Page 5 of House of Lilith

The very next second, the figurine turns into an enormous wooden door that comes to hover right above the floor.

There are excited gasps all around me, but I guess we won’t be lingering on this as some special moment, because the door almost instantly flings open and I see shapes starting to come through. Human shapes.

I watch a hundred Fiain shifters step out and form a circle. And they’re as different from each other as they can be, but they’re all dressed a lot more casually than we are and they all have tribal tattoos. There’s silence as they join hands, almost instantly making the tattoos start to glow. The air in the circle starts spinning and the very next second, I see countless animals leaping and flying out of it, wolves hitting the ground running, ravens soaring high up above and bears lifting themselves on their hind legs to roar at us all.

There’s an excited murmur all around me as I crane my neck to watch one of the wolves keep running up a wall, doing a flip in the air and then charging straight back into the circle, where he gets swallowed by the whirlwind like the rest of the animals.

By the time the shifters let go of each other’s hands, turn to us and bow, there’s only a scattered applause, even though I can tell everyone is in awe.

But even as they walk to the tables reserved for them, the door doesn’t close.

What are we waiting for, I wonder with a flutter in my stomach.

The very next second, I see the tallest guy yet stroll out of the mirror and come to a stop, sliding his hands into his pockets.

And sure, he’s unusually hot, but he’s dressed very simply — T-shirt, jeans and boots. Even simpler than the rest of them. So it surprises me when the shifters all break out into thunderous clapping and whistling.

Maybe the clue is in the tattoos, I think as my eyes dart to the ones covering his arms.

I sense Max tense up, but even though I’m aware of the risk, I don’t look away from the Fiain.

I watch him throw the cheering shifters this lazy grin. It almost makes me blow out a laugh, when he proceeds to counting them, looking all relaxed yet solemn as he does it, seemingly giving zero fucks about hundreds of students and professors waiting for him to be done with it.

Ah, I think to myself, he must be the alpha.

I zoom in on him a little. He’s definitely not what I’d expect. Heisall muscle, like most alphas I’ve seen, but he’s elegant somehow. Elegant and careless at the same time, I think as I spot the light stubble and the way he keeps the straight, light brown hair that’s falling to his shoulders swept off his face.

It’s just at that moment that he finishes counting, gives a content nod and slides his hand back into his pocket. And he turns to scan the general crowd before him with an easy smile on his face, before he does a little bow and walks away.

It earns the greatest applause, the women in the crowd letting out wolf whistles.

I lean a little to the side to watch him take his seat, interested in seeing what kind of shifter he is. Here, it’s mostly wolves, but no. Not him.

“Not in the least impressive,” I hear my brother say, making me snap out of it. “You’d all have a lot more fun watching me use Mind Magic on all of them.”

“Thank gods it’s not allowed,” I say with a roll of my eyes. I really hate it when he’s showing off like this.

“I wish it were,” I hear Max say even as the Pied Piper gets up again to greet the newcomers and talk about the ensuing year of competitions between the two Academies. “Because this really was anticlimactic.”

“I thought it was a breath of fresh air,” I reply as I look around the table. “Someone giving zero fucks about all the pomp. And, well,” I say with a smile, motioning at the room, “at least thegirlsseem to have liked his performance.”

As soon as I say it, I realize I shouldn’t have. Max’s forehead scrunches up as he notices the giggles and the stares, including Hilde’s, in the direction of the alpha. “Maybe they were laughing at his clothes,” he snaps a little.

I let out a laugh, maybe a bit too loud, but he smirks and seems contented. Disaster averted.

“Wouldn’t surprise me,” my brother chimes in as he throws Hilde and I a smile. “You’re all so obsessed with it.”

I roll my eyes, refusing to get into it, but now he’s frowning, turning to look at the shifters again. “But theyareall dressed like they’ve just crawled out of the forest.”

I throw daggers at him. “Didn’t you apply to become a sort-of buddy for one of them?”

He makes a face at me, but Max doesn’t let him answer. “Doesn’t matter,” he cuts in, a little coldly, making me squint at him. “The only thing that does is the Games. And we’ll wipe the floor with their asses.”

I love this version of him — strong, smart, determined. “As long as we haveyouon our team,” I finally say, giving him a soft smile.

And I don’t even finish the sentence, but I can tell it did the job. He returns the smile and leans in for a kiss, then turns to my brother, the two of them jumping into a heated discussion on how exactly they’re going to kick those asses.

I know Max is strong and capable, but they’re just assuming we’re going to win. Not even questioning it. Me? I can’t help but notice the stark contrast between our two groups. Sure, it’s plain to see by the clothes which Academy is higher status, but there’s a toughness in the shifters’ demeanors that makes my fellow Grimm Academy colleagues seem so soft and sheltered all of a sudden. And that makes me a bit apprehensive about everything.

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