Allison

Thornhill Academy’s large iron gates stood tall in front of me, black and sharp, twisting into shapes that looked more like barbed wire than decoration. They loomed so high I couldn’t see the tops without craning my neck. For a moment, I thought the bars might bend and curl around me like a trap closing in. The enforcer on my left tightened his grip on my arm, as if I might make another attempt to run for it. Spoiler: I had. Twice. The first time was a dash through the scrub bush before he tackled me into the dirt. The second ended with me tripping over his own damn boot and face-planting. My pride still hurts more than my ribs. The enforcer on my right… Well, he kept a healthy distance. I didn’t blame him. Yesterday, when they first found me, I’d blasted him in the face with a spell I didn’t even know I could conjure. His eyebrows still hadn’t grown back properly, which was both satisfying and slightly horrifying every time I looked at him. The way he kept darting side glances at me, like I might set him on fire again, almost made me smile. Almost.

The gates creaked open soundlessly, like the whole place had been waiting for me. Perfect green lawns stretched out in neat squares, too flawless to be natural. Marble pathways glistened under the morning sun, not a speck of dust or cracked stone in sight. Stone towers rose in the distance, their windows catching the light and throwing shards of gold across the ground. Magic hummed in the air, tangible, pressing against my skin like static before a storm. And then there were the students. Dozens, possibly hundreds, spilled across the courtyard. They moved in tight little groups, uniforms crisp and pressed, dark blazers with silver embroidery, ties knotted perfectly at their throats, shoes polished until they caught the light like mirrors. None of them looked like they’d ever trudged through scrub land with dirt under their nails and smoke in their lungs. They stopped when they saw me.

It was like watching a ripple spread across a pond, one head turning, then another, then another. Magic faltered mid-air, and conversations cut off. Every eye in that pristine courtyard locked on me. And they stared like I was some wild thing that had wandered in from the forest. Maybe they weren’t wrong. I tugged my arm, but the enforcer’s grip only tightened. His hand was a cuff, digging into the flesh of my bicep. I straightened my shoulders and met their stares head-on. If they wanted a rabid animal, fine. I’d give them one. I realised how many magicals there were. Shifters with glints of fur under their skin. Fae with silver-lined eyes. Witches are trailing sparks from their fingertips. A siren’s laugh caught on the breeze. I’d never seen so many in one place before. Never even dreamed of it. The scrub lands I came from didn’t have people like this, just broken humans and scraps of freedom. And now that freedom was gone, shrinking behind me with every step deeper into this perfect little prison. The enforcers didn’t slow. We crossed the courtyard, climbed wide marble steps that gleamed like bone. The doors ahead were massive, carved with sigils that pulsed faintly as I approached. They opened on their own, and I was shoved through into a hall that made my chest tighten.

The inside of Thornhill was worse than the outside. The air was thick with incense and magic. Chandeliers floated overhead, crystal shards dripping starlight down the walls. Banners hung in deep reds and silvers, embroidered with the crest of Thornhill, a phoenix made of fire and chains. The floors gleamed so perfectly I could see my own scowling reflection in them. We marched past students lining the hall, whispering behind their hands. Their eyes followed me, their expressions ranging from curiosity to disgust. I caught words like feral, unmarked, and illegal. My jaw clenched so hard my teeth ached.

“Move it,” the enforcer muttered, steering me toward a wide staircase. The steps seemed endless, climbing higher and higher, lined with portraits of grim-faced magicals glaring down at me like I was already guilty of something. At the top, heavy doors loomed, their brass handles shaped like coiling serpents. The enforcer rapped once, and the door swung open with a groan. I was shoved inside.

The office was all dark wood and smoke. Tall shelves lined the walls, stacked with books so old their spines looked ready to crumble. A fire roared in a stone hearth, heat crawling over my skin. Behind an enormous desk sat a man who looked like he’d been carved from stone and then set on fire for good measure. His hair was the colour of ash, his eyes like molten embers that burned hotter the longer they stared at me.

Fredrick Scorched. Principal of Thornhill Academy.

“Sit,” he said, voice a rumble that seemed to vibrate the floorboards.

I stayed standing. My boots planted firm, my arms crossed. His eyes narrowed, but I wasn’t about to play tame little stray just because a dragon shifter with a fancy chair told me to.

Scorched flicked his hand toward the enforcers. “Leave us.”

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