Cybele Academy

Chapter 1

Lena

"Lena, come see me, if you please!" Anna's sharp command echoes down the hall. From the direction it came from, I can tell she must have returned to the kitchen. She's been cooking all day in preparation for a dinner party she's hosting tonight. Though it still surprises me how, with all her high standards and luxurious preferences, she wouldn't prefer to host those somewhere other than the small apartment the two of us have shared since my father's death a few years ago.

"To rent a suitable venue would be far too expensive, Lena, you know this," Anna impatiently reminds me whenever I ask her about it, "And I don't appreciate my choices being called into question."

It's true that it would be costly. And Anna, despite her high-end tastes, is surprisingly frugal in a lot of cases. I secretly feel the former is part of her insatiable need to keep up the appearance she's forged for herself. Appearances are everything to her, which (combined with a very real fear that's been present for years now) is why she is so strongly against anything to do with magic. It would shatter the pretense of us being nothing more than ordinary humans like everyone else.

"Now, Lena!" Her voices rings out again.

I sigh. I've been so engrossed in the book I'm reading that I haven't wanted to put it down. But I know ignoring my stepmother will only anger her, so I set the book down on my bed and set off to see what she wants from me. Sure enough, I find her in the kitchen kneading dough in a large blue bowl. "Ah, there you are. What was it, may I ask, that took you so long? I should not have had to call your name twice."

"My apologies, Anna, I was distracted," I respond, sincerely hoping I'm not in for one of her lectures. Those can and have lasted for ages. "What is it you need?"

"I need you to go downstairs and fetch the mail. If I know our mailman, it should be there by now. Ordinarily I would do it, seeing as my stepdaughter can barely keep her fire abilities to herself, but as you can see, I'm knee-deep in work here. Snap to it!"

I nod and hurry to slip my shoes on. Anna's right, of course. There have been several times where I've accidentally burned something - usually a letter or document - to a crisp because I can't control my powers. I can conjure and manipulate water, too, but she's a tad less persnickety when it comes to that one since it's come in handy more than once.

The mailbox is indeed full when I make my way down to the lobby. It's mainly bills taking up the small space as well as letters to Anna from her friends, several of which will be attending tonight's dinner. They're very old-fashioned, Anna and her friends, preferring to send handwritten letters to one another instead of texting or emailing. I take everything out and, on my way back to the elevator, notice something peculiar in the bunch.

A letter for me.

How odd, I think, I never get physical letters like this.

Eager to see what it could possibly be about, I decide to open it right here in the lobby. On the front is my full name, address and postal code, neatly written in royal purple cursive. An old-fashioned wax seal holds the envelope closed, but since I've opened letters bearing them before for Anna, I've learned how to do it without ripping the envelope. Inside is a photo, which I decide to look at later, and a letter that's written in the same purple ink as before.

I read its contents carefully, my heart beginning to race. Is this real? I read it twice more, then pinch myself for good measure. Excellent, I'm not dreaming!

I all but rush upstairs, too impatient to keep waiting for the slow-moving elevator to arrive. I wind up taking the stairs two at a time in my excitement, nearly knocking over a man on his way down. "Apologies, sir!" I call out to him without stopping. When I make it back to the apartment, Anna has just set the now-kneaded dough aside so it can rise and is washing her hands. "Anna, here's the mail! I received something incredibly exciting today!"