“Headmistress Adiana thought we would be more comfortable here.”
“She probably just didn’t want us to keep using her office.” He grinned.
“Yeah, you’re probably right.”
“So, what do you got for me today, Pa?” I asked, my words dripping with sarcasm. My father raised an eyebrow at me.
“Sophie, this isn’t funny. This is serious stuff.”
“Oh, I know it is.” I sat down in one of the chairs and propped my feet up on the table. “Last week you informed me I was immortal. That I get to live and watch the years go by and go by. Watch all my friends and family live and love and die.
“What do you got for me this week? Am I destined to save the world? To end it? You know, one of my friends informed me that the dragons are always at the center of history. Does the balance of the supernatural world hinge on my very existence?”
My father didn’t speak. He took his time sitting down in a chair and putting his elbows on the table. He met my eyes, looking sheepish.
“You’ve got to be kidding me!”
“Sophie, keep your voice down.”
“The balance of the supernatural world hinges upon my very existence, doesn’t it? That’s what I get for being dramatic. Because what sixteen-year-old girl doesn’t want that kind of responsibility? Why should I worry about friends or boys or makeup when next you’re going to tell me I need to fly to outer space and hold the Earth in orbit for eternity!”
My father sighed. “Simon is the only one who can calm you down when you’re being dramatic like this.”
“Yeah, well, Simon isn’t here, is he?” I asked.
“Have you talked to him recently?”
“Of course. I send him a letter at least once a week. We haven’t been off campus to meet up, though.”
“They keep a tight lock on the animages.”
“Yeah,” I said. I put my feet on the floor and propped my head up on my elbows. I looked at Dad and raised my eyebrow at him like he did to me. “Why is that?”
“I could give you a lot of reasons. But it all comes down the fact that the supernatural community is scared of them.”
“Scared, why?”
“Animages are the strongest, and also the most volatile of the supernaturals. As you know, keeping the supernatural community secret is important. Animages, especially young ones, can’t always control their magic. They also can’t all mix well into society. Faeries have their own lands and ways to remain secret, but animages aren’t a cohesive group and everyone’s afraid everyone else is going to be what brings us out into the open.”
“Then why do we live that way? Why are we so scared of being out in the open?”
“Because of the alternative. Before the Secrecy Act, life for the supernaturals was hard and scary. We were scattered, there was no community, and we were hunted relentlessly.”
“So how do we stay protected?”
“That’s where you, and I come in. Dragons have powerful protection magic. We can hide things, deal with memory magic, and we can—uh—suggest things for others to believe. Your magic might manifest differently than mine, but 100 years ago my power was used to develop a spell that to this day helps keep the supernatural world a secret from humans. It’s why I’m the Chancellor of the Council. And why you will be Chancellor one day, too.”
For the first time I wished Simon had been accepted to Animage Academy instead of me. I never thought I would miss being the unseen twin, but there I was. Regular magic school sounded like paradise. I could have my phone and my hair dryer, and no one would care about what I did. I plopped down on a bench and cradled my pounding head in my hands. A shadow loomed over me. I looked up to see Drew staring down at me.
“Mind if I join you?” He asked.
“Not at all.” My inability to speak around Drew had ended after the night of the Immortal’s Club, but his presence still made my stomach do flip flops. He sat down next to me and stretched his long legs out in front of him on the sidewalk.
“You look like you’ve got the weight of the world on your shoulders.” I chuckled. If only he knew. I wanted to say, ‘I just learned the fate of the entire supernatural community is up to me.’ But instead I said, “I’m bummed I missed my friend’s first shift today.”
“You haven’t been back to the meeting place.” I arched an eyebrow at him and didn’t respond.
“Still feeling a little put out over the first adventure?”
“Not how I would describe it.”
“I told Penelope it was stupid, but she insists on these huge initiations. Yours was definitely the most elaborate. Kylee was pretty convinced you wouldn’t try to save her, or be able to save yourself.” I rolled my eyes.
“Of course.”
“Bad blood between you two?”
“Let’s just say she’s not my biggest fan.”
“Did you tell your friends about that night?”
“No.”
“Why is that?” I didn’t answer.
“I know why.”
“Oh you do, do you?”
“Yeah. It’s because they’re not like us. They’re not immortal.”
I crossed my ankles and rubbed my back against the brick building behind me.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Sure, you do. I’m sure your friends are all perfectly fine people. But this is something you can’t share with them.”
“Maybe I will tell them.”
Drew chuckled. “You might be a dragon, but not even you are brave enough to go against the rules. You know the penalties for breaking the law.”
“You think I’m brave?” The words just slipped out.
“Of course. You’d only shifted once before and you managed to save yourself, your friend, and get some of the strongest and most experienced students of Animage Academy on the run.”
“My temper
