Cruel Magic (Royals of Villain Academy #1)(9)

“You’ve been affected by your time with them, naturally,” the headmistress said. “But as you realize how much they were denying you, how much they stole from you, I expect you’ll adapt quickly. There’s a reason this university is named after your family, Miss Bloodstone. The Bloodstones are one of the five ruling families among the fearmancers. You’ll have great magical gifts that I doubt your kidnappers ever allowed you to use.”

“I don’t have any—” I started, and stopped, shutting my mouth so sharply my teeth clicked. On the landing, with those gorgeous asshole guys, I’d conjured ice. Not a lot of it, but… I hadn’t known what I was doing.

The sensation of power that had come over me hadn’t been joy—that was for sure. No, for one fleeting instant, the divine devil had been afraid.

And I’d drunk in that emotion and transformed it into power, as easily as breathing.

Fuck.

“I’m a fearmancer,” I said quietly as the understanding sank in. “But I never—when I was living with my parents—”

“They would have had ways of suppressing your natural talents,” Ms. Grimsworth said. “Mages of both kinds normally see their magical ability emerge sometime between their fifteenth and sixteenth birthday. For most of your childhood, they wouldn’t have needed to even worry about it.”

Between my fifteenth and sixteenth birthday. Icy fingers wrapped around my gut. The mouse currently nestled against my back, clinging to my shirt—Dad had brought her home just a couple of weeks after my fifteenth birthday.

Deborah had said her job had been to protect me, to let them know if I needed help. Had that really been just a nice way of saying she’d been my guard, watching to make sure my fearmancer magic didn’t emerge despite whatever they were doing to hold it in?

Oh, God. No wonder they hadn’t wanted me to move out or to travel anywhere without them. They must have needed me to stay close so they could work their spells on me.

I closed my eyes against the horror welling up inside me. No. My parents had been protecting me—protecting me from these people who they must have known were searching for me. From the dark magic they practiced. Any horror I felt shouldn’t be because of them but the blood the fearmancers had spilled in my house this morning.

Somehow I didn’t think I could simply say, Well, that’s all lovely, but I’d like to head back to spend the rest of my life with the non-psychopathic mages now, and the fearmancers would fly me back on their private jet in a jiffy.

I looked down at my hands clasped together on my lap. The light from the ornate fixture on the ceiling glinted off the charms along my wrist that Mom and Dad had bought for me over the last nine years. Another wallop of grief hit me without warning.

How long would it take for someone to find them where the fearmancers had left them ravaged? Or had the mages who’d taken me magicked my parents’ bodies away so the murders would never be discovered, and they’d simply vanish from existence?

All the pieces of my life with them, from my childhood through to this morning, were hundreds of miles away. All I had of myself, of my history as their daughter, was that bracelet and the old T-shirt and jeans I’d thrown on for a lazy Sunday morning.

And a telepathic mouse that was part guardian, part guard. Deborah’s furry back shifted against my skin as she adjusted her position. I couldn’t forget her.

Ms. Grimsworth had been waiting in silence as I’d wrestled with her revelations. I sucked in a breath and raised my head. “All right. What happens now? What do you expect me to do?”

She gave me a tight smile that might have been slightly sympathetic. It was hard to tell, her face was so rigid. “It seemed best for you to come here and remain until your education is complete. As the heir to the Bloodstone legacy, you’ll have certain responsibilities. You’re greatly behind in the training you’ll need to complete to fulfill those responsibilities. The Bloodstone properties will be yours when you’re ready to take your full place in society. They’re currently inhabited only by maintenance staff paid for by your fortune.”

I had properties. I had a fortune. This morning I’d been worried about making a couple hundred bucks on a figurine. A hysterical giggle bubbled in my throat.

“Aren’t there any other Bloodstones around who can handle this stuff?” I had to ask.

The headmistress pursed her lips. “Your grandfather served as temporary baron, despite being aged out, until his death seven years ago. He had a brother who took up residence in Portugal decades ago and who hasn’t been heard from in almost as long. Your mother’s younger sister passed away before you were born—a boating accident. By that series of unfortunate circumstances, you are the only definite living Bloodstone in existence.”

Wonderful. Exactly how pissed off would she be if I chose this moment to vomit all over her expensive rug?

I dragged in a breath. Maybe the best option was also the easiest. I could play along for now, right? It wouldn’t be such a bad thing to learn the basics of the magical talent I’d only just discovered. I’d wait for my moment, and then I’d run for the hills—or rather, for California. My parents had friends in the Enclave. Someone had to know what the hell to do.

“I guess it’s up to me, then, huh?” I said with a weak laugh, and stood up. “How do I get started?”