The Faerie Prince

Chapter Two

CHAPTER TWO

Somewhere in between breaking the Guild's most important rule and having my heart crushed by my first and only boyfriend, I became just like every other guardian trainee: I forgot to do my homework.

First. Time. Ever.

I've always been that annoying person who finishes a written assignment at least two days before the due date. Until this morning, that is, when my brain decided to remind me that we were given a project during my one week suspension. The due date?

Today.

Two and a half hours from now, to be exact.

I hurry back to my table in the Guild's library with another pile of books in my arms. Catching my foot on the chair leg, I send the books sliding across the table. "Oh, come on!" I kick the chair back, plop myself down, and grab the nearest book.

"Stop freaking out, Vi," Honey says from across the table. "This is completely normal for just about everyone else in our class. Did you see Aria and Jasmine over there?" I nod without removing my eyes from the page in front of me. "And do they look stressed out?"

I glance up. Aria is reading a message on her amber, her chair tilted so far back she must be using magic to keep from crashing to the floor, and Jasmine is staring into space. I return my gaze to the textbook. "Somehow, I don't exactly find that comforting, Honey."

"Okay, bad example," she says, pulling her own amber out of her pocket. She giggles at whatever message is waiting for her—probably from her boyfriend—and reaches for her stylus to reply.

I scan the page in front of me, seeing nothing. What am I looking for again? Oh, right, using kelpie hair as an ingredient in—

"Attention, fifth years." I look up and see Amon, the head librarian, poking his head out of his office. "I've just received a message from one of your mentors." He takes a scrap of paper from the sprite sitting on his shoulder and looks at it. "You are to assemble in lesson room four after you've handed in your written projects. Someone will be talking to you about your final assignments."

Honey wiggles her eyebrows at me and grins. "Ooh, our final assignments. Exciting! Everyone's been talking about who they're going to be paired with and where they'll be sent."

"Yeah, I'm sure they have." And I've been trying not to think about how a disastrous pairing could ruin my already slim chance of graduating at the top of my class.

"Oh, Tina wants to talk to me," Honey says, examining her amber once more. "I'll see you downstairs." She grabs her bag from under the table and heads out to wherever her mentor is.

I raise my eyes to the enchanted sundial on the wall over the library door. Two hours left.

I skim through pages and scribble down important facts in what I hope are coherent sentences. Hushed voices and the occasional ripple of laughter fade into the background of my thoughts. Right now it's just me and the mundane facts of kelpies and their hair. Maybe it's a good thing I didn't do this project when I was calm—I probably would have fallen asleep. I reach the required length of the report, sit back, and read through the whole thing, making use of the vanish and replace spell far more than I usually have to.

Half an hour left.

With a glance toward Amon's office—he doesn't approve of magic in the library—I sweep my hand across the table and watch the scattered books pile themselves neatly on top of one another. I push my chair back and head for the row where I found them.