“Anyways, a few of you will have to share your rooms,” Beth continued, not perturbed by the teleportation whatsoever.

To Damien’s pleasant surprise, he found that he wasn’t as sick as he had been the last few teleportations. His stomach only twisted uncomfortably before settling down. Damien peered up, but he couldn’t tell where the mountain ended. There was a winding path that traveled up it, disappearing into the clouds in the distance.

“How many of us?” Nolan asked.

“I’d get to that in due time, if you lot would stop asking questions!” Beth snapped. “The five of you have been assigned three rooms. That means two of you will be sharing, while the other one will be alone. And, before you ask, the person that decides who stays in each room is me.”

Nolan didn’t even have the grace to look sheepish. Beth shook her head and sighed as she started up the sloping path, leading the new students along behind her.

“I’m going to go ahead and stick the two people that can’t listen to instructions in the same room. I get the feeling that’s what you wanted, anyways,” Beth said. Her tone made it very apparent that she did not want a response, and Nolan was wise enough to recognize that. He just gave her an appreciative nod.

“Now, do any of you really desire to be in the single room? I’m inclined to give it to Sylph if not. While the school allows coed rooming, we’ve found that people tend to dislike it.”

Damien snuck a glance at the dark haired girl standing beside him. It was the first time he’d heard her name, and she seemed slightly disappointed that it hadn’t remained secret longer.

Mark cleared his throat and reached into his jacket, shuffling around for a few moments before pulling out a slip of paper. Beth noticed the motion and stopped walking to take it from him. She scanned it and her eyebrows rose slightly.

“Ah. That’s as good a reason as any I’ve heard. The solo room goes to you, then,” Beth said, clearing her throat. She gestured for them to start walking again. “Then the remaining two of you will room together as well.”

Her tone booked no room for argument. Damien refrained from glancing in Sylph’s direction to see her reaction – he’d already dealt with enough annoyed glances today.

“Now, your rooms will be near the lower end of the mountain,” Beth said. “The runes on this pathway can provide a very limited form of teleportation by essentially compressing space in a small area. They’re able to recognize who you are, so you can direct them to any room you’d like. If you aren’t thinking of one in particular, you’ll show up at your own.”

Beth came to a stop at a fork in the road. One led further up the mountain, while the other trailed inwards along a flat area in the mountain. It stopped before three decently sized cave openings lined up within the rock. Damien glanced over the edge of the mountain and instantly regretted it.

It wasn’t that he was scared of heights, but looking down the sloping edge of an enormous mountain to the clouds below wasn’t an experience that one should take unprepared. He looked up, but the top of the mountain was so high in the sky that he still couldn’t make it out.

“Are we meant to make this journey every time?” Reena asked. “What if we fall off?”

“We’ve yet to have anyone fall,” Beth said, leading them along the flat area and up to the caves. “Don’t become the first. The runes on the path are enchanted to keep you on them. If you fall off, it’ll be on purpose.”

Beth stopped before the cave entrances. She reached into a pocket and pulled out three pieces of metal. They shimmered and launched into the air, each one slapping into the stone above the cave entrances. The stone curled around it, sealing them within its grasp. Each piece of metal had a set of names – or a single name, where Mark’s was concerned – imprinted on it.

“This is how you’ll find your rooms again in the future,” Beth said. “Now, you’re welcome to do anything you like in your rooms. Anything. They’ll be reformed when you leave or graduate, so don’t worry about it. I’m going to leave you lot alone for a few hours to get used to your new lodging and figure out what questions you want to bother me with.”

She paused, then turned to Damien and Sylph.

“I’ve got a few more words to say to you two.”

She stepped inside Damien and Sylph’s cave without waiting for them to respond. Sylph followed emotionlessly after her with Damien close behind.

To Damien’s dismay, the cave was small. In fact, miniscule might have been more appropriate. There was barely enough room for the two beds that had been set on either side of the room. There was only a few feet of space between them. There was a small hole behind Beth that led into another room, but it was too dark for Damien to see into it.

Beth strode to the end of the room and gestured for Damien and Sylph to sit down on the two beds. Sylph chose the one on the left, so Damien plopped onto the one on the right, doing his best to avoid the dark haired girl’s face.

“I want to make it very clear. Blackmist takes the safety of its students very seriously while they’re on campus. I’m going to be blunt. If either of you overstep the other lines, there will be very serious consequences.”

Beth made eye contact with Damien, then turned and did the same with Sylph.

“And I do mean either of you. Blackmist doesn’t care who you were. All that matters is that you’re now a student. We will do our best to provide a learning environment for you. Any disruptions to that will be dealt with in the most efficient manner possible.”

“Understood,” Sylph said seriously.

“Same here,” Damien said.