I nodded. "I never really celebrated Christmas, but I knew a lot of others who traveled."
"That's sort of what it's like for us around the Solstice. We visit every year to see anyone who is locked in that realm," he said. "But to be honest, I never really worried about how they got there. I wonder if anyone in there was trapped by a thief."
"Wouldn't they get stuck in our realm?" I asked.
"Not sure," he said. "You can send a demon to hell with certain spells. They aren't pretty and they have a high cost to the caster, but it's possible."
I smirked. "So, I could send you to hell?"
He elbowed me playfully. "You'll have to get your magic back first."
"You're funny," I said.
He closed up the book. "Come on, class is about over, and I have to run back to my room before lunch."
I grabbed the book. "I'll take this to my room and meet you at lunch."
He grinned. "Want me to go with you to your room?"
"So polite," I said as I stood. "But no, thanks. I got it."
"You say the word, and I'll be there," he said, as he did almost every day.
"I know," I said as I turned away from him.
I felt bad because I wasn't sure why I kept turning him down. I liked Luka. I wanted to have sex with him. For real, in the real-world sex. Not just in my dreams. A rush of heat spread low in my belly at the thought of our last dream encounter. It had been a while, but like he said, he'd respected my boundaries.
Soon, whatever it was that was making me say no despite my body's desires, would cave. And I had a feeling the wait would be worth it.
Quickly, I used my key card to get into my room and pushed open the door. I flipped on the light switch and caught a glimpse of a book sitting on the middle of my floor. Brow furrowed, I walked around it and set my backpack and the book I was carrying on the bed.
I swore I hadn't left anything on the floor when I left. Bending down, I picked up the book. My fingers left marks on the thick layer of dust. It looked like it hadn't been touched in years. Careful not to move the dust around, I looked at both sides of the book. It appeared that either I was the only one to handle it or I had touched it in the same exact place as whoever had brought it into my room.
I knew it wasn't my book. I'd have remembered if I had a book like this. The binding was dark brown leather, cracked in places from age. Gold trim bordered the cover and two words were printed on the cover. I squinted at them, unsure if I was seeing what I wanted to see or what it actually said.
Carefully, I carried the book to my desk and set it down. Using a tissue, I wiped the cover to reveal the title. It really did say what I hoped it said. The words seemed to call to me. Broken Magic. I had no idea how this book got here, but if it was about broken magic, I was grateful that it was here.
Carefully, I opened the cover. It cracked as I lifted it and I winced at the sound, hoping I wasn't damaging the ancient text. The interior looked surprisingly new compared to the worn cover, but I'd learned to stop questioning things too much. After all, we were in a school filled with magic.
Turning past the cover pages and the title page, I skimmed through the table of contents. A chill ran down my spine as I traced my fingers down the list. It was everything I needed. Chapters on how to repair broken magic and chapters on how to heal the body and mind. It even had several chapters on surviving and coping with a thief attack.
I glanced back to my closed door as if whoever had left this here would show up and tell me how they'd gotten into my room and how they'd found this book. Why wasn't this in the library? Or maybe it was and I looked in the wrong place?
This book could be the key to getting my magic back. I glanced at the clock on my wall and noted that I only had a short time until class. It was either reading now or lunch.
Making a choice, I took a seat at my desk and started to read. My pulse raced as I turned the pages. I'd been wondering about my lost magic and finally, maybe I had some answers.
Flipping ahead, I stopped on a chapter titled Stolen Magic. I skimmed the lines, looking for anything mentioning a Thief. Frowning, I kept skimming, not finding what I was hoping for.
Then, something caught my eye. I read the paragraph four times, getting more hopeful with each read. According to the book, I didn't need all my magic to come back, I just needed a piece of it. Any piece of it. If any kind of magic was able to be ignited inside me, it would unlock the rest of the missing magic.
Last time I needed to access my magic, I'd had some help from two other mages. We'd joined hands and they'd sent magic through me. Surely, if we did the same thing we had a chance of turning it back on, right? Was that part of what Professor Halifax had been talking about?
Quickly, I closed the book and grabbed my backpack. The twins were supposed to be back soon, but I didn't have classes with them till tomorrow. Hopefully they'd be there when I got to class. For now, I'd have to deal with gym and the rest of my afternoon. It wasn't much, but there was hope.
10
Luka
Raven never came to lunch. I tried to laugh with her friends and pretend it wasn't bothering me, but since her time in the hospital she'd been like clockwork. She attended all her classes, she did her homework, she studied in the library with me, she joined her friends for lunch. Even her weekends were boring. She was a model student. The only thing she lacked was her ability to use magic.
Frowning, I glanced toward the door again.
"She's a big girl," Makayla said.
"I know," I said. "It's just not like her."
"Maybe she got called in to her parole meeting?" Makayla suggested.
"She went a few days ago," I said. "She only has to go once a week."
"Maybe she wasn't hungry," she said.
"Maybe." I knew something was going on, but I didn't know what it was. But I wasn't too worried. Despite her lack of magic, I could still feel her through our bond. I was certain of it now. The two of us shared that bond. I knew when she was anxious or scared. Right now, I didn't feel any of that.
I blew out a frustrated breath. Even knowing she was probably safe, it was still difficult to be away from her. Especially since we hadn't consummated our bond. It was painful to be so close to her all the time without touching her. Without being inside her. But it was more painful to be away from her. And with a bond between the two of us, it was only a matter of when. So, I waited. Each day, I felt my magic dwindle, but I waited. She was going to come to me sooner rather than later. And when she did, it would be worth the wait, that much I knew.
Quickly, I finished my last bite of food and picked up my tray. "See you guys later."
Makayla and the other shifters waved as I walked away from their table. It was an odd thing to sit at a table with a bunch of shifters. Some of the other demons had given me strange looks the first few days but now they didn't even glance my way. Unlike the shifters, we didn't really care what the others were doing. There was no pack for demons. We had families, sure, but mine wasn't here and mine wasn't the kind of family you crossed.
The others here knew I liked to be alone. I wasn't a people person unless I was fucking said person. So my sitting with a group of shifters was so far out of the norm for me, I was sure it raised some questions. But you didn't mess with my family. In the other realm, my mother was one of the few people who could determine your whole fate with the stroke of her pen. Sometimes I hated the power she held, the power she'd pass to me if I wanted it. Other days, like today, I didn't mind too much. At least it kept my classmates at a distance.
Though I had to admit, I wasn't looking forward to seeing her in a few weeks at parent's day. She was bound to catch the weakness of my magic. I wasn't even sure how much longer I could go before I'd be struggling in classes.
I picked up the pace as I headed toward the locker room. I wanted to wait for Raven, and I knew she was worth the wait, but I might have to start thinking of another way to recharge.
The thought made my stom
ach twist into uncomfortable knots. It literally made me sick to think of fucking someone else. My pull to Raven was so great, it had to be her. How was that for a sick twist of fate? As an incubus, sex was never personal. Now, that was all I wanted.
I was going to need a very cold shower after gym.
Thankfully, Raven was already stretching with the other girls in the class when I got into the gymnasium. I waved to her, hoping she'd notice me.
She waved back.
I jogged over to her. "Hey, you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm good. Just got stuck reading one of those books," she said.
Her answer surprised me, but she seemed fine.
"Hey, demon, you want to run laps till dinner?" Coach Miller called.
I rolled my eyes. "See you later, Raven."
One of these days, I'd love to see someone stand up to him but I wasn't willing to risk confinement again.
11
Raven
The locker room was a buzz of conversation as everyone finished changing after another grueling day of gym. Today's class had been the same as the last several - running intervals with breaks for planks and pushups. To be fair, I was probably in the best shape of my life, but it didn't come without a price.
I groaned as I lifted my shirt off over my head. My arms were not used to this much work.
"That was brutal today," Violet said.
"I know," I said. "I keep hoping we can go back to those long runs where he just ignored us."
"Same," Violet said as she tugged off her gym clothes. "Hey, you want to come to a party tonight?"
Her question surprised me. Violet and I were gym class friends and greeted each other in the halls and cafeteria for occasional conversation. We'd never hung out outside of school before.
She laughed. "I promise that Scarlett will be on her best behavior."
I smiled. "Okay, sure. Sounds fun."
"You know where the basement dorms are?" She asked.
I nodded. I'd never been down in the dorms where the few resident vampires lived, but I'd passed by the entry a few times.
"You really should come. Our parties are the best." She turned and took a few steps away then looked over her shoulder. "Bring that delicious incubus of yours. I'm sure he'd be up for some fun."
"He's not exactly mine," I said.
"Right," she said, not hiding the sarcasm. "That's why the school's biggest slut hasn't slept with anyone since he started following you around like a faithful hound."
My throat bobbed as guilt weighed heavy in the pit of my stomach. Was I stringing him along? Was he losing out on fun with others because of me? I pushed the thought away. He was a big boy. He could make his own decisions. Besides, I wasn't ever going to let guilt pressure me into something I didn't want to do. I'd gone down that route before and it hadn't turned out well.
But I did like the idea of taking him out for a night. Luka and I had spent most of our free time reading old books lately. Getting out to do something fun probably wasn't a bad idea. It wasn't like my magic was going to mysteriously reappear out of the blue. Based on everything I'd read, there was always something that brought it back.
Quickly, I finished changing and ducked out of the locker room. If I hurried, I could catch Luka before dinner.
I'd only been to Luka's room once before. We'd kept our meetings to shared spaces like the library and cafeteria. Once, though, I'd walked back here with him while he changed clothes after he'd encountered a bad spell in the hallway that left his uniform covered in red spots. He was lucky it hadn't stuck to his skin.
The demons were housed in the old dorms next to the main building. Really, I should call it a castle. Apparently, the dorms were off campus when the school was just getting started and still housed a few government offices and other odds and ends of things. Eventually, the school grew large enough to take over everything. Plus, as more famous and wealthy families started sending their kids here, the competition to get in grew. They took over the whole thing and added dorms inside the building to make room for all the new students. At least that was what I'd learned flipping through one of my books.
You'd think a magic academy would have a more interesting back story than a small elite school for rich kids that started alongside a bunch of government offices but I was learning that there were a lot of things the supernatural world had in common with the human world. Money and politics seemed to be similar. Though, I still hadn't wrapped my head fully around the politics and systems of this community outside of the school.
If I ever got my magic back, I supposed I'd have to do that. I pushed open the doors and stepped into the brisk night air.
It was nearly November and the nights were long. Stars twinkled overhead, brighter than usual because of the tiny sliver of a moon that kept the sky dark. My breath came out in clouds and I tugged my sweater closed around me to keep warmer.
Thankfully, the dorms were only a few steps away. I paused outside the door, unsure of how I'd be greeted by the demons I encountered in the common room. When I'd walked through with Luka, it was the middle of the day and most students were at class.
Now, it was that gap between classes and dinner and it was prime time to gather in public spaces.
Blowing out a long breath, I lifted my chin and tried to pretend that I belonged here. Then I pushed open the door and stepped inside.
Heat blew into my face from a vent right in front of the door and I was instantly warm. The demon and fallen angel dorm was kept at a balmy eighty degrees at all times according to Luka. Made it cozier for those who were used to living in the underworld.
I tugged off my sweater and tossed it over my shoulder so I wouldn't have to carry it.
"Take the rest of it off, it's hot in here," someone called.
I lifted an eyebrow as I turned to face the gathered group of demons in the common area. Six of them were lounging on chairs or couches. Two of them were sitting in chairs in front of a large television, gaming controllers in their hands.
The sounds of battle and explosions filled the room, the two gamers not even turning my way.
"I'm visiting Luka," I said.
"Man, that incubus gets all the good ones," someone said.
"You don't even know good until you've been with a guy with wings," an angel with huge black wings tucked behind his back said.
"Aren't you sweet," I said, the sarcasm heavy.
Trying to ignore them, I walked forward, right for the staircase. For a second, panic made my chest tighten. I'd only been to his room once and I hadn't paid much attention to where it was.
I knew we went up the stairs. Second floor, maybe? I walked up, hoping for something that looked familiar.
As soon as I stepped into the hallway, I knew I was in the right place. It didn't make sense, but I felt Luka calling to me. It was as if I could smell him. That scent of smoke and something that was distinctly him.
Feeling confident, despite the fact that I couldn't explain any of this, I stopped in front of a door in the middle of the hallway and knocked.
The door opened and Luka's lips turned upward into a grin. He wasn't wearing a shirt and his belt hung unbuckled from his pants. I must have caught him as he was undressing.
Heat burned in my face as I stared at his muscular chest and his hard, broad shoulders. His abs were right out of a catalogue for male perfection. I was fiercely reminded of why I'd likened him to a Greek god when we'd first met. Then I realized this was the first time I'd seen him without his clothes on in real life. He was even sexier than he was in my dreams.
My core heated and I felt a tingle between my thighs. This wasn't why I was here. I was here to invite him to a party. Not for sex. Don't think about sex. My eyes traveled down to his pants and I could see the bulge. He wasn't exaggerating in our dreams.
"Hey, kitten."
"Hey, yourself," I said, forcing my eyes up to his.
"Like what you see?" he asked.
"Of course, I do," I said.
I squeezed my thighs together, urging my body to behave. I wasn't sure what I was waiting for with Luka. Why had I put it off so long?
We were both adults. We both wanted this.
I wanted this.
I wanted him.
Before I lost my courage, I moved closer to him and set my palm on his bare chest. Gently, I pushed him into the room until I could close the door behind us. There was no reason to keep denying how much I wanted him.
His lips parted and I could feel his temperature rise as he connected the dots. But he waited for me to make the first move.
My breathing was already shallow as I stood on my tiptoes and threw my arms over his shoulders.
His arms wrapped around me, pulling me closer to him until our bodies were connected, pressed together as one.
Lifting my chin, our lips met. The kiss was hot and hungry as weeks of frustration poured out of both of us. Luka grabbed hold of my hips and lifted me while our kiss deepened.
I wrapped my legs around his waist and ran my hands through his hair. As he carried me, I slid my tongue into his mouth, meeting his in a playful exchange.
He broke away from the kiss, giving me a smirk before letting go of me. I fell to the bed, sinking into a giant pile of pillows and soft blankets. It reminded me of the corner in his dream world, though his dorm room wasn't nearly as appealing.
Our dream place was open to the stars. His room was full of the orange glow of a salt lamp in one corner and the white light of a small lamp on his desk. The room was neat and spacious, much like all the rooms here.
I could care less about where we were. Everything about this felt right. I propped myself up with my elbows and watched as Luka slid his pants off.
His impressive erection sprung free and I knew that everything about our dreams had been just the way it would be in the real world. Which meant I was in for a dozen orgasms. Wetness spread between my thighs just from thinking about our dream sessions.
Academy of the Elites: Broken Magic Page 5
