“Since no one has any objections,” Susan’s voice rang out, clear and final, like the closing of a vault door, “then it is settled. From this day forward, Leo Shaw is officially a student of Phoenix Academy, equal to every one of you. You will train together, complete missions together, and bring glory to this academy together. I expect; no, I demand; that none of you treat him differently simply because he is male.”
A thousand heads shook in perfect unison. Treat him differently? Please. Half the girls looked ready to propose on the spot.
Leo let his gaze drift across the sea of faces below the platform. The shift in their eyes was immediate, electric. Curiosity had been replaced by something hotter, sharper; reverence laced with hunger. They weren’t looking at a boy anymore. They were l
