Moonveil Academy: Trapped With The Five Kings

Elara:

I could have spent the evening resting in my dorm after waking up in the infirmary, but apparently my body recovering from being thrown across a combat hall didn’t mean my professors had decided to show me any mercy.

By the time I returned to my dorm, I was already thinking about the Rune assignment that was due the following morning. So, after eating the dinner Mrs. Carter had left behind for me, I packed my books and headed straight back to the library.

It took me more than two hours to finish the assignment, mostly because the subject was considerably more complicated than any of the other subjects I was currently studying.

By the time I finally placed my pen down and stretched my aching fingers, the clock on the library wall showed twelve minutes past nine.

I should have gone back to my dorm. Instead, I stared at the shelves surrounding me and made the exact decision I had been making almost every night since first stepping in this place. I stayed.

I still knew painfully little about Starfall, magic, the academy, and the strange world I had somehow been thrown into, and every book I read made me realize just how much more there was to learn.

I wandered toward one of the smaller sections tucked behind the main shelves, searching for something that wouldn’t require me to understand three hundred pages of magical theory before teaching me how to cast a basic spell. I was looking specifically for beginner-friendly spell books when I sensed movement behind me.

I turned just in time to find Kairo Greymark approaching with that familiar, annoyingly charming smile playing across his lips. He looked completely different from the last time I had seen him in the library.

Black trousers hugged his long legs, while a crisp white shirt was tucked neatly into them, a dark tie hanging loosely around his neck with the top two buttons undone. The opening revealed a small portion of his collarbone, and for one embarrassing second, my eyes lingered there before I caught myself.

I immediately looked upward, only to find his gray eyes already watching me with far too much amusement.

”What are you doing here?” I asked, quickly turning back toward the shelves as though the book in front of me had suddenly become the most fascinating thing in existence.

The first time he had found me here, he’d ended up teaching me about illusion magic. Since then, he’d appeared only once more, four days ago, when he helped me practice the absurd spell he had given me. I hadn’t expected to see him again this quickly, at least not tonight.

”Looking for you,” he answered easily.

I paused for half a second before continuing my search. ”That’s unfortunate.”

His quiet chuckle followed me. ”You wound me, Princess.”

”You’ll survive.” I said, crouching when I finally spotted two promising-looking books shoved near the bottom of the shelf.

Just as I pulled them out, Kairo dropped down beside me with absolutely no concern for the expensive-looking clothes he was wearing. His back settled against the shelf, and before I could protest, he took both books from my hands and began flipping through them.

I stared at him for a moment. Then, because crouching there awkwardly seemed even more ridiculous, I settled down onto the floor beside him. The cold stone beneath me was surprisingly comfortable, and I turned my body slightly so I could face him.

”Honestly, why are you here?”

His fingers stopped turning the pages. He looked at me, and for once there was no immediate teasing answer on his lips. ”I heard what happened today.” His gaze traveled over me briefly before settling on my face again. ”You look better than I expected.”

I raised an eyebrow. ”Disappointed that I’m not broken?”

His smile returned, but there was something different behind it this time. ”You might not believe me, but I don’t want you hurt.”

I studied him suspiciously. Of all the people I’d met here, Kairo was probably the hardest to read. Reign made his hostility obvious. Alaric didn’t bother hiding his arrogance. Liliana practically wore her hatred like jewelry. Kairo, however, could say something that sounded sincere while smiling like he knew three things I didn’t.

”That’s surprisingly considerate of you.” I finally spoke.

”Don’t get used to it.” His smile widened. ”Besides, I do like it when you are the one doing the hurting.”

I blinked. ”Excuse me?”

”You defeated Liliana today.” His eyes glinted with amusement. ”I enjoyed hearing about that part.”

I immediately looked away, because somehow his words had managed to make my heart skip for an entirely different reason than irritation, and I didn’t appreciate it. I reached for the books. ”Give those back.”

His hand closed around them before I could take them. ”I’ll help you.”

”I can read.”

”But you need more than reading.” He pointed out as he placed the books across his lap. ”You need to practice.”

I narrowed my eyes and asked, ”Why are you helping me?”

He was silent for a moment, and I waited. ”I don’t want to hear about you ending up in the infirmary again.” The answer was so casual that I almost missed the sincerity underneath it. He tilted his head slightly. ”And because you are terrible at accepting help.”

”I don’t remember asking for yours.”

”You didn’t.” His smile became almost smug. ”I’m offering.”

I should have told him no. I should have reminded myself that he was Reign’s friend, that he belonged to one of the five noble families, and that every person connected to Reign had already given me enough reasons not to trust them. Instead, I found myself staring at the book resting between us.

Kairo knew magic better than I did. He had already proven that he could teach me something useful, and unlike most people here, he wasn’t treating my lack of magic as a reason to laugh at me.

That didn’t mean I trusted him. It simply meant I wasn’t stupid enough to reject useful information because of where it came from.

”Fine,” I muttered. ”You can help.”

His eyes brightened with unmistakable satisfaction. ”I knew you would come around.”

”Don’t make me regret it.” I warned him seriously.

”Too late.”