Page 29 of Mistaken Magic

Heleaned back, a smile on his face. "WhenIwas in high school,Iwent to a party.Therewas a cute boy there, andIhad an instant crush.Imaginemy surprise when he felt the same way.Hewas fae, andIfigured out pretty quickly that there was something special about him.Somewherealong the way,Ilearned about all of this, and thenIstarted helping.Ifind the lost ones,Rain.Ihave abilities they don't, even thoughI'monly human.Itmakes me an equal in their eyes.Well, most of them."

"Socialworker just got added to my list of potential career paths,"Iteased.

"That'smy niece," he praised. "Buthold off on that until you're here a bit longer.Neverknow, you might find something else you're good at."

Chapter Fourteen

Itwas still relatively early in the afternoon.Accordingto the clock on the wall, just after four.Becauseof that,Liamoffered to introduce me to my mentor, a girl who'd explain my course options to me.Evidently,Ihad one week to decide which electivesIwanted to take.Everyonein the high school program was required to have math,English, a science, andFaeHistory.Thatleft three other classes for us to tailor our studies to our personal interests.College-level courses, and ones we'd be able to use towards an eventual degree.

Sure, we'd get something for the required ones too.Itseemed that the way this worked out, we earned both high school and college credit in a way that would make us immediate college sophomores when we reached the equivalent of our high school diploma.Andyes, we would get those diplomas, but they'd be issued fromSilverOaksInstitute, not a normal school, like the one in town.

Liamexplained all of this, taking the time to answer my questions about credits, rules, and so on.Butas he stood to leave,Liamseemed to remember something else.

"Letme give you my phone number," he said, turning back

"Won'tmatter,"Itold him. "Nophone.Mylast one was on the family plan, and theSparksaren't really into things like that."

"Myidiot brother,"Liamgrumbled. "Ok.Well, if you need me,I'mon the opposite side of the atrium, fourth floor, the room outside the double doors."Hesighed. "AndI'llhandle the phone problem.Letme go find your mentor.Unpackor something."

Ifigured that was as good of an idea as anything else, so once he left,Istarted putting my stuff away.Mypersonal clothes went in a few of the drawers beside my bed.Uniformstuff went in others.Allcombined,Ihad enough options for seven days beforeI'dbe forced to do laundry.Thankfully, theInstitutehandled that for me as well.

Butnow that word made a lot more sense.Institute.Thiswasn't a university, and while they called it a private college or a trade school, that seemed to be a front of sorts.Thiswas a school for supernatural things that weren't supposed to exist.Itwas a school for learning magic.Fuckingmagic!Soyeah, maybe "Institute" was a better choice, all things considered.

Iwas thinking about that whenIreached the blazers.Thosewould need to be hung up; the question was where?Searchingthe massive amount of built-in storage,Iopened a cabinet and found it was actually a wardrobe.Well, that changed things a bit.Theblazers went in there, along with anything elseIdidn't want someone to accidentally rummage through - like underwear.

PuttingTheoon my bed was the last thing, and it gave a little "homey" feel to the room.Thiswas my space.Mine.Allmine, andIwouldn't have to worry about upsetting anyone ifIleft a book out or a light on.Itwas also a lot easier to focus on that than the weirdness.

Because, seriously,London?Magic?Faeries?Therehad to be some catch, butIdidn't want to rock the boat.Icertainly did not want to lose the chance to live in a place whereMr.Sparkscouldn't stare at me whileIwas sleeping.Ifthey wanted me to go with the magical thing, thenIwould.Hell,Icould remake my personality in two point five seconds to keep from getting in trouble.I'ddone it whenI'dmoved in with theSparks, so this was the same thing.

AndifIhad to,I'dbuy into this magic stuff.Therewas certainly a trick to it, and yetLondonhad felt so real.Thathad happened.I'dbeen here, then there, then here again.Nocameras, no drugs, and no explanation.No.Iwasn't going to think about it too hard.Iwas just going to go with it - mostly becauseIwas not going to risk the best breakI'dever had in my life.

Iwas coming to terms with this and "surveying my realm" whenLiamreturned, knocking at the door before he stepped in. "Rain?" he asked with the door only open a crack.

"Comein,"Icalled to him.

Heopened the door all the way, then invited a girl to follow him.UnlikeAspen, this girl looked completely normal.Herhair was brown and straight.Shewore glasses.Therewere freckles on her cheeks, and while she was cute, she wasn't unnaturally stunning like my suitemate.

"Rain, this isLynn.She'swith the student welcoming committee, and she'll explain to you how the course options work."

Sinceshe was wearing jeans and a typical tee, there was no tie for me to judge by, soIjust asked, "Areyou normal like me?"

Shelaughed, sounding almost embarrassed. "Um..."

"Iexplained aboutFaerie,"Liamassured her.

"Yeah, my mom's a refugee,"Lynnexplained. "Dad'shuman.I'mhalf, and actually an enchanter, butIdo more potions and salves."

"Horizontalstripes,"Isaid, looking atLiamto make sureIhad it right.

Henodded. "Ithink you've got this."Thenhe stepped back. "Believeit or not,Ihave things to do, but if you need me,Rain,I'mjust across the atrium.Oh, andLynnwill meet you before your first class to help you find where to go."

"I'llbe fine,"Iassured him. "Notmy first time to be the new girl."

"Butpossibly the weirdest,"Liampointed out.Ashe turned, he paused to claspLynn'sshoulder. "Thanksfor this.Itake it as a personal favor, andI'min your debt."

"Nodebt needed," she assured him. "Justput it on my transcripts."

"Willdo," he said before lifting his hand at us both and leaving.

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