My eyes fell to the next line and my heart seized a little seeing the next Professor...
Magical History—Professor Deg
“I can’t escape him. He’s like a mosquito that won’t die and keeps coming back for blood.”
Legacy chuckled. “Who?”
“I’m guessing you don’t have professor Deg for magical history.” I couldn’t keep the disdain from my voice.
“Nope—Professor Vertue. Sorry Vis.” She held her schedule next to mine. “Do we have any classes together?”
I scanned her list and was a little disappointed. “We have War Strategy together. That’s it.” Back home we had three classes together.
Legacy frowned for a moment then pulled a smile. “We’ll see each other during breaks and after classes plenty.”
I folded the schedule and put it in my pocket and continued putting my things away.
The cat, Atticus hopped down from the bed and sauntered toward the door. “It is time to meet in the foyer. From there you will be shown to the grand dining hall.”
Nervous butterflies bounced around in my stomach. It was not as if I hadn’t met up in a dining hall with hundreds of students before but the anticipation of seeing and meeting the students from the other kingdoms was nerve-wracking. Would we get along? And then there was the thought of seeing Zyacus, Hesstia’s scrawny little prince. Four years ago, he constantly made fun of my freckles and acted like he and I didn’t belong in the same room. Which was ridiculous considering how awkward his voice sounded and the pimples on his face. I wanted to throat punch him but my father told me to play nice. This time Father wasn’t around to stop me from showing the prince who he messed with.
The Delhoon students gathered outside the dining hall; in total there looked to be a little over three hundred of us. I spotted Taz and waved at him. He pushed through the crowd and grinning, said, “Want to take bets on when the first fight happens?”
“If there’s a fight, it will be between the fool prince and me.”
“You’re not still upset about the last time you saw him, are you?” Legacy asked with a laugh. “It’s been what, three or four years?”
I folded my arms. “You’ll understand when you meet him.”
“This way!” A professor shouted and the group filed into the dining hall. He led our group to the furthest set of two very long tables with benches. They were large enough to hold all three hundred of us. Without being in any particular order, everyone seemed to gather themselves by year without being told.
Loud chatter filled the room as we waited for the other kingdoms to arrive. Within minutes the doors opened and we all turned to see who arrived next. Their uniforms were green, black, and gray—Collweya. The dragon donned on their chests would give that away if the colors hadn’t. I didn’t recognize any of them but they watched us as curiously as we watched them. The color of their hair varied but one common trait among each of them was the paleness of their complexion. Their people lived in a land of consistent cold and snow, where the sun couldn’t bronze their skin.
Once they were seated, the doors opened and more students filed in. Their uniforms were solid blue but for the gold swords insignia placed over their hearts.
I didn’t know why, maybe because he was the only one I’d met, but I looked for Prince Zyacus. Among the sea of dark hair and azure uniforms, I didn’t see him.
“Attention, please!” A loud male voice boomed in Heshan, the language the other two kingdoms spoke. I knew it as well as my native Delian, as did most in Delhoon, but I preferred my own.
I turned my eyes to the head of the room where the twenty-eight professors lined up. A man I didn’t know stood at the chest height black podium. All three kingdoms’ symbols were painted down the center with Delhoon’s phoenix at the top. The man’s long brown hair was tied back, and he wore an all-black suit. If I had to guess, I’d say he was in his forties but if he was magic-born, he could be much older.
“Welcome one and all to the Allied Kingdoms Academy. We expect great things from each of you. The rules will be explained in your first classes tomorrow, but most of them won’t differ from where you came from.” He gestured to the professors standing on either side of him. “These are your instructors. Respect them. I am the head of this institution, my name is Jace Ruford. Should you have a problem, your Kingdom Leader can’t solve, I will help. You will be escorted out by your year where you will have a chance to meet the other students your age. Fourth Years, please stand and follow your assigned professor.”
When Fourth Years had been called out, that left five through seven. Before the war ended, students in Delhoon started much younger and graduated at seventeen. Back then we needed the soldiers. With peacetime and the reluctance of the other kingdoms to train young children to be killers, most started at a later age. Anyone below a fourth year now attended academy in different locations. “Fifth years, please follow your leaders.” My grandparents stepped forward for our kingdom and we followed them out a side door and into a large common room where all Fifth Years were brought. The massive windows along the wall brought in bright sunlight, filling the room with a warm glow. A banner for each kingdom hung from the large wood beams on the ceiling. Along the walls, ceiling-high enchanted murals had been painted. I watched an image of a dragon blowing fire repeatedly. Merfolk swam amongst colorful coral and sea life. A group of hippogriffs squabbled.
“I dare you to go to the Collweyan group,” Taz said, nudging my arm.
As much as I liked a good dare, I didn’t want to be the first to break ranks and meet the outsiders. “No,” I said, shoving him. “You should go. You’re much better at making friends than me.” Even if I’d practiced meet and greets my entire life, I disliked them.
In the middle of our argument, Papa found me in the crowd and put a hand on my shoulder. “Visteal, as princess you should set the example. Be a leader and go over to the other kingdoms.”
I clenched my teeth, of course he would say that. One would think I’d be used to this by now but I hated to set the example.
“I’ll go with you,” Legacy said. “Hesstia or Collweya first? Or should I say, which prince do you want to see first?”
Given that I didn’t like one kingdom more than the other, it didn’t truly matter. Although I wanted to snub Hesstia simply to shove it in Prince Zyacus’s face. With a smile, I closed my fists and then held them out to her. “Pick a hand.”
She tapped the left, I turned my hand over, palm up and there floated a tiny dragon. What Legacy didn’t know was that both hands held a dragon. “Collweya it is,” I said.
Lifting my head high, Legacy and I stepped out from our group. The Collweya students stood by the windows and to get to them, we had to pass the Hesstian group. Many of them watched us as we walked, openly gawking at the two girls brave enough to step away from the herd. I wondered if they knew I was the princess. Here at academy I wore no crown, nothing to signify my status. In many ways I was just like the rest of them.
“Well, if it isn’t Freckles, all grown up.” A man spoke in my language Delian, not a hint of an accent.
Freckles? Halting, I turned on my toes to look for the man who’d spoken. Certainly the deep, honey-smooth voice couldn’t be Prince Zyacus, but who else would call me that?