I hate him. I hate him. I hate him.
I absolutely despise Michael Skywalker. He's a total dickhead.
I'm not entirely sure if time moves the same way here as it does in the human realm, but if it does, it's been roughly two weeks since I arrived. I haven't heard a single word from Astor, but this morning, a black crow fluttered into my room and dropped a letter onto my bed. It bore my mother's initials.
Dear Vivian,
I know everything must feel overwhelming and complicated right now. I'm so sorry I haven't been there for you, but I am still searching for your sister. Astor told me he's enrolled you at the university; I attended it myself once. If you take your lessons seriously, I know you'll grow into a brave and powerful witch.
Please, take care of yourself. Stay out of trouble, don't let your anger consume you, and show respect to your seniors and teachers. I will come to see you soon. Remember that I love you.
Love,
Mother
The clock tower in the centre of the campus chimed, the sound vibrating painfully in my ears—enough to trigger a mounting headache. I smoothed the wrinkles out of my uniform skirt, shoved my books into my bag, and headed out of the dormitory.
"Hi! Good morning!" a high pitch voice sung out merrily scaring the crap out of me.
"What the fuck, Lucy!" I snapped, my annoyance flared instantly.
She didn't seem to mind. She simply hooked her arm through mine. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you," she said, practically dragging me along. For some reason, I haven't been able to get rid of this silly girl. She's been like a persistent shadow ever since I saved her from some guy making unwanted advances about two weeks ago. He was an elemental who wielded fire magic. I'm still healing from the burns he gave me, but it was worth it. I still kicked his ass.
"How are you doing this morning, Vivian?" Lucy asked with a broad smile. She flipped her thick, golden hair, which seemed to shimmer and tingle with its own light.
"Thanks again for helping me the other day," she added, squeezing my arm tightly. I sighed. She had been thanking me forever.
"The way you stepped up for me... it felt like a fairytale," she continued merrily. "You know, like those storybooks where the prince saves the princess from certain doom."
I paused and narrowed my eyes at her. "Are you a lesbian? Because if you are, I should probably tell you now—I'm not into girls." I tried to wrench my arm free, but her grip was surprisingly firm.
"What's a 'lesbian'?" she asked, her smile never wavering.
I rolled my eyes and gave up the struggle as we reached the cafeteria.
"Oh, look!" she suddenly shrieked, pointing across the room.
I turned toward a group of boys swaggering through the hall. In the centre of the pack was a guy with wavy blond hair with rich green eyes that reminded me of the gulf. He wore a black doublet jacket with intricate golden embroidery over a crisp, white velvet shirt. Words cannot describe how charming and elegant he looked.
The atmosphere in the room shifted instantly. Girls were whispering and giggling, some were literally drooling over him.
"That's Prince Caspian," Lucy whispered eagerly. "He's a Fae. Isn't he handsome?"
Handsome was an understatement.
"He's a second year; I heard he's one of the best students in his class," Lucy chirped. Suddenly, a male voice boomed: "Lucy Blueleaf!"
"Oops, that's my cranky old mentor. Gotta go," she said, hurrying off while muttering to herself.
I adjusted my satchel, ran a hand through my hair, and made my move. I walked toward the group, watching as the guys sat down around a table. I slipped into an empty seat uninvited.
"Hi," I said to the prince, flashing him a smile and winking. He looked at me, surprise flashing briefly in his eyes.
"I like your outfit," I said, taking off my bag. "Your aura is completely magnetic."
I was a Diva, and this guy was going to be mine.
"Who do you think you are, to sit at this table? What right do you have?" said the guy sitting beside the prince. He wore a red velvet shirt over black denim jeans. He had unruly black hair which framed his dark eyes that seemed to spell trouble.
I ignored him, keeping my gaze fixed on the prince. "I've heard you are the mightiest warrior in the school. Rumors say you're an undefeated champion in combat. I have to admit, you're pretty much my dream guy," I said, flipping my hair and batting my eyelashes at him.
The prince stared at me, amused. The other guy opened his mouth to protest, but the prince signaled him to stop.
"Leave her. She's my plus-one," the prince said, then turned to me. "What's your name, pretty thing?"
"I'm Vivian—"
Suddenly, a rough hand yanked me to my feet. Anger boiled in my chest as I turned to see who it was. My eyes narrowed.
"Skywalker," I hissed under my breath. Perfect. This was just perfect. He had to come and spoil my morning, as usual.
"First year," he responded coolly. "We have practice before this morning's lesson." He tugged me along, his grip firm. "Change into your leathers and meet me on the training field," he grunted into my ear.
"I hate you," I said, trying to shake him off, but I was powerless against his strength.
"The feeling is mutual," he replied.
Aargh! I groaned, thoroughly annoyed. "Prick."
"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that," he said.
"You are a thorn in my flesh."
"And you are a marvel of stupidity," He said
"I was in such a good mood until I saw your face. I wish I could switch to a timeline where you don't exist." I spat the words at him, my anger bubbling over as we stomped out of the cafeteria and onto the field.
"If your IQ was doubled, it would still be zero," he countered, his grip on my arm tightening as he dragged me further.
"They need to give you a Guinness World Record for being the most annoying person alive," I snapped, my voice rising. "Your mother must be so disappointed she had a kid like you. She did a terrible job raising you."
The world seemed to grind to a halt. His eyes darkened, and we stopped dead in our tracks. Before I could even process his reaction, his hand crashed against my cheek, sending me reeling until I plummeted to the ground.
"Don't you dare speak about my mother," he roared, his voice trembling with genuine outrage.
My head spun as I slowly looked up at him. A chill raced down my spine—I had never seen him this unhinged before. The wind began to whip violently around him, carrying grit and stones into the air. His eyes shifted, blooming into an otherworldly shade of blue, pulsing with a blinding light so intense that I could barely distinguish his irises.
"You know nothing about me," he stormed, his voice echoing with a power that wasn't human.
All around us, the school had gone silent; everyone had stopped to stare at the scene. He hovered slightly above the ground, radiating raw anger and a terrifying, latent power.
"You have no right to speak about my mother," he commanded, the air humming with the weight of his words.
"Micheal!" A voice boomed with authority.
I turned to see Mr. Croft, a professor from the Yearn Realm. "That's enough," he growled.
Micheal's head whipped toward the teacher. Slowly, his feet touched the ground, and the power radiating off him began to simmer. His eyes turned back to normal, but there was no doubt that the anger remained.
"Both of you," Mr. Croft commanded, "in my office. Now!"
Micheal stormed off. I struggled to stand, my legs trembling.
"What the fuck just happened?" I murmured. I didn't even know what I'd said to make him that mad. I rubbed my hands over my skirt, trying to brush off the dust, only to realize that my knees and palms had been bruised by my fall.
Shit.
Roughly twenty minutes later, we were sitting in the professor's office. Micheal wore a grim expression and refused to look in my direction.
"What happened?" the professor asked for the hundredth time. He paused, then continued, "Micheal, you are one of our best students. Everyone has high hopes for you. The last thing we expect is for you to be picking a fight with a first-year."
He turned his gaze toward me. "And you. You've only been here for a few days, and already you've been reported for getting into multiple fights."
"It's only been twice," I muttered.
He glared at me, and I quickly shut up, lowering my gaze.
"You two need to make up," the professor said firmly. "Apologize to each other and work on your differences."