Having already been kicked out of one class this week, I was walking on thin ice. Another strike and my father would punish me in the form of running miles upon miles until my legs turned to mush. “I can listen, sir.”
He glared and then said, “Now, as I was saying, there will be a test this week and I hope all of you have been taking notes.”
I didn’t do it on purpose but tuning out his voice had become a habit. I’d definitely have to peek at Taz’s notes later because I hadn’t paid attention. Instead of listening, as he suggested, I zoned out, watching the smoke rise from an incense stick. The wisps swirled and moved in a dance. With magic humming under my skin, I forced the smoke into a phoenix whose wings spread wide, slowly flapping. Taz smiled, moved his fingers and took a strand of smoke from the wing of the bird, forming it into a dragon.
Some of the other students whispered about it, until Professor Deg clapped his hands. “Silence!”
Both Taz and I released our magic and the smoke returned to its natural state before he noticed. Soon Professor Deg finished his lesson and left us with five minutes in the class. Taz turned to me with a sly smile. “So Legacy says we have some mischief to cause.”
“Are you coming with us to the new academy?”
“I haven’t heard, but that probably means I’m not,” he said with a frown.
Taz had been my friend since year one. So I wondered how I could bring him along, selected or not. “You should stay out of trouble if you aren’t coming.”
He ran his hand through his bronze-colored wavy hair and his amber eyes drifted to mine. “If I get myself kicked out, maybe I’ll get to go with you after all.”
It was a nice theory but unlikely. Although I was sure I had some pull, my mother was the queen after all. “Taz, you could just get yourself suspended or on kitchen duty more likely.”
“It’s been a week since I’ve scrubbed a dish. I miss the place.”
We both laughed quietly. “I’m sure being soaked with dirty water is your favorite thing.”
From his desk, the professor snapped his fingers and his raven, perched creepily on his shoulder, let out a call signaling the end of class. He’s one person I wouldn’t miss at the new academy, yet with my luck there would be someone worse.
Filing out of the classroom, we met Legacy in the hallway where the plan needed to be made. “So, what do you have in mind?” I asked. “Taz is in.”
Legacy gave him a dazzling smile; Taz was mesmerized by her. Believe me, he told me all the time, annoying really. Legacy tugged on my shirt. “Come with me.”
Skipping next class, we hid in a coat closet to wait until the halls went quiet. Taz practically drooled on my neck, and his warm breath brushed across my skin. “Scoot back,” I whispered, attempting to shove several cloaks and coats out of my face.
“I can’t,” he said with his body pressed against mine.
Legacy tripped and I heard her hit the wall. “Ouch.”
I couldn’t stop the laugh that burst from my mouth. “Why did we choose to hide in the closet when we could have just spelled ourselves invisible?”
“Because it takes too much energy to hold it that long,” Legacy said and pushed Taz, forcing me to fall into the door. It crashed open and we tumbled out. I had a difficult time taking in a breath with the two of them piled on me but with my cheek smashed on the stone floor, I could see that the hallway was deserted.
Moments later, Taz reached down and pulled me up. He blushed when he said, “Sorry about that.”
“It was Legacy’s fault,” I said, giving her an accusatory stare.
“You’re fine. Let’s go.”
Down the hall, up a set of stairs, to the left, then right, and we came to the professors’ main lounge. Most would be teaching but there could be a straggler or two. I peeked my head in, one purple robed woman sat with her eyes closed in a cushy armchair. Another man was perched at a table with a teacup in one hand and parchment in the other.
I looked back at my companions and held my pointer and middle finger up showing them the number of professors. Then I reached a hand inside and whispered, “Slumberia.”
The teacup slipped out of the male professor’s hand and his head slumped over, asleep.
“You’ll be in so much trouble for that,” Legacy said, pushing the door open. We went inside and Legacy opened the bag that she had slung across her chest.
When she pulled out a hissing box, Taz and I took several steps back. “What’s in there?” I asked warily, afraid of the answer.
“Snakes.” She grinned and pulled the lid off. With a quick toss, the five snakes slid across the floor and we dashed out of the room. Laughing, we sprinted down the hallway and as we rounded a corner, I ran smack into Professor Deg. He fell into the wall, and I crashed onto my rear end. The stone floor didn’t feel good against a tailbone.
The rage seething out of the professor was palpable. I swallowed the nervous lump rising in my throat. Legacy and Taz helped me up and we waited for Deg to speak. It seemed his face was getting redder by the second, a real tomato face.
After he adjusted his glasses and straightened his robe. “I don’t know what you three are up to but it can’t be good.”
Moments later a scream echoed through the hall and my eyes flicked to Legacy. Someone found the snakes.
∞∞∞
Professor Deg took us to the kitchen where we stood before a mountain of dishes. “You aren’t to leave here until they’re all clean. And no magic.” He spun on his heel and left us to our punishment.
This certainly wasn’t my first time on dish duty. My mother grew up poor on a small farm and was not afraid of hard work. My father fought his way into our prestigious academy because his family wasn’t wealthy when he was a child. When compared to past princesses and other royals from different kingdoms, my upbringing had been different. My parents made sure I wouldn’t grow up a spoiled royal. They also allowed the professors to dole out punishment for me as they saw fit. So for probably the tenth time in my academy life, I took up a sponge and we went to work.
Dipping her hands into a tub full of water, Legacy peeked around the room. “So did you tell Taz about Finnick?”
I’d mentioned it to her earlier in the day, I needed to confide in someone.
I peeked over at Taz, who was now looking at me curiously. “Isn’t that the boy who beat you yesterday in the fight? What about him?”
Stomach suddenly feeling like it was in knots, I looked into the bubbles. “When we shook hands—” I couldn’t go on.
“You saw his death,” Taz finished for me.
Legacy handed me a dish. “We should tell him. At least give him a chance.”
“We’ve tried that before, Legacy,” I snapped. “Whenever we’ve gotten involved we only secure it happening. Cassi, the guard, remember?”
“And Jade,” Taz said, sounding defeated. “We tried everything we could to make sure she didn’t eat anything she could choke on and I’m the one who handed her the muffin that killed her.”
“She didn’t choke,” Legacy said. “Something in the food made her face and lips swell and we couldn’t get a potion in time.”