Cruel Magic (Royals of Villain Academy #1)(10)

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.

“I hope you’ll consider this school a home for as long as you’re with us,” Ms. Grimsworth said as I stepped out of her office. “If you should have any concerns, you can always come to me.”

Professor Banefield set off down the hall with a rhythmic stride. After walking alongside him for a minute, I realized he was a bit bowlegged.

“This building houses the staff offices and residences as well as the junior dorms—for students aged fifteen to seventeen,” he said, and pointed at a door with a gleaming bronze name plaque. “If you need me, you’ll be able to find me here. You’ll be living in the adjacent Ashgrave Hall, which contains the senior dorms—for our students aged eighteen to twenty-one—and our extensive library.”

That name rang a bell. When I’d gotten here with my parents’ attackers, the head guy had called one of them “Ashgrave,” hadn’t he?

“Why Ashgrave?” I asked.

Banefield gave me a quizzical look but answered easily enough. “Each of the ruling families had a hand in creating this university. Yours had the distinction of giving their name to the entire school, but the others each adopted a building.”

Someone who’d been part of the attack was a member of another ruling family. I wasn’t sure what to do with that information.

“Bloodstone, Ashgrave… What are the other ruling families?” That seemed important to know.

“Nightwood, Killbrook, and Stormhurst. This is Killbrook Hall we’re in right now. The classrooms and health center are in Nightwood Tower, which forms a triangle with the two halls. And closer to the lake you’ll find the Stormhurst Building for Physical Fitness.”

Banefield rambled on as he led me down the stairs. “The university seeks to provide all students with both privacy and a communal experience. The senior dorms are set up with ten individual bedrooms around a common living and kitchen area, with a bathroom shared just by the ten or fewer in that dorm. Because of your status, you’ll naturally receive one of the few corner rooms with a little more space and a view of the lake.”

“Naturally,” I muttered, and snapped my mouth shut when he shot me another of those puzzled glances. “So, what happens in this ‘assessment’ thing tomorrow?”