Mildred sauntered back to the windowsill humming a tune I didn't recognize. Then she started ranting and saying something about how the school was actually great and not as creepy as people think. I wasn't really paying attention to any of it. The only thing that kept ringing in my head was the piece of information she gave me.
"So you're the new siren". That couldn't be true. Sirens were mystical creatures from the sea. They were powerful, they were beautiful and irresistible. They could sing a man to their doom.
My hand flew to my mouth with the realization. They could sing a man to his doom! How many times had I made people lose their minds with my voice? I didn't want to believe it but everything was adding up. My love for swimming, my mother's sudden odd behavior, my father's strictness, the pitiful attempt to keep my situation under wraps.
"That can't be true." I whispered more to myself than my new roommate, but she heard me. Mildred stopped talking and turned to look at me. She saw my face and read the disbelief there.
"You really didn't know?" Mildred said again, her voice something between amused and enchanted.
I shook my head slowly.
She tilted her head, curls shifting around her shoulders. "Are you dumb?" She asked suddenly.
My head shot up immediately and heat rushed into my cheeks. "Of course not!" She shrugged innocently like it was a genuine question she wanted the answer to. "Then how did you not know? Everyone else does."
I blinked. "Everyone?"
"Well," she said, plopping onto the bed dramatically, "Not everyone. But word travels fast here. New blood always gets attention. New siren blood? Practically a red carpet."
I leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, trying to seem less freaked out than I was. "I think you've got the wrong person."
"Do I?" she asked, wiggling her eyebrows. "Do you or do you not cause hallucinations when you sing?"
I stiffened. That wasn't in any file they could have received. That wasn't public.
Mildred's grin widened. "Relax. Balth has its ways. Besides, your mom used to be legendary. The apple rarely falls far, darling."
"My mother?"
"Yeah. Celeste Trident, right?" She waved a lazy hand in my direction. "She was one of the most powerful sirens to pass through Balth."
My head spun. My mother had mentioned that she had gone here, but she never said anything about powers. I thought back to her cryptic warnings, her hesitations... suddenly, they made sense.
I turned from her, walked to what I assumed must be my bed, and sat down hard. "This is insane."
Mildred chuckled and rolled onto her stomach, propping her chin on her hands. "Insane? Maybe. But true. Trust me, your voice is going to be the least weird thing about this place."
Dinner was held in what could only be described as a gothic cathedral masquerading as a dining hall. Giant stained glass windows lined the walls, depicting surreal creatures and scenes I couldn't begin to explain. The chandeliers hung on chains like something out of a fantasy movie, but the students seated beneath them were very real.
Whispers followed me as I walked with Mildred to find a seat. She had made me change out of my hoodie into something more presentable, and while I was glad I didn't look homeless anymore, I felt insecure about my shiny red hair being out in the open. I wore an elegant black dress with silver trimmings at the hems and a heavy silver belt circling my slender waist.
"That's her."
"She's a Trident?"
"Her mother was in the Black Court."
I frowned. Black Court? What even was that?
I sat beside Mildred at a table on the far left away from the whispers. It looked like seating wasn't by popularity, but by something else—power maybe, or lineage. I caught the eye of the girl with violet eyes from earlier. She was sitting at the center table, flanked by students who looked like they belonged in a royal portrait.
"That's Belladonna," Mildred whispered. "Witch. Extremely gifted. Kinda terrifying."
Belladonna held my gaze for a moment too long, then gave me the smallest of nods.
"Why is she looking at me like she wants to dissect my soul?"
Mildred snorted. "Because she probably does. Or she's curious. Sirens are rare. Most of them stay in the reservoirs or just close enough to water. You're... an anomaly."
I stared down at my plate of steaming pasta. That was true enough. "I don't belong here."
Mildred tilted her head, assessing me like a puzzle. "That's where you're wrong. Balth doesn't accept just anyone. If you're here, it means the school called you."
That was a load of bullshit. I was here because my father felt like being really mean, not because some creepy school called out to me. I told her as much and she laughed.
"I have a feeling you'd change your mind about that soon."
After dinner, Headmistress Elowen summoned all first-years to the Assembly Hall. It was a long, narrow space with a vaulted ceiling and strange floating sigils glowing along the walls. A hush fell as she stepped onto the stage.
"Students of Balth High," she said, her voice low but perfectly clear. "I wish to welcome you all again to the four walls of the finest institution for your kind."
There was scattered applause. The students here didn't seem to like being reminded of their 'abilities'. Headmistress Elowen began to pace, her robes whispering against the floor.
"This school was named after the first gifted man to live in this city – Balthazar Moore, a vampire. It is because of him that you are able to be here today to enhance your gifts. You may come from noble lines or from shadows. You may wield fire, voice, curse, or vision. It matters little. What matters is how you choose to use it."
"We've heard all this before. She's probably going through all of it again for you." Mildred whispered beside me.
"Some of you will rise," Elowen continued. "Some of you will fall. And some of you will never leave at all."
My stomach turned. That was such a creepy thing to say because how do you know what category you fall into? I definitely would not want to remain in this place forever.
Mildred leaned in again, "Don't worry. She says that every year too. Only a handful of people actually vanish."
Comforting.
"And how do you know that?" I challenged.
She shrugged. "I've had three of my brothers come here."
Oh.
"Now, on to the business of the day." Elowen grinned. I watched in horror as her eyes landed on me and her hand extended in my direction. "Laura Trident. Our new student."
The hall ruptured into full applause and some murmurs here and there. Miss Elowen was still looking at me and I go the feeling she wanted me to come up stage with her. Wasn't this just my lucky day?
Standing uneasily, I made my way to the stage and stood beside her trying not to shake. I was fairly sure my face was as red as my hair which made me feel worse. I lowered my head and let my hair fall to cover my face. Being in the spotlight wasn't something strange for me, I was quite familiar with the feeling, but for some reason, this particular crowd made me uneasy.
The thought of having to stand here till Miss Elowen was done with her little speeches made me even more anxious.
"Laura faced some…problems at her last schools, but fate has brought her home," Headmistress Elowen said a little too eagerly for my comfort. She almost sounded like a crazy torturer looking forward to their next subject. At least that's how I heard it anyway.
"In fact, fate has brought two of them home!"
My head shot up. Two? I didn't know there was another person. Forgetting my earlier anxiety, my eyes scanned the crowd to find anyone that looked out-of-place like me.
"Ladies and gentlemen of the first year, I give you, Clyde Hannigan!"
There was no applause, just more murmurs and whispers. Apparently, everyone else was as shocked as I was. We all looked around, hoping to catch a glimpse of this mysterious fellow as he walked from the crowd to the stage. My eyes went to Mildred who was literally on the edge of her seat and I had to stop myself from giggling.
The boy emerged from some space backstage that I hadn't noticed before and I gasped.
He was incredibly handsome.
I don't know why I expected some awkward teenager with glasses too big for his face and allergies of all kinds, but this guy was the exact opposite. Even the way he walked showed that he wasn't even in the least bit nervous. His broad shoulders exuded all the confidence I didn't feel as they swayed majestically with each step.
He was tall too and dressed elegantly well which said something about his financial status. Everything about him screamed "well-groomed" and I loved it. His full lips were curved in a teasing smirk and his dusty brown hair fell over eyes the color of the sea.
Who was this guy? And more importantly, why was I suddenly so aware of my heart beating in my chest?
That last thought was more disturbing than anything else and I tore my gaze away from Clyde back to the floor, but not before those eyes caught mine and winked.
Raising my head a little to look at the crowd, I noticed Clyde had the same effect on all the other girls here. Their attention was completely diverted from me now and I was a little bit grateful, but on the other hand, something stirred in my chest, something I didn't want to identify.
The rest of Miss Elowen's speech was lost on me.
Back in the dorm, I stood in front of the mirror and stared at myself, the mysterious Clyde forgotten for a moment.
My mother had gone here. She had been powerful. Maybe still was. Why hadn't she told me?
I thought of the pool. The boy screaming. My voice wrapping around the walls like it had a will of its own. I had always thought it was just them. Something broken in their heads probably. But now I knew better.
"You okay?" Mildred asked from her bed, chewing on a licorice wand.
"No. Not even close."
She smirked. "Welcome to Balth, then."
I climbed into my bed and stared at the canopy overhead.
In the distance, I heard something howl.
Not a wolf.
Not an animal.
Something else entirely.
I closed my eyes and prayed for dreamless sleep.