“Why does everyone know who I am?” I mutter under my breath as we enter the assembly hall.
“First you stopped Raul, then you won the Trials,” Asher whispers. “That’s going to get you some attention.”
“You kind of became a school celebrity by the end of last year,” Cam adds. “You were asleep for it, but you were all people talked about for a few days.”
We walk past Alyssa, who glares at me. Honestly, her venom is almost comforting. It’s good to know some things haven’t changed. And at least she’s honest in her dislike of me, I guess. If she was gushing and pretending to be my friend now, I wouldn’t just be alarmed, I’d be annoyed that she’d think I’d fall for something like that.
We find spots near the back and sit down, Asher on my right, Dmitri on his other side, Cam on my left. Just like old times.
Hardwick steps up to the podium, and the whispers around the room die down.
Oh God, I wonder how many of those whispers were about me.
“Greetings, everyone. A hearty welcome to our new first-years, and welcome back to our returning students.”
After a few minutes, I start to tune him out. It’s almost the same speech as last year, so I’ve heard it already.
As my attention shifts to the crowd, I notice a hell of a lot of people are staring back at me. People will peek over at me, realize I’m looking, and glance away hurriedly, their faces turning pink. It’s like they’re trying to catch a glimpse of a celebrity.
I’m… not a fan of this. Maybe Alyssa would like the notoriety. Maybe Cam would be able to handle it well. But I’ve always been a loner, and even if I’ve been coming out of my shell a little more lately, getting a ton of attention isn’t my thing.
I wasn’t even trying to get attention. I didn’t ask for this. Stopping Raul was the right thing to do, and it wasn’t like I could turn down being in the Trials—well, okay, I did almost turn that down, but I was persuaded to change my mind.
Whether I asked for it or not though, all this extra attention worries me a little. Not just in general, or for myself, but… because of the guys, and my relationship with them.
Especially Roman.
Chapter 5
After Hardwick’s speech, we have the rest of the day off to pick up our schedules and cram in a last bit of lounging around before classes start.
Tomorrow, I’ll officially begin my second year at the Academy of Unpredictable Magic.
I’m actually looking forward to resuming my training. I like learning and always have, even if I’m not exactly a top-notch student. I was never up for valedictorian, if you know what I mean. But the curriculum at a magical academy tends to be a lot more interesting than what I studied in high school, so that helps.
As excited as I am about the classes themselves though, I’m a little worried about the whole… struggling with my magic thing.
Last semester, I barely made it through the Trials alive. And yeah, part of that was because some nutjob and his underlings were trying to kill me, but another part of it was due to my own fumbling magical skills. I don’t want this to be another semester of me struggling to keep up with the rest of my class. Especially since I’m in my second year now.
Cam can tell I’m nervous, so he gets me up in the morning and takes me out to our usual path in the woods. He’s an athletic, outdoorsy guy who loves being in nature, and our campus is gorgeous and perfect for that. There’s a massive forest on the east side of campus with trees and hiking trails everywhere, and Cam and I know a lot of them by now thanks to our runs.
“Come on!” I tug on his arm, trying to get him to actually run with me instead of just walk at a moderately brisk pace. It’s beautiful around us. Early dawn light seeps through the woods, painting everything gold, pink, and purple, but I’m not out here to admire the view. I’m here to exercise.
“You shouldn’t be running just yet,” Cam replies, resisting my attempts and digging his heels in. “You need to build up your strength.”
“I need to get back to where I was before all this happened.” I let go of his arm and stop walking entirely, a sudden