How was any of that okay? It wasn’t. It was the exact opposite of okay.
“Oh,” I said. I seem to be getting a lot of information I had not expected. “What are your names?”
“I’m Mila, and this is Leo.”
“I’m Rhythe. It’s nice to meet you. What brings you to the academy?”
“Our uncle’s looking for a school for our older brother. He’s a dragon, just like he is,” Mila nodded toward her brother. “But I’m not. I’m a wolf. That’s why our clan didn’t want us anymore.”
I didn’t know which clan they were in yet, but I planned to find out and do something about this. What? I had no idea. I held zero power, but my dragon was demanding justice.
“Oh.” What more was there to say about that shitty clan? “I think different shifters are pretty cool. One of my closest friends is a mouse.”
Mila’s eyes got wide. “A mouse? Really?”
“Indeed, he’s mated to a dragon… a powerful one. When you grow up, remember that. Fate will send you your mate, and it doesn’t matter if their beast is like yours or not.”
“Just like our parents,” Mila said.
“Exactly like them. Should we go find your uncle?”
“We were kind of hungry. That’s why we went to the vending machine. But it’s not working.” Leo rubbed his belly. “Do you know how to fix it?”
“I’ll tell you a secret. This vending machine doesn’t have any food in it. It’s actually a project that one of our classes is working on.” And they really needed to put a sign up on it to avoid things like this.
Leo wrinkled his nose and eyed the vending machine skeptically. “You work on vending machines for school?”
I grinned. “Not always, but they’re trying to repurpose a soda vending machine to distribute books like a library. It’s just something for fun, for the engineering courses.”
“Oh. That would be pretty cool.” Mila tilted her head as she looked the machine up and down.
“Come on, I’ll take you to a place where I know there are snacks.”
They both got up, their hands slipping into mine, and we walked to the lounge. It wasn’t as cool as a vending machine for books, but there was a ton of sugar, and that was enough to keep them both smiling.
Chapter 19
Emmen
Not every person seeking admission into the academy had private meetings with me. There weren’t enough hours in the day for that. However, it was recommended by Lord Malric that I meet with Gilbert Costen directly.
Gilbert was a new parent. His sister and her mate had passed away, and their children were now in his care. The oldest, a dragon, and the twins, a dragon and a wolf. It was the oldest that was seeking admission into the academy.
The amount of responsibility thrust upon him as he was grieving his sister was enough to make any shifter crumble.
“You understand why I absolutely will not tolerate any sort of prejudice against non-dragon shifters,” Gilbert said. The man had been no-nonsense since the moment he arrived. He had yet to crack a smile.
“Of course,” I promised him. “Now, I can’t promise that they won’t experience any comments from students, but I can promise that my staff won’t tolerate it, and if they overhear it or have any reports of it, we will deal with it promptly.”
I’d love to be able to promise I had the magical cure for childhood meanness, but it would be a lie. He didn’t need lies or platitudes. He needed honesty and assurance that his nephew would be taken care of here.
Gilbert crossed his arms over his chest. “I don’t know if that’s good enough.”
“Mr. Costen, I can’t control the beliefs of every student that comes into my school. I, and the other staff, can help guide them in what we believe to be the right direction. We have several non-dragon shifters on staff. One of our flight leaders is an eagle shifter, mated to a dragon shifter. The Lord of the clan is mated to a mouse. His son is mated to a wolf. Even they have experienced some prejudice, but we have dealt with it quickly and used that as teachable moments for our young students. You will not find a clan more accepting of non-dragons, whether they are humans or other shifters.”
I could only hope that he heard the sincerity in my words and didn’t think I was giving him platitudes.
“Unfortunately, that’s what I thought about my previous clan. Clearly, that proved to be a mistake.” No wonder he was so on high alert. I would be too in his situation.
