Page 31 of Fortune Academy: Year One
Olivia shrugged. “I guess you have a point. I was so excited to remember how to use my magic again that I guess I got a little carried away.” She jolted upright. “Oh, that reminds me. I made this too.” She dug into her skirt pockets and produced an orb. It reminded me of my demon conjuring orb, but it had a rainbow hue to it. “A few spells came back to me, one of them being how to make a truth orb.”
I raised a brow at her. “Truth orb?”
She dangled the object between her fingers before I relented and took it, letting the bauble fall into the palm of my hand. It surprised me by how chilled it was, as if she’d put it in the freezer before giving it to me.
“If you crush this around someone, say... Hendrik, then he’ll be forced to tell you the truth. It’ll also make him more amenable to suggestion without outright fighting his free will. It can’t make him do anything he isn’t inclined to do already, but it’ll help.”
I sighed and tucked the bauble into my skirt pocket. It hissed in a moment of protest as it bumped up against the demon conjuring orb before calming down. I was building quite the collection of magical artifacts. “Well, I appreciate it, but don’t use any more of your magic until we understand how it works, all right? We don’t know what happens when you run out.”
Olivia’s face paled, making her dark eyes stand out even more. “Oh, I guess you’re right. I hadn’t even thought of that.” She swallowed hard, then seemed to force on a smile. “Well, ready to go talk to Hendrik? Can’t keep the big bad dark mage waiting!”
I groaned and rolled onto the edge of the couch. “You’re far too chipper. You know he’s just going to bully us some more, right?” Ignoring him likely wasn’t an option either. He had too much information that we needed. Olivia needed to get her magic under control and I needed to get Dante—and his lost hand—back. Plus, I needed to know about the vision he’d had about me. I needed to know if I was really this fated savior that Kaito saw me as.
Olivia bounced to her feet and offered me a hand. “I’m counting on it, because if I’ve learned anything about you since we met, it’s that you don’t letanybodypush you around.” She grinned. “Let’s truth bomb this bully.”
Fortune Academy wascreepy at night, although the fact that we were going to pay blood duty to a dark mage didn’t help the ambiance.
“What do you think he’ll do?” I asked, starting to worry about this arrangement. I hadn’t tested to see if Kaito’s magic had worked on me.
Olivia shrugged. “I don’t think it’ll be so bad. The other students do blood duty all the time.” She nudged me playfully with her shoulder. “You know, I think he just likes you. Big bad mages like Hendrik have better things to do with their time than frighten freshmen.”
I doubted that Hendrik was giving me so much attention because he had a crush on me. He was close to figuring out who I was, which both thrilled and terrified me. Hendrik might give me answers that Kaito wouldn’t… but at what cost?
We arrivedat the dark mage dorms far too quickly for my liking. I was tired from the long day and I wasn’t looking forward to dealing with whatever crap Hendrik had in mind for us, but Olivia squeezed my hand and gave me a reassuring smile. I wasn’t just doing this for me. Having someone else who deserved my help—or at least rectify the damage I’d caused—gave me enough resolve to wave my hand over the pad next to the door.
A strange beep I hadn’t heard before sounded, then a glow blinked above us. Olivia and I looked up.
“A magical security cam?” I wondered.
She tilted her head and sniffed. “Smells like Hendrik’s. Neat trick.”
I took in a long inhale, but I couldn’t sense the blood-tinged roses. Before I could ask Olivia what Hendrik’s magic smelled like to her, the door jarred open.
I remembered the way to Hendrik’s room and I immediately started up the staircase. Olivia followed me. “Uh, you know where to go?”
Oh, right, I wasn’t supposed to know which room was Hendrik’s.
I shrugged. “Just follow the smell, right?”
She chuckled uneasily as we climbed the steps. There weren’t any other dark mages out and about. They didn’t seem to like to loiter like the girls in my dormitory did.
“Where do you think everyone is?” I asked.
Olivia shrugged. “Probably in their rooms doing dark magey things.”
I chuckled as we approached Hendrik’s door. “Is that the scientific term?”
The door flung open, revealing Hendrik who nearly barreled over us. “Oh,” he said, frowning, “figured you’d wait in the lobby.” He narrowed his eyes on me. If he was going to ask me how I knew which room was his, he decided against it. Either way, the look on his face said he didn’t like being surprised.
Good, I wanted him uneasy.
He held open the door and silently invited us inside. Curiosity bubbled in me and won over the pounding in my heart that said I was going into a lion’s den.
“Damn,” I breathed. The room was gorgeous and much larger than my “suite” that Dante had found for me. High ceilings made the living room seem like it expanded into the clouds, letting in moonlight through crystal clear skylights. Luxurious furniture surrounded a roaring fireplace and a kitchen lingered in the shadows, spotlighted by two overheads that illuminated a stocked bar. Was alcohol permitted on campus?
Answering my question, Hendrik poured himself a drink, not bothering to ask if either of us wanted one. The golden liquid sloshed as he swirled it, sticking one hand in his pocket as he smirked at us. “Why don’t you have a seat,” he said, indicating his drink towards the fireplace. “I have some questions before we get started.”
He was being way too nice to us. My hackles went up and Olivia stiffened as she shared a glance with me that said she wasn’t buying it either. For some reason, Hendrik being nice was even more unnerving than if he’d been threatening our lives.
