My blood runs cold, and I freeze dead in my tracks; I can’t help it. Charles nudges me forward, and I come to a stop on the other side of the desk, wondering whether it’s a trick of the light or the result of the dark magic he claims they all use here. “Ah, Charles,” the woman says in her silky voice, gliding across the room and giving him a kiss on the cheek. “I apologize for that…
unpleasantness.” She nods at the door before turning to me, a genuine smile spreading across her face. It’s still a little uncanny in contrast to her black eyes, but it’s enough to put me more at ease. “You must be Nyx.” She extends a hand to me. “I’m Alice Ombres, Master of the Academy.”
“You guys really are rolling out the welcome wagon,” I remark wryly as I shake her hand. Her skin is ice cold, like touch
