Page 6 of Heir of Shadows

“Yes, I knew him,” Raynoff said, something dark passing behind his eyes. “Before he betrayed everything we built.”

“Traitor,” Cyrus muttered, his voice thick with disgust. The word crackled with heat that made my skin tingle.

No one else commented. The intensity of Cyrus’ stare felt like being scalded. He watched as if he was waiting for me to prove how unworthy I was—the traitor’s daughter.

I ignored him as best I could. “You’ll have to tell me about him,” I said to Lord Raynoff. “I never met him.”

Raynoff’s mouth tightened. “The Council will need a full report on last night’s incident, Guard Parker. The vampires growing bold enough to hunt in cities is troubling,” he continued, “Get her to Wickem quickly. We can’t afford another display like that.”

Parker gave a slight bow to Lord Raynoff and his son, and I did the same, not knowing the protocol. Then I followed her down the hall toward the exit. I could feel their eyes on my back, until we were through the doors.

Parker directed me to the parking garage and her navy-blue Subaru.

As we drove into the mountains, Ms. Parker explained more about witch society—the four Council seats passed down through families, the ongoing war with the vampires, Wickem’s role as a training ground for college-aged witches. But my mind kept returning to Cyrus’s scorn and his father’s barely veiled hostility.

“The men back there,” I said slowly. “The Raynoffs? They hate me because of my father?”

“Yes,” Ms. Parker said, “But also…” She glanced at me with a frown, then back at the road. “Your heritage is half human, half witch. That will cause trouble for you.”

My mouth dropped open. “Witches aren’t human?”

She gave a tight smile. “Well, we are in most ways human, but when the magic runs through bloodlines, it’s stronger.”

“But I got it from my father?”

“Yes, but your mother has no magic,” she said. “And Council seats are passed down through the strongest witches among us. That’s why they are royal, why they have heirs.”

I bit my lip, trying to understand.

“You may be weaker because of it,” she said with a twist of her lips. “Or others may see you as weaker. They may,” she paused and corrected herself. “Theywillmake you prove yourself.”

I didn’t know anything about magic, and I was going to have to prove that I was strong enough? I swallowed.

I didn’t even want to be here.

Except I had to be.

I had to learn to control my powers, and I had to keep Mom safe.

As if summoned, Mom’s text glowed on the screen of my phone:I’m fine, honey. It’s all quiet here.But I knew she hadn’t slept any more than I had.

We continued on in silence, until Ms. Parker broke it with, “For first-time students, the final approach to Wickem has to be made traditionally. There are magical checkpoints built into the mountain path that help register and protect incoming students. Especially important given your… recent attention.”

Everything felt surreal—just hours ago I’d been cleaning houses, and now I was fleeing supernatural attacks and meeting a magical nobility who seemed to hate me on sight.

The road narrowed as we climbed higher. Ancient pines pressed close on one side while a misty void dropped away on the other. The air grew thicker, heavier, like the atmosphere itself was trying to push us back.

“We’re passing through the wards now,” Parker said.

Before I could even ask what she meant, the magic hit me. Suddenly I could feel everything—every dead leaf rotting in the soil, every beetle carcass under rocks, every bird that had ever fallen from its nest. The mountain itself seemed to breathe beneath us, ancient bones buried in its core calling out in voices that scraped against my consciousness.

“I’m going to be sick,” I gasped, pressing my hand against my mouth. Cold sweat broke out across my forehead.

“Deep breaths,” Parker advised, but her voice seemed to come from very far away. “It’s the wellspring. Your powers are responding to it.”

Powers. I almost laughed. The mice at the Conrads had been like a spark compared to this inferno. The dead things under the earth whispered to me in voices that felt like home, like they’d been waiting all my life to speak. The shadows of the trees moved and writhed as we passed.

Then Wickem Academy appeared through the mist, all stone walls and towering spires that seemed to stretch into the clouds themselves. Gargoyles perched on every corner, their stone eyes following our approach with an awareness that sent shivers down my spine.

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