JONAH

As I step into the staff meeting room, Peri ducks her head where she’s standing in the middle of the space. Her short, curvy frame tenses just slightly, the way it always does when she sees me.

She’s afraid of me.

To be fair, pretty much every shadowkind at the school either fears me or resents me—or both. As soon as they find out my unique purpose here, as soon as they realize I’m one of the few humans with powers to rival their own, there’s a shift in the way they look at me. Something hardens in their eyes, whether stiffening like steel or going distant and glassy.

With Peri, though, it’s worse than most. Her fright isn’t based on mere hearsay—she’s experienced the snare of my sorcery firsthand. And she hasn’t switched to being angry about the assault on her mind.

It’s like she’s bracing herself, trying to shore up courage in case I do it again.

Unfortunately, today she has good reason to be scared, just not of me. Out of the six people who’ll be deciding her fate, I’m probably the least of a threat.

As I take my spot at the administrative table, Albumin slips in. The vampire positions himself at the end of the table, and the meeting can begin.

When Shanty clears her throat, I can’t stop my gaze from darting to the empty seat at her other side. The place where Rollick would sit if he’d joined us.

The demon who founded this school should have a say in matters are serious as this. He’s been away much longer than usual this time.

Pearl is his closest associate here, or at least the one least afraid of badgering him when she wants answers, and all she’s been able to say is that he has “personal matters” to attend to. I hope Quinn, the human woman he’s devoted to, is all right.

If it wasn’t for her—well, for both of them, but mostly her—I’d have died at age three.

Of course, I can’t say for sure that Rollick would have decided in Peri’s favor if he were here. Every expression around the table is solemn, even Pearl’s, despite the succubus’s usual bright energy.

Shanty fixes her grim stare on Peri. “Periwinkle, do you know why you stand here before us?”

Peri’s head bobs a little lower in a slight nod. A soft glow wavers through her turquoise hair: flickers of a sickly yellow that matches her anxious stance and a deep maroon that might be shame.

Her voice comes out quiet and strained. “I hurt people. Other shadowkind. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to—I tried not to.”

Toni speaks up in her usual crisp tone. “You don’t deny it, then? That the wave of shadow energy that swept through the school came from you?”

Peri’s mouth twists. “I wouldn’t want to lie. That’s how it happens. If I get too happy, light bursts out of me. If I’m upset…”

Darkness.

We around the admin table exchange glances. None of us has ever seen a power quite like what Peri displayed this morning.

Shadowkind are at home in the darkness. It’s where they can escape.

But something about the shadows that exploded out of this innocent-looking being scraped against the essence of those who were closest by. One of the students described it as feeling like sandpaper wrenching over his skin, another as a deep searing as if the darkness had burned her.

And it was over in a matter of seconds. How much permanent damage could Peri do if her power didn’t fade that quickly?

“You were upset,” Pearl repeats in a softer voice than her wife’s. “Can you tell us exactly what happened to bring you to that point?”

Peri stares down at her hands, which she’s twisted in front of her. “It was really just a lot of little things. I was in self-defense class and had trouble with the exercises. Some of my classmates poked fun at me, and others were annoyed. I saw one of those hunter nets, and it reminded me—”

Her words hitch to a stop. My throat constricts at the anguish that’s clear on her face.

“It reminded you of what?” I can’t help prompting.

Her arms come up to hug herself. “I was caught in one before. It doesn’t matter how. Obviously I got away. It shouldn’t bother me. I tried to stay calm.”

Toni frowns at Gnash. “You were teaching the class. You didn’t notice that she was getting agitated?”

The tiger shifter scowls back at her. “The students always hassle each other some. You know that’s part of the training. I didn’t see anything that looked like reason for concern.”

“And yet here we are,” Albumin says in a dry, detached tone.

As Gnash aims his scowl at the vampire, Shanty taps the tabletop. “But her power didn’t burst out in class. It happened a minute or two after dismissal, didn’t it?”

Peri shoots her a tight little smile. “I tried to get away from the things that were bothering me so I could calm down. It—it didn’t work well enough.”

Al tsks his tongue. “Here only a few days and already terrorizing her fellow students.”

Peri’s head droops even lower.

My reply tumbles out of me. “She has only been here a few days. She’s barely had a chance to learn how to control her powers. And we didn’t realize they could harm shadowkind, or we’d have been taking more precautions to begin with. That’s partly on us.”

“We have to consider the safety of all the students,” Toni says.

Pearl makes a dismissive sound. “Everyone was fine with a little time to recover. No permanent damage done.”

“This time,” Gnash growls.

Peri’s shoulders hunch, and my throat constricts. I remember her coming into my classroom a couple of days ago, smiling with Fen, so pretty in her contentment that it was hard to drag my gaze away.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

It isn’t fair that she should look so despondent now.

“She cares about her fellow students,” I say. “I’ve seen her doing her best to support them. She’s already formed a positive relationship with Fen.”

Gnash lets out a faint snort. I know he doesn’t think very highly of the naiad, but he doesn’t argue with me.

Shanty studies Peri intently. “Would you be willing to attend daily tutoring sessions to see if we can get your errant energies under control quickly?”

Peri’s head jerks up, her blue eyes lighting eagerly. “Yes, of course. I’d like that more than anything. If I didn’t have to worry anymore… I promise, I don’t want to hurt anyone.”

I believe her right down to the core of my being. I don’t know how anyone at the table can doubt her sincerity.

But then, a sincere monster can still be a monster, whether they like it or not.

Gnash still looks disgruntled. “We’ll need to discuss the situation more amongst ourselves. If you stay, it’d be with a severe warning. No more outbursts like this.”

Peri nods frantically. “I understand.”

Shanty motions to the door in the far wall. “Please return to the waiting chamber while we finish our discussion.”

Peri hurries away, with a slight wobble traveling up one leg that sets me on the alert. Was she injured?

She keeps going without incident, so maybe it was just an effect of her nerves. It was clear from the first time she stood before us how much she hates the idea of being banished to the shadow realm.

It’s hard for me to imagine her bright presence consigned to the endless darkness my shadowkind mentors have described.

The moment the door has closed behind her, Gnash turns toward me. “You shouldn’t be soft on her just because you feel guilty about dragging her here with your magic.”

I wince inwardly, willing down the flush that wants to creep into my cheeks. “That’s not why I was defending her. You can see that she means well. She isn’t trying to be a threat.”

Toni rubs her temple. “In some ways, that could be worse. If she can be this destructive even when she’s trying her hardest not to be…”

It’s a little horrifying to think what Peri could do if she wanted to hurt someone. I can admit that.

Pearl swats her wife’s arm gently. “We have to give her a real chance to master her powers. Lots of beings can’t figure it out on their own.”

“But lots can’t smother a whole hallway in burning darkness in an instant,” Shanty mutters. She turns to Gnash. “What were your impressions of her in class?”

“She was clumsy, but she gave it a good effort,” Gnash admits. “More than some of them that’s been here longer and should know to take the lessons seriously. And she showed some spirit when those other students were hassling her. If it wasn’t for the explosion of shadows, I’d say she might have some promise.”

I give him a pointed look. “She still does. It’s obvious she hasn’t interacted with other shadowkind very much before. She’s still finding her footing, but she’s very committed.”

Shanty squares her shoulders. “All right. I think we should give her another chance, taking far greater precautions. And of course her badge will need to be updated so her classmates have the warning. We didn’t start this school to abandon the difficult cases at the first stumble. Any significant arguments?”

Albumin sighs but doesn’t say anything. Toni dips her head in acceptance.

“Good.” Shanty brushes her hands together. “Meeting adjourned. I’ll let her know the verdict—and start her first one-on-one session right now. I may as well handle those personally.”

I head out of the meeting room with tension still coursing through my body. It seems like as good an excuse as any to head to the exercise room for a workout.

I change into my tee and shorts quickly, stretch, and decide to start with the rowing machine. It’s an easy way to spread the burn through most of my body all at once, and the rhythmic back and forth is weirdly relaxing at the same time.

It’s also one of the least social options, which can be a plus in my position. I keep a casual attitude walking through the exercise room, but I’m starkly aware of the glances that twitch my way—and then avert, sometimes with a sidle farther away from me.

The various shadowkind students and even the staff who come by to work out their physical bodies spend plenty of time chatting with each other. But I’m not only one of the rare humans in the mix—I’m one of the few we have classes to warn our students against.

My sorcery doesn’t call attention to itself when I’m not tapping into it. I’d have to purposefully aim it at any being here to affect them.

I could if I wanted to, though, and that’s all they need to know.

I settle into the rhythm of the machine and gradually pick up speed until the ache I was waiting for prickles through my muscles. Most shadowkind come by at least slightly superhuman strength automatically. If for some reason one of my missions outside of school comes down to a physical fight rather than one of magic, I want some chance of holding my own.

The whir of the machine fills my head. I’m heading into minute twenty-three when someone drops a weight into the rack a little too abruptly.

The clatter jolts through my nerves. A memory flashes behind my eyes: a shadowkind creature crashing through a window and landing on the floor with a clacking of its vicious claws.

I flinch, and the handle slips from my fingers. It smacks into the head of the machine.

Forcing myself to inhale and exhale slowly, I slide over to retrieve the handle. Did anyone notice my odd lapse?

A surreptitious glance around suggests not. I swallow thickly and try to lose myself in the rush again, but my mind can’t quite detach.

Maybe it isn’t just the shadowkind’s instinctive reactions to my sorcery that set me apart. Maybe my past means I’m putting up barriers I’m not even aware of.

It’s been a long time since a horde of very literal monsters slaughtered my birth family and kidnapped me. It was only a brief fragment of my life that they keep me captive before Quinn and Rollick came to my rescue. I barely think about it anymore.

That doesn’t mean the dreams have stopped, though.

I grit my teeth and push myself even faster. When I came to the school, I told myself the students would adjust to my presence. That we’d all find a way to accept and even welcome each other. After all, I grew up surrounded by shadowkind. I know plenty of them aren’t like the brutal fiends that destroyed my first home.

Somehow, six years into my tenure here, the harmony I imagined still hasn’t materialized.

At what point do I accept that it never will?

Finally, when my shirt is sticking to my back with sweat, I peel myself off the rowing machine. As I debate whether to move on to weights or the treadmill next, one of the shadowkind support staff slips out of the shadows a few steps away from me.

She offers me a crooked smile. “I’m sorry to interrupt, Jonah. Rollick’s contacted us—he’s sending on a being who’s been disruptive at one of his clubs. You should be there to oversee the transfer in case there’s any major resistance.”

And here I am, back in the role of jailer all over again.

That’s what I signed up for. That’s the one thing I can do that’s actually necessary around here, that no one else can do.

So I force a smile in return. “Let me take a quick shower and change, and I’ll meet the retrieval team at the car.”