I handed the bow to my grandmother and walked to the group of students who advanced.
Zyacus made his way over and stood next to me. “You’re better than I thought.”
“I don’t know why you doubted,” I said waving at Legacy who pushed her way to us.
With a nod to her, the Prince said, “We haven’t met yet. I’m Zyacus.”
“Legacy Exavior.”
“Cousins?” he asked.
“Cousins,” she confirmed.
I supposed he knew my close family tree as well as I knew his.
The advanced circle narrowed down to nine of us. Then three. Final round, I was off by a fourth of an inch compared to Legacy and she took the victory.
“Good shooting, sorry you lost,” Legacy said tentatively.
“Don’t apologize for being better,” I said, lightly punching her arm. “It was a Delhoon win, that’s what matters.” When it came to Legacy and me, she was one of the only people I didn’t mind losing to.
Madison whistled and called us over. “That’s all for today. You can all go to your rooms to finish unpacking, explore the grounds, whatever you choose. Dinner is at six. Tomorrow classes begin.”
Taz, Legacy, and I decided to check out the fruit orchards. When we set off in that direction, Zyacus popped out of thin air using the appearus spell—teleport magic. “Midnight, don’t forget,” he said and vanished.
“He already knows the appearus spell?” Taz said in disbelief. “We’re not supposed to learn that until the end of this year.”
The fact that the prince knew that magic aggravated me further. He wasn’t even magic-born. Like those in his family, he relied on a magic stone to perform spells.
“Who cares about that,” Legacy said, folding her arms. “What are you doing at midnight with him?”
“I won a bet,” I said, smirking. “He has to jump into the lake at midnight in his undergarments. Want to come watch?”
Wiggling her eyebrows, Legacy said, “Sure do. I’d love to see what’s underneath that uniform.”
Taz stuck his finger in his mouth and faked a gag. “I’ll pass.”
Chapter 5
With the sunshine peeking through the trees, I plucked a green apple from a branch and wiped it on my shirt before taking a bite. The sweet, tart flavor burst on my tongue when I bit into it. I loved a good crisp apple.
“You think one day the people we train with could be fighting against us on a battlefield?” Taz asked, searching the tree for his own perfect apple.
“If my parents trusted them enough to allow us to become warriors together, I doubt it. Besides, if we’re friends with them, who would fight?”
“Not everyone likes this idea,” Legacy said, sitting against the trunk of the tree. “I overheard my parents talking last time I was home. There are people who don’t want us to train with the other kingdoms and especially not mixing bloodlines with them. Which is bound to happen.”
“Who cares what those people think.” I leaned up against a tree across from Legacy. “The Hesstians and Collweyans are just like us, except for the illcasts. But not even all Delhoon men have magic.”
Legacy looked at Taz. “Which is why the queen rules.”
He scrunched up his nose, sneering. “I’m well aware of the reason behind why women rule Delhoon. Women generally have stronger magic. Besides, I don’t know why you’re looking at me like that, I’m not an illcast.”
Mid-conversation, a high pitched scream jolted all of us upright, instincts searching for danger. “Where did that come from?” I asked.
“I think over there,” Taz said and took off in the direction he pointed.
I pulled the dagger from my boot and went after him. Breaths coming heavy, we sprinted through the orchard, weaving between trees. Legacy was just a few paces behind us.
We reached a clearing and a group of Hesstian students stood in a circle around something. I nudged two of them aside to see a dead horse with its throat ripped out. Like something took several bites, tearing out chunks of flesh. Blood had seeped out a foot from the horse, staining the grass dark red.
“What did this?” I demanded.
All looked at me but none offered an explanation. I pointed at a boy, probably the oldest of the group. “Tell me what did this.”
He shrugged. “We didn’t see it happen. But looks like a wolf, or maybe even a brockendae.”
Ferocious, furless, bear-like creatures, brockendae were incredibly rare. But I couldn’t see a wolf doing this kind of damage. I bent down and dipped the tip of my finger in the poor horse’s blood, cold. This wasn’t a fresh kill but with no bad smell it couldn’t have been long ago.
I rose up. “We should get back to the academy where it’s safe and tell the professors there is something dangerous out here. Someone could get hurt or worse.”
Without hesitation, the group set off. My trio straggled a few yards behind them on high alert. Without a cloud in the sky, the sun warmed my skin, the bees and butterflies fluttered about, and the sound of laughter drifted in the air. This didn’t seem like a place where a dangerous creature could be lurking about. What didn’t make sense to me was how a predator like this could have gotten in. The entire property was surrounded by a fifteen-foot, metal fence with spiked tips. On top of that, a magical barrier. I brought these concerns up and both Legacy and Taz grew quiet.
“What if someone let it in?” Taz whispered. “Like Legacy said, people don’t want this academy to exist.”
“But who?” I asked, everyone here should be a trusted ally. Well vetted.
Taz shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine.
“If someone let it in,” Legacy said with a nervousness growing in her voice. “Then their target probably wasn’t a horse.”
I had a hard time wrapping my mind around that motivation. “Would someone hate the Allied Kingdoms so much that they’d kill students to end it?”
In the distance I saw my grandparents talking near the archery range. “Come on,” I said and took off at a run for them.
Madison must have immediately noticed the distress on our faces because she tapped Papa’s arm and they both walked our way.
“Is something wrong?” Papa asked when we reached them.
Feeling a little sick, I nodded. “There is something dangerous inside the grounds.”
Chapter 6
All students were sent to their rooms and told to stay until further notice. Legacy and I sat at the window, looking out over the grounds. From here I could see three professors walking outside, weapons in hand.
I wanted to go with my grandparents but of course they said I needed to go inside with the rest of the students. I didn’t know why they thought I was incapable of helping. I was skilled with a blade and magic.
“It’s been over two hours,” Legacy said, hopping down from the window’s edge. “Let’s go to the dining hall.”
Leaping onto the window beside me, Atticus bumped his white furry head against my hand. “Students were instructed to stay in their rooms.”
Legacy snatched her boots off the floor and slipped them on. “We’re hungry, and bored.”