The noise is the first thing that assaults me, as we walk out, then the sunlight and heat which comes in a wave and for a moment it is very welcome, trying to hold it together in there once my bodysuit was off wasn’t easy but it sure as hell surpassed having to explain why I was shivering with the weather around this place.

We walk through what appears to be a hallway, with walls on either side but no roof.

Blue would have loved this weather, playing...

No! Mahina, we are not doing this now. You were holding it together just fine. Your baby is safe and in a better place than you are right now if Nyx is to be believed.

I had been trying to keep Knox out of my head one, for fear one of these people was a mind reader and could pick up on it, it didn’t seem like a good idea to let them know, and two, I wasn’t sure I could keep it together, thank fates for Nyx and his entertaining monologue.

He pulls me out of my thoughts when we get to the end of the seemingly endless hallway, "chin up, little one, we are here, no weaknesses, we capitalize on those,” he punctuates this with a tiny bite that has me biting down on my tongue to contain my yelp.

I was going to pluck his beautiful scales one by one while he screeched to the heavens.

I do as he asked though as I walk into the room prepared to see lots of people and activity, judging from the steady hum of conversation you could hear from outside.

Nothing in this world and all alternate realms could have prepared me for what happens next.

“Jaya!” the human, well,...mage tornado heading towards me yells.

I watch fascinated, almost in slow motion as he jumps over several tables and diving towards me, closing my eyes, I brace for impact only for a deafening silence to envelope me.

It was that bad? Did I pass out?, if that fucker had killed me I am going to haunt him for eternity.

“you’ve got to stop making threats with your eyes closed princess, it lessens the impact,” drawls Cain.

Relaxing my eyelids at his words, I turn towards his voice, intent on giving him a few words.

“Well, fuck me sideways, am I floating, or did he knock a few screws loose?”

“tempting offer, but you levitated on your own to avoid his heavy ass, good thing too we would be scraping you off the floor right now,” says Jain grinning up at me.

“ok, how do I get down?” as soon as I think about It my fat ass drops like an anchor.

“a simple answer would have sufficed,” I answer looking up as I pick myself up rather disgracefully.

“Mahi girl we’ve got to work on your first impressions,” I mutter under my breath.

Looking around, I realize that the room is in fact a cafeteria, most of the students, judging from their overly bright blue and white uniforms, go back to their business except for a handful who are closer to us.

“Who is Jaya?” I ask, turning to the guy who almost made me a patty only to realize he’s being restrained by Dain, “and why is he looking at me like I’m supposed to be dead, you know, more ghost less real?”

“That’s because to him you are.”

“Watch it, Cain,” says Jain in a tone very foreign to his demeanour.

Cain raises his hand in surrender, then turns and pulls Dain’s arms from around the guy.

“You good now bro?” asks Jain.

“Yeah, I’m sorry. That was incredibly stupid. It’s just...”

“I know.”

I go to protest when a sudden silence engulfs the cafeteria, this time instead of underlying curiosity, there’s the pungent taste of fear and underlying rage, which I realise is coming from my escorts even as they stiffen, faces stoic bodies straight.

The door behind us bursts open and a wave of magic assaults me.

“Uh-oh, that is not good,” whispers Nyx landing on my neck, still invisible to others, I hope.

“Why who is that?”

Cain’s snarled “be quiet” alerts me to the fact that I asked out loud, good thing they already thought I was loony or that would have sold Nyx out.

Despite the distance from the door to where we are being relatively short, the guy and his entourage make it seem like miles, it’s as if he’s walking in slow motion to make sure we all catch a good look, make sure that we all acknowledge he owned the show.

I take the opportunity to study him: tall, like seriously tall, like holy mama Khalil is a dwarf kind of tall; with blond almost golden hair and built like a tank, I could understand the level of intimidation he commanded.

“Any day now,” mutters the new guy, earning a scoff from Ryder and three sets of identical glares.

“Boys!”

I would like to think I was prepared for the sound that would come out, given his build but boy was I wrong, the impact reverberates through the entire room and I rock back on my heels the steady hand on my back the only reason I don’t fall on my ass, even Nyx clings onto my hair, for the rest of the students, some are on the floor and the ones still seated are showing signs of distress from bulging veins to clenched jaws.

“Sire,”

I stand transfixed as the rest bow, some of the students even kneel, in my defence, I was still running my mind through everything that had happened.

“Bow you, idiot,” comes from Nyx.

I go to answer when the stupid voice from earlier, Chad the dullard comes through grating as ever.

“See your majesty, I told you she was insolent, a few days in purgatory and she’ll fall in line.”

Purgatory? What the fuck!

Suddenly Garian crumples to the ground clutching his neck veins bulging.

“Now Garian, that is no way to speak to your future queen, is it? Apologize,” the immense man drawls studying me with a strange look in his eyes.

A rush of joy fills me to see Chad like that, which is why I take an embarrassingly long minute to gather what he had said.

“Queen? Who me?” I ask, turning around, everyone is watching me with a mixture of reverence and jealousy and a few pitiful looks here and there.

“And you will be the king I suppose?”

He nods his head slowly.

“Fuck no, you’re hot and all but no mister, no way, are you freaking serious?”

I turn to look at my escorts who all avoid my eyes. Were they for real? Was this some prank? like, scare the newbie or some shit.

That’s what I get for not trying to escape, let’s learn a little more about these guys she said, well see what you did now stupid inner voice.