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Zen only needed a week to get us up and working. By the end, he and his security had come up with a game plan and moved faster than I’d thought, but then again, we were Naturals. This project would have taken months with humans. By the time the faculty and staff began showing up the following week and claiming their new apartments, we had badges set for them and a system in place to keep an eye on where they went, along with restricting them from areas they had no business being in.
I was ready to pull my hair out as I smiled and shook hands, greeted employees, and thanked them for their services.
Rophan took his job very seriously, which meant I rarely had a moment alone outside of my apartment. He had even claimed the other apartment in my townhouse. I was glad for the extra protection though. He had set up another layer of wards around my home. And he had yet to realize that I snuck out every night to walk around the property, doing my own personal patrol.
My mother had left two days after dropping off Rophan, with promises to be back. She really did do things her way, without a care about how it affected other people. It was always her way and only her way. There wasn’t even the option of leaving. Gaerlan was more than happy to stick around. I pitied anyone who dared to pick on me, his precious baby sister.
“I don’t get why they just can’t get along,” Dany grumbled as she glared at the sirens and banshees currently bickering with each other as they disappeared into the gymnasium.
I had the same question. Who quarreled for a lifetime over land taken centuries ago? It wasn’t even them who had started it all, but their great-grandparents. Ever since, the sirens and banshees had been at each other’s throats, and they had nothing to do with the original conflict.
“Just be sure to put them in townhouses further apart. The last thing I want is to be woken up because the banshee decided to let out her frustrations.”
We both winced. Myths had banshees screaming only in times of death. That wasn’t true. Yes, they were remembered for screaming when someone died, but it was more like they were mourning their lost ones. It wasn’t pleasant to watch. But they screamed over any imaginary slight. I had the unfortunate memory of running into a banshee wailing because her high heel shoe broke.
“Okay, keeping them apart. Think they infected their children with their ridiculousness?” Dany asked.
“Damn.” I rubbed my face. “Go over the room assignments for the kiddies again, make sure they are on different floors and on different sides. Let’s keep their interactions to a minimum this year, and we can reassess next year to see if the stupid adults fueled their hatred through their hellspawns.” I shook my head.
“Don’t call them hellspawns,” Dany warned.
“Hellspawn,” I sang out. “Hellspawn. Hellspawn.”
“Adeelah,” a woman called. I snapped my mouth shut, my eyes widening with an uh oh look. The owner of the voice walked through the door with purpose. Her red hair flowed around her face, and the air crackled with her magic.
“Signora Milanesi,” I said with a genuine smile and hugged her.
“Darling, how are you? Please tell me your mama isn’t still a slave driver?”
I laughed and nodded at the guard at my back. Rophan did not look entertained. Maybe I should slip laughing powder into his drink. I was beginning to think that would be the only way I could get him to smile. “What do you think?”
Her eyes sparkled as she took him in, taking her time as she looked him up and down. “Yum.” She hummed in appreciation. “If I were a few centuries younger and unmarried.”
“Don’t. I don’t want to hear it.”
She laughed. “My Signor will be here soon.” She flicked her hair. “He can never get enough of this.”
“Try not bewitching him and then say that again,” Dany said with a sneer.
Milanesi laughed, not bothered by Dany’s response at all. At this point in her life, she was used to it. As a witch, no one liked her. They considered her kind scum, not because of the magic, but because they were trained hunters. The difference between the Neutral family and a witch was that we liked to think we were in the right when we eliminated a threat to society.
Witches did it for money and only money, and oftentimes, that put us in opposition throughout history.
I still liked Gianna Milanesi, even if the rest of my family wanted to murder her. She was a breath of fresh air. When she wasn’t trying to kill someone, she was more than happy to tell stories of her adventures through the years. All of it was fascinating, half of it was heartbreaking. I respected her all the more for it, and I was glad she was able to find a man who could handle her just fine.
“Make yourself comfortable. The dinner is about to start, and we can begin introductions.”
She hummed, looking a little too excited about that. She was up to something as she strolled away with an extra sway to her hips. Despite everyone knowing who she was and not liking her, they had a hard time keeping their eyes off her bum.
Dany shuddered. “I don’t like her. She’s slippery.”
“She’s brilliant,” I said. “We need her. She’s top-notch when it comes to offensive spells.”
“I know. Doesn’t mean I like it. She’s going to cause problems.”
I grinned. “Life would be boring without problems. I need some excitement in my life.”
Dany raised an eyebrow and asked, “I thought you’d have had enough of it by now.”
Shaking my head, I said, “I’m a Neutral. We wither away without excitement. Come on, let’s get on stage. How do I look?”
Her eyes traveled up and down my body, taking in my black and white plaid jumpsuit with wide suspender-like straps that went over my shoulders and criss crossed at the back. I wore a white camisole underneath and finished it off with my trade-mark heavy black boots.
“Adorable. Now go. Be Founding Headmistress.”
“You know I don’t want to be called that.”
“But Founding Chairwoman sounds so boring. Headmistress has a nice ring to it. Like it involves handcuffs, chains, and whips.”
I groaned. “Please, please, keep your kinky play to yourself.”
“Adventure, Adeelah. You need adventure. I know just the man who would be up for the job too.” She gave Rophan a side-look and a smirk. He was too busy glaring after Milanesi to notice. My eyes widened.
“No! Keep your kinky play to yourself,” I repeated. “And your matchmaking. I’m still scarred by that vampire guy you tried to set me up with.”
“In my defense, he really thought you were submissive. Who would have thought you’d do better as a dom.”
“I’m not any of that.” I waved my hand. “I like vanilla. Good for you for enjoying yourself, but don’t try to pull me into it too. Now, let’s go before I chicken out.”
“You’re going to do fine.”
“Maybe, but it doesn’t stop me from feeling sick.” I rubbed my stomach. “My tummy hurts.”
Dany grabbed my arm and forced me to stop and look at her. “You faced down the council to plead your case. You didn’t let them eat you up and spit you back out. After that, you can do anything you set your mind to. The hard part is over now. This academy is going to open its doors, and that’s because of you. Remember the children. Remind yourself why you’re doing this.”
“Sath,” I said, the sadness creeping in.
“Yes, Sath.” Her voice reflected mine.
I nodded. “Okay, let’s do this.”
Her genuine smile relaxed me, and I could breathe easier when she let me go.
The moment I stepped onto the stage, the room went quiet. We filled what was going to be the gymnasium for the upperclassmen. Round tables took over the floor, and everyone dressed to impress. Sparkles were seen all over as flashy dresses reflected the lights. This was the start of it, of groups and friendships forming, of feuds coming out. I’d think with age, time, and maturity, they’d have grown out of acting like they were a high school drama, but nope. Teachers were worse than students. Way worse.
I took in a deep breath, held it for a moment, and then released it. Dany sent two thumbs up my way, and I forced a smile.
I had to do this.
For Sath.
For the kiddies.
For my sanity.
“Welcome to Neutral Academy,” I said, using just enough magic to project my voice.
The crowd broke out into cheers, and I waited for them to calm down before going into my speech.
“We are in the midst of a life-changing moment right now. With the help of each of you, this academy will become a prestigious institute to go to leave your mark on the world. Naturals from all over will entrust their precious children with us, and we will prove to them that we are powerful, and we will continue to be so as we cultivate the future.”
The room was silent as everyone leaned forward and listened to every word I said. The speech had taken months to come up with, knowing it was going to set the tone for the kind of academy I was trying to build.
I opened my mouth to continue, but then something hard rammed into my chest, and I was flying back, landing hard on my hip bone. A moment later, yelling and screaming erupted. Arms grabbed at me and tugged me to my feet as confusion consumed me.
My chest ached, practically burned, and I didn’t understand why. I took in a sharp breath, my lungs slow to work the way they needed to. They staggered from the stun of whatever had hit me.
Rophan hovered over me, his lips moving, but someone had put him on mute. His eyes were wide, and for once, I got to see a different expression on his face other than the indifference, bored, or grumpy looks he seemed to use interchangeably. He said something, but when I stared at him dumbly, he shook his head and lifted me up.
“Mmm,” I whimpered, that small movement causing the pain in my chest to flare up.
I blinked, looking around, trying to figure out what had happened. People were all scrambling around, some of them panicking. Men in the standard black security uniforms waded into the crowd with determined expressions.
Dany and my brother fought the crowd to make it to me, their eyes wide as they tracked me. I lost sight of them when we went behind the curtains and out a side door.
“Adeelah!”
I blinked and licked my dry lips. “Yeah?” My reply was a croak.
“Good,” was Rophan’s only response as he placed me down gently, more gently than I expected from him. “Look at me.”
I met his eyes.
His fingers went to my forehead. Magic dove through my head, and energy burst through my body. I gasped as all my senses came alive. Rubbing my chest, I moaned.
“What the fudge nuts?” I asked.
“Someone lobbed a fucking energy bomb at you. Let me see.” Rophan reached for me.
I knocked his hand away and shook my head.
“Adeelah.” Anger slipped into his voice. He reached for me again, and I slapped his hand away, making sure he saw my determination that he didn’t touch me.
“I’m fine. It just knocked me out.” I pulled out the small pouch I always kept dangling around my neck. Holding it up, I made sure it caught his eyes.
“What is that for?”
“Protection spells,” I replied. I pulled my camisole back far enough for him to see my chest, all the way to the swell of my breasts as they filled my sexy baby blue bra. Yes, my undies matched. “See, nothing. I just got the wind knocked out of me and a little shock to my system.”
He frowned and touched the bag. With focused eyes, he opened it and glanced inside, leaning forward to smell. His head was only a few inches from my chest, strands of his blond hair tickling my nose. It took everything I had in me to not lean forward and smell his hair. His scent was intoxicating, a good combination of the woods, maybe birch, and a soft undertone of something sweet. Maybe pineapple? I wanted to get closer, draw the scent into me, and pick it apart.
All too soon, Rophan pulled away. His eyes were wider as he took his time to close the pouch and let it rest against my skin.
“That’s some powerful bag of spells,” he said in a careful voice. “Explains the shield that appeared in front of you.”
I smiled, knowing he wouldn’t understand completely what it was that he was seeing. All he would know was that most of the herbs used were rare and expensive. It was not a lightweight spell. “My dad got it for me a few years back,” I said. “Attacks like that won’t hurt me. Well, the repercussion will, but the attack itself won’t. I’m fine. I promise.”
Rophan’s expression turned curious until he smoothed out his thoughts and hid his curiosity. “Very well. I’ll check in with Zen to see what the fuck happened. Don’t move,” he snapped before jumping to his feet and stalking out of the room. I glanced around to realize I was in what was going to be the women's locker room.
Sighing, I unlooped the leather around my neck and opened the pouch, glancing inside. Some of the herbs were toast after taking that hit. I was going to have to restock tonight. The other ingredients for the bigger spell were all right. My identity was going to remain hidden.
There was no way I was going to let them know I wasn’t completely Natural, that I had human qualities about me. I rubbed my chest and frowned. Like healing for one. I was glad I wasn’t going to bruise, because bruises were expected to disappear within two hours, max. I didn’t heal that fast. I wasn’t human slow, but I wasn’t fast enough either to keep suspicions away.
I closed my eyes and exhaled slowly.
Holy balls, someone tried to kill me.
I rubbed my face as reality settled in. It was a hard concept to swallow that I had enemies out there because of trying to open a school for Natural children. I never had people who wanted me dead before. I had been a pawn before, but never the target of an assassination attempt.
