Zodiac Academy: The Awakening(33)
“Screw this,” Tory snapped, kicking her Atlas off of the desk. Orion's arm shot out and the Atlas stopped mid-air, floating back up to sit right back where it had been before on an invisible wind.
He opened his mouth to berate her when the classroom door opened and Principal Nova strode in. She surveyed the scene with a look of interest then smiled at Orion. “How is everyone's first lesson going?”
“Terrible,” I muttered, but she didn't seem to hear me. Orion's eyes flashed my way, confirming he had. I dropped off of my desk, folding my arms as I glared at him. I didn't expect Nova to do anything, not after she'd stood idly by when Caleb had bitten Tory. But maybe the distraction would be enough to put an end to this madness.
“The twins are behind,” Orion told her bluntly. “They don't know a thing about the Orders. Beyond that, they don't have even a basic shield against Coercion and I doubt against any other magic either. So they'll most likely be dead before the end of term.”
My stomach scrunched up into a solid ball and in that moment, I hated him. He was talking as if it was our fault for being so under-prepared. We'd been here one day and spent our entire lives without any knowledge of Fae. How could we be expected to cast shields against magic we'd just found out about?
“Hmm.” Nova glanced our way. “Well that won't do.” She tapped her lower lip. “They'll have to have Liaisons for tuition once a week.”
Orion nodded. “That's the least they need.”
“They'll need the best for the job,” Nova said thoughtfully.
“Right.” Orion scratched the short beard on his chin, suddenly seeming disinterested in the conversation.
“So you'll have to tutor one of them and I'll elect another Professor for the other.”
Orion's bored expression turned to a wall of fury. “I coach Pitball most evenings, I don't have time for that.”
“Yes but you only coach for an hour, then you have the whole evening at your disposal,” Nova said brightly.
“You're right, I'd love to give my private time up for this,” he said dryly and Nova beamed as if she hadn't registered his sarcasm.
The Principal looked to me and pointed. “Tory, you'll be taught by Professor Orion and-”
“I'm Darcy,” I corrected.
“I – er – of course you are,” Nova backtracked. “So you'll be with Orion and Darcy I'll let you know-”
“I'm Tory,” my sister huffed.
“Right er-” Nova started but Orion stepped in.
“Blue, you’re with me.” He pointed at me and I scowled at the nickname.
“Right,” Nova said. “You should start tonight; they need to get on track as soon as possible.”
“Great,” he bit out and my stomach swirled with nerves. Me and him? Liaising? Please no.
“I'll leave you to it then.” The Principal turned on her stilettos and headed out of the room, snapping the door shut behind her.
Orion sighed heavily, marching back to the board with tension in his posture.
“Sir?” Kylie moaned. “Are we not doing Coercion anymore?”
“No,” he growled. “Sit down and shut up. That goes for all of you.”
Tory and I sank back into our seats and my mood took an even darker turn. Spending my evenings in Aer tower with Seth and his friends had already seemed bad enough, but now it looked like it was going to get even worse. Me and Professor Bites-His-Students in a room together. It sounded like the universe was having a really good go at ruining my day. And as I recalled my morning horoscope, I wondered if Professor Orion was a Libra.
AFTER OUR DOUBLE Cardinal Magic class with Professor Asshat, we followed a trailing line of students towards The Orb for lunch. The glimmering golden building was even more breathtaking in the sunlight and I was so caught up in looking at it that I didn't notice the four Heirs standing by the entrance until we were almost on top of them.
Darcy muttered a curse beneath her breath as she spotted them, her fingers curling around my wrist in warning.
I exchanged a loaded glance with her and held my chin high as we drew closer. By some miracle, they didn’t seem to have noticed us and the four of them headed inside before we were forced to pass them.
We merged into a group of excitable juniors who were discussing something called Pitball in loud voices and made our way to the lunch queue unnoticed. I wasn’t going to hide from the Heirs but drawing their attention on purpose seemed like a stupid idea even to me.
“What do you think we should do about the messages from Falling Star?” Darcy asked me as she chewed on her thumbnail.
“I dunno,” I admitted. “It seems like everyone in this place is either threatened by us or wants something from us. And they already dropped us in it with Orion even if their assessment of him was pretty damn funny.”
Darcy snorted a laugh. “I wonder if he really does stink of bourbon?”
“Well you can find out in your private class with him tonight,” I joked and she winced in response.
We made it to a counter where so many meal choices lay waiting for us that I felt like I’d walked into a restaurant instead of a school cafeteria. A sign informed us that we could take anything cold from the display or order hot food for table service.