Midnight Assassins: Book 1

Part 2

Alice usually liked literature class but she found her mind wandering on Jackson. It's been a few months since she last saw him after all. She wondered if absence really made the heart grow fonder and tried to assess her feelings. Hmm, she concluded that yes, it probably did—at least on her case. She can't say much for Mara—Peter's fiancée—who was shooting daggers at his back right now. She truly did not want for that girl to be a part of the family. She shook her head and tried to listen to the teacher whose name she couldn't remember at the moment.

The teacher at the front of the class was waving her hand over a map and was saying something about the war with the creatures of the Void written in the Book of Legends. It was said that there were originally five continents in the realm but the third one was totally decimated by the Prince of the Void during the war which was why today there were only four continents. A few students in the room crooned in awe.

"The Prince of the void is so cool! It would be awesome to be as powerful as him." Nike Branderson said.

The teacher raised an eyebrow. Another girl, Susie Matthews, sighed. "I bet he looked handsome."

"A beautiful and tortured man. He's so dreamy!" Susie's best friend, Macy, said in agreement.

The teacher's eyebrow rose higher and smiled at them. "Truly, a being so powerful that he could erase an entire mass of land is someone to be feared indeed — not to be admired nor to be swooned over." The teacher said pointedly.

"You'd think people would hate him for what he's done..." Alice murmured absently to herself, still looking out the window.

"I'd hate him too if I was some magic-less freak." Nike sneered. "You hate him because you don't know how it is to have power." He jeered and everyone laughed at Alice and Peter. Alice just sighed and ignored them. Peter kept a straight face and ignored them too.

"Okay, enough." The teacher said but everyone ignored her. "I said enough!" The teacher clapped her hands together and the sound was amplified to the point that everyone had to cover their ears.

"Oww..." Nike mumbled.

"That was too much, Miss." Susie said.

"Quiet. There will be no bullying in my class." The teacher said. "You may have magic but it is nothing but that doesn't mean you have power." The school bell rang. "Class dismissed. Get out of my classroom."

The students got up from their seats and made a beeline for the door.

Alice got up too and headed towards the door, Peter at her back. She stopped in front of the teacher's desk. "Thank you, Miss." She said. The teacher smiled at her in response.

Alice turned to leave but asked for the teacher's name as an afterthought. "I didn't catch your name, Miss."

"You forgot my name, Miss Ravenheart?"

"No, we weren't present during the first day of classes, ma'am." Peter said.

"Oh." The teacher said. "You're always missing classes, the two of you. Very well. My name is Kito Palnea. Don't forget it, okay?"

"Gotcha." Alice said.

"See you next time Miss Palnea." Peter said as they left the room.