Chapter 3 So Mages Use Cars Too

Aurora's POV:

Had this young man come looking for my aunt?

I quickly stepped away from him. Being seen like this was embarrassing enough, and somehow it felt even worse with someone like him standing there.

Diane, Oriana, and Charles had gone completely quiet. All the confidence they'd had a moment ago was gone. Diane forced on a polite smile. "I'm sorry, sir. Who are you?"

"Connor Lancelot." His voice was deep and calm.

The name was enough to leave everyone speechless. Diane's eyes widened, and excitement immediately replaced the shock on her face.

Connor was the heir to the Lancelot family, one of the richest and most powerful families in the world. People practically bragged if they'd ever been in the same room with him.

And somehow, he was standing right outside our house.

Oriana couldn't stop staring at him. That was when I suddenly remembered the letter.

The guide assigned to me was named Connor Lancelot.

Was this really him? Had he actually come here to take me to the magic academy?

Diane seemed to recover first. She reached toward me and snapped, "Aurora, don't just stand there. Move out of the way and go make some coffee."

Then she turned back to Connor with an eager smile. "Mr. Lancelot, did you come to see my husband? He's been trying to arrange a meeting with someone from one of your companies. We had no idea you'd come yourself. I'll call him right now."

Before she could touch me again, Connor stepped between us. "I'm not here to see your husband. I came for Aurora."

Connor didn't even look at her as he added, "And your husband isn't important enough for me to come here personally."

Diane's face fell. Everyone stared at him. I'd already started to suspect why he was here, but hearing him say my name still left me stunned.

Oriana seemed to forget all about being polite. "Mr. Lancelot, that can't be right. Why would someone like you come here for Aurora? She's nobody. She doesn't even deserve to..."

Her words suddenly stopped. She grabbed at her throat and gasped for air, as if something invisible had tightened around her neck.

Connor barely glanced at her. "You're being annoying."

Then he looked at me. "Pack what you need. We're leaving for the academy."

My fingers tightened around the hem of my shirt. I couldn't even think of what to say.

I was really going to a magic academy, but I still couldn't wrap my head around any of this.

Was magic actually real? And even if it was, what was I supposed to do after learning it? Could I actually find a job in the magical world? What would happen if I couldn't?

Before I could say anything, Charles suddenly rushed forward.

"What academy are you talking about? You're some kind of scammer, aren't you?" He pointed at Connor, though the fear on his face made his bravado hard to believe. "Aurora's going to community college. Why would someone like you show up here just to take her somewhere?"

Connor glanced at the finger pointed at him. "Kneel."

Charles scoffed and opened his mouth to argue. His knees slammed into the floor before another word came out.

The tiles by the entrance cracked beneath him. The impact looked so brutal that I was sure he'd broken both legs.

He crumpled forward, grabbing them as he screamed and stared at Connor in horror. "What the hell did you do to me? What are you?"

I stood frozen. I'd never seen anything like it.

Diane was trembling too, but apparently, even fear wasn't enough to make her forget about money.

"Aurora, you're not leaving!" she shouted. "You still owe us for everything we've spent raising you!" Then she turned to Connor. "Mr. Lancelot, if you're taking her with you, then you can pay what she owes us. Otherwise, I'm calling the police."

Connor stopped walking.

"She's lying," I said quickly. "They've treated me like garbage for years. I don't owe them anything. I..."

Connor gave a small nod. "Fine. If money's the problem, I'll take care of it."

He snapped his fingers. A stack of gold bars appeared in the middle of the living room.

Then another appeared. And another. Within seconds, the pile had grown into a glittering mound.

Diane's fear disappeared the moment she saw the gold. She rushed toward it, snatched up one of the bars, and bit down on it. "Oh my God. It's real! All of this is real gold!"

But the gold didn't stop appearing. More bars spilled across the floor and spread into the other rooms. The piles kept rising until there was barely any space left to move.

Diane's excitement quickly turned into panic. "Stop! That's enough!" she screamed as the gold closed in around her. "Please, make it stop! My legs are going to get crushed!"

Connor didn't even look at her. He turned to me instead. "I need to go. Are you coming?"

For a few seconds, I just stared at him. After everything I'd seen, I couldn't make myself speak.

So this was what magic looked like. I could hardly believe my eyes.

And soon, I'd become a mage myself.

Would I really be capable of doing something like that, too?

The idea made me nervous. I barely knew the man who had shown up for me, and now I was following him into a world where magic was real and science couldn't explain everything.

I had no clue what was waiting for me at the academy.

But if I stayed, I already knew exactly what my life would look like. I'd end up at that community college, stuck with a future I didn't want while Oriana and her parents kept controlling every part of my life.

That was enough to make up my mind. I grabbed my identification documents and the acceptance letter, then hurried after Connor.

As he headed outside, the mountain of gold that had broken through the walls and turned the house into a wreck suddenly disappeared. Diane, Oriana, and Charles were left unconscious in the middle of the ruins.

I expected something magical to take us away. Maybe a flying broom, or some kind of spell that could transport us in an instant. Instead, there was a Rolls-Royce parked outside.

I stopped for a second. Connor opened the back door, and only then did I slowly walk over and get in.

Once the car started moving, curiosity got the better of me. "So... mages use cars too?"

Connor gave me a look that made me feel like I'd just asked the dumbest question imaginable.

Okay. Fair point. We were still in the ordinary world. If I looked up and saw someone flying across the sky on a broomstick, I'd probably call the police too.

Connor clearly wasn't much of a talker, so I decided not to push it.

We drove all the way to the harbor. I assumed we'd be going through the passenger terminal, but Connor led me around the main area and toward an old cargo dock instead.

The second we passed through the iron gate, something felt different. The sky seemed darker, and the gray water ahead churned hard enough to make my stomach tighten.

This didn't look like the kind of place where students boarded a ship. It looked more like somewhere people disappeared.

I nervously grabbed the hem of my shirt. I wanted to ask Connor where we were going, but one look at his serious expression made me keep the question to myself.

We waited for what felt like forever. Then the sea suddenly moved.

A huge whirlpool opened in the water offshore. Wind roared around it, and waves crashed violently in every direction. Somehow, the rest of the harbor farther away stayed completely calm.

I stared as a massive three-level ship slowly rose from the spinning water. Soft orchestral music drifted toward us from the deck.

I couldn't look away. The ship kept coming until it finally stopped right in front of us.