“Okay,” she whispered, placing her palm in mine.
The beautiful day unfolded around us as we moved, trees seeming to bow to Claire in her wake. She had no idea what kind of power she exuded in this world, how palpable her essence was to the kingdom surrounding us. Yet, she seemed quite taken with the atmosphere, her free hand curling into the air with each step, her eyes dancing with wonder.
“It’s so enchanting,” she breathed.
“And you’ve not even seen the Academy yet,” I replied, smiling.
“How far is—” Her mouth fell open as the famous iron gates came into view down the flower-laden hill. “Holy shit, we are not in Kansas anymore.”
I blinked. “What?”
“You know, the…” She trailed off and shook her head. “Never mind. It’s a line from a well-known movie.”
“Oh, human cinema.” I smiled. “We don’t really have that here, preferring to spend our time outdoors and whatnot.” Or at the gym. Or in a fighting ring. “Although, I guess they kind of televise some of our sporting events, but it’s not the same. It’s all carried by elemental magic, sort of unfolding in replays. And yeah, I’m boring you. Let’s head that way.”
I pointed to the main entrance, charmed by four of the elements dancing around it. Beyond it were the renowned stone structures of the school, all laced with greenery and adorned in flowers. At least, the main buildings were. Each quad catered to the various elementals. I’d show her the charred towers of the Fire Quad first. It wouldn’t be as lively as the Chancellor’s home, but just as captivating.
“Are you, like, supposed to be in class right now?” she asked as we walked.
“Nah, you arrived at a good time. It’s our downtime right now between courses. Everything starts back up tomorrow.”
“Like a weekend,” she surmised.
“Similar, yeah. But we do six days on, six days off. Helps keep up the creative flow and allows us to participate in the mandatory intramurals.”
“Intramurals?” she repeated, her gaze on the water dancing with fire along the gate as we passed beneath it.
“Fae mingling.” I smirked. “It’s Elana’s way of trying to make all the fae get along, by forcing us to engage in physical activities and other general education courses together. Like Human Studies. We also have a morning or afternoon of obligatory gymnasium activities during our six days on—which, again, includes all the fae.”
Her brow puckered. “You don’t get along otherwise?”
I shrugged. “Some of us do. Some of us don’t. There’s a council that guides us, but each kingdom has its own governing structure.”
“So… you’re like different countries?”
“From what I understand of your world, it’d be more similar to continents.” I took a right through a long woodsy corridor between two of the stone buildings. “This is the main campus, by the way. Where the intramural courses are that I mentioned. Then each quad caters to the specific fae, so I’ll show you Fire Quad first since I’m most familiar with it.”
We stepped into a courtyard where several fae were mingling, all of whom went silent upon spotting us.
Claire gave a little wave that had them all taking several steps backward, their eyes going wide and whispers in the ancient language taking over.
It’s her.
I heard she caused the quake last night.
Evil.
Why would they allow her here?
She’s going to kill us all.
Claire’s cheeks pinkened, her inability to understand their words not mattering. Their tones said it all.
“Enough,” I said, irritated.
“It’s fine,” Claire whispered. “I get it.”
“It’s not fine.” I pulled her across the courtyard, only to find a row of fae waiting along the pathway that led to the Fire Quad.