Lesson One: Finding Allies — Jaliza A. Burwell

Lesson One: Find allies who are willing to go down with you.As a Neutral family member, I, Adeelah Rylie Neutral, promise to uphold the peace of all Naturals. When I made that vow, I never knew I'd be put to the test. One event cascaded into another, and before anyone could grasp what was going on, all the Naturals were being dragged out of the darkness. Then, the real challenge began.I'm expected to pave the way, to find a solution to keep the Naturals safe against the humans who fear too much for little reason. There's just one problem. I'm the black sheep in the family, born broken. I'm not immortal like I should be, and my clock is ticking. But being more human than everyone else doesn't stop me from doing my job.My peaceful solution? An academy.My biggest challenge? Surviving until the first day of classes.At least I have three handsome Naturals who are on my side. I'll just keep the tidbit about me being a broken Neutral to myself. I wouldn't want to make them think I was prey. Even if they keep looking at me like I'll make the perfect dinner. Or would that be dessert?A/N: This story was previously published in Magic and Mayhem anthology. Only light changes have been made to the story before publishing.