Delayed Admission

by Heather Renee

  “Are you sure you weren’t using magic before?” Enzo asked when I blasted him in the shoulder on accident.

  “Yep. Pretty sure I would have remembered that and tried to defend myself against the shadow man if I knew I had access to this kind of power.”

  “True. You were pretty much a lowly human when I saved you from certain death.” He smirked at me jokingly.

  “I’d be so lost without you.” I fake swooned and then laughed along with him.

  I liked this Enzo. He was being respectful and actually teaching me without acting like an arrogant ass. Maybe hanging out with him after school every day wouldn’t be so bad.

  “Our time is almost up. Anything you want to ask me about from classes today?”

  I shook my head. I wanted to look up some stuff on my own. My mom had raised me to be independent. I was going to stand on my own two feet whenever I could at Shadow Veil.

  We went a few more rounds, exchanging harmless magical hits. Well, harmless from his side. I was still trying to control the amount of power I put into my thoughts. He was handling it like a champ, though.

  After we said goodbye, I headed to my room and took the longest and hottest shower of my life. My muscles burned everywhere. When I was done, I considered ordering food in instead of meeting Gemma as planned, but when I finished getting dressed, I knew that wouldn’t be happening.

  “Raegan Keyes! Open this damn door,” Gemma yelled from the hallway.

  Rushing to the door, I opened it before she pissed off everyone in our dorm section.

  “I was in the shower. Calm your tits, woman.”

  Her eyes widened and then laughter erupted. She couldn’t contain herself as she pushed her way past me. “I’m stealing that next time I need it.”

  “Fine by me. What’s with the yelling?”

  “Well, you hadn’t come to see me, and I’m hungry. Peyton and Finley are busy, and I don’t like eating alone, so let’s go.”

  Sighing, I threw myself back on my bed. “I don’t wanna.”

  “Biatch, get your ass up before I get really hangry,” she growled.

  “What happened to the polite girl I met when I first arrived?” I teased.

  “That’s work Gemma, this is friend Gemma. You either love me or hate me, so learn to deal with it.”

  A smile spread across my face. “I think I’m going to love this version.”

  “Good. Let’s go then.” She grabbed my hand and yanked me off the bed.

  No more protests came from me. I brushed my hair and dried it as quickly as I could, thankful for my short layers since Gemma continued to whine behind me about how she was withering away by the second.

  The day had been a great one, and I was eagerly looking forward to the remainder of the week. Shadow Veil Academy might just be the best thing that had ever happened to me.

  Chapter 9

  Two weeks into school, and the extra “tutoring” that was more like boot camp was causing my body to rebel. My muscles refused to move at the speed necessary to keep Enzo’s much larger frame from slamming into mine, and it was driving me nuts.

  Sexual tension filtered through the air of the training room we were using, and I was pretty positive Enzo was purposely kicking my ass just so he could touch me and get a rise out of me. Cocky bastard seemed to be well aware of our attraction, and it came out in full force when we were half-clothed and sweaty.

  “You’re not keeping your form when I kick at your feet,” he reprimanded.

  “Well, no shit,” I snapped.

  “Come on. You’ve come a long way already. Don’t revert back to your weak human form or we’ll have to start from lesson one again.” The grin he threw my way as he tossed loose strands of hair back from his face told me he’d enjoy that too much.

  “Not going to happen. Let’s go again.” Bracing my knees, I leaned forward on the balls of my feet and awaited the impact Enzo was sure to deliver, but it never came. At least, not from where I expected.

  Air rushed from my lungs as my back suddenly slammed into the mats and I was staring up at the ceiling. Enzo straddled me, bringing his face into view.

  “Never assume you know what your enemy will do. Always be prepared for several forms of attack,” he said from above me.

  Before he could move off of me, I hooked my ankles around his and pushed his body to my left to roll us over, effectively reversing our positions.

  “Maybe getting you on the ground had been my intention and you hadn’t caught me off guard at all.” I smirked even though it wasn’t true.

  “Well, then I’d tell you good job, but you’re lying, so do better next time, because it might be your life on the line.” He was such a Debbie Downer.

  Pushing on his chest, I made a move to stand up, but he once again had me on my back. This time, instead of straddling me, his entire body covered my own as he pinned my arms above my head. I was only wearing a sports bra and leggings, while he wore loose shorts and a tank. There was little left to the imagination in our current position.

  “I didn’t say you could get up.” His voice deepened, barely above a whisper, and his eyes darted toward my tongue that involuntarily slipped out to wet my lips.

  The golden specks of his eyes darkened, turning bronze like his hair, and as much as I was enjoying the close contact, my relationship with Enzo needed to remain professional. I needed him to get me caught up from missing an entire year of school, and I wasn’t about to let my hormones screw that up for me.

  “Enzo,” I breathed heavily as I bit down on my lip, waiting for him to be fully distracted before making my move.

  When his full attention was focused on my face, I freed my hands from above my head and trailed my fingers down his arm until I was within striking distance. Without skipping a beat, I twisted and jabbed my elbow into his chin before rolling a good five feet away from him.

  “Oh, look at that? Our time is up,” I said cheerily while getting up, as if the encounter hadn’t made me rethink every bad thought I’d had about him. “See you tomorrow.”

  Only glancing back when I was at the exit, I found Enzo still on the floor and staring at the ceiling. We needed more boundaries, or this was going to be a long freaking year.

  A couple of weeks later, September was about over and I’d found a good routine. My first full month at the academy had been the most fun I’d ever had in school. I was still behind in a few of my classes, but my strength was growing, and Enzo began to praise my progress.

  Our relationship had become more neutral since the training session that ended with both of us hot and bothered. Apparently, he didn’t like the effects I had on him, either.

  Even though I still had the occasional dirty thought about him, we’d both managed to keep things on a strictly student-and-tutor level. He even stopped bothering me outside of our elven class and private sessions, and I appreciated that he respected my space.

  Gemma had also been great at keeping me from hiding in my room, which turned out not to be so horrible. Lyssa hadn’t caused me any trouble in almost two weeks, so I was able to enjoy more of the school and the people without worrying about her causing any drama. I still avoided her and her lackies like the plague, but it seemed like they were avoiding me as well.

  On the last weekend in September, I found myself with absolutely nothing to do for the first time since I arrived. I was caught up on my homework, and my friends were all preparing for a big test in a class I thankfully wasn’t in.

  I considered going to History Hall to do more research in my quest to figure out who my parents were, but I had no clue where to start. Every time I tried, I failed epically. Instead, I decided it was time to do some wandering around the campus and go back to check out the Courtyard of Tranquility. It had intrigued me before, but I hadn’t had time to go inside it yet.

  Making my way through the school, I took a different route, trying to explore other new things on my way. When I made it back to familiar territory, I had arrived at the door
Gemma has said was forbidden to students.

  Normally, I knew better than to push my boundaries, but the area piqued my interest more than I wanted to admit. I placed my hand on the door, and the magic keeping it closed vibrated beneath my hand. Closing my eyes, I tried to tell what kind of power was lying behind it, but before I could get very far with my thoughts, the door swung open from the inside, almost smacking me in the face.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” a guy snapped at me, his eyes dark and menacing.

  “I… uh… I was just…”

  “You were just what?” he snarled. “Stay away from here. This isn’t a place for students.”

  I wanted to reply with any excuse so I didn’t get in trouble, but before I could get the words out, power flooded out of the door and slammed right into me.

  Hello, my sweet.

  My eyes widened, and I scrambled further back. “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t come back here.” With those final words, the door banged shut with an echoing thud.

  Holy shit. Holy shit. Holy shit.

  I had no idea what just happened, but when the door opened, I had been consumed with something sinister. Magic so heavy and thick, I couldn’t breathe. Then, the voice. A woman had spoken in my head. I had no idea who she was, but her voice scared the piss out of me.

  Shaking my head, I began to run for the exit. I needed some damn tranquility in my life after that encounter.

  When I made it outside, I glanced around, all of a sudden feeling more paranoid than I had ever been. Keeping a brisk pace, I entered the courtyard I had been searching for and let out a sigh of relief as pure magic soaked into my being.

  Courtyard of Tranquility was where I needed to keep my exploring to, not the creepy forbidden dungeon-esque area.

  All of a sudden, the pure magic I was trying to soak in began to revolt against me. Pain pricked at my skin, and there was nothing tranquil about it. My skin was burning, and my insides began to cramp.

  What the hell is happening to me?

  Leaping for the gate, I threw my body out of the enclosed area and let out a sigh of relief when I hit the grass. The ache immediately receded, but I was still having a hard time breathing, and I was pretty certain someone was trying to kill me.

  So much for thinking it was a good idea to go exploring on my own.

  Lesson fucking learned.

  I picked myself up and hobbled back to the dorms. As I passed by the front of the school, I glanced up at the gargoyles again, convinced they were watching me. Hair rose on the back of my neck and I practically ran the rest of the way back to my room.

  Later that afternoon, when Gemma came back, she found me in my pajamas and hiding away while I nursed my mostly psychological wounds. The school grounds had kicked my ass, and I wasn’t handling it well.

  “The scary dude who yelled at me is going to haunt my dreams for days,” I whined.

  “You’re lucky that’s all he did. From your description, I’m pretty sure that’s Ryn. He’s been a guard here for a while, and nobody messes with him. I’m not sure where he came from, but he’s not from around here.” She shivered and rubbed her arms, proving my reaction to the situation was pretty on point.

  I didn’t tell her about the courtyard experience. Though, I was considering going to the headmaster about it since he was one of the few people who knew about my three races. Maybe whatever suppression he put on my dragon side had caused the reaction I had.

  But I was also afraid.

  I felt like I was on probation with the council already and didn’t want to give them another reason to send me packing or, worse, strip my memories like they had messed with Enzo’s.

  “Let’s go have a girls’ night. We can head into Salem and hit up a bar or something.”

  “Do you have fake IDs? No way we’ll pass for twenty-one,” I said.

  “We have magic. We don’t need fake IDs. We just have to make an illusion. Make the door guy see the right birth year. Have you done illusions yet with Enzo?”

  Sighing, my mind flashed back to that day. He scared the shit out of me. When I entered the training room, I thought he was lying on the ground in a pool of blood. I screamed for help as my hands pressed into his stomach. That was, until I felt the vibration of his laughter beneath my fingers.

  The bastard had thrown me right into illusions with no heads-up. After I had mastered creating one, he taught me how to catch one, a skill that came from my elven side and other races didn’t have. That was when I forgave him for making me think he was dying.

  “Yep. I can take care of that,” I finally replied.

  “Perfect. I’ll message Peyton and Finley. They’ll be pissed if we go without them.”

  “Alright, if you’re going to keep my ass out all night in the bars, I’m going to need a nap. I’ll come over to your room to get ready in a little while.”

  She was halfway out the door, excitement pouring from her, before I even finished my sentence.

  My mind was exhausted from everything that had happened earlier in the day, so it wasn’t long before I laid my head down and was out cold, but a peaceful rest wasn’t what I received.

  The nightmares I had experienced before I left had been few and far between since arriving at the academy. I still ached for my parents, but it wasn’t in the depressive way that I was feeling before.

  So, the new nightmare took me by surprise when it wasn’t a rendition of how I imagined my parents’ death. Instead, it was filled with the dark, menacing eyes of Ryn, and the woman’s voice that had sounded in my head before.

  Raegan, you have to come to me.

  They’re trying to kill me.

  I need you.

  Please save me.

  When I was finally able to yank myself from the nightmare, my body was covered in sweat and shaking. The voice scared me most, but when she asked for me to save her, my heart hurt for the woman I didn’t know. My mind began to wonder who she was and why she might have been trapped down there.

  Or, maybe I was batshit crazy and she was nothing more than a spirit screwing with me. I’d have to ask the others if they knew about any areas of the school being haunted. Maybe that was why students weren’t allowed behind the locked door.

  I glanced at the clock to find that only forty-five minutes had passed, and I was even more exhausted than before. Instead of trying to sleep again, I ordered a few energy drinks from the butler box. I wasn’t big on coffee, but energy drinks worked when I was in a pinch.

  Downing the caffeine, I grabbed a couple of dresses I thought would work for going out and headed to Gemma’s room. When she opened the door, her face twisted. “What the hell happened to you?”

  “Gee. Thanks for making me feel better,” I groaned. “Stupid nightmares. The pale and pasty look will hopefully pass soon.”

  Pushing my way into the room, I saw Peyton half-naked and trying to shimmy into a tight sequin dress. “Stupid shifter genes give me wide hips. Hey, Rae, come help me squeeze into this thing. It will fit. I swear.”

  Laughing, I set my stuff down and went to help her, while Gemma finished doing Finley’s hair into a fancy not-so-messy bun.

  “What if it rips?” I asked when I began tugging on the thin material.

  “Then Gemma can fix it. I just need to get it over my damn hips. Seriously, be thankful you’re not a shifter. Shifting screws with your body composition, and not in a good way.”

  I cringed a little, because I was part shifter and hated not being able to tell them. I then began to wonder if I would suffer the same consequences, but remembered my entire body hadn’t changed before. I’d only acquired the scales and wings, so maybe not. Maybe I’d just be a freakish hybrid, or tri-brid, if that was even a thing.

  An hour later, the four of us were ready and walking across the academy toward the gates. I hadn’t left the school grounds since I arrived, and nerves erupted in my stomach. Something was pulling me back, and I didn’t know why or what. Apparently, the nightma
re had screwed with me more than I realized.

  “Are you alright, Rae?” Finley asked. “You’re looking kinda pale again, and not in the hot vampire way like me.”

  I tried to laugh, but it didn’t come out that way, more like a strangled cat noise. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

  When the gate opened and my feet officially left the inside of the school grounds, the agony I was experiencing got worse. I hissed at the pain but continued moving forward. I needed this girls’ night, and I’d be damned if I was going to let some creeptastic stuff from earlier in the day take away my fun.

  Gemma tugged me along, a worried look pushing her brows together. “Maybe we should reschedule?”

  “No, I swear I’m okay. Plus, look at us. We can’t waste all this on staying in for the night.” I tried to joke, but it was forced, and I knew by their concerned glances that they didn’t buy it.

  We arrived at the shield, and I hesitated. Something was telling me it wasn’t a good idea to go through and completely leave the school property, but being a stubborn person, I was determined to see just how bad it could get if I did.

  Don’t leave me, Raegan. I need you.

  The voice had returned, and its presence urged me forward instead of backward like it wanted. When we pushed through the shield, I was bounced back while the three others went through just fine. I could see their mouths moving, but I couldn’t hear anything they were saying.

  There was a pounding in my head that wouldn’t stop, and everything was on fire within me. I crawled away from the wall, and the closer I got back to the academy, the less severe the pain became.

  My eyes glanced up at the school, curious how far I’d have to crawl to make it back, but instead of focusing on the distance, my eyes met those of a gargoyle, and there was no longer any denying that they were watching me. The flash of red within them proved I had been right before.