REFLECTIONS OF US (Brighten Magic Academy Book 3) Read online

  My wand was in my left pocket; the neon pink to red wand with gold symbols poked out of my pocket and radiated power without me even holding it.

  It was still charged with my magic thanks to our last-minute mission and I knew everyone could feel the energy that was coursing through it.

  My arms still had a few magic symbols around my biceps and wrists, but they wouldn't last long either. I liked them, though, and was thinking of getting magic infused tattoos done for graduation.

  I'd bet Braxton if we'd finished the assignment we'd been assigned without me getting a scratch, he'd have to come with me and get one on those sexy, defined biceps of his and he'd thought I was playing around.

  It was “one” of the many harder assignments I'd done, but I’d come out unharmed with a bruised up Braxton. He could have just taken all the blows for me so that we'd get matching tattoos, but whatever his intentions had been, I’d still won.

  I did reward him that night with other activities.

  My long brown locks were up in a ponytail; the white ribbon with gold trimming made me feel like one of those mages in the typical anime stories.

  I had no choice but to use it since it did match my outfit and kept my magic at bay.

  Couldn't let the freshmen know just how powerful I was now. To think one year could bring such immense growth both in physical and magic capabilities.

  Regardless, my overall appearance gave off the 'I'm on another level' vibe, and I wouldn't deny the feeling of accomplishment I was currently experiencing.

  At this moment as I walked down the halls with the headmaster of this school that I'd accidentally been enrolled in, I'd achieved something only 1% of students got to experience.

  Even with the fact we had to return to Brighten for our final year, we'd paved our way through the magic industry and our team was already known, far and wide.

  We had solved assignments and missions that Mage Warriors double our age weren't able to accomplish, and those accomplishments had secured all seven of our spots as Mage Warriors.

  We still had to ensure we got good grades and didn't kill anyone in our final year, but it was a comforting thought to know we had our future careers set in stone.

  All that was left was to finish this school year, which would go by with ease. If we did really well, we could be done by the end of the semester which would be a blessing.

  During our one year enrollment as Brighten Elites, I'd gotten so used to switching between myself as Jewel and my male counterpart, Jinn. It cost no energy for me and I could stay in Jinn form for weeks and not be bothered.

  It was going to be a little tricky now that we were back in Brighton, with me being an assistant professor for certain classes. Meredith said she'd make sure there would be no schedule clashes, but I still imagined it was going to be a tricky balance. I did love a challenge though.

  We entered the clear glass enclosed main office where the freshmen were lined up to get their temporary wands and be directed to their exam rooms.

  "Headmaster?!" The secretary at the front desk rose up and bowed her head to Meredith before she turned to me and her face blushed.

  "Ms. Starfire. A pleasure to meet you." She bowed her head to me. I nodded with a smile and Meredith actually laughed, which was a surprise to everyone in the room.

  "I guess your name has spread far, Ms. Starfire," Meredith praised.

  "So it has. I'm sure my other teammates will be pleased to be back here. Brings back many memories for them," I replied, having to remind myself I was in Jewel mode and not Jinn.

  I didn't want to admit it, but it was a little hard to not reminisce when walking down the halls of this school.

  Being in this office reminded me of the first day with Logan, which led to meeting the others and, in return, resulted in the present.

  I didn't think I would have survived attending this school and yet I was able to stand here in my female form, and I was loving it.

  "Ms. Starfire will be registering later as one of the professors for this year. She'll be an apprentice for Ms. Landsford first and after the break they will both teach the magic courses. Mr. Rose and Mr. Park will also be assisting in helping relieve the shortage with magic professors."

  "Perfect, headmaster. I'll get the paperwork started. I'll need Ms. Starfire's badge and if she has a familiar, I'll need to register her as well. Also...if my memory serves me correctly, there are three different Parks?"

  I slid my hand in my pocket to retrieve my badge, placing it on the counter.

  "Braxton Park is who she's referring to," I announced before I concentrated on calling Alice.

  Alice. Mind coming here for a second?

  "Already at the door."

  A smirk formed on my red lips, and I looked over my shoulder to see my familiar in her human form in all her wondrous glory.

  The boys were all crowding as close to the entrance as they could without getting in Alice's personal space, but she looked unbothered as she entered the office with the loud clicking of her heels.

  She wore a similar outfit to mine which was created for all familiars who could take human form. It was very common for Mage Warriors to have familiars that could shift into human or half-human forms, and they were treated with respect just as we were.

  They got their own outfits that would always activate when they shifted so they wouldn't be left naked, and their long coats read ‘ELITE FAMILIAR.’ They didn't need to put names on theirs since the familiars were normally with their Master or Mistress.

  Alice was independent compared to many other familiars, and though she didn't follow me everywhere she, too, had helped make herself be known.

  Her and Koa, who was with her on most occasions.

  They've become practically inseparable, which worked well seeing as Kage and I were normally together unless we were on separate missions.

  Koa and Alice had been dating since the first month of us being Brighten Elite, and I was confident they would end up becoming officially engaged.

  In the battlefield, they were just as powerful together and could do missions on their own without Kage or me being present, which was another reason why they were already known to many.

  I turned around to meet my familiar face-to-face, and those purple eyes glittered with pride and happiness.

  We stood at the same height of 6'1 height, and her long silver locks that shifted to a lavender purple were left down. Pink lip glass with gold undertones cloaked her lips, and a hint of blush stained her cheeks.

  Her outfit consisted of a white dark plum tank top, white leather pants with purple zippers and pockets, and a white coat with purple trimming and gold lettering on the back.

  Both our jackets had the Brighten Elite symbols on them, but instead of being big on the back like how Brighten Magic Academy did with their uniforms, it was on the front left pocket where we normally placed our wands.

  The symbol had ELITE in the middle and behind it was a magic circle around a five-point star with different elemental orbs at each point.

  She wore white shoes and two gold bracelets adorned her wrists. Couldn't forget the promise ring on her left hand, which Koa had given her after our rather life-threatening mission that happened three months ago.

  Even though all our missions and assignments seem life-threatening, we'd both actually died at one point.

  "Figured you'd need me." Alice threw a hand on her hip and shot me a wink.

  "Good intuition," I replied with a smile. "Where's your partner in crime?"

  "Chilling against the wall. Just can't see him because of the crowd. Guess Brighten isn’t used to seeing Elites on campus." Alice shrugged her shoulders. Her cool, soothing voice made her sound even more mature than her usual self, but she had grown quite a bit just like all of us.

  We'd changed a lot in a year, and a few near-death experiences topped with our recent one where we did die, changed things up.

  We came to realize how precious life was and the seriousness of it all.


  We noticed the group of boys who were practically drooling, staring at us with their mouths agape.

  "Agreed. Don't blame them though." I turned to the secretary who appeared just as shocked as the rest of them to see Alice in her human form.

  "Alice is my familiar, which I'm assuming you already know," I stated to the secretary who shook out of her daze to bow her head to Alice.

  "Yes. Alice Starfire who defeated the Org in East Central. Many people heard of the accomplishment. I'll just need her to place her hand on the scanner over there. We need a general magic level."

  Meredith turned to the machine. "Rebecca, you'll need to increase the standard output, or Alice will break it."

  "Huh? Oh...right. What should I do, gold rank?"

  "Diamond rank," Alice, Meredith, and I said together. I noticed the few gasps that left some of the guys’ mouths, and I had to hold back on another smile that crept along my red lips.

  "Dia- Diamond. Right, that would make sense. One second." Rebecca scurried over to the machine, and the boys who were lined up to get their wands moved out of the way as she began to change the settings.

  I turned my attention back to Alice. "Are the others back?"

  "Logan's around. He said he'll meet you at the house." Alice winked, and I nodded in understanding.

  We were going to get our dorm house today after I had a talk with Meredith regarding our plans for this year at Brighten.

  It wasn't going to be a normal school year with us merely being taught. It would be a mixture of learning, teaching, and conducting exams and other magic duels where we'd be in charge as professors.

  It was a whole new avenue for us to learn and grow, instead of just feeding us useless information that wouldn't help us in the long run.

  "The others are getting some stuff in town. They'll be back in the evening."

  "Good. I'll be done with what I need to do by then," I replied.

  Rebecca walked back to where we stood and gestured Alice towards the magic caliber machine. "Go ahead, Alice."

  Alice nodded at her and walked over to the machine.

  She didn't hesitate to place her hand on the scanner and it reacted immediately; as the number on the top screen began to spin, the number got higher and higher.

  Diamond category was exactly what an Elite individual would rank in, so for a familiar to rank at such a high level was enough of a representation of mana level.

  It took a full minute before the number finally slowed and stopped, earning another round of gasps, while those outside the office tried to get a glimpse of what was going on.

  "A-mazing! Borderline from Onyx. I'm glad we switched the settings. Thank you, headmaster," Rebecca praised.

  Alice moved away from the machine, already looking bored with the lingering gazes on her.

  "Anything else?" Alice asked.

  "No. I can fill out the paperwork. Feel free to leave, Alice. Thank you very much." Rebecca nervously bowed, noticing Alice’s hint of irritation.

  I knew she didn't like the attention we were getting.

  It was different when we were on the Elite Base. People looked at you out of respect for your power.

  They didn’t stare at you as if you were a delicious chocolate cake that they wished to devour.

  "Good." Alice smiled at the Headmaster and bowed her head before she turned to me. "I'll be around if you need me."

  "Yup. Have fun." I winked and noticed her cheeks slightly turn red. She knew what I meant, but she wouldn't admit it here in front of all these people.

  That's when I noticed Koa enter the room and everyone’s gazes went to him.

  He had his hands in the pockets of his black pants that had gold zippers on them. He wore a Black top with gold trimming and a similar coat to us, but it was short sleeved.

  His long gold-like hair shifted to brown and was currently up in a ponytail to not get in his way, with a few sets of feathers that poked out of the bundle of strands.

  His 6'6 height demanded many of the guy's attention and envy, and his tanned complexion made his mismatched plum purple and gold eyes pop out. His muscles were apparent, and even put the short sleeves of his coat to the test.

  He gave off the 'don't mess with me' vibe, and I could tell just from the smile that widened upon Alice's lips that she downright loved this man.

  "You done, Alice? Too stuffy here," Koa announced before he looked at me and Meredith. "Good Afternoon, Headmaster and Ms. Starfire. A pleasure to see you."

  "It's been awhile, Koa. Nice to see you again," Meredith replied.

  "Afternoon, Koa," I greeted with a smile.

  "Yes, I'm done. Let's go." Alice glanced my way. "See you, Mistress. Don't break the machine." She winked and walked over to Koa. Once her hand was in his they both walked out the door and turned left, heading for the front exit out of the school.

  "Why does she always jinx it?" I mumbled, and Meredith grinned.

  "We won't need to test your mana level. Alice’s level gives us the perfect glimpse of yours, and I'd rather not break the machine today."

  My cheeks felt hot, but I tried my best to remain calm as I turned back to Rebecca who was sorting documentation.

  "Anything else you need from me?" I asked as Rebecca returned my badge.

  "Not at all, Ms. Starfire. Feel free to accompany the Headmaster. If you can forward the message to your cousin and the rest of your team to come to pick up their house cards, that would be splendid," Rebecca explained, handing me a package and my house card key.

  "Sure. I'll pass the message along. They'll most likely come in tomorrow morning when it's not as chaotic. Don't want to cause an uproar."

  Rebecca laughed nervously, and Meredith smiled. "I'll be in my office if there's anything that needs my attention. Ms. Landsford should be here shortly," Meredith declared.

  "Thank you, Headmaster. Have a pleasant day, Ms. Starfire."

  "Thanks." I turned around to head out first.

  There was practically double the amount of students in the hall at this point, but it did nothing in slowing us down as Meredith followed my lead and we began to walk down the hall towards the stairwell that would lead to her office.

  I decided to listen in on the small talk around us, catching glimpses of their conversations.

  "Shit, that's Jinn's cousin?"

  "Who's Jinn?"

  "Bruh, you don't know Jinn Starfire? Are you living under a rock?"

  "Fuck off! How am I supposed to know."

  "Jinn was one of the students that stopped the whole initiation bullying shit. We'd be screwed if it wasn't for him and his squad."

  "I heard he's gay though?"

  "Your point? He's badass. I swear it must run in the damn genes if his cousin is that powerful."

  "Isn't she dating the Cross guy?"

  "That's what I heard, but I'm not sure."

  "Man, she looks like she's gonna be hardcore."

  "You guys are a bunch of wussies. She's an Elite. That's a dream for many people. Don't know about you guys, but I'm learning every bit I can from her. Leaving your asses in the dust."

  "You guys aren't serious. Hopefully, you survive our third year or you’ve got to start from square one."

  * * *

  We reached the stairwell and few of the students scurried to hold the door for the Headmaster and myself. I thanked them for the common courtesy.

  Only once we reached Meredith's office and entered the private room she had for important guests did we finally speak.

  "This is going to be an interesting year," I noted. "I can already see 1/3 of those boys will be gone by the end of today."

  "Good eye. Pretty obvious now compared to when you were an entrance student." Meredith gestured for me to sit.

  I shrugged and moved to sit down, crossing my right leg over my left as I relaxed back into the black cushion of the single seat.

  "I guess. Either that or some of their attitude and level of entitlement practically oozed off of them.
"

  Meredith laughed and her expression softened. "A year as a Mage Warrior and you've changed quite a lot."

  "I hope that’s a compliment," I said with a grin, but I knew her words were true. "We've changed a lot. I bet my mom is going to freak out when she sees me."

  "That she will. You can count on that," Meredith said as she laid back in her chair. "How is your back?"

  "Healing. Not that big of a deal. Don't get why everyone's so worried."

  "It's a huge wound. You shouldn't have survived that attack," Meredith stressed.

  I met her intense gaze and could see the mentor side of her, which only made me smile. "My back versus Maximus head? If in my position, would you not do the same?" I already knew her answer, but I waited for her response anyway.

  She sighed and shook her head. "Doesn't mean being selfless on the battlefield is a good thing."

  "I was confident I'd be able to handle a wound from that mutated crab rather than deal with losing one of my teammates and lovers," I said with conviction. "If I was placed in the same situation, I'd do it all over again."

  "Selfless, I tell you."

  "I'll also take that as a compliment."

  "Is Maximus’ scar healing as well? His eye healed up fine, correct?" Meredith inquired.

  "Yes, he can see just fine. Kage's treatments have been really helpful. Neither of us is in pain or having issues. We encouraged Kage to take a bit of time off on the healing to recuperate."

  Meredith nodded, seeming relieved by my words. I'm sure she read the reports, but those were detailed and a little gruesome with their detailed pictures of our acquired wounds after shit went south during an assignment.

  Telling her in person would give her peace of mind.

  "I bet he's proud of his scar."

  "Proud like a mother watching her child win the mage championships. You know men mentality is different from us. Everyone thinks he's badass now and immortal," I explained, shaking my head. "I think if we'd stayed on base permanently, he would have kept it. You know having any visible scars or even magic tattoos draws way too much attention and unnecessary commentary."

  "Indeed. If he deals with any issues, which you guys can't handle, feel free to inform me. I'll have it dealt with," Meredith vowed.