Wait… I smell like magic?
I sniff myself, but can’t smell anything.
The cat-eyed secretary chuckles. Or well, more like purrs.
"No monster can smell their own scent," she says with a smile but then frowns. "Even a newbie should know that unless she doesn't know about our realm."
Jude frowns. “How would that be possible, though?”
"I'm not sure, but if she's been in the human realm for long enough, her powers may have been dormant. Or someone made them dormant. But if that's the case, then we're talking about a whole other set of problems." She fiddles with a bracelet on her wrist as she studies me quizzically.
And me? I just stand there stupidly, confusion swirling through me. And yet, beneath all the puzzlement, something is starting to click into place.
Is this why I’ve always felt so different and out of place?
“Yeah, you’re right,” Jude murmurs, observing me. “Tell me Haven, while you lived in the human realm, did you experiencing anything magical?”
“Other than the giant vortex that appeared and sucked me here?” I reply with a shrug. “Although, I’m still pretty convinced that was just a dream—that this whole thing is.”
“Oh honey, this is very much reality.” He taps his finger against his lips, making the flesh sizzle. “But the question is, how do you fit in here? And why did you end up here?”
“Well, if I?
?m not dreaming, then a woman with pink hair pushed me into the vortex,” I explain. “Or well, according to her, she was a witch.”
The cat-eyed woman's expression plummets. "A pink-haired witch sent you here?"
I nod, adjusting the handle of my backpack higher onto my shoulder. "Or well, she pushed me into the vortex that led to here… Wherever here is."
“I already told you, you’re at Monster Academy for the Magical,” Jude murmurs, lost in deep thought. He glances at the woman with cat eyes, a frown etching across his face. “If Annabella sent her here, then more than likely…”
"She needs to be protected," she finishes for him. "But the question is: why?"
They grow quiet, their gazes dissecting me. I have no idea what they’re looking for, but it’s making me very squirmy.
Eventually, Jude sighs. “Come with me, lovely grey-eyed Haven,” he says. “And we’ll figure out the mystery of your appearance here.”
I expect him to walk to another door, but instead, he snaps his fingers, and a cloud of purple smoke encloses around me.
Nope. Not encloses around me.
Grabs me.
And just like that, I’m back in the darkness again.
Haven
I gasp, stumbling forward as the smoke releases me. “Holy crap, that was…” My words fade as I get a glimpse of my surroundings.
I'm no longer in the main dungeon, but a small, dark, and dingy room. With the cement walls, lack of windows and lighting, and muggy air, I assume Jude has finally taken me to a real dungeon.
“You don’t need to be afraid.” Jude materializes beside me in a puff of smoke, his fire-like eyes illuminating against the darkness. “This is just the headmistress’s and headmaster’s office.”
I raise my brows. “It looks an awful lot like a dungeon.”
He chuckles. “You’re amusing, Haven. You really are.”
Glad he thinks so, but I wasn’t really trying to be amusing.