The Academy was bigger than I imagined. The entire school was spread out in different buildings over several acres of land, the main building which held the dining hall was my favorite because it held the dining hall. We were stopped there now.

“We’ll end our tour here,” Sarin announced. Despite speaking for the entirety of our tour her voice was as bright as ever.  “Hope everyone’s hungry because it’s time for lunch.” Just as she'd finished speaking, a loud bell rang and students started to pour out from their classrooms.

I could hear snippets of everyone’s conversation, the once empty hallways now buzzing with noise and everyone seemed headed towards the dining hall.

“Oh my Cron, it’s only the first day and the math teacher already gave us-“

“Did you see the new-“

“I heard Prince Itarus-“

Prince Itarus.

That name brought a shiver down my spine, as if the words themselves were tracing a path down my bones.

I wondered if he was already here. Great, now I was thinking about him but that thought didn't last long as the double doors to the dining hall opened, and by Cron’s eye, it was bigger than any dining hall I’d ever seen. It was even bigger than the one in the palace back home. 

Rows upon rows of dark, rich wooden tables were placed neatly in line with one another, and the benches sat empty ready to support hungry students. There was one huge chandelier hanging in the middle of the room, providing soft light that reached each corner of the room. The walls were windows, so that you could see outside into the Academy’s garden and infamous maze – which during the tour Sarin had warned us to not wander into for there were many students before us that went in, only to never reappear.

Sarin clapped her hands loudly, gaining our attention once more.

“Okay, if you look over there,” she pointed to a table at the very end of the hall, “you’ll see our kitchen, staffed by the finest cooks in the Elfin lands. You can request food there or,” she pointed to the equally empty table next to the one she had previously pointed at, “go to the shop and buy something there,” 

She focused her gaze back to us. “Any questions?” 

Everyone just looked at everyone else, the silent question passing through each eye – who was going to ask her why she'd just pointed to empty tables?

A thin hand rose in the midst, and we all sighed a collective breath of relief.

The guy who had raised his hand was handsome in a classic way, cheekbones high and sharp, steel eyes soft, his long hair- darker than night tied neatly in a low, loose ponytail. He carried himself with ease as if unbothered by anyone and everyone.

“That store,” the long-haired guy questioned, and we all held our breath.

Yes, thank you beautiful classmate for asking.

“does it sell ice cream?”

What?

Everyone turned to stare at him.

“Yes, of course. They sell all kind of different flavors.” Sarin seemed happy to answer.

“Even strawberry flavor?” Long haired guy was completely serious.

What..was this guy.

“Yup! Even strawberry flavor, I’ve had it myself, our chefs make it by hand so it’s super delicious. You guys all must have some for dessert. It’s to die for.” Sarin placed a hand over her heart. 

Her face held a dreamy far off look, the same expression on the long-haired guy who’d ask, and I swore I could see the drool coming out of their mouths.

“Ah, almost forgot,” Sarin reached into the pockets of her blazer, looking for something. 

She pulled out a stack of papers that shouldn’t have been able to fit in those small pockets. “I have your class schedules, which I’ll distribute now.” As she spoke the papers started to fly, one by one to their respective owners, floating in front of our faces.

I grabbed mine and examined it. I had 7 classes per day. Math in the morning, then ancient tongue, next magic training, then lunch. After lunch there was physical activity, history, and home rec. and then club activity. I tucked the paper into my jacket pocket wondering what club activity was.

“Alright, get your lunches before the line gets too long,” Sarin warned. She ushered us the line which already had at least 50 people waiting. 

“Don’t worry,” she soothed, giving us a reassuring wink. “It goes super quick.”

The girl in front of me whirled her head back towards me, so quickly that her shoulder length blonde hair almost hit me in the face. 

She was cute looking, like a little blond puppy with freckles covering most of her face. Her wide brown eyes looked into my own as she said, “My name’s Lyra. I’m here because I can turn into a spider. How about you?” She said all this in one breathe without pausing. 

Although, I was taken aback this - was my chance to make a friend. “Uh hi, I’m Sunny, uh, I guess I’m here because I can-“ what could I do exactly? “I can conjure up the sunlight?” 

Lyra blinked at this. “You’re Princess Sunny?” she asked, her brown eyes got wider than I thought possible. 

“Yes…” 

“You’re the one engaged to Prince Itarus?” 

Him again.

“Yeah, that’s me.” 

“Oh my Cron,” she squealed as if that was the best thing she’d heard. 

“I can’t believe you’re her. You’re so lucky. He’s so hot. He’s not my favorite out of the group but he’s my bias wrecker I can’t,” she practically oozed fan girl glee.

“The group?” What was this girl talking about?

“Stop,” she looked at me as if I’d committed a crime. “don’t tell me you don’t know The Group.”

I shook my head, utterly confused.

“Sunny, how can you not know? Your fiancé is apart of the infamous four!”

I only managed a weak smile.

“Okay listen up, The Group is the Academy’s finest. Crown Prince Itarus is their leader, and then there’s the Angel and the Devil-”

“The what and what?”

“Oh, that’s just their nicknames,” she explained. “They’re identical twins but they only look the same, their personalities are so different. Cassidy is our angel, Gabriel, the devil.” She paused, only stopping to take a breathe “Then we have June, my favorite, he’s so dreamy. He’s the easiest to spot because of his red hair, he’s also the star of the flight team at the Academy. I went to-" Lyra stopped talking for the first time since she’d open her mouth.

Actual screams rose in the hall and I turned to where Lyra's attention was now focused on in a laser beam stare. 

The Group.