Moonstone Academy: Year One: A Mayhem of Magic World Story

by Nicole Zoltack

  “Don’t worry. I’m not Dad, but I do think that he waited only until their third date to propose.”

  “You’re joking, right?”

  I just shake my head.

  Her eyes widen. “That’s really… fast.”

  “I guess when you know what you want in a person, it’s easier to find the person that you’re meant to be with.”

  “Do you know who you want to be with?” she asks.

  “Do you?” I counter.

  “For now at least, you.”

  I can’t help smirking.

  Her smile is shy, and she ducks her head. “Do you want to know about why I wasn’t the happiest when you came to pick me up?”

  “Yes.”

  “Ellamaria tried to see if she could lure my mom out so that I could see her. It’s been far too long since I last saw her.”

  “It didn’t go well, I take it.”

  “Actually, my mom isn’t a fool. She realized what Ellamaria was up to, and she refused to meet with her.”

  “Your mom wants nothing to do with you? Why?”

  “I don’t know. She hates her husband. I guess she thinks I’m no different than my dad.”

  “Why did she marry him in the first place?”

  Bellanore throws up her hands. “For all I know, she thinks he mesmerized her into marrying him and having me. She seems to regret everything that deals with Dad, including me. I don’t know if he did something to turn her against him or what, but…”

  “I take it you haven’t talked to your dad about her.”

  “No.”

  I suck in a breath. “Do you talk to him often?”

  “Yes. He’s training me, remember?”

  “Of course. Why don’t you ask your dad about your mom?”

  “I… I’m afraid. I don’t know if I want to know the truth, and also…”

  “Also what?”

  She shakes her head. “I’m just worried that my family is going to be blown apart entirely, and then I’ll have to pick a side, but Mom doesn’t even want me. How can I pick her? As for Dad, yes, he trains me, but I… I think he might be into something big, something dark, and I don’t want any part of that.” Bellanore lowers her head. “I want to know what he’s up to, and I don’t want to know, and it’s all very confusing.” She grimaces and rubs the back of her neck. “I’m sure you don’t want to hear about my issues with my parents, considering…”

  “No. I would rather help you if I can.” I reach over and squeeze her hand. “is there a way I can help?”

  “Maybe just by listening to me vent. I don’t know how to fix things with my mom because she won’t even bother to come see me, and as for my dad, I don’t know if I want to know, or if I should just leave that hornet’s nest alone. But if he is doing something that could hurt people…” She tilts her head forward, and her hair comes forward too, covering the sides of her face. “Shouldn’t I want to find out so I can stop him?”

  “You aren’t your dad’s keeper.”

  “No more than you are Roald’s and the others.”

  I can’t help shuddering. “So far, they seem to be behaving, but I have a feeling they’re up to something.”

  “Really? Like what?”

  “Roald and Wyatt aren’t talking, but I saw Nia talking to Wyatt, just the two of them.”

  “Maybe they’re pairing up,” Bellanore suggests.

  “No. It wasn’t nice and cozy.”

  Her brow furrows. “Were they fighting?”

  “No. I don’t know how I know this, but I think they’re teaming up, and if those two do, it’s not going to be good. Nia is the one to watch, not Roald.”

  “Wyatt is more bark than bite, I think,” she murmurs. “If Nia is planning something…”

  “Let’s not worry about that,” I say, even though I can’t worry.

  My thumb runs over her knuckles. She places her other hand on top, sandwiching mine between hers.

  “You told me a little bit about your parents,” she murmurs, “how they became engaged. You haven’t told me much about your brother.”

  “I appreciate that you want to know more about my family, but right now…” I use my free hand to stroke her face. “Right now, I would really like for you to not be worried. You still are, aren’t you?”

  She considers my words and then nods.

  “And you have good reason to be worried. Reasons. Your mom, your dad, Nia… I want to take your worries away.”

  “How do you want to do that?” she asks softly.

  “Can I kiss you?”

  She eyes me and opens her mouth. I’m sure she’s going to reject me again, but then she just simply nods.

  I close my eyes and press my lips to hers.

  And at that moment, there's a spark, a faint flicker of something in my chest, deep in my soul.

  Is she taking away some of my pain? Some of the curse? She can’t!

  But I’m not a strong man. I’m weak from all of the fighting to live just one more day.

  So I don’t cut off the kiss. If anything, I deepen it, allowing myself to feel not just her tender lips, her soft cheeks as I cup her face, but also feeling something.

  Maybe I can fight the curse after all.

  If only I didn’t have to kill in order to break the curse.

  A fight that will most likely end in my death even if I weren’t cursed and weak to begin with.

  But maybe… maybe I can learn about demons from Bellanore. I can learn about their weaknesses. I can then find the one demon I have to kill for the curse to be lifted.

  But I don’t want to involve her in any fashion. She’s already considering getting into the crosshairs of whatever vile trap her dad is springing. She might already be in danger.

  I want her safe and happy.

  She needs to be reunited with her mom.

  And she needs to stay away from me.

  I’m a ticking time bomb, and I won’t have her go down with me.

  Chapter 20

  Bellanore

  The kiss was sweet, short, and thankfully not slobbery. Before I left for the date, Ellamaria corrected me on one tidbit from our fight.

  She kissed someone before. Pablo Starfell and Ellamaria went out for a date. Why she never told I didn't understand until she confessed that the date had been terrible and that the kiss at the end had been equally terrible. Pablo slobbered into her mouth like a, well, like a dog. I teased her that maybe all werewolves kissed like that, and she teased me right back, saying that I better expect slobber then.

  But after Robb and I part ways from the date, I don’t immediately head inside my castle to talk with Ellamaria. I linger to watch as Robb fades out of sight. We only had the one kiss, our goodbye sweet and tender without one, and my heart aches for him. He’s been through so much already, and he’s not even twenty yet. Is it possible that life can now finally give him a break? After all, he has me, but it hasn’t escaped my notice at all that he bears scars—not just the physical one on his face but also the ones inside, the ones marring his soul.

  Movement to the left catches my eye. Gayle is heading toward her castle. She’s alone for once, and it makes me wonder if Mindy is with Jett. Unless maybe Mindy hadn’t been lying about her and Jett splitting.

  I’m not sure why, but I cut over and approach Gayle. She doesn’t notice me until I’m almost beside her, and she jerks back, her eyes wide.

  “Why are you here, Bellanore?” she asks in a hiss.

  “I saw you were here, and I thought to myself why not see how you are.”

  “See how I am? How do you want me to be? I’m just fine. You can go now.”

  I narrow my eyes and cross my arms. “I don’t understand why—”

  “I don’t care what you do and don’t understand.”

  Miffed, I sniff, and that’s when I catch a bitter scent.

  She’s afraid of me.

  Maybe all of the bullies are. It’s a sad feeling, a bit crushing really, to realize that they’
ve been trying to hurt me and tear me down because they don’t want me to have any sense of power. They don’t want me to be confident because they’re afraid I’ll… what? Hurt them? Have I done anything to make them fear me?

  I hang my head. “Gayle, I was wondering if you would like to come over. Ellamaria’s probably up yet, and we can watch a movie—”

  “Watch what, freak? A Halloween movie? You aren’t going to go all Carrie on me.”

  She rushes away, no longer heading to her castle.

  She’s afraid. She’s that terrified of me since she was with me alone.

  The thought that others might actually be afraid of me never occurred to me, and it’s beyond unnerving. I can understand being afraid of demons, even ones you haven’t met, but to be afraid of me…

  Yes, I’m a half-demon. I know that, and I’ve accepted that.

  Maybe that acceptance makes them even more frightened of me.

  But hardly anyone knows that I’m actually training and mastering all of my powers and abilities. No one has any reason to fear me.

  My stomach twists into knots. I grab my hair and tug, not enough to hurt, and it doesn’t serve to lessen my frustration. I glare up at the moon. Well, I would if she weren’t covered in clouds.

  Frustrated beyond belief, I glance around and spy another werewolf. She’s also alone, and I quickly recognize her as Nia.

  The one that even Robb thinks needs to be watched.

  Even though it might not be a smart idea, I find myself marching over to her. She halts when she notices that I’m heading her way, and I lift my chin.

  “Nia.”

  “Bellanore.” She mimics my stance—tilted head, arms crossed, a leg jutted out to the side at an angle.

  “Where do you get off?” I explode. I’m not even sure where the anger comes from, but venom drips from my words.

  “Get off? Doing what?” she asks with an air of innocence that doesn’t fool me for one second.

  “You want war with the vampires, don’t you?”

  “Why wouldn’t you want that? Isn’t war kind of your whole thing? Being a…” She leans closer as if sharing a secret. “You know,” she whispers.

  I open my mouth, but she doesn’t let me say anything.

  She straightens and pegs me with a sardonic smirk that I want to slap off her face. “Shouldn’t you hate more than any of us?”

  “Oh, dear me, can you think in anything outside of clichés?” I snap. “Seriously. Just because I’m half-demon doesn’t mean that I’m only capable of hate. You don’t know much of anything at all, and frankly, I’m embarrassed for you.”

  “Is that so?” She puts a hand on her hip. “Go ahead. Tell me more. Tell me just how embarrassing I am.”

  “You think that you can get away with manipulating werewolves. You have some kind of grand plan, don’t you? That’s why you hang around Roald. You and I both know that he’s a fool—”

  “Is that so? Maybe I should tell him that, or are you trying to get Wyatt off your back? Or are Wyatt and Roald back to being buddies again? Maybe you’ll piss them both off in one fell swoop. Sounds about par for the course for you, doesn’t it?”

  I grit my teeth. “You want to use the werewolves to provoke a war with the vampires, right? That’s why you…”

  “Why I what? Oh.” She laughs slightly. “Did Robb tell you an earful? That werewolf is pathetic. He’s even more pathetic than you are. He might have a scar and look like he’s a total badass, but he just looks the part. He thinks I’m a fool, that I actually believe that he was trying to save a werewolf, but no. He saved a vampire. Why would he do that? Why would he turn against his fellow werewolves? What could have been in it for him to save that vampire?”

  My skin is covered in goosebumps. Something isn’t right here. The look in her eye… I shouldn’t have brought up anything that suggested I knew about what happened. If she’s going to go after Robb now, that’s on me.

  “You hate vampires because you think it’s innate for us to,” I say, “but it’s not true. It’s a learned bias.”

  “Oh, and why are you so high and mighty about vampires? Why do you think they deserve to wander the Earth? They’re abominations! They live by destroying, through destruction! They have to survive by drinking blood, and they kill.”

  “We kill,” I counter.

  “We kill animals to eat them,” she argues.

  “And we turn into animals.”

  "Just one. A wolf. The noblest of animals.” She gives me a grin that shows just how high and mighty she thinks she is. “We are a part of nature, and nature provides us what we need."

  “And nature provides blood for vampires.”

  She stares me down. “Next, you’ll be telling me that demons like yourself drink blood. Is that so? Is that why you feel a certain… kinship with vampires?”

  "I don't feel a kinship—"

  "You shouldn't feel a kinship with any werewolves. Your own pack has turned against you, haven't they? A birdie told me that you and Ellamaria are fighting. What a shame. You know what happens to werewolves without a pack, don't you? You should. I bet you're already starting to feel some of the side effects, and to think that the reason why the pack turned against you is because your own mother has abandoned you."

  I do my best to control my face, to have a mask, to hold as still as a statue and not give anything away. Inside, though, I’m seething. I’m furious, frustrated, and flustered. I’m entirely confused.

  Also, how did she manipulate this conversation to be a huge attack on me?

  It’s as if she’s the half-demon, not me.

  I lift my chin. “I don’t need my mom or my dad to know right from wrong. There’s no reason that vampires and werewolves can’t both survive on this Earth. There’s no need for war.”

  “Why don’t you want war?” she asks.

  “Why do you want it?” I counter coolly.

  “Are you worried you would die and go to Hell?” Nia asks with a smirk. “Isn’t that where all of you demon types go? You should feel right at home there, or are you afraid that they won’t accept you either? Since you aren’t exactly truly evil. You aren’t evil at all. You want to know what you are, Bellanore?”

  “I find it remarkable that you profess to know me at all, Nia, considering we haven’t talked much at all before now.”

  “Ah, Bellanore.” She stalks toward me, very much looking like a cat stalking a bird. Or make that a dog stalking a cat considering she is a wolf rather than anything feline.

  I bristle. She’s getting under my skin far more than she should, and maybe I should just walk away, but it’s too late. The damage has been done. She’s not going to let me have peace right now. I’m stuck.

  “I know you. I’ve been watching. I watch all of the players here at the academy. You aren’t much of one, so don’t flatter yourself, but there might be some use for you yet.”

  “If?”

  Her smirk falls into a smile that gives me chills. “If you finally accept just who and what you are.”

  “I’ve already made my peace—”

  “No!” she shouts. She winces and tries again. “No, Bellanore, you haven’t. You only think you have. I’ve seen it in the stars. You have so much potential! A demon craves violence, desires war. Chaos and anarchy are all you should want. That isn’t the case, though, is it? No. You’re still clinging to something. Something is holding you back. Is it approval from mommy dearest? Do you think that if you refrain from your true nature, she’ll come back to you with arms wide open? She won’t. You might as well be dead for all she cares. Go ahead. Try to reach out to her, this time you and not your friend.”

  I stiffen, and her grin only widens. How does she know all of this?

  “You won’t go and see her, but you should. Er, you should try to since she won’t want to see you, but that’s neither here nor there. Go ahead. Have her tell you to your face what she thinks of you. Maybe then you can truly be the demonic werewolf we need you to
be.”

  “We? Why do you need a demonic werewolf?” I ask suspiciously.

  She just grins at me. The glint in her eyes is terrible and wicked, and she starts to walk away.

  I should let her. I wanted this conversation done and over with, but I can’t.

  Quickly, I rush forward and block her, halting her retreat.

  “If you think you can say a few nasty things and change who I am as a person, you can’t. You’re wrong. I am secure—”

  She shoves me. “Are you?” she asks coolly. “Are you secure in who you are?”

  I stare her down. “I am.”

  “Harrumph.” She bumps into me as she tries to slam past me, but I grab her arm. Her gaze falls to my hand before she looks up at me. “Go ahead,” she says, her smile returning. “Deck me. Fight me. Unleash your feral wolf. Go lunar. Rip me to shreds.”

  “You want to die?” I ask, hating that my teeth are aching from the desire to convert over to wolf canines.

  “I want you to be free. That’s all I want for all werewolves.” She steps back, forcing me to release her arm, and she spreads out her arms as she adds, “Freedom.”

  I swallow hard as she waltzes away as if she hasn’t a care in the world. That glint in her eye… She wanted me to fight her, and I think that if she thought I would fight back, she would’ve swung the first punch. She’s not thinking clearly. She can’t be. War? Why would she want a demonic werewolf to go lunar?

  What is her endgame?

  Do I even want to know?

  Probably not.

  After my first class, I take my time leaving. For some reason, I have a bad foreboding. Something terrible is going to happen.

  Finally, I leave the classroom, and I start to head toward the lunch area when I spy two werewolves talking in hushed tones. Julian and Bermon. I don’t mean to eavesdrop, but despite their attempt to be quiet, I can’t help overhearing.

  Julian shrugs. “I’m sure an angel and a demon have gotten together before.”

  “And probably almost caused Hell on Earth,” Bermon says.

  “Maybe, but if an angel and a demon can do it—”

  "Hypothetically," Bermon stresses.