-Alexia-
Packing was oddly quiet. Bree handed me clothes, rolling her eyes each time I hesitated, while I tried to wrap my head around what was happening. Essentials ended up in my battered hiking pack: clothes, toothbrush, notebook, flashlight, and snacks. Bree even packed socks, which felt oddly intimate, like a small piece of home I wasn't sure I'd get back. Zeus circled the pile of bags, then sat, staring with the heavy expectation only a dog can manage.
"You're going to leave him?" Bree asked softly.
My chest tightened. I knelt, burying my face in Zeus's fur. "I can't," I whispered. "I won't."
"I don't think you have to," Bree said. "If they wanted you to leave everything behind, they wouldn't have told you to bring him. And he's never been just a dog."
That was true. I found Zeus a year ago after a car hit him. I'd carried him two miles to the Healing Paw. The vet didn't think he'd make it, but he did. No one came for him, so he came home with me. And now, I was taking him into whatever came next.
Three hours later, a black SUV rolled up outside the apartment. It wasn't flashy, but it looked like it belonged to someone who could open locked doors with a look. A man stepped out, wearing jeans, a forest-green jacket, and a crescent moon pendant that glinted as he moved. Something about him shimmered at the edges of normal.
"Alexia Carter?" he asked.
I stood, fingers curled around Zeus's collar, bag slung over one shoulder. "That's me."
"Name's Orion. I'm here to escort you to Whisperwind."
"Escort?" I echoed.
"First-timers don't usually navigate well on their own," he said with a faint smile.
Bree raised her eyebrows at me, a silent told you so. Zeus chuffed, tail thumping once.
Orion opened the back door. "He can come. They're expecting both of you."
Both of us. I hadn't expected that.
Bree hugged me tight, so tight it knocked the breath from my lungs. "Text me—if you still can."
I laughed because if I didn't, I would cry. Then I climbed into the SUV, Zeus leaping in beside me. The door shut with a soft click. As the city fell away behind us, I realized the truth pressing down in the quiet between each breath: I wasn't coming back.
The road twisted, buildings giving way to rolling hills draped in morning mist. Through the windows, shadows of towering trees reached toward us, leaves whispering in a language I almost understood. The air grew thick with the scent of earth and something older, something wild.
"So…" I finally asked, "what exactly is Whisperwind?"
Orion's eyes stayed on the road. "It's not just a school. It's a sanctuary. A crossroads for those with gifts the world doesn't understand."
"Like me?" My voice sounded small.
"Exactly like you," he said gently. "The magic you've felt? The things you've seen? They were always leading you here."
I looked at Zeus, who pressed his head against my arm. The warmth in his eyes told me what I couldn't say aloud.
"But what if I don't want this?" I whispered. "What if I just want to be normal?"
"Normal's overrated," Orion said, smiling softly. "Besides, the world you left behind was never normal for you."
The SUV slowed, tires crunching on gravel as we pulled to a stop at the edge of a vast clearing. Before me lay Whisperwind. Twilight glow bathed towers wrapped in vines that pulsed faintly with soft light. Flowers bloomed in impossible colors. The sky rippled like silk, humming with a melody I felt in my bones. I stepped out, the air warm and alive. Each breath filled me with moss, rain, and something darker—something that recognized me. Zeus sniffed the air, fur rippling as if catching an unseen current, alert and unafraid.
Orion stood beside me. "The magic here is old, and it will test you. It will shape you. It will frighten you. But it will never let you go."
The words settled in my chest like a promise and a threat all at once. The vines inside me curled tighter, buzzing with a wild pulse. I took a step forward. The world I'd known was gone. And deep down, despite the fear, a part of me was ready.
Inside, shimmering chandeliers lit polished stone floors, reflecting soft light like water rippling in moonlight. A woman approached, silver hair flowing like liquid moonlight, eyes sharp but kind.
"Welcome, Alexia Mae Carter," she said, voice soft but unyielding. "I am Headmistress Morrigan Shade."
My heart jumped. "You know my name."
She smiled faintly. "More than you realize. Your arrival was long-awaited."
I frowned. "What do you mean?"
"I knew your father."
Cold rushed through me, anger hot on its heels. "Great. Can I get the child support he skipped out on?"
Her lips twitched, not unkindly. "He didn't leave by choice. Gideon Marek was banished for destroying a sacred hall, for believing witches and warlocks should rule over others."
"Gideon? That's his name?"
"It is. But I would not announce that connection here. Your father's choices made enemies."
"Don't worry," I muttered, hand sinking into Zeus's fur. "I'm not here for him. I'm here for me."
Her eyes softened. "I believe you. But your lineage will shape your path, whether you claim it or not."
She slid a thick leather-bound book across a carved desk. "Your schedule and room assignment. You will have questions. I am here to help."
"Is there a beginner's class for people who didn't know they had magic?" I asked.
A small smile ghosted across her lips. "You wouldn't be the first. Whisperwind exists for hidden bloodlines and late bloomers."
She flipped open the book to a page labeled Foundations. "You will take Arcane Foundations, Elemental Identification, Magic Theory, and Practical Channeling. We start with the basics—unless you provoke the royals. I recommend you don't."
"The royals?"
She sighed, a flicker of exasperation in her eyes. "Four students from powerful lines: fae, vampire, dragon, and wolf. Whisperwind's glittering thorns."
"Good to know."
A knock came at the door, and in stepped a girl about my age, sun-warmed skin, dark braids streaked with lavender, and boots that looked like they'd survived a war.
"This is Kaia Cathcart," Headmistress Shade said. "She will show you around."
Kaia gave a half-salute, half-wink. "Try not to start any fights before dinner, storm girl."
I stiffened. "That's not what I—"
Kaia raised a brow. "Relax. We've all got a little chaos in us."
"I didn't even know I had magic until a week ago," I muttered.
"That's how it usually starts." Kaia's grin widened. "Come on. Let's get you and your not-just-a-dog settled before the royals sniff you out."
I glanced back at Headmistress Shade, who nodded once.
I stepped forward, Zeus at my side, Kaia leading us into the heart of Whisperwind. And just like that, everything truly began.