Page 111 of The Powers of Nyx

“Your first lesson is complete.” She offered me a proud smile. “Accepting your power is pertinent to your survival and to your rule. Now, your other lessons begin.”

41

IVY

I STAREDtiredly at myFoundations of the Counciltextbook as our professor,Nimona, a shifter of the prey sort, droned on about the different sections of government and who ruled what. My thoughts were a mess, mostly caught on the lack of information we’d found days ago. Nothing to explain Thea or her creature.

First, we’d assessed whether she could be Fae of some sort. Other than the clear lack of pointy ears, we’d delved into their old—now forbidden—history of Changelings. Since there were roughly eight primary Courts of Fae, and several dozen denizens for each, there was always a possibility she’d come from a now extinct bloodline or creature. But nothing in the ancient Fae records answered any of Thea’s questions. Like why her eyes shifted colour. Or the heat she felt, the constant warmth filling her chest. Though I had a feeling I knew what the unsettled, longing feeling could be.

We’d moved on to the Underworld then. Again, despite the large factions and the many different types of demon, we’d found nothing that could tell us about Thea.

And after nearly five hours of research, we’d had to call it quits because of a dinner we were forced to attend with Queen Greer’s mates—minus the Queen herself. But at least Seer Sable had been there, making it somewhat less awkward.

I’d left that night with a promise to Thea that I would do more research for her, while she and Adrian went back to the drawing board.

Ugh. I rubbed my eyes tiredly as Professor Nimona started on her lecture about how the shifters had their own hierarchies, much like the political make-up of the Council. “The strongest member of each pack is known as the Alpha,” she drawled, making her way down the rows of desks. “And these Alphas form part of the Council. These seats of power are usually inherited from parent to child in Shifter packs, though others can fight the Alpha for the right to rule.”

“In the case of our Council, this isn’t common,” she continued. “It is rare that creatures of a particular species decide the one representing them is unfit for their position on the council. But one may initiate a challenge for the seat.”

Professor Nimona paused in front of the classroom, and her black eyes drifted over all of us. “Thisis why power is an important part of our structure. It does not mean strength of the body,and many fail by having that mindset. Power means strength of the mind, body, and magic. An Alpha is only as strong as the beast they shift into, of course. But to be smart is to be deadly. You may have the magic of fire, but that is no match if your adversary is smarter than you are.”

A chime sounded, signalling the end of the class. I slammed the textbook shut as her mention of fire replayed in my head. It was probably nothing, but it didn’t sit right with me.

Slowly, I turned to Vanya, who scrubbed a hand down her face. “Ugh. I could totally go without this class. I don’t know why, but it’s soboring,”she said as she packed away her own book.

Shoving the tome into my bag, I rose and rolled my tense shoulders back. “It’s not...that bad.”

Maybe under other circumstances, I’d be interested. Despite not being much of a politics girl back home, I didn’t have muchof a choice in being one now, and I didn’t want to get behind. There were people here who were so much better equipped at ruling than I was. All I had was the power of Nyx but I sure as hell wasn’t very smart in other areas.

Ask me to write a compelling romance with a twist, and I’d have no issue.

But expect me to take the throne and somehow rule over all these people? Unlikely.

My stomach twisted, and warmth filled the bond. On most ends. I hadn’t felt anything from Ry in a while, like he hadn’t been around the last couple of days. It made me nervous, but I tried not to dwell on it too much.

I wasn’t entirely sure why I was protecting him. It wasn’t like he deserved it. But I still had this need to save him, to hold him tight and run my fingers through his hair. I missed those nights in the cabin, when I’d sneak away after Kerry and Andrew had fallen asleep. We’d spend the night together wrapped in an old sleeping bag under the stars, with little picnics I pulled together without being caught. They were memories I so badly wanted to keep locked up, but they snuck up on me when I least expected them to.

Shaking my head, I followed Vanya out into the busy halls as we made our way to our nextclass.

“So, how was your weekend? You have a particular glow about you,” Vanya teased, linking her arm in mine as we followed the crowds.

My cheeks warmed and I quickly shook my head. “I had a pretty quiet weekend.” Unless you count failing at finding out what my best friend happened to be. “Spent time with the kids. Hung out at the library with no luck.”

Vanya offered me a sympathetic smile. “I hope your friend figures it out. Sounds really interesting, and I wish I could help.”

“It’s okay. She’s a little disappointed, but I’m sure we’ll find something.”

As we rounded a corner, we almost slammed into the backs of other students. Vanya and I stumbled to a halt as gasps and soft murmurs filled the hall. We were outside theCommunicationsclassroom; the last time we were here, we’d been cornered by the three mages with hurt egos.

“What the fuck?” Vanya muttered, as other students filled the hall. I rose onto my toes to see what everyone was looking at, and bit down on a gasp.

Three bodies chained to the wall by their wrists, heads bowed, bloody and almost unrecognisable. From this angle, it looked as though their throats had been slit.

My ears rang and my stomach bottomed out. The threads of my magic rose with a need to protect. Vanya’s arm tightened around mine, and through the haze, I heard her try to ask me questions, but my tongue was heavy, my mouth dry.

The three bodies were the mages who’d cornered us.

They were dead.

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