This brochure sounds like a lie.

Liska read it again. “Eclipse Supernatural School for the Arts. The preeminent institution for the arts where students of all supernatural abilities study fine arts from a broad cultural perspective. Students from all over the world attend the school, which is located just outside of Savannah, Georgia.”

Eclipse was not considered the best supernatural school, especially since it was a school for the arts. A lot of American supernaturals considered Éclair Academy the best school. Liska got hungry every time she heard that name. But of course, everyone in her family had gone to Eclipse, so she had been hearing about how amazing it was for her entire life.

Liska dropped the brochure on her bed and surveyed her new room. It was just an empty twin bed with a blue and white striped mattress, a pine desk, and a closet, which was empty right now. Undecorated and plain.

The common room of the suite was a little more interesting; it sported a purple velvet sofa and a large fireplace. Does the fireplace work? Is one of my suitemates a witch who will need it for homework?

At least everybody at Eclipse Arts got their own rooms. Her sister Hunter had told her that was because everyone had their own special needs, and some liked to meet those needs in private. Creating new rooms wasn’t a problem for witches, even if the school was out of space in the physical world.

Four private dorm rooms connected to one common room created the suite. There were only three students in Liska’s suite, according to Hunter. One room was empty. Hunter said that Adriella, the mermaid teacher, had done their room assignments last. Their suite was called Zephyr, and it was part of the Air Quad; Liska and her suitemates would stay in Zephyr until they graduated, unless someone requested a move. The seventh and eighth graders took up almost all of the Water and Air Quads, while most of the ninth and tenth graders were in the Fire and Water Quads, and the juniors and seniors were in the Earth Quad.

Hunter said that when they had too many students, they opened the Metal Quad, but the school was not popular enough right now for that.

Hunter warned Liska not to put stuff in the empty room, in case there was a late assignment to the quad. Adriella used her precognitive abilities to assign suites, so students were unlikely to move. Hunter suggested that Liska and her suitemates could use it as a practice room, as long as they kept it clean.

Liska knew that she didn’t want to practice what Hunter thought she should, which was dance. Hunter was the dance teacher at Eclipse Arts, after all.

Liska closed her eyes and tried to sense anything about her suitemates or the upcoming year. She opened her eyes. Her stomach felt clenched, and her heart was racing, but otherwise, she sensed only her own nervousness.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

Mama said that her abilities to sense danger and even see the future would come with age and wisdom, as they did for all fox shifters. Liska already had a better sense of hearing and smell than most kids her age, so she always got good grades in tracking. And her dance training helped her run as fast as any boy in the clan.

Papa said some never developed their talents because they did not seek wisdom or growth, but that wouldn’t happen to Liska. Liska would make sure of it.

Liska sighed.

“Excuse me?” said a quiet voice behind her.

Liska spun around to face a pale student with long white hair. Even the student’s eyes were a milky color. Liska was not very tall for her age, but this student was at least a few inches shorter.

Is she a ghost? A ghoul? No, a banshee. Which means “they” would probably be the proper pronoun. Banshees didn’t usually take a gender until they became adults. A small, old-fashioned brown suitcase and a blue duffel sat by the door.

Usually, Liska could smell and hear someone coming, but this student barely had any scent. She could smell a faint metallic scent, but otherwise nothing except the other things in the room. Liska backed out of the way to let the other student enter the common room.

“Hi, I’m Liska Renard. Pronouns are she/hers.”

The pale student frowned. “Renard? Like the dance teacher?”

Liska shrugged and tried to act casual. “My oldest sister.”

The student forced a wan smile. “Airin. They/them.”

Liska remembered that banshees usually didn’t take surnames unless invited to the surname of the family they were attached to. Something about that bothered her, but she pushed it away.

“Nice to meet you, Airin.” She pointed to the room on the left, since Liska had already memorized the suite’s layout from the note outside the suite door. “That’s your room.” She pointed to the room on the right. “That one’s mine.” And then, waving over her shoulder to the left, she added, “That’s Ephronia’s. I think that’s how you say her name. But she’s not here yet. We don’t have a fourth suitemate.” Liska gestured at the empty room.

“You are a dancer?” asked Airin.

A large lump stuck in Liska’s throat. “Ah...umm…”

Airin wandered around the room, peering out the window and into the bathroom, not even noticing Liska’s discomfort. Liska followed them to the door of their room as they opened the door and slowly turned around inside the room.

“I’m a musician, and I want to be a songwriter,” said Liska, trying to fill the awkward silence. “I play piano and guitar. How about you?”

Airin’s eyebrows rose, or what Liska thought were their eyebrows, which were as pale as their skin. Then Airin looked pensive. “I’m still figuring that out.”

What brought them to Eclipse Arts? Banshees rarely left the families they were attached to.

“Are you a legacy?” asked Airin, pushing past Liska back out into the common room.

“Yes. My family are all dancers.” Liska sank down onto the sofa, tired of following her new suitemate around the empty suite.

Airin nodded absently. “I hope to hear one of your songs soon.” Then, they suddenly started. “Oh! The form! My parents forgot to include it in the application.”

Airin dragged their suitcase into their room.

They seem quiet and polite. Hope I won’t bother them too much.

Quiet was a word that didn’t apply to anyone in the Renard family, but especially not to Liska. Mama always said that if Liska danced as much as she talked, she would take the dance world by storm.

I hope we all get along in Zephyr Suite, since we’ll be stuck together for seven years.