Cursed Magic: A Paranormal Academy Romance (Daughter of Nyx Series Book 1)

by Charlie Daniels

  “Oh.” I almost feel bad for him. Almost. “So, what you’re trying to say is that because you have to suffer, so do we?” I grin at the glare he shoots my way, but the others shrug.

  “Kind of. But you have to remember, we’re in the last years of our schooling. These classes determine where we’re going to end up in life, so we have to take them seriously,” he replies, scribbling down a few notes in his book.

  “I get that. It was the same at the Dark Academy—except we learned torture and poison.” Rory and Dane rear back, and I almost sigh at how easy it is to get a response from them. “But don’t you think you might be going a little overboard? I mean, it’s our first Saturday together, our first weekend, and you want us to study? How much could we possibly need to know right now?”

  Declan finally puts his pen down and looks at me. “I like to be prepared,” he says slowly, as if speaking to a child. “And I want to make sure we get the best grades so that we can get the jobs we want after all of this is said and done. Don’t you?”

  I suck on the inside of my cheek as I hold his gaze. What do I want to do when I graduate? I’ve never really thought of it before. I mean, when I die, I’m going to become a primordial god, so I never really thought about what I would do with my mortal life. And then there’s the whole Rostova taking over the world for whatever evil plan he has in mind, thing. The gods only know what’s going to happen then.

  What would I do if I didn’t have that to worry about? The plants from the greenhouse come to mind; I would love to be able to spend my life making tonics and brews—or poisons. I grin, but it falters quickly, and I shake my head.

  “I’m Dark, remember? The chances of me getting a good job are slim to none. No one from the Light would hire me. And… I don’t know if I want to work for the Dark… Not anymore,” I shrug, uncomfortable with their piercing gazes.

  “What do you mean? Wouldn’t they hire you?” Dane asks, and the guys nod.

  I sigh as I twirl my pencil around, sifting through my thoughts. “Sure. there would be places in Dark communities I could go to live and work, but what… what if that’s not what I want?”

  Looking up, I can read the confusion on their faces as they glance between each other. “I… I don’t know if I fit in with the Dark, you know?” I rake my hand through my hair, tossing the curling, loose waves over my shoulder and look away. “After coming here, I realized I may not be as Dark as I thought. I don’t like causing pain, or inflicting torture—most of the time, anyway.” I huff out a small laugh and look down at the earth beneath me, the life flowing freely from it.

  “I just, I don’t know, wish there was a gray zone or something where people who didn’t feel Light or Dark could go. I’m not overly bad, but I’m definitely not a saint.” I glance up and the guys nod their heads. The tension in my chest lessens.

  “Serena, by coming here, you’re showing us that there’s more to the Dark than we originally thought. And we seem to coexist pretty well. So, who knows? Maybe, in time, all of the Dark and Light will be able to follow in our footsteps.” Dane grins before turning back to his sheet and tapping on the paper. “But whatever happens, we’re a team, and we stick together.”

  Paxton and Rory nod, and so does Declan, surprisingly. “Aw, you guys actually like me,” I sing, trying to shift the uncomfortable weight of guilt from my chest.

  “Unfortunately, you’re growing on us—like a wart.” Declan rolls his eyes before getting back to work, motioning for me to do the same. “And besides, just because we’ve been working all day doesn’t mean we don’t have plans tonight.”

  I sit up, “Plans? What plans?” and the guys share a long grin before turning back to me.

  “It’s the first Saturday of the school year. Do you honestly think there isn’t a party?” Declan’s eyebrows quirk, and I hate the smug grin on his face. “But we have to finish all of this. Then we can go.”

  “Aye, aye captain,” I salute him with my pencil, earning a few chuckles from the others before they turn back to their sheets, scrawling down their notes or answers.

  As I hurry to complete my own questions, two thoughts continue to niggle at the back of my mind, and I stew on our conversation. If I’m not as dark as I thought, then do I have to go through with Master Rostova’s plans? Or do I tell the guys?

  I bite my lip as I peek at them from under my eyelashes, at the group that has slowly come to mean more to me than most people ever have.

  They would never forgive me.

  I can never tell them.

  This sucks.

  We step into an open clearing—ironically, the same one I cursed a few students in only a week before, but it’s been adequately done up to host a party. Fairy lights are strung through the trees surrounding it, illuminating the leaves and trunks in a rainbow of colors. Elegant sashes and bows adorn tables and chairs scattered neatly around the circumference. Students mill about, some sitting and laughing with their friends, others playing drinking games, and the rest at the center of the field, dancing to the music thumping through large speakers. My eyes roam over the crowd, and I notice quite a few faces I haven’t seen before.

  “Are other years here as well?”

  Dane nods as he strides beside me, and I’m grateful for his familiar presence. He points to a few different groups, saying whether they’re in their second or third year at collegiate level. “I don’t know how different the Dark academy was, but only high-school age and up go to this academy, the younger students are taught at separate, smaller schools or they’re home schooled. Since we take so long to come into our powers and control them, we really don’t finish our studies until we’re twenty-three or twenty-four. That’s the usual amount of time it takes for people to control them,” Dane explains, and I’m confused as to where he’s going with this as he nods to Declan.

  “But when you’re royalty, you need to have them in control sooner. That’s why Declan is pushing us, even you. He needs to be found worthy, and if he’s not, he may be passed over as heir—and let’s just say his sister should have been given to the Dark… No offense.” He cringes, shooting me an apologetic smile, but I shrug it off as I stare at Declan’s back.

  So, there’s more to him than just a pretty face, huh? We pause at the bar to get a bucket of ice and beer bottles, which Dane takes and then leads me to an empty set of seats.

  “So, why does Declan not want his sister to be named heir?” I ask as we sit down.

  Dane places the bucket on the table, pulling out two bottles and using one to pop the top off the other. He passes one to me. “Because, after meeting you and knowing you’re Dark, I can honestly say with one-hundred percent certainty that Mabel is an evil seed, and to be honest, the only reason she was ever allowed to remain with the Light is because of her family. No way should she be here,” he says darkly before taking a long swig.

  “You were spot on when you pegged Dec as a child of Persephone earlier this week. It runs in his family, so his sister is too, and his father, and the King. Most of them sway to the Light side of the gift, but clearly the scale tipped the other way for Mabel.”

  I want to ask him more questions, but the rest of our gang flops onto the available chairs, each taking a beer for themselves. Rory holds up his own, a grin spreading across his face. “To the best team a guy could ask for.”

  “To being more open and outgoing,” Paxton replies, and I can see how hard it was for him to say that with all the people milling around us by the way his chin tucks slightly into his neck.

  “To new friends,” Dane replies and nods toward me. I blush.

  What do I want? I mull over my thoughts, and all I can focus on are my most recent memories, how much I’ve enjoyed my time here so far. Holding up my beer, I reply, “To new beginnings.”

  We all turn to Declan who rolls his eyes and holds up his bottle. “To surviving the year with all of you.”

  We laugh as we sip our drinks, but mine comes out too harsh. Will they survive the year
if I complete my mission? Master Rostova’s face flashes across my mind, but I shake my head, dislodging my thoughts of him. No. Not tonight. I want one, carefree night with the guys. I’m just a normal girl who has normal abilities who wants to hang with her normal friends.

  I glance up to the guys, and I know without a shadow of a doubt that I would pick them over Rostova—no matter what the consequences are. My heart flutters in my chest with the realization. I really do care for these Light kids.

  The warmth settling inside me doesn’t go unnoticed as Dane clutches his chest with an affectionate smile.

  Asshole. The glare I throw his way falters, and I roll my eyes. “Shut up.”

  He pretends to zip his lips and throw away the key.

  For a while, we continue to work our way through the beer, taking bets on how long it will be until Sabrina finds Declan. A wide grin crosses my face as a familiar blonde heads our way, her eyes narrowing on me before focusing on Declan.

  “I bet she’ll find him within the next ten seconds,” I murmur, placing my beer to my lips.

  The guys share a confused look, then glance over their shoulders, and a laugh escapes my lips at their simultaneous groan. “It’s good to be right. Now, who’s coming to get the shots with me, because I’m not dealing with the crowd at the bar alone,” I say as I point to the long queue waiting to be served.

  Dane rises to his feet, grabs the empty bucket, and holds his hand out to me. I stare at it for a moment before taking it, and he helps me from my chair, and I’m surprised when he doesn’t let it go as he leads me through the crowd that parts to make way for him.

  He tugs on my hand and a spark of heat flows through me as I follow after him to the front. Placing the bucket on the counter, he places our order as he positions me in front of him. I hold back a gasp as he rests one hand on my hip and the other on the counter.

  I glance up to meet his eyes, watching them darken as I try to control my racing heart. Oh shit, he can feel what I’m feeling. I wish I could groan and bury myself in the ground, but he hands me the tray of shots and takes a fresh bucket of beer before leading me back out of the crowd.

  “So, Serena,” he begins as he glances over his shoulder, “how long have you been digging all of this?” He waves his bucket-carrying hand over his body.

  I scoff and look away, but I can feel the heat in my cheeks grow. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. You must be confused. Or drunk.”

  He spins around and stops so quickly, I smack into his chest. “Oh, I’m very sure I know what I’m talking about. I can feel you, Serena. I can feel your lust, your longing, the appreciation you get when you see one of us without a shirt.” He smirks at the last part, and I narrow my eyes on him, my powers itching in my fingers. “But most of all, I know what you want. And that’s all of us.”

  My cheeks blaze bright red. Without thinking, I allow a curse to float into him: “You will project your emotions to me for the rest of the night.”

  Dane’s eyes widen, and I grin smugly as I feel his shock and the undercurrents of lust and need within him.

  “I guess I’m not the only one, am I Dane?” I challenge, and his eyes darken in a way that sets my body on fire. But then the feedback begins, and my own feelings rebound back to me, and his back to him in an endless cycle. Shuffling around him, I walk on wobbly legs to the group, my body an overload of lust that I’m barely controlling. When I’m about halfway there, I stop and turn.

  Behind me, Dane’s hand grips the bucket handle tightly. I take a cube of ice from the bucket as he nears and rest it against my neck to cool the fire raging in me. I place the tray of shots on the table, and he does the same with the beer bucket; the rest of the guys greedily reach over and clear half of the refreshments in a second.

  Meanwhile, I move the ice under my jaw to settle the burning rushing through my veins, and Dane watches the trickles of water run down my cleavage. Everything falls away as he grabs my hand again and leads me from our team—who’re staring after us with raised eyebrows—to the center of the crowd, dancing to the music floating around us.

  I bite my lip at the promise in his eyes as he spins me around, then crushes me to his body as we begin to sway with the music. Everything inside me reaches for him as I share my longing, my need, but also the joy I have in our friendship and our moments together so far.

  Dane’s feelings swirl around him and then me, and it’s like we’re wrapped up in our own cocoon, oblivious to the world around us as we share what we’re feeling, wanting, wishing, and longing for.

  As I stare into his eyes and watch them shift as he processes us, I realize something:

  I want more.

  Chapter 13

  The beat of the music thrums through my body, and the glittering lights strung across the field seem to sway with us, like little fireflies dancing in the night.

  “Not to sound like I want to jump your bones or anything, but how soon do you think they’ll stop watching us so we can get away from here? I think I’ve had more to drink than I realized,” I say, and Dane grins as he peeks over my shoulders.

  “Probably not for a little while. It seems I’m not the only one who’s interested in the fiery woman in my arms,” he grins, and I don’t need to turn around to feel what he feels, subtly filtered through our temporary bond: Rory’s sad eyes, Paxton’s cold aloofness, and Declan’s jealousy fill my mind.

  “It may be only a week since we’ve met Serena, but the Trials, living together, learning together—we’ve grown close. You’ve become an important member of our team, and you don’t even realize,” Dane brushes the hair from my face.

  “Rory isn’t ashamed of his gifts any longer, Paxton actually speaks, and the stick up Declan’s ass doesn’t seem to be so deep anymore,” he jokes.

  “I don’t think that’s possible,” I chuckle as we move closer together—the beat of the music slows to a bass-heavy ballad, and the area around us fills with swooning couples and… a few throuples? I bring my attention back to Dane. “So, what did you get from me?”

  He simply smiles, his eyes softening. “I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so hard or had this much fun before you came, Serena. You make every day bright and new. It’s never dull with you around, that’s for sure.”

  My eyes narrow on him and the cheek in his words. “So, what happens now?” I ask. What happens if we get close? What happens when I have to betray them?

  “You don’t have to feel guilty, Serena,” Dane says, misinterpreting my emotions. “In our society, it’s not unusual to have multiple partners. I mean, it’s not like our gods and goddesses stick to one partner… or gender.” He grins at my wide eyes, and it’s like the world slows around me as I process his words.

  They… what? “Are you serious?” I ask, and he chuckles and nods. “Why don’t I know about this? I mean, you’d think everyone would know—”

  Now I’m paying attention, I realize the crowd around us is split into smaller groups made up of a mixture of men and women. Through Dane, I can feel the lust radiating from them, the sense of physical and emotional intimacy. There were no real couples, or what looked like couples, anyway. I know our race can be quite promiscuous, but multiple partners? How does that even work?

  I picture a game of Twister with multiple naked bodies, and I flush from head to toe. Or would it be more like sexy Jenga? Dane chuckles.

  “I’m actually surprised you didn’t know this,” he says.

  I shrug. “I didn’t spend time around people until I was ten, then I just basked in the celibacy that is the Academy of the Dark. I didn’t realize we’d adopted one of the gods’ faults.”

  “Your academy sounds like a ball…” He smirks as we continue to sway to the beat of the music. “You really think it’s a fault, though? Don’t you think that love is love, regardless of how many partners you have?”

  I mull over his words and try to filter my thoughts in a way that makes sense. “I think everyone has a right to love who they love.
The more the merrier, as they say,” I chuckle, and he quirks his eyebrow as he waits for me to continue. “But I don’t know, I just thought that I’d find a single partner to love. Isn’t that how the stories go? You find your soulmate and boom! Your life is complete?”

  Dane nods as his hands roam over my back. “That’s one way to think of it. But what if, in order to make your soul complete, you need more than one love? What if you need to love more than one person to feel like all the pieces are finally in place?”

  I tilt my head as I stare into his eyes. “I guess then it would be okay? As long as no one gets hurt.”

  I nearly melt into the ground at the beaming smile he sends my way, and I can feel his gratefulness as if it were my own. Was he really worried about that? Are the others?

  My eyebrows pinch together. “So, it would be okay if… if I was interested in someone else? That wouldn’t bother you?”

  He pauses, and I watch in fascination as his eyes darken before he shakes his head. “As long as it’s one of our group, then sure. I’d trust them with my life. And yours. I can’t say that about anyone else outside our team.”

  “But what about you guys? Does that mean you can be with anyone, as well?”

  He tilts his head from side to side. “As long as they’re in the team, they’re fair game.”

  My jaw drops, and his loud laugh booms through the night’s sky. But… our team… there’s only me. Unless… My eyes widen as they snap to his face.

  “Y-you… what?” I screech. He did say no matter the gender, but he’s definitely not the type of guy I thought… My face burns, and I feel his emotions reign in a little at my shock.

  I frown as I shake my head, waving my hands out in front of me. “No, no, no. I didn’t mean… I’m just surprised. Please don’t think—”