Chosen (9781742844657) by Shayla Morgansen Page A

acquaintances outside of our dorm, and my final roommate was Greek – we were sure to have heaps in common.
    I had always been fascinated by my Greek heritage. My grandfather Cassán had met his wife Anthea when he had travelled to Greece as a young man. He had married her and brought her back to Ireland, where unfortunately she had lived a sheltered and antisocial life, considered by many in their town as an outsider. Luckily, their daughter (Elysia, my mother) had been considerably fairer than her foreign parent and had been better accepted. Perhaps Xanthe could tell me more about where my grandmother had been born.
    Emmanuelle didn’t treat us like kids. She spoke to us as equals, which was cool of her. She showed us the third floor, full of large rooms that would be our classrooms, and the fourth floor, which was where the White Elm stayed overnight.
    â€˜In an absolute emergency that I am somehow not already aware of and if I am on the premises, you can find me in this room,’ she said. She showed us the door to her room. She made us memorise how many doors down it was from the staircase. She carried on and we followed in silence, fully aware that this was not a part of the house we were welcome to hang out in normally. ‘This,’ Emmanuelle said finally, stopping in front of a heavy, thin oak door with no handle or lock visible, ‘is the ‘ead’s office.’
    â€˜Renatus’s office?’ Sterling asked keenly, her already bright eyes sparkling with interest. ‘How does he get in? There’s no doorknob.’
    Emmanuelle laughed, sounding a tiny bit resentful.
    â€˜No one can enter this room from the outside – except Renatus. It’s enchanted. The spells on this estate are incredibly powerful. Renatus’s spell-casting abilities quite outshine those of the rest of us, I’m afraid.’
    â€˜Even Lord Gawain couldn’t enter this room?’ I asked, shocked. No way could Renatus be that strong. Emmanuelle smiled.
    â€˜The spell guarding this door only allows Renatus to open it. Once open, anyone may enter, with ‘is permission.’
    â€˜But Lord Gawain can’t open it?’ Xanthe pressed. Emmanuelle hesitated.
    â€˜I’m not sure ‘e’s bothered trying,’ she said finally, as another group, led by the unbelievably skinny Anouk, approached. ‘I don’t believe ‘e ‘as. It isn’t considered polite to enter a man’s office without ‘im, especially if ‘e ‘as put up spells such as Renatus’s.’
    I smiled at two of the three girls in Anouk’s group – they were the twins. Emmanuelle directed us away before we had a chance to talk, so I waved, hoping to see them again the following day.
    â€˜Is Renatus stronger than Lord Gawain?’ Sterling asked as we headed for the second floor.
    â€˜I can’t answer that,’ Emmanuelle said instantly, as though the answer was rehearsed. ‘The question lacks a context.’
    Sterling badgered the White Elm sorceress all the way to our new dormitory. Emmanuelle was clipped but patient. I would have snapped at the American witch by now – Emmanuelle obviously had a very small knowledge of Renatus, and had apparently shared everything she knew.
    â€˜Your keys, girls,’ she said as we all reached a tall, thin door that matched nearly every other door in the mansion. In the hallway, a few other people were entering their rooms one at a time. I unclasped the chain around my neck; Hiroko and Xanthe pulled their keys from their pockets. Sterling, interestingly enough, had hidden hers down the front of her top.
    â€˜You never know,’ she said when we stared at her. ‘You can’t trust most people.’
    â€˜Alright, you should enter one-at-a-time,’ Emmanuelle explained to us when we had our keys in our hands. ‘Only six keys fit the lock – each of yours, mine, and the master key in