Kedrin’s gentle face gave way to a look of total resolve, one that was mirrored by Zasia. “There is nothing you could do to me or Zasia that would make us not look out for you, Aldric. Please, if not for yourself, do it for us?”

Well, how the hell was he supposed to say no when he put it like that with such a genuine face? Damn it all. Aldric could already tell he’d lost this fight. They were going to “fix” him, and he couldn’t stop them.

It made him feel strangely warm inside.

Aldric heaved a great sigh before he replied, “So? When do I start?”

Chapter 2

Nadrina was trying, and failing, to hide the nervousness wracking her body from the girl sitting next to her.

She had known that this academy was a prestigious one and was likely filled with noble children. She was even ready to be the only commoner that attended this school, even if the academy espoused educating all social classes. What she wasn’t ready for, however, was the sheer aura that these other kids gave off. Even just passing them in the halls or in the dorms, every one of them walked and talked with confidence and poise. They couldn’t have been any older than her, late teens at most, but she felt like a child playing at being an adult around them.

Nadrina had wisely opted to take a carriage ride to the school, since the city of Nevis was an unknowable maze of people, wagons, merchant stalls, and richly adorned buildings. The usual shacks and simple brick houses of her home village, complete with rolling fields of farmland, were far behind her now. It was the first time Nadrina’s overflowing excitement had been replaced by uncertain dread.

The sheer size and opulence of the Nevis Academy hadn't helped her anxiety. Nadrina had assumed it was a castle right up until the carriage driver had dropped her off by the front gate. The tightly clustered marble buildings gleamed in the sunlight as they all towered over the rest of the city. Nadrina’s neck started to hurt after staring at them all in wonder. Her dazzlement must have made her look new, because a member of the school staff had quickly found her and ushered her through the gate and into the massive complex.

After the series of confusing paperwork and being told her things would be dropped off for her in her dorm room, Nadrina had hoped that she would have a better time blending in once she got to class. Even that comfort wasn’t to be found, however. For whatever insane reason, they had singled her out to be part of a much smaller “experimental” class.