Page 21 of House of Ydril

“Really?” he says, throwing a glance at one of his colleagues. I feel the chatter around me die down a little. “How supremely intriguing. But you do have experience with magic? It would otherwise be difficult to imagine you being chosen for the Trials.”

Oh, I hate him for asking that, but I’m definitely not going to let it show. “Let’s just say I still have a lot to learn,” I reply, choosing a diplomatic answer.

He flashes me a smile with zero kindness, like a predator licking his lips before his prey. “I’m sure your fellow students are helping you with that. But there are a lot of them here with skills that are simply out of this world. How do you plan to win?”

“I don’t,” I say, letting out a laugh. “My goal is just to survive.”

I can tell he’s not happy with that. He was expecting something juicier and he’s prepared to work for it. “So you’re not an ambitious girl, are you, Quinn?”

I look away, shaking my head as I fight to keep the smile on my face. And I already have some bland, non confrontational answer in mind, but then my eyes land on his. He’s standing to the side, but he’s staring at me intently. As if I’m some annoying bomb he’s supposed to prevent from going off, the son of a bitch.

“I guess I believe,” I hear myself say as my heart starts pounding, “there’s more to ambition than trying to win an inconsequential competition I didn’t even want to enter.”

“Careful,” I hear a warning boom inside my head. It almost makes me jump up. In the back of my mind, I notice the shift in the atmosphere that my words have caused, people drawing in shocked breaths and shifting on their feet. But I don’t care, because I’m staring straight at the prince, the one who just used his powers to get in my head. And I’m pissed. I move to get up off my chair, but the journalist scrambles to keep me there.

“So your ambition, in fact,exceedstrying to beat the Originals of Grimm Academy?” he asks, as if it would be physically impossible to say yes. “What would it be, that noble goal of yours?”

I plant my ass back on the chair and throw him an incredulous look. “Off the top of my head,” I reply, failing to keep the sarcasm out of my voice, “learning to use my powers for the greater good. Something along those lines.”

Fuck, I’m fucking this up, I think as I stare into the journalist’s eyes. He looks like I’ve just given him everything he wanted. And then some. “Thank you for the introduction,” I say, trying to salvage the situation. “I’m sure you have a lot more contenders to talk to.”

And with that, I get up and rush off the podium, the cameras flashing violently in my face. As I try to find Professor Mistila, I make a point not to look anyone in the eye. I’m avoiding one pair in particular.

The professor is right there where I left her, squinting at me with an unreadable expression on her face.

But before I can approach her,heappears right in front of me. It’s so sudden, I almost bump into him. “Follow me,” he snaps, his voice so commanding, I just do what he says.

He leads me to the side and when he turns to face me, his body is really close to mine and his nostrils are flaring. It’s the only hint on that terribly composed face that he’s, well, not pleased.

“Had your fun?” His voice is low and controlled, at least on the surface. Underneath, things are brewing.

But I guess when it comes to him, I’m insane. While my brain tells me to find a way out of the situation,fast, other parts of me want nothing more than to see where this would go. Just a little taste, that’s all.

“I’m sorry,” I reply, using my most sarcastic, condescending voice. “Have I offended you somehow?”

“Don’t play dumb.”

“Alright, then get to the fucking point,” I hiss at him.

For a second, he just stares at me. “Mypointis…” He glances around and then flashes me a fake smile as he speaks in a low, threatening voice. “In the future, you should either respect our traditions or shut the fuck up.”

My eyebrows raised, I let out a little laugh. “Yes, my prince,” I say as I sweep my arms and drop my knees in a mocking bow, something like what he did to me. “Anything else you require?”

I see a flash of surprise in his eyes. But I don’t wait for him to snap out of it. I just turn on my heel and walk away.

It’s only then that I see a bunch of girls standing close, huffing and puffing as they watch my every move.

I don’t give anyone else the chance to come between me and Professor Mistila. She looks as if she’s trying her hardest not to let it be known that she too was watching my interaction with Faust.

“I apologize for keeping you waiting, Professor,” I say as I walk up to her, half expecting her not to want to talk to me again.

“Tell me,Quinn,” the professor says in a voice that’s barely more than a whisper, “what exactly made you come ask me questions about the House Olarel?”

For a second, I hesitate. There’s something in her tone that wasn’t there before. But I don’t have a bad feeling about it so I decide to tell the truth. “Someone left me these books. I don’t know who and I don’t know why. The only thing I do know is that one of them belonged to someone from that house.”

The professor stays silent for a moment. Slowly, her eyes light up and she whispers in an excited voice, “Ithoughtthere was something about you.”

Chapter twelve

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