Cruel Magic (Royals of Villain Academy #1)(12)

The woman who’d carted the box out reemerged. “Yep, we’re good to go. I set up the wardrobe like Ms. Grimsworth wanted, too. Come on, Miss Bloodstone. Let me show you.”

Victory’s eyes burned a hole in my back as I followed the woman over.

With the two of us and Banefield in the bedroom, there wasn’t much standing room left. A queen-sized bed filled about half of the space. Across from it, a small mahogany desk and chair sat beneath a huge picture window that showed the field between the hall and the athletic building as well as the sparkling water of a huge lake farther beyond that. A wardrobe that stretched almost to the ceiling stood against the wall next to the door.

The woman tugged open the wardrobe’s doors. Silky blouses and dresses and several pairs of slacks hung in a row. Every piece was sleek and posh. A fearmancer’s clothes.

“I bought undergarments and the like for you—new, of course,” the woman said, motioning to the drawers at the bottom of the wardrobe. “They said you wouldn’t be coming with much. If the sizing’s off, just pass on the word to someone from maintenance. We had to go by the initial observations. There are a few pairs of shoes in there too—you can see if they fit. Harder to tell feet sizes. From the looks of you, they were right that her clothes should work.”

“Her clothes?” I repeated.

“Your mother’s. We picked out a selection from the estate that seemed appropriate for university life.” The woman flashed me a grin. Then her expression turned more serious. “We wanted you to have something from your family as you get started here.”

My mother. Something from my family. The Bloodstones, they meant. The birth mother I couldn’t even remember. Not the one whose literal blood had drenched my hands less than a day ago.

A prickling rushed up behind my eyes before I could catch it. “Thank you,” I said, as quickly as I could manage without being a total ass. “I, um, this is great. I think I just need to lie down for a few minutes.”

“Yes, of course. I’ll see you in the morning.” Banefield ushered the woman out of the room and closed the door. The second it thudded shut, I sank onto the edge of the bed.

Deborah scurried down the back of my shirt and poked her little white head out from under the hem. Lorelei, if you—

“Not right now,” I whispered hoarsely, and just like that, the tears I’d been holding in from the moment I’d woken up spilled out in a torrent. I bowed my head into my hands and let grief take over.





Chapter Five





Rory





The first sound that penetrated my cloud of grief was Victory’s caustic voice carrying through my bedroom door, pitched in a low but pointed way to give her plausible deniability while she fully intended to be overheard.

“I heard the Bloodstones have always been bitches. ‘Oh, really, I’ll take whatever room’s available,’ as if she didn’t know they’d already kicked me out of the one she wanted. Looks like the line runs true.”

At least a couple of someones twittered with laughter in response.

I rubbed my stinging eyes and pushed myself upright where I’d curled up on the bed. My head was muggy, and my stomach pinched with hunger. It had to be well past my usual dinner time now.

Mom had been planning a roast. I’d seen it thawing in the fridge this morning, less than a day and what felt like hundreds of years ago.

I inhaled shakily and resisted the pull of another wave of tears. Crying wasn’t going to help me. If I was going to get through this, I needed to pull myself together.

Tiny claws tickled the back of my hand. Deborah the mouse peered up at me from the bedspread. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to prepare you better. I didn’t know about you being a scion. I was going to tell you the fearmancer part in the car, but there wasn’t time. If I communicate with you like this around them, they might pick up on it.

“It’s okay,” I said under my breath, with sharp awareness of how easily voices could travel through the door. “If you can talk to me like that, can you cast other kinds of spells too?”

Unfortunately, no. It’s part of the familiar bond. A mage can tie their spirit to an animal, and there’s a certain mental connection… Regular animals wouldn’t be able to communicate in words like this, of course. I only can because my mind is human.

“My parents created the bond,” I said. They must have, in some way I hadn’t noticed at the time.

So I could watch out for you in ways you didn’t realize you needed, Deborah said.

“Yeah.” I wished they’d thought they could trust me with those revelations. “I guess we should find a home for you somewhere in here. I don’t want to know what the assholes here would do if they found out I’ve brought a disguised joymancer along with me.”

Yes, good thinking. I’d rather not discover the consequences either. Her furry body shivered.

I poked around the room with Deborah perched on one of my palms, and we decided my sock drawer would make an ideal hiding spot. The notch in the front for pulling the drawer open was just big enough for her to squeeze in and out, and if a few mouse hairs got on my socks, I didn’t think anyone would be looking closely enough to notice.

My stomach grumbled more insistently. Was there anywhere to get food on campus? Professor Banefield hadn’t mentioned a cafeteria.