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Two days later, I paced the conference room as the bundle of nerves inside me tried to eat me alive. Dany was in a chair, on her phone with a small, dopey smile. My chest still hurt, and I felt it every time I took in a breath. I had to constantly remind myself that they couldn’t know. It was hard to hold back winces when I moved wrong or sharp breaths when my chest bumped into something. I didn’t trust anyone yet to approach about a healing salve. They’d ask questions like why hadn’t it healed yet or why I needed one, and that wasn’t a question I could answer. And I knew better than to let someone in on that weakness. I’d already been burned from it once before.
Dany giggled as her fingers moved across the screen of her smartphone. The sound of her nails tapping against the glass was enough to break my focus on the misery that was currently my life.
“Stop sexting Zen,” I said. “He’s supposed to be working.”
“What makes you think I’m sexting him?” she asked, tucking her phone away.
“You only smile all stupidly like that when it has to do with him.”
Her smile slipped away, and she frowned. “What crawled into your underwear and died?”
“They’re going to be here soon.”
“You already did the hard part,” she reminded me. “You faced them before and got them twisted around your finger. You’ll be fine.”
“It’s one thing for them to say yes, and another to see what I actually did. They can change their minds. They’re fickle like that.”
I bit my nails as I walked over to the door, glared out the small window into the hallway and then turned and walked to the other side, with the gorgeous view of the mountains around us. Half of the council were visiting today for a check-in and to make sure their investment was worth it. If they changed their minds, decided to back out, I was screwed. And I knew three people on the council who would gladly pull out given the smallest chance. Heck, they could even keep the school, and replace me instead with someone who didn’t necessarily have the children’s interest in mind. The reporters weren’t that far off the mark when they brought up my age. The only thing that kept me in my position was the fact that I knew everything about the Naturals. The only thing I didn’t know were the deep dark secrets that they didn’t share with anyone.
One of them was coming today, no doubt to nitpick and poke at every flaw of the academy. I smoothed over my outfit. I was dressed more business professional this time, with a black skirt, white button-up, and heels. I still kept my own style intact, adding in suspenders. Dany tried to get me to wear a blazer, but no way was I wearing something so confining. I always felt like a stuffed sausage when I wore a blazer.
Dany popped up in front of me and grabbed my shoulders. She pushed me back until I was sitting in a chair. Then she kneeled down and grabbed my hands, keeping them away from my body. When I tried to pull away, she squeezed them.
“Addie, you have this. They are all half in love with you.”
I snorted.
She smiled. “Okay, not all of them, but the majority. They believe in this academy. You already got their support, all you need to do is believe in what you are doing. They can see that you’re genuine in your goals, and that goes a long way. You truly believe in these kids and in what you’re doing.” She shook her head, sensing that I wanted to interrupt her. “No, don’t say it. You may act like it and this may not have ever been something that you’d have done in the past, but that doesn’t change the fact that you do care.” She pointed at my chest. “You care, and they sense that about you. You want those kids safe. You want to create a sanctum for them where they can openly explore who they are. And the council agrees with that. They want them safe too. They are on your side. They are not a battle you need to fight or stress over.”
“Darn.” I sighed. “I knew I hired you for a reason.”
She smiled. “There you are. There’s my girl. Now, stand up, stand tall, and stand proud.”
I nodded and let her pull me back to my feet. “I can do that. I’m good at doing that.”
“I know you are.”
Our guests showed up only a few minutes later. I stood at the head of the conference table, patient and smiling as everyone filed into the room.
The council consisted of nine Naturals, all powerful in their own right. They had existed for as long as most remembered, those in the seats rarely changing. When the Unveiling occurred, they moved quickly, coming into the light to smooth things over.
We had lost one councilmember in the Unveiling to a successful assassination. My father was the one who hunted that soul down and made him suffer. By the time my father was through with the man, he had regretted even daring to breathe.
Four of them, all with two guards each, walked into the room.
The first man had me grinning wide. He was my biggest advocate and my favorite councilman out of the bunch. Asriel was the son of a valkyrie. Since he was very much a male, he didn’t have the wings like his female counterparts were gifted with, but he was still just as strong. My favorite feature of his was his long silvery hair and the cold blue eyes that never missed anything. When he walked through, his eyes met mine and warmed instantly. That one look renewed my crush for him in seconds. He always had a way of making me feel like I was going to instantaneously combust.
Right behind him were two guards, both female valkyries. They looked like they wanted to eat me, and not in a sexual way either. Their wings were tucked tight against their bodies as they walked, trying to show that they would be a force to reckon with. Definitely not anyone I’d try to mess with. Rophan was hiding in the corner and he stiffened when he noticed the threats enter the room. That was the first time he’d moved since we’d been waiting. Frankly, I forgot he was in the room, too busy panicking. Panicking was hard work.
Following behind him was Lafia Laurelis, a dyrad and another supporter. She was a complete sweetheart and absolutely captivating. I always had trouble looking away from her, her beauty drawing me in. It was the same beauty one found in the forest. She had light green skin, long green and brown locks that reminded me of vines. Her big, round blue eyes reflected the sky, and she practically hovered as she walked into the room. Her smile was small, almost shy, reflecting the purity of her soul.
The room filled up quickly after that with two other councilmembers. The one who hated me was Cael, an ancient vampire. The last person was Laventis, a dragon. I could never tell what he thought about anything. He beat Rophan at blank expressions by a million miles. He had voted against me when I first brought the idea of the academy to the council, but he had also helped in building the place. I thought his no had more to do with me than anything else. I thought he believed in the idea of the school.
That was okay. I was good at breaking people down until they liked me—even the stubborn ones like Laventis and Rophan. Cael wasn’t worth my time. He could huff and puff all he wanted; I was good with ignoring people.
Their guards all filled the room, standing against walls. Did they really think the building was going to fall apart if they didn’t lean against the walls to hold them up? I wanted to feel offended that they thought I’d build shoddy buildings.
“Adeelah, it’s a pleasure seeing you again,” Asriel said, flashing me a smile.
I held in a sigh that would have led to embarrassing drool. “Thank you for coming, I hope everyone’s travels went smoothly?”
“The humans are getting stirred up,” Cael said. “But nothing I could not handle.”
“You didn’t kill anyone, did you?” the dryad asked, her eyes widening until it looked like her eyeballs were going to fall out.
“Of course not, Lafia,” Cael answered smoothly. “I know better. We do not need more attention on us right now.”
I tapped the table and let them talk it out for a few minutes. I learned quickly that they went at their own pace and it was better to just let them say their piece. It took a while for them to feel like they’d all had a chance to speak their minds—on nothing related to the reason we were there.
Once they calmed down, it was time for me to get this meeting moving on before we ended up wasting the entire day doing nothing. That was not my idea of a good time. There were a million of other things I’d rather be doing than sitting here listening to them talk about the weather. Like giving myself a lobotomy. That definitely sounded better.
“Speaking of the weather, what did you think about the campus?” I asked.
They all stopped talking and turned to me with frowns.
I bit back a smile and settled for an innocent ‘I’m serious about my question’ expression.
“What does the freak lightning storm have to do with your campus?” Laventis asked.
“Well, did you notice none of that has touched the campus?” I asked. I thought my transition in topic was a smooth one. Laventis’ expression said he didn’t agree with me. “We have wards up to help mellow out any weird weather patterns.”
Asriel chuckled. “Maybe it was time to get back on topic.”
I wanted to say thank you in a dramatic fashion, but that wouldn’t have gone over well with any of them. They only had patience for so much and none for me when it came to drama.
“Right,” Cael said with a scowl aimed at Asriel. “I’m still trying to understand why it has been decided that you’re the one to take over the NSFT.”
NSFT was the Naturals Special Forces Training for those who graduated high school and wanted to enter the Naturals Special Forces. Basically, a training program to breed little Natural police to be superheroes and fight crime.
“Maybe it has to do with the fact that he knows how to fight and how to train others to fight?” I added in, trying to be helpful.
Lord Cael did not like that answer.
“I don’t sit on my ass and do nothing,” he hissed. “I’m more than qualified to train a bunch of—”
“You may want to stop there before you say something that will prove to all of us here that you are not qualified for the position,” Laventis said.
Cael snapped his mouth shut.
“So it’s official?” I asked. “Asriel will be in charge of NSFT?”
“Yes, it has been decided,” Laventis said.
“Hun, don’t look too excited,” Asriel said with a smirk.
“Oh, I’m ecstatic. Nothing more fun than training a bunch of assassins.” Maybe a bit of bitterness slipped into my voice.
“Please tell us how you really feel,” Laventis said with a gleam in his eyes.
I snorted. “You already know how I feel. But that was the price to build this school, so it’s a necessary evil.”
“You don’t think we should have an NSF?” Cael asked with a note of eagerness. As if that one standpoint was going to be my downfall. If I didn’t answer right, he was going to use that as another point in the con column as to my position in the academy.
“Don’t try putting words into my mouth when you don’t know what you’re talking about. Do I think there should be an NSF? Yes, I do. It’s more important now than ever before. Do I think the training should be here, where kiddies are coming to learn and grow? No, I don’t. But that isn’t up to me. It was a stipulation you guys put into place in order for me to open this school. I agreed with it, and I won’t stand in the way of its development.”
Cael was ready to throw trouble my way when Asriel interrupted. “Enough. It has been decided. I’ll be staying here to get the program going. We will reassess at the end of the school year.”
“How many people are enrolled?” I asked.
“Twenty-one with four instructors to keep the classes small. Your brother is one of them,” Asriel answered. “He has been a tremendous help in setting everything up. Is there enough housing?”
I nodded. “More than enough with room to grow.”
“Excellent,” Asriel said. “Gaerlan will be giving you our training itinerary in the next couple of days to approve and to ensure everything is ready. He’s been eagerly working on this project.”
I sighed. “I know. He’s probably the most excited about this. I think part of it is my father too. You know half of them will be used by the Neutral family.”
“You see it that way, but they won’t,” Asriel said.
I shrugged. “That’ll be your thing.”
I really didn’t want anything to do with the program. It didn’t sit right with me, but I trusted Asriel. Now, if it was Cael who was going to be heading it, I would have fought harder and probably got myself removed from my position. But I really truly believed Cael only looked out for himself. I’d worry for anyone working underneath him.
After talking about NSFT, we got down to other boring details about the school, enrollments, and how I was going to meet all the Naturals’ needs, both dietary and allergies, housing, and lessons. It went on and on and on. There was no end to it. I tuned them out a few times, knowing Dany was keeping detailed notes she was going to turn into something comprehensible afterward.
“How about that tour?” I asked, standing up and needing a break from their bickering. It was like they tried to find something to fight over on every topic.
“That sounds fantastic,” Asriel said. Lafia looked just as excited while Cael scowled and Laventis didn’t seem to care.
“Great, I’ll show you the training grounds first since that seems to be what all of you care about the most.”
We were just exiting the building when Zen stepped in front of me.
“There’s a small problem,” he said.
I frowned. “What is it?”
His expression told me I wasn’t going to like this at all.
“Purists are mixing in with the crowd of reporters. They brought protesters, and everyone is starting to get riled up.”
I was pretty sure I chipped a tooth with how hard my teeth ground together.
“Mother trucker,” I said.
