“So what’s this ceremony we’re going to, and why is the High Mage Council there?”

The path ended at the entrance of the glass dome. A bunch of older teachers stood at the doorway, welcoming students inside.

“Well,” Noble said, smirking, “this is a test to see what your elemental affinity is.”

I nodded. Because we were descended from the high mages, albeit watered down and mixed with wolf, we had cool mage powers linked to the elements. This was one of the main reasons we came to the Academy: to learn our elemental affinity and how to harness it. All wolf shifters had greater speed, hearing, sight, smell, and even healing, compared to humans, but alpha heirs also each had an affinity: air, fire, water, or earth power. Our control of the elements, which was only seen in those of royal blood, was extremely limited, compared to the power of the high mages. My dad told me he once saw a high mage drag someone across the room using only his mind. The mages had a whole host of powers.

Elemental magic set us alpha wolves apart from the other shifter breeds and even the rest of the wolves in our pack. My father was a fire elemental. His magic trickled through the pack so that they could also pull on it and use it to a lesser degree at times, including me. If you wanted to see a campfire lit from two feet away, I was your girl. But the power stopped there with the other wolves from our pack.

I assumed I’d be like my father and have fire affinity, which would be great. Then, I’d be able to light Rage on fire with my mind so he didn’t know who did it.

“All right,” I shrugged. “What kind of test?”

Tests and I didn’t usually get along. Like how Rage tested my patience; I was getting a C- there, at best.

Honor chuckled. “This one is easy. You just touch a crystal.”

I frowned, thinking back to the crystal I’d touched before getting on the boat and how it had zapped me. “That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

I could do that.

“What’s your affinities?” I leaned into Noble. “Or is that rude to ask?”

“Rage is right; she never shuts up,” Justice grumbled, stalking off, leaving me with Honor and Noble, the only sane ones.

“Dick!” I shouted at his retreating back, and a few students around us gasped.

Noble’s grin stretched from ear to ear. “Not rude to ask. I’m a water elemental.”

Whoa. So cool.

“I heard water elementals also have a smidge of healing ability,” I said.

He nodded. “Only smaller injuries and cuts, and it doesn’t work on myself. It’s one of those selfless gifts.”

Which explained why I’d want Noble around if I got called in for a “meeting” with the alpha king. Did he torture students? Could he be any more evil? I shook my head, dislodging the disturbing thoughts. “Being selfless must be the pits.”

We burst into laughter, only to be shushed by a teacher standing at an open doorway to a glass-domed building.

“Prince Noble…” Her gaze dropped to our hooked arms, and her mouth popped open.

“Madam Sherky.” Noble dipped his head to the tall, lithe, Midnight woman.

As we entered the open double-doors, Noble leaned into me. “Sorry, Nai, gotta scram. Enjoy the show. I hope you have a cool affinity.”

I let go of him, whispering, “If I’m a water elemental with healing abilities, then I’ll help you when you get hurt. I can be selfless too.”

I was half kidding, but the tender expression that crossed his face made me think he was touched.

He leaned over and kissed my cheek. “You’re too good for this place.”

I stared at his retreating back, his words pinging around my head. My stance remained solid: Midnight Pack was a bunch of psycho backstabbers … except Noble. That boy was sweet as honey. Honor was decent too, but I didn’t know him well enough to call him a friend yet. He was quieter than Noble.

“Psst!” Kaja hissed.

As I scanned the room for her, my jaw dropped.

Holy mage shifter babies.

This room reminded me of a meadow, only inside. Verdant flora occupied much of the space with white creeping vines growing up the sides of the walls all the way to the glass dome ceiling. Glowing white hummingbirds dipped in and out of the space above our heads. Like a magical wedding venue.

I squeezed in next to Kaja and followed her gaze to a raised platform at the front of the room.

Wearing their swirly magical robes, five high mages stood there. Recognizing the one from the portal, I swallowed hard. He’d allowed me to enter, but his magic felt like an inquisition. His deep blue cloak identified him as the most powerful water elemental.

“That’s the high council?” I whispered, staring at the five men.

Rumor was they lived for a millennia before passing on to whatever upper realm of honor the high mages received—allegedly better than what shifters, vampires, or even the “regular” mages inherited. We lived over a century easily, so I wasn’t going to complain. Much.

One of the dudes had silvery-white hair like mine, except he was so wrinkled he might’ve had one foot out of this mortal realm already. The other four were younger, and their scary-as-hell eyes were probably lethal weapons.

Kaja nodded and dropped her voice so low I could barely hear: “My sister told me they possess all of the elemental affinities, but each of them is the master of one.”

I studied their colored silk cloaks. Orange for fire. Blue for water. Brown for earth. White for air.

But the old dude … he wore an iridescent silver robe. Was he like the king of them all? Or so old he was merely honorific? There were only four elements, so something was up with him.

“What about…” I pointed at the old mage. “…that guy? What’s his strongest element?”

Kaja shrugged. “I heard he can raise the dead.”

Raise the dead…?

Chills skittered over my skin, and I spun toward Kaja, my eyes wide.

“Are you serious?” I hissed.

Her expression gave no indication of humor, but I didn’t know her well enough to really have a read on her.

“Just do what they tell you, and you should be fine.”

“That’s not very reassuring,” I muttered.

My attention flitted past the five members of the High Mage Council to the armed soldiers standing behind each of them. Those guys were the epitome of badass—from their modern breastplate armor to the shiny and sharp weapons they carried. Killing machines. One for each. I was admiring their black tactical suits when my gaze fell on the high mage crest patch, and I gasped, realizing who the soldiers were.

“Are those their shields?” I stared at them with hero worship and tried to contain my excitement. Next to the alpha king, these wolf-shifters held the highest positions we could have.

Kaja nodded. “Pretty cool, huh? My second eldest sister is one.” My eyes landed on the fierce redheaded shield standing behind the old dude with her hand at the hilt of a blade.

So freaking cool. I wanted to call my dad just to tell him I’d finally seen one. The High Mage Council was so important that they each had a living person bound to protect them, a shield. The shield would absorb any injury inflicted on the high mage—even death, keeping the high mage alive.