Page 25 of Wings of Ash & Flame
“Sounds like a you problem,” she said, skirting forward to continue on her way.
“Interesting,” he mused, cutting off her path again. “We’ll see about that.”
Nosy bastard.
“And you are?” Her instincts screamed not to trust him.
“Allow me to introduce myself.” He extended a hand she pointedly ignored. “Dexter Vale. Chief Advisor to House Aetheris.”
Alaire’s stomach dropped.Vale. The name hit her like ice water. Caius’s father. Another power player orbiting the prince.
“Seems like you have more pressing priorities than keeping a student from class.”
“Quite the opposite. I find it prudent to remain well-informed of our… unusual arrivals.”
Translation:He’ll be watching.
“Aeris Academy is a crucible,” he continued, resuming his circling. “A place that tests the very essence of its students. Where elemental fae broaden their magical knowledge. You are neither of those things.” His smile widened, showing too many teeth. “And trust me, this place will spit you back to whatever gutter spawned you—faster than you can imagine.”
Her lungs spasmed. She reminded herself to breathe through her nose. The last thing she needed was to let Dexter Vale see anything but her spite.
“You don’t know anything about me, Mr. Vale,” she said flatly.
And you never will.
“We know exactly how fragile human bones are when they break. Your species is vulnerable. Best reserved for certaintasks—but wielding magic isn’t one of them.”
He leaned close enough for her to smell sautéed garlic on his breath. “Your time here will be closely watched. Every move scrutinized.”
“I’ll be sure to make it entertaining.”
“You’re playing an interesting game, Ms. Aerendyl. And I’m not the only one waiting to see how it plays out.” He smiled again, relishing her defiance. “You’ll need more than snark and bravado. Best of luck. And remember—we’ll be watching.”
With that, Dexter Vale turned and walked away.
She wanted to do a full-body shudder. To disinfect every piece of her that his eyes had lingered on.
From one cage into another.
Alaire watched his figure disappear into the castle longer than she could afford, her thoughts racing.
Aeris Academy was an embodiment of arcane magic. Alaire had seen labyrinthine halls twist and turn like snakes shedding their skin, shifting in a way that defied logic. The castle had a mind of its own.
You could leave a classroom one day and find the corridor outside had changed entirely by the next, with doors thatsometimes refused to open unless you solved a riddle, knocked in a certain rhythm, or spoke the right word. Other times, a door would vanish altogether, trapping a student inside until a professor came to release them. Windows revealed landscapes of places she’d never seen.
Over the past few weeks, Alaire had cycled through Aeris Academy’s courses. In Elemental Mastery, she’d watched students command water, earth, and air—the ceiling opening to summon actual storms.
Alaire observed from the periphery, learning about magic she would never wield.
Each class revealed more of this world denied to her: Professor Stere mumbling about ancient sigils in the rune-carved Versaille Labrinyths; the unsettling illusions of House Cerebral in the Obscurum Atrium; Professor Hale’s enchantment students in Historia Hall making objects float and shrink with precise incantations. Alaire absorbed it all, always watching, never participating.
Without being bonded to a celestial, Alaire’s classes were with the majority of elemental fae who made up the population of Aeris Academy.
Elemental fae accessed their aether through a magical well within themselves. Each house was able to conjure a different element. The potency of their bloodline determined the depth and breadth of their magic. Those descended from original bloodlines were the most powerful at the academy.
She bit her lip as she thought of the infuriating prince.
Aether manifested in the palms of fae as if their magic was a malleable substance they could shape and wield to their will. But power without control was dangerous. Alaire had learned controlling that power, the exertion and precision it required, was no easy feat. It’s why the fae sent their heirs to Aeris Academy.
