Page 13 of Faerie Trials

“Come in!”

The tutor called me into her office and although my fingers trembled, I held on tight to the doorknob. Okay, time to get this over with and see exactly what I faced.

The inside of the office smelled of lemon balm and lavender. The heady combination went straight to my head. In contrast to the wintry outside world, here it looked and felt like an endless summer. The walls were painted a cheerful yellow to capture the light from the large bay windows, and a fire burned in the hearth though the room didn’t feel over-heated. There were no logs in sight to keep the flames going. Hanging baskets of flowers and herbs bobbed in front of the windows.

The air in here…even that was different. Thicker, friendlier, as if the breeze reached out to caress my exposed skin.

A large desk with a comfortable armchair took up most of the space. From behind the desk a Fae woman rose with a smile to match the feel of her office. “Miss Alderidge, I’m going to assume? You’re right on time. There’s nothing I like more than promptness. It’s refreshing.”

She held out a hand to shake. The mortal custom took me by surprise and for a second I stood there and stared at her before urging myself forward.

Take her hand, dummy!

Her palm was dry and a little rough—not what I’d expected. “Yes, um, hi. I’m Tavi.”

“Wicks told me all about you. I’m Professor Juno Ians. It’s a pleasure.”

“Pardon me, but you look—”

“Normal?” she interrupted. “I have more control over my external body than most others. My parents are air and sky people. My bones are made of wind and my atoms are clouds. But I also find it makes students uncomfortable to see my true form so I adopt these features. It helps with future interactions.” Juno indicated the sharp edge of her sunshine-yellow hair, the heart-shaped face, the brown eyes. A young Reese Witherspoon if I’d ever seen one. She even had the sweet voice.

“Air folk?” I asked her, taking a seat and allowing my heavy bag to drop with a thud.

“Aurae are nymphs of the sky. We control the element of air,” Juno said, then shook her head. “I much prefer to mentor. Tutor. Whatever you want to call it. I have always been drawn to teaching and helping to mold young minds. When your school reached out for help with a case—you, as it turned out—I volunteered.”

I wasn’t sure what to make of Juno Ians, honestly. She might look like America’s sweetheart but I wasn’t fooled. I’d come across too many strange people in my life. I knew looks could be deceiving.

Juno folded her hands together on her desk and treated me to a smile that did nothing to offset the stern severity of her eyes. “Look, Tavi,” she began, “we both know why you are here. And I want you to know I’m going to help you. It’s not going to be easy, and I’m sure you’ll hate me before our time is done.”

“I’m not going to hate you,” I objected.

My answer would not have bothered her either way, I knew instinctively. “Many before you have, and there will be many more once you leave this room. I’m used to it. I’m going to push you past the boundaries of your comfort. I want to see you succeed, and in order to do so you are going to have to work.”

“I’m no stranger to hard work.”

I didn’t understand then how right Juno was. Or how hard she’d push me. We dove into the first lesson within minutes of our introduction, moving into an adjacent workroom outfitted with fabric and wards on the walls and a plain wooden floor. The fabric, she explained, was fireproof to keep us safe, and the walls were soundproofed so no one else could listen to our conversations. More for my protection than anyone else’s and, I suspected, to protect me from embarrassing myself.

“All right.” She stood with her legs slightly splayed and her hands rubbing together. “Show me what you’ve got. Start with air and run through the rest. Conjure the elements for me.”

We went through the basics of the four elements first. I conjured air, fire, water, and earth out of nothing, shaping them into whatever form or fashion Juno wanted while struggling to keep up with her quicksilver demands.

“I read your file. Your potions master, Larch, stated you made a nearly perfect batch ofEius Repellereduring your final exams. Are you good with potions?” Juno asked.

I wiped sweat off of my forehead before it could burn my eyes. “I guess so.” I was good at following recipes, at least.

“I’m not going to drag out a cauldron and ask you to replicate it. We don’t have time for that today. Tell me, why use the potion and how many times can you use it?”

“Um…I don’t—” This was why I needednotes. Except there were no notes. There was only me and Juno, circling each other. Two magic users looking to see who would come out on top. “You use it one time. F-for…I don’t remember.”

“Think, Tavi!” she demanded.

“It’s something about repelling. It, ah, it gets rid of your enemies.”

She snapped out her next question before I had time to draw a breath, accompanying it with a flash of magic igniting sparks at my feet for me to extinguish. “And if you do not have your potions handy? What else can you do to repel your enemies from you without causing harm to yourself?”

Shift into wolf form and rip their throats out before they could do the same to me.She’d hate that answer.

One of the sparks caught on my boots and I struggled to tamp it out before it burned me. “I’m sorry, I can’t think.”

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