Page 84 of Forged in Blood

“Hey, Meg, this is Ophelia,” Cadence says to the familiar-looking blond girl who opens the door to us.

Meg bounds forward and grabs my hand in a firm shake. “Hey, Ophelia. I think we met at the activity fair before the semester started. At our table?”

Memories of that day come racing back to me, and I immediately feel ashamed of the way I judged her. I don’t know what it is, but I can see things more clearly now, and the way she’s looking at me is genuine and friendly, not bitchy the way I thought when we met.

Meg smiles. “Cadence has told us so much about you.”

How many people have I pushed away because of my assumption that they were going to treat me the same way Penelope did? I swallow down the thick knot of regret and promise myself that it all changes today. “All good, I hope,” I say awkwardly, and both Cadence and Meg laugh.

An elegantly dressed woman with silver-blond hair and sparkling gray eyes comes to stand beside Meg, and Cadence introduces her as Professor Green, the faculty head of Silver Vale.

“Call me Enora, dear,” she says, taking my hand in hers and curling her warm fingers around my palm as she stares into my eyes like she’s trying to see deep inside my soul. Does she sense any latent powers, like the kind Alexandros talked about?

With a final narrowing of her eyes, she lets me go and smiles again, directing us into the house. I walk inside and am immediately struck by how different Silver Vale is from Ruby Dragon. It smells of freshly baked cookies and flowers instead of cologne, pizza, and coffee, not to mention the paperbacks, textbooks, and leather-bound books that are stacked and arranged on every surface. The only books at Ruby Dragon are in Malachi’s bedroom—and I suspect the professor’s study, but I haven’t dared enter that room.

But it’s more than the smells and the books. It feels warm and homey and… happy. I bet it’s amazing to live here. Two girls with dark hair walk hand in hand down the stairs, smiling at me as they pass. “How many pledges do you have this year?” I ask Cadence.

“Thirty-one so far.”

“So far? I thought pledges had to commit during the first two weeks of the semester?”

Cadence leads me down a hallway decorated with flowery wallpaper and ornate gilded mirrors. “That’s for the Dragon and Moon societies. Their pledges are usually signed up before school even begins. But the Vales sometimes find pledges weeks after school starts. Some students might not know they belong here until they’ve been at Montridge a while.” She wrinkles her button nose. “I guess it’s hard to explain.”

What she’s saying makes sense. Wolves already know they’re wolves. Vampire pledges have already been recruited or identified by organizations who want them for some reason, so they’d come here with plans to pledge one of the vamp societies. But witches, well, I really don’t know much about witches at all.

Cadence gives me a nudge. “Maybe you’ll pledge. You know, if you like it here?”

I do like it. And I am a witch—so the professor says, anyway. She leads me into a huge room that smells of incense and candles and contains yet more books and several oversized armchairs. Professor Green is already sitting in a plush purple one next to the roaring fire. Weird.

Hey, can witches do that super-fast running thing too?I ask in my head, hoping one of the boys will hear me and respond.

Not like we do, but they can do all kinds of magic, Malachi replies.Some can teleport, and a few can even time travel.

“No way!” The matching expression on Enora’s and Cadence’s faces make it obvious that I accidentally spoke aloud. By way of explaining my outburst, I smile and say, “This place is incredible.”

Enora smiles and indicates for me to take a seat across from her.

Don’t let those witches try any mumbo jumbo on you, Cupcake, Xavier says.

Don’t be ridiculous, I reply. Enora is looking at me strangely again, and I squirm in my seat.

“I don’t mean to make you uncomfortable, Ophelia.” Her laugh is lovely, musical almost. “But there is something very intriguing about you.”

I shrug. “Nothing exciting about me. I’m as boring as they come.”

“You have been spending a lot of time with the commanders of the Ruby Dragon Society lately. Perhaps they sense a similar…” She purses her lips and pauses for a moment. “Something.”

My cheeks flush with heat, and I flounder for something to say but come up empty.

She laughs again. “There’s no need to be embarrassed, sweet child. We are all of us physical creatures. And their kind is very alluring.”

I frown. “Th-their kind?”

Enora dismisses the question with a wave of her hand and calls one of the other girls in to bring us some tea and refreshments.

By the timeI leave almost three hours later, I’m filled with the impression that Silver Vale Society is a lovely, refined place where the members and pledges regularly partake in English breakfast tea and delicious homemade cookies. All while sharing pleasant conversation. No mumbo jumbo at all.

If Axl weren’t growling in my head, threatening to throw me over his shoulder if I didn’t leave of my own accord, I probably would have stayed longer.

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