We all jump at the sudden knock on the door, Laira sighs and gets up to answer the door. It's not late but it's not early either, so I'm not surprised when David strolls in followed by his posee, Kaya and Frederick with a K. I internally roll my eyes at the intrusion while everyone files in, filling up the room to full capacity.
Frederik sniffs the air and smirks," Where is the booze?" He perches himself on a chair while Riley hides the good stuff under a pillow, out of sight.
" I have no idea what you're speaking about," Riley huffs, and downs the last drop of whisky, sliding the glass on the bedside. Big mistake on her part because Frederik picks it up and sniffs it like a hound dog.
" Ahhh, the good stuff," He drawls and glances at Riley suspiciously, " I thought that your parents were chumps. Where did you get the cash to buy top-shelf Weller?" I'm not his biggest fan already but that comment just adds more fuel to the already burning pire.
" Mind your own business, Turner. Nobody comes to your room to ask where did got the money to buy yourself underpants. Suck it or get out," Laira and David turn to us with raised brows at my biting tone while Kaya slinks her legs on the table and watches the show, with bated breath.
" This should be good," Kaya mutters and smirks while Frederik tries to come up with a coherent response. Riley is on the verge of becoming one with the wall, and I want to punch Frederik.
" Ease up Abernathy. I was just teasing Weller," The guy sounds more like a thug when he speaks and there is a certain intentional drawl to his speech, it sounds slightly forced.
" For a guy that is supposed to be smart, I'm not sure you fit in this room," I don't bother to hide my animosity towards him. I really don't understand how David can stand his company.
" Can we just take a moment to calm down," Laira comes between me and Frederik. I only took two sips, and I feel perfectly sober, while they had two glasses each. Maybe my sober brain fails to see the humour in Frederik's teasing.
" Fine by mine," Frederik smirks raising his arms in surrender, " I don't want to get dragged to the underworld by the harbinger of death over here," That is a low blow, and strikes too close to home. I suddenly feel exposed. Laira chides him but Frederik doesn't ease up and carries on with his rant.
" After all you came back from the dead. Rumours go about that you made a deal with the devil, and everyone you touch gets sent to him," I'm at his throat the next second he finishes spewing his filth. I'm not violent by nature and I have no idea what came over me, but he is sprawled on the floor, in one single swipe of my feet, and next thunk in know I'm kneeling on his chest. Panic quickly overcomes his expression and genuine worry settles in his eyes in a flash.
" Now you can say hello to me when you see him," I squeeze a little harder on his neck, and I can feel the rapid pulse of his blood underneath my fingers. Frederik has nothing to say to that because he is too busy trying to catch his breath.
Laira grabs my shoulders and pulls me back off of him," You've made your point," She says calmly and I let go of the bastard to stand over him.
" Fred you should really think before you open your mouth," David chimes in, and I meet his eyes. We've been friends for quite some time but I see it in his eyes that he doesn't recognise the girl standing in front of him, Laira doesn't either but I know she will accept who I've become.
" Can we all be civil? This is my room. You either behave or get the fuck out," Laira declares sternly while Frederik dusts himself off the floor, and glares at me.
Kaya chuckles," Aren't you a bundle of joy," She mutters under her breath and drops her legs to the floor only to prop herself on her knees," I thought you'd be boring like the rest of this lot, but I am glad I was wrong," I'm starting to like her, but I find it surprising that none of these people behaves the way bookworms do. I feel that I'm missing an inside joke of the sort.
" What am I missing?" I look at David for answers, and he takes a deep breath before answering.
" Frederik and Kaya are legacies. Their parents studied at the academy, and so did Riley's parents. She is also a legacy. Most of the students in this place are legacies, but some things have changed over the years. There was a time when the academy combined science with fieldwork, and that meant gruesome training. The current Dean is pouring every kemmar into advancing on the scientific field, not much left to train anyone to fight," They know about Zareen. Of course, they do if they are legacies.
" You know about Zareen then," It is not a question but they all nod regardless, and Frederik looks at me as if I've killed his favourite pet.
" The academy is built on it. It is the remnants of something else. It was intact when it was discovered. The same way you know it. It has been so for hundreds of years, and probably more before that," Kaya is the one to fill in the gaps, and I'm grateful for it.
We all settle back down into our seats, and the smug overconfidence that Frederik was displaying earlier has completely dissolved, replaced by utter hatred aimed- you guessed it- at me. So, that means that he must know how to fight, it would explain his cocky behaviour.
" It is unclear who built it, but judging by the number of artefacts found within Zareen it belonged to an order called Solomonari. When the academy came to be, they reprised their previous work, fighting an enemy that had managed to survive doomsday, the Kallah. It is a covenant of some sort of witches and warlocks seeking to change the order of things. And when I say change the order, I mean they want everything. Absolute control," I've already gathered as much but now Micah has found his leverage and that leverage would be me. Oh, joy.