The corridor I had been dragged into beyond the threshold of the portal was long and branched, and each brightly polished grey stone lead to other corridors, with arched tops and simply designed pillars to hold up the colourfully tiled roof. To its sides, surrounded by the bustling corridors, were square plazas, fields of green grass buzzing with students, lounging around. Some dozing off, and some were reading, and some were doing the exact opposite. Shooting blasts, playing with a dangerously large ball, and casting spells in the air. I'm assuming as practice.

Pelverus called over from the other side, "Find a boy called Oxford Leigasias! He'll be your official guide, milady! Good day!"

I turned around to look at the portal vanishing, zipping up and leaving nothing but a stone wall where it once stood. Huh. I guess that's that, I thought.

"Whilst we're at the academy, I think it's best we think of some ground rules."

"Rules?" I whipped my head towards Zevlin, and my eyes landed on our interlinked arms. I quickly pulled away, shimmying my arm away from his. He was almost stupidly strong.

"I'm assuming Lady Sesilionne has arranged for you to be as protected as you can be within the academy without drawing too much attention."

"Will no one know who I am?"

"Of course they will," he said. His stance was much more relaxed now that we weren't at the palace, and his tone a lot looser. "It's hard not to notice the new girl, especially when the new girl is you."

What? What did he mean? I could feel the tips of my ears getting hot.

"What with that flashy ring and being so late to register for your academic year. Not to mention your lack of knowledge, skills, and manners befitting your—"

I rolled my eyes, face quickly turning red for a completely different reason.

"Alright, alright. I get it," I said hurriedly to cut him off.

"We don't know anything about your classes, dorm or faction yet. So for now, the first thing is for you to not leave my side. Straight to finding Ford."

"All times?"

"Yes," he said plainly, "all times."

"Is there no one else I can stick to?" I grumbled.

A little sideways glare from him made me turn my head away, trying to feign nonchalance.

"What about this Oxford guy? Who is he?"

"One of the academy's top students. Second to none in the brains department," he said after turning his gaze away from me. We started walking through the corridor, and I was left trying to catch up to his wide steps. I scrunched my eyebrows together at the distance that never seemed to close. The way my legs were moving, I was practically running.

"Do you mind slowing down?" I huffed.

He looked back at me with a smug smirk. "No. Why don't you just walk faster?"

I had never seen such an obnoxious look on such a beautiful face before. I wasn't sure if him being good looking actually made him more obnoxious. If this is the guy I'm supposed to stick to at all times, I don't think we'd make it out of this academy on decent terms.

"Do you think I could just stick with Oxford instead?"

"Good luck to Ford, then."

Scoffing, I yanked his arm backwards and walked right up to his chest. I poked him right in the middle, fingertip pressed against his muscles. God, how built is this guy? I cleared my throat and tried to keep my face from flaring red. "I'll have you know that I am pleasant company. Unlike you."

"It's a mutual feeling."

"Ha! That's wonderful to know. You know what? You probably have better things to do. Will you please just tell me where I can find this Oxford?"

"He's probably in the library."

"Thank you. I'll go find him myself." I gave him a tight smile and walked off. My heels dug into the stone not a second after, though, as I realised that I have no idea where in the world is the library. I squeezed my hands into fists. God, no. I can't spend more time with this man.

"You have no idea where the library is, don't you?"

I could hear the smugness practically dripping off of his voice. Pettiness kept my mouth glued shut. I couldn't possibly admit it to him.

His footsteps came closer and closer, and I gritted my teeth all the while he took his excruciating time to walk up to me. Once he had one foot ahead, he turned on his heel and with the most obnoxious half-smile, he leaned slightly closer to me and jerked his chin to the side. "Come."

In the time it took for me to draw my next breath, he had already moved ten steps away from me. I struggled to keep up once again. Staring at his back, I realised that for the first time in a while I felt annoyed. Well and truly annoyed. Not to mention, who knew he could be this much of a two-faced dick? As stand-offish as he was in the palace, I thought he'd at least be less... this.

As we crossed through one of the plazas, I noticed the eyes that followed us. No, let me correct that. Most were staring—possibly even swooning—over...  Zevlin. So much for his concern over people noticing me. He seemed to be a perfect choice to take away the attention. The whispers as we quickly passed by were of varying degrees of concerning obsession. Something along the lines of perfect, handsome, and who is she?

A red haired girl whizzed past, brown coat flying behind her. In the blink of an eye, she was stood next to Zevlin, and the students who had begun to gather and stare whispered even more violently. She looked thoroughly entertained, mostly by the look on Zevlin's face. She was laughing and slapping her thighs. The most carefree I'd ever seen a Valiant be. She hooked her arm over a disgruntled Zevlin's neck, who tried dragging her away from the many eyes of the plaza and behind the arches of the corridor.

"Zevlin! Zevlin, my man! Zevlin, my dude! Zevlin, my guy! Zevlin, my—"

He put his hand up and pinched the bridge of his nose with the other, as if to stop an impending headache, "Stop, Keilana, stop."

The girl named Keilana pouted and ran a hand through her long, red locks, "You're no fun, Zevy."

"Zevy?" I snorted.

Keilana turned to look at me with a kind smile, "Hey! You new here? My name's Keilana! What's yours?"

"Oh. Yes. I'm new. Uh—"

"That's great! Where're you from?"

I blinked, unsure of how to answer.

Zevlin cut in, voice lowered in a near warning tone, "Her name is Lady Alveriana Lei-Larkos Val Helions."

"Helions? Zeta." She immediately sunk low, "Milady. Let me properly introduce myself. I am Lady Keilana Lei-Ostera Val Wylde of Zelte."

I awkwardly patted her shoulder and mumbled, "You don't have to bow before me. I'm not the-uh, queen, or anything."

Keilana stood up straight and crossed her arms, giving Zevlin a little bit of a hard stare. "She's so nice. I hope you're not rude to her."

"Lana, I'm a gentleman."

"Ha! And obiszkis fly!" She chortled, hands slapping her thighs. "You're funny, Zevlin."

Zevlin rolled his eyes and took my arm, "Alright, we have to find Ford now."

"But—"

Before she or I could say anything else, Zev dragged me around the corner, fingers gripping tightly around my wrist.

"Hey! Where are you dragging her off to!" I could hear Lana's voice, booming through the corridor, get further away as we breezed past dozens of students.

The students who were all looking at me. I'm being dragged arm-first with my legs barely keeping up. I imagine that would have been a sight. Once we had gone far enough and my arm started to feel like it was about to lunge out of its socket, I ripped away from Zev's clutch and rubbed my wrist, scowling at him.

"I am perfectly capable of walking on my own."

"Lana would not have stopped talking if you had stayed."

As he walked, I trailed close behind him, observing my wrist. His grip was hard, but not enough to bruise. Still not an excuse.

"She seems like a great girl. You, on the other hand, are not a gentleman like you claimed."

He glanced at my wrist and sighed, "I shouldn't have been so rough. Lana is great, yes, but she's the opposite of what we need to keep things as quiet as possible. By the name of Azure, her mouth just keeps running. You haven't even done your admissions test yet."

Shrugging, I lightly pushed Zevlin's shoulder, "Stop being so uptight!"

Zevlin gave me an icy cold glare, "Please, don't do that again—"

"Geez."

"—and furthermore, I am not uptight."

"Alright."

He walked a bit faster, steps widening further—which I didn't realise would be possible—beckoning me to follow. The hallways, I soon noticed, mostly connected the plazas and some monuments and what looked like miniature amphitheatres filled with students. The one Zevlin was leading me down, however, led to a large opening. An end to the maze of goddamn corridors. We stepped out into the sun and I squinted in the light, my eyes readjusting themselves. It took a while to see past the glare, but once I did, what I saw took my breath away.

The grandeur itself was enough to make anyone feel small. The elegant buildings standing ahead of us, amidst the greenery, were all larger than life. There were six buildings, all arranged in a large scale half moon, and for each one, a different gate. All made of sturdy iron. The second to the right caught my eye. A sapphire encrusted gate that reflected the sun's rays in deep purple. It had a symbol of some type of bird, whose tail was split in two, with one of its wings spread half across its head. Its head somehow looked like a peacock's and its body resembled an eagle's, the small neck slowly widening to connect itself to the big body.

Zevlin caught me staring and pointed the symbol out, "That building is for the enchantresses, telepaths and seers. Their faction's symbol is that of a rare beast we call Vivas. A divine and ancient beast that symbolizes freedom, power and prowess. We call the people within that faction the tiertov."

He then pointed to a building further to the left, which I noticed has an emerald gate with silver swirls on them, "That's where we're heading; The warlocks and witches building's library. They're disciples of Hegeli, Valiron's pioneering witch. There you'll meet the people we call siernov."

"Which one are you?"

"A linesio. The warriors, trained in the arts of war, the various strategies in battle, and manners of martial arts and swordsmanship."

With that he strode towards the Hegeli building. I dragged my already tired legs behind me as we passed by all the others. It was difficult to tear my gaze away from the marvel of it all. I supposed I looked strange to the people here. Dressed in a manner of clothing that was highly unfamiliar, gawking at everything, and trailing behind Zevlin like a lost chick. But how do I even begin to pull myself together whilst stood under the shadows of places such as this? Marvellous marble and stone, carved into walls modern humans could never even dream of creating. All in exquisite detail, enriched with stories and culture.

We approached the gates of the building, and I forced myself to a halt when I realised I had come dangerously close to hitting my face against Zevlin's back whilst I was busy sizing up the walls.

A boy sat on a stool in the small front yard, fenced by a large iron gate bearing a symbol of a creature that possessed features I couldn't quite make heads or tails of. The raven haired boy stood up. On his legs... I rubbed my eyes. Feathers? In a squeaky voice he said, "Lord Zevlin, what business do you have in the Hegeli building?"

"Me and my company are looking for Sir Oxford."

"Ah, I see. He's—"

"Most presumably in the library, yes. Good day, Fernand."

"Is he...?"

"Ilysio," Zevlin said quietly, "put simply hybrids."

I nodded in understanding.

Fernand opened the grand doors and we stepped in. And I swear, my jaw grazed the floor. The building looked big enough on the outside, but on the inside? It was ten times bigger. There were stairs straight ahead, leading to the main hallway a floor above us. Beneath the stairs there were warm wooden corridors, full of bustling students. Zevlin confidently strode towards the grand staircase. We turned when the staircase branched to the right, and moved away from the main hallway. This one led to a grand library, its doors, to which the tops I couldn't even see, sealed shut. Zevlin knocked on a smaller door, the opening seamlessly blended into the iron and wood of the larger design. A mousy young woman opened the door with a tiny click, her finger going up to her mouth to warn us to keep quiet. Zevlin gave me a look and I frowned, insulted at whatever it was he was insinuating.

The smell of books filled my nose and I took a deep breath, inhaling the scent. Thick volumes displayed on rack after rack, tables littering the place with dim warm light from the lamps perched atop the surface. The sunlight touched surfaces of the room in narrow slits from the windows along the top walls. Whatever light provided was just enough to pore over a page.

"Come on, Oxford's at his usual table." Zevlin whispered, despite the room being nearly empty. He walked towards the far end of the library and I followed at his heel.

"Do you know this Oxford guy?" I whispered back.

"Yes. He's in the Knight's Table."

"Which is?"

"Long explanation. Busy man," he grunted.

"I'll ask Oxford."

"I heard someone call my name." His voice, just a tinge below a normal voice, made me jump. I looked around, half-expecting a pissy librarian to come shush us aggressively.

"Worry not, we're far enough into the library. And there's hardly anyone here."

I turned on my heel to meet a blonde boy with thick rimmed glasses to whom the voice belonged to. Eager to shake Zevlin off, I extended my hand.

"Great. Hello, my name is Avery. You must be Oxford. Nice to meet you." I shook his hand and side-eyed Zevlin, "Now that introductions are over, shall we go?"

He leaned to the right to talk to Zevlin, "How come I've never seen her before?"

"She's an Earthling—"

"Mother said I was an elf." Childish. He'd made me childish.

Zev shot me an irritated glare, "Fine. She's an elf that came from Earth. Lady Avery arrived just yesterday and Lady Sesilionne would like her to attend the academy starting now. I believe that she asked her to meet you, Ford, for assistance."

"Ah!" A lightbulb seemed to blink on in his head. A bright smile overtook his face and he reached out to shake my hand again, more enthusiastically this time. "Lady Alveriana! Yes! The High Lady's people have reached out indeed. Sorry, I just didn't know you went by another name. What was it? Uh, Avery?"

"Yes," I said. "Just Avery."

"I trust you'll guide her well," Zevlin said. His eyes were wandering around the room. "Where's the damn clock in this place?"

"It's barely eleven in the morning. Surely you don't already have somewhere to be," Oxford said.

Zevlin crossed his arms and leaned against a bookshelf. He pointed at me, and I found the tip of his finger to be immensely offensive.

"She will need a lot of help," he said.

"I assumed so, yes," Oxford replied.

"Make sure she's ready for the thanes."

"Are you going somewhere? What happened to 'at all times'?," I quoted him, nearly jeering at him.

Zevlin tapped Oxford on his shoulder and cocked his head to the side. "He doesn't look it, but he's half as good as me at everything. Besides, I thought you'd be glad to be rid of me. Stick with him when I'm not around."

"Half as good?" Oxford scoffed and pushed his glasses up his nose. "I seem to recall I'm much better than you in at least three different fields. Definitely better at History."

Zevlin rolled his eyes before playfully shoving Oxford. "Alright, smart arse. I need to get going. Ford, the meeting is at seven lm, don't be late."

Oxford nodded and Zevlin turned to me. "And you, milady," he said, "I'll see you tomorrow morning, bright and early."

"What, so you can escort me to class with your horde of fans glaring at us?" I snorted. "No thanks, I'm sure I can find someone else."

He shook his head, lazily turning about his feet to walk away, but not before saying over his shoulder, "I'm a man of my word, Lady Avery. Whether either of us like it or not."

Insufferable. Completely insufferable. I couldn't believe I was so shallow; to have seen such a gorgeous man and nearly let myself get carried away by it. I'm a letdown for womankind.

With those last words, he walked out of the library, a trail of people swooning behind him, seemingly coming out from nowhere between the shelves. Their mouths moving fast and quietly behind their books and their clumsy hands, eyes glancing back and forth giddily as he passed by them. I rolled my eyes. If only they knew.