Chapter 4

As I walk up a set of stairs with blue banners hanging down from the ceiling, I have no way of knowing if this is the way to my room. My grandmother still hasn't popped up, and I think something important she needed to care for came up.

I don't mind. I enjoy wandering around on my own, but this part of the school building is entirely different from where I bumped into Blake. They decorated this section everything in blue or white.

I round a corner, almost bumping into a blonde girl that easily could be mistaken for an angel. The girl is gorgeous until she sneers at me, her eyes looking me up and down.

"Watch where you are going!" She shouts in the most dramatic way possible. "And what are you wearing? If you are a student, you need to wear the color of your house. Aren't you sorted yet?"

"Sorted?" I ask.

Two other girls are glaring at me from behind the blonde girl, clearly her little minions. They all wear the same blue cheerleading clothes, and blondie got pointy ears—definitely Fae.

"At Magic Academy, there are four houses; each one represents an element—as you can see, we all belong in the house of water. It values beauty, but beauty doesn't seem important to you since you're wearing those clothes."

All three girls laugh, and I glance down at my clothes, suddenly wondering if I should have picked out prettier ones. Right now, I'm wearing an oversized hoodie that looks run-down and a pair of leggings.

Not exactly the latest fashion.

'Don't listen to them. I'm not a fashion expert, but a person who has to step over another person to feel pretty automatically turns ugly in my eyes.'

I smile to myself after hearing Lucy speak, reminding myself to thank him later when we are alone.

Instead of flaring up because the girls are laughing at me, I tilt my head to watch the blonde one with curious eyes.

"Can everyone in the water houses control that element? Is that how you get sorted?" I ask.

The three girls stop laughing and exchange glances, one shrug, and then the blonde leg-for-day girl is back to glaring at me.

"Are you new or something?" I notice her Fae ears twitching as she speaks. Her beauty is ethereal, and there is this permanent faint glow to her porcelain skin. "Only the truly powerful can control the elements. And most species aren't gifted with magic—you get sorted into your house by placing your hand on the mirror of destiny."

Only the truly powerful can control the elements?

"Oh, so it's rare that I'm able to call down fire?"

The Fae girl gasps and lifts her arms to push her friends further away from me—they are all staring at me with paling faces.

"W-What did she just say?" The girl with amber eyes and mocha skin asks. Probably a werewolf. Her mane is dark like mine, but her hair looks way cooler—she has ombre dreadlocks. "She can call down fire?"

"She must be lying!" The third girl looks like Fae too, possibly the sister of the girl gang's leader. She is shorter than her leader, however.

The Fae leader narrows her eyes. "She must be that freak of nature everyone is talking about, the principal's granddaughter who burnt down her entire school."

"I'm not a freak of nature." My voice is low, angered.

The Fae leader glances me up and down with a sneer, seemingly more relaxed after her latest observation. "Do you know why people are so frightened by the fire element? They say only the wicked can control it, those who have made a pact with the devil."

"I haven't made a pact with the devil!" I exclaim. "Neither did I ask for these powers, but it's not like I can get rid of them now!"

"Oh." The Fae steps forward and stares down into my eyes. "But there is a way to get rid of those powers—all you need to do is kill yourself!"

"Say what?"

Fire ignites, cackling as my hands burn. I take a step forward to threaten the Fae. She smirks in satisfaction.

Soon, water rushes to her hands and curls around her like lace. Finally, she tilts her head in a challenge-accepted pose, and I halt in my spot, shocked to see another person able to control one element.

"So you want to battle?" The Fae asks. "Are you sure about that? Last time I checked, water beats fire."

Lucy cackles inside my head. 'If the fire is hot enough, your water will boil and burn you, either way, princess. So I say we fight her!'

"I couldn't agree more," I say to the mirror inside my pocket, earning me a confused look from the Fae.

"Who are you talking to?" The Fae asks. "Are you trying to psych me?"

I laugh. "I don't need dirty tactics to win this fight!"

With that, the Fae throws ice at my feet, and I'm momentarily frozen to the spot.

'Here she comes,' Lucy growls. 'Brace yourself.'

I look up in time to witness the Fae jumping at me. Her knees hit my face, and I stumble backward, feeling the pain fuel adrenaline to my lungs until I stand there panting.

"Tired already?" The Fae asks.

I shake my head. "I'm only getting started."

I open my palms, reaching out my arms to let fire dance and crawl along the walls and floor. Furniture gets burned up, and my fire surrounds the Fae within seconds. Her eyes look at the flames about to eat her up, and I smile in satisfaction.

"Giving up?" I ask.

"Never."

Rain pours down from out of nowhere, and I crouch down, about to fire myself at the Fae while her spell got her distracted.

Unfortunately, I never make it that far—a portal opens, and my grandmother's voice of authority echoes against the walls.

"NO BATTLES WITHIN MY WALLS!" My grandmother roars and the lamps flash in the ceiling. Within seconds she is standing before me, taking in the burnt furniture with flaring eyes. "RAVEN? I LEAVE YOU ALONE FOR AN HOUR, AND THIS HAPPENS?"

My grandmother gestures to everything and does a whole spin. I stand entirely still while my grandmother absorbs her surroundings with widening eyes. She must be seething.

The Fae girl is laughing with her friends until my grandmother turns around to glare at them.

"AND DAISY? WHY ARE YOU LAUGHING WHILE THERE IS A FLOOD RUNNING DOWN THE STAIRS!"

"Uh, but I had to make it rain since she started a fire." The Fae, Daisy, points at me accusingly. "It's your granddaughter that you should be angry at!"

My grandmother calmly folds her arms under her chest; she means business. "A little fire came down, and you summoned an entire flood's worth of water? PEOPLE ARE SWIMMING DOWNSTAIRS! BOTH OF YOU GIRLS HAVE EARNED YOUR DETENTION!"

"But I'm innocent! I didn't mean to summon a flood!"

"Are you questioning my decision? Would you rather get expelled?"

Daisy's cheeks drain of color, and I giggle. I'm used to detention, a rebel at heart, but I suspect this is Daisy's first detention.

She looks like a tidy girl who rarely causes an uproar, except for those times when she is unnecessarily mean and tells people to kill themselves.

"No, Detention is fine!" Daisy says.

"Good." My grandmother turns around and proudly lifts her head to look at me with judging eyes. "As much as I would love to lock you two inside a classroom right away, I believe we have an important housing ceremony to take care of."

I tilt my head. "Is that necessary? Don't I already belong in the house of fire?"

My grandmother smiles. "Just because you can control fire doesn't mean that the mirror chooses that house for you. The mirror will look deep inside your heart and pick out a house with values that will help you grow as a person. Who knows," She looks between Daisy and me. "Maybe you get sorted into the water house."

Daisy gasps with her friends. Meanwhile, I'm left blinking at my grandmother.

I do not know what house it will sort me into, but I'm hoping the mirror doesn't pick the water house. The last thing I want is to be sorted into a shallow house that values beauty.