Concealing Magic: Divine Descendants Duology: Davina Universe, #4

1

Every supernatural being lives by one single rule: Never let a human see you as your true self. No wings. No essence. For all intents and purposes, when you're around a human, you are human.

But I wasn't human. I was a Davina—or an angel, as some stories went, though the stories were way off—and I wasn't going to let my powers go to waste. That's why I was attending the academy. It was a Davina's best chance at making a difference in a world where our essence—our magic—was otherwise kept a secret. And come hell or high water, I would make a difference.

The thick stone walls surrounding Harris Academy came into view, and already my heart was pounding in exhilaration. I leaned forward between my mom's and dad's seats, trying to take in the wonder of the structure. The wall was made of a beautiful white brick that looked like it belonged in a sacred temple. Bright sunlight reflected off the surface, making it look more beautiful and glorious than I remembered from the times we drove by it when I was a kid. It stretched two stories high and surrounded fifty acres, enclosing the small campus inside. The campus would be my home for the next two years. Its perimeter wall kept out prying eyes and allowed us to study as ourselves—wings, magic, and all. I’d had that freedom back home at Galen High School, but somehow, this felt different. It was my stepping stone toward bigger and better things.

In the distance, tall buildings reached twenty stories high. All around us, the streets bustled with traffic as a thousand other eager freshman like me flooded onto campus from all over the country. Celia, Minnesota wasn’t a huge city, but it felt like it compared to Eagle Valley, the small town I grew up in. And it was amazing.

Nervous, Cora? Dad asked from the driver's seat.

Me? Nervous? I feigned. Of course I was nervous. But my nerves couldn't mask my excitement. I'd been waiting for this day my whole life. You should be the ones who are nervous.

I was grateful Mom and Dad made the trip with me. Otherwise, all eyes would be on me. With them here, I doubt anyone would even notice me.

Dad pulled up behind a long line of cars at the front gate. I craned my neck, trying to catch a glimpse of the buildings inside. I could just barely make out the Academy Center straight in front of us past the parking lot. It was four stories high and made of red brick, with various peaks in its roof that reminded me of the Galen High mansion. Rising up from the center of the building was a pointed bell tower. It was like a beacon welcoming me to my new home.

I can't wait to check out campus, I said. I heard they just made an addition to the Activities Center and added a new rock-climbing wall. Plus, they’re working on building an obstacle course for training. Doesn’t that sound cool? Oh! And I want to see the Winged Fountain and check out the bar on the lower level of the dining center.

Mom turned in her seat and frowned. She wore her brown hair up, with loose tendrils framing her face. Normally, Mom was dressed in an apron and covered in flour, but today she’d worn a sleek black dress with three-quarter length sleeves and low heels, a real business-style look. You’re only eighteen. You’re not going to a bar.

"I don’t have to drink. I hear they play live music and have standup comedians come in all the time. It sounds fun, doesn’t it?" I bounced a little in my seat.

Mom smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. You know you don’t have to do this. You can always stay home and work at the restaurant.

I sighed. This was the third time Mom had said that today. And yes, I was counting. It wasn’t that she didn’t want me to become an emergency responder. She knew this was everything I wanted in life and more. The look in her eyes told me it was because she wasn’t ready to let me go yet.

I’ll come to visit, I told her. I promise.

Mom’s eyes brightened. We don’t have any plans this weekend.

Slow down, Ryn, Dad said with a laugh. You’re suffocating the poor girl.

Mom gaped at him, then looked back to me. Am I suffocating you?

A little, I admitted, crinkling my nose.

Mom scrunched her face up at me, but she couldn’t hold the expression for long. A moment later, she was smiling. She reached back and poked me playfully between the eyebrows. What are mothers for?

I pushed her hand away, laughing. Why can’t you be more like Grandma Gloria? Go find yourself a rich guy like Calvin and explore the world. Let me study my powers in peace.

Mom reached over and brushed her fingers through Dad’s dark hair. I’d rather have a nice man over a rich guy any day.

Dad tilted his head toward hers and gazed into her eyes. Even after twenty years of marriage, they still looked at each other like they were on their honeymoon.

I couldn’t help it. I started making gagging noises from the back seat.

Keep that up and you’re grounded, Dad teased. The man had never grounded me a day in my life.

The traffic started moving again. By the time we reached the front gates, I was sitting so close to the edge of my seat that I was practically leaning over the middle console between my parents.

A campus security officer holding a tablet approached Dad’s open window. ID, please?

Dad pulled out his driver’s license and the paperwork the school had given us with our passes onto campus. The guy glanced at the names, then stared at my parents in shock.

James and Kathryn Marek? he asked in disbelief.

That’s us, Dad said with a smile. He leaned an elbow against the open window, where a soft, pleasant breeze drifted into the car.

The guy opened his mouth and then closed it again, like he couldn’t find the words. Then he stuck his hand out in my father’s direction. Wow, sir. It’s a real pleasure.

Yep. I was a legacy. The legacy. Twenty-five years ago, my parents discovered that the Davina and the Aedes—angels and demons— were more powerful together. They were responsible for ending the age-old war between them and bringing our races to peace. It was only because of them that the academy even existed. Before I was born, Aedes and Davina tried to kill each other. Now we were allies revolutionizing the law enforcement and medical fields. Most people chalked it up to science, to medical advancements. They still had no idea angels and demons were behind it all.

The security guard quickly scrambled back toward his papers and pressed his tablet a few times, then handed the papers back to Dad. You’re all set to go. You’ll want to go straight ahead into the parking lot. Your daughter can pick up her information packet and student ID from the Academy Center. Just follow everyone else; you can’t miss it. Orientation starts in three hours, so you have plenty of time.

Thank you, sir, my dad said.

My pleasure. The guy waved to us as Dad started inching forward. Traffic was slow, so we moved at a snail’s pace.

Wow, this place is packed, I glanced toward the parking lot, which was almost full by now. Soon, people would start having to park on the streets outside campus. Guess it’s good we got here early. You know, I think I’d still benefit from my own car. What do you guys think?

No, my parents answered in unison.

Come on, I complained. This city’s huge. What if I want to go shopping or something? Will you at least consider a moped? Hey, Dad, maybe I can borrow your motorcycle for the semester.

You can take the bus. Besides, we offered to bring your bicycle, Mom pointed out.

I crinkled up my nose. That rusty old thing?

Mom shrugged.

Grandma gave me some money for my birthday, I said. Maybe I’ll—

You can’t do this! This is police brutality! someone yelled outside the car.

I instantly cut off and sat back in my seat to get a better look out the window. Two security guards were dragging a guy out the front gate right next to our car. He looked older than me, at least mid-twenties, with blond hair and a strong jawline. If he weren’t kicking and screaming like a little girl, I might’ve said he was cute. But there was something about him that repulsed me. There was a sense of entitlement in his perfect hair and dark blue blazer, like he thought the world should be bowing at his feet just because he’d been born.

No ID, no entry, one of the guards told him sternly.

You can’t just refuse people entry! he screamed.

He kicked his legs out, struggling out of their hold. Somehow, he managed to slip his arm out of his blazer sleeve and free it. He ducked out of the guard's reach, then twisted around until his other arm broke free. He sprinted back inside the wall, but he only took a few paces before a guard jumped him from behind. The two of them went flying straight into my window with a thud.

My heart leapt into my throat, and I jumped back, pushing across the bench seat all the way to the other side of the car. My pulse didn’t slow as the guard pressed the guy’s face up against the window, squishing it flat.

"How would you like to add another trespassing charge to your record, Colt Walter?" the guard threatened.

Ooh, I’m so scared, Colt replied flatly.

Yeah, yeah, the guard said. Daddy’s not going to bail you out every time.

The guard handcuffed him and pulled him away from the window. Finally, my heart rate began to slow. Then the trespasser turned his gaze inside our vehicle, and his dark brown eyes met mine. They were hooded in so much anger and resentment that it sent a chill over my skin. He couldn’t look away from me soon enough. Finally, the guard dragged him around the side of the security wall, and I felt like I could breathe again.

Sorry about that! the second guard called to us.

Mom just waved back to him like it was no problem.

I finally sat up straight in my seat again. What the hell was that?

Dad took a long breath. My guess? A curious human.

What? I asked in disbelief. People actually try to sneak into the school?

Don’t worry, Dad replied, not really answering my question. The school is perfectly safe. If I know the founder Casey Harris well—and I do—she wouldn’t accept anything less than the best. The best facilities. The best security. You name it.

Then how’d he get in? I wanted to say, but I didn’t. Instead, I said, What do you think would happen? If humans found out about us, I mean.

I’m sure he doesn’t know anything, Mom said. If he did, the Alliance would deal with him. There are procedures for this kind of thing.

Okay, but that doesn’t answer my question.

Dad sighed and glanced at me in the rear-view mirror. There’s a reason we’ve kept the Davina and the Aedes a secret for so long. When you’ve been keeping a secret for Millennia, there’s not really a good time to come out with the truth.

Yeah, but people would know we help them, that we heal them and stuff. It’s not like they would shun us, right? I bit my lower lip.

Mom and Dad exchanged a glance, then Mom turned to look at me. People believe what they want to believe. Sometimes, they don’t want to hear the truth.

Uh, okay… I said, feeling like my parents were downplaying the whole thing.

I guess they had one good point. Some things were just better kept secret.

2

W ow, this place is amazing. I couldn’t take my eyes off it all.

We’d already gone through the registration process, and I had my picture taken for my student ID. Now I was strolling alongside my parents on a wide sidewalk with a thick folder in my hand and my full backpack on my shoulders, trusting them to be my eyes as I looked all over campus. Mom rolled my suitcase behind her, and Dad carried a laundry basket full of odds and ends. The Academy Center was behind us, and a wide-open courtyard stood in front of us, where groups of parents and students roamed. At least half of them had shifted into their supernatural form, displaying their white or black wings for everyone to see.

It was so strange. Back home, we were only ever allowed to have our wings out at school. I guess that was the case here, too, but the campus was so much larger than I was used to. It was like its own mini village where we didn’t have to worry about being seen. We could just be ourselves.

Tall maples and oaks shaded the walkway, until we reached a sunny clearing. In the middle of a grassy courtyard, glowing white balls of essence the size of my fist whizzed through the air. Freshman laughed and dodged out of the way to avoid getting stunned by the magic in a game of essence dodgeball.

Further down the walkway in the center of campus stood a large fountain.

Look! I shouted, pointing. It’s the Winged Fountain. I’ve heard so much about it.

The Winged Fountain was a symbol of campus, much like the bell tower at our backs. The way people back in Eagle Valley talked about it, it was like its waters contained essence itself. Aunt Allie claimed it was magical—but that was only because it was where Uncle Kyle had proposed to her.

I quickened my pace, leaving my parents behind me, and rushed up to the fountain. The pool at the bottom was huge, at least twenty feet across. Three tiers of white marble rose up from the center. At the very top was a carving of open wings bigger than my own. I quickly dug into my pocket and pulled out a penny, which I’d brought along for this very occasion. I stood at the edge of the fountain with my eyes closed, clutching on to the penny like it was my very life force.

What to wish for… What to wish for…

I could wish that Kaylee was with me. My best friend from Galen High decided she had better things to do than spend the year rooming with me at the best place on the planet. Instead, she was spending the year traveling Europe on her parents’ dime. Which was cool, I guess, but it wasn’t Harris Academy.

I wish… I wish Harris Academy is everything I dreamed it would be.

I tossed my penny into the fountain and heard it land with a slosh. Smiling, I turned back toward my parents—and promptly smacked into two-hundred pounds of solid muscle. I looked up to find myself staring into a pair of dreamy blue eyes. The guy was my age, with tousled dark blond hair and the most gorgeous cheekbones. He smiled down at me. Oh, lord. He had dimples.

S-sorry, I stammered, stepping around him.

My bad, he said at the same time. His voice was so smooth.

He tossed a coin into the fountain, but I was already headed in the other direction. I glanced back to catch another glimpse of him and saw that he was watching me. My cheeks went beet red under his gaze, and I clutched my folder tighter to my chest.

Who’s that? my mom asked when I reached her.

Who? I asked innocently, knowing exactly who she was talking about. Oh, that guy? I don’t know.

He’s cute, Mom said.

Oh, God. I hooked my folder under my elbow and covered my ears for show. Don’t ever let me hear you say that again.

Ew. Mom crinkled her nose. I meant for you.

Ugh. Don’t tell me she was going to start hounding me for grandchildren already.

I’m not here to meet guys, I assured her, which my father looked more than happy to hear. I’m just here to study.

But as my parents and I started away from the fountain toward the dorms, I couldn’t help but steal a glance back at the blond cutie. I hadn’t dated in over a year. A date or two wouldn't hurt anything, right?

I barely noticed the eyes on my parents and the whispers as people recognized them. I couldn’t take my gaze off the architecture around campus as we walked. Everywhere I looked, I saw Harris Academy's emblem.