As we arrived at The Orb, he headed away from them, making a beeline for Darius, Max and Caleb who were already on their usual couch, surrounded by a ring of excited fans who were running back and forth from the canteen to bring them food and coffee. The Heirs barely took any notice of them, the four of them falling into a tense conversation the second Seth joined them.
“Darcy?” Diego nudged me and I dragged my gaze away from them. “You coming?” He pointed over at our new spot at the heart of the room. Geraldine had laid a wide spread of food across the circular table which looked fit for King Arthur and his Knights. I fought a groan at the sight of the Almighty Sovereign Society gathered there. Tory was actively trying to avoid a conversation with them by engaging Sofia in never-ending chitchat.
I nodded, following Diego over to join them and the guy sitting beside Tory leapt out of his seat and bowed low. “I kept it warm for you, your majesty.”
“Right, thanks,” I said, smiling as I tried to hide my discomfort at his display.
Geraldine swooped on me before my ass touched the chair. “The croissants were going cold so I had another batch sent from the kitchen.” She wafted a mound of them under my nose and the sweet, mouthwatering scent was too good to pass up.
I took one with a word of thanks and Geraldine hurried around to her seat opposite my sister and I. Diego had forced a chair in beside Sofia but his shoulder was firmly squashed up a brutish girl in the A.S.S who seemed intent on remaining where she was. He stole a croissant from Geraldine’s stash while she was talking to a girl beside her in hushed whispers.
“Did you hear about the Nymph attack?” Sofia asked, her eyes bulging as she leaned forward to look at me across the table.
“Yeah,” I said, glancing at Tory. “And have you noticed how weird the Heirs are acting this morning?”
“Everyone's upset,” Sofia said.
Tory glanced over her shoulder at the four guys, her brows pulling together. “No, Darcy's right. Something's going on with them.”
“They're Heirs,” Diego said through a mouthful of croissant. “They have to take an interest in Nymph murders, it's their job. Or at least, it will be when they rule.”
Sofia sounded her agreement and I nodded, figuring that made sense but wondering if that meant Tory and I would be expected to take an interest in them too.
The tension in the room was at an all time high as people discussed the mystery student who'd discovered the body.
The girl Geraldine was speaking to seemed to be getting herself in a complete state over the attack. “It’s happening all over again just like-”
“Shh!” Geraldine hissed, casting a look at us. She forced a laugh when I caught her eye then snatched her friend’s arm and dragged her away from the table.
“What was that about?” Tory asked me and I shook my head in confusion.
“Hey Vegas!”
We both looked up and I spotted the fire asshole with the unibrow, Milton Hubert, standing on a table surrounded by a group students, gazing at him excitedly. “Make out with each other.”
His Coercion slammed into me and I shrieked in horror as Tory and I angled toward each other. Diego sprang from his chair, forcing himself between us before we even got close to committing the vile act.
“For the Queens!” Geraldine sprang out of the crowd, launched herself onto a chair and propelled a rocket of water at Milton so quickly he wasn’t remotely ready for the impact. He flew halfway across the room and slammed into a group of freshmen, taking several of them to the floor.
The Coercion ebbed out of my body as laughter rang through the room. I shuddered, pulling back from Diego. “We’ve got to stop this from happening,” I groaned as Tory fixed Milton with a death glare as he walked sullenly back to his friends, dripping wet. The Heirs had barely looked up to acknowledge the drama, still stuck in an intense-looking discussion.
“I’ll teach you to shield yourselves,” Sofia piped up, her eyes shining. “We’ll start tonight and spend every moment we can until you’ve got it.”
“Thank you,” Tory sighed and I smiled gratefully at her. Well that was something.
By the time we headed to Tarot Class in Mercury Chambers, my heart was still pounding with all the adrenaline of the morning. It was only a short walk from The Orb and we soon arrived at the ancient-looking building with high walls that were painted with strange murals. One appeared to be a man hanging from a tree, another a jester. We headed into the gloomy interior with faded stone walls, the low lighting giving the place a creepy feeling. A dark stairway led down to another floor and a silver sign directed us that way toward Tarot.
“My grandma was a Tarot reader,” Sofia said as we followed the other freshmen down the steep staircase. “She taught me about the cards but I was never that good at it.”
“What are you good at?” Kylie asked as she shoulder-barged past her, tossing her hair back to slap Sofia in the face.
Tory scowled at the back of Kylie's head as Sofia dipped her head, her cheeks reddening. Diego rested a hand on her back and she glanced at him with a small smile.
I glared after Kylie in anger.
Bitch.
“In you come,” a hoarse voice called from up ahead.
A hazy purple light guided us forward and we soon arrived in a vast room that resembled a cellar. A circular wooden table filled nearly the entire space and the centre of it was completely hollow. Within the ring the table created was a tall man with a long grey moustache which hung right down over his chin. His almond eyes swiftly landed on us and a glimmer in his gaze told me he knew exactly who we were. But then again, who didn’t?
“Take a seat,” he instructed as we filed around the edges of the table and the four of us dropped down to sit together.
“I'm Professor Astrum and today I'll be giving you an introduction to Tarot: the telling of fates through the mystical cards of the stars.” He reached into the pocket of his tweed blazer and produced a deck, fanning them out between his fingers with perfect skill.
He threw them into the air, waving his hand so they spread out in a wide circle around him on a mystical wind, the images facing the class. They started spinning in a slow circle and I gazed across each of the cards in fascination.
The Professor spent the first half of the lesson naming each of the twenty one cards and describing their meanings. I had my Atlas propped up on my desk and my notes sprawled around each of the cards' images, enthralled by everything I was learning.
Sofia knew all of them by heart and Astrum called on her more than once to explain the meanings behind each card. She might have thought she sucked at this but it seemed like she was an expert to me. My mind was boggling by the time he finally let us do a prediction. And I couldn't remember which card meant what beyond a few of them.
Astrum passed out decks and split us into pairs. I turned to Tory as she shuffled our deck and laid them in a fan between us as the Professor had instructed.
“That's it, now one of you pick a card and interpret it using your notes,” Astrum said, twirling one end of his moustache around his finger.
“Do you wanna go first?” Tory asked and I shrugged, slowly moving my hand above the cards as the Professor had taught us.
When I felt an instinctive tingle in my fingers, I plucked up the card I'd paused above.