by Sadie Moss
Thief
Academy of Unpredictable Magic #3
Sadie Moss
Copyright © 2019 by Sadie Moss
All rights reserved.
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or had, or actual events is purely coincidental.
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Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Also by Sadie Moss
Chapter 1
Cam
I plop down in a chair beside my favorite girl and shoot her a look. “Hey, Sin, love what you’ve done with your hair today.”
She hasn’t done anything new with her hair at all, but that’s the point of the joke. And yeah, I know it’s lame, but I’ve gone through most of my best material already.
“I talked to Asher this morning,” I tell her. “He’s coming back today—should be meeting up with Roman and Dmitri soon, actually. Oh, and he said not to do anything crazy while he’s gone. So, you know, try to control yourself.”
Asher’s gone home a few times over the summer to visit his family. He’s the youngest of thirteen kids, all guys—no, I’m not kidding, it’s insane—and his oldest brothers are married and have kids now, and he wanted to go see them.
I can’t blame him. I’ve been tight friends with Asher for a while now, and his family’s always been good to me. They know I don’t have any siblings or parents of my own—mine died when I was sixteen—and they’ve always made it clear they’ve got room for a fourteenth son. Real good people. And one hundred percent okay with Ash being an Unpredictable, which you don’t see too often.
Maybe it’s ’cause he’s one of thirteen—with that many offspring, his folks feel like they can afford to have one crazy kid. But honestly, I don’t think that’s it. I think it’s just that they love the hell out of Asher and would support him no matter what. Regular magic, Unpredictable magic, no magic—it wouldn’t matter to them, because it’s him they love, not his powers. My parents were the same way, and I like to think if they’d still been around when my magic sparked, they would’ve supported me like that too.
I’ll never know now, but it’s those kinds of thoughts that keep the hole in my heart from hurting too bad some days.
Ah fuck. Got off topic.
Shaking off the melancholy that’s creeping over me, I refocus on Elliot. I’m supposed to be entertaining her, after all, not wallowing in my own shit—keeping things positive and upbeat.
“‘Don’t do anything crazy,’ he says… I don’t know what he’s talking about.” I shoot her a lopsided grin. “It’s not like we nearly burned the house down with that enchanted pasta maker Dmitri got or anything. Don’t think I don’t know that wasn’t all your fault, by the way.”
The house we’re staying at is Roman’s. It’s massive, with enough guest rooms for all of us to have our own with plenty of space left over. I can’t quite figure out how he ended up with such a huge house, or why he needs it, since he’s at Griffin Academy nine months out of the year anyway. But it somehow fits his personality perfectly.
And I don’t mean that as a dig. I like the guy a lot; he’s a great dude. Intimidating as fuck though, seeing as how he’s my professor, and y’know—he’s Roman. I didn’t even know if Roman was his first or last name for a long time—turns out it’s his first—because he’s kind of one of those people you only expect to have one name. Add in that he’s tall, jacked, and has this dark, stoic thing going on, and it makes you feel like you’re a kid all over again. Which is unfair, if you ask me, since he’s only four years older than I am.
“Here’s the thing with Roman I don’t get, Sin,” I continue, “and you can disagree with me if you want—but why all the secrecy? I mean, here we are in this big house out in the countryside, and I have no info about it. He tells us he got it through family money, but where’s his family?”
I shoot a glance toward the door, pursing my lips.
“Not that I’m planning to push him about it, you know that. After what happened to my parents… I’m not gonna pry. I didn’t want anyone’s pity or questions, and I know you wouldn’t either, with your mom and all that. I’m just… curious. I know there’s a lot going on with him that he hasn’t told us.”
My gaze moves back to Elliot as I cock an eyebrow.
“I know you’re curious too, even if you won’t admit it. You know him better than we do, but… I get the feeling he keeps a lot of shit close to his chest. Just like you, actually.”
I take her hand and squeeze it so she knows I’m just teasing, no hard feelings.
As curious as I am about how Roman ended up with this place, I can’t deny it’s really fucking lucky he has it. There’s nowhere else we could’ve gone that’d be big enough for all of us—Dmitri, Roman, Asher, myself, Elliot, and Maddy. And it’s in Oregon, just outside Portland and only a few hours from school, so we can get back for the semester quickly when the time comes.
Yeah, we had to bring Maddy here too. She had nowhere else to go. Not when her sister…
Well.
My gaze shifts back down to Elliot’s sleeping form. Her gorgeous brunette hair spills over her shoulders in soft waves, and the brown eyes that always make me think of melted chocolate are hidden behind her lids.
She doesn’t move, doesn’t speak, doesn’t show any sign at all that she’s heard me.
Same as it’s been all summer.
My smile fades from my face. I’ve tried to keep things light and cheerful—joking around with her and teasing her just like I’d do if she was awake. I figure maybe she can hear us somehow, in spite of her coma. She has to, right?
Fuck. It’s hard not to lose hope.
Dmitri’s been skulking around the house, acting way moodier than usual—which is saying something. We’ve all been trying literally everything and anything we can think of in case it wakes her up. We’ve had the best healers brought in, thanks to Roman’s money and connections. They’ve given us various potions and enchanted objects to try, but none of it’s fucking worked.
Maddy’s busted up as hell about it. I can’t blame the poor kid. Asher’s gentle with her, and I try to cheer her up as much as I can. We’ve driven into town a few times to go to the movies and get ice cream, that kind of thing—just to get out of the house for a little while.
She’s a real good kid, which I know has a lot to do with Elliot, who basically raised her after their mom died. And she’s only five years younger than I am, so I guess I shouldn’t call her a kid, but she still seems young. I remember when I was nineteen; I thought I was so mature. Ha. Now I know better.
I squeeze Elliot
’s hand again. “You gotta come back, Sin,” I whisper, kissing her knuckles. “Come back to us. Maddy needs you. We need you.”
My heart feels like it’s had a pile of bricks sitting on it all summer. Damn it, I knew I cared about her. How could I not? But now that she’s stuck like this—in okay health physically, or so the healers tell us, but not waking up—I get more nervous every day, and I’m realizing just how much I fucking care.
Several pairs of footsteps sound in the hallway. A moment later, Dmitri pushes the door open and comes in, Roman and Asher behind him.
“How is she?” Asher asks. He hasn’t seen her in a few days, and I can hear the urgency in his voice.
I shrug, keeping my hold on her hand. Her skin is soft and warm, and sometimes I need to touch her just to remind myself she’s still alive. “Same as when you left.”
“We got the potion,” Roman says, pulling a glass vial from his pocket.
“Well, thank fuck.” My lips tilt up, and for the first time all day, the grin sticks. “Who’d you have to sell your soul to for that?”
“I just promised them Dmitri.” Roman jerks his chin at the dark-haired mage beside him, a slight smirk on his face.
Dmitri rolls his eyes. “Don’t be jealous, honey,” he mocks. “Just because I flirted with her a little—”
“Is it the real deal?” I interrupt. Normally, I’m all for banter, but…
Bricks.
Heart.
Roman nods. “If it isn’t, I’m going to make some people’s lives very unpleasant.”
Dmitri flashes a feral kind of smile, as if to say I’ll help.
This potion we’ve been trying to hunt down is super hard to make, so finding someone who can do it for us has been hard. It’s an extra-strong potion for breaking curses, and we’re pretty damn sure that’s what we need for Elliot. Her body’s healed all right, although she took a scary as hell beating from that fuckwad, Johnson. But she’s stayed unconscious for weeks now—which the healers tell us indicates magical interference.
I’m just glad we got it. It’s been tearing me up inside to watch her like this; every day it hurts a little worse. I haven’t known Elliot all that long, but she’s become one of my favorite people in the world, and I just want her back.
At least the other guys are back. That’s something. The room doesn’t seem so awfully fucking empty anymore. I’m not the kind of person who likes quiet; I’m outgoing, and I like having people around me. I had more than enough quiet after my parents died, when I was all on my own. I hated that time, and I don’t ever want to go back to it.
“So, how’s it all work? What do we do?” I ask, giving Sin’s hand one more squeeze before standing up.
“We give it to her, wait a few days, and see what happens,” Roman says. He’s got a grim look on his face as he gazes down at her. Then again, Roman always looks grim, like he stepped out of a mafia film, with his slightly hooked nose and his looming figure.
“What if nothing happens?” Dmitri growls. He’s asking the question we’re all thinking, but I fucking hate that he says it out loud.
“Then we’ll find something else.”
Roman’s answer is simple, but it’s all that needs to be said.
We’ll keep trying for as long as it takes.
Asher and I help prop Elliot up on the pillows and open her mouth. Thanks to a few other potions Roman was able to get his hands on earlier this summer, she hasn’t had to have a feeding tube or anything put in. She’s resting in a sort of stasis, so if it weren’t for the pallor of her skin and the unnatural slackness of her face, she’d look like she just popped down for a quick nap.
Roman guides her into swallowing the potion while Dmitri watches us with folded arms, his jaw clenching hard.
The liquid goes down her throat, and then… that’s it.
Nothing to do but more damn waiting.
Chapter 2
Dmitri
Moonlight stretches across the floor of the large room, and I stare at it unblinkingly.
Fuck.
This is bullshit.
I can’t sleep. Can’t stop thinking about the asshole that did this to Elliot. We’ve been holding on all summer. Waiting for some kind of fucking miracle.
Scrubbing a hand through my hair, I throw the blanket off and pad toward the door. I can’t lie still anymore. I need to fucking move.
The hallway on the second floor is wide, with high ceilings and gleaming hardwood. It reminds me of my parents’ house in Fairfield—except home always feels claustrophobic as fuck, and this place doesn’t. In this house, I can breathe properly.
My parents wanted me to come back for the summer. You have to get ready, they said. You have your duties. You have plans. You have a future.
But it’s not the life I want. It’s their plan; a future they laid out the moment I was born.
Besides, there’s no fucking way I’m leaving this house until the princess wakes up.
If she wakes up. It’s been two days since we gave her the potion, and nothing’s changed.
And I can’t fucking sleep.
I head down the stairs and tiptoe into the kitchen. It’s a big house, so I’m not worried about waking anyone up. But we’ve all been working around the clock to get Elliot back. If the others can get some shut-eye, I’m happy to let them.
Leaving the light off, I open a few cupboards before deciding that what I really need is a damn drink. I find a bottle of whiskey in the liquor cabinet and uncap it.
A few swigs help, stinging down my throat.
Motherfucking goddamn it. It should’ve been me in those Trials. Not Elliot.
I took it easy in that fight between us in the battle royale. I didn’t let her win, but… I could’ve fought harder.
She’s a powerful magic user and a fucking badass fighter. She’s the one person I didn’t mind losing to, and I had no doubt she’d do well in the Trials. But I had no idea some fuckstick would try to sabotage the whole thing. If I had, I would’ve stepped up and taken that hit, no questions asked. Elliot didn’t deserve to be in danger.
And now she’s hurt. And it’s my fucking fault.
The alcohol’s good but not enough. I put it back and go looking for something sweet.
Yeah, I’ve got a sweet tooth.
Tell anyone and I’ll kill you.
I open the fridge, casting a pale light over the kitchen as I peer inside.
“Hey.”
“Jesus fuck!” Slamming the fridge door closed, I wheel around.
Maddy stands in the darkened doorway, fiddling with the hem of her pajamas. They’ve got little black and white things on them—panda bears, I think. I dunno, I haven’t looked that close.
“Sorry,” she whispers, taking a quick step back. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“It’s… fine.” I try to look a little less like I’m about to rip her head off. “Couldn’t sleep?”
She shakes her head, brown hair tumbling over her shoulders.
“Yeah,” I grunt. “Me neither.”
“I didn’t want to wake anybody else up.” She steps into the kitchen and pads over to take a seat at the marble-topped island while I open the fridge again.
“You want something to eat?” I toss her a look over my shoulder as I open the fridge again.
“Yeah. Thanks.” She nods eagerly, sitting sideways on the barstool and draping an arm over the back of it.
Elliot’s little sister is a good kid. Sweet. She looks a lot like Elliot—except her eyes are blue, not brown—but their personalities are wildly different. Maddy’s more of a rule follower. She’s polite, bubbly, and likes talking to people. She and Cam get along the best—no surprises there.
Elliot’s not a people person at all. She’s sarcastic. Grumpy. Stubborn as shit.
My kinda fuckin’ girl.
“Uh, what do you want?” I ask Maddy.
“Is there any ice cream left in the freezer?”
…well. Since she wants some too
.
I pull out the Moose Tracks and grab two spoons. We eat it right out of the carton at the kitchen island. The room is dim again, illuminated only by the moonlight streaming through the windows, and I’m okay with just eating in silence in the dark. Nothing wrong with that.
But after a few minutes, Maddy speaks.
“Do you like Elliot?”
A dull ache throbs in my chest, but I just dig the spoon into the ice cream again, lifting my shoulders in an evasive shrug. “Yeah. Sure I do.”
She drops her chin, cocking a brow as she narrows her eyes at me.
Okay, I’ve seen that look on Elliot’s face dozens of times.
She looks so similar to her sister in this moment that I have to force myself to swallow down the bite of ice cream I just took. It barely makes it past the fucking lump in my throat, and I look away, rubbing the back of my neck with one hand.
“You know what I mean, Dmitri,” she insists.
“Do I?”
“It’s okay.” Her voice is soft, and when I glance her way, she smiles gently at me. Elliot’s all thorny edges, but Maddy’s softer. It makes me feel protective—like I need to watch out for her while her sister can’t. “If you do like her, it’s okay. I’ve seen how you look at her.”
“Yeah, well. Looks can be deceiving.”
“I know.” She rests her spoon in the ice cream tub, watching me closely. “But I don’t think I’m wrong about this. Am I?”
She seems so earnest, like she really cares. About her sister. About me. About us, together.
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