by K.N. Lee
Academy of Lost Souls
Battle for the Half-Blood Princess
K.N. Lee
Dragon Roots Emporium
Copyright © 2019 by K.N. Lee
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Dedicated to my soul sisters, Colleen Albert, Vicki Scinto, and Erin Mandell.
Scratch your musings
In dirt or gold
Immortalize your dreams
And stories untold
K.N. Lee
Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
A Look at Quest for Dragon’s Fire
A Look at Throne of Deceit
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Also by K.N. Lee
Introduction
Academy of Lost Souls stemmed from a dream I had several years ago, before I was published. While it lingered in my mind, half-finished, I could never seem to get to the heart of the main character. It wasn’t until this year that it all fell into place for me. Skylar is me in many ways, and her journey mimics mine.
I hope you enjoy it!
Cheers,
K.N. Lee
1
I was supposed to be sleeping.
Gwynn and Mckenna snored softly on the pile of blankets that covered the creaky wooden floor of our living room fireplace, while I sat up staring out the window at the odd, red sky.
In all of my eighteen years, I’d never seen the sky that shade before; crimson, with trails of white that resembled lightning. But, there wasn’t a storm, or thunder, and the moon was brighter than ever.
Frowning at it, my stomach grumbled so loudly that I feared it would awaken them. I drank some water, hoping it would quench the ever-nagging hunger that plagued me every single day of the five miserable years since the gods had returned left the world absent of every great invention it had once developed.
I remembered great power; electricity, cars, airplanes, cell phones, and every possible luxury and convenience. I also remembered the weapons, and those who owned them—how their hate and greed nearly destroyed the entire world.
Perhaps the gods were right in sending us back to the Dark Ages.
I knew I should sleep, and drown out the hunger with dreams of Chinese buffets and cute pizza delivery guys bringing hot pies to my front door. It had been so long since our table had been filled with food. After Darren and our parents died, I was left as the protector of my small family. As farmers, we were better off than most after the lights went out, and grocery stores became looted graveyards of past memories.
I was only a child back then, but a smart one—a resilient one. In the beginning of the aftermath, I sold everything we could afford to lose for the essentials we needed to survive, but it was never enough and there were still a few weeks of winter left before the land would grant us with fresh food again.
“Skylar, where are you going?” Mckenna asked, big blue eyes staring at me from the darkness.
Stark white hair shone from over her pale shoulders in waves—hair like mine. The three of us could have been twins, if I hadn’t been born two years earlier than them. It was the most recognizable traits of our muddled line of extraterrestrial blood.
Starseed was the title humans gave to those who had bloodlines from distant planets and galaxies. We were rare, and feared. Perhaps that’s why my sisters and I hadn’t been bothered at all by the full-blooded humans, even when we were here all alone on a rural farm.
“Out,” I said, simply, and she narrowed her eyes.
As she began to stand, I sighed.
“I’m coming with you,” she said.
I crossed the room and took her narrow face into my hands. How I hated to see the effects of near-starvation on my sister’s face and frame.
With a broken heart, I kissed her on the forehead and let my lips linger on her dry skin for a moment as I fought tears.
“No, you must stay here with Gwynn. I’ll be fine. I’ll even call Orion to join me,” I said, hoping to soothe her worries.
“Okay,” she said, nodding. “As long as you take Orion with you.”
As a fifteen-year old, she acted as though she was the oldest—like she was the mother of the three of us.
I loved them both fiercely.
That’s why I ventured out that fateful night.
I smoothed her hair, forcing a smile. “Of course. He’s always a call away. Just like the old days.”
She returned the smile, and settled back onto the makeshift bed where we all felt safe and secure by the crackling fire.
“I’ll be back before you awaken. Hopefully, with fresh meat for breakfast.”
That made Mckenna’s smile widen. “Be safe, Skylar,” she said, and closed her eyes.
I breathed in a heavy sigh and turned to leave the house.
I tensed at the sound of branches breaking in the distance outside our window. Stifling a startled gasp that would surely frighten Mckenna, I caught a glimpse of movement out of the corner of my eye. I shot a frightened look in its direction.
Slowly standing, I slipped on my boots and tugged on a heavy coat.
Food.
Whatever animal made that noise and those tracks in the snow would feed us for days.
I tip-toed over the sleeping bodies of what was left of my family and grabbed my father’s old crossbow. He’d taught me how to use it when I was as young as eight, and I’d become quite good at it.
Now that he was gone, it seemed I was the only one brave enough to take chances and do what needed to be done for survival. War had destroyed our lives and the world around us. It had taken my father, mother, and brother, but that didn’t mean we should stop trying.
That’s not what they would have wanted.
Armed with only a crossbow and the ancient powers passed down from a galaxy far away, I slipped out the door and into the frigid air.
2
The crunch beneath my boots was too loud in my sensitive ears, but it didn’t stop me from pushing forward.
The forest was thick, and dark, with tightly-knit trees clustered together. Some of the exposed roots made it difficult to navigate the forest floor, but my sight was better than any humans.
I could see the lifeline of the trees and everything around me as I crossed the forest with ease. The dim light that surged through the tree roots and sleeping animals was enough to light a path for me—one that led to a small wooden house the size of a miniature playhouse for children.
Ivy grew along the dark wood, and I’d decorated it with flowers when I’d created it.
I settled onto the ground before it and gave it a little knock.
Out of the front door came a small fairy with
thick black wings, dark hair, and big eyes the color of the sunset.
“Orion,” I said, pleased to see his little face.
He peered up at me through shiny hair and frowned. “Up a bit late, aren’t you?”
Shrugging, I glanced toward the sky. “Night is when I’m most at home.”
“The stars,” he said, and I nodded.
“Yes. Exactly.”
“What brings you to my part of the woods?”
A shrill cry broke out in the quiet of the forest—a cry from the direction I’d just left from.
An icy chill raced up my spine as I stood from my spot on the snow-covered forest floor.
“What was that?” I whispered, narrowing my eyes as I gazed through the trees toward the main road that curved down the hill toward my farm.
Orion’s flew up to my left shoulder and settled there, peering ahead.
“I’ll take a look,” he said, and his eyes began to glow.
Those ethereal eyes landed on me after a few moments of quiet and the distant howling of the wind.
“They’ve come,” he said, his small voice merely a whisper in the cold night.
I knew it. I didn’t want to admit it—but, I knew they would come one day.
The Council of Souls—the founding force behind the great Academy of Souls that loomed over all from its mountain-top series of castles and medieval buildings.
I closed my eyes. A slow breath was released from my lungs as I prepared myself for what was about to happen.
The war had taken much from me and my family. Now, it would take me from what was left of them.
The sound of trotting horses grew closer and I opened my eyes to see glowing lights from the carriage.
“I won’t let them separate us.”
“I know, Skylar. All will be fine,” Orion said.
“Should I run?” I asked, desperate for an answer other than what was about to happen.
He shook his head, and placed a small hand on my cheek. “They’d find you. No matter where you’d hide.”
I knew he was right, even as the lights emerged from the trees and right toward me.
To my surprise, it wasn’t a small army that had come to take me.
It was one man—a young man with dark hair and glowing orbs floating around his body.
Eyes the color of rust looked to me as he scanned the surroundings. Then, he reached out a hand.
“Skylar, daughter of the traitors, Victor and Kelsey Thronton, I’m Rhys, son of King Darren of the Silver District.”
“I wish I cared,” I said, tilting my head as I looked at him, face free of emotion. It took everything within me to not ball my hands into fists at the mention of my parents being traitors.
Orion tsked. “Easy now, Sky.”
An amused smile came to Rhys’s lips—a smile that only angered me more. Why did he have to have such a nice face to look at? Why didn’t they send one of the old bastards they liked to parade around whenever it was time to account for the poor souls in the district?
This guy couldn’t have been much older than his early twenties, dressed in a sleek black wool coat with golden buttons, and dark slacks. He had a sword at his side, and looked like he knew how to use it.
It didn’t frighten me. I could also wield a sword…amongst other things.
“You’ve been summoned,” he said, disregarding my retort.
Every inch of my body tensed. Despite my odd attraction to the man before me, I wanted to run. I wanted to gather my sisters and escape into the deepest part of the woods, or a cave somewhere remote.
I didn’t want what fate had in store.
I didn’t want to save the world.
The world had taken everything from me.
Let it burn.
3
Set above a mountain that overlooked the frozen city below, the Academy of Souls was once a scenic destination for all who toured Prague.
Even in the desolate cold of the long winter, the cream and gold of the palace’s siding shone beneath the dreary gray skies.
I tried to imagine what it once looked like with the sun shining onto it, how its rays would reflect off of the golden plates and glass windows.
Throughout the long journey from my farm to the Old District, I’d passed the time by either staring at the handsome human before me, to looking out the window at the threads of life-force within the trees and vegetation. Once we came to town, I could even see the glowing life-force of sleeping humans inside of their homes.
It must be very odd for normal humans to live without such beauty.
When we arrived via battery-powered car, snow flakes and wind blew all around us.
Rhys stepped out of the car, and reached a hand out for me.
“I’ll show you to your room,” he said.
Instead of accepting his hand, I climbed out of the back and brushed past him.
“My prison,” I corrected.
With a sigh, his brows furrowed. “You are not a prisoner, Skylar. But, you could quickly become one if you choose to be difficult.”
I gave a bitter grin. “Oh, you’re making it seem as though I have a choice. You took me from the only family I have left.”
“And, they will be cared for,” he said. “In exchange for your service to the greater good.”
That made me scoff. “Greater good. That’s priceless. You want me to help the very people who killed my parents and brother.”
“No,” he said, stepping closer. He stood so close that our chests nearly touched, and I found the air in my lungs scarce as I tilted my head to look up and into his eyes.
“You, and the other recruits are the world’s only hope for saving the planet. We have to get things back to normal, and with your power and divine knowledge, we can put the world back together.”
My smile widened, but hate burned in my gaze. “So you humans can screw it all up again. Brilliant plan.”
With that, I sidestepped him and began up the stone steps toward the large double doors made of brass.
“Come on then,” I said. “Show me my room.”
I delighted in watching him purse his lips and join me on the platform.
Two guards waited outside the main doors, with their swords sheathed and their armor polished. Thinking back to my ancient history books, I found it amazing how those with magic thrived off of life without the modern advances of the humans, and were happy with the same weapons and styles of their ancient predecessors.
How fitting it was now, in a world without the modern advances it had once prided itself with.
Once we stepped inside, the air in the room wrapped around me, with a reminder of times past. I couldn’t quite place where I’d felt that sensation, or when, but the familiarity left me a bit aghast.
For a moment, I stood there completely still, gawking at the impressive open space before me, and the two staircases that led to the higher levels. Directly ahead was a long hallway that went through a room lit with torches, and had walls lined with art.
I shuddered, and frowned as I struggled to remember something—something that felt important.
Rhys put a hand on my shoulder, startling me. I jerked awake, as if from a dream, and looked at him.
“You all right, Skylar?”
I swallowed, and nodded. “Perfectly fine,” I said.
We walked into the quiet entryway, and I handed my coat to a meek young woman with large bifocals. She scurried away, to a coat room, and Rhys led the way.
“You’re on level 4,” he said, and we began to ascend the winding staircase.
I followed him up the carpeted stairs and glanced at the elaborate chandelier in between the two staircases.
“Looks a bit like the castle in Beauty and the Beast,” I said, running my hand along the smooth wooden railing.
He glanced over his shoulder. “Bit of a movie fan, are you?”
I shrugged. “Used to be.”
He didn’t reply. Probably tired of my attitude.
&n
bsp; I didn’t mind.
We walked in silence up four flights of stairs and stopped on the floor that was labeled.
Keepers.
Lifting a brow, I stared at the title. Did they truly categorize their students in such a way?
“Tell me something, Rhys,” I said, tracing the embossed letters of the word on the golden plate with my finger. “Did your father know what he was doing when he executed my family? Did he know how big of a mistake that was?”
Rhys spun me around, and for the first time since we’d met, his eyes burned with a ferocity that nearly made me shriek.
His fingers pressed into my upper arms and he brought me close. “Enough of this, Skylar. What is in the past must remain there. What our parents did has nothing to do with us.”
I frowned at him, and spoke softer than I’d meant to. “But, it does,” I said. “It affects my every waking hour.”
Tears burned my eyes, and I hated them for it. When he noticed them, the harsh lines in his face softened, and he released me.
“Let’s get you to your room before the sun rises. You’re going to need your rest.”
I stood there for a moment, angry with myself for crying. I suppose I held it in for so long, not wanting to fall apart in front of my sisters. With a deep breath, I wiped the tears from my eyes, and turned to him.
“Very well,” I said, and he led me to a room at the end of the hallway.
Once inside, I sat on the single bed and stared at the moon from outside the narrow window. The room wasn’t anything special, considering it was in an actual palace. The walls were bare, except for two shelves on either side, a small window, a closet, and a wardrobe.
