Page 1 of Renegade

Chapter One

Karelis

“Shut the door behind you, Karelis. This office is safe.”

I’d come to the Urban Academy to try to find a place to belong. Five minutes later, after some wide eyes from the administration staff, and I was in the headmistress’ office. As I reached for the heavy door to her luxurious office, I caught some of the students staring at me. I’d come here because of the rumors about Valentina and her mates. If a descendant of Circe was safe here, perhaps I would be as well.

But the way I was shuffled into the office made me wonder.

“Can I put this down?” I asked, motioning to the backpack that seemed light when I packed it only a week ago but now was heavy, as if loaded with cinder blocks.

“Of course. Anywhere is fine. Sit down, Karelis.”

I sat down in one of the high-backed leather chairs and looked to the ceiling while the headmistress picked up a sticky note. It was fancy, yes, but nothing compared to where I had come from. Then again, the kingdom I’d escaped had gold on the ceilings and some along the walls, and veins of it in the white marble that adorned the throne room.

I fucking hated the throne room. A flamboyant flaunting of riches and wealth.

My fingers itched as the leather-bound volumes along the walls called to me. If this was my library/office, there would be no working done. Only reading. Luxurious, delusional time with me and these books.

“Karelis, tell me what’s going on, please.”

I squirmed. I had to be choosy about my truth, but, in my predicament, the truth was sacred and could only be shared with those who wouldn’t put a call in to the ones who would keep mecaptive. “I was hoping to attend the academy.”

“What are you running from, Karelis?”

My heart thumped, and I looked down, surprised it hadn’t landed in my lap. “What do you mean? I want to attend the academy.”

The headmistress nodded and leaned back, crossing her legs. “Karelis, I can’t help you if you keep on hiding the truth. Where are you running from?”

Still, I wasn’t ready. She smelled honest enough, but if I’d learned anything in the last year or so, it was that a person didn’t have to lie to manipulate. They could spin the truth. Spout sweet words that would one day turn into sour actions. They could claim they wanted the best for me, but their best was twisted and ugly.

“What makes you think I’m running?” I stiffened my posture and ticked my gaze over to my backpack. Three footsteps, maybe four, and I could get to it and be out of here before she muttered another word.

The thing was, I was out of options. I needed an ally. A refuge. A place to lie low, if only for a bit. My money was almost gone, and the mental load of being on the run was wearing me down.

“The backpack. The way you keep eyeing it, ready to go at a moment’s notice. Your accent is from another part of the country. And you just got off the bus.”

“Fumes?” I asked, guessing the diesel scent still clung to my clothes and probably my hair.

She nodded. “Wherever you came from, I’m not going to turn you in but I can also tell you that you’re not safe here. I can help you but not without information.”

“I came from the Light Kingdom. They wanted…they wanted to forcibly remove a part of me.”

The poised woman leaned forward, a tendril of dark-brownhair releasing itself from her chignon and framing her face. Her eyes were wide. “The Light Kingdom? I didn’t even know they still existed.” She sat back and repeated the name of the place I was from under her breath.

“They do,” I responded.

“What do you mean they wanted to remove a part of you? Like an arm?”

I laughed at her candor. “No. Like my second wolf.”

Her body swayed forward as though my admission affected her physically. “A second wolf?”

“Most people have that reaction. You see now why I’m not safe. They have tentacles all over this world. It’s only a matter of time before they find me if I’m on the run. I need a place to hide. I was hoping this was the place.”

“It’s not,” she said, deflating me completely. “But I think I know a place that will do. I’m also guessing there’s more to this story about your second wolf, but I’ll let you keep those secrets. There’s another school. A sister school. An ugly-stepsister school. It’s not governed as strongly by the council that runs this place. You’d have to keep the second wolf to yourself.”

“I can do that. She’s used to being tucked away.”

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