“I understand what you must think of me,” I say gently. “Our people have been at war for as long as anyone can remember. But I am here to make a difference and hopefully bridge the gap between our two sides.”
At that moment, the older woman stamps my papers, scribbles some information on a new page, and passes them back to her assistant. “Next!” she calls.
The assistant blinks a few times, then finally looks away from me to pick up the papers handed to her, along with a few other sheets. She hands them to me. “G-go down the hall a-and it’s the first d-door on your right. You’ll need to meet up with your team.”
I nod, but then stop just as quickly. “What do you mean team? I thought this was solo?” My body temperature rises at the prospect of having to battle for my place with a group of smug-ass light conjurers.
“It’s a team event, sweetheart,” Declan mutters; his joking attitude is completely gone. “If you fail, they all fail. Gods help whichever team you’re on.”
I turn my attention back to him, and my eyes narrow. “First of all, I’m no one’s sweetheart. Second of all, it’s me that should be angry having to pair with people like you. All I want to do is just get through this.”
I wrinkle my nose as I stare at the papers in my hand and my bags. I throw the latter onto the growing pile beside the desk, assuming it will be safe. The assistant eyes my bag with such fear I’m surprised she doesn’t set it on fire and cleanse the area it touched.
Yes, I am actually here for some not so nice reasons, but I hate being judged, and I hate the fact that just because my abilities aren’t pure, I’m immediately classified as a terrible, evil person. Anyone can be bad under the right circumstances. I open my mouth to give all of them another piece of my mind, but Lore pecks my cheek and shakes her head.
“Let’s go. They’re not worth it.”
I grumble, let out a deep breath, and nod. Turning around, I follow the girl’s directions and open the first door on the right. The harsh light of outside greets us and the distant line of trees behind the crowd of students quickens my pulse. Swarms of students bounce nervously on their feet in small groups, their animated chatter grating on my nerves almost immediately.
“Joy…” I mutter. “We’re going to be paired with four of them, Lore. Four.” My stomach turns at the thought of having to bond with them to pass, but I shove that down too. My feelings have no place in what’s to come next.
“What is our group designation? I would like to assess our team.”
I hold up the piece of paper. “A1,” I read.
“Did you just say A1? That can’t be right,” I whip around, and Declan takes the paper from my hand without waiting for me to hand it over. He frowns as he reads the letters written clearly on the page.
“Why’s that?” I ask, my annoyance with him growing by the second as he eyes me with new interest.
“Because—”
“You’re teamed with us,” a merry voice announces from behind Declan, and I tilt to see around him.
Three men are walking toward us. The guys come to stand side by side behind Declan with varying expressions on their faces, but all sinfully gorgeous in their own way. Goddesses have mercy.
My fingernails dig into my palms as I fight the urge to swoon; I don’t know who I should look at first. The lean redhead with the wide smile waves, and I can’t help but wiggle my fingers back at him. His eyes twinkling with mischief—my kind of guy.
Big-and-burly frowns when my eyes move to his, and he crosses his arms, accentuating the tree trunks he calls body parts. My eyes move down his gigantic frame, my lips twitching as familiar words fill my mind: as above so below.
Eventually, my eyes take in the last of our team, whose appearance makes me the most comfortable. My eyes trail along the faded scar across his lips, from the tip of his nose to the bottom of his chin, and curiosity eats away at me.
My gaze flicks between the four, taking in their downplayed auras and the harmony that appears to flow between the bright colors attached to their souls. Friends? Lovers, perhaps? Directly in front of me, Declan lets out a deep sigh. My eyes move back to him, gleefully cheeky.
“Well, this is going to be a blast, teamie!” I sing to Declan, who frowns at the challenge in my eyes and the smirk on my lips.
Doesn’t he know that if a strong wind blows, he’ll look like a grump forever?
Clearly not. Someone should tell him.
Chapter 2
“No. This has to be a mistake,” Declan’s eyes roam over the piece of paper and back to me. “You can’t possibly be ranked this high. We were told—”
“Being told something doesn’t magically make that thing happen. I… beat my competition and was chosen to come here,” I shrug.
Darkness. I can barely see. I’m running through the trees, dodging and weaving. Someone’s screams nearby—next to me. Wetness splatters my cheeks; I can smell iron.
Lifting my eyes, I meet Declan’s, all trace of joking aside. “I wasn’t the original choice, but as I’m here now, I think you should probably get used to it. I earned my right to be here.”
I trip on something and go flying, landing hard in the undergrowth. When I open my eyes, the face of a girl looks back at me, stiff on the forest floor. The ground is moist with her oozing blood.
I inhale, pinching myself on the thigh.
“It wasn’t your fault, Mistress. You had to do what was necessary to survive. As you always have.” Lore’s words soothe the pain growing in my heart, and I nod, shaking off the darkness lingering in my mind. Even though she doesn’t know everything that happened before her mark was tattooed onto my skin, she has experienced enough of my pain and regret to understand what happened.
“And if you aren’t going to accept that,” I continue, “then that’s your problem. But you aren’t ruining my chances of getting in. Or theirs.” I gesture to the others in our ragtag group.
Declan’s piercing eyes roam over my face, and he nods at whatever it is that he finds. “Is what you said back there true? Do you really want to bridge the gap between the Dark and the Light?”
“Yes,” I say, eyeing them each in turn but not for too long. “Plus, Lore wishes to visit the library. It’s said to hold a number of old volumes that she hasn’t been able to get her talons on.” I shrug, hoping that that answer will be sufficient.
The guys exchange a look and then nod in unison, their colorful aura’s merging together. Mostly, auras are like a thin, transparent bubble around people that change color and shape depending on the person’s mood, power level, and abilities. But all semblance of logic is being broken in front of me as I watch the boys’ auras interact and swirl together into a cacophony of light and color.
Interesting. I wonder what that means?
“We need to get into this academy, so if you’re willing to put aside your differences, we’re willing to put ours aside.” Stepping forward, the red-haired boy holds out his hand, and I shake it gingerly.
“I’m Rory,” he says with a smile, before gesturing to the hulk on his right. “That’s Dane. The silent guy behind me is Paxton, and you obviously know Declan. Somehow.”
“He’s my jailor,” I clarify.
Declan rolls his eyes. “All things aside, Serena, this is important to us, so are you actually serious about this?”
Sighing, I stare at the sky, wondering what I ever did to deserve such suspicion. Lore scoffs, and I feel her amusement flowing into me.
I turn to face Declan head-on and draw a cross over my heart with my index finger. “Promise. I want in as much as you guys. So don’t hold me back, kay?” I hold out my hand which he takes suspiciously in his before quickly dropping it.
“Students! Can I have your attention please?” A woman’s voice rings out across the land. We turn to find a smartly dressed woman in a soft-gray tailored suit on a stage to the front of the crowd.
“Thank you for being prompt. Your team-building exam will begin shortly,” she says, gazin
g around. “Please be sure to find your teams as soon as possible. Time you waste at the beginning of this trial is time lost that you could have spent solving it.” She gazes down at us with sharp features and a no-nonsense coolness in her eye.
“As you’re now aware, we have made this year’s entrance exam a group trial. If you succeed, you succeed as a group. If you fail, you fail as a group.”
Echoes of outrage spill from our fellow examinees, but the woman just holds up her hand. “Teamwork is a skill we seem to be lacking, and as such, it will be the basis for much of the curriculum this year. Again, please find your teammates. The examinations will begin in five minutes.”
Students hold up their papers, calling for others with the same letter-number combination, while we stand off to the side, watching the mayhem unfold around us.
“So, Serena… what are your abilities?” Rory asks.
My body tenses as I peer over my shoulder at him. “Don’t you know that curiosity killed the cat?”
He stills at my words, and I turn back around, observing the rest of the students and making notes on who looks like our biggest competition—a few bright auras stand out to me, but none so unique as the men behind me. But I groan when I notice the three blonde mice from earlier. Unfortunately, their power level appears our biggest threat.
“From what I can tell, we have to be careful of that group. But otherwise, we should be in the clear—battle wise, anyway. But seeing as I can’t judge brain smarts, it’s anyone’s ball.” I glance over my shoulder again. “What are your rankings?”
They silently communicate among themselves, their aura’s moving in sync once again. How do they do that? But none of them answer my question.
“To gain a secret, you must share one. If you can’t do that, then you have no right to ask,” Lore chides.
I sigh and run my fingers over my hair and down my braid, playing with the ends as I say, “At the Academy of the Dark, I was ranked as one in both fields: magical ability and intelligence.”
I frown at the obvious shock on their faces; my feelings would be hurt if I had much of them left. “I know this might come as a shock to you guys, but we’re not all stupid. Otherwise, Light would have won the war a long time ago.”
Rory opens his mouth to speak but is cut off as the speakers around us crackle. “Students! Members of staff are handing out your first puzzle; ensure that you collect one. Once you receive it, your exam begins,” the woman declares as a horn trumpets in the distance.
When I turn to the guys, the shock on their faces has been replaced by steel determination. But it is Paxton that draws my attention. His hard eyes scream strength and knowledge as he scans the area around us, observing the other students and searching for our puzzle.
And one word clings to my mind as I continue to watch him: paladin. His aura glows and moves like everyone else’s, but there’s an essence to it I’ve not seen before—righteous power. I remember being taught about the men and women whose beliefs were so ingrained within them that their strength and wisdom is unparalleled. But to become a paladin means to suffer a blow so great it changes your view on life forever.
What happened to him?
As if sensing my gaze, his eyes meet mine, and I become lost in the ancient blue.
“Serena, do you have any idea what this is?” Rory asks. My eyes snap to him as he holds out a gold, cylindrical object, the runes etched on the side all too familiar. It surely can’t be this easy…
Taking the cryptex into my hands, I twist around and watch the other groups struggle to identify the magical object. A few of them hold it in the light, turning it over slowly to examine the engravings. Others shake it, listening for a rattle. One team appears to be attempting to use brute force to pull the thing apart.
“Serena…” Declan’s voice holds a hint of warning, and I roll my eyes, shaking my head. If we do this here, we’ll be helping everyone else.
I look out across the land and spot the green of the forest. I grit my teeth, fighting back my reluctance by forcing my feet forward and into a run. I don’t wait for the rest to follow, and their curses come like music to my ears.
Within a minute, I’ve crossed the boundary into the forest, and my footfalls are muffled on the mossy floor. I try to ignore how the air changes, becoming cool and earthy, and how the shadows cast by the trees are long and dark.
“I knew… I should have asked… how they communicated…” I pant as branches flick across my face. “Are they… coming?”
Lore hoots softly, her tone a confirmation. “They are. But so are some of the students. You will need to lose them.”
Nodding, I change direction as I spot an open clearing, stopping only when I’m in the center. “Do you think this is far enough?”
Lore bobs her head once, and we wait for the guys to catch up, their faces a mixture of anger and betrayal as they break through the forest’s edge. Their feet pound heavily on the grass, and they pant as if this is the first ounce of exercise they’ve completed in months.
“Yeah… I should probably have told them my plan,” I mutter as Declan’s eyes darken the closer they draw to me, followed by Rory, Paxton, and Dane.
Lore ruffles her feathers. “You think?”
Sinking to my knees, I wait until the guys are within range before drawing on my power and burrowing my hands into the soft earth, the soil cool and damp against my skin. But it’s the dormant bulbs in the ground that allow me to enact my plan.
My eyes focus on the gap between my team and the forest. I allow my senses to stretch across the distance and my magic to flood the earth. A bright, green light bursts from the ground creating a near-transparent circle, just as the boys come within meters of me. The hum of the shield drowns out their curses for a moment before it settles, creating a towering wall around us and sealing us inside.
“What the hell, Serena?” Declan demands as he slides to a stop next to me. Somehow his withering glare sends warm tingles through my body.
“You are odd,” Lore remarks, hopping from my shoulder to land on the ground.
“I know,” I say, smiling as the guys stare between us.
“Well?” Declan asks.
I shrug. “I would have told you, but—” A scream rings out from the edge of the forest, and I smile as I peer around Declan to see the first body drop to the ground.
“Poor sucker shouldn’t have tried going through the field.” Shaking my head, I pick up the cylindrical device, my focus zeroing in on the runes.
“Did you just… Is that guy dead?” Rory asks, his eyes widening as they move between us.
“No, he’s not dead. Just knocked out.” We watch as his team pulls him from the green light, the glares they send our way have me chuckling.
When their eyes return to me, I sigh, gesturing for them to take a seat on the ground and roll my eyes when they refuse to move. “Yes, I should have said something before running. And no, I’m not sorry. I can’t communicate telepathically like you guys, so this was my only option to make sure we’re not overheard.”
I ignore the way each of them tense and close my eyes to focus on the bumps and ridges of the device. I smile when I find the two buttons at either end. The runes are merely a distraction; the cryptex itself is actually quite simple. Clasping my hands around the ends, I shuffle on the ground and steady my breathing, bracing myself for what’s to come. I press both buttons simultaneously.
Needles erupt from both sides, plunging straight through my palms and erupting from the backs of my hands, dripping red. I let out a deep growl, pursing my lips shut to keep from shouting.
Rory drops to the ground in front of me. “What the fuck, Serena?”
I open my eyes to find his concerned gaze looking back at me. I turn my grimace into a small smile. “It’s a blood cryptex. It’s a magical object used by spies to share information. Only those who are willing to sacrifice their life can open the cryptex.”
“But you… you just…”
I s
mirk, staring at the wide eyes of the men around me. “I couldn’t let the pretty boy be the one to do it; I’d never live it down.” The guys smirk, knowing I was right. “Rory, you seem too nice to do something like this, and Dane, you look like you’d have crushed the thing with your bare hands, which would only destroy whatever’s inside.”
Dane only shrugs.
“And you,” I turn to Paxton, whose eyes darken as I search his face. “I think you’ve already suffered enough.”
Between my hands, the cryptex glows bright red, having absorbed enough blood to release the latches hidden inside. Drawing in a deep breath, I hold it steady and start to slowly slide my left hand off the spike. Each movement feels like getting pierced all over again, and I can do nothing to stop the groan that rumbles through my chest. Finally, it comes free.
Gritting my teeth, I hold the cylinder under my arm and brace myself for the next wave of pain as I inch my right hand off the other end. This time, I decide to just go for it, pulling my hand out and off in one quick motion. I choke out a screech that dies in my throat as I hold my breath to silence myself.
I hold both hands up, watching as blood trickles freely from the holes in the center of my palms. Rory’s face grows paler by the second as if he’s the one losing blood.
“Mistress, may I?” Lore flutters onto my wrist, her wide eyes moving between the wound and myself, and I nod, wishing I had something to bite down on. “Brace yourself, Serena,” she says, her words holding a hard edge.
I close my eyes and welcome the darkness behind my lids as I clench my jaw. Lore’s power swirls around me before she directs it into my hand. Blinding pain wracks my body as she grows new flesh over the gaping wound.
“Holy shit,” Rory whispers, and his hand moves to my leg, giving it a gentle squeeze. I’d laugh if I wasn’t trying so hard not to cry. If only he knew what I’d done, he wouldn’t be so sympathetic.
The pain in my hand lessens, and I stretch my fingers, the stiffness in them melting away. I grab the cryptex from under my arm and hold it out to Rory, who takes it from my shaking hand. “Lore, keep going.”
Cursed Magic: A Paranormal Academy Romance (Daughter of Nyx Series Book 1) Page 2
