Chapter 450

"Ariel will merely continue to keep her secret," Neumann says, gesturing towards me. "Her brother and cousin will continue scent marking her to hide her scent. The realities of her sex and gender will be kept strictly secret amongst those who already know, which..." he pauses and gives Jackson a quick once-over, a little smirk on his lips, “apparently has already gotten out already.”

I blush again, realizing that Neumann has probably guessed more about my romantic situation than I ever wanted him to know. But of course he does - why else would Jackson be here?

"It depends," the Captain says, snapping his eyes back to me. "Who else knows about this? How big has it gotten? Jesse Sinclair and..."

"Ben Ternicki and Luca Grant," I say instantly. I bite my lip, wondering if I should mention Daphne, but I hold my tongue, not wanting to get her in trouble.

"This is all?" The Captain asks, and when I nod he lifts his eyes to the ceiling, considering.

"If I may, sir," I say, taking a hesitant step forward. He returns his eyes to me, nodding. "I want to tell Tony," I hesitate, wondering if I should use his full first name, which I honestly just learned today. "I mean, Anton Davis as well."

The Captain's mouth pops open a little, I think appalled at the idea.

I continue in a rush. "He's the only one in our magic class that doesn't know," I say quite quickly. "And we've all already sworn ourselves to secrecy regarding our magical gifts - I'm confident he can be trusted. It's just...unfair, in a classroom of seven people for him to be the only one who doesn't know. Plus, counter-productive for our lessons."

"Anton Davis," my mother murmurs, drawing all attention to her even though she keeps her eyes on me. "The one who has manifested his magical gift?"

I nod to her, intrigued.

"I've met so few people with fully manifested magic - I'd like to meet him," she says, turning her face up to my dad. "Do you think it can be arranged? If we have time?" He frowns at her for a second and then shrugs as he nods, implying that it can.

"If we may,” Neumann says on a heavy sigh, clearly done with all of this. He gestures towards the Captain, who stands with his arms crossed, clearly deep in thought.

"There will be an uproar if she's found out," the Captain says, speaking his thoughts as he works through them. "I won't have that. But...as long as she's not found out, I'm...I'm not against her staying in the school. She's a fine shot and the military will certainly be able to use her - it would be a loss to send her away just because she's a girl. But if the other Cadets find out and break into protest, your Highnesses," he says, looking at my mother and then my father. “My first priority is to the mission of the school, not to one student. Am I clear?"

"You are," my father says with a stern nod. Then he looks at me. "Do you agree to these terms, Ariel?"

"Yes," I say, my word barely a breath as happiness races through me and my wolf turns happily in my soul, her little feet prancing. I beam at each of my instructors in turn. "Thank you. You won't regret it."

"Make sure of that, young lady," the Captain says, giving me a stern nod.

Alvez claps his hands together and smiles at us as he moves forward around the table. "I'm sorry that my time is short here," he says, bowing to my mother and father and giving them all the proper obeisances. Then he turns to Rafe, Jackson, and I. "The three of you I'll look forward to seeing in class the day after tomorrow. Come ready to report any...progress."

He gives me another one of those sly grins alongside a little chuckle before moving out of that room.

"What a charming man," mom says with a little sigh as he goes. I stare at her like she's insane, and when mom notices she just frowns at me, clearly asking what's wrong. Unfortunately, there's no time to respond.

"And I will see you tomorrow, Ariel," Neumann says, stepping close as the Captain pulls my father aside for a word. "I've got quite a bit in store for you," he says with a smirk of his own - though his makes me nervous for a totally different reason than Alvez.

"Really?" I ask, my eyes going wide as I tuck my hands behind my back and clasp them together.

"Oh yes," he says, grinning wickedly. "We're going to have a lot of fun this semester. Or at least I will."noveldrama

I nod seriously to him and then let out a little sigh as he goes, because this is clearly going to be a more exhausting semester than even the last.