Looking down, I saw Herald on the ground. With a knife in his hand, Kairos stood above him.

Herald gasped, choking on his own blood. Before I could react, a healing circle appeared, and Herald was soon able to speak.

“Then do so,” Herald ordered, staring at me with a severe look.

He stood up, storming toward me. I staggered back. The bed behind me gave an obnoxious screeching sound as Herald’s hands gripped my arms tightly.

I nodded, staring up into his eyes. I wasn’t scared. Nope. Not me. One of my favorite characters was pinning me to a bed.

“Okay. How?”

I would say I was quite happy, honestly. I swallowed, saliva forming in my mouth as I stared at the handsome and impressive man.

I’d almost forgotten how cool he was.

Herald scoffed at my question, “I, your full name, swear on my magic and soul that I have not killed anyone, and that I have no plans to become queen of the Kingdom of Silver.”

I hesitated. My full name? He didn’t say true name, so as long as I recognized the name as my own it should work, right?

I sighed.

Even still, I didn’t want to just give away my name like that.

“At least set up a security spell or something, I’m not just going to say my name aloud like that in a world where Fae exist,” I muttered.

No way in hell! Herald couldn’t scare me, but King Wren’phoros sonne Emmeraildth definitely could!

Oh, wait.

Couldn’t the Fae tell if someone thought their true name? Shit. I shouldn’t do that here.

Herald stared at me a long time. While he kept intense eye-contact, his hand reached out. A magical spell rippled into existence, vanishing before I could really observe it too well. Soon the room had lines of magic going all along it. Oh! Is that what Valentine was doing every time he walked to the door? Cool!

“There is no one in here except for us,” Herald commented.

Which was obviously true, seeing as everyone in the room glowed for a moment, an outline of Kairos’ hand visibly wrapped around the knife showing me they would be visible even through solid objects.

I sighed, feeling awkward as I spoke my name, hearing it for the first time in well over eight months.

“I, Fiona Lily Martin, swear on my magic and soul that I have not killed anyone intentionally, and that I have no current plans to become queen of anything, let alone the Kingdom of Silver.”

My heart pounded in my chest, seeming to beat at the same pace as rave music.

Magic wrapped around me as I spoke, burning red lines stretching across my skin. A long moment after I finished, the magic turned white, fading. Soon my heart felt okay, and I relaxed, sighing.

I slumped.

“See? You can’t prosecute me. As this is a secret that directly threatens my life should it be found out, you are bound by your own Academic decree to keep it hidden,” I finished, crossing my arms.

Herald’s hands left my arms.

Herald didn’t seem to be listening, though, staring at me intently, “Interesting. So you truly aren’t a necromancer?”

“Dude, if I knew necromancy I’d be using it for cooler shit,” I disagreed, wiping at my face.

I grimaced. Oh, gross. Blood was on it. I wiped at myself until Kairos reached out, grabbing my arm and pulling it away from my face. He used a handkerchief to wipe at my skin.

“Necromancy is illegal,” Herald sighed out, looking a lot less murderous.

His gaze was focused, but he just seemed tired. Or maybe that was pity?

“It shouldn’t be,” I refused, “Necromancy is cool. Murder should be illegal, yes, but necromancy shouldn’t. Necromancy is just late healing.”

Herald’s expression twisted. His gaze lost all hints of exhaustion.

“It is a corrupt form of magic that goes against the natural way.”

I looked at Herald for a very long moment, then I tilted my head.

“My world doesn’t have magic at all. So magic in and of itself is a form of energy that goes against the natural way.”

Kairos turned my head toward him. I stared into his honey-brown eyes as he focused on scrubbing Herald’s blood from my skin.

“That’s different.”

“No it isn’t,” I disagreed.

I grimaced and tilted my face away as Kairos scrubbed an area especially hard.

“Claiming that any form of magic is corrupt is saying that the gods of magic that allow it to exist are as well. Do you want a god to smite you for blasphemy?” I continued.

Kai’s hand was firm as he shifted my face back toward him. I pouted at him.

“The gods of magic are neutral.” Herald refused.

Kairos looked at my pout, gloved fingers reaching out and brushing against my lips.

I was focused on the argument, though.

“Yes, so that means—“ I hesitated when Kairos lifted up my chin, scrubbing at my neck, “That means that magic is neutral as well. Neither good nor evil.”

I grimaced as he scrubbed roughly at my neck.

“So you say that healing is not predominantly good?” Herald accused.

I huffed.

“I can kill you with healing,” I agreed flatly, breaking free from Kai’s grasp and looking at Herald with raised eyebrows, “I can even detail exactly what it will feel like. My world is quite advanced in medical procedures, and I can confidently say it is as evil as necromancy.”

Kairos sighed, backing away from me.

Herald scoffed, “How would you kill me by healing me?”

“Hello, Kai,” Valentine greeted.

I laughed, grinning as I turned to the professor, not even realizing that his and I’s voice had risen to a shout. My arms crossed.

“Did you know the eyes have their own immune system? So if I told your main immune system that your eyes existed, your eyes would be attacked by your body. There’s also this thing called cancer, where the body’s cells attack each other and your body tears itself apart. It’s very painful, and your death will be slow as your cells continuously corrupt themselves. My world hasn’t found a solution to it outside of killing every cell in the area and hoping it works. I could also just heal your spine so that you no longer have use of your arms or legs. Heal your lungs so that they no longer are able to breathe. I could even just put too much of a good thing in your bloodstream, such as, say…”

I hesitated to think. My arms uncrossed.

“Hello, Lance. Feeling better?” Kairos responded lightly.

“Iron? Or I could thin your blood until your body physically cannot continue working.”

I looked back to Herald. He was glaring at me. I glared back at him.

“Why am I covered in blood?” Valentine asked.

“None of that means that healing is as evil as necromancy!” Herald cried.

“Herald has found out Fiona’s secret, and now they are arguing over necromancy,” Kairos responded lightly.

“Yes! Because necromancy isn’t evil! It’s just another form of magic!” I agreed vehemently.

“Fiona…?” Valentine asked, getting my attention.

Glancing over, I met blue eyes. Oh, Valentine was awake. Neat.

“Ah. That does not explain why I am covered in blood,” Valentine muttered, looking down at himself.

Like me, he was covered in Herald’s blood.

My attention was caught as Herald spoke again. I glowered into eyes the color of strawberry ice-cream. He took a step forward.

“Necromancy is evil! You cannot truly claim that raising people from the dead is morally right!” Herald disagreed just as vehemently, glaring down into my eyes.

“I slit the chancellor’s throat,” Kairos explained peacefully.

“You’re right! It’s not good! I’m not saying it’s good! I’m saying it’s not evil! It’s a neutral form of magic, just like healing, just like light, just like every form of magic!” I cried, arms gesturing angrily out to my sides. I took a step toward him as I spoke.

“He seems to be speaking quite well,” Valentine sighed out.

I was about to punch this asshole in the throat. What a stupid asshole.

“What would you know? You’re from another world! You only just started learning about magic less than a year ago!” Herald snapped loudly, pink eyes furious.

“Yes. A bit too well,” Kairos agreed.

What did he mean what would I know? This guy was stuck in the dark ages! What would he know?!

“Dude my world is better than this one! What the fuck have you guys even accomplished with magic!? My world is so much more advanced than this one with so much better lifestyles! It’s laughable that you think this world stuck in the fucking dark ages is at all as morally good as mine! So I can say that necromancy, a concept I am well aware of from my world, is not evil! You’re just too stupid and oblivious of how the world actually works to realize that, you fucking Neanderthal!”

Herald’s gaze sharpened as he glared down at me.

“Oh so you think some mundane planet without magic is better than this one? No wonder you think necromancy isn’t corrupt, you think all magic is unnatural!” The man snapped.

I shoved at him.

“Because it is!” I agreed, livid, “So calling any part of it evil or good just isn’t true! You don’t hear me claiming that antimatter is evil!”

Herald scoffed, his glare as sharp as a needle, “I don’t even know what antimatter is—“

“EXACTLY!” I yelled, “You don’t know what anything is! You don’t even have the concept of gravity! Magic relies on math and your entire world has made less progress with math than mine has! You don’t even have the concept of exponents! Do you even know that the sun is a star? That the world isn’t flat?”

Stolen story; please report.

I took a step forward, closing the gap I’d caused by shoving him away.

Herald looked insulted, “Of course I know the world isn’t flat, what do you take me for?”

“An idiot who thinks necromancy is evil!”

“It is evil!”

“No the fuck it—.”

“ENOUGH!” Valentine yelled out.

I jerked, turning.

Valentine was sitting up, looking both tired and irate.

“If you plan to argue about the morality of magic, go somewhere else. I am tired.”

I pouted at him. Herald looked at him as well.

“Sorry,” I muttered pathetically, pouting to myself.

I turned to leave the infirmary, shoving past the chancellor, his black suit still soaked with his own blood. The white tiles were coated in blood for quite a distance away from us, I noted. Kairos really cut deep. Nice. I’m glad he went so far to protect me.

Damn.

If I weren’t so stupid, this wouldn’t have happened. I shouldn’t have met Herald’s eyes. No matter how beautiful they were.

“You still need to rest,” Herald complained quietly.

“Nah, let’s go do my exam now,” I disagreed, turning and walking backward to view the situation.

Valentine was sitting on the bed. He looked gaunt, his hair frayed. His head was bowed as he rubbed at his face. Blood soaked the bed he laid in, also soaking his clothing. Kairos was only a few feet away from me, following me without comment. Blood soaked him, too, his basic white button-up under his blazer splattered with red. His glasses were, too, having smears of blood on them.

Herald was standing where I left him, looking exhausted. His black suit was soaked in the front, neck still covered in red. His green hair in a pony-tail was soaked in some spots, looking black. His pink eyes were focused intently on me.

In front of him, a magical circle appeared. I reached out to attack him, but his magic was faster. I tripped.

I blinked, surprised, as his magical circle faded. I realized what happened after a moment.

He… he just tripped me?

“You’re petty,” I deadpanned, standing up.

What an asshole. Was he always this petty?

“You are not fully healed, and I am not administering your exam so soon after having my throat slit by your loyal servant,” Herald rejected.

I hesitated at his words, thinking. His neck was a bright red.

Oh.

If the reason was because his throat was slit… Did he not heal himself well?

My magic reached out. This was simple, so a two inch diameter would work. That’s one inch radius, so area of 3.14 and circumference of 6.28. Easy.

Green magic reached out. Before it could reach Herald, his hand snapped out. I frowned as my magic was broken apart, the spell fading.

“What are you doing? I was helping. You just said you didn’t heal yourself well,” I asked.

“That is not what I said,” Herald muttered, looking tired, “And I would prefer not to be healed by someone who can kill me.”

I blinked. What an odd thing to say. Couldn’t anyone kill him?

“Huh? Dude it is much more dangerous to be healed by someone who doesn’t know what they’re talking about. Anyone competent could kill you, but anyone incompetent might kill you every time they heal you,” I disagreed.

Let’s try again, shall we?

Circle. Heal his neck. Repairing the blood vessels and healing the flesh. My magic reached out again.

This time Herald allowed me to heal his neck. His expression relaxed slightly as my healing circle vanished.

“You didn’t give me cancer, did you?” Herald asked.

His hand reached up, rubbing at his neck.

“Oh I don’t know how to do that,” I said agreeably, “I mean I’m pretty sure I can probably figure it out, but eh,” I shrugged.

Herald gave me a searching stare, tense shoulders relaxing.

“Anyway. Exam?” I suggested, perking up hopefully.

“No. Rest,” Herald still rejected, walking toward me.

I frowned at him.

“Aw, what?” I asked.

He continued to walk, his eyes not leaving mine until he was past me.

“But using the excuse of me needing rest when I’m the one asking is lame,” I whined, chasing after him.

My hands wrapped around his wrist.

Herald sighed, stopping.

“If you do pass the makeup exam and get into the Academy, you will be disciplined for your disrespect toward me.”

Pulling his wrist from mine with a warning look, he continued walking.

I scoffed, gesturing at him.

“See? So you want me to take the exam right now, too!” I whined.

I stared at his retreating form. After a moment, I started chasing after him again.

“Unlike whatever you may think, I do not appreciate having to punish students,” Herald disagreed.

The man gave me an annoyed look when I jogged to be next to him.

“The makeup exam will be held next week.”

“Tomorrow,” I begged, both of my hands holding his fingers.

“Next week,” Herald disagreed, not letting up.

“Okay, later tonight,” I acquiesced, hands tightening around his.

His hands were delicate and nice to hold. His gaze was focused on mine. I gave him a pleading look.

“Please?” I begged, doing my best puppy-dog eyes.

Lifting his hand, I held it in front of my mouth between mine as I pleaded with him.

In my old body, puppy-dog eyes were effective. Persephone didn’t have any cutesy part of her, though. She looked elegant, refined, and beautiful in a very graceful and noble way. Like a villainess.

I still held out hope, though, looking up at him through my eyelashes.

Herald sighed as he looked down at me. His free hand shifted, wrapping around me. I hardly saw the magic circle form before my vision went black.

I stared up at the ceiling, suddenly on my back. Under me was a warm and cushy platform.

…

Huh?

…

Oh!

He knocked me out.

“That asshole,” I muttered up at the ceiling.

It was dark, now, everything covered in shadows. The air was warm. When I sat up to look around, I noted that no one was in the room. The bed next to me was pristine, and the blood on the floor was gone.

Weird.

Getting off the bed, I glanced at the shadowy flowers and other get-well gifts. Had those been there before?

I walked away from them, the tiles cold but smooth on my feet. I couldn’t feel the engravings I knew were there.

Walking to the exit, making sure I was clothed, I wandered out. The hallway was less dark than the infirmary, the ceiling softly glowing with magic. Looking up, I noted how pretty it looked. Like fireflies or fairy lights, dots of light floated along the rafters.

I didn’t know where I was going, so I wandered aimlessly. Passing a few different people, including some that were definitely vampires, I reveled in the peace.

It was dark and quiet, and I was alone. How peaceful. Before I could relax too much, My vision changed.

For a moment, I thought it was like what happened the day I was set to go to the Academy. My back hurt, though, and in front of me was a man with glowing red eyes.

Demon King.

I froze. My breath caught, heart racing.

Shit. Now?!

Fear trickled down my spine.

Already? I hadn’t done everything I’d wanted to!

I panicked for a moment, but then I realized the hair wasn’t black. It was gray. Or green? I couldn’t really tell.

I relaxed, my breath escaping in a gasp. Fuck. It wasn’t him.

It wasn’t the Demon King.

I was safe.

I was okay.

I tried to calm my heart. My head rested against the wall as I looked up at the vampire through lidded eyes.

My breathing drew into my lungs in a shudder, escaping my lips in the same manner.

This asshole scared the shit out of me! I thought it was the Demon King! Fuck.

“You’re covered in the chancellor’s blood,” The vampire breathed, looking lost in my gaze.

I chuckled mirthfully, each hitch of my lungs releasing in a breathy laugh, “Yeah.”

Yeah, I was, wasn’t I? Fuck. Fuck, that scared me! Jesus fucking Christ. Holy shit. Fuck…

“May I have a taste?” He asked.

My expression twisted, both amusement and deja vu coming across me. That was what one of my favorite characters said when he was first introduced. He had gray hair and red eyes, and he was a vampire, too… no, wait.

“Not even going to give me your name before asking to, what, lick me?” I asked, my lips twisting up at the ridiculous statement.

This was so weird.

There was no way, right? No way was this…

“Desmond Ruby at your service, my lady,” The vampire greeted.

I stared at the youthful face. He was nothing like I’d imagined.

Damn.

He was technically immortal, but he wasn’t one of the last ten. Apparently he was in his thousands by the time he greets Aphrodite. So he was probably in his thousands. Probably. Unless he was like, 1001 in the novel and he met her in three years.

I pulled my lips into my mouth as I stared at him.

I would be more impressed if he didn’t just give me a fucking heart attack.

“Your hair is as red as blood, it is quite beautiful,” Desmond said.

His voice was as young as his appearance. He had a very thin frame, hardly as wide as I was despite being taller than me. He wore very fancy clothing, a black blazer on over a regular but crisp white polo. He was a bit too close for me to casually look down and see what his pants were.

What did he say? I think… Oh. Right. Something about my hair being red as blood.

“Thanks. I’ve been covered in enough blood to dye my skin that color, lately,” I mused, sighing, “If you do me a favor, and so long as it isn’t my blood—“

“Of course,” Desmond agreed without any hesitation, leaning closer.

I flushed as his tongue dragged across my face and neck. I grimaced. It felt like I’d just given a dog permission to lick me. The scent of his saliva made me dazed, but I just healed that out of me.

Eventually he got to my chest. Soon, all the blood still on my form outside of any inappropriate places was off.

He looked like he wanted to continue, fingers tracing the upper lining of my dress. He pulled away.

“The scent of your blood is quite strong, in the basement of the Academy,” the vampire mused as he stepped back, seeming dissatisfied.

“Yeah,” I agreed with a sigh, “Anyway. Do you know wh-where—“

My voice stuttered, cutting off as Desmond’s tongue licked along my throat. It sent sparks through me. My stomach twisted.

“You should allow me a taste of your blood,” Desmond murmured against my throat.

“No.” I instantly refused, my voice flat and unamused, even as my body reacted oddly to the feeling of his lips moving along my throat, “A-anyway. Is Silas, Lance, or Herald still around? My favor is that I’d like you to take them to me.”

Desmond chuckled, “Most would not use a favor so carelessly.”

“Most wouldn’t give one out so freely,” I returned, “You must be quite hungry.”

Desmond was the king of vampires, masquerading as a student in the Academy to gain its protection. A cult of vampire hunters were currently running rampant in the world, so a lot of vampires were now in the Academy for similar reasons.

The stronger the vampire, the more blood they needed to keep going, and the hungrier they got when they smelled blood. The stronger the blood they drank, the less they needed, though.

As the strongest, it would make sense that he’d be starving after spending all day and night in the basements going to his various classes.

The magic that circulated air throughout the maze-like halls didn’t actually purify the air. The entire basement must smell like my blood by now.

“Yes, I am. I’d be willing to do just about anything for a taste of your blood,” Desmond agreed, expression as dazed as it had been before.

Oh! Well in that case.

“Give yourself to me and I’ll allow it,” I agreed flatly.

Pain reached his expression. His eyebrows twisted together, lips curling bitterly. Desmond forced himself to look away from me. Clearing his throat, he inhaled. He seemed to regret the decision, the brick his hands were resting against cracking.

“Professors Silas and Lance are both teaching right now. One of the ones that share your blood is awake as well, a female. Which would you like me to take you to?” Desmond changed the subject, voice strained. He took a dedicated step away from me.

I hummed, thinking aloud under my breath. I looked at the hall as I thought. Brown hair and black eyes, black hair and silver eyes, and purple hair and blue eyes flashed one after the other in my mind’s eye.

“Well if I don’t want to be severely injured by Persephone or forced back into the infirmary by Silas… probably Lance? Or, wait…”

Would he force me back?

“No, Lance agreed with me when we were getting scolded. Yeah. Lance, then.”

Desmond nodded, reaching out a hand, “Very well. May I know your name? I have introduced myself, but I have yet to know who you are.”

“You can call me Percy,” I said amicably, taking his hand as I shifted to stand next to him, “Refer to me as Iris if ever you speak to the other chick that shares my blood, though. I’m sure you’ll like her reaction.”

Desmond was a sadistic person by nature who adored scaring people. It was to the point that had I told him about my fear of the Demon King, he would use illusion magic to look like him. I was already certain that if I went out at night or went into the basement, he would pin me to a wall again just to revel in my fear.

Desmond chuckled, looking over at me as he started walking, “Oh? Will I?”

I nodded, fingers further interlacing with his, “Probably, yeah.”

The walk was peaceful and quiet. I hadn’t even realized I’d grabbed his hand until after he stopped by a door in the quiet halls.

“He is in the classroom,” Desmond mentioned.

I nodded, releasing his hand, “Cool, thanks! Have a good night, Desmond.”

“You as well, Percy,” Desmond said his farewells, vanishing.

I nodded again, looking at the door. The door was cracked, so I could clearly hear Valentine speaking. His voice was distant and bored. Anyone who hadn’t heard what his baseline tone was would presume it cold and clinical.

I glanced around at the hall, not wanting to disturb the class. A window was right outside of the door. There was a courtroom shown, the moon barely visible glittering in the sky through the foliage of a tree.

“Feel free to join the class, Percy,” Valentine called out, getting my attention.

I glanced behind me, at the door. The bright and cold light of the classroom spilled out of the cracked door. It easily overtook the dim, warm lights of the Academy halls.

“Loitering outside will do you no good,” Val insisted.