At least not until Hudson says, “Tell her the real culprits of the Salem Witch Trials weren’t the Puritans.”

What do you mean? Of course they were.

“No, they weren’t. The Witch Trials were a power play by vampires, plain and simple, and the people who died there were pawns in a petty battle that a lot of people hoped would spawn the Third Great War—including my father. But they were wrong.”

39

Salem WTF Trials

My mind is blown, completely blown, by this alternate version of history that Hudson provides. Part of me thinks it’s total BS, but with Dr. Veracruz standing right in front of me looking like she plans to turn me into something slimy if I don’t answer her soon, I decide to just go for it.

I repeat what Hudson explained to me—minus the whole “my father” reference—and one look at her stunned face tells me everything I need to know. Namely that Hudson didn’t lie and that Dr. Veracruz didn’t expect me to know anything about the trials.

The rest of class passes in a blur, largely because Hudson is in a very talkative mood this morning. And since I’m the only person who can hear him, I’m the lucky one who gets to hear all the things about all the things. Lucky, lucky me.

I pack up quickly when the bell rings, determined to get to my Physics of Flight class on time. It turns out Flint is in the advanced class right across from mine, so we end up walking together. Something that, for no reason I can ascertain, makes Hudson cranky as hell.

“Do we really have to spend all day talking to Dragon Boy?” he complains. “What could you two possibly have in common?”

“Oh, I don’t know. How about the fact that we both despise you?” I fire back, not caring that Flint has an amused expression on his face as he watches me chew out the air next to him.

“Believe me, that’s not exactly an exclusive club,” Hudson answers with a snort.

I roll my eyes. “Which should tell you something about your people skills.”

“All it tells me is that people are even more small-minded than I imagined.”

“Small-minded?” I ask incredulously. “Because they didn’t go along with your little ‘conquer the world’ plan? How shortsighted of them.”

Flint barks out a laugh but doesn’t seem to mind that he’s only privy to my side of this ridiculous argument.

“Hey, the world could do a lot worse than to be ruled by me,” he says. “Look around.”

“Wow. Arrogant much?” I ask.

“It’s only arrogant if it’s not true,” he answers and nods toward the stairs that lead to Jaxon’s tower.

I don’t have a clue how to respond to that, so I don’t. Instead, I turn to Flint and ask, “What’s this class about anyway? I mean, is it just the science behind flying or do we learn how to fly? How scared should I be?”

“Most of us learn how to fly long before we get to Katmere,” Flint explains. “So this class deals more with the why than the how of flight. They call it a physics class, but there’s a lot of biology, too, because we learn about the structure and makeup of different wings. And we even dissect a few.”

“You mean they aren’t all the same?” I ask, a little surprised by the idea that wings are so different at the core. I guess I thought it was like anything else—hair, eyes, skin. They’re available in different colors, but when it comes down to important things, they’re the same. They’re all made up of the same biological matter and they all function the same way. The idea that wings aren’t like that is surprisingly fascinating.

Then again, judging by the look on Flint’s face, he’s even more surprised that I assumed they are. “Of course they’re different,” he says. “Dragon wings have to support a creature that weighs thousands of pounds. Pixie wings support creatures who can fit in the palm of your hand. And it’s not just about size—we fly completely differently, too.”

“What do you mean? Isn’t flying flying?”

“Not even a little bit. Pixies can hover over whatever they want for long periods of time. Dragons’ wings are built for speed and distance, while pixies’ wings are built for easy maneuverability. Because pixies are so much smaller and slower—even though their wings flap faster—they can change direction on a dime, while it takes us time to slow down enough to bank hard left or right.”

“So,” I say as we turn down a fairly empty hallway. “I have a question.”

“Will I help you learn to fly? Of course I will. It’ll be so much fun.” Flint grins. “Plus, we still have those pictures for Mr. Damasen to finish.”

“Oh, right. I’m sorry; I totally blanked on that.” I roll my eyes at myself. “Too much going on in my head, I guess. Maybe we can do it this weekend?”

“Yeah, sure. Just let me know what works for you.”

“Great, thanks. And I’m sure I’ll want to take you up on the flying lessons.” I mean, I still can’t believe that I can fly. Me. Under my own power. Because I’m a gargoyle, I mean. When the whole “I have wings” thing came up earlier, the implication of being able to fly was there. But to think about it, to imagine Flint giving me lessons on how not to die while doing it… It’s more than a little overwhelming.

Instead, I focus on something else. Giving the idea time to settle can’t be a bad thing.

“But speaking of flying, I actually had a different question,” I say to Flint.

He turns amused eyes my way. “Yes?”

“You mentioned pixies. How many other species are out there? Are there a lot of other creatures that aren’t at Katmere, ones that I don’t even know exist?”

“Definitely.” He grins. “More than you could ever imagine.”

“Oh.” I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do with that.

My surprise must show, because Flint lifts a brow at me. “Was that not the answer you were looking for?”

“I don’t know—I just… What other kinds of creatures are there? And why aren’t they at Katmere?”

“Because Katmere’s teachers specialize in dragons, werewolves, vampires, and witches,” Flint tells me. “There are other schools out there that specialize in other magical creatures.”

There goes my mind, blowing up all over again. “Like…?”

“Like in Hawaii, there’s a school that specializes in water shifters.”

“Water shifters?” I repeat.

“Yes,” Flint answers with a laugh. He must know what I’m thinking, because he adds, “Mermaids are real. So are selkies and nereids and sirens, among other things.”

“Seriously?” I ask.

“Seriously.” He shakes his head in obvious amusement. “You look dazzled.”

“I feel dazzled.”

“Vegas has Ceralean,” Hudson adds from near my head. “It’s a school for succubi, among others.”

Out of all the mythological creatures, that’s what you come at me with? I give an exaggerated eye roll. A creature known for its sexual appetites?

“Hey, I was just adding to your knowledge base.” The look he gives me is so innocent that I’m amazed he doesn’t have a halo sparkling…right around his feet. “You’re the one who asked.”

I don’t even bother to say anything this time. I just roll my eyes again…at least until I realize Flint is staring at me like he suddenly thinks something is really wrong with me. I’m proven right when he asks, “Umm, do you have something in your eye?”

“Yeah, I just got some dirt in there or something.” I rub my eye. “All better.”

“Really? Dirt in your eye?” Hudson makes a disgusted noise. “Nice to know where I stand.”

Somewhere below an eyelash and above pink eye.

He cracks up, and the sound of it nearly stops me in my tracks. For a guy who’s such a jerk, he’s got a surprisingly nice laugh.

Flint and I turn one more corner, and I’m so busy arguing with Hudson in my head that I don’t realize Jaxon is waiting by my classroom door until I almost run into him.

“You okay?” he asks at the same time Flint says, “Whoa.”

“I’m fine,” I tell them both a little heatedly, annoyed at the way they keep frowning at me in concern. They should try balancing multiple conversations at the same time—especially when one is in their head, where no one else can hear it or keep up.

“Let’s be real,” Hudson says. “It’s not like either of them would be able to keep up even if they could hear. The two of them are more brawn than brain, if you ask me.”

It’s so blatantly untrue that I don’t even bother to get offended. Instead, I poke him back because I can…and because riling him up is too much fun not to at least try. You’re just jealous because you don’t have any brawn at the moment.

“Yeah, that’s what I’m jealous of.”

There’s something fleeting in his tone that gives me pause, but it’s gone so fast that I don’t have a chance to figure out what it is.

Plus, Flint chooses just then to say, “I’ve got to get to class. But hit me up about those flying lessons soon. You’re going to need them for Ludares.”

I wave at Flint, then lean forward and slide my arms around Jaxon’s waist and smile up at him as he does the same. “Sorry I missed out on seeing you at breakfast this morning. I was so tired, I didn’t wake up until fifteen minutes before class started.”

He smiles back. “That’s actually why I stopped by. I thought you might want to meet me at the library after art. I have to make up a midterm from yesterday during lunch today, but I thought we could spend some time tonight researching how to kill the Unkillable Beast.”

“Awww, how cute. Little Jaxy-Waxy wants a study date.” Hudson sneers.