Free Bloodcraft by Amalie Howard Page A

perfectly groomed grounds stretching for miles with flowering trees and shrubs dotting the landscape. Victoria looked up at the overcast sky and wondered about the magical ceiling. She mentally projected herself upward until she could sense the pliable barrier, shimmering all around her like silvery blue dust. It was complex magic.
    Awed by the sheer intricacy of it, not to mention the power behind it, she floated back to herself and continued her walk, studying the map in her hand. The buildings were arranged in a star shape with the main house at its top-most point. They were all connected by walkways leading to a central circular building. As she walked toward it, other tree-shrouded groves caught her attention, and she realized that they were outdoor classrooms. The thought of participating in an open-air class with other Belles Fontainesstudents made her smile.
    Aliya had explained that most students matriculated when they came of magical age, usually between thirteen and sixteen, and that magical training had to be concurrent with regular academics. Since she’d already graduated, she would only focus on the magical piece. Victoria looked at the small handbook she’d received. There were five years in total, not including the apprenticeship year, and were split from rank one through rank five She would not participate in any of those, as her handbook was clearly marked Advanced Program, which meant that she’d be studying with other specializing students. Unless, of course, she failed her assessment.
    Great . Not that she wasn’t putting enough pressure on herself already.
    She leafed through the book. The Advanced Program was a fast-track placement that occurred after rank five Not everyone made it into the AP classes, and some chose to not to specialize, but for the most part, witches entering the program had to specify their area of study in addition to taking General Magic Theory. From what she could see, the specializations ranged from Elemental Magic to Healing Charms to Quantum Spatial Magic to Crystal Enhancement. Luckily, she would have a few weeks of accelerated immersion before most of the other students came back in September, and maybe she’d be lucky enough to figure out a specialization before that.
    If she got that far.
    Victoria pushed open the door to the massive central building surrounded by tall gray columns. She exhaled when her eyes adjusted to the dark as the huge arena came into view. Stadium seating surrounded an indented gym-like center as big as a soccer field, scattered with all kinds of apparatuses, pads, and weapons.
    “ Illustro ,” she said, and all the lights in the darkened hall came on. It looked exactly like a medieval dueling ring, except without sand and blood. Climbing down the steps to the railing around the enclosure, she stared in fascination.
    “Whoa,” she whispered.
    A voice behind her made her jump nearly out of her skin. “It’s impressive, isn’t it?”
    Victoria whirled around so quickly that she almost tumbled over the side, but relaxed when she saw that it was Pan. “What is this place?” she asked.
    “It’s an exhibition ring. Each week during the term, we have all kinds of competitions. Students can earn extra credit in various classes—telekinesis, shape shifting, you name it. We also have duels, where any student can challenge another student, within the same rank, of course. It’s all supervised so no one gets too badly hurt.” He grinned noticing her shocked expression. “It’s a healthy way to settle disagreements.”
    Victoria stared at him, belatedly realizing that he’d found her just as he said he would. She frowned. “How did you find me?”
    Pan smiled wider. “Ah, that’s my specialty,” he said in a sham mysterious voice. “Guess.”
    “I don’t know—smell?” she guessed. He shot her a patronizing look at her response and Victoria flushed, but then she remembered the witch who had found her on the mountain because of her