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Oberon didn’t even seem to notice my attempt to get under his skin. He was like a magical fucking robot. “You will be enrolled in Magic Blessed Academy. It’s a training program for people just like you, those who have been gifted with magic despite having no magical blood in their family line. I just sent word to the school that you will be arriving through the portal in one week. That should give you enough time to get your affairs in order and pack whatever you’d like to bring with you. We do ask that you leave all weapons behind.”
“Well.” I huffed a breath. “Then I don’t have any luggage to bring.”
No one seemed to get my attempt at humor. Oberon kept that same placid smile on his face and continued without skipping a beat. “The portal will appear right here in your living room. Make sure that you’re alone at exactly this time one week from today. The portal will be made specially for you. Anyone who is not invited will be blocked from entering. And let me just warn you, it’s not very friendly to an unauthorized person trying to pass through.”
I nodded. “Got it. One week from today, be right here to jump through a portal. Don’t bring any of my boyfriends or my dealer with me.”
No reaction to that either. Gods, these people were no fucking fun at all.
Oberon stood and nodded at me, motioning to the others with a wave of his hand. They headed out the door and closed it behind them, leaving me sitting in my rickety kitchen chair, wondering what the hell had just happened. They had disappeared from my apartment just as quickly as they’d appeared.
I rose on shaky legs and grabbed my keys from the counter. I had agreed to go to this Magic Blessed Academy, and that was that. I hated the fact that I had to do it, and I hated even more that I knew it was the best thing for me. Oberon had been right about one thing. A person who couldn’t control their magic was a danger to themselves and others. And my attempt to fight off him and his little squad had proved pretty clearly that I didn’t know what the hell I was doing.
Grabbing the door handle, I flung the door open—but it stopped short, almost pulling my shoulder out of joint. Glancing at the chain, I realized Oberon had put everything back together as they’d left. I breathed deeply through my nose, trying to keep my impending freak-out at bay. The best thing I could do for myself was go a couple rounds with a punching bag at the gym.
I headed over to the rundown boxing gym to meet up with Vin. A couple of the guys whistled as I walked in, and I gave them the finger with a grin.
“Where you been?” Vin’s gruff voice called out as soon as I entered, making me grimace. “You were supposed to be here an hour ago.”
I walked toward his office door where he was yelling from. Sticking my head around the doorframe, I pulled a face. “Sorry. I had something kinda strange happen to me, and I was held up.”
The slight glow of magic still surrounded my body. None of the guys out on the main floor had noticed when I walked in, but that was only because they hadn’t been expecting it. They had no reason to think I would suddenly develop magical powers.
Vin didn’t even look up, just waved me in and motioned to shut the door. I did as he asked and dropped my gym bag on the floor before plopping down in the chair across from his old, wobbly desk. He finished writing in an old leather ledger and glanced up at me as he flipped it closed. “So, w
hat happened?”
I’d spent the entire walk over wondering what the hell I was going to tell Vin, but the second he caught sight of me, I knew I wouldn’t have to tell him anything. He already knew.
“Apparently, I’ve acquired some sort of new magic.” I held my hands out helplessly, glancing down at my pale, glowing skin.
Vin had gone perfectly still, and I knew that wasn’t a good sign. I continued anyway, fully aware that I was going to have to get this all out whether I liked it or not. “I was attacked by some guys on the way home from the fight last night—”
He opened his mouth, concern reflecting in his eyes, but I waved him off before he could speak.
“I’m fine. I kicked their asses. But the thing is, I used magic to do it. Then some magical police showed up at my house today and pretty much told me I have to go to school and learn how to use my magic. I leave in a week.”
That was the simplest, clearest explanation I could give, but Vin blinked at me as if I’d just started speaking in a foreign language. As if nothing I’d said made sense.
Well, it hadn’t.
This was all entirely insane. But I was coming to accept that it wasn’t just a nightmare. It was real.
He shook his head, pushing his ledger away from him. “That’s not possible. You don’t have magic in your family.”
“I know.”
“So how come you have magic?”
“I don’t know.”
“And now you gotta go to some special school?”
“Yeah.”
Vin put down his pen and let out a long, deep sigh. He looked like he was at a loss for words for a moment, then he finally scrubbed a hand down his face. “You know what this means, right? I can’t let you fight anymore—not before you go to this school and not after. Not if you have magic. For one thing, it’s against the rules, and for another, it’s too dangerous.”
My shoulders slumped, my cheeks flushing hot with disappointment and an odd sense of shame. “Yeah. Yeah, sure, I understand. You gotta do what you gotta do.”
