Mina raised an eyebrow. “Wouldn’t she be more help if she examined Olivia in person?”
“Well, yes, but her whole argument about not coming here to help with teaching is that it would be too dangerous for her to step foot on campus. Jess and I are wearing her down, and we think meeting her new cousin when they arrive,” she rubbed her bump, “will be the thing that finally tips the scales. And you know what she’s like about helping people. If the information I send her isn’t enough for her to help Olivia, she’ll come here in person anyway.”
Ms Griffin then turned back to me. “So, you don’t need to worry about this curse. I’m more than sure that we can break something cast by some teenage boy.”
I nodded, though I didn’t trust her claim. Both of Mina’s wives had prodded at me over the past few days, while the people accompanying them had assured me that they knew everything there was to know about curses and spellcraft.
But neither of them had any idea how to break the curse.
So, how could anyone else?
“Well, let’s see you to your room,” Ms Griffin said. “Once you’re there, your roommate can show you down to dinner.” She turned to Mina. “Will you be staying on campus for a while?”
“I’ll just walk down with you to the dormitories, if that’s all right. I told Naveen and Elizabeth that I’d be stopping by.”
“Of course.”
At that, Ms Griffin led us down through the maze of buildings, and I wondered how I would ever be able to find my way on my own.
My worries were swiftly halted, however, as we approached one building, only to see two students there, both in smart black uniforms with purple trims, and both wearing trousers, though one of them was a boy and the other a girl.
They smiled as we approached and Mina made her way over as I realised that they were both spitting images of her, though they had the same crimson eyes as her Demon wives.
“Mum!” the girl cried as she ran up to hug her, the boy following soon after.
Though the girl then pulled away first to face me. “You’re the new girl, right? Olivia?”
I nodded.
“I’m Elizabeth, and this is Naveen. We’re a couple of years above you, but if you need anything, feel free to ask us.”
I just nodded again before Ms Griffin gestured to the door, presumably realising that I wasn’t up for talking.
“Come on, let’s get you settled.”
I nodded for what felt like the hundredth time as Ms Griffin led me through into a large building. The hallway we entered had large arches on either side, showing common rooms with large sofas and students milling around, though she ignored them, instead leading me up a large set of stairs.
We stopped at the third floor, and my stomach churned as I realised that we were approaching my room.
And my new roommate…
Ms Griffin knocked at the door and I was sure that I was going to throw up. It was so rare for me to meet someone that I got along with, and now I would have to share a room with someone who would probably never see me as a friend.
But the door opened, and it was too late to take anything back.
I frowned as I got a good look at the figure opening the door, and realised that they were a boy.
He seemed my age, with those crimson eyes that told me that he was a Demon, and a stocky build.
“Ms Griffin,” he said as he looked me over, probably about as thoroughly as I was looking him over. “I take it this is my new roommate?”
She nodded. “Yes, Viktor. This is Olivia. Will you be all right to show her around like we agreed?”
Viktor nodded. “Of course.”
Ms Griffin turned to me. “Are you all right with that? I can stay if not.”
I took a deep breath, scouring for the reserves of my strength to find my voice. “I’ll be fine,” I eventually said, though I cringed at how monotone I sounded. “Thank you.”
She smiled. “Well, if you need me, I’ll just be in my office. The administration building is open at all hours, and there’s always someone there to help if you need it.”
I nodded to her one final time as she made her way back down the corridor.
I watched her go for perhaps a few seconds too long, worried about turning to my new roommate, knowing that I would be unable to escape his judgement once I did.
But I did turn to him, and he gave me a small smile before stepping back to let me in, closing the door behind us.
“I have the bed by the window,” he said. “Is that okay? And is everything in the room in general okay? I tried to tidy before you came, but my sister says I never do it right.”
I glanced around the room, seeing that there were several spots that he seemed to have just forgotten to touch entirely, but I couldn’t blame him. I also had stacks of videogames propped up against my desk at home, and it put me at ease just a little.
Enough to turn to him and say, “So… You’re a boy?”
“Ah, right. Yeah, I am. Ember doesn’t segregate by gender. It’s not really fair to non-binary students, and when the school first started, it was just Witches, so all of the students were girls, and they still had students dating, so that wasn’t really a concern when they brought in us boys. Though if that’s what you’re worried about, don’t be. You’re not my type.” At that, he looked away, sheepishly running his hand through his hair. “Not that you’re not… You’re fine. I’m gay, is what I meant. Was that clear? Sorry, I didn’t… I didn’t mean that to come off like I was insulting you or anything…”
I held up my hands to slow him down. “It’s fine. I understood. Though… Thanks for the clarification. I can be a little literal sometimes.”
I bit my lip, wondering if I had said too much. Had I made it too obvious that I was autistic? Would he still want to be my roommate if he knew, or would I think that I was stupid or heartless or...?
“Oh, that’s fine. I can be too. You know, because I’m Litcorde.”
I frowned. “Litcorde?”
“Ah,” he said as he moved over to lean against the desk, “so you’re new to magic then?”
I nodded. “I kind of just found out about it a few days ago.”
“Wow, yeah, that’s probably been a lot for you to take in. And probably why they put a Slayer in with a Demon, that was throwing me more than the gender thing, to be honest. But if you’re new to magic, I guess you don’t have those inbuilt prejudices.”
I shrugged. “Someone vaguely mentioned a war, but that’s about all I know of Demons and Slayers.”
He smiled. “Well, hopefully I don’t make too bad of a first impression. And, oh, you were asking about Litcorde, weren’t you? Witches kind of figured out neurodivergence before Humans did. Litcorde was their word for ‘autistic’ and now everyone just uses that.”
I just stared at him. I’d never met anyone… Well, anyone like me before.
I thought I would have been just as alone here as I was at my old school.
But apparently not.
I relaxed a little more, finally making my way over to the bed he’d said was mine and sitting down as I moved my suitcase over and opened it, buying myself a little time to decide if I wanted to tell him the truth or not.
I mean, if he was like me, what was the harm?
But telling someone was such an alien concept to me that I had to take a few moments to make sure that I wasn’t missing some way that this could all go horribly wrong.
Eventually I turned to him to see that he was frowning slightly, his hand tightly gripping the desk.
Oh, right.
He’d probably been just as worried about telling the truth as I was.
And I’d just gone silent on him.
“I can see why you’d rather use ‘Litcorde’. I might as well. It feels less scary than telling someone you’re autistic. I mean, I’ve never told anyone before…”
He smiled. “Yeah, Humans can be weird about stuff, can’t they?”
I nodded with a smile a
s I removed my knitting needles from my suitcase. Knitting was one of the few things that kept my focus enough to help me calm down when I was stressed, and I suspected my needles would be getting more than a little use in the coming days.
Before I could figure out how to continue the conversation with Viktor – my thoughts now too focused on knitting for me to want to talk about anything else – there was a knock at the door and I turned to see it open to reveal a girl who seemed about the same age as me and Viktor with golden skin and deep brown curls down to her waist.
“Hey, Vik. Is this your new roommate?”
Viktor nodded. “Yeah, it is. Dana, this is Olivia. Olivia, this is my sister Dana.”
“Actually, most people call me Liv,” I said as I looked Dana over. She and Viktor looked nothing alike, and Dana didn’t have the crimson eyes of a Demon.
Dana smiled. “Well, Liv, I figured Viktor would want to have dinner up here tonight, rather than the dining hall, so I brought up some pizza.”
She pushed the door further to reveal that she was holding several boxes.
“I got just a plain cheese in case you were vegetarian, but I can go and get a vegan one if you need it. And if you need neither, we can share all of them, including the cheese.”
I smiled. “I’m fine with anything. I’m not much of a picky eater.”
Viktor raised an eyebrow as he turned to me. “Really? I can barely stand most things.”
Dana nodded in agreement as she opened up the boxes on the desk before going to an empty space next to them and waving her hands over it, a collection of brightly coloured rings on her fingers glowing for a moment before a stack of plates appeared.
I tried not to stare, but it was hard, I was still getting used to magic.
“Yeah, Vik can only stomach pizza or curry most days.”
“Or bread,” Viktor chimed in.
“Yeah, okay, or bread.” Dana loaded up two plates, passing one to Viktor and keeping one for herself before turning to me. “I assume you want to get your own slices.”
I nodded as I made my way over, though my attention was drawn from the pizza by the way that Dana was staring at me.
Specifically, at my chest.
“What’s that?” she asked, and I realised that the marks left by the curse were visible under my shirt. “Is it a tattoo or a rune of some kind?”
I looked away, giving a half-shrug. “It’s a curse. My ex cast it when I broke up with him. I have to find someone else to love or, you know, consequences. I don’t know, there are people working on lifting it, so it’ll be fine.”
Dana gave me a sympathetic look. “What an asshole. Did you at least hit him with your lightning?”
I couldn’t help but smile a little. “I think I tried, but I hadn’t used my magic before that point, so I kind of just exploded.”
“Well, after a few Slayer combat lessons here, I’m sure you’ll be more than capable of making him pay.”
Chapter Four
I almost clung to Viktor as we made our way down to the common room the next morning to meet Dana.
While we’d had dinner in our room, Viktor seemed happy enough with breakfast in the dining hall, and I didn’t want to make a thing out of it.
Plus, it wasn’t as if I was alone. Maybe with Viktor and Dana there with me, it wouldn’t be so bad.
And I would have to go to classes on my own anyway, so breakfast was probably a good warm-up.
I tugged at the sleeves of my new blazer as Dana met us and we headed to the hallway, my hearing turned to static as Dana and Viktor seemed happy enough talking amongst themselves.
Eventually, we made it to the dining hall and I forced myself to focus on the tables laden with food lining the walls.
“I’m getting some toast,” Viktor said as we headed to one of the tables. “Just let us know if you want something from a different table.”
I nodded, but found that the table with toast also had a variety of sandwiches, so I was more than happy to pick up a bacon sandwich and some toast and honey.
There were also empty mugs, but I couldn’t see any way to get anything to fill them.
But then Dana picked up a mug and said “Latte” and the mug filled itself with milky coffee.
I followed her lead, picking one up and saying, “Black coffee.”
Dana then turned to Viktor. “Can you see Riley anywhere?” She turned to me. “She’s my roommate. We usually eat together, but she went on ahead this morning.”
I just nodded, trying to ignore the pit in my stomach at the name. There must be plenty of Rileys in the world, but it still brought back memories of the only friend I’d ever really had.
She’d had short hair back in middle school, and had almost gotten suspended over both it and her new nose-ring when we’d started high school. She’d also played guitar and knew far too much about bands I’d never heard of.
She had always been too cool to be my friend, and yet she had been. Never leaving my side and making me feel like maybe there was hope.
Maybe I wasn’t a complete loser destined to be alone forever.
Or at least, that’s how I’d felt until she’d suddenly disappeared not long after her fourteenth birthday. Off to a new school without so much as a goodbye.
“There she is,” Viktor said, just as I sipped my coffee, and I almost choked as I followed his gaze.
It was Riley.
My Riley.
She’d dyed blue streaks into her black hair, and she had another couple of piercings at the top of her ear.
But it was her.
Dana grabbed me by my sleeve, practically dragging me over to her.
“Hey, Riley, this is Liv! She’s Vik’s new roommate.”
Riley looked up, paling the second she saw me, her eyes wide.
So… She wasn’t happy to see me, then? I knew that I wasn’t the best at reading emotions, but this seemed clear as day.
And why would she be happy? She’d left without a goodbye. I couldn’t think of a clearer sign that everything about our friendship… I don’t know, it must have all been pity or something.
She didn’t really care about me, she just felt bad that I didn’t have any other friends.
And I guess if she was here, she must have magic. So, I’d never really known her anyway.
“We’ve met,” Riley eventually said, managing a small smile that was obviously strained. “We actually used to go to school together.” She then frowned as she looked me over. “I didn’t think… I mean, I knew your father must have been a Slayer, but I didn’t think that you would break through.”
I shrugged, struggling to meet her gaze. “Well, I guess you were wrong. And I guess you’re also…”
“A Witch.”
I just nodded, once again struck by the fact that she’d kept this from me.
That even knowing that I might have magic, she’d decided not to tell me about this part of her life.
But then, given how she’d left, I didn’t know why I was surprised.
“Well, that’s great!” Dana said as she sat down, clearly oblivious to any tension between me and Riley. “One more person you know, Liv.”
I forced myself to smile as I sat down. As much as every instinct I had told me to leave – to mumble an excuse and find somewhere else to sit – the thought of trying to sit next to strangers was more terrifying than the thought of sitting with Riley.
I could have just skipped breakfast, I supposed, but Viktor had promised to show me to my class, and I knew that I would likely get lost without his help.
And if Riley didn’t want me there… Well, she could say so, couldn’t she?
“Yeah, it’s great,” I managed, and thankfully, Dana took the conversation from there, allowing me to silently focus on my food, rather than on the familiar stranger sitting across from me.
I barely paid attention to my morning classes. Ember split the day into morning classes for the usual subjects that you would take at a Human school, and afte
rnoon classes for magic.
I couldn’t really pay attention to maths when I had a double block of Slayer classes taking up my entire afternoon.
What would Slayer classes even entail? I tried to ask Viktor as he showed me to my classes, but he pointed out that he’d never taken them, and Slayers weren’t exactly friendly enough with Demons to tell them such things.
Lunch passed in a similar blur, and I thankfully managed to once again ignore Riley’s presence, as I kept all of my attention focused on just keeping my food down.
Viktor once again showed me to my class, and my stomach lurched as he stopped outside what was presumably the classroom door.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Just a little nervous,” I managed, my voice barely more than a whisper.
He gave me a small smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “I’m sure you’ll be fine.”
I just nodded before looking at the door, not managing to make myself move closer.
“I should go,” Viktor said, drawing my attention once more. “You probably don’t want the others to see you with a Demon.”
Before I could find the words to counter that, he headed off, and I was left alone, facing the door.
It couldn’t be too bad, right?
My lunch threatened to make a reappearance in response and I took a deep breath.
Whether it would be or not, I didn’t have a choice.
I gripped the cold metal of the door handle, coating it in sweat, and pushing the door open.
I stopped dead as I scanned the room.
It was already full. Except it was full of men.
Well, boys, around my age, but they were each walls of muscle, and they all turned to stare at me.
What was going on? Was I in the wrong room? Was Slayer training segregated by gender?
The man at the front – another wall of muscle, though he wasn’t in the school uniform and his stubble was flecked with grey – turned to me.
“Ah, you must be the new arrival. Olivia, was it?”
I nodded as I stepped into the room.
So… I was in the right place.
But why was I the only girl?
Starlight & Shadows: A Limited Edition Academy Collection by Laura Greenwood, Arizona Tape, Juliana Haygert, Kat Parrish, Ashley McLeo, L.C. Mawson, Leigh Kelsey, Bre Lockhart, Zelda Knight Page 27