Page 7 of Fortune Academy: Year One
That hinted at one of the many questions I wanted to ask. What happened to a supernatural after graduation? “So, hunting was your calling?” I didn’t know what I would want to do with my life. Right now I just wanted to figure it all out, who I was, why I was here, and why I couldn’t remember anything. For the first time though, the future hinted behind a hunter’s dimples. There could be a future for me here, if I could really become a student.
“Not quite,” he admitted, “but it’s what I’m good at.” He turned down a corridor and we paused in front of a door with a single name label glimmering in silver at the top.Kaito Nakamura, School Counselor.
“Counselor?” I echoed the title, giving Dante a raised brow. “You’re not bringing me to someone like, oh, I don’t know, the dean?” If anyone had enough money for a bounty hunter, it would be someone important, not a counselor. Wasn’t that just a fancy name for a babysitter?
“Hell no,” Dante said, leaning back as if horrified by the idea. “The last person you’d want to meet is the dean. She’s fine on the surface but… well, let’s just say that once you get to know her she’s unreasonable and definitely would not welcome you here.”
All the blood rushed from my face. For the first time since coming to the Academy my extremities tingled with cold. I gripped hard onto Dante’s fingers, but I couldn’t seem to extract his warmth from him like before. I ground my teeth in frustration. “Not welcome here?” I knew that Dante was selling me off as a bounty, but I’d assumed it was to become a student, not to sneak me in and sell me to some counselor. “Is that why we used a back door? I’m not even supposed to be here?”
My voice had gone shrill and Dante winced. He banged against the door. “Kaito! Hurry up! She’s getting upset!”
I toyed with the idea of summoning the demon right here and now. If Dante thought he could just sell me to some lowly counselor then he had another thing coming.
The door swung open and the handsome Asian in a suit was not exactly what I’d been expecting. A single tattoo ran up the side of his left cheek, drawing my eye towards the streak of silver that followed his hairline. He definitely wasn’t old. In fact he seemed to be maybe in his early twenties, a little too young perhaps to be a counselor, but there was such intelligence in his eyes that I didn’t doubt for a moment that this was a man who was a force to be reckoned with. His gaze dropped to my hand that fumbled with the artifact in my pocket. All I had to do was crush it and I’d summon my distraction.
“Dante,” the man said with an edge of warning to his voice, “you’d better back away from her.”
Dante let go of me immediately and gave me space, which wasn’t what I’d expected. None of this was making any sense. “Okay, you two better start talking or I’m going to get pissed off,” I growled.
The man who I assumed was Kaito let his gaze linger on my pocket for another moment before he looked me in the eye. He didn’t seem afraid, but he was determined. “I’m sorry if Dante frightened you, but when I learned of your existence and that you were with the Mother of Monsters I had to get you out of there.” He ducked his head and swept into his office. “Please, come in. Have some tea.”
Entering into a closed room with two men seemed like a bad idea, but the inviting space didn’t look dangerous. A cheerful window lined with bonsai trees overlooked a courtyard and we weren’t so high up that I couldn’t jump out of it if I needed to. Plus, the tray of steaming tea just waiting for us did look inviting, and I was cold.
“Fine,” I snapped and shoved past him. “But if you try anything—”
“You’ll summon a demon to kill all of us,” he finished for me, smirking at my surprise. “You are safe here, Lily. I promise.”
“Demon?” Dante asked, giving both of us a raised brow as he carefully edged around me and took the farthest seat.
No longer feeling the need to hide it, I pulled out the artifact and held out the soft bauble. The outside was translucent and contained a glowing red ember inside of it. It was hard, but delicate enough that I knew it would take minimal effort to crush it and release its magical energies. “Try anything and you’ll wish you hadn’t.”
Dante cursed. “Sorry, bro. I didn’t expect her to have an artifact. The girl doesn’t even know what she is.”
Kaito waved Dante’s apology away as he poured us a cup of tea. “Important thing is that you got her here in one piece. Given the vision that Hendrik had, it’s a miracle she’s still alive.”
“What vision? Who’s Hendrik?” I asked.
Kaito placed the cup on the table in front of me and then backed away, making a point to give me space. “He’s one of the mages here. He specializes in the dark arts and sometimes picks up glimpses of the future if they have a big enough impact to the timeline. He saw that you were supposed to die tonight.”
I swallowed hard and then glowered at Dante. “Yeah, because a bounty hunter showed up at my place of work and spooked the people taking care of me.” If Dante hadn’t been there, it would have just been a night like any other, full of drinks, jokes, and watching Jess walk off with another date while I was left alone.
Kaito poured a cup of tea for Dante, but the hunter frowned at it. Sighing, the counselor placed the cup on the table and then poured one for himself before taking a seat. He took a leisurely sip before addressing me again. “If Dante hadn’t been there, then there wouldn’t have been anyone to stop what would have happened next.” He looked at the artifact on my thigh. “You took that from someone, yes? I assume you had a good reason. What would have happened if that person found out you didn’t trust them?”
I frowned and turned the bauble over in my hand before shoving it back in my pocket. I wrapped my fingers around the teacup and tried to draw from its warmth.
“What did you do?” Kaito said.
I glanced up at him, but he was frowning at Dante. “I brought her,” Dante growled. “What’d you want, me to pick up some human fast food while I was out too?”
Kaito didn’t seem amused. “She’s starving.”
For some reason, I felt like he wasn’t talking about food.
“I’m right here,” I snapped. “I’m fine—” I tried to say, but my teacup rattled against its saucer as I started to shake. The cold had never gotten this bad before.
Kaito cursed and rushed to my side. I flinched, moving to get the artifact before he took it from me, but he placed both his hands on my face in such a gentle gesture that it startled me into compliance. I stared into his silver eyes, now that he was close enough I could see that they matched the streak in his hair. Beautiful.
“Lily, I need you to relax, okay? Your body is trying to protect itself but it doesn’t have the reserves to perform magic. I need you to turn your defense mechanisms off.”
