Cara had quickly moved on from the concept. “Although I sensed the life energy around this woman activate while she healed, it wasn’t as though she were consciously manipulating it. Certainly, when the animals come to her, I’m not feeling anything.”
I relaxed, just a little. “You should.”
“Yes. There has to be another explanation. I have teamed her up with our Mover. She will teach the basics of telekinesis, which is the most likely way she killed the feral Dire.”
My eyes drifted over the lake, lit by the sun’s early rays. “You want me to do what, then?”
Cara’s lips straightened. “Just be aware and observant. She is also the only unmated human hybrid female among the recruits. Because many races don’t exactly trust the council, we didn’t attract the variety that I’d hoped for. The majority are Dires.”
I kept my voice level with difficulty, because governing a bunch of sex-starved Dires was beneath a warrior. “That could be—disruptive.”
She nodded. “And dangerous. One of those placed on the same team as her is alpha.”
My brows climbed. “Why would an alpha become a recruit?”
Cara eyed me. “My question exactly. A hefty donation to the council was offered in exchange for his enrollment.”
I sat and stared at the lake. I had no desire to involve myself in this turmoil. “It makes little sense. What could the true motivation be?”
Cara and I exchanged a glance. Her jaw tightened. “The other instructors are alerted to both the alpha, and my newest arrival.”
My hands clenched the edge of the seat, and the board creaked beneath my grip. I be a warrior. Settling disputes between students be not a good use of my time. “Mysterious powers, an unmated female dropped into a bunch of sex-starved Dires, and the corrupt recruitment of an alpha with an ulterior motive. Anything else you would like to divulge?”
My resentment ran beneath the words. Cara merely snorted and rose. “Nope. Think that’s about it. If we hurry, we’ll be in time for breakfast.”
My mind raced as we walked along the path toward the castle. I shelved my restless thoughts and focused on the academy itself. This place had a history. The building be proof that something created by evil could be repurposed. Instead of becoming the palace of an ambitious overlord, the castle now be an academy. If Cara’s vision came true, it would train a new generation of peacekeepers for the realms.
An admirable goal.
I assessed the young guards standing at the entrance, who glanced at Cara and let us pass. Their stance be hopelessly off balance. If I’d decided to attack, they’d be dead in an instant.
Perhaps I did have something to offer these students.
We entered an elevator, and Cara took us up to the cafeteria. While the students stood in line to select from the counters filled with food, the staff be served at a long table separated from the main area.
As we took our seats, a familiar form leaned forward from the other side of Cara. Cody grinned at me. “Hey Sebastian. She roped you into this, too?”
“Aye,” Nodding a greeting to Kitani as well, I noticed that farther down the table be a slim form with a white streak in her hair. Dani, the Mover. Beside her towered the big Dragonshifter, Tyrez.
It appeared I be not the only one to owe Cara. The woman’s reach be impressive. I spooned myself a serving of eggs from the platter as I surveyed the milling students. The size and build of the shapeshifters stood out, and there be an abundance of them.
Cara leaned close. “She’s not here yet. But watch the Team Phoenix table.”
I arched a brow. “Team Phoenix?”
She pointed out the signs in the center of each table. My gaze drifted over them until I found the bird with flames trailing from its feathers.
The table had a large man seated at it. Dragonshifter. Something stirred in my memory, the merest whisper of wind against wing.
My gaze snapped to a group entering the room just as I took a bite of my eggs. And promptly choked.
A female Dorinthian walked with a male shifter—and a woman. The Dorinthian be impressive, with her reddish-skinned head and shoulders towering over the others. The shifter be pretty standard—many had those rugged good looks.
The woman...
My heart started to pound. She be beautiful, with golden-blonde hair framing high cheekbones. Something about her eyes be a little odd, and my memory instantly supplied the flash of pale honey and blue...
I’d never met this woman before. Yet I knew her. How be that possible? Cara shot me a glance, raised a brow, and then followed my gaze to the incoming group.
