”
“But there’s only four of us. Who’s the fifth?” I looked at Adrienne. “Are you the fifth?”
“Technically no, but I’m trying.” She gave an awkward laugh.
“But then who’s the…?”
“Ophelia.” Nova blurted out. “The girl you almost, you know…it’s her. She’s the last queen.”
“But if she’s the last queen and already on Alataris’s side, do we even stand a chance now?” Why would we take on this journey if it was doomed to fail from the start? From what I heard about Alataris, he seemed to be pure evil and it was supposed to take all of us to take him down. Did I just walk away from my whole life only to die in the end?
Tabitha whirled her hand around, and a flower sprang up in the center of her palm. She plucked at the petals nervously. “Because he’d come after us, no matter what, and the rest of Evermore. I, for one, will help wherever I can until, well, until we all go down.”
It was a morbid thought, but also true. Did I have it in me to stand up to him? The more I thought about it, the more I knew I did. No one, not even a king, should hold all that power and oppress others. “I’m in.”
Serrina giggled. “Just like that? Someone says hey, we might die but it’s for the right reasons, and you’re automatically in?”
“Well, you all are in.” I smiled and shrugged. “I’m in, too. Besides, Tuck has confidence in Adrianne. I know it. So I do, too.”
Nova leaned back and chuckled. “Oh, I’ve noticed that, too.”
“Noticed what?” I glanced around at the rest of them as they stared at me. I shifted in my seat. “What?”
“Tucker has been all over you lately, He’s never like that. Not with any of us. Believe me, we’ve tried. Because he is utterly hot, but everyone wants to get Tuckered. I mean, the guy has dark good looks and that whole bad-boy thing going on. Not to mention he’s a total badass. Have you ever seen anyone use a sword like that? And then he lights them on fire.” Nova fanned herself. “Makes me hot, and not because of the weather.”
“Tuckered?” I tilted my head to the side. “Do you mean like hooking up with Tuck?”
They nodded in unison. Serrina leaned in and whispered, “Come on, have you not noticed his honey colored eyes? They’re ridiculously hot.”
Nova tossed her hair over her shoulder. “Speak for yourself, but I think I’d rather get Dusted.” She wagged her eyebrows. “Because Beckett Dust has got it all.”
Serrina shook her head. “Definitely Tuckered over Dusted.”
I thought back to the first time I’d seen Serrina and Tuck together, how perfect they looked and how much I felt they matched. “Honestly, I thought you two were together.”
She shook her head, sending those blond, streaked locks floating around her face. “Oh no, he didn’t even look at me twice. During the trials, he wasn’t even susceptible to my power of desire, and most guys are. But not Tuck. Besides, it’s forbidden for a queen to get involved with a knight.”
Why did he have to be the only guy I wanted and the only one who was completely off limits? “Why is it forbidden? I mean, what’s the big deal?”
Adrienne began organizing all her books in alphabetical order and didn’t even look up at us. “Well, it’s because we all have to work together, so if two of us become involved, they’ll be thinking about each other and not the greater good. I mean, if it came down to it, what if we had to sacrifice a knight to save the rest of the world? No queen would be willing to make that sacrifice, especially if she loved him.”
I felt as though I couldn’t breathe. Tuck sacrificed? Oh, hell no. There was no way even now that I could picture losing him. In my mind, I saw it clear as day, him consum
ed in the flames he wielded so well. Nausea rolled in my stomach. I would never let that happen. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”
“Yeah, let’s hope.” Tabitha nodded at me.
Silence hung around us, and I didn’t know how to break it. What do you say when someone mentions the guy you’re crushing on is going to die? Just then, Beckett sailed into the room, and the other four girls sighed and stared with dreamy eyes. He had that quiet-surfer-guy thing going on. With his dirty blond hair, blue eyes and tan skin, any girl would swoon over him. Any girl but me. He was better looking than almost any other guy I’d ever seen…almost.
He gave us a bright smile. “How’s it going, ladies?”
Serrina perked up. “Good, really good.”
“Excellent.” He turned toward me. “How are you, Zin?”
“Oh, me? I’m great.” Sitting in a new school, in a new class, and learning my new powers. No big deal at all. I’d try to convince myself of that all day long.
“Well, if you’re behind in classes, don’t hesitate to ask. I’m pretty good at this stuff.” He made a small ball of light in his hand. The ball morphed into a glowing butterfly. It left his hand and fluttered around our table. Then it centered on me and floated around my head. Blue glitter fell from its wings all around me. I giggled and reached up to touch it, and when my finger brushed against its wing, it popped into a dust of glitter that fell into my hair.
I shook my head out and laughed. “Very nice.”
“Well, every girl needs a bit of fun once in a while, don’t they?” He winked and walked to the back of the room to take his seat alongside another boy.
Nova chuckled under her breath. “Looks like Tuck has got some competition.”
“What? No.” I startled and shook my head. “It’s forbidden.”
“Psh, I’m only sixteen, and even though we can’t date them, it doesn’t hurt to look.” Tabitha leaned in. “I don’t know about you guys, but even Gray has that whole I’ll bite you if you’re naughty thing going on.”
Wicked Witch (The Royals: Witch Court Book 1) Page 9