“Merlin, take me to Wolf. Now, please.”
He left the room. All right. I guessed all it took was a little more discipline to my tone. I trailed after and at the wolfhound’s side as he went through the Mammalian wing’s hallways, up stone steps, and along more corridors. Ruffling his fur when he nudged into me, I calmed down with my escort to the Aviary.
Merlin barked once, and Wolf turned from the corner of an enclosure for a variety of species. Parakeets and birds with colorful plumage flapped away from him.
“About time.” He stood and cracked his back, holding a sack of feed. “You get lost or something?”
“Something like that.”
I stepped further into the room, a space I wasn’t as familiar with as the others. Wolf usually kept me in the Mammalian wing, since he and Ethel had concluded my strongest bloodline ties me down as a Terraine Early Pure with Mammalian bonds. Then again, I proved compatible in other species too. Just strongest with the mammals.
I didn’t mind interacting with the creatures themselves, and I enjoyed taking care of them. Birds weren’t bad, but I was uneasy around them for no other reason than the fact I knew them to be Glorian’s sect. Half the time I had to come to this wing, I feared running into the woman and having to face her asking me questions I couldn’t answer. And if Glorian was a bird elf, then Ren probably was too. I rubbed my thumb along my first two fingers’ knuckles and breathed easier when all I found was smooth flesh.
No, birds weren’t all bad, regardless of the elves associated to them. After all, I hadn’t had an issue spending time with my longma, and he was part something avian if he had wings…
“Hold up,” he told me as I began to walk through the biggest room, curving around the semi-walled enclosure for the eagles. “Don’t get too close to them.” He gestured at the birds watching me from their nest. “Glorian says they’re going to be mating soon.”
“Will they?”
He smirked. “Nah. She just hopes they are. But she doesn’t want anyone—or Pures—near them. To let them be. So I’ll humor her.”
“Why do you?” I asked, sitting on a boulder that was a prop for another open-room area of birds cohabiting.
“Humor her?” he asked as he stepped toward me. Merlin nosed his hand and the man gave him a pet. “Because she’s my superior? She’s not my boss, but she’s a big deal here. Pays to not piss her off when possible.”
And slicing into her son’s shirt isn’t a good way of doing that. I tugged at my earlobe. “What happens when you do?”
He slanted his head and narrowed his eyes. “All right, what’d you do?”
“Nothing.” Nothing I consciously intended to!
“You’re late.” He pointed at my ear. “You’re nervous.” He slumped, propping his butt on another boulder across from me. Once he crossed his arms, he nodded at me. “Spill.”
“It’s nothing. I just wonder…”
“About?”
“Glorian. Her agenda. Ren.”
He frowned. “Ren?”
“Her son.”
Now he rubbed at his chin. “Ah, that’s right. He’d be about your age.”
“He is. In several of my classes, actually.”
“And he’s a royal pain in the ass, I bet.”
I mimed a bingo gesture at him.
“Not surprising, considering he is ‘royalty’ here.” His scoff with the air quotes worried me. Wolf wasn’t pro-Glorian. I didn’t know what he had against the Andeas family, but would he be unbiased enough to explain it to me? I needed answers. Real ones, not complaints and years-old gossip.
“What is she, exactly?”
He raised a brow.
“Glorian. She’s an Airine.” I gestured around us. “Avian, obviously. Is she a Pure?” Is Ren? Knowing how powerful Ren could be suddenly mattered. It mattered a lot since just an hour ago, I’d challenged him.
He shook his head. “Isn’t Ethel supposed to be teaching all of this to you and that Madsen kid?”
“No. Well, yes. Ethel’s been meeting with Flynn and me to talk about the hierarchy of powers and lineages, but she’s focusing on what we could be. Not what everyone else is.”
“Why? It’s better to know what you’re up against.”
That’s what I thought!
He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and his hands folded together—until Merlin stood and nudged for more attention.
“Glorian’s not a Pure. Just a High Diluted. She’s Airine and Terraine, but her most concentrated lineage is devoted to the birds.”
I nodded. And exhaled hard.
“That makes you happy?” he guessed. “What was that sigh for?”
“That Ren can’t be a Pure then.”
“Says who?” He smirked. “Glorian didn’t have him by herself. I’m sure the kid is full enough of himself being her son and all, and he might think he was born by divine conception, but you’re forgetting about his dad. He gets his bloodline too.”
Right. I nodded, frowning. I hadn’t forgotten about his dad. I’d never heard of him. Sure, he had to have one, but no one ever mentioned him. I’d simply neglected to think about Glorian’s husband.
“Nobody likes to talk about him. Especially not Glorian.”
“Because?”
“He left. Abandoned Olde Earth and all it stood for. Nevis was an outsider who came here as a student and ultimately learned he was a Pure—a status Glorian had always worshipped and wished to be. After he studied and graduated, he became head of research, and then…he left. Never came back.”
I gaped at him. “Left for…what? Or where? For another woman?”
Wolf laughed. “If it was another woman, Glorian would’ve forgiven him. He wanted out of the Academy. To be left alone.”
“Why?”
“That’s a story for another time.” He checked his watch. “Any other burning questions?”
Thorns. Nevis… When did I hear that name before? Yet, I wasn’t done with Glorian.
“What’s her agenda? Ethel and Suthering seem to want to protect me from her. From the council. Like you said, they all have their own ways of wanting things done. How does Glorian want things?”
“She’s a traditionalist.”
I nodded. Old news. A given.
“And wants to preserve everything she can. She wants to keep elves with elves. Hates when elves marry and have families with humans. Diluting bloodlines too much.”
Wow. So, me, then. Sabine and I were examples of that. Dad was no elf so our mom must have been one.
“She hates the idea of exposing us and our powers to the real world, but she does have a high priority in finding Pures and bringing them to the Academy.”
Talk about a control freak.
“Here, she pushes for species conservation. To bolster nearly extinct ancient species. To strengthen the ones still alive.”
“By breeding them?”
Wolf nodded slowly. “She’s been pushing for years to grow the herds and groups of ancients.”
“At least she’s not doing any mad scientist stuff like trying to force inter-species breeding.”
His bark of a non-laugh was sharp and loud. Merlin cocked his ears at him and a few birds flew off their perches. “Inter-species? That’s Bateson’s game. And the mad scientist? Try Griswold.”
I rubbed at my forehead. It was an avalanche of too many possibilities. Too many ulterior motives and schemes.”
“What about Suthering?” He was the only councilmember he hadn’t mentioned.
“He just tries to help everyone live with their abilities the best they can. He’s in the middle. Wants to preserve the elves but also understands the need to integrate with humans and the real world. He believes in strengthening our species in the Menagerie, but he’s not a fan of cooking up new animals for the sake of fame and glory. He’s for drugs that help but not for the means Griswold might go to get them.”
So…Suthering was still all right according to me.
It was so much to take in, but I couldn’t get this uneasiness about Ren—Glorian, any of the Andeas relatives—off my chest.
“What’s the deal with Glorian and Stuart?”
He raised his brows.
“Stuart Wright?” I asked, clarifying while I stuck my hands in my coat pockets. So hurried I was to find Wolf and seek answers, I hadn’t even taken it off yet.
“I know which one.”
I licked my lips, taking note of his rigid posture from my mere mention of the name. “What happened with him?”
“That’s something you’ll have to ask Marcy.”
Marcy? Why? Why couldn’t he tell me? I got it. He wasn’t a fan of the Andeas family. Maybe he’d tell me why another day. Yet, I didn’t want to wait. Not now. Not with Ren aware I could spike out thorns on the same day I challenged him to back off. I’d only instigated more of his cockiness. I deserved to know what I was up against. I let my gaze float to the ceiling and the walls, a circular survey of this birdhouse. The beings Ren and his mom were attuned to.
Could they spy on me?
Like a virus, that one question opened the door for many others to clamor in my head.
What about that black crow? He hasn’t been around for months now.
Would my longma be an avian? And attuned to Glorian? No. Wolf just said she wasn’t a Pure, only Diluted. So she wouldn’t even see longmas. But if Ren is a Pure, would he be able to control my longma? Wings are wings, but—
Did Wolf know Stu? Was there bad blood between them? He hasn’t been a happy camper since I’ve launched this interrogation on him.
How could I grow thorns like that?
“What’s going on, Layla? Really. All these questions about Glorian and what she’s like…”
I pursed my lips and rubbed my hidden fingers.
Thorns… Maybe bringing it up to Wolf wouldn’t be the best route for answers and guidance. I needed an elven botanist, not my grumpier-than-usual, all-around animal care manager. Not Mr. Alwin…but someone else in plants.
If Flynn is so trusting of her, maybe I should be too…
“Never mind. I’ll just ask Marcy.”
He quirked a brow and then stood. “All right. Then let’s get to work already.”
Chapter Sixteen
That evening, I caught up on my homework and emailed assignments that were due the next day. Nothing wrong with being ahead of schedule. While I logged into my email and used my tablet, I waited with suspense. Would there be an email from Glorian? Would there be a message to report to the council? Ren had to have tattled on my accidental…sheering moment.
Every minute nothing happened, my worry escalated.
Paige came home, bounding into our dorm room, and flung her bag to the bed.
“OMG, girl. That Latin assignment?” She groaned and leaned against the bunk bed frame. I spun in my desk chair, still staring at my fingers.
There’s not even a spot where they could have come from. Did I grow the thorns? But if I didn’t, how did they just appear?
Still, I replied to her, “It was so…”
“Tedious. Jeez. It’s like Souza thinks we don’t remember anything. Half of it was a repeat of last week’s stuff.”
I shrugged. Memorizing conjugations didn’t exactly use much brain space.
“You do them yet? Sorry. I just finished the last sheet with Marcus. Shoulda checked with you first.”
I scrunched my face. “Nah. I finished them after dinner.” Because I’d been alone. Ethel had emailed me and said she was tied up with something at the library, thus canceling our meeting. And Flynn, suddenly free, decided to stay later and work with Marcy.
I’d almost considered inviting myself to the greenhouse, to ask the blonde about Stu and Glorian and—
There is a little indentation on that finger. But that’s probably from when I had a paper cut last week. Yeah. That’s where it was…
“You thinking about painting your nails or something? Maybe a light pink? Lavender? Get in the spring spirit?”
I dropped my hands to my lap and squinted at Paige. “Huh?”
“What are you staring at your nails for?”
“Oh. Um, yeah…just…thinking about painting them for a change.” It literally was the only lie that would make sense. Kind of her to provide it.
“Hey, I heard you were telling Ren off earlier.”
I froze from standing from my chair. Heard from whom? “Really?”
“Yeah, Lorcan ate with me at lunch, since you were still at the Menagerie. He mentioned it.”
“Uh-huh…”
“About time someone tells him to shut up. He acts like he’s the shit because he’s Nevis’s kid and he can’t even show any powers yet.”
I just barely held in a breath of relief. No powers yet. Thank God. Although, that yet lingered.
“Wolf told me a bit about Mr. Andeas.”
“Oh yeah? Did he tell you that he was the one who was in charge when my dad was killed?”
I gasped.
She nodded and then went around the room, putting things away, grabbing clothes, and going into the bathroom to change, all the while explaining.
“Dad was the manager of the Menagerie, and remember, I wasn’t there to see any of this. This is what I know from eavesdropping and piecing it together.”
Nosy, nosy, good girl.
“Glorian had some breeding project planned. With the moose or elk. The larger herbivores. Well, Suthering was against the idea and refused to participate. But in order to try to work with the animals, they needed a Pure’s influence. To at least coax the animals into the same space. Suthering refused, so that left Nevis. Of course, he wanted to go along with whatever Glorian wanted. She comes from one of the oldest elven bloodlines. When Nevis came here as a student, as an outsider, I guess she welcomed him, was his first friend, yada yada…”
“Got it.” She’d preyed on the outsider Pure for her own benefit, I bet.
“So he was loyal to her and he agreed to supervise this breeding attempt. Dad had to go along with it, because Nevis was his boss, but the animals were temperamental. Wanted nothing to do with it, and they reacted. Nevis couldn’t control them. Dad was knocked to the side and died of a head injury.”
“I’m so sorry, Paige.”
She nodded, coming before me in her pajamas then.
“Nevis broke down. I guess…he felt guilty. That it was an unnecessary death. He left the Academy and no one knows where he is now.”
I grimaced. A powerful Pure doing whatever he wanted in the big, bad world… Not a cozy thought.
“I doubt he went rogue. I think he was sickened by his powers. By Glorian’s goals. Sure made her mad. Nevis was the most powerful Pure around and he ditched it—her.”
“Burn.”
Paige shrugged and scooted into her bed. “I say good riddance.”
“Don’t blame you.” I shut down my tablet and climbed up into my bed. “But how come your mom stayed here? Still works here?”
“Because elven stupidity killed my dad and she doesn’t want it to happen again. Suthering is actually her boss.”
“I thought she reports to Glorian.”
“Officially, sure. But don’t think for a moment that she’s not letting Suthering know what she’s up to. She hasn’t tried anything extreme again—well, other than whatever happened with Stu Wright.”
“You don’t know?”
She huffed. “Not for the lack of trying. I know he was under Glorian’s watch, as her star student. He was a High Diluted, I think, then he got kicked out for acting up. And I only learned most of that recently, from Lorcan. I think Mom will be here for as long as she needs to be until Glorian is removed from power.”
I woke in the morning refreshed and determined. I had goals. I’d make it through the day without running into Ren. I’d keep my hands to myself so I couldn’t sprout more thorns. I’d drive us to our worksites this time, dropping Flynn off. It was my turn to practice driving, an
yway. And while I was there, I could find Marcy and ask about this turn of events.
I didn’t mention anything about my plans to Flynn during our morning run, and he seemed to respect my quiet. That was the perfect thing about him. He got me. He knew when I needed to think. As far as ideal best friends for introverts went, I’d hit the jackpot.
On our run, though, I suddenly had plenty of reason to speak up. Before we turned on the curve that indicated we should cool down, a shadow passed overhead. Tree branches were still bare in the late-March coolness, but buds were popping out. Last year’s oak leaves still shrouded us from the dawning morning sunshine.
“What was that?” Flynn asked.
I slowed, scanning the forest canopy.
Then a purring growl sounded. To the west? I knew that sound.
“My longma!” I uttered and I took off. Flynn followed. We cleared our route from the trees and in the open sky, I saw him. A distant speck of darkness, soaring in the sky. Away from me.
Come back! I’m here! Wait!
It didn’t stop or return. Instead, it cut a sharp turn, wings flapping furiously faster as he turned at a ninety-degree angle. Heading toward the cliff.
Was he going to the Menagerie?
“Come on!” Flynn ran ahead of me now, and dammit, when had he gotten so freaking fast? I struggled to match his pace, annoyed with myself. Maybe I was slower because I was so excited at my buddy’s return.
He was still so far off in the distance. From acres away, I watched as he lowered toward the area of the cliff, so close to the ground that I couldn’t see him anymore for a second.
“Is that him?” Flynn got out between pants of air.
“Has to be.”
The shape was the same. A long, sleek, muscular body of a horse. Huge wings. Squat face. My longma.
“I thought it was black, though.”
I winced and ran faster to keep up with him instead of hanging on to his pace at his heels.
My longma was black. As was the creature that flew in the sky. It was a dark beast, that was for sure. Maybe it looked a little lighter because it was so far away and in the full brightness of the sky…
It shot back up. Straight north into the sky, it pumped its wings to soar higher and higher. Away from wherever it had landed. A deeper growl cut through the air and it escaped. Turning course again, it veered upright and flew away, right over us and beyond.
Discovery: Olde Earth Academy: Year Two Page 15