Book 2 Episode 2

ARIA I knock on the door decisively but when I hear a man’s voice say “Come in” instead of the headmistress, I hesitate before entering. “Come in, Aria!” the male voice sounds louder than before and I obey, entering the main office of our school. But what I see – I did not expect! At the huge desk right in the centre of the room sits Alexander-freaking-Kingston! With his legs on the desk! And headmistress Simons is placing a cup of coffee from a tray right before him. What the hell? She doesn’t serve coffee even when my father the Alpha King visits! Why is she doing it for the warlock?! “That would be all, Ellen,” Kingston winks to the older woman and she hurries to leave the room, leaving the two of us alone. “Erm,” I turn to see her close the door behind herself, “Where did she go? She is the one who called for me!” “No, she wasn’t the one, princess,” the warlock smirks, “Take a seat. We have a lot to discuss.” “Do we?” I raise my eyebrows in surprise. What can we possibly have to discuss?! “Really,” he says firmly, throwing a file on the desk right next to his feet. Expensive Italian leather shoes, by the way… From the corner of my eye, I notice that it’s my file. “Then enlighten me, please,” I take a seat opposite of him and he takes his feet off the desk, starting to swing in his chair, which annoys me even more. “You have a curious case, Aria,” he says with an emotionless face, “I found out all the information there is about you. And I have to admit, it’s interesting.” “What case would that be?” I look at him intensely, noticing that ladies do have good reasons to fall for him. He has a handsome face with strong manly features, stubble which was definitely trimmed carefully, shiny pitch-black hair, and piercing green eyes. Well, intensely green eyes actually a common feature for witches from our clan. My mum has the same and so do I. But he has that captivating gaze that most girls would find attractive. And I know for sure that he’s been using everything that mother nature has gifted him with. Tales of his conquers in the field of love and lust are probably taller than those of his father. Apple from a tree… “The case why you, a daughter of a powerful witch and a werewolf king has been born a human with no powers,” he says casually and my heart sinks. Not that again. Ever since I was 12 and neither shifted nor summoned any of the elements, there were people around me that tried to cure me. They were creating all those theories and promised to heal me, to fix me. But all of them failed. And the worst thing about it all – is that each of them was giving me this false hope that I could become like everyone else around me. The worst of them was uncle Connor, the current head of the Coven and the father of the jerk in front of me. He told me that I am special and that I was destined to be powerful! The most powerful of all. And I believed him, worked with him and tried to do everything he told me to do… But nothing worked, only leaving me disappointed each time. And feeling even more empty and worthless. That horrible feeling – I thought I forgot all about it… But here we go again! “And what do you think about it?” I lean on the back of my seat and cross my arms on my chest, putting one leg on top of another and prepare to listen to yet another bullshit. But I don’t hear any. And when I look up at him, I notice that his eyes stopped on my thighs showing off from the school skirt. I have to admit that it’s a bit short, as I grew taller since the beginning of the year but since it still fits I didn’t bother to change it. Maybe I should. “Eyes are up here, TEACHER,” I raise my brow and he suddenly looks at me surprised. And then, meeting my glare, he starts… laughing. He laughs so hard that it’s getting awkward. What the hell is wrong with him? “I am sorry, Aria, I was just mind-linking one of my subordinates,” he wipes tears from his eyes. “You are a warlock, how would you be able to mind-link anyone,” I roll my eyes. “Mental magic,” he snorts and I suddenly feel stupid. It’s not common but it is possible… “Yeah, yeah,” I roll my eyes once again to look cool and try and not give out that I feel like an i***t. A playboy like him wouldn’t faint at the look of a girl’s bare thighs. “Anyway, I think I can…” he starts but I suddenly feel annoyed with the whole situation and want to leave. “Let me guess,” I interject, “You want to help me? To understand what exactly happened to me and why I have no powers. And when you do understand you would be able to FIX me. Well, I have to say I haven’t heard that one before. Oh, wait. I have! Many times. So, I am going to only tell you this once. Whatever it is that you plan to do – I am not interested. I am done with trying to find out the truth and I am done with hoping that something can work and truly help me. Because, honestly, I’ve tried and seen it all since I was twelve!” “I understand that you are a royal,” he says calmly, “But you really have to start letting people finish their sentences first. Don’t be bratty.” I clench my lips and prepare to listen. Let’s get it over with and leave. “So, your case is interesting and I happen to be one of the best in the field of magical research at the moment. Your mother has asked me personally to come and take a look at you. And to try and help you if possible. That’s one of the reasons I agreed to a job at this academy and I am going to run for some time…” “I am sorry, did you say run it?” my jaw drops to the floor. “Not officially, but yes. Run it. There are some things to be fixed here. Especially in the witches’ education. The current curriculum is too… weak.” Weak? Is he kidding me? Witches are working 10 times harder than the werewolves with all the extra classes they have to have! “But you would be my special project, Aria,” he sighs as if he is too tired to explain things to me, “I have to test you and we have a lot of work ahead of us. Don’t expect anyone to cut you some slack at your lessons, though. If anything, you should study harder than ever.” “Because you are going to cure me?” I chuckle and he does not look too happy about it. I guess his ego is even bigger than his father’s. “No,” he smirks, “Because if you don’t, I am going to fail you in all of your subjects and then you would have to repeat your year. And then again. And again. Until I am satisfied. Got it?” “Yes, Mr. Kingston,” I grit through my teeth. “Good!” he smiles like he didn’t just threaten me, “Then I guess I would see you at your birthday party. Or sooner.” “Sooner?” I look at him in surprise but he has already opened another file. That one is Hunter’s. “Off you go,’ he gestures me to leave and I want to throw something at him. However he is a warlock, he would probably just block it! Ugh! I storm out of the room, wanting to kill someone, anyone! Literally anyone would do! “Not so fast!” someone grabs me by my hand and pushes me into the tiny room next to the headmistress’s reception. That’s where they make all those coffees and teas. I am slammed on the wall by none other than Hunter Forrester himself…