Descendants Academy: Young Adult Urban Fantasy

by Belle Malory

  As Xander carried me, I heard the revelry of Folly Promenade and smelled the salty sea in the distance. I didn’t know where he was taking me, but I didn’t care. Even now, that beautiful magic of his was giving me peace. I nuzzled closer into him, letting it move through me, healing the parts that bled open during Breaker’s sorcery session. The guy may be infuriating, but Xander was always around when I needed him.

  Even, I guess, to save me from myself.

  Everything was fuzzy. I remembered asking Xander about Hazel and Jett, and he told me not to worry, that they were safely headed back to Arcadia. I remembered him setting me down on a moped. He was afraid I wouldn’t stay conscious, so he tied my body to his with rope. Good thing too, because I was out almost as soon as he started weaving through the streets, my cheek pressed flat against his back. I woke up again just as he was lifting me off.

  “I can walk.” That was probably not true, but even half-conscious, I wanted to appear capable of handling myself.

  All of that went right out the window the moment I took my first step, landed hard on my knees, and vomited into the sand.

  To Xander’s credit, he didn’t say a word. He just handed me a towel he happened to have handy. I took it and wiped my mouth, feeling better now that whatever was in my stomach was out.

  I looked up. We were at the beach. Waves roared in the distance, sizzling against the shore as seagulls soared overhead, cawing. At first, I thought we might be hitching a ride back to Spring Island, but we’d parked in front of a small white cottage, and there were no boats in sight.

  “Where are we?” My voice was still hoarse from all the screaming I’d done.

  “Lullabry Bungalow,” Xander said, helping me up. He drew my arm around his shoulders, leading me toward the cottage. With his foot, he pushed open the wooden gate. “It belongs to my family.”

  “Wait, your family owns property on Twilight Island?” I raised a brow at him. “The same place you warned me was full of bad decisions waiting to happen?”

  “How do you think I know that?” His voice was teasing. For someone who was furious only a little while ago, he was surprisingly laid back now.

  “Riley gave me a poisonous bracelet,” I said. I needed to give him an explanation, even if he hadn’t asked for one. “It made everything seem more pressing. Like I needed to act fast.”

  Xander stopped, turning to face me. “Does she know about the curse?”

  I shrugged under his arm. “I’m not sure.”

  “Damn.” He let out a breath, then started up the walkway again. “I can see how that would’ve scared you.”

  Up ahead, the door opened, and out stepped Ione. Her arms were crossed over her chest, all the fury I’d been expecting from Xander in her expression. Great. Now there were two Ariuses to contend with.

  “Did you find her in time?” she asked.

  Xander nodded.

  “How did you find me?” I said, as he helped me up the front porch steps.

  “After last night, I figured you would come today. Vanisher always does his runs on the weekends. Then, I ran into Hazel at the port, and she told me everything.”

  Ah, Hazel. I didn’t even blame her for ratting me out. If the situation had been reversed, I would have freaked and done the same.

  Ione moved to hold open the door. “Put her on the sofa.”

  Xander did as she asked, moving me into a small, beach-themed living room with wicker furniture and views of the sea outside the French doors. Propping a pillow behind me, he set me down, then disappeared into the hallway. Moments later, he returned with a blanket and a glass of ice water.

  “Thank you,” Ione said stiffly. “You may leave now.”

  Xander shook his head. “No way—”

  “I said, leave.”

  The lines in his face hardened, and he curled his hands into fists. The two of them had a mini-showdown. Based on the scary as hell look in Ione’s eyes, I kind of hoped Xander would win.

  “What are you planning to tell her?”

  Ione straightened her spine. “Nothing about you,” she said. “But my story is mine to tell.”

  Xander frowned. After a few long, tense moments, he nodded, then left through the front door.

  My stomach twisted in knots. “Look, I already feel like crap,” I said as Ione turned to face me. “Honestly, I get it. I did a really stupid thing.”

  “Drink,” she ordered, nodding to the water. “The sooner you flush the toxins out, the better you’ll feel—and you don’t get the half of it.”

  I did as she instructed, forcing the water down with small sips.

  She sat across from me in one of the wicker chairs and folded her hands in her lap, her face totally unreadable. “Are you hallucinating?”

  I flinched, wondering how she knew about that. “Not anymore. My head is pounding, but I feel more alert than I did earlier.”

  She nodded. “Effects of hiberia. It’s the name of the potion the Curse Breaker gave you. Makes you lose consciousness, and then you begin to hallucinate. Usually, visions only the darkest parts of your soul could conjure.”

  I shivered, remembering Riley’s chilling empty smile. “It made me see things,” I said, my voice scratchy. “Things I know weren’t real, but they felt real.”

  “Hiberia forces the user to face what they’re hiding from. What you saw were your own personal demons.”

  “How do you know so much about it?”

  Ione swallowed. “I underwent the same procedure.”

  I stared at her, horrified. That would mean—

  “Except no one came to stop mine.”

  I didn’t know what to say.

  “I want to tell you about it,” she said, her voice entirely too steady for comfort. We could almost be discussing the weather and not curses. “But first, I need you to promise you will never repeat what’s said in this room.”

  I had a feeling she was about to go somewhere she shouldn’t, and that she was about to say things she couldn’t take back. “You don’t need to explain or tell me anything, Ione.”

  Her gaze sliced into me. “I said promise.”

  I gulped. “Okay. I promise.”

  “Good.” She looked out the glass doors, thinking. “I guess I should start with what you’ve already heard—that the Ariuses are Hollows.”

  Oh God. Here we go, already on subjects we shouldn’t be on. Xander swore he wasn’t one under the ollodipher, and for me, that was enough.

  “It’s half true,” she admitted. “On my father’s side. My mother was unaware when she married him. He didn’t reveal his secrets until they already had children.”

  Well, damn.

  She just let all her family’s dirty laundry out of the bag.

  “By the way, Xander didn’t want you to know any of this. He’s ashamed, but considering your own family history, I feel like you’ll be able to relate. And for whatever reason, I trust you.”

  “Why?” I was genuinely curious. We hadn’t known each other that long.

  Ione shrugged. “It’s an Aphrodite thing, that sense of knowing I told you about, remember?”

  I nodded.

  “Anyway, my father expected my mother to fall into his way of life out of love or god knows what. When she didn’t, he had his family curse me. Either we all submitted and pledged ourselves as Hollows, or I’d be dead within a year’s time.”

  I blinked. “Whoa.”

  “Yes, it was no small deal. In order to create that kind of curse, a life must be taken, which is horrifying to think about…it means the Hollows wanted our pledge so badly, one of them sacrificed themselves to see it through.”

  “That’s crazy.” I shook my head. “Why was your pledge so important to them?”

  “Because they want the most powerful mages in their ranks, to help fight for the freedom to pursue dark magic. But Xander’s was the one they really wanted. He has certain gifts the Hollows desire. They couldn’t get to him, so they used me instead. I was young and naïve,
the perfect victim. When my father brought me to the cursing ceremony, I didn’t even know what was going on. They had my blood, my hair—everything they needed.” She shook herself, curling her hands into fists at her sides. “Who does that to their own child? On Zeus’s grave, I swear that man is a psychopath.”

  I’d never heard Ione speak with that much anger. Her eyes glittered with tears. After several deep breaths, she collected herself, and continued on with the story.

  “Within a few months, the beds of my fingernails turned black and the whites of my eyes yellowed. I didn’t have much time. Mama and I searched for a cure. Just as you did, we came to Twilight Island in secret. We went to a medicine man similar to the Curse Breaker. No one knew, not even Xander.” Her voice began to tremble. “The difference was, my mother kept me ignorant of the bodily sacrifice. Had I known, I would never have agreed to it.”

  Jesus. She wasn’t lying when she said I didn’t get the half of it.

  “Did they take—” I couldn’t seem to push out the words.

  “My womb?” Ione’s gaze sharpened. “Yes. I’ll never have children. Stop with the look of pity, Sheridan. I’m not telling you this to make you feel sorry for me. I’m telling you this as a precautionary tale. After the surgery, I developed an infection. My delusional mother believed it was part of the process, me shedding whatever demons were left over from my father’s curse. By this time, Xander sensed something was wrong. He performed a locator spell, found me here, and asked the local magistrate to institutionalize my mother. Then he brought me to the hospital on Autumn Island.”

  “I’m so sorry, Ione.”

  “The methods were brutal, but the curse was lifted. Was it worth it?” She shrugged, holding her palms up. “I don’t know. Don’t be sorry—be smart. Your curse isn’t as fatal as mine was. And as long as your sister isn’t around, you have time. You have a chance.”

  “What happened to your mother?” I said. “Did she ever get out?”

  “After six months, yes, she did. Our relationship has never been the same though. It’s strange, I’ve always been more hurt by her than my father. I knew he was evil, but mama…I loved and trusted her, and she betrayed that trust.” She shook her head, shrugging. “Xander feels the opposite. He sees our mother as another victim.”

  I could understand why both of them felt the way they did.

  “Thank you for telling me your story, Ione.”

  Her perfect image had shattered, but in the most beautiful way. When I looked at her now, it was obvious she put up a front to hide the pain. At one time, she had been just like me, scared and looking for a way out of impossible circumstances.

  “Just to be clear, this still doesn’t make us friends.”

  I snorted. “Of course not.”

  “You’re unruly, impulsive, and you wear too many ponytails.” She wagged her finger, and my hair shifted this way and that. After a few seconds, my crazy strands were secured into an artful fishtail braid.

  “Oh, that’s pretty,” I said, yawning. Between staying out last night and the day I’d had, my body felt like it weighed a million pounds.

  Ione stood, looking out the French doors at the sea view. “Get some sleep,” she suggested. “By the time you wake, your headache should be gone.”

  I snuggled into the sofa, out within seconds.

  27

  I wasn’t sure how many hours I napped, but Ione was right. When I woke, I felt a million times better, the potion out of my system. Yawning, I blinked and looked around. The clock on the mantle said it was just past nine. The moon glowed bright enough to light the entire beach. I shook my head at the irony. A dim sun, and a full, bright moon. Twilight Island never fully rested.

  “Hungry?” Ione called from the kitchen, where the faint sound of sizzling grew.

  “Starving.” I stood up, stretching. “Do you need any help?”

  “Nope, almost done.”

  The front door opened and closed. Xander walked through, carrying a large box of books. They were stacked so high, it looked close to toppling over. “Ah, good, you’re awake.” He set the box on the floor next to the coffee table. “You look better, too. Ready to thank me yet, damsel?”

  I slit my eyes. The last thing I wanted to do was thank him for coming to my rescue, like a freaking knight in shining armor.

  Xander placed a hand over his heart, trying to appear wounded. “Ah, that’s okay. I know deep down, you’re grateful.” Clearly, he was enjoying every painful second of this. “Even if you never say it.”

  Ugh, I might as well get this over with. “Thank you, Xander.”

  “And you enjoy having me around…”

  “You’re pushing it.”

  He flashed that gorgeous smile of his, somehow pulling off both annoying and swoonworthy at the same time. “Anytime.”

  Ione rounded the corner, carrying a plate stacked full of grilled cheese sandwiches. “And where have you been?”

  “Shopping,” Xander replied, gesturing to the mountain of books.

  Ione set the plate down on the coffee table, then bent down to look through the books. She picked up the first in the stack. “These are all about…oh, I see.”

  Looking eager, Xander steered his gaze on me. “Ione told me about your nifty little ability.”

  “My nifty what?” I was so confused. “Oh, you mean the speed-reading thing.”

  “You’re a bibliomagus, Sheridan,” Ione corrected. “What you can do requires no actual reading. Books speak to you. You’re impressing their information to your mind.”

  Xander handed me one of the books. “The opportune thing about being here on Twilight Island is that they have a shit-ton of occult bookstores, books you can’t find in Arcadia’s library.”

  I looked down, scanning the title: Black Curses, Hexes, and Crossing.

  Almost as soon as I touched it, the thing zapped me. “Ouch,” I said, dropping it. “That is not a nice book.”

  Ione snorted.

  Xander picked up the book, shaking his head. “Neither was the woman who cursed you, but you know what they say—know thy enemy.”

  Ah. I was beginning to see the genius behind his line of thinking. “You want me to search for a counter.”

  He nodded. “Exactly.”

  “Okay,” I said, grabbing a sandwich. “But food first. I need energy."

  A few hours later, I was well versed in dark magic, and I didn’t like it any better than when we started. With each book I touched, I began to understand the draw. There was power in it. It didn’t ask for permission—it just was. Absorbing the knowledge was similar to reading horror novels. Fascinating, but they still left me shaken. These books and I simply didn’t vibe.

  “Anything?” Xander asked, after I put down the last one. He sat next to me on the sofa, while Ione sat cross-legged on the floor. Every time I put down a book, they both stared at me, on edge, waiting to find out what I’d learned.

  My search was disappointing so far. Most of the curses I read about, especially those similar to mine, were created with so much energy, that breaking them was damn near impossible.

  “Well?” Xander said.

  “Don’t ever get on my bad side,” I said, with a teasing wink. “I officially know voodoo.”

  He let out a frustrated breath, then handed me another. “Next.”

  “Wait, she needs a snack break,” Ione said, jumping up. “I’ll make popcorn. I think we have cookies too.”

  Xander’s jaw ticked. “We don’t have time for snack breaks. She needs to get through these before we go back to campus tomorrow.”

  “Relax, Xan.” Ione disappeared into the kitchen, and I heard her shuffling around inside the pantry. “We can’t push her too hard.”

  The microwave powered on and kernels started popping. I wasn’t really hungry, but I’d learned the trick with this bibliomagery stuff was to keep my energy levels high. I could get through more books that way.

  “Am I pushing you too hard?” Xander said, stud
ying me.

  “I’m fine.” And I was, surprisingly. “When I first started doing this, my max was like, four, maybe five books tops, in one sitting. Now I can go longer, especially spaced out like this, and Ione’s snacks do help.” I grinned.

  He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. He looked worried. “You scared me today,” he admitted.

  “I know,” I said, thinking of Ione’s story. Xander had seen really bad shit play out in his family, and in a way, I’d made him relive it. “I’m sorry.”

  “We’ll find a way to break your curse, Sheridan.” He reached out and touched my hand, sending a whirl of his warm magic through it. “I promise.”

  I nodded, knowing that also meant I’d have to let him help. Strangely, I was fine with that. If the situation were reversed, I’d want to help him too.

  A few minutes later, Ione returned with a large bowl of popcorn and a package of Oreos. She set them both down, then made herself comfortable on the floor. “You know, I’ve been thinking,” she said, a gleam in her eyes. “If I were you, I would impress every romance novel I could get my hands on. Do you know what you could accomplish in the mirror realm?” She sighed, thinking about it. “I can’t even imagine. I’m so jealous.”

  I decided to burst her jealousy bubble right then and there. “First of all, you saw in Lilyworth’s class that knowing and doing are two different things. Second, the mirrors won’t even let me pass through yet. I’m still not worthy or whatever.” I tried not to sound bitter but failed. Every time those mirrors remained solid was another reminder that I hadn’t managed to fully fit into this world.

  “It takes time,” Ione said. “You’ll be able to pass through soon enough.”

  “Hey, back to the subject at hand,” Xander said, pushing the next book toward me. “Work your magic, damsel.”

  I snatched it, narrowing my eyes on him. “Just so you know, I resent that nickname—holy bejeezus!” The incoming information was super familiar. My eyes glazed over, and I began combing through the files of my mind, trying to figure out all the details.

  Xander leaned forward. “What are you getting?”