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

by Charlie Daniels

  I swallow around the lump in my throat and the racing in my ears as I take out my phone and dial the one number that I hate the most.

  “Ah, Serena, how goes my little spy?” he greets.

  “I wanted to let you know that I’ve found out how to sign up for the Trials, and the prize will be the Trident of Truth.”

  “Good, good…” Rostova murmurs. I can hear a pen scratching in the background and imagine him going off to research the relic as soon as this call is over. “And who will be joining you?” he asks.

  I grimace. “I’m still working on that.”

  “Oh? And what of your... teammates?” he says the word mockingly. “They seem competent enough to carry you through.”

  I meet Lore’s eyes and she lets out a low, warning hoot. “What?”

  “I said they seem competent,” he says.

  “No, yes, I heard that part.” I swallow, my mouth suddenly bone dry. “Have you… have you been watching me?”

  Rostova chuckles. “You sound surprised. How else was I supposed to keep an eye on you? These weekly calls only give me so much confidence, Serena.”

  My mouth hangs open, and I mouth a few words before saying, “You can trust me.”

  “Can I?” he says. “Because it seems to me you’ve been growing a little distracted these past few days…”

  “I—”

  “You what? I’d be careful if I were you, Serena,” he warns. “I will know if you’re lying.”

  “I’ve only been assimilating,” I say, trying hard to conceal the tremor in my voice. “Just like you asked. I need to blend in if I’m to gain their trust. That’s all I’ve been doing.”

  Rostova hums. “So convincing your team to join you for the Trials shouldn’t be an issue, then, should it?” I can hear the smirk in his voice, the very tone rising bile into my throat.

  “But the Trials are dangerous, I—”

  “And that concerns you, why?”

  I clamp my mouth shut to stop myself from digging myself into a deeper hole. But my hesitation is all Rostova needs. His next words come out as a threatening hiss.

  “I have eyes on you day and night, Serena. And I will not hesitate to pick off those boys one by one if you do not do as I ask. Is that clear?”

  I exhale quietly and close my eyes. “You don’t have to worry,” I say dryly. “They mean nothing to me. I will have them support me in the Trials; they will be my shields if it comes to it. You have my word.”

  Rostova says nothing for a moment, but he gives a light-hearted chuckle. “That’s my girl. Don’t ever make me doubt you again, Serena. You won’t like the consequences.”

  The line cuts, and I pull the phone from my ear as if it burned me, dropping it onto my mattress. My pulse races as I stare down at it, and I don’t know what’s worse. That Master Rostova knows my loyalty to him is slipping, or that he’s threatened the lives of the guys if I don’t complete my mission.

  A knock at my door.

  I scrunch up my face and bury my phone under my pillows. I wait, hoping they’ll leave, but after a few seconds, Paxton calls out. “Serena?”

  With a sigh, I stand up and open the door. “Hey, Pax.”

  He doesn’t say anything as he watches me. “You didn’t tell us you’d come back.”

  “Didn’t I?” I say, audibly breathless. “Ah yeah, I…” I inhale, struggling to meet his eyes. “I just had to give my headmaster a call. He likes to know how I’m getting on.”

  “Well… it’s past one,” he replies slowly. “And I think Dane said something about wanting his chest back.”

  Thankful for the distraction, I plaster a look of innocence on my face and step past him into the hallway. “What’s wrong with his chest? It looked fine to me this morning…”

  He rolls his eyes as we head down the stairs. “You know exactly what’s wrong. And Dane with a woman’s boobs is like something from a Frankenstein horror movie. And I don’t ever want to have to see it again.” He wrinkles his nose, and I grin smugly.

  “How angry is he?”

  Paxton laughs, the sound sending shivers of warmth through me. “Let’s just say the sooner you fix it, the better. For all of our sakes.”

  As we near the back door, I call to my curse within Dane and release it, the power melting from him and drawing back to me.

  Paxton holds the door open for me as I step out of the house and back into the warm sun into our gated backyard, the sound of steel against steel clashing in the air. Pax closes the door behind us, the clicking of the latch drawing three sets of eyes, but only one holds my attention.

  I bite my lip to control myself, and it takes everything inside of me not to laugh at the dark look in Dane’s eyes as he stalks toward me. There’s something terrifying and thrilling about seeing him like this. I really must be insane.

  “You’re on your own,” Paxton mutters and shuffles out of Dane’s path of destruction with a grin and a two-fingered salute.

  “No fair,” I pout.

  “It was nice knowing you, Serena.” Declan’s eye roll is the last thing I see before everything is blocked by the broad chest in front of me, hidden beneath a giant gray sweatshirt as the others make their escape.

  At least he’s tit-free. I snicker and look up to Dane’s face. “Is everything okay? You’re looking a little gloomy.”

  A low growl pulls from his throat, and I shiver as the sound vibrates through me. Tendrils of lust ripple down to my core, and his eyes narrow.

  “Do you like pushing me, Serena?” he asks, his voice dropping as he steps in so close, I can feel the warmth coming from him.

  I swallow, trying to alleviate the dryness in my mouth. “Is that a rhetorical question?”

  He steps forward, forcing me back until I hit the door. I don’t even notice the roughness of it as his hands rest on either side of me.

  I reach up and rest my hands on his chest, clutching the soft material in my hands. “And besides, I’m sure you looked wonderful with a nice rack. I mean, those pecs of yours are impressive, but add in a nice set of—”

  He kisses me, and I grin in victory before wrapping both of my arms around his neck and pulling him firmly against me. I can feel every plane of his hard body. Large hands grip my hips, pulling me closer, and I gasp as his fingers dig in as pleasure rocks through me.

  But he pulls back with a smirk at the dazed look on my face and whispers, “And that’s for tormenting me.”

  He turns on his heel and walks away, leaving me with a pounding heart and a body burning with need.

  He is the devil. There’s no other explanation. A very hot and lick-able devil. I draw in a shaky breath as I try to calm my racing heart before heading after him through the sliding door to the kitchen.

  The guys turn from their seats at the table to Dane’s smirk, and my red lips, each one laughing before digging into their sandwiches.

  I should feel embarrassed, but my need seems to be swallowing every other emotion whole. A plate appears before me with a delicious looking sandwich, and my stomach growls. Glancing up, Paxton smiles and hovers the plate in front of me before I take it in my hands.

  “Thanks, Pax.”

  Taking a large bite, I groan as the flavors burst in my mouth, and in what feels like seconds, the sandwich is gone. I gaze down at my empty plate, and half a sandwich appears in front of me like magic. I follow the arm offering it to Paxton, who holds the other half of his sandwich out to me.

  “You are an angel, Paxton,” I gush, and his cheeks tinge as he releases it onto my plate. I take a glorious bite and sigh in happiness. When was the last time that I enjoyed food this much? I can’t even remember. “You’re definitely my favorite now.”

  Dane smirks at that, and I ignore him to keep on eating. “So all it takes to be your favorite is to give you food?” he asks.

  “Mm-hmm,” I mumble around a mouthful of bread, then swallow. “But I do have a favor to ask all of you, and in return, I will owe each one of you a favor. Sound go
od?”

  They share a look, their eyes filled with curiosity. Nodding, they turn back to me, and I draw in a deep breath, my stomach sinking. You can do it, Serena. Just spit it out and ask them.

  “I would like to sign up for the Mid-Semester Trials, and I was wondering if you would sign up with me as my team,” I rush out, and their eyes widen in unison.

  “Serena, you do know the Trials aren’t a cake walk, right?” Rory asks, his brow wrinkling.

  Dane’s eyes narrow on me and I can feel his powers brushing the air around me, trying to get a sense of what I’m planning, but he says nothing.

  I turn to Paxton, who glances down at his empty plate, and I’m afraid he’s angry from the intensity erupting from his aura.

  “Why do you want to enter?” he asks quietly, and I have a feeling there’s more to this than just simple curiosity.

  Why would I want the Trident of Truth? It’s not like I can give them the real reason. My goddess’s image pops into my mind, and my chest tightens at her familiar eyes.

  “I want the trident because I need to ask my goddess a question,” I say.

  Why didn’t she intervene when I needed her the most? Why would it have mattered if I’d died in the Forest? I would have been reborn, anyway, and I wouldn’t have the death of my old friends on my hands. I glance down at my hands, crumpling the white lace tablecloth in my fist.

  I swallow the lump in my throat and look up to see the guys share a look. Declan turns to me, his eyebrows pinching together. “We were going to participate later on in the year, but if it means that much to you, we’ll sign up now.”

  I try to contain my obvious relief as I say, “Thank you. I’ll make it up to you.”

  “I’m glad that they will be joining you, Mistress. I was beginning to worry that they would say no,” Lore’s relief intermingles with my own.

  I stare into each of their eyes and bite my lip. “But… not that I’m not grateful or anything, but why are you all agreeing to do this with me?”

  “Because every student has to participate in at least two trials in order to graduate. We plan on graduating early. So, we may as well do it now,” Declan shrugs but Rory rolls his eyes.

  “We’re doing this because we care and want to make sure you survive. Don’t listen to that asshole.” He jerks his thumb at Declan, who simply shrugs with a self-satisfied smile.

  “I can’t let my girl show me up. What kind of example would I be making?” Dane smirks, and it’s my turn to roll my eyes at him, but I warm at his claim.

  Paxton remains silent, his eyes trained on the table and his aura wobbling wildly around him. “Pax? You don’t have to if you don’t want to…” I trail off when his eyes flick to mine, the darkness in them taking me back.

  But he doesn’t say a word as he shoves up from the table and heads to the backyard, the door sliding shut with a bang behind him.

  “What… what did I say?” I ask quietly, not taking my eyes off the door.

  “Paxton’s cousin died during the Trials. He was the only family Pax had,” Dane answers. I whip around to stare at him.

  “What?” I squeak.

  Dane nods gravely. “He saw it all. That’s when his paladin abilities kicked in. He tried to save him—jumped from the stands and onto the course—but ended up getting pretty badly hurt. They were both living with Declan at the time, so it… kind of hit both of them when Lewis died. Pax more so—Lewis was the only real family he had left.”

  We all stare toward the door and the backyard beyond, watching as Paxton paces like a wild animal across the grass.

  “You have to understand, Serena,” Declan says, “You mean a lot to him, and the thought of losing you will send him over the deep end. So, you better do everything in your powers to survive, or I will kill you myself.”

  “I don’t plan on dying anytime soon,” I vow, and he nods, though his eyes don’t lose their hardness.

  “Well,” he says, pushing up from his seat. “There’s no time like the present to start training. We’ve only got five weeks until the first trial, and I don’t plan on dying or letting any of you die, so let’s get to work.”

  The others quickly follow after him.

  But Master Rostova’s dark eyes flood my mind, and the small ounce of hope I’d been feeling dashes away, and I know I will never get the chance to relish in our combined success if everything plays out according to what he wants.

  This fucking sucks.

  Chapter 15

  Sweat beads on my skin and if my muscles weren’t burning in protest, I’d have sworn I was in hell.

  “All right, you win. I give up.” I mutter from the ground, the coolness of the earth soaking through my t-shirt. Or maybe it’s my sweat?

  I breathe in deeply, my chest burning as I take in the cool air. Ever since that day three weeks ago, we’ve been training for the Trials every. single. day.

  “Come on, Serena. Get your ass up. We have another half an hour before dinner, and I don’t want anyone complaining because you died,” Declan calls out, nudging me with his power.

  A groan pulls from my lips, and I sit up, glaring at the man before me. My eyes roam over his bare chest and the sweat glistening across his skin.

  I’d first started training with Dane, but… my cheeks heat at how it ended up. Hot kisses and a crazy amount of teasing and torment. After the second time of walking in on an intense make-out session, Declan declared Dane could no longer be my training partner.

  Which was probably a good thing.

  Dane is unlike anyone I’ve ever known. They all are. A flood of warmth fills my chest, but that’s quickly swallowed by the quilt eating away at me.

  No matter how his hands and kisses have burned their way into my mind, I can’t go any further with him. Or with anyone. That’s not a betrayal even I want to commit.

  “We have two weeks, Serena. Two weeks to make sure we survive, and so do you,” he breathes out, his exasperation clear in his voice. Strong hands hold my sides, and I’m picked up from the ground in one swift motion and dropped unceremoniously onto my feet.

  I narrow my eyes on him. “Don’t you dare make me curse you, Dec? You really don’t want to end up like Dane.”

  He quirks his eyebrows, and his lips twitch at my remark, and I can’t help but stare at them. The heat between us continues to grow as his hands slide from under my arms and down to my hips, the path lighting a trail on my skin.

  “You mean, getting to feel what you feel? Kissing him?” he asks, and my mouth goes dry at the desire swirling in his eyes. “Or having a set of monstrous tits?”

  I snort, and he laughs. “The last one,” I reply as I stare into his eyes.

  He shrugs, and his thumbs trace back and forth over my hip bone. I shiver at his touch. “I’m sure you wouldn’t do that to me.”

  “Oh?” I lick my lips, the movement followed by his eyes, which, now I look, I realize are swirling with enticing shades of glistening pink and lustrous red. “Why would you think that?”

  His lips pull as he leans forward, their softness brushing my ear. “Because I’m a child of lust and love, Serena,” he whispers, and I shiver, my hands itching to pull him close.

  “But I… I thought you… Persephone.”

  “Yes, you got that part right,” he says. “But the gifts of Persephone are only one part of me.” I open my mouth, but he places a finger over my parted lips. “Yes, I was blessed by two goddesses. Persephone by bloodline. Aphrodite, well… she took a liking to me. And as children of the Goddess of Pleasure, we are full of passion and desire. Would you really want to give that up? Not ever being able to feel my lips on your skin? To feel my hands caressing you? To feel me hard against you.”

  I gasp at the desire pooling inside me. Everything in me is begging to say yes, but before I can even pull him to my lips and find out exactly what he’s talking about, he releases me and sweeps his foot under my legs. I hit the ground hard on my back, the wind knocking from my lungs.

&nb
sp; “Never let your opponent get the better of you, Serena. You never know what powers they might have hidden up their sleeves.” He turns, and I watch him walk away, my body rippling with desire and need—and also aching. I rub the back of my head where it hit the hard dirt. Asshole.

  “But how did he do that?” I whisper, my body still aching for him, even though I know it was all a lie. His hooded eyes fill my mind, and I bite my lip, the motion sending waves of pleasure through me. “What the actual fuck,” I whisper, standing on wobbly legs to approach the backdoor.

  My hand trembles as I slide it open, and I sigh in relief that the kitchen is vacant. How the hell am I meant to explain this? I open the cupboard at the far end of the kitchen where we have a few bottles of liquor stored, pick out my favorite scotch, and head up the stairs to my room.

  The friction of my clothes on my skin sends waves over pleasure to every cell, and a groan pulls from my lips. What the hell did he do to me? I rest my head against my wooden door, drawing in a shaky breath before I twist it open and close it firmly behind me.

  Silence fills the room, and I sigh in relief at Lore and Keaira’s vacant beds before I fall to my own and crawl toward the headboard. The silkiness of my sheets feels like a soft caress under my hands, and I whimper.

  “I’m going to kill him. Slowly… painfully.” I twist off the cap of the scotch and take a long, hard pull, the burning in my throat not even coming close to the fire in my groin. Shouldn’t it have gone away by now? Or is his power like my curse magic? Does he have to release it?

  I stew on my thoughts and continue to drink, picturing ways I could torture him, but they all end up playing out as sexy, bondage moments—where I’m the dominatrix. I never knew that was what I liked, but I guess I was wrong.

  I bang my head against the headboard and take another sip with a frustrated groan. The liquid sending shivers through my body as the warmth seeps in. “I’m going to kill him. I swear.”

  “Kill who?” a voice asks as the door opens without a knock; Dane’s impressive size fills the doorway.