Supernatural Academy: Year One (Supernatural Academy #1)(12)

I found both of them grinning broadly at me. “What?” I snorted, hands on hips.

“Your human is showing, girl,” Ilia said, ruffling her gorgeous hair, before jumping to her feet. “I’m going to have to leave the explaining to Larissa; I’ve got a ton of paperwork to do before my date with a shifter tonight.” She paused. “Oh, and I programmed your door to recognize both Larissa’s and my energy, so if you ever need us to grab anything from here, just press your hand to the panel and add us to the access screen.”

I nodded. She’d shown me how to unlock my room, which was keyed to my energy. No one could enter it without my permission, which was a huge relief.

Ilia left in a flurry of red hair and energy, and then it was just Larissa and me.

“To answer your question,” Larissa said, “some of the myths are true. Occasionally we’ve slipped up and exposed ourselves to a human. Stories get around after that, and a myth is born. For the most part, all supernaturals share very similar traits. We’re strong, fast, and heal quickly. We have an average life span of eight hundred years, and we’re immune to most human diseases and worries.”

I coughed. “Eight. Hundred. Years?”

All of my blinking was making my eyes itch, but I couldn’t seem to stop doing it. She might have broken my head. “I’m going to live for eight hundred fucking years?”

Larissa actually chuckled at me. “I’m not sure they’ll be fucking years, but yep, you should live that long. You know, if you don’t piss anybody off.”

We both laughed, and I dropped down next to her.

“So Atlanteans came first,” I said, getting it all straight in my head, “and then that land sank, and the other supes crossed from Faerie after that? And there are four races, which are all kind of similar, just with a few unique powers to differentiate them?”

Larissa sat up straighter. “Wow, you’ve already deduced a lot about our world, considering you’ve only been in it for a few hours. That’s pretty accurate, and the demi-fey of course, which is a whole other story.”

Like I could ever forget Mossie.

“This is a huge logic puzzle. I enjoy putting all the pieces together.”

Larissa dropped back again. “Here are some more pieces for you. Vampires need extra blood to fuel our cells. We can’t regenerate them fast enough on our own. The added benefit of this is, the more blood we drink, and the fresher that blood is, the stronger we become. We’re the fastest of all supes and can use compulsion to control those weaker than us.” I gasped, and she shook her head quickly. “Don’t worry about it, it’s very rarely used, because if you lose control, you’re going to have a pissed-off supe on your hands.”

Un-fucking-believable.

“And shifters … self-explanatory?”

She nodded. “Yep, there are multiple shifter animals, and they’re usually part of a pack—named so because the wolf shifters are the strongest species within that race. They’re powerful and loyal, very close to nature, and they’re touchy-feely, so don’t think twice when they hug you for no reason.”

Her hand snaked over and she linked her arm through mine. “All supes like to touch, actually. It’s for comfort, you know.”

I’d spent most of my life trying not to get touched by fucked-up dudes, but I had to admit, this sort of friendly hand squeeze did feel nice.

Pulling back, I continued, “Fey?”

Larissa cleared her throat. “Last to cross from Faerie. They’re elemental. They like to play with fire, wind, water, etcetera. They’re close to nature as well, and they always look so put together. Something about them just seems … unruffled.”

With a snort, I dropped my head onto the soft bed. “Guess I know why witch was the logical choice for me.”

There was absolutely nothing put together about me or my appearance.

Larissa chuckled. “Magic users are scary powerful because they can use supernatural energy and turn it into magic. There’s almost no limit to what you guys can do, and that makes it a strong race to be part of.”

It wouldn’t matter to me. I was just excited not to be on a smelly bus right now trekking across some random state.

“Have you ever done any magic?” Larissa asked, rolling to her side so she was facing me.

I shrugged. “I’m not sure. There have been a few unexplainable things. Like … sometimes when I’m in danger, I’m suddenly extra strong and can throw a full-grown man across the room. And I’ve … influenced people before. I didn’t realize it at the time, but looking back, it was definitely beyond just a normal sweet-talking. It was more like having a power of persuasion.” Like that vampire thing she’d spoke of. “One time I stopped a car from running over a little kid. I moved so fast, which I chalked up to adrenaline, but … now... Lots of things like that have happened in my life ... but I’ve never actually said a magic spell or anything.”

She nodded. “That all sounds like magic to me. They do use words to cast spells, but it’s more about manipulating your energy inside. You should feel it swirling in there, especially when you’re highly emotional.”

Outside of that heat when I found my mother, I couldn’t think of another time I’d felt a “swirl of power.”