Blessed: Academy of the Seraph

by Brandi Elledge

  I thought about the power I had on lockdown since even before the commander had took a wand to me.

  Looking him in the eye, I said, “I’m not hiding anything.”

  I liked Trev, but I wasn’t ready to show anyone my cards yet. Those girls would eventually see how unimpressed I was with the academy, and once they realized how little I cared to be here, they’d back off.

  Hopefully.

  Trev and I exited the locker rooms at about the same time. He gave me an appreciative look before he let out a low whistle, causing me to blush. This was almost as embarrassing as my almost fist fight. The gym clothes, if you could even call them that, were more like scraps of cloth. Trev’s attire was like all the other boys in the class—black T-shirt and tight shorts like what MMA fighters wore. Girls wore sports bras and tiny shorts that must have been called booty shorts, because nothing should be so little. Supposedly, the outfit was designed to allow free movement without the clothes restraining our motions. Whatever. I was modest and couldn’t help but tug on the shorts every five seconds.

  All the students were gathered in a circle around a wrestling mat. Trev made room for us between two kids. I would have preferred to be on the outside of the circle, but oh well.

  “It looks like we have a few new students. I’m Mr. Montgomery, and what are your names?” he asked.

  I stared at our teacher, who was in his mid-forties, muscles galore, and slightly balding, and found myself the center of attention.

  Trev cleared his throat and saved me from all the questioning eyes by saying in his dripping honey voice, “I’m Trev Butler. I just got here late yesterday from South Georgia, and this is Gabriella.” He put a hand on the small of my back while he smiled down at me. My skin tingled in response. A smile came upon his face, as if he knew exactly what his touch had done to me.

  It was so quiet in that gym that you could have heard a pin drop as Trev just stood there, smiling down at me. I felt myself blushing all the way to the roots of my hair.

  Mr. Montgomery nodded. “Welcome. Okay, students, you are all grouped in this class for one reason. You are either new here or your powers haven’t come to the surface yet, which means we’re not sure what powers you can wield. So, until then, we will be learning some basic combat skills.

  “As of right now, you will learn the basics of fighting without weapons. Classes here are not like normal classes. Once you’ve mastered the requirements, then you will be switched to a harder class.”

  He slapped his hands together. “Now, today in class, we have a special treat. The commander has come to watch and possibly train with you. This is a huge honor, so I expect each of you to be on your best behavior.”

  I groaned as the commander made his way out onto the mat. His green eyes raked the crowd, landing on me for a few seconds, before he continued scanning the remainder of the students. Wouldn’t you know it, Mr. High and Mighty didn’t have to wear these ridiculously tight outfits. He wore a black T-shirt and black cargo pants with army boots.

  Mr. Montgomery clapped his hands again. “Break off into pairs.”

  Trev turned toward me, a slow smile creeping up his handsome face. He wiggled his eyebrows, causing me to laugh, but before he could say anything, the commander was at my side, lightly grabbing my elbow.

  “Why are you here?” he bluntly asked Trev.

  Not one to be intimidated, Trev responded, “Because I can be. Do you have a reason that I shouldn’t be?”

  The commander looked like he wanted to tear Trev apart bit by bit. The atmosphere in the room changed as both guys stared at each other. Trev looked fierce, but the look on the commander’s face had me wilting a little on the inside. There was no doubt about it; the man looked lethal.

  The commander must’ve known they were drawing everyone’s attention because he schooled his facial features as he turned toward me. “You came into the semester a little late.” Like two years late. “I’d prefer you to work with someone who knows what they are doing.”

  Trev crossed his arms over his chest. “I know how to fight.”

  “Is that so?” The commander looked amused. “Nonetheless, Trevean, while you’re under my roof, it’s my rules. You will be working with Thomas.” He pointed to a boy who was six feet tall and nothing but pure muscle. I couldn’t help but wince.

  Trev caught the look and laughed. “Don’t you worry about me, beautiful. If I get any boo-boos, you’ll have to doctor them for me.”

  I rolled my eyes while failing miserably to hide my smile. Trev was such a flirt.

  Still not having released my elbow, the commander steered me away from Trev and to the edge of the mat. That damn humming thing started up again in full force.

  “You’ll be training with me today.”

  “You?” I scoffed. “Uh, why?”

  “Most would be ecstatic to be training with me in hand-to-hand combat.”

  “I would think, by now, you’ve figured out that I’m not most.”

  “Yeah, I’ve witnessed that.”

  I begrudgingly followed him to the edge of the mat as I glanced around at all the kids who had begun to spar with one another. “So, you know Trev? But I thought he was a newbie just like me?”

  “That’s the way it looks, huh?”

  “So, that’s all I’m going to get from you? I mean, obviously, there is some tension between the two of you.”

  “That’s not for you to worry about. You need to worry about why one of your classes is hand-to-hand combat training and the next is weapon training.” Oh, good point. “You missed out on two years. You are way behind.”

  “Tsk, tsk, Commander. My wand lit up a measly green, remember? Who could I possibly be training to fight?”

  He flashed his green eyes to my face. “Listen—”

  My traitorous heart tightened in my chest. Just the sound of his voice did funny things to me.

  “—darken and demons won’t care that you have little power. So, for your sake, I’m hoping that you’re just a late bloomer.”

  “Oh, so you force me to a place where I’ll be fighting those things? That’s good thinking on your part. Bravo.”

  “You think that you were safe out there? Do you know what will happen when you turn eighteen? You will come into your powers, partially becoming a beacon to any demons nearby. And by the way, the plants that were moving behind me on testing day? That’s abnormal. I will have to wager that your light will be pretty hard to hide. So, we train.”

  So, he had witnessed the plants dancing, and here I thought I had been super cool in hiding them from him.

  I sat down on the mat facing him. My mind was racing while he was running me through stretching. I had dreams of kids fighting kids. Freaking kids!

  “Will I only have to fight demons and darken?” I wanted to see if he would be honest with me.

  “Hopefully.”

  “You’re not very forthcoming with info. Can you try not to be aloof for a minute?”

  He clenched his jaw. “To give you an idea of what you’re up against, both academies are after the same thing—something that could tip the balance. Your opponents will show you no mercy. You get to know your classmates, or you develop a close relationship with someone, none of that will matter if they choose to be on a different side, or if they choose to stay here and you decide to transfer to the Empowered Academy, so trust no one and try to be better than either person on either side of you.”

  WTH?

  I looked around the room as everyone began to stretch. The students were laughing or talking with one another, and not one of them looked homicidal. Not like the kids I saw in my dreams.

  What was the something to tip the balance that he referred to?

  “When will you be able to answer my questions in full?”

  “When you decide who you want to belong to.”

  I knew he meant which academy, but the way he said those words made heat swirl in my stomach. Holy angel babies. The man was smoking hot.

&
nbsp; I tried to concentrate as he showed me a quick warm-up. He touched me just when absolutely necessary, but even that was enough to have me gnawing on my lip.

  We went through the basic stances. At first, I was more than a little awkward, but once I loosened up, I found myself flowing from one position to the next like a lyrical dancer. I had always wanted to take dance lessons. I thought I would be good at it. Unfortunately, foster parents usually had their own kids to shuffle to afterschool sports. With schedules full, no one had been willing to add more to their plates. Guess this was a close second, if you just let your body glide and flow the way it needed to move.

  “You’re a natural,” the commander said.

  “Thanks.” His compliment had me grinning.

  “Now, let’s learn basic blocks.”

  I concentrated hard on what he was saying. If I was honest with myself, maybe I was trying to impress him. Also, his warning rang so true that I became more than a little motivated. If I didn’t escape this hell hole, then at some point, I would have to pick a side. There was no use in making friends when our paths might make us go in different directions. Then we would be looking at each other from across the battlefield.

  I blocked another hit just to lose my concentration when I looked over to see how Trev was faring. He currently had the big guy pinned on the ground, a bead of sweat rolling down his face. Seeing where my gaze was, the commander swept out a foot and had me pinned almost in the exact position that Trev had his opponent pinned in.

  Green eyes the color of the deepest sea hovered over me. His handsome face was contorted with anger. Everywhere his body touched me had my body humming with some unidentified need.

  “Pay attention. I know there are things you don’t understand yet, and you will eventually, but until then, do not lose focus. One day, these lessons could save your life.”

  I meant to sound outraged, but my voice came out husky. “Whoa. Easy on the rage, dude. There is no reason to be so intense.”

  “There is nothing about the academy that isn’t intense. If you want to survive your first year, you must pay attention. And making gooey eyes at boys is not the way to stay alive.” He sounded jealous.

  My heart raced just at the thought that this man could be attracted to me. I forgot to breathe as his body hovered over mine, touching me just enough to have my mind spinning.

  He glared at me. “You want to flirt? Then do it after school hours.”

  Whoops. Misread that one.

  “Sure thing, boss.”

  He hopped off me with the agility of a cat. Meanwhile, I rolled onto all fours then slowly stood like I was geriatric.

  After my embarrassing takedown, he set me up in front of a punching bag. He told me the drills that he wanted me to do while he made the rounds to different groups, critiquing everyone in the class.

  Twenty minutes later, sweat dripped from me, and I was pretty sure I pulled something in my hamstring.

  Just when I was about to beg for water, Mr. Montgomery announced that it was time for us to go into our perspective locker rooms and get changed. Class was over. Thank the heavens.

  The commander stopped me on the way to the locker room. “Since you’ve avoided the system for a while, most of the kids your age are way ahead of you. You’re going to need extra practice.”

  “I can help her with that.” A voice came over my shoulder.

  I turned to see Trev looking annoyed with our commander. What was going on with these two?

  The commander said, “Thanks, but I think she’ll need the best.” Turning his attention back to me, he said, “I’ll send you the times I’m available to your dorm. Let me know what works best for you.”

  I stood there and watched the commander walk away.

  Several girls made an attempt to stop him with questions on sparring. However, he politely excused himself each time.

  Trev murmured something under his breath about privileged assholes.

  “So,” I said, “how do you know him?”

  His eyes were still focused on the commander’s back as he replied, “It’s a boring conversation, and I don’t want to waste any time on that sanctimonious asshole.”

  Okay, then. Now, I was dying to know. Maybe I could get Remy to help me figure out what the beef was between these two. I just knew it was going to be something epic. My intuition was telling me that Trev was a good guy, but he was also hiding something.

  We started walking toward the locker rooms. I didn’t know what to say. Thanks again for this morning sounded weird, so I settled with, “I need to go change. I’ll see you later.”

  Five minutes later, I had dried off from the quickest shower ever and was heading out of the locker rooms. I was a little disappointed that I didn’t see Trev, who must’ve gone to his next class.

  Out in the hall, a group of students was walking toward their next class. I noticed the blondes from earlier, Marlie-Beth and Angelina. As soon as they saw me, they started whispering like we were back in kindergarten. I hiked my backpack higher on my shoulder as I tried to make my way through the crowded hallway.

  A leg jutted out in front of me, and I barely avoided tripping over it. I half-jumped, half-stumbled to the right to prevent face-planting on the marble floor.

  A couple of kids snickered, and one kid was laughing like a hyena. I knew the laugh belonged to Marlie-Beth without looking.

  I took deep breaths in and out, trying to calm my racing heart. Chills crawled down my spine as I felt Marlie-Beth’s hatred slapping against me. When someone wanted to harm me, I could feel it. It had helped me a lot when I was little and bouncing around some foster homes that weren’t too great. She didn’t just want to embarrass the new kid. She really wanted to cause me harm. Why someone would hate someone they barely knew was a mystery to me, but I knew I’d be stupid not to listen to my gut.

  I started walking faster down the hall until I saw Trev leaning up against the wall. He smiled as he walked toward me.

  “You okay?”

  I nodded.

  “Good. Let’s go get some lunch.”

  “Listen, those girls hate me. You shouldn’t associate with me. I think I need to eat by myself at lunch today.”

  He held the door open for me.

  “Um. Were you listening?”

  He nodded but continued to match me step for step.

  “What in the world are you doing?”

  “Um, it looks like I’m waiting on your unbelievably slow behind so I can walk you to lunch. Are you always this slow, or is it because you have little legs?”

  “Hey!” I slapped him playfully on the arm. “I am of average height, thank you very much.” I hefted my backpack up higher on my shoulder. “Seriously, though, maybe you shouldn’t be seen talking with me.”

  “The only reason for me to stay away from you is if you got a freakishly large boyfriend named Tiny, then I might have to reconsider this friendship.” He wiggled his eyebrows then tugged on my ponytail. “Never mind, it doesn’t really matter because you might be worth getting pummeled for.”

  I sighed. “This is going to kill your image.”

  He tilted his head to the side and smiled, showing dimples. “You’re saying, by walking the prettiest girl in this school to class, I will get negative reviews? I think I’ll take my chances. After all, bad publicity is better than no publicity.”

  Well, this was just great. The new, unbelievably hot guy was showing me interest.

  Getting a little frustrated that he didn’t understand the importance of what I was trying to tell him, I said, “Here’s the truth, buddy, I’m not here to make friends. In fact, I think that is the worst thing that I could possibly do.”

  A hand grazed my cheek. “The fear of betrayal, huh?”

  “Yeah, something like that.”

  I could feel his eyes as I walked off. I liked Trev, but at the end of this journey, I’d rather not see his disgust if I chose a different side than him.

  I was sitting under a cherry bl
ossom tree when a shadow appeared above me, having taken my lunch outside because it was a beautiful day and partly because I was trying to avoid Trev.

  Gearing myself up for a fight, I gazed upward at the person who hovered over me. It was none other than the other newbie himself. I narrowed my eyes at him as he squatted down beside me on the grass.

  “I’m not going to be able to shake you, am I?” I sighed.

  He reached for the apple on my tray and took a big bite out of it. “You don’t have the black plague. There is no reason we can’t be friends. You don’t even know which group you belong to or want to belong to. Try not to be so dramatic.”

  I looked over his shoulder to see Marlie-Beth and Angelina staring at us from their outdoor lunch table and let out a loud groan. Man, I just couldn’t seem to get off their radar today.

  “Besides,” he said, “it’s not like you’re going to escape your fate, let alone this place, so you’ll need friends, and I’m putting in an application for the job.”

  I snatched my apple back from him. “Why are you so certain that I’m not going to escape?”

  “That’s an easy one. First, you are what you are. There is no amount of hiding that will change that. I don’t know what your parents have or haven’t told you, but I think you have a distorted image of what the academies are for. They can actually help you. Maybe you’re just at the wrong academy. Why did you choose this one? Did your parents suggest it?”

  “I missed the other testings, and I don’t have parents.”

  A look of sympathy crossed his face, but I didn’t want his pity.

  “Do you really think that I’m safer here?”

  He took my apple out of my hand and took another bite. “That’s exactly what I’m saying. Out there, you are a loner; free game for either academy, which is okay, but that means you’re free game for the demons, too. Demons don’t mess with the Empowered Academy because they are under the safety of the darken, and demons won’t mess with you here because they are afraid of the jerk who runs the place. My point is, academies are safer. Both places have free room and board, three meals a day, and behind either academy walls, you get a better understanding of who you are.”