Royals of Villain Academy 1: Cruel Magic Read online

  As fascinating as he’d been to look at, I couldn’t say I returned the sentiment.

  I inhaled and exhaled slowly, trying to settle my nerves. I couldn’t have conjured up that frost, right? I’d never shown the slightest hint of magic before. There had to be some other explanation.

  We strode down a gloomy hall with varnished wooden doors lining both sides. The killer stopped at the door at the very end of the hall and rapped his knuckles against it.

  “Come in,” a woman said in a cool voice, as if she’d been expecting us.

  The man opened the door and motioned me in ahead of him. I stepped onto a thick crimson-and-ocher rug in a room as big as my entire basement apartment. Built-in mahogany shelves lined the walls, stuffed with aged books, jars of indeterminate powders and oils, and assorted trinkets.

  In the middle of it all, a prim woman of about fifty sat at a matching desk carved with a vine around the edge. Her eyes had a beady quality, her nose pert and her lips thin. Her long graying blond hair was wrapped into a thick coil at the nape of her neck, resting against the collar of a fitted indigo dress-suit.

  She stood up as we came in with a bob of her head to my escorts. “Well,” she said, fixing her beady gaze on me. “Here you are.” She sounded satisfied but somehow not quite pleased, as if she was happy with the situation but not that she had to be a part of it.

  “Go on, then,” she said in the same cool tone, waving the other two off. They vanished, shutting the door behind them. The woman extended her hand toward one of the two velvet wingchairs that faced her desk. “Please, have a seat. As I’m sure you were told, I’m Headmistress Grimsworth. I’d imagine you have a lot of questions.”

  I allowed myself to drop into the chair, careful of the mouse clinging to my shirt between my shoulder blades. It seemed like I should probably pretend Deborah hadn’t told me anything, or they’d wonder how I knew, but acting clueless didn’t feel all that difficult. All the trauma and the confusion of the day washed over me in one huge wave. It took a moment before I could speak.

  “Where is this, and why the hell am I here?”

  Ms. Grimsworth’s mouth curled into a narrow smile. “You’re here because this is where you’re meant to be. This is the Bloodstone University for Magical Edification, and you are Persephone Bloodstone.”

  Chapter Three

  Malcolm

  “Who the fuck was that?” I said, my gaze following the new girl as she slipped out of sight. “And where the hell did she grow up that she comes here dressed like a feeb and jumping into other people’s business?”

  The junior we’d been playing with had scampered off. If he started spreading the word about how some random chick had saved him from Malcolm Nightwood, he’d find a whole lot more than his feet on fire.

  Jude swiped a hand through his dark red hair, his lips curved with his typical smirk. “She looked pretty nice landing on the ground ass-first when you were done with her, I’ll give her that.”

  Connar’s grim expression broke with a soft snicker. His brawny arms flexed as he crossed them over his chest. “You know, she did. She should have realized she was outmatched the second she saw you.”

  I’d admit the new girl had a nice ass in general, even in her baggy jeans. I’d gotten a good look at it while she was leaving. Maybe she’d be fun to have around if she removed the stick she apparently had shoved up there.

  We could certainly help her with that.

  Declan fixed me with what I’d come to think of as his professor look. He’d always had a bit of a know-it-all vibe that must have come with being the oldest of us and the only one close to full baron. It had intensified since he’d gotten the teacher’s aide gig this fall. I gave him a pass on it because he generally put that knowledge to use greasing whatever wheels we needed greasing.

  “That,” he said in an authoritative tone, “was the long-lost heir of Bloodstone. So whatever you’re imagining doing to her right now, you might want to revise those plans.”

  I blinked, momentarily losing my grasp on my composure. Only momentarily, of course. “The Bloodstone scion? They found her? Holy shit.”

  Jude cocked his head, his dark green eyes lighting up with curiosity. “Was she living with feebs, hence the clothes?”

  “With joymancers,” Declan said. “Which as far as I can tell amounts to almost the same thing. Their house could have fit in the front hall three times over. They do like to show off their modesty.”

  “Wait,” I said, prodding him in the chest. “Did you get yourself invited along on the rescue party? Why the hell didn’t you tell us anything?”

  Declan’s chin came up. “They asked me at the last minute. Said it’d be good for her to have one of the other scions there—someone who’d have an idea what she might have gone through. We weren’t supposed to tell anyone until we’d pulled it off.”

  Declan’s mother had been killed in the same confrontation-turned-massacre where joymancers had claimed the lives of both the Bloodstones of our parents’ generation. Sometimes I forgot that little piece of his past, because I’d only been three when it’d happened, so I didn’t really remember it in the first place.

  No one talked about the skirmish much anyway. It was kind of a sore spot among the older mages.

  “You could have introduced her and saved her a little trouble.” I peered toward the hall the girl had disappeared down, a tickle of exhilaration rising through my chest. So, that was the Bloodstone scion. She hadn’t had any more idea who we were than we had about her. Totally fitting that she’d have started asserting dominance the second she’d walked into Blood U.

  She’d be embarrassed when she found out who she’d actually been messing with. I had to smile, imagining her reaction.

  Despite the shabby clothes, she’d been awfully easy on the eyes. And that brash spirit… Oh, yes, spring term had just gotten ten times more exciting.

  “No one knows how much she knows about who she is or what happened to her,” Declan said. “From the way she was acting, I don’t think she had any idea. Grimsworth wanted to talk with her first.”

  “We’ll give her a little time to settle in,” I said magnanimously, rubbing my hands together. “Find out what dorm they stick her in. We can stop by after dinner and give her a chance at re-doing first impressions.”

  Having a Bloodstone at the school… I wasn’t going to let that tip the balance very much. The four of us who ruled Blood U and would someday rule the whole fearmancer shebang together—we’d had each other’s backs for years. She’d have to prove herself ready to respect and return that kind of allegiance before we’d fully welcome her into our circle, the final point on the pentacle.

  We’d make it clear who ran things around here and go from there. Once she got the picture, I had the feeling it’d be a productive friendship.

  My thoughts slid back to the fierceness in her dark blue eyes when she’d tried to stare me down, the flush of color in her pale cheeks. Maybe more than friendship if I got my way. And, let’s be honest, I usually did.

  Chapter Four

  Rory

  I stared at the headmistress of Bloodstone University for the space of a few heartbeats before I regained control over my vocal chords.

  “I think there’s been a mistake,” I said. “I would definitely remember if my name was something as weird as Persephone Bloodstone. I’m Lorelei Franco. Usually I go by Rory. Nice to meet you.” I raised my hand in an awkward little wave.

  Maybe I should have said “horrible to meet you,” but from Ms. Grimsworth’s pinched expression, I had the feeling that wouldn’t have gone over well. I still didn’t have a lot of options here.

  The headmistress looked down at a few papers spread in front of her on her desk. A sharp ashy smell drifted past my nose from a cone of incense set on a burner on a nearby shelf. It made my stomach turn.

  “You’ve been living with Lisa and Rafael Franco, yes?” she said. “For how long?”

  “For—for as long as I can remember. They adopted me when I was two years old.”

  Ms. Grimsworth hummed to herself. “They or their colleagues kidnapped you, Miss Bloodstone. Did you know that they were mages—that they could wield magic?”

  I nodded slowly. “Yes. They didn’t keep that a secret from me. But why—”

  “There are two types of magic-workers in this world,” Ms. Grimsworth said. “The people who raised you were joymancers, working with feelings of elation. You’ve now met the first fearmancers I’d imagine you’ve had a chance to associate with in your memory.”

  “Fearmancers. Mages who use fear?” I said, as if Deborah hadn’t already explained that much. Otherwise she might wonder why I wasn’t more surprised.

  “Exactly. Our communities have often been at odds. Seventeen years ago, a group of joymancers interrupted several fearmancers in the middle of conducting their business. Your birth parents were there, along with you. They were killed in the attack, and the joymancers took you with them when they fled the scene. We’ve spent significant resources over those years trying to track you down. They hid you well, but not well enough to foil us completely.”

  Her beady eyes glinted with satisfaction, as if the brutal murders of my real parents, the ones who’d raised me, were something to celebrate. My stomach churned.

  Even if everything she’d just said was true, why the hell wouldn’t mages like Mom and Dad have wanted to get a little kid away from a “community” like this? They’d been trying to give me a better life.

  “You’ve been affected by your time with them, naturally,” the headmistress said. “But as you realize how much they were denying you, how much they stole from you, I expect you’ll adapt quickly. There’s a reason this university is named after your family, Miss Bloodstone. The Bloodstones are one of the five ruling families among the fearmancers. You’ll have great magical gifts that I doubt your kidnappers ever allowed you to use.”

  “I don’t have any—” I started, and stopped, shutting my mouth so sharply my teeth clicked. On the landing, with those gorgeous asshole guys, I’d conjured ice. Not a lot of it, but… I hadn’t known what I was doing.

  The sensation of power that had come over me hadn’t been joy—that was for sure. No, for one fleeting instant, the divine devil had been afraid.

  And I’d drunk in that emotion and transformed it into power, as easily as breathing.

  Fuck.

  “I’m a fearmancer,” I said quietly as the understanding sank in. “But I never—when I was living with my parents—”

  “They would have had ways of suppressing your natural talents,” Ms. Grimsworth said. “Mages of both kinds normally see their magical ability emerge sometime between their fifteenth and sixteenth birthday. For most of your childhood, they wouldn’t have needed to even worry about it.”

  Between my fifteenth and sixteenth birthday. Icy fingers wrapped around my gut. The mouse currently nestled against my back, clinging to my shirt—Dad had brought her home just a couple of weeks after my fifteenth birthday.

  Deborah had said her job had been to protect me, to let them know if I needed help. Had that really been just a nice way of saying she’d been my guard, watching to make sure my fearmancer magic didn’t emerge despite whatever they were doing to hold it in?

  Oh, God. No wonder they hadn’t wanted me to move out or to travel anywhere without them. They must have needed me to stay close so they could work their spells on me.

  I closed my eyes against the horror welling up inside me. No. My parents had been protecting me—protecting me from these people who they must have known were searching for me. From the dark magic they practiced. Any horror I felt shouldn’t be because of them but the blood the fearmancers had spilled in my house this morning.

  Somehow I didn’t think I could simply say, Well, that’s all lovely, but I’d like to head back to spend the rest of my life with the non-psychopathic mages now, and the fearmancers would fly me back on their private jet in a jiffy.

  I looked down at my hands clasped together on my lap. The light from the ornate fixture on the ceiling glinted off the charms along my wrist that Mom and Dad had bought for me over the last nine years. Another wallop of grief hit me without warning.

  How long would it take for someone to find them where the fearmancers had left them ravaged? Or had the mages who’d taken me magicked my parents’ bodies away so the murders would never be discovered, and they’d simply vanish from existence?

  All the pieces of my life with them, from my childhood through to this morning, were hundreds of miles away. All I had of myself, of my history as their daughter, was that bracelet and the old T-shirt and jeans I’d thrown on for a lazy Sunday morning.

  And a telepathic mouse that was part guardian, part guard. Deborah’s furry back shifted against my skin as she adjusted her position. I couldn’t forget her.

  Ms. Grimsworth had been waiting in silence as I’d wrestled with her revelations. I sucked in a breath and raised my head. “All right. What happens now? What do you expect me to do?”

  She gave me a tight smile that might have been slightly sympathetic. It was hard to tell, her face was so rigid. “It seemed best for you to come here and remain until your education is complete. As the heir to the Bloodstone legacy, you’ll have certain responsibilities. You’re greatly behind in the training you’ll need to complete to fulfill those responsibilities. The Bloodstone properties will be yours when you’re ready to take your full place in society. They’re currently inhabited only by maintenance staff paid for by your fortune.”

  I had properties. I had a fortune. This morning I’d been worried about making a couple hundred bucks on a figurine. A hysterical giggle bubbled in my throat.

  “Aren’t there any other Bloodstones around who can handle this stuff?” I had to ask.

  The headmistress pursed her lips. “Your grandfather served as temporary baron, despite being aged out, until his death seven years ago. He had a brother who took up residence in Portugal decades ago and who hasn’t been heard from in almost as long. Your mother’s younger sister passed away before you were born—a boating accident. By that series of unfortunate circumstances, you are the only definite living Bloodstone in existence.”

  Wonderful. Exactly how pissed off would she be if I chose this moment to vomit all over her expensive rug?

  I dragged in a breath. Maybe the best option was also the easiest. I could play along for now, right? It wouldn’t be such a bad thing to learn the basics of the magical talent I’d only just discovered. I’d wait for my moment, and then I’d run for the hills—or rather, for California. My parents had friends in the Enclave. Someone had to know what the hell to do.

  “I guess it’s up to me, then, huh?” I said with a weak laugh, and stood up. “How do I get started?”

  Ms. Grimsworth said something under her breath and made a small gesture with her hand. “I’ve summoned the professor who’ll serve as your mentor to show you to your dorm room. He’ll explain more of the workings of the school along the way. Tomorrow morning, we’ll conduct your assessment to determine your areas of greatest strength, and then he and I will draw up a course plan for you to follow. You’ll find we aren’t rigorously focused on classroom work here at the university. We find students learn best with a mix of assignments and more self-directed practice.”

  Like setting younger students on fire? I bit my tongue rather than mention that.

  The headmistress got up and motioned at me from head to toe. “It also seems worth mentioning that the team that liberated you cast a locating spell on you to ensure we don’t lose you again. You’ll be able to roam the entire campus grounds and visit the town down the hill, but if you should find yourself whisked farther away, we’ll be alerted and arrive as quickly as possible.”

  As she spoke, a shiver ran over my skin that might have been an echo of that magic. I thought I read a subtle threat in her gaze. If I tried to make a break for it of my own accord, I wouldn’t get very far, no matter how stealthy I was. Shit.

  There had to be a way to undo a locating spell. I’d just have to learn it.

  A knock sounded on the door. Ms. Grimsworth swung it open.

  In the hall stood a man I’d have put in his mid-forties. Tufts of light red hair—really it was orange—stuck up in various directions over his round head and along his equally rounded jaw. Like every other fearmancer I’d encountered so far, he was dressed to impress: a blue linen shirt that downplayed his barrel chest and gray dress pants.

  “Miss Bloodstone,” the headmistress said, “I’m pleased to introduce you to Professor Banefield, one of our specialists in Insight. He’ll be acting as your mentor for your first year at the university, and perhaps longer if you get along well.”

  I didn’t want to think about being stuck here for a whole year, let alone more than that.

  Professor Banefield gave me a smile that had more warmth than I’d gotten from all of the other fearmancers I’d met combined and stuck out his hand. The warmth startled me so much it took me a second to realize he was waiting for me to complete a handshake.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Bloodstone,” he said with a brisk pump. “Or if I might call you Persephone—”

  “Rory,” I said quickly. “My name is Rory.” Maybe I couldn’t argue the Bloodstone part, but I’d be damned if they were going to take away the first name my parents had given me too.

  Banefield’s gaze twitched to the headmistress and back to me. “All right then. Rory. I’m so glad to have you returned to us. You must be overwhelmed. Why don’t you let me show you to your room here on campus, and then you can take some time to absorb everything you’ve learned?”

  “That sounds good,” I said, because it really did. If there was a place here I could be alone with my thoughts, let me at it.