Zodiac Academy: The Awakening: An Academy Bullymance (Supernatural Bullies and Beasts Book 1)

by Caroline Peckham

  Top marks for making more friends, Tory.

  “I can have any girl I like. Why would I be interested in looking at images of you?” Darius growled, his deep tone sending a shiver down my spine.

  I raised my hands in mock surrender. “Hey dude, you’re the one with naked photos of me, not the other way around. And you can’t have any girl you like. Because that’s a hard no from me. But you may as well enjoy the fantasy you’re creating with those images because I can assure you that you’ve got zero chance of getting your hands on the real thing.”

  A couple of the guys sniggered in amusement before quickly schooling their expressions.

  Darius’s lips pressed into a thin line and I backed out of the room before he decided to burn my clothes off again or humiliate me in some other way. Did I actually manage to get the last word there?

  I ran down the steps with a smile tugging at my mouth and headed straight out into the sunshine before heading for The Orb where I was set to meet Darcy for breakfast.

  When I arrived in the huge bronze dome, I looked around until I spotted my sister sitting at a table slap bang in the middle of the room. It was to the left of the huge fire pit while the Heir’s favourite red couch sat to its right. For a moment I wondered why the hell she’d chosen that spot then noticed the tall A.S.S. girl sitting beside her.

  Darcy smiled knowingly as she noticed me, her usual morning perkiness a welcome reminder of all the breakfasts we’d always shared. She beckoned me over to join her and I navigated the sprawling layout of couches and tables which filled the circular space.

  Sofia and Diego sat with her, the latter wearing his trademark beanie hat and I couldn’t help but wonder why he was allowed to couple it with the preppy uniform.

  The A.S.S. girl perked up as she spotted me coming and suddenly I was surrounded by a flurry of scraping chairs as people at all of the surrounding tables scrambled to their feet.

  I fell still behind the chair across from my sister, frowning at the group of around thirty students who now all stood staring at me.

  None of them seemed inclined to do anything other than stare and I slowly sank into my chair, looking to Darcy for an explanation.

  As soon as my ass hit the seat, the onlookers all sat down again too.

  “What the-”

  “I’m Geraldine Grus,” the tall girl gushed, lowering her head as she reached for my hand across the table. “And I am so delighted to meet you Queen Roxanya!”

  I withdrew my hand before she could claim it. “Oh hell no,” I began but she cut me off again.

  “The Almighty Sovereign Society just want to make sure that you are afforded the proper respect and courtesy as you navigate your return to the Fae world,” she explained, her voice prim and proper despite her muscular build which could give a lot of men a run for their money. “If you need anything at all, you need only ask.”

  “Right.” I offered her a tight lipped smile before raising an eyebrow at Darcy.

  My sister smirked knowingly before pushing a plate she had filled for me across the table. It was piled high with croissants and fruit and I reached for it with a groan of longing. I decided I’d ignore our current company in favour of demolishing my food.

  “I dunno if I tell you often enough how much I love you, Darcy,” I said.

  She smirked, pushing a mug of coffee my way too and I descended on it, sighing in total bliss.

  “You know you make sex noises over your food, right?” Sofia teased.

  “No I don’t,” I countered as I placed my mug down and lifted a pastry to my mouth. “I’m a lot louder than that in bed.”

  Diego spluttered on his coffee, hacking his guts up as Darcy laughed. Geraldine seemed caught between looking scandalised and smiling but my opinion of her went up a notch when she released a snigger.

  “Too much information, Tory,” Diego said in disgust once he’d recovered and I laughed.

  “I could put that information to the test if you like?” a voice came from behind me and Sofia looked over my shoulder with wide eyes.

  Before I could turn to face him, Caleb’s hand landed on my shoulder, his fingertips walking up my neck.

  I jerked away from him, facing him with a scowl.

  “Let me guess, the leech is here for breakfast too?” I snarled, trying to front him out despite the trickle of fear that his touch elicited. A rustle of tension went through the A.S.S. crowd around me but they seemed unsure about getting involved with the Heir.

  “Tempting.” Caleb brushed my hair over my shoulder delicately and I pointedly ignored the shiver which danced over my skin as his fingertips caressed me.

  He leaned down and I refused to flinch away as his lips brushed my neck and he inhaled deeply. There was no point in me trying to fight him off despite how much I wanted to, he’d only pin me to the ground in front of everyone again. As I’d turned this situation over in my mind last night, I’d come to the decision to weather his attacks with as much dignity as I could muster. I’d put up with him biting me until I could figure out how to stop him for myself. Until then, running or trying to fight him off only made me look stupid.

  “But I’m still full from yesterday,” he breathed before placing a kiss against my skin. I flinched at the weirdly intimate gesture and turned to glare at him as he stayed put in the space three inches away.

  “If you’re not after my blood then why are you still here?” I asked icily, pinning his dark blue eyes with mine.

  “I just didn’t want you to think I’d forgotten you,” he purred, patting my neck like I was a good pet. “Keep it warm for me. I’ll leave you outcasts to your meal.”

  Caleb walked away and we released a collective breath of relief.

  “I half expected him to flip the breakfast table up or something,” Darcy muttered as we watched Caleb weaving his way between the crowded space. Everyone moved aside for him. Some people even bowed their heads in deference. What the hell was up with that?

  “I don’t think that’s his style,” I grumbled. “He just wants us to be afraid of him. To remind us that we’re at his mercy.”

  “Well let’s hope we get the opportunity to give his toothbrush the Pete treatment,” Darcy suggested and I snorted a laugh.

  “What does that mean?” Diego questioned. Him and Sofia had practically shrunk into the shadows when the Terra Heir had arrived but I could hardly blame them. I wouldn’t have chosen to be on his radar either given the choice.

  “I’d just like to give it a dip in the toilet, that’s all.” Darcy shrugged innocently.

  Sofia opened her mouth, seeming unsure whether to laugh while Diego gave a bark of laughter before quickly checking around to see if anyone had overheard.

  We demolished our breakfast like a pack of starving beasts and I couldn’t help but feel happy about the food in this place. Months of surviving on essential items and basic meals had left a lot to be desired and the cooking in The Orb was exceptional. If I didn’t watch out I knew I’d be gaining weight pretty quickly.

  When the bell sounded to tell us to get to our first class of the day, Darcy and I said goodbye to our new friends and the A.S.S. and headed towards our first Water Elemental lesson.

  Geraldine had told us she’d be in our class, but luckily for us she’d forgotten something in her room so we wouldn’t have to walk there with her.

  After Darcy’s run-in with the Heirs last night, I could tell she wasn’t looking forward to taking a class with some of them present but there wasn’t much we could do about it. And at least this time we’d be facing them together.

  We followed the directions on Darcy’s Atlas which led us to the west of the grounds. We began to follow a winding stream before crossing over a stone bridge into an area filled with burbling brooks, ponds and swaying reeds. The path weaved between the various water sources and the sound of dripping and gurgling filled the air alongside a heavy layer of moisture which misted against my skin.

  We passed by Aqua House on the lake a
nd I eyed the floating island made up of glass pods with interest. There was a symbol above the entrance stopping anyone without the Element of water from entering but that wouldn’t keep us out. The urge to explore the building filled me and I filed it away for a later expedition.

  The path drew us on, passing over more bridges with iron railings and moss clinging to the stonework.

  At the end of the trail, we found ourselves looking at a waterfall which fell over a tumbling rock face. The path disappeared beneath it and I glanced at Darcy in confusion.

  “Is this some kind of mistake?” she muttered, looking at the map on her Atlas again. A flashing star indicated that we were standing right outside our classroom but there was nothing here aside from the waterfall.

  “Come along girls, no time to dilly-dally. The rest of your class have already headed in,” a deep voice came from behind us and I turned to find a man striding towards us. Although ‘man’ wasn’t exactly the right word to describe him. He only wore a pair of super small black shorts to cover his junk and every inch of his exposed, muscular body was covered in iridescent blue scales.

  He stepped towards us, placing a hand on each of our shoulders as he looked down at us. “I’m Professor Washer,” he said kindly. “Are you worried about the class today?”

  “I am a little,” I admitted, immediately wondering why I’d been so forthright with this stranger. The place where his skin met with mine beneath the fabric of my uniform felt warm and oddly comforting and it tingled a little at my admission.

  “And how are you girls settling in? I heard the other Heirs have been giving you a bit of a hard time?” he said, concern lacing his voice.

  I was so surprised to hear one of the teachers acknowledge the awful behaviour of the other students that I didn’t even know how to respond but Darcy beat me to it anyway.

  “They’re horrible,” she admitted, her voice catching a little. “It’s so much to take in, we’ve been ripped out of the life we’ve known and we’re struggling to figure this place out and fit in. And then on top of that to have to deal with the four of them...” Darcy trailed off, looking like she was going to cry and I felt tears spring to my eyes too.

  “There, there,” Professor Washer said as he pulled us both into a hug.

  It should have felt weird to embrace a teacher who was wearing skin tight, tiny trunks and had scales covering his flesh but it was oddly comforting.

  I pressed my cheek to his bare chest as I exhaled deeply, letting go of a whole host of the anguish which had been building up inside me since our arrival.

  I could feel a strange tugging sensation in my chest, kind of like I was using my power reserves somehow but that didn’t make any sense.

  Darcy squeezed Professor Washer tightly beside me and I smiled at her tear-stained face as she glanced at me.

  A bark of laughter pulled me to my senses and Professor Washer released us with a smirk. Max Rigel was looking at us with a highly amused expression on his face and my cheeks flushed with embarrassment as I realised he’d just seen us cuddling our nearly nude teacher. What the hell just got into us? To make matters worse, Darius Acrux sauntered up behind him, his face falling into an amused grin as his gaze turned our way.

  “Thanks for that girls,” Professor Washer said, his voice a little mocking. “Anytime you need a shoulder to cry on, you can come my way.”

  I frowned in confusion as the sense of safety and warmth from his embrace abandoned me and I suddenly realised that I’d been hugging a half naked stranger in the middle of the path.

  “What was that?” I demanded, feeling sure that we’d just fallen prey to something but unsure what.

  The Professor only chuckled, parting the waterfall with a wave of magic as he headed beneath it, leaving us alone with Max and Darius.

  “You two really don’t know anything about our world, do you?” Darius asked, his disgust at that fact clear. “How can you expect to rule over a people you know nothing about?”

  I frowned at Darcy in confusion. All this talk of Heirs and birthrights and claiming power was great but no one had actually asked us what we wanted to do.

  “The Professor is a Siren like me,” Max explained in a tone which suggested he was talking to a pair of children. “We draw energy from our hosts by feeding on their emotions. So I wouldn’t go feeling all mushy over him caring about you. He just drained a shit-load of your power while you cried your little eyes out for him.”

  “You steal people’s energy by sucking out their pain?” Darcy asked.

  I hugged my arms to my chest feeling slightly violated by what had just happened to us.

  “Any emotion will do it so long as we’re maintaining physical contact.” He stepped forward suddenly and I tensed as he reached out to grasp Darcy’s arm. She tried to jerk back but he held her firmly. “I quite like the taste of fear,” Max said darkly as my sister’s eyes flickered uncertainly.

  “Get off of her,” I demanded but he ignored me, shifting his grip on her so that his hand brushed across her chest for a moment.

  “Lust will get the job done too,” he added with a smirk.

  “In your dreams,” Darcy snapped, batting his hand away.

  The two Heirs started laughing as they turned away from us, heading into the space beneath the waterfall, parting the gush of water with their magic just as Washer had.

  “Well that’s screwed up,” Darcy muttered, rubbing her hands over her arms as if she was still trying to banish the feeling of our Professor’s embrace.

  We stepped towards the waterfall and I raised my hands hopefully, trying to make the water part at my command. For a moment nothing happened then suddenly a spray of water slammed into us. I squealed in surprise, jumping back as I stopped trying to harness the magic.

  The waterfall resumed its normal course and I turned to Darcy, laughing as I noticed how drenched she was.

  “Well at least I’m making a habit of this,” she said ruefully. “Maybe I’ll make it my signature look.”

  “It definitely makes for a change,” I agreed, swiping my wet hair back out of my eyes.

  “Shall we just run through as we’re already soaked?” she suggested.

  “May as well,” I agreed, offering her my hand.

  She took it with a grin and we ran beneath the water together, screaming as we were doused with the freezing flow. We emerged in a cave on the other side and I released my hold on Darcy as we headed for the patch of light at the far end of it.

  Professor Washer was waiting for us as we squelched out of the cave in our soaking uniforms. “Minus five points for Ignis and Aer for failing to navigate the waterfall. It’ll be the same every time you two fail to make it to my class dry. Although those transparent shirts will give the boys a thing or two to look at...”

  I arched an eyebrow at him. Turned out Mr Touchy-Feely wasn’t one for genuine emotional connections. He’d taken what he wanted from us and fallen straight into pervy douchebag mode. It kinda reminded me of a few guys I’d dated who seemed great all the time that they were trying to get in my pants and then turned out to be straight-up assholes come sunrise. Note to self, no more emotional donations to Siren Dickwad.

  “Are you staring at me for a reason?” he asked. “Because if you want another cuddle I’m up for it.”

  “Ergh, no thanks,” I said, not bothering to hide my disgust as Darcy recoiled beside me.

  Washer’s mouth fell into a thin line. “Well then, if you’re not changed and in the pool in three minutes that’ll be five more points off each.”

  We hurried past him, entering a door to his left which led to the female locker room. A couple of girls were leaving as we entered and I upped my pace as I realised we were the last ones.

  Once again bags hung on the hooks with our training outfits awaiting us and I quickly shed my saturated uniform for a deep blue bathing suit with the Aqua symbol emblazoned across the midriff. It had a plunging neckline which showed off way more cleavage than seemed appropr
iate for lessons and rode high over my hips as well as revealing a good chunk of my ass.

  “Do you think the Professor chose this uniform?” Darcy asked, wrinkling her nose in disgust as she attempted to cover her chest with her hair.

  “I think I’ve worn bikinis with more material,” I agreed.

  “Thirty seconds!” Washer’s voice came from outside and we ran from the locker room before he could dock us any more points.

  I slowed as we emerged outside. The ‘pool’ was in fact a huge area filled with crystal blue water interspersed with caves, islands, bridges and even slides. It looked like something from a luxury holiday brochure and yet seemed weirdly natural too, the banks lined with bright green plants and trees swaying around the outskirts.

  Professor Washer was standing in the water, his blue scales glimmering wetly as it lapped around his shins. The freshmen were lined up along a sandy shore before him and we hurried to join them as he began to speak.

  On the far side of the pool, the older students were practicing wielding their water magic and I watched them firing bursts of liquid at each other and creating shapes which danced across the surface.

  Geraldine spotted us and bowed so low that her face ended up underwater. I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cringe and I quickly gave my attention back to the Professor.

  “Today we are going to focus on building your understanding of our Element,” Washer was saying. “In many ways, water is the most unpredictable and changeable of all the Elements. When subjected to different temperatures it can range from solid to liquid to gas and each of these forms can be used in multiple ways.” He began to explain the various ways that those forms could be put to use but my attention was snared by two figures who were scaling a cliff face at the rear of the pool.

  The cliff was sheer and rocky and I couldn’t quite work out how they were managing to climb it. I nudged Darcy to point them out to her too and a slight frown pulled at her face as we watched Max and Darius make it to the top. Even from this distance I could tell that their bathing suits left as much to the imagination as ours did and the tight shorts clung to their flesh in an indecent way which gave my imagination plenty of ideas. Ideas based on a fantasy of them having decent personalities and not being utterly abhorrent.