Cruel Magic (Royals of Villain Academy #1)(8)

“With joymancers,” Declan said. “Which as far as I can tell amounts to almost the same thing. Their house could have fit in the front hall three times over. They do like to show off their modesty.”

“Wait,” I said, prodding him in the chest. “Did you get yourself invited along on the rescue party? Why the hell didn’t you tell us anything?”

Declan’s chin came up. “They asked me at the last minute. Said it’d be good for her to have one of the other scions there—someone who’d have an idea what she might have gone through. We weren’t supposed to tell anyone until we’d pulled it off.”

Declan’s mother had been killed in the same confrontation-turned-massacre where joymancers had claimed the lives of both the Bloodstones of our parents’ generation. Sometimes I forgot that little piece of his past, because I’d only been three when it’d happened, so I didn’t really remember it in the first place.

No one talked about the skirmish much anyway. It was kind of a sore spot among the older mages.

“You could have introduced her and saved her a little trouble.” I peered toward the hall the girl had disappeared down, a tickle of exhilaration rising through my chest. So, that was the Bloodstone scion. She hadn’t had any more idea who we were than we had about her. Totally fitting that she’d have started asserting dominance the second she’d walked into Blood U.

She’d be embarrassed when she found out who she’d actually been messing with. I had to smile, imagining her reaction.

Despite the shabby clothes, she’d been awfully easy on the eyes. And that brash spirit… Oh, yes, spring term had just gotten ten times more exciting.

“No one knows how much she knows about who she is or what happened to her,” Declan said. “From the way she was acting, I don’t think she had any idea. Grimsworth wanted to talk with her first.”

“We’ll give her a little time to settle in,” I said magnanimously, rubbing my hands together. “Find out what dorm they stick her in. We can stop by after dinner and give her a chance at re-doing first impressions.”

Having a Bloodstone at the school… I wasn’t going to let that tip the balance very much. The four of us who ruled Blood U and would someday rule the whole fearmancer shebang together—we’d had each other’s backs for years. She’d have to prove herself ready to respect and return that kind of allegiance before we’d fully welcome her into our circle, the final point on the pentacle.

We’d make it clear who ran things around here and go from there. Once she got the picture, I had the feeling it’d be a productive friendship.

My thoughts slid back to the fierceness in her dark blue eyes when she’d tried to stare me down, the flush of color in her pale cheeks. Maybe more than friendship if I got my way. And, let’s be honest, I usually did.





Chapter Four





Rory





I stared at the headmistress of Bloodstone University for the space of a few heartbeats before I regained control over my vocal chords.

“I think there’s been a mistake,” I said. “I would definitely remember if my name was something as weird as Persephone Bloodstone. I’m Lorelei Franco. Usually I go by Rory. Nice to meet you.” I raised my hand in an awkward little wave.

Maybe I should have said “horrible to meet you,” but from Ms. Grimsworth’s pinched expression, I had the feeling that wouldn’t have gone over well. I still didn’t have a lot of options here.

The headmistress looked down at a few papers spread in front of her on her desk. A sharp ashy smell drifted past my nose from a cone of incense set on a burner on a nearby shelf. It made my stomach turn.

“You’ve been living with Lisa and Rafael Franco, yes?” she said. “For how long?”

“For—for as long as I can remember. They adopted me when I was two years old.”

Ms. Grimsworth hummed to herself. “They or their colleagues kidnapped you, Miss Bloodstone. Did you know that they were mages—that they could wield magic?”

I nodded slowly. “Yes. They didn’t keep that a secret from me. But why—”

“There are two types of magic-workers in this world,” Ms. Grimsworth said. “The people who raised you were joymancers, working with feelings of elation. You’ve now met the first fearmancers I’d imagine you’ve had a chance to associate with in your memory.”

“Fearmancers. Mages who use fear?” I said, as if Deborah hadn’t already explained that much. Otherwise she might wonder why I wasn’t more surprised.

“Exactly. Our communities have often been at odds. Seventeen years ago, a group of joymancers interrupted several fearmancers in the middle of conducting their business. Your birth parents were there, along with you. They were killed in the attack, and the joymancers took you with them when they fled the scene. We’ve spent significant resources over those years trying to track you down. They hid you well, but not well enough to foil us completely.”

Her beady eyes glinted with satisfaction, as if the brutal murders of my real parents, the ones who’d raised me, were something to celebrate. My stomach churned.

Even if everything she’d just said was true, why the hell wouldn’t mages like Mom and Dad have wanted to get a little kid away from a “community” like this? They’d been trying to give me a better life.