The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy

"Mom?" I ask, my voice tense, moving immediately to her side. Dad, too, looks over at mom with concern.

Mom blinks, coming back to herself, and holds out her arms to me as she stands, wrapping me in a warm hug when I come close enough. "Hi, baby," mom murmurs, holding me tight.

"Are you okay, mom?" I ask, pulling back a bit, and studying her. "What's wrong? What happened?"

"I'm all right," she says with a little sigh, glancing towards the door. "Just..."

I glance towards the door too. As Luca and my dad murmur greetings to each other, Luca reaching across the table to solidly shake his hand.

"Just what?" I ask, ignoring Luca and dad. "Was it something with Tony?"

She sighs and shakes her head - not denying it just...wanting to move on. "It's nothing, Ari - just...a strange interaction."

"What was strange about it?" I push, wanting to know.

"Just, something odd about the way my magic interacted with his," she says with a sigh, shaking her head. "Odd and...intense. I've only experienced something like it once before - my magic calling to someone else's like that - and this time it was very different. A long time ago, before you were born."

"What was odd and intense, mom?" I ask, worried.

"He was just so cold, baby," mom says, turning to me with another sigh. "He felt...god, he felt like...." She looks worriedly towards the door where tony left.

My eyes go wide as I stare at my mother's drawn face. "Like what?"

"It felt like he was...already dead..." she whispers, shaking her head.

I go completely pale. Tony - Tony feels like he's death to her? "You felt that from his magic?"

"Wait, that guy he's got magic?" Luca asks, his mouth falling open a little as he spins back towards the door.

I grimace, knowing that Luca wasn't supposed to know that. Mom sighs, realizing what she did and clearly feeling guilty about it.

"Let's move on," mom whispers, tugging on my sleeve and gesturing towards the chair next to her. "We wanted to meet with you and Luca about something else - something much better."

I nod, agreeing to move on, but instead of sitting I quickly cross to give my dad a quick hug and a kiss.

"It's a good meeting!" mom says, smiling around at all of us. "No need for all of this seriousness."

"It is serious, Ella," dad says, giving her a little frown as he returns my kiss and I move back to my chair at Luca's side.

"Yes, but it's also fun," she says with a happy sigh, giving me a smile as she folds her hands in her lap. "Spending money is always fun."

Dad sighs and pulls a little folder out of the briefcase at his side, but I can see by the smile pulling at his lips that he's not actually frustrated by mom - that he thinks she's funny and right. I beam a little, looking between them, loving their relationship, basking in the glow of it and letting it wipe away the weird thing my mom said about Tony's magic.

"All right," dad says, firmly placing the folder in front of him and looking between Luca and I. "Let's get started."

I sit up straight, prim and focused, curious and a little nervous. At my side, I can feel that Luca feels largely the same, though his curiosity is run through with a slightly desperate desire to do and say the right thing.

I reach out and take his hand under the table, wanting him to feel my support, my insistence that he doesn't need to impress my dad - that I love him no matter where he stands with my father.

Luca squeezes my palm, interlacing our fingers.