“Yes it is true. One of the perks of being raised human,” I laughed out loud, hoping to sound casual.

“That sounds dangerous,” Sebastian said pointedly. “What’s the longest you can go without using your magic?” He questioned further, and a feeling of uneasiness crept up my spine.

“Oh, not very long at all. If I go even thirty minutes without using it, I suddenly cause an explosion or burn down a building or something,” I turned to face him and gave him my most charming smile. I pulled my long dark hair out of my face to give him the full effect of what I hoped to be a very captivating gaze. He stared back, deeply into my eyes and I forced myself not to look away. We stood there paused on the marble steps, competing with each other in a silent staring contest.

“Eden Matthews, I need to see you right away,” Amory’s sharp voice suddenly called from the bottom of the staircase. “There is a mess in the theater and if I find that you have been blowing trash cans apart again without cleaning up your mess, you are going to be in serious trouble, young lady,” Amory had taken on the role of principal and the effect was actually terrifying.

I turned immediately back down the stairs, leaving Sebastian to stare after me. Kiran was nowhere to be seen and I was suddenly grateful my grandfather was also the principal of this school. Amory pointed towards the theater and I quickly obeyed his unspoken command.

“Off to class with you, Mr. Cartier. It may only be your second day, but that is no excuse for tardiness,” Amory maintained his authoritative tone until after Sebastian had ascended the stairs. He then followed me silently into the theater, lighting the house lights enough so we could see each other.

“This is no good,” Amory worried softly once we were behind the double doors of the quiet theater.

“So he is here to spy on me?” I asked, afraid of the answer, but already certain I knew the truth.

“I can’t be sure Eden. He seems too curious about you for his sudden arrival to be a coincidence; but then again it was his mother who called and enrolled him, not Lucan. Maybe he was only curious after your interruption at the trial, his presence here might not have anything to do with Lucan,” Amory chewed on his thumbnail while pacing nervously. His image was strikingly similar to Avalon’s, both men great leaders despite their small habits.

“I don’t like him, Amory,” I whispered, reminding myself of how disturbing I found his presence.

“No, I would hope not. His personality is much more similar to his Uncle Lucan’s than even Kiran’s. I think it best if you steer clear of him altogether,” Amory turned his gaze on me and smiled sadly.

“I’ve been trying,” I mumbled, grumpily.

“I know,” Amory replied sympathetically. “I’m afraid those Kendrick boys don’t know how to leave you or your mother alone.”

“Great.”

“Aw, the price of beauty,” Amory pulled me into a side hug and kissed the top of my head.

“Yeah, right,” I groaned sarcastically, but blushed from the compliment all the same.

“Ok, here’s a pass, off to class with you,” he handed me a pink slip of paper, excusing me from being late to class.

“Mr. Lambert’s going to be so mad at me,” I squeaked, but Amory only laughed at me.

I bounded up the stairs, hoping that Amory was right. Hopefully Sebastian was only curious about my opinion at Lilly’s trial over the All Saints Festival. Maybe there was nothing else to his arrival.

Let’s ditch the rest of the day. Avalon sent me his thought telepathically in the middle of French.

I’ve missed too much already. I’ll get behind in chemistry. I responded glumly.

Ok, Eden. It’s time you come to terms with your magic. What good is it if you don't use it for homework? We’re skipping and that’s final. Avalon made a good point. But I couldn’t help but feel guilty for both skipping and cheating on my homework. It’s not cheating, for the last time! Avalon read my thought and I heard him grunt audibly behind me.

Fine. I gave in. It will probably be better to get away from Sebastian for a while anyway. Do you think Amory will excuse us?

This is a legitimate skip, Eden. If there are consequences to pay, we’ll pay them. We can’t continue to rely on Amory to excuse our behavior. People will get suspicious, especially that new Kendrick. Avalon’s mind voice was full of disgust, and I felt how sick and tired he was of having another member of the Monarchy around and it had only been two days.

After French, Avalon and I made our way down the marbled staircase on our way out of the building, hoping to remain undetected. We were almost to the back door when a snotty voice rang out from behind us.

“And where do you think you’re going?” Seraphina’s piercing high-pitched voice demanded of us.

I turned around not entirely sure what to say. Although I would have liked to ignore her completely, I felt guilty for some unexplainable reason and couldn't just dismiss her. Ok, maybe not so unexplainable. I was cheating with her fiancé....

“Avalon forgot something in his truck,” I replied sweetly, at the same time riddled with remorse.

“That takes two of you?” She stared at me, long fingers on small hip. Her shiny blonde hair was brushed into perfection and her lips a shiny shade of pink gloss.

“Um, yes,” I said simply, and ran my fingers through my wild wavy black hair subconsciously, trying to untangle it.

“Listen Eden, I don’t know what you think you're doing, but you should know that I am not going to sit back while you try to steal my boyfriend.” My mouth dropped open from surprise, but she continued, “And listen, you better watch out because I will destroy you. Do you understand me? I will ruin your life and make you wish you never discovered those stupid powers of yours. To think Lucan wanted to know if there was anything special about you! Are you kidding me? You’re nothing but an insignificant peasant; you don’t even know how to use your magic, let alone what to do with it. You are absolutely nothing to me and you need to learn your place. Stay away from Kiran or I will annihilate you. That is a promise,” Seraphina stood there perfectly poised and perfectly put together, her one hand gripping her waist firmly. She was much too pretty to be this mean.

I stood there, cowering. I knew I was in the wrong. And I knew she was fully capable of delivering on her promises.

“Whatever, Seraphina,” I mumbled weakly, my voice shaking from fear of her.

She stood there staring after me for a few moments longer, the blue of her eyes turning to ice. I felt myself struggle to swallow, wishing she would just go away. And then finally, with one last look of contempt, she turned on her heel and walked away, her black stilettos making a hard clicking sound against the polished marble floor. One hand never left her hip, while the other hand flipped her glistening hair over her shoulder. This was why she would be Queen one day; she was capable of striking fear into all people.

Avalon burst into a fit of laughter as soon as Seraphina was gone. He was practically rolling on the floor, unable to contain himself.

“You might as well have said, ‘Yes, ma’am,’” he wheezed through explosive laughter.

“Shut up,” I spat back defensively. “What was I supposed to say?”

“Oh man, that was the funniest thing I have ever seen," his hilarity eventually subsided into a softer version while he wiped tears of laughter from his eyes.

“I will never have a good day at Kingsley, will I?” I turned around and pushed the backdoor of the History and Language Building open, walking out into the fall drizzle that had clouded the early afternoon sky.

Chapter Seven

By the time Avalon and I reached the farmhouse the Nebraska sky was dumping water from above. Despite the torrential downpour, Avalon skidded off the gravel road and onto the drive of the Resistance farmhouse spraying mud and water everywhere.

I let out the breath that Avalon’s driving had caused me to hold and cringed at the thought of stepping out of the vehicle. Several young men stood in the doorway of the metal barn watching us. I recognized about half of them and realized there were several new additions.

I noticed Avalon’s hand on the door handle, and decided the best way to get through the rain was to face it head on. I flung the door open and did my best to sprint through the mud and gravel towards the barn. My clogs sunk deep into the puddles of grimy wetness and by the time I reached the barn I was soaked to the bone and splattered in mud.

The boys milling around the entrance to the barn scattered out of my way as I tumbled through the barn doors dripping dirty water everywhere. I did a little shake, much like a dog, and double-fisted my hair to force it away from my face.

I flung my head upwards, spraying everything around me with water. I was positive my black eye liner and mascara were running down my face, but I was helpless to stop it. I squinted through the black haze, and stared back at the thirteen or so faces gawking at me. A shiver ran down my spine, and I was frozen to the bone by icy water.

Suddenly, a familiar laugh burst through the silence and I recognized it as Jericho's. I shifted my gaze to his, and watched him bend over, clutching at his stomach. It dawned on me, a little slowly, that he was laughing at me, and I hoped suddenly it was just because of my appearance.

I had hoped, for a moment that Avalon would share my humiliation and we could take on the “wet dog” look together. I was wrong. Avalon strolled casually towards the barn, unconcerned and completely dry. He was surrounded by a cloud of magic that not only kept the rain from touching his clothing, but dried the ground before he even took another step. By the time he entered the barn, he was as hysterical as Jericho and laughing loudly at me.

“Piece of crap,” I yelled, irritated and freezing.

“Ok, seriously Eden. What is wrong with you?” Avalon asked sarcastically in all his dry clothes glory.

“Avalon, don’t be so hard on her,” Jericho recovered from his fits of laughter to come to my aid, albeit a little mockingly. “Eden can’t help it if she forgets about her magic.”

He smiled mischievously at me and I heard a new guy question, “How is that possible?” The rest of the newcomers eyed me suspiciously as if I was dangerously more than I seemed.

“Hey, hey, hey,” Jericho arrived at my side, placing a gentle hand on my shoulder, simultaneously comforting me and drying my icicle of a body with his magic. “Like I said, she can’t help it, guys,” He smirked playfully, before placing his other hand in front of his mouth to whisper to the group loudly, “She was raised human.”

I pushed Jericho away with mock injury and pretended to pout. I heard the group of boys snicker to each other as I pulled myself together. I finished the dry-out job Jericho had begun, by using my own magic, half warming myself, half proving to the bystanders that I did, in fact, know how to use magic.

When I turned around, Avalon had already taken charge of whatever leadership role was available to him and was introducing himself as much more of a legend than I would ever have given him credit for. I contemplated for a second, joining the group again, but remembered Lilly and decided I couldn’t do anything else until I had checked on her. I began to walk further into the barn but not before Jericho caught up with me.