Page 42 of Academy of the Wicked, Year Two
Where the golden-haired Fae prince once sat, an undeniably female figure now adjusts her clothing with irritated precision.
Long, stunning red locks cascade down her back, transitioning to gold at the tips in a gradient that catches light with hypnotic effect. Her features retain Nikolai's aristocratic structure but softened in key places – fuller lips, higher cheekbones, longer lashes framing the same green-gold eyes that now flash with confused annoyance.
My jaw drops for the second time in as many minutes.
The pendant at my throat pulses with sudden warmth, an answering resonance from Nikolai's bond mark specifically. The magical connection confirms what my eyes struggle to process – this is indeed Nikolai, transformed as completely as I transition between Gwenivere and Gabriel.
The female Nikolai takes in our collective expressions of shock, perfectly sculpted eyebrows drawing together in confusion.
"What?" she demands, voice higher but carrying the same aristocratic inflection I associate with the Fae prince.
Before any of us can formulate a response, the sharp sound of applause draws our attention toward the gates.
Professor Eternalis stands there, leather jumpsuit and jewel-encrusted accents gleaming in the atmospheric lighting. Her mismatched eyes – one piercing red, the other swirling purple – survey our disheveled group with evident amusement.
"Congratulations and welcome to Year Two of Wicked Academy."
Well…this wasn’t how I expected we’d be starting the new year…
Welcome To Year Two
~GWENIVERE~
"Congratulations and welcome to Year Two of Wicked Academy."
The professor's words hang in the air, formal acknowledgment of advancement that somehow feels both anticlimactic and ominous given everything we've experienced to reach this point. Her gaze lingers on Nikolai's transformed form with particular interest, though she makes no direct comment on the obvious change.
The gates close behind us with a resonant boom that seems to mark the definitive transition between trials and whatever awaits in this new phase of our education.
Year One –with its purification ritual, blood prison, and prophesied sacrifices –now belongs to our past. Year Two, with its unknown challenges and mysterious manipulations, stretches before us.
I glance between my companions, assessing our collective state after everything we've endured.
Gabriel's form feels simultaneously familiar and restrictive after experiencing freedom as Gwenivere during the trial's conclusion. The masculine glamour settled over me withoutconscious effort, suggesting Year Two operates under the same gender restrictions as Year One despite my advancement token acknowledging my hybrid nature.
Cassius appears outwardly composed, shadows returned to their usual subtle manifestation rather than combat readiness.
Yet I catch the slight tension in his jaw, the careful way his silver gaze tracks between Eternalis and Nikolai's transformed state. Concern lies beneath his stoic exterior, not for himself but for the unexpected complications our advancement has created.
Mortimer adjusts his newly manifested uniform, scholarly demeanor restored though his posture suggests heightened alertness. The key around his neck glints with subtle magic, matching the pendant at my throat and the rings adorning my bond mates' fingers.
Whatever separated his consciousness from his draconic form during the trial appears resolved, though questions about that experience remain for later discussion.
Atticus maintains his position slightly behind me, crimson eyes assessing our surroundings with practiced efficiency.
His longer hair frames features that show no surprise at Nikolai's transformation – either because nothing surprises him after his prison experiences, or because he somehow anticipated this development. Either possibility raises questions about what else he might know that we don't.
Nikolai –now unmistakably female– rises to her feet with the same grace that characterized her male form. The transformation appears complete rather than mere surface illusion, affecting not just physical appearance but subtle elements of movement and energy signature.
Her golden aura maintains its distinctive resonance but with undertones that shift like music played in a different key – recognizable yet fundamentally altered.
The changed Fae examines her hands with critical assessment, turning them over to study delicate fingers that retain their strength but with altered proportions. Her uniform has adjusted to accommodate new curves, maintaining the same design elements while perfectly fitted to her transformed body. The fashion adaptation might seem trivial amid larger concerns, but it confirms the official nature of this change – Year Two acknowledging her altered state as it acknowledged my true gender through the pendant's hybrid symbolism.
My thoughts race with implications too numerous to process immediately. Does Nikolai's transformation mirror my own situation –a hidden truth revealed rather than a new state imposed?Or has Year Two fundamentally altered the Fae prince as part of advancement requirements? Most pressing – is this change temporary or permanent?
Eternalis's mismatched eyes track our individual reactions with evident amusement, her lips curved in a smile that suggests satisfaction with whatever outcomes our trial has produced.
Whether she participated in orchestrating these events remains unclear, but her lack of surprise confirms at minimum prior knowledge.
