The serious way she said that made me attempt to squash the snort of disbelief which wanted to be set loose. I guessed I was going to have to try and open my mind to all this star sign stuff if I wanted to fit in here.
“Is that so?” I asked, trying to keep my scepticism at bay.
“Yep. And I have a damn good memory too which should help me ace the tests and make up for my lack of power somewhat.”
“Are you lacking power then?” I asked delicately, unsure if that was okay to say but she was the one who’d brought it up.
“Yeah. My family are pretty low on the rankings when it comes to power. If you imagine yourself as a ten I’d be like… a three I guess.” She shrugged. “Our world is all about power so it means I’m kinda destined to stay at the bottom of the food chain but I don’t really mind. I mean, at least I don’t have to worry about seizing and holding my position for the rest of my life, you know?”
“Not really, but I think I’m going to find out pretty soon whether I like it or not.”
“Err yeah, I’d say so. Your whole life is going to be a power struggle,” she said with a grin.
“Perfect,” I sighed. “What if I were to say I don’t want whatever power it is that I’m supposed to claim? I just want to use my own magic for my own purposes and have nothing to do with any birthright or throne or Heirs-”
Sofia’s laughter cut me off and I raised an eyebrow at her.
“I wasn’t joking,” I said firmly.
“Oh god, Tory,” she said, reining herself in a little. “You really don’t know anything about our world. I’d love to say that you could just run off into the sunset but… that’s never going to happen.”
“Well damn,” I replied half heartedly. I still had no plans to do any of the things that were expected of me but at least I had my answer about one thing. There was no way I was going to be able to just bow out of the running for power and avoid the attention of the other Heirs as I’d hoped. Maybe I could talk to them and tell them that I didn’t want their power though. They couldn’t be completely unreasonable…
We exited the crevice filled with brimstone and the scent of sulphur assaulted my nostrils.
I looked around until I spotted curling tendrils of steam rising across the land to our right and the glimmer of water in the distance.
“Is that hot springs?” I asked eagerly.
“Oh yeah. That’s where fire meets with the territory of water. I’ve heard it’s the best place to go for a swim and relax. We should head over after class one evening and try it out!” Sofia replied enthusiastically.
“I don’t have a bikini,” I said with a shrug, though the idea of a swim in the springs was definitely tempting. So long as the water wasn’t too deep; a few years ago I’d had a traumatising accident and ever since then, the mere thought of deep water gave me the creeps.
“Didn’t you bring one from home? I’m sure it was on the list of recommended-”
“The only things I brought from home were the clothes on my back and a pocket full of cash and Darius saw to destroying them last night,” I replied darkly.
“Oh, yeah, I might have heard about that after I made it through my initiation last night. It sounds like he went a bit far with you…”
“So he didn’t burn the clothes from your body then?” I asked, figuring I already knew the answer. That particular trial had been specially designed for my benefit.
“Umm, no. But then I’m not very powerful, like I said. So I wouldn’t really expect him to take any notice of me anyway.” Sofia dropped her gaze to the path beneath her feet as I let out a huff of irritation.
“Trust me to get on the wrong side of an overgrown, entitled prick within half an hour of arriving,” I muttered.
Sofia gasped, glancing around to check if anyone had heard me. “You might want to keep that opinion to yourself if you don’t want it getting back to him. The Heirs have a lot of fans and I wouldn’t trust anyone to keep quiet on your behalf.”
“I’m fairly sure Darius and his bromance crew know exactly what I think of them without me needing to worry about hiding it. Besides, if he asked me I’d happily tell him to his face that I think he’s a jumped up little ass wipe who needs to get a new hobby which doesn’t involve tormenting people.”
Sofia’s mouth fell open and I could tell she was caught between shock and laughter. I was glad when a giggle finally escaped her.
As we came to the end of the path, a huge building rose up ahead of us. It looked a bit like the Colosseum where the gladiators had fought in Ancient Rome but the brickwork was all black.
Our conversation stalled as I stared up at the stone dragons and gargoyles who glared at us from their positions along the wall above our heads.
We moved beneath an arch and found a female Professor with short red hair and deep bronze skin waiting for us.
“Come along girls, you need to get changed and out into the arena,” she commanded, not bothering with introductions. My timetable had informed me her name was Professor Pyro and I offered her a faint smile as I hurried to comply with her instructions.
Sofia and I made it into the girls' changing rooms where a row of hooks held bags with our names written on them. I lifted the one with Roxanya Vega scrawled across it, my nose wrinkling at the name I refused to accept as my own. There must have been someone I could talk to about changing everything official to say Tory. I could cope with the Vega thing if I had to but Roxanya was a girl who should have grown up in this strange Fae world and I wasn’t her. Tory had been my name throughout everything that had shaped me into the person I was today and I had no interest in shedding that persona now or in the future.
I opened the bag and pulled out a matching pair of deep red leggings and a long sleeved shirt. The material felt almost silky but it was stretchy at the same time. I swapped my uniform for it and eyed myself in the mirror for a moment as I adjusted my black hair.
The outfit was skin tight and accentuated my curves in a way that somehow drew more attention to them than it would have done if more skin was on show. Though as I’d literally paraded around naked in front of most of the members of House Ignis last night, I didn’t imagine it mattered.
I pulled on a pair of white sneakers last and waited while Sofia finished changing too.
Some more girls were arriving and I noticed more than one hostile glare aimed my way as I glanced between them. Not wanting to engage in any further altercations with my classmates, I quickly hurried out into the arena with Sofia.
“I’m so excited about this class,” she admitted as we moved out into an open stadium filled with sand.
My first impression of thinking it looked like the Colosseum was only compounded as I looked up at the stands which ringed the arena. Around the walls, four plinths were lit with crackling fires and alternated with four gurgling water fountains.
As I took another step, the ground beneath my feet lurched and I almost fell flat on my face. I wheeled my arms to steady myself and the earth shuddered again.
I tipped backwards, wondering what the hell was happening to me just as strong arms caught me.
“Thanks, I-” I cut myself off as I looked up at my saviour and found Caleb Altair grinning down at me, his mess of blonde curls making him look almost angelic in the midday sun. But I knew he was no angel.