Lucas noticed my gaze. “Jamie’s had a rough go of it, but he’s one of the most skilled illusionists at Imperium. Not really my story to tell, but I have no doubt you’ll hear the gossip soon enough. Just don’t believe everything you hear.”
I nodded, respecting the privacy everyone was entitled to, even though I was painfully curious now. So Jamie was an illusionist. That was powerful magic, and usually reserved for axis members of a shield, but wasn’t unheard of in warriors either.
The session ended shortly after, and the guys gathered their gear.
“Great Hall in thirty?” Theo suggested, running a hand through his damp hair as he approached.
I tried very hard to keep my eyes in respectable places.
“I think I’ll grab some coffee first,” I said, standing up. “I’ll meet you there.”
Rowan made a disgusted face. “Coffee? So American.”
“What’s wrong with coffee?”
“Nothing,” Phoenix said with a chuckle, “if you prefer drinking liquid tar over a nice cup of tea.”
“Tea is just sad water,” I muttered.
“Uncultured,” Lucastsked.“We’ve got so much to teach you.”
I rolled my eyes, waving them off. “See you in there then. Don’t take too long on your makeup.”
Their snickers followed me as I exited into the misty morning. I decided to cut through the grove Marcus had mentioned—dozens of oak trees lining a narrow path. The mist gave everything a mystical, eerie feel.
Midway, I spotted something skittering between the trees. It was small and humanoid—or so I could have sworn. I froze,instinctively reaching for my magic, just in case. The creature vanished around a tree, leaving me wondering if I’d imagined it.
Settledin the Great Hall with my coffee, I watched Theo’s face scrunch in disgust as he slid onto the bench across from me. The others followed, arranging themselves around the table for breakfast. I wrapped my hands around the warm mug and leaned forward. “So, are we going to talk about the tiny creature things darting between trees in the grove?”
I couldn’t let it go. There was something weird about this place and I was going to get to the bottom of it. Dominion never had this problem.
Rowan chuckled. “Had a run-in with a pixie, ay?”
“Pixies? Like...actualpixies?”
“The grove is full of them,” Phoenix said, buttering his toast. “They’re mostly harmless unless you’ve got something shiny.”
“They’re little thieves,” Jamie added. “One took my watch last year.”
“Fantastic,” I muttered. “Yet another thing they left out in the transfer papers.”
Lucas leaned in. “This place is ancient. Centuries older than Dominion. The foundations were laid directly over the site of the First Crossing, so naturally, our magic saturates everything. It settled into the earth for miles surrounding the campus.” He tapped his fingers on the wooden table, leaving faint traces of blue light where they touched. “It attracts all manner of creatures you won’t find back in America unless you’re deep in the wilderness where humans haven’t already ruined habitats. So be careful wandering off alone. Those pixies?” He glanced toward the window. “They’re the least of your concerns.”
I stared at Lucas, the mug of coffee pausing halfway to my lips. I was suddenlyveryinterested in this place. Pixies and magical creatures were not things I was used to dealing with back home.
I knew there were things in this world that humans considered mythology. I had a vague idea of which legends and myths were actually rooted in reality, but I never thought I would see them myself. Dominion had been sterilized, built like a fortress to keep things out. Imperium, it seemed, had simply grown out of the magic itself, inviting the hidden world to take up residence in its shadows.
The fact that Imperium was built directly over the site of the First Crossing from our home worlds was complete news to me. Something odd and heavy settled deep in my chest. I lowered my mug to the table, my fingers suddenly numb.
This was it. This was the exact site of my ancestor’s final sacrifice. The original Ophis had been the one to create the massive portal that allowed the Aelari to cross over into this world. And when the horde of bane had threatened to follow them through, threatening to consume this new, untouched earth, he had made the ultimate choice. He’d gone back through the portal, stepping into the void of space, and sealed it from the other side. He fended off the horde alone, giving the rest of the Zodiacs a chance to get away, a chance to survive and build the very institution I was sitting in today.
“You okay, Jupiter?” Rowan asked. “You went a bit pale there.”
“I’m fine,” I murmured, clearing my throat and shaking the dazed look out of my eyes. “I just... I didn’t realize. That means the original portal was opened right here. Where we’re sitting.”
Theo nodded. “Beneath us, actually. Deep in the subterranean levels of the academy. The area is completely sealed off.”
My ancestor had died down there. Or, at least, he’d been lost to the bane down there. And now I was sleeping directly above his grave.
