. The only news that came back from the investigation at first was that they had backtracked the demons as far as a small abandoned farmhouse near Copen. They had departed from there ahead of us and waited in ambush. Perhaps they had started out once they saw me arriving in Copen. The palace and my mother both made it …

After they blinked at her for several seconds, I was able to watch it dawn on them that she meant to use one of those skills their mages didn’t possess. Since she mentioned blood, they probably now thought she was a vampire. The way she fully covered up, with a wide hat for shade, was typical of average vampires, who …

I guessed at what Mother was talking about. “Do you mean his dark attribute magic? Yes.” I added, “I didn’t know he was a mage.” She studied my face for a bit, then nodded. “He isn’t really a mage, per se. To conceal his nature, he rarely uses his magic, because it is instinctual, like your Charm.” No human’s magic …

I had no time to worry about her escape. My footmen were still facing two ghouls each. I ran at the ghoul nearest me, screaming at the top of my lungs to turn him away from the wounded footman. Instead, both of his opponents turned to face me. Not smart, I was thinking as the footman immediately plunged his blade …

I had seen the direction of the impact on Carson, so I had a rough guess as to where the attacker would be. While I ran, staring that direction, a huge gash parted the grass nearly under my feet. The assailant’s wild shot had just drawn a nice arrow pointing exactly to them. I turned and ran toward them. I …

“I’m Mireia! I’m so pleased to meet you, My Lady!” I dabbed my lips with a napkin, since I had just finished a bite of my raspberry tart. “Hello, Lady Mireia. I am Tiana.” She waved her hands in negation, palms facing me. “Nonono. I’m not a ‘Lady’! I’m just a commoner! But I’m so honored to be here! I’ve …

Amelia sent me to her quarters so her maids could put me in one of her spare visiting dresses, a gorgeous blue outfit with a laced bodice open in front to show the pink taffeta blouse beneath. Ruffled pink cuffs emerged from the widely flaring blue sleeves, and a matching flared blue skirt with raised layered ruffles with a slightly …

The admissions process itself was practically moot. I was already exempt from the transfer exam. I just had to wait for the head of the magic department to come check my attributes– the measurements caused a stir, of course, but when the principle informed them I was Lady Sasara’s daughter, that settled down– and the head of the military arts …

I didn’t get much sleep after that. When Genette came in to rouse me, I was wide awake. She acted like a miracle had happened. I know I wake up slow in the morning, but really? Mother had apparently not officially come home last night. She must have flown from the Palace to my veranda and back without alerting the …

Waking in the middle of the night was becoming a habit for me. But this time, I wasn’t in that weird state that the HR lady called an illusion. And the HR lady wasn’t there. I swung my legs over the side of the bed and sat there, wondering what woke me, but only for a few moments. The french …