To my relief, Cassius stepped back with a cold glare to the other man. I turned to him to see if he’d back down too—and was surprised to find that his eyes, which were blue as a winter sky moments before, were now filled with quicksilver. He must be a shapeshifter.

His eyes stayed on the prince until he’d moved a few feet away. Only then did he relax and look at me.

“Numair,” he said, giving me an appraising look. “And you are?”

Before I could reply, my mother’s voice rang out as she swept from my room. “She is Liliana, daughter of the great Fortunata, Master of the Four Elements,” she announced grandly.

I winced at the formality and cleared my throat. “Liliana Batista,” I said, rolling my eyes where only he could see. Numair inclined his head to my mother and held out his hand first to me, then her with a charming smile I couldn’t help but return. It looked like I’d be living with one gentleman at least.

Shuffling to one side made me turn in time to see Cassius disappearing into his room—plate of Pop-Tarts in his hand. Numair’s lip curled back in a silent snarl. “What a dick,” he muttered.

My mother made a pointed coughing noise and I smothered a laugh as I said, “Well, nice to meet you,” and turned back to my room, taking her with me.

If that was how she was going to be with my roommates, I was definitely ready for her to go. As she started to settle herself back on my bed, I cleared my throat. “I think I’ve got the hang of it now,” I said, projecting confidence in my voice.

Mother frowned. “I want to make sure you’re all set with everything,” she protested.

I tried to be patient and started to nod—but something made me push. “With you here, people are more likely to be wary of me,” I said reasonably. “They’ll learn exactly who I am and how powerful soon enough, but if I’m going to start gaining their trust—”

“Say no more,” she said, giving me a rare nod of approval. I couldn’t even enjoy the tiny glimmer of pride, because she immediately demanded, “You will send me updates through the ravens, yes? Every other day.”

Her tone implied the question was rhetorical, but I still gritted my teeth and ventured, “How about every week? I’ll be handling a full course load on top of my mission.”

But she shook her head. “Absolutely not. You will report to me every other day to start, then we can move to weekly if I feel you’re progressing well enough.” Which probably means never.

I swallowed a groan but gave up. Mother cast one last critical eye over the place and me, then patted my head. The door was closed before I even realized she was leaving.

***

A couple hours later, I had finally finished putting my things away. I had far more than I ever would have packed on my own, but of course Mother had to make sure I had clothes and accessories for every occasion. I was just glad the room had enough storage to fit it all.

It was a grand room, not as large as mine at home, but cozier, or rather it would be if I’d chosen the colors. Gold and crimson weren’t my thing, but they were the great Fortunata’s, so no surprise my room was decorated with rose tapestries and golden accents. I didn’t mind though—it was like a little piece of home.

At the moment, however, I was sick of looking at it for so long and left to the common area—only to run smack into a hard, muscled chest.

I stumbled back and quickly found my footing. “Excuse me,” I responded coolly as I looked up into the bright green eyes staring down at me. “Watch where you’re going.”

The new guy crossed his thick arms over his broad chest and rumbled out a laugh. “That’s funny coming from a sorcerer’s child,” he said, voice dripping with condescension. “What are you going to do? Huff and puff and blow me down?”

Ah, you’re one of those, I thought, annoyed I’d be living with the type of closed-minded meathead who dismissed magic users—usually because they couldn’t do what we could.

But I just shrugged, deciding I could show him better than I could tell him why that was a mistake. I opened my mouth and called up the crackling energy that was always waiting, lying dormant in my chest. I breathed deep into my lungs, feeling my power grow as they expanded, then I locked eyes with him and sighed.

From the soft sound, a hurricane of wind shot out of my mouth to roar around the room and slam straight into his chest. His back hit the wall with a satisfying thud, pinning him there until the magic was spent, then he slumped down to the ground, his shaggy brown hair in disarray as he studied me, caution in his eyes.

I strolled over to a lamp that had fallen over and casually righted it. “That sorceress enough for you?”

I wasn’t sure how he’d take it, worried for a second that I’d over done it on impulse again, but thankfully, he just picked himself up and laughed. “More than enough,” he conceded, holding out a hand. “I’m Alceste.”

He bared his teeth in a twisted but somehow still charming grin. The kind of smile that made you want to get in trouble with him. I was unsurprised to see his gleaming, elongated canines. Right, I should have known. Vampires were notorious blowhards who prized their physical capabilities above all else. I was definitely right to assert myself now.

“Liliana,” I said, deciding to leave the rest off; he’d find out soon enough.

I shook his hand, his grip cool and not overly tight like I was expecting, and was about to step away when he said, “I was about to head to orientation. Would you like to join me?”

I laughed. “Oh, now you’re all friendly?”

He grinned again, unphased. “I’m friendly with anyone who doesn’t try to steal my food. I heard that’s going to be a problem,” he said in a conspiratorial whisper as he held open the door for me.

Careful now, I shrugged. “Remember, he’s the prince. We can’t antagonize him.” It was the safest answer to give a stranger, but to my surprise, he snorted.

“I’m not afraid of the king’s heir,” he said derisively. “Perhaps a little of the king himself, but I refused to bow down to that spoiled prick.”

The smartest thing to say was nothing, so that was exactly what I did. Alceste seemed content to walk in companionable silence though, which left me free to admire the campus. I hadn’t been able to running after my mom, but now…

Late-blooming gardens sprang up in all the green spaces with statues of villains, their familiars and magic beasts dotted throughout. There was no shortage of trees, and now in the fall their leaves were bursts of red, yellow, and orange, the rainbow swirling everywhere and making it all seem magical. Mother would scold me for such fanciful thoughts, but…Mother wasn’t here.

We headed into a majestic sweeping building with large stained-glass windows, carved of the same dark stone as everything else. I followed Alceste through a pair of huge double doors into a wide-open space that looked more like a ballroom than the auditorium we were to report to. The only difference was the large stage, curtains currently drawn, at the end.

The room was packed. There were booths along the walls and set up in rows that displayed the different clubs and organizations. Students were mingling, moving from group to group, and there was a general roar of voices, laughter—and a few screams here and there.

From the doorway I could see the Archer Assassins club, for those who liked to kill from a distance with a bow and arrows. Then there were the Silver Blood Blades, for those who liked to kill with swords—not to be confused with the Silent Blade Brotherhood, for those who liked to kill with smaller, hidden blades. I ignored them. But the Sorcerer’s Circle, for those who preferred the art of killing with the elements, I made a note to try to meet later on.

For now, I stuck with Alceste, figuring I should ingratiate myself with at least one roommate, especially one who didn’t seem to hold much respect for the crown. But then he got caught up in a conversation with the Sanguine Connoisseurs club for blood-enthusiast vampires, and I got bored.

“Hey,” I said, nudging him, “I’m gonna go roam.”

He paused long enough to shoot me a smile. “I’ll find you later.”

I nodded and went to move around the room, watching the different groups and trying to dissect the dynamics. There were people from all over the kingdom crowding in the hall, and these were just the first years. How the hells am I supposed to find one mole in all this? I had no idea, and standing in the stifling ballroom wasn’t helping.

Air. I needed air. There was a side door that opened to a courtyard and I slipped through it, glad to be away from the crush of people. I followed one of the paths to a grassy area dotted with trees, but as I made my way over, I saw someone had beaten me to the spot. A man with dark hair, bent over what looked like a sketch pad.

Curious, I moved closer, and he didn’t seem to hear me. I peered over his shoulder, drawn to the image. It was a woman…with my face.

Lying in a pool of blood with a gorgeous bolo knife plunged into her chest.

I gasped, stumbling back, and the artist’s head whipped to me. Cold flooded my veins as I met his eyes—completely white as he stared up at me, lost in a psychic trance.