“I am so sorry,” I blurted out, bursting into more tears.
“It’s not your fault; I should have explained more of what you were looking for. I just never assumed you had that kind of power,” he shook his head, and stood up unsteadily. “I will leave you for tonight, please remember everything you have learned today and use it tomorrow. Well everything except…. this,” he walked slowly, shakily to the door and closed it behind him. I had nothing left and could no longer control my emotions; I laid my head down into my pillow and let out everything I never knew I felt.
Chapter Twenty
I arrived at school the next morning to another full parking lot. Magic under control, Aunt Syl had given me my freedom back. Thank God. I couldn’t say that I blamed her; waiting for me to figure out I was superhuman had its disadvantages. But no more blowing things up on accident, now I could do it on purpose.
I parked my car in the last remaining spot and paused a moment to take a deep breath and check myself. My mind was protected and my magic flowing through me naturally; well at least what I had been told was natural. It seemed as if I’d known this secret my whole life, but in actuality it had only been about twenty four hours; I guess I wasn’t really an expert.
I made it to class on time, excited to see Lilly and have someone my age to talk to about this crazy new life. Instant disappointment met me however when I opened the door and realized she wasn’t there. Although Principal Saint or Amory or whoever told me she wouldn’t be, I still had held out hope. The hardest part about learning your true identity is coming to terms with the very real legal system you never knew existed.
I found it ironic how easy it was for me to believe the whole super-human, magic skills thing; but how hard it was to take the Monarchy, governing council, rules and regulations part seriously. Maybe because I’d never personally experienced a ruling class in action it seemed more fiction than reality. I wondered if I had some interaction with the Monarchy if it would feel real or not.
And then I remembered that I had. I walked into class and quickly made it to my seat before the bell rang. Kiran sat to my left in all of his pomp and circumstance. I understood now why the girls fawned over him; it was the idea of a crown…. and maybe his amazing good looks. But I wasn’t falling for it. At least that’s what I kept telling myself.
“Well, well, well…. look who it is,” he whispered snidely as I sifted through my book bag looking for my copy of Romeo and Juliet. A fleeting memory of Principal Saint telling me to leave Kiran alone crossed my mind before I just as quickly dismissed it.
“Hello, your Highness,” I responded sarcastically. He may have been the Crown Prince, but he was still a jackass.
“Finally, you’ve caught up with the rest of us. Congratulations,” he clapped his hands quietly in mock applause. I gave him a sharp look and found the constant smirk he wore already in place.
“Well, we can’t all have parents who are um, alive,” I sighed, still trying sarcasm, but regretting the words as quickly as I had spoken them.
“I guess not,” his tone softened and I thought for a second I made him feel bad. “It’s a pity though; I had so much fun watching you struggle,” Cue the smirk. “Thanks for the other night,” he whispered even softer and I heard real emotion in his voice, I turned to say something to him but found that I was speechless looking into his eyes.
The door to the classroom opened and then slammed. In walked Mr. Lambert and another teenager whom I had never seen before. The sight of Mr. Lambert usually made me feel uneasy and nervous, always like I was about to be yelled at; but today when he walked in, an overwhelming feeling of serenity passed over me. Not only that, but I felt more focused than usual; my senses became heightened and the magic became more alive in my blood. The feeling reminded me of the other night in the woods, sending a shiver down my back.
“Excuse me,” Mr. Lambert cleared his throat in an attempt to draw the attention of the class forward. He tried again a little louder. “Class, please give me your attention; this is Avalon St. Andrews. He is a transfer student from Brazil, please welcome him to Kingsley.”
Mr. Lambert directed him to Lilly’s seat and my heart dropped into my stomach. As the new student sat down, I realized the very real possibility that she might never be coming back. I watched Talbott for a moment and though his expression was frozen in place I imagined I could see the sadness in his eyes.
I turned my attention back over to Avalon St. Andrews, thankful that I was no longer the newest kid in school. By the looks of things however, he was going to have a lot easier time fitting in than I did. He was almost too big to be a high school student; although he was wearing the same white collared shirt and navy blue tie every other boy was wearing, the muscles in his arms were clearly defined through the light cotton. His dark curly hair was long, maybe to his shoulders, but he had it tied in a messy pony tail, giving him the appearance of a biker or something. His nose was pronounced and vaguely familiar, although I couldn’t place it. And his eyes were clear green and penetrating.
His most interesting feature was almost invisible, but my eyes drifted there immediately. Under his hairline, covering the entirety of the back of his neck and clearly marked was a very intricate and elaborate tattoo. What looked like angel wings were spread wide covering all of the skin between the base of his shirt collar and hairline. Complex, but beautiful feathers fanned out into wings I imagined belonging to the angel of death. A symbol sat in the middle of the two adjoining wings, but the way his hair was positioned made it impossible to identify. I glanced down at the rest of his body, expecting leather pants or spurs or something and noticed that underneath his white cotton button down were more lines of the green tattoo ink. Although I couldn’t make out what they were in the shape of, they clearly covered his torso and forearms. He reminded me of someone and I continued to stare at him, wondering who it could be.