Chapter 2

The man, Alaric, whose voice Layla had heard for two years in her dream, was standing right in front of her, holding her. Was she dreaming? Her heart, pounding like a drum, told her she wasn’t.

He was there and wasn’t a normal man. He was a Supernatural. She had been dreaming about a Supernatural all along.

“Layla.” Jonas coughed into his fist; his eyes narrowed at her, and hers widened. She stumbled away from the Alaric to the side of the door, creating enough space between them and bowing her head.

‘Please let him not punish anyone because of that,’ she thought, fiddling with her fingers.

“I’m Jonas Richardson, the owner of this home. Welcome to my humble abode, my Lord and Lady.” Jonas grinned, bowing so deeply that his back almost broke. Even the blind could see the childlike excitement glowing off of him.

‘My Lord and Lady?’ Layla cringed at the obvious display of bootlicking but kept her lips shut.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Alaric D’Arcy and this is Terra Geode.”

“The pleasure is all mine. Please have a seat.” Jonas said, guiding them to the sofa. “Can I get you anything? Water? Wine? Coffee? Anything at all, we’ll get it. Layla go—”

“It’s alright. We’re quite alright.” Alaric said, settling down, and the woman sat by his side.

“Might I ask why you decided to grace me with your presence? Anything you want from me, I will give it to you.” Jonas asked as he sat opposite them, almost trembling from excitement.

“Then you won’t mind if you excuse us. We’re here for her, not you.” The lady, Terra, said. Her voice was laced with impatience.

Layla stiffened as three pairs of eyes turned in her direction. Her? Why were they here for her? The room turned silent, and she rubbed her hand on her arm at the heavy tension in the air.

Was Jonas going to leave or not? He wouldn’t dare go against them, would he? She wanted him to leave. Though she was afraid of how he was going to enact his rage, curiosity etched her brain. What did two Supernaturals want to say to a lowly maid?

“O-oh, of course.” Jonas finally muttered, dragging himself up from the chair and trudging to the door. He stopped beside Layla, and she held her breath, trying her best not to be affected by his venomous glare.

“Don’t dare fuck up, or else.” He whispered and walked out of the room.

Heavy pressure rested on her shoulders the moment the door was shut. She had to make sure the meeting with the Supernaturals went well or else.

What was he going to do if she messed up? Who was he going to hurt for her sake? How was he going to hurt them?

“You don’t have to be scared, Layla.” Alaric said. His voice was soothing, easing her nerves like a balm and distracting her from Jonas’ threat.

“Come seat.” He said, and she shuffled to the chair Jonas was once sitting on. Her head remained bowed, and she dared not take a peek at any of them.

‘I’m sitting in front of Supernaturals. I’M SITTING IN FRONT OF SUPERNATURALS!’ Layla licked her bottom lip and rubbed her palm over her skirt.

She was torn. Should she be terrified or excited? Most people would kill to be in her shoes. It wasn’t every day a Supernatural left their world to meet a human. It was rare. One in a million. Supernatural didn’t like interacting with humans, though humans yearned for their attention. Yet she was sitting in front of not just one, but two. And they wanted to talk to her. TO HER!

Why?

“You can lift your head. We aren’t going to get mad like your boss.” Alaric said.

Could she? They were esteemed guests of her boss, and she knew better than to look any of Jonas’ guests in the face. But Alaric had told her to, so… why not?

Layla lifted her head, and her gaze first went to the man. She had seen his features when he caught her, but she couldn’t help staring at him. He was mesmerizing. He was easily the most handsome man she had seen in her life. His smile turned a little bit amused, and her face flushed. He knew she was staring at him in a strange way.

Averting her gaze, she turned her attention to the woman beside him.

‘What kind are they? They’re both supernatural, but they look so different.’

Terra was beautiful—not surprising since it was said all Supernaturals were outworldly beautiful—but they look quite different. While Alaric had the palest skin and blackest hair she had ever seen, Terra had tan skin and light brown hair pulled into a neat, stylish bun. At the corners of her purplish eyes were small, beautiful purple flower tattoos. And her pointe ear stood out the most, decorated with an intricate piece.

‘I’m a bit sure that Alaric is a vampire, but what is Terra? A werewolf? A fae? Sprite?’

“Terra is a fae while I’m a vampire.” Alaric said, and Layla’s eyes widened.

“How do you know what I was thinking? Do you read minds?” Her throat turned dry. She had read that vampires read minds, but she wasn’t sure and hoped he didn’t.

“No, I can’t. None of us can. You’re thoughts are just quite easy to guess with how you’re acting.” Alaric pointed out.

“That was good.” She let out a small sigh. So she was right about her guess. Alaric was a vampire. If he was, did it mean her other dream man was a vampire too?

“You look too relieved. What are you thinking about us that you want no one to know?” Alaric asked, slight amusement glinting in his eyes, and her face turned red.

“Oh, it’s nothing.” She squeaked. If he knew all the thoughts running through her head, she would die of embarrassment.

“Uhm, uhm,” Terra cleared her throat, drawing Layla’s attention back to her. “Can we get back to the issue at hand?”

Her voice had a sharp and irritated edge. Layla knew when someone didn’t want to be where they were, and it was obvious that Terra had the feeling.

“That’s right.” Alaric nodded, sitting straighter. “Allow us to reintroduce ourselves. I’m Professor Alaric D’Arcy, and this is Professor Terra Geode, and we would cordially like to invite you to study at Nox-Luminis Academy.”

“Nox-Luminis? What’s that?” Layla asked, tilting her head to the side.

“It’s the most elite school of magic and supernatural creatures in your world and ours. We pride ourselves on training only the best of the best students, helping them home their skills, and becoming powerful and wonderful leaders.” Terra said, puffing her chest.

Layla’s lips pulled into a frown, and her brows scrunched. She, in a school for magic? Did they make a mistake or something?

“It sounds wonderful and all, but why are you inviting me? I don’t have any magic. I—”

“I agree with her. She’s nothing special.” Terra interjected, outright glaring at her. “There was probably a mistake somewhere because I don’t feel a sliver of magic from her. The only thing odd about her are her eyes and her awful hair colour.”

Layla shrunk back at the disgust in her voice, instinctively tucking a stray piece of hair behind her hair. It wasn’t the first time someone had made fun of her hair, but that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt.

“So you’re saying the compass is wrong.” Alaric raised a brow. “I’m sure the headmaster would love to hear your reasons why you think that an artefact centuries old is wrong.”

“No, that’s… that’s not what I meant!” Terra spluttered, shaking her head.

“Then perhaps you should think carefully about what you say before talking like an impetuous child.” Alaric scolded her before turning back to Layla. “Are you sure that you haven’t exhibited any power? Has anything out of the ordinary or strange happened to you recently or when you were a child?”

‘I saw you and another guy in my dreams for almost two years, and I heard you calling me through out today.’ Layla wanted to say, but heat rushed to her head, and she waved the thoughts away. She couldn’t say that. It was weird. How was she going to explain that to him? And it wasn’t like the dreams were all innocent. Some nights, they took a… spicy turn. She absolutely couldn’t mention it.

“No. Sorry.” She shook her head.

“Is that so?” Alaric mused, but his smile didn’t fall. “It doesn’t matter. The compass led us to you, and it’s never wrong. I can sense some magic attributes in you; you just need the perfect environment to bloom, and what better place than Nox-Luminis?”

“You still want me?” Layla asked.

“Of course.” Alaric’s smile turns gentle. “Will you come with us?”

‘Yes,’ she wanted to scream. She doubted she had powers, but she would rather go to a world she knew nothing about than spend another second under Richardson’s roof. And there was something about Alaric that made her feel like she could trust him. But…

“I-I’m sorry, but I can’t.”