Dragon Fire Academy 1 First Term an RH academy romance - Rachel Jonas Page 0,44

hear. Being good natured, his smirk turned into a laugh, which meant he hadn’t let the shocked reaction from our peers get to him.

Tristan came down, and Toni stepped forward. Marcella rested her chin on my shoulder as we watched. Breathing deeply, Toni gave her name when asked, and then went before the pendulum. As with Tristan, it swung for a bit before settling on Domain Akaasha. Toni smiled while accepting her pin, and then returned to her seat, per Alani’s instructions.

And now … it was on me.

Alani held her hand out with a smile, gesturing for me to approach.

“You got this,” Marcella said encouragingly.

Forcing a smile, my feet inched forward slowly like I trudged through quicksand. It was at that moment that I peered up, seeing only my guardians’ silhouettes as the spotlight shined in my eyes, but I was certain I had their full attention. Heck, according to Rayen, they hadn’t taken their eyes off me since I first got here.

Don’t freak out, Noelle. It’ll be quick.

Making myself this promise only took the edge off a little bit. However, that false sense of peace faded the second I was staring that pendulum down.

“Please state your name?”

“Noelle,” I answered, shaking my hands at my sides.

“Thank you,” Alani stated, still holding that calm smile that contrasted how my nerves shredded as I waited.

The red rope whipped through the air, swinging the pendulum back and forth just like it had done for everyone else. My heart pounded as I found myself growing anxious to see where it would stop.

Would I mostly identify as dragon, like my mother? Would my wolf prevail? Or would being a witch overpower both my shifters?

Only time would tell, and that time was now.

Back and forth, back and forth.

It seemed like this went on longer than with all the other students, but I was pretty sure that was only because of the pressure of standing before everyone. But then, when Alani passed a questioning look toward the other Overseers, I realized this wasn’t my imagination. Much like when Tristan had his turn, chatter picked up behind me. Glancing over to Marcella and Manny, their furrowed brows only solidified my horror.

Alani must have sensed my panic, because she quickly righted her expression, bringing back that deceptive smile. The one that hid what I had already figured out.

Something was wrong.

“Should I step down?” I asked her quietly, praying she would say yes and end this.

However, when she replied with a shrug, I guessed there was no protocol for incidents such as these. Because it had never happened before.

Because I was a freak.

The swinging became wilder, more violent, and I questioned how tightly it was secured to the stand. My breaths came hard and fast as I stood there, frozen in place. From the looks of things, I’d confused the heck out of Spirit, and it was currently experiencing some sort of malfunction.

Just when I thought I was out of the woods, this happened, and I could only think about my experience at the lagoon.

No one had given me permission to move, but I’d had enough. We clearly weren’t going to get any answers as to what I was, so it seemed fair to call it quits. Only, when I turned to take a step away, the wild thrashing intensified tenfold. The large, brass disk detached from the rope, and before I had time to react, it launched straight toward my head.

The room erupted in horrified screams and dramatic gasping. I, on the other hand, couldn’t make a sound as my entire body was slammed to the ground. My head swam and it was hard to form thoughts through the haze. I was staring at the light that beamed down from the otherwise dark ceiling, unsure of what had just happened. It felt like I’d been taken down by a torpedo.

In fact, had it not been for the arm wedged beneath me, I might have believed that was exactly what it was.

“Are you all right?” someone asked, a deep voice I couldn’t place at the moment. Probably because I was severely concussed.

“Noelle!” he said again, only closer to my ear this time, and I knew it was Paulo. “Say something. Can you hear me?”

My eyes fluttered closed, and it felt like I’d drift off to sleep if I didn’t fight it. “I hear you,” I croaked, squirming as I struggled to sit upright. When my limbs slipped from underneath me, and Paulo insisted that I stop trying, I settled beside