The Trials of Blackbriar Academy

by Olivia Ash

  “Ha! You didn’t—”

  He firmly presses on one shoulder this time, from my right. I catch myself mid-fall. “Counts.”

  I narrow my eyes at him. “What if I didn’t fall?”

  He shrugs. “I knew you would. Answer the question.”

  “Nope. I feel like that was a cheat and earns me my own question.” My thighs start to burn, and I lift up out of my stance for a moment. This one, I refuse to back down on. He cheated. Fair is fair.

  “Return to your stance,” he says, looking away from me.

  I shake my head. “Nope. Not until you give me one question.”

  “I knocked you over,” he said pointing a finger at me.

  I arch an eyebrow. “After you asked your second question.”

  “But I did make you lose your balance.” He faces me, and dammit, I love the sight of him. All that brooding sexiness.

  I shake my head. “Doesn’t count if you asked the question before hand.”

  He laughs, although it looks like he’s trying to keep himself from doing so, twisting away and covering his mouth. But his shoulders shake. And that’s all the tell I need.

  “You’re laughing at me?” It comes out flat, and though I want it to be an accusation, it comes out more curious than accusing.

  Facing me again, he says, “Fine. One question.”

  I nod. “Good. How long have you been at this school?”

  He shakes his head, and he is genuinely smiling. “That’s it? That’s your burning question?”

  I shrug. “Sort of. Figured that was the safer one of the thousands running through my head.”

  “I’m entering my last year.”

  Huh. He’s going to be leaving soon then. Bummer.

  “Now, answer my question.”

  “Seriously?”

  He nods, lips pressed into a firm line.

  I groan. “No. I went to live with my aunt. The trolls came after that.”

  Once again, I go into a horse stance, and before he can shove me, I adjust, placing my right foot slightly farther back and bending less at the knees.

  He circles behind me and shoves me on my shoulders again. I don’t fall this time, but I stumble. I roll my eyes. He’s going to count this as a win for him.

  “When did the trolls come then?” he asks.

  Called it.

  I sigh. “They kidnapped me in the middle of the night not long after I went to stay with my aunt. I think it was less than a month.”

  He walks in front of me with a perplexed expression knitting his eyebrows together. “Trolls kidnapped you?”

  “You didn’t knock me over, but yes.”

  I can see what he is doing. He’s trying to find that reason to keep being an ass to me. He’s desperate to find something to hate me for. And I can tell he’s finding it difficult to do.

  “Fair enough.” He pushes me.

  I start to fall back. He grabs my arm before I hit the ground and pulls me to him. I’m pinned to his body as mine quakes with unhinged desire. I bite the corner of my bottom lip and look him in the eyes. Those beautiful, intense, amber eyes.

  He’s searching my eyes for something I can only guess at, but I assume it’s to see if I’m lying. Yet, I can’t help but feel like there is more than that. He’s cautious, sure, but the way his eyes brighten just a fraction, the depth and searching within them, I know there’s something happening between us.

  Keeping me pinned to him with one arm, he uses his free hand to wipe a strand of copper-red hair from my face.

  I can break free from his grip now. But frankly, I don’t want to.

  There should be a law against how good this feels.

  Completely criminal.

  He clears his throat and blinks away his gaze, releasing me to the colder world around me, even with the heat of my magic coursing through me. “Let’s try some more defensive offense tactics with your magic.” His voice is commanding with a hard edge. He must have seen something in my eyes for this one-eighty in mood.

  I lift an eyebrow at the sudden change but prepare to do as he asks.

  “I’m going to shoot magic at you. I want you to avoid it by either using a shield, dodging, or both. If you do both, I want you to also counter attack me.”

  I nod and conjure my magic, feeling it pool into my hands. Once I’m ready, I nod again.

  He fires off a flame, stretching toward me like a whip. I block the snap by forming my magic into a small shield and dodge-roll to my right. As I come up to my feet, I launch a ball of light toward him.

  “Very good. Truly, that was impressive.”

  I gawk at him for a moment. That’s two. This one sounded more genuine than stemmed in surprise.

  Well color me shocked.

  The last two times we trained together, there was a change. I could see it. But it seems like the more time we spend together, the more his seeming impenetrable wall chips away. I don’t understand why, considering he was extremely adamant about hating me.

  The exercise is repeated several times. And the more we go through it, the more distracted I become by everything.

  When I shoot off my ball of light in my counter attack, I graze Soren’s arm.

  “What the hell, woman? You had this down pat.” His voice is sharp and right back to the cold tone he has used with me before. He shakes his head. “Do we need to start this over? How many times do I have to tell you to pay attention and be careful!”

  Then again, maybe his sexy, suave, softness was all in my head.

  Jesus, woman. Take cold showers from now on.

  With my magic and the way it reacts to him and the other three, I’m a ball of raging lust. And I cannot afford to keep getting distracted.

  “I’m sorry, Soren,” I say as he paces in front of me.

  He looks to me and makes a double-take before stopping and facing me with his arms across his chest. “I accept your apology.”

  He still sounds angry. But that’s an improvement from before.

  His eyes scan the sky above us and the growing shadows around us and he says, “Let’s call it for the night. You did well.”

  “Okay, thank you.”

  He nods once as he passes by me and I spin to watch him walk away. I marvel at the way my magic urges me forward, to stay closer to him. But the warmth dwindles and so does the need. Once he is fully out of sight, I head inside. I had just been given some extra time, and there is an issue I’ve been needing to check up on.

  I just hope Professor Lawrence isn’t there when I show up.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  I don’t have much time. Soon, the halls will be clear of traffic and that will make for sneaking through them a bit more difficult. Because I’m used to sneaking through trees and using the shadows to my advantage. Empty hallways with nothing to use as cover makes being hidden much, much more difficult.

  But I make it to Professor Lawrence’s office and am standing outside the door. I strain to hear anything behind the door and tap on it just in case he’s in there. There’s no answer. Carefully, I twist the knob and push the door in just a few inches, enough to peek inside and glimpse all the curious things in the room.

  As I open the door a bit wider, I see the room is empty and, as quickly and quietly as I can, step inside and close the door behind me.

  I run through a couple of excuses in my mind, just in case he shows up and catches me here. But if I’m quick enough, he will never know I was here.

  His hiding something from me about my family is obvious. Whether he feels he’s sparing me from some type of pain or if he has sinister intentions, I deserve to know the truth, whatever it may be. And in my experience, when someone conceals the truth, more than likely, they have bad intentions.

  I have no idea what I’m looking for specifically in his office, but I know I want—need—to find out more about this man that gave me his only invitation to participate in the trials for admission into Blackbriar Academy. I know an answer is here. I just have to find
it.

  I scan the books on the bookshelves and then move to the extremely organized desk. There’s a locked drawer, with no key in sight, and I wonder what could be in there and wish I had some semblance of lockpicking skills. Still, that doesn’t stop me from grabbing a couple of paperclips and unbending them to try.

  The lock doesn’t even budge.

  I chew on the corner of my bottom lip and desperately try to figure out what I’m missing. It dawns on me.

  The closets.

  I go to the one on the left, but it’s just used for storage of boxes filled with random files on previous students, including their transcripts, classes, photos, and samples of work. There’s nothing in here that is useful to me, so I move on to the other door, the one with the strange lock, and I can’t open it.

  This piques my curiosity.

  I know he has something behind this door, and I want to not only find out what, but why it’s locked away. What’s worth keeping locked up within a school? He lives here, as do the other professors and staff… but this isn’t a bedroom. Though I can’t be sure how, I feel it deep down inside me.

  So far, this trip has been a whole lot of nothing in terms of evidence to support my suspicions, but this is only the first time. I plan to come back, again and again, until I find something of use. Especially, to get inside this door. Whatever I’m looking for, I have a feeling that it rests on the other side.

  Some shuffling and popping sounds come from the other side and I know that if I don’t hide, right now, I’m as good as caught, and I’m not the best at lying about why I’m in his office.

  I quickly duck under the desk and wait as my heart pounds hard against my chest.

  The door opens and closes a short moment later.

  I hold my breath, praying to whoever is listening that the professor doesn’t decide to come and sit at his desk. Because I would be caught, and it would be a lot harder to explain why I’m hiding under his desk more than it would be to explain away me loitering in his office.

  The lower half of the professor comes into view, and he seems to just stand there for a moment.

  Panic starts to course through my veins.

  The only thought in my mind is I’m caught, and now I have to worry about what is going to happen next. The only way this could end is poorly. I may get expelled, have my memories toyed with, or any other number of things that could have disastrous results.

  My lungs ache for breath. Burning to exhale and bring in another inhale. Tingling fills my limbs and my ears fill with the pounding of my heart. So loud, drowning out all other sounds.

  Finally, Professor Lawrence turns around and leaves my view.

  Before long, the office door clicks open and closed. The lock is engaged, and I settle under the desk, poking my head around the edge of the desk to see if it’s really clear. A dark rim lines my vision as I strain to check the rest of the room.

  As soon as I see that I’m alone, I let out my breath and gasp for oxygen.

  That was close.

  Too close.

  I rush to the door and wait a few moments before slowly twisting the lock. I don’t want to make a sound in case someone is out in the hall. Most of all, Deacon. There’s a small grinding sound as the lock disengages. I roll my eyes and pause to listen for any signs of someone in the hall waiting to catch me.

  There’s nothing but calm silence.

  Turning the knob, I repeat the same motions as I did when I came in by inching the door open enough to peak into the hall. Empty. Good.

  I step into the hall and carefully close the door before making it back to my room. And as soon as I’m on the other side of the door, I lean against it and work on catching my breath.

  Jesse takes a seat on the side of his bed and plasters on his devilish smile. He quirks an eyebrow and says, “Well, well. Look at what the cat dragged in. What sort of mischief have you been up to, kitten? More importantly, why wasn’t I invited?”

  I level my gaze on him. “What are you talking about?”

  “I’m talking about what you were just up to before you came in here looking like you did some rule breaking.” His voice is gravelly and deep.

  “Nope,” I say. My heart is just now starting to settle, and I absorb the cooling effect my magic takes on while around Jesse.

  His smile widens and he says, “I still owe you a demonstration. Shall I begin now?”

  “What?” It comes out flat. I can’t help but wonder what he means.

  He leans back on his elbows. “Come now, darlin’. I have a specific skill set that could come in handy. All you have to do is ask.”

  I shake my head and make my way to my own bed, taking a seat and tucking my legs under me. “Why would I do that?”

  He shrugs. “Curiosity killed the cat. However, I’m told that satisfaction brought him back.”

  There is a dangerous glint to his eyes and it’s not frightening but alluring. I can’t help it, I’m curious. My cheeks warm, despite the cooling effects he has on my magic.

  This guy is just too much sometimes. I shake my head, trying to hide the smile on my face, but it’s no use.

  “So, how about it? Wanna find out exactly what I can do?” he asks, as he stares at me through partially-closed eyelids, alluring and captivating.

  I take a moment to try and find a reason not to, but honestly, I don’t. “Sure.”

  He sits up and levels his unwavering gaze on me.

  There is a shimmering haze that fills my vision before clearing slightly, and he stands and walks to me. He stops right in front of me and holds out a hand to me. My gaze moves between his hand and his eyes. He nods. I don’t know what he is going to do or why, but something within me wants to throw caution to the wind and enjoy the moment with careless abandon. I don’t fully know him, or really have complete trust in him, but I have no reason to believe that he will do anything to jeopardize our budding relationship.

  So, I take his hand.

  He pulls me into him, brushes my hair from my face, allowing the warm softness of his skin to seep into mine as he brushes the back of his fingers across my cheek.

  I’m caught in his eyes, wondering what is going on in his mind and marveling at the sharp angles of his jaw covered in stubble. His lips are inviting and promise to be just as delicious as they look, and I’m overcome with the desire to kiss him.

  As if sensing my need, he slips his hand to the back of my head and lowers his mouth to mine.

  The kiss is soft at first, slowly increasing in speed and passion until I’m out of breath.

  I snap back with a jump.

  A pinch forms in my forehead as I try to figure out what the hell just happened.

  I’m sitting in the same position I was in before and Jesse looks like he’s never moved but has a shit-eating grin stretching his lips.

  “What the…”

  He says, “That’s my gift.” His eyes widen and he makes a grand gesture in front of him. “The power of illusion.”

  “Wait,” I say, breathless, “that was all in my head?”

  He bows as he sits on his bed, acting like a magician on a stage who just finished his performance.

  I laugh. “Wow.”

  “I aim to please,” he says, leaning back on the bed on an elbow and bending a knee to rest a single foot on the bed. “Now, what were you up to, you sneaky little devil?”

  I arch an eyebrow and shake my head. Some things are better kept as secrets. But somehow, in the midst of it all, two things have become clear to me. One: Jesse isn’t going anywhere, and two: everything is somehow going to end up okay.

  “I can drag it out of you,” he says, voice full of challenge.

  “Good luck with that.” I stand from the bed and grab a fresh set of pajamas. “I’m going to go shower. Behave yourself.”

  He places a hand on his chest and makes an undignified expression. “I’m a perfect little angel.”

  I chuckle as I make my way to the bathroom. “Uh-huh. Sure, you are.”r />
  I lock the door behind me in case that ‘perfect little angel’ decides to show his horns. Bringing the tips of my fingers to my lips, I think about the kiss and how real it felt. The way the coolness of his mouth danced with mine was expert level heat.

  Everything about the kiss seemed real. I shake the sensations and the left-over imagery from my mind and turn the shower to full-blast cold. That ought to clear my mind enough to get some sleep.

  Still, that was a neat little look into his power and the things he can do.

  Well played, Jesse Taylor.

  Well. Played.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  There he is.

  I felt him before I saw him. That icy tingling that burns as much as it cools.

  Milo Moreau. The sexy book worm I have missed since our last encounter. I smile to myself as he keeps his focus on his book, head cocked to the side, dangling strands of blond hair over the side of his glasses.

  After my morning training session with Soren, I need some time in the beautiful library, but I wasn’t expecting to see him. I hoped I would. But I didn’t expect it.

  He doesn’t seem to feel me. At least, not like I can feel him. If he does, he’s too pulled into his book to notice.

  I smile as I watch him a moment longer before walking over and sitting at the desk.

  He finally looks up, and as soon as his eyes connect with mine, he smiles. I damn near melt.

  “Wren, I thought I wouldn’t see you again,” he says, casting his book to the side.

  I giggle. “Why did you think that?”

  He shrugs and pushes his glasses up on his nose. “I, uh, haven’t seen you here. Thought maybe I scared you off?”

  “Oh, no! I have been busy with the trials and training with my mentor. That’s all. I’m actually really happy to see you.” I smile.

  “Really?” He smiles, cheeks reddening a little as he runs a hand through his hair and shifts in his seat.

  He’s so freaking cute. I really don’t think he knows that about himself.

  “Yeah. So, how have you been?” I ask.

  “I’m okay. You?”

  “Good.”