Vitiosi Dei (Heritage of the Blood Book 2) by Brent Lee Markee Page B

go. He just assumed that she wasn't sure what to make of the human boy (which is how he still thought of himself), amongst a village of Giants.
                  Any thoughts quickly dissipated into a silent mist as the Giantess with eyes like smoky quartz began giving directions on where the students were supposed to go. Instructor? Shawnrik found his heart beating faster, and his face was getting warmer as he listened to the woman give directions. Looking around the room at the other boys, he noticed that he wasn't the only one being so affected. I'm not even sure what it is that she teaches, but for some reason I want to be in her class.
                  Small groups began to leave the room as they were given instructions on where it was they were supposed to go. It didn't take long for Shawnrik to find himself the only kid remaining over the age of eight. Shawnrik didn't miss the amused quirk of an eyebrow from the beautiful instructor as she ushered the group out of the room to begin their introduction to the Institute. He might have been embarrassed by the instructor's reaction had he time to think about it, but as soon as they exited the white marble room his senses were assaulted from every direction.
                  They emerged into an open pathway, with columns along both sides of the gravel pathway. The air was much warmer here. Shawnrik's heavy winter clothing suddenly felt heavy, and he could feel perspiration beginning to form on his brow. As they walked towards one of the larger buildings in the immediate vicinity, Shawnrik noticed a familiar sound. It was a sound that he had grown up with, and that had been a constant companion to him until the day he left Safeharbor with Ashur and Dunnagan less than two years ago.
                  The soft hum of a city, people hurrying to and fro, merchants selling their wares, vehicles moving through the streets; these were the sounds that surrounded him. They were familiar and yet somehow foreign in this new place. To his left, down the hill, Shawnrik saw what must be Serenity Valley. Large, stone carved masterpieces replaced the familiar wood, stone, and brick buildings of home. He could see strange carts moving around the streets without any visible animals to pull them. Once, when he was nine, he had snuck into the Mages' compound and he had seen something very similar, but he was too far away to be able to tell if the vehicles he saw below used the same glowing crystals that the Mages' transports had.
                  Thousands of people moved around him within the walls of the Institute, and he had never felt more alone. He had been alone in the village, but there at least he'd had Pedrial to fill the void. Shawnrik didn't know what he was doing here, and he felt sure that he didn't belong. Is this what you meant for me to do, Vic? Am I wasting my time here? Shaking his head, he tried to physically force the thoughts from his mind. Victor had told him to learn everything he could, and Pedrial said that one could learn anything at the Institute. Shawnrik would trust in his friend, and do everything in his power to come out of this place a better person.
                  The building the group approached had an ancient feel to it; the exterior was dull and worn looking compared to the crisp angles of the other buildings in the area. They entered a large room made of a dark stone that Shawnrik couldn't identify offhand. Everywhere he looked, there were little kids lined up, waiting in lines to talk to adults who Shawnrik assumed were Institute staff or Instructors.
                  A room of this size full of kids should have been noisy, but something about the room seemed to mute this effect, and it was easy for Shawnrik to hear the conversations in his immediate vicinity. He began to feel out of place amongst all of the young children as Instructor Daymarr sat down behind one of the tables,