**Caddie, Mira, Kimone, Ryder, Aleksander and Maddox up above. (All the heirs).**
CADDIE's POV:
I laid on my bed, hugging Ebony close to my body. Today did not go as I expected. I don't know what I expected to happen; but private defense lessons, hot princes, and scary magic was not in my mind. The day wasn't horrible overall but it definitely was a shock. I still remembered Bertha and Marcy, the smell of freshly made pancakes, and the simple scenery of the south. I felt like I had taken a portal into a completely different world.
A knock broke me free of my reminiscent thoughts. I looked over at Alix's bed, she had left a few minutes ago. I didn't think about where she went, that was her business. It had nothing to do with me. I placed my sleeping cat onto the bed and walked over to the door.
"You know you do have a key," I opened the door without looking at the person standing by it.
"Really? I didn't know?" An attractive voice with a Russian accent said from behind me.
I tensed. I faced the window and refused to turn around. Every time I looked at him my resolve weakened, and I was no more than a pile of blushing mush. I watched the moon appear and disappear between the clouds. The moon casted an ominous shadow over my body as I stood completely still.
"What are you doing here?" I asked, ignoring his previous statement.
I heard his feet shuffle against the old floorboards until his body pressed against mine. My body tingled as I felt his hot breath alongside my neck. His chest was hard, I blushed and tried not to remember how impressive his abs looked. That doesn't matter, I scolded myself. If he's a jerk then it doesn't matter that he's attractive. I've met tons of hot guys that didn't have the personality to back up the looks, they never interested me the way Aleksander Volkov did. I ignored all the red flags waving in front my face and turned around. My eyes were level with his broad shoulders. In the dark he looked intimidating, his blue eyes were staring at me intently while his dark hair faded into the shadows. His tall and muscular stature only added to my insecurities. For the first time since I met him I entertained the thought that he might be capable of breaking more than just my heart.
"You promised Kimone that you would introduce yourself to the group," his mood grew solemn. The arrogant smirk was completely wiped from his face.
"I don't remember promising, everyone just assumed I'd show up," I corrected him and sat back down on my bed.
He leaned against the bedpost and gave me an exasperated look. "That's not very nice, Caddie. We're going to be stuck with each other for the rest of our lives, so you should get to know us."
I rolled my eyes and plopped Ebony onto my lap. She yawned and stretched before rearranging herself. Lazy cat, she could probably sleep through World War III.
"I'm not stuck with you Aleksander, I have other friends."
I felt a stab of anger before it was quickly suppressed. I abruptly stopped petting Ebony and narrowed my eyes at him. His emotions were muddled. I could practically feel the invisible forced wild he was setting up, that separated my mind from his feelings.
"Those people aren't your real friends Caddie. It's really the same old cliche story-" he was going to continue on but I cut him off.
"Enough! I don't want to hear what you have say to me," my anger quickly rose as he uncovered a fear I never knew I had.
"You may not want to hear it but that doesn't stop it from being true," he said bitterly,"the other council members and I understand. We've been in the public eye much longer and we know what it's like to face those trials and tribulations."
"I don't understand what you're saying," I said shaking my head.
"Today wasn't bad and neither will tomorrow, but they'll keep integrating you into our society until you're at the center of it."
I glanced at him. One glance was all I needed to see the emotion he kept bottled up. Even though I couldn't feel them, I could see them clearly written on his face. His beautiful face was contorted with so much pain and anger you would have thought he had gotten physically assaulted.
"I still don't know what you're talking about," I said apprehensively,"Who are these people?"
He laughed. It wasn't his deep, warm sounding chuckle- but cold and humorless. "It could be anybody, your teacher, your friends, your family, a person you've never met before or a person you've trusted your whole life. They don't understand you, not like I do."
My apprehension faded as my face grew hard. Before I came to Nox Haven there was no one in my life to trust, besides my dad but even he managed to lose my trust in him. Was it possible that all the nice people I met today were fake? Did they think I was freak to? How many of them made fun of me behind my back? Would Alix- as soon as that thought entered my mind I quickly dismissed it. He was making me paranoid, he didn't know me nor did he understand me.
"You don't understand. Like I said before, you don't know me," I said confidently.
"You're wrong," he whispered a malicious smirk danced upon his lips, "I may not know your backstory, but I know who you are now. You're innocent and powerful, together that's a bad combination. You're in a school full of freaks and yet you still don't fit in. That's because you're more powerful than them. You are one of the most powerful witches on the planet, and you are going to rule an entire supernatural race in the future."
My heart started to palpitate in my chest as he finished his speech. When he said it like that everything seemed so serious. I was only fifteen and yet somehow they expected me to rule a group of people? Impossible. I did not sign up for that. No matter what my prestigious pedigree said about me, I wasn't ready to be anybody's queen.
"That fear you're feeling," his voice resonated from deep within his chest, "that's another thing regular people won't understand. They don't know how scary it is to be responsible for thousands of people's lives. However, I understand and the others do as well. So before you go to bed I think it would be wise to get acquainted with everyone."
I sighed and nodded in agreement. A smile briefly touched his lips before he ghosted out of my room. I still didn't trust him. If he didn't have anything to hide from me then he wouldn't have his feelings; but I didn't have anything against the rest them. Except Mira, I was not looking forward to seeing her. IÂ stepped out into the cold corridor and immediately regretted my attire. I was still in my tank top and shorts for bed. I would have gotten changed if it wasn't for Aleksander's receding silhouette. He obviously wasn't going to stop walking, even to see if I was with him or not. I jogged up to him and shot him an icy glare. From the small smirk on his lips I knew that he saw the glare.
We were about to exit the dorm rooms when Aleksander stopped short. He turned one of the side and started to touch the wall. It looked like he was searching for something with his hands. I stood awkwardly off to the side, until I saw a door appear where the wall once was. How many hidden passages are in this school? I wondered.
"Where does this lead to?" I asked as he opened the door.
He led me into the dark passage. My fear spiked, I knew Aleksander could feel it but thankfully he didn't mention it. I wasn't afraid of the dark or him, but I was afraid of what he could do to me in the dark. He could decide to kill me and no one would know. My hands brushed against cobwebs as I steadied myself in the tight passage. A heavy smell of dust and mildew told me that this passage wasn't used often. So why were we taking it now?
"Why are we taking a secret passage? Isn't there a more direct way?" I asked Aleksander.
He grabbed my hand as we traveled deeper into the darkness. I would have pulled away if it wasn't for the fact that I couldn't see where I was going. His touch sent pleasant tingles up my arm. I desperately tried to ignore them and focused on the questions I had.
"I would have taken the more direct route, if it wasn't for the fact that the vampires are in school now," he amended.
I must have stopped walking because he tugged me forward. Vampires? I forgot how Heidi told me that the school accepted vampires. Vampires were bloodsucking demons; they could sneak into my bedroom and suck me dry. My skin crawled, it was as if a thousand leeches had been let free in the castle.
"They don't go to school with us." It wasn't a question, I was only voicing my discovery.
"No they're nocturnal creatures. Everyone knows that, even mortals." He said in an inferior tone. I had the strange urge to light him on fire. I wasn't usually a violent person, but he was pushing all of my buttons today.
"I know that!" I hissed. "I just find it a little weird that they go to school while we're asleep."
Aleksander chuckled but didn't make fun of me anymore. We continued to walk down a series of dark, compacted hallways until we reached a dead end. I began to worry that we would be lost in the secret passageway forever. Letting go of my hand, he pushed against the stone wall. To my surprise it was another hidden door. The door swung open, revealing the Magicry.
Even though I had been in the Magicry earlier that day I was still taken by the astounding sight in front of me. The golden book shelves gleamed mysteriously in the moonlight. My finger itched to touch the smooth leather bindings, and flip through the frail but magical pages. Feather stuffed sofas and armchairs were placed in the middle of the circular room. Kimone, Ryder and Maddox sat on a sofa. They spoke animately to one another, while Mira lounged on a fleur de lis patterned armchair with a resigned look on her face.
Kimone, Ryder, and Maddox stopped whispering as they saw Aleksander and I approach them. Kimone stood up and greeted me with a warm smile and an awkward embrace. After years of being alone I had grown indifferent towards physical gestures. Except for Marcy, Bertha, and occasionally my father- nobody touched me. Aleksander sensed how uncomfortable I felt and pulled me away from Kimone. Ryder and Maddox politely greeted me but I could sense their wariness. Mira refused to look at me.
Aleksander greeted the others before pulling me towards an empty love seat. I expected him to sit on one of the other available seats, but he boldly chose to sit on the love seat as well. Narrowing my eyes into slits, I hoped he would take the hint. He smiled mischievously and pressed our bodies closer. I tried to be angry but my traitorous emotions gave me away. Aleksander smirked and turned his attention to the heirs who were sending as curious looks.
"I'm glad you could join us tonight Caddie," Kimone said, effectively breaking the tension.
Mira scoffed, "It would have been nice if she showed up an hour ago."
My eyes didn't leave Kimone's. She offered me an apologetic smile, but didn't say anything out loud. They were all slightly annoyed that I made them wait. I raised my brow and glanced at each of them. They acted as if they had never had to wait for anything in their life. Maybe they haven't, I thought, they are princes and princesses. Maddox gave me a calculating look. I mentally cursed myself for forgetting that he could read every thought in my head. To my surprise he started to laugh.
"You're right," he said in between chuckles, "and we're sorry."
The other shocked by his apology. The royals obviously didn't apologize often. Mira shook her long blond locks in disgust.
"I'm going to bed," Mira grumbled and walked off towards the secret passage way.
"But Mira-" Kimone tried to reason with her.
"No buts! I need my beauty sleep," she yelled before disappearing from our line of vision.
"Like that'll help," I muttered under my breath.
Maddox and Ryder's laugh boomed through the circular room. Kimone tried to cover her smile but we all could see it through the spaces between her fingers. When Ryder was finished laughing he appraised me through new eyes. I was confused, somehow my insult towards his friend made him accept me?
"I've been telling her for the past year that only water removes ugliness from wicked witches," Ryder joked, "but she never listens to me!"
Now it was my turn to laugh. I don't know what I felt funnier the stereotypical joke or its accuracy. Even though Ryder was covered in intimidating muscles he hardly had the personality to back it up. He was happy, excited and on the edge of his seat with anticipation. However, I couldn't figure out what he was anticipating.
"You know how to make a man wait but at least you've got the goods to back it up," he grinned.
I shook my head at his weird compliment, "you act like this is a date."
His grin only widened until I blinded by the bright whiteness of teeth. "That's because it is, baby. And if we like you there might be a second one in the future."
I cringed at his ridiculousness. He was clearly the outgoing clown of the group. I don't know how anyone could take him seriously.
"Down boy," Kimone scolded, but she shared his bright smile.
Ryder pouted which only made Kimone chuckle. "You can flirt with her tomorrow," she told him, "it's getting late and I would like to learn more about our newest addition."
Beside me, Aleksander shifted closer. I didn't even realize that was possible because we were sitting so close. An odd feeling of jealousy and anger coursed through him. I snuck a look at him but he was staring intently at Ryder. A sudden realization dawned on me, he was jealous by Ryder's harmless comment. I focused my attention on Kimone so I didn't scream out in frustration.
"What do you want to know?" I asked timidly. I never liked talking about myself. That led to people learning about my disease and pushed them away.
"Everything," Maddox answered for her, "You're the lost princess. Nobody knows anything about you, besides your name. We didn't even know that until three months ago."
I fidgeted nervously, keeping my eyes downcast. "Well you all knew about me before I even knew about you," I started, "I didn't know witches existed until yesterday. When my mom died I was cut off from the magical world. My dad was a mortal, so he never understood why his daughter was so weird. I hadn't discovered my other powers, but I could still feel the emotions of others. The doctors said I had RAD. I'm happy to hear that wasn't true."
I snuck a quick glance at Kimone, Ryder, and Maddox. Their faces held similar looks of shock and pity. I quickly looked down and twiddled my thumbs.
"I was raised in a small town in Virginia," that's all I had to say about my previous home. "I didn't have any friends, unless you count my cat, Ebony. People didn't want to befriend a crazy girl, so most people avoided me."
I decided there wasn't much else to say. After five minutes of silence the heirs realized I didn't have anything else to say.
Ryder cleared his throat, gaining my attention. He patted my knee awkwardly and gave me a kind smile, "Tell your cat to move to the side because now you have four new friends."
Kimone and Maddox nodded eagerly. Aleksander sat quietly, his emotions were numb. It was almost like he was a shell of the person. I ignored his odd behavior and smiled at my four new friends. Maybe the royals weren't so bad....