Legacy Academy Year Four: Paranormal Academy Romance

by M Guida

  I released a stream of ice, but the white icicle went right through their misty forms.

  “Raven, inside now.” Anton slapped my rump. “There are too many of them for you to take on alone.”

  I edged back a few feet…than another… and then another. Never taking my gaze off the shadow demons that were moving closer and closer.

  Just as I backed up one more time and crossed into Legacy’s grounds, something red whizzed out from the shadow demons and hit me in the chest, penetrating my thick scales. Hot pain stunned me, and I hissed out a stream of snow.

  My breath froze up, and my heartbeat stopped. Something was stretching, squishing, and scrunching my bones and muscles, forcing them to do things I didn’t want them to do. Indescribable agony pulsed through me. Someone made me shift involuntarily, stealing all my free will. Voices yelled around me, but I couldn’t make them out.

  Someone picked me up, and I couldn’t even cry out. Only a low moan escaped my clinched lips. Whoever it was whisked me away. I could hear their pounding heartbeat, but strangely I couldn’t feel my own.

  I couldn’t stay awake and I didn’t want to stay awake. Beads of sweat broke out all over my body, and I tossed and turned in someone’s brawny arms. Something hot slowly seeped through my veins bit by bit as if it was scalding my flesh. My eyes fluttered shut, and I passed into oblivion.

  Chapter 5

  I was back on Mt. Elbert, and the clouds were coming again. Thump-thump-thump. Heavy footsteps crunched on the rocks. I trembled and my heart thundered against my ribs. Bo was coming to torment me again. I could see his blue eyes full of hate and he emerged slowly out of gray clouds.

  “Raven, can you hear me?”

  The sound of the powerful male voice made Bo disappear back into the mist. Black and white colors whisked around me. What was happening?

  “Raven, wake up.”

  Fog befuddled my brain as if I were under a powerful anesthesia, but I wanted to find who was speaking. Whoever it was made me feel safe, but my thoughts were jumbled into a tangled mess. I tried to open my eyes, but it felt as if they were glued shut. I lifted a finger, but it refused to move. My throat and mouth were so dry that all I desperately wanted was something cool to drink, but my frozen lips remained silent.

  But that wasn’t the worst of it. Cold. I was so damn cold and I couldn’t even shiver.

  “Raven, can you hear me? Come back to me.” Someone clutched my hand with a firm grip. “Can you hear me?”

  I thought I recognized the husky male voice, but I couldn’t put the pieces of the puzzle together.

  “She’s going into a frost sleep,” another male voice said gravely.

  Icy fear gripped me, squeezing my insides tighter and tighter. What if I was trapped with Bo forever, punished for not saving his life? Was that going to be my own personal hell?

  “Then do something. She’s my mate. She’s been like this for the past three days. Why isn’t anything working?”

  Lucien. That was the voice.

  “This is much more powerful. I have never seen anything like it.”

  “Then do something. Don’t stand there with your thumbs up your ass. You’re a Fae doctor.”

  Someone put their palm on my forehead. “I’m not sure what I can do.”

  Bam Bam Bam

  The palm left my forehead. “Do not destroy my clinic,” an angry voice snapped.

  Doctor…Think…Concentrate.

  My mind fumbled and the gray cells came alive, slowly opening the file cabinet with all my memory and to find an image. Long blond hair, blue eyes with flecks of brown and green, pointy ears, and mysterious––Dr. Greenwood.

  His medicine made human doctors look like they were practicing barbarians.

  “You need to get a hold of yourself, prince. Tantrums will not awaken your mate.”

  “Shut up, Montae.” Lucien’s sharp voice made my heart break.

  Dragon, please, help.

  Silence swallowed me. My sweet dragon didn’t even appear. A cold, clammy panic gripped me. A damp, freezing fear iced over my lungs, and I couldn’t breathe. Was I dying?

  “Look at her face.” Someone pushed my hair back with a calloused palm. “She’s turning blue. Do something, Greenwood.”

  I knew that soft gesture––it was Lucien.

  “Yelling at Dr. Greenwood will not bring your mate back, Lucien.” Heavy footsteps walked across the floor. Who was that? I knew that voice, but the chill growing inside me made my brain sluggish again. The memory file cabinet slammed shut.

  “Have you found something, Anton?” Dr. Greenwood asked.

  Anton, that’s who I was thinking of. I forced myself to stay awake. Something told me if I fell asleep I would never wake up.

  “I have found a spell, Victory of Darkness, but it’s a blood spell.”

  “Meaning what?” Lucien’s wary voice mimicked the panic bubbling up my throat.

  “You must blend your blood with Raven’s and take on some of the frost sleep.”

  “No,” another fierce voice said. “I will do it. We cannot endanger our future king.”

  The voice was arrogant, determined, overbearing. It had to be Montae. I was so frustrated that I couldn’t open my eyes. Icy tingles gripped the tips of my fingers and my toes and then crept up my arms and legs, leaving a painful numbness. My heartbeat slowed, and then my blood stalled. Sleep would be so easy and the freezing agony would go away.

  No. Stay awake. Stay alert.

  “Montae, you can’t do this,” Anton said. “The spell requires the blood of a true mate to stop the spread of the deadly cold.”

  “Are you sure?” Montae’s voice was loaded with suspicion. “My king will not be pleased if something happens to his son.”

  Panic gripped me.

  Nonononononono

  What if Lucien died? Don’t do it Lucien. Please…. I couldn’t lose him like I did Bo and have both of them haunt me for eternity. I frantically tried to open by mouth, but it was as if my lips were sealed with cement.

  “Apparently, you’ve never mated,” Lucien said softly.

  “No, I haven’t. Why?”

  I wasn’t sure, but I thought beyond his crisp tone was a hint of sadness.

  “I believe the answer is obvious,” Anton said. “True love is what will melt the spell. Love is something that Ryker has never understood. What he felt for Raven’s mom was more obsession rather than love.”

  Someone snorted––most likely Montae. He said something else, but I didn’t hear him. I was too busy fighting to stay awake, drawing on my dragon power that seemed to be dormant.

  “Are you sure you want to do this, Lucien?” Dr. Greenwood asked. “This will not be pleasant.”

  “Just do it.”

  Someone hissed. I wasn’t sure what was happening and fought to move, but was met with bitter disappointment.

  Puh-lease, don’t. I screamed the words in my mind, but no one could hear me.

  Even if they did, I knew Lucien. He was determined, and no one could convince him to do anything otherwise.

  Tears crusted in my eyes.

  “What are you doing, Anton?” Alarm rang in Lucien’s voice.

  “Her arm is frozen. The blade needs to be red hot to cut through the ice.”

  Lucien snarled, “You’ll hurt her.”

  “Do you want to help her or not?”

  SPLAAT

  “You put another hole in my wall and you will leave.” Dr. Greenwood’s stern voice left little doubt that Lucien was on thin ice.

  Someone gently lifted my stiff arm.

  “Raven, I have to cut your palm. I don’t know if you’ll feel this, but brace yourself.”

  Fire split open up my palm.

  AAAAAAAGHHHHH

  But the scream was only ricocheting in my mind. To everyone else, I was a silent Snow White.

  “Fiereo Candelego,” Anton said in a loud voice.

  Suddenly, a firm hand gripped mine. Stinging sensations flooded into my
palm and ran up my arm and stabbed my stony heart.

  Thumpty-thump Thumpty-thump Thumpty-thump

  My heartbeat picked up speed. Blood moved faster and faster, warming the ice, gripping me.

  “Lucien, let go,” Montae warned. “You’re turning blue.”

  “No… No… I can do this.”

  What was happening?

  Dragon, please.

  My sweet silver dragon formed in my mind, but the image flickered.

  Weak.

  She disappeared. That was the only thing she could muster to say to me.

  “Lucien, please stop.” The worry in Montae’s tone spurred a determination inside me and grappled every power I possessed and forced my eyes to open. I gasped.

  Lucien’s face was indeed blue, and when he exhaled, his breath came out in a cloud of smoke. His dark hair had frosted over, and he had white flecks in his stubbled beard. He was on his knees.

  “Let go,” I whispered.

  He shook his head. “Never.” He bent over and kissed my stiff lips. His tongue pushed on my lips until they parted slightly, and he sought the silkiness of my mouth, coaxing my frigid tongue to dance with his. Each time he moved his tongue, the coldness gripping my face thawed.

  His kiss turned determined, persuasive, dominating. Warmth spread through me, making steam rise from my body. The ice evaporated and my bed turned wet.

  Our fingers locked together fiercely. I put my hand on his broad chest, feeling his pounding heart.

  “Lucien, let go. Before you fall down.”

  I opened my eyes and grimaced.

  Montae clasped Lucien’s broad shoulders.

  “Release me,” I whispered. “Please, I can’t lose you.”

  “Or me you.” But his voice was weak, and he swayed on his knees.

  His eyes fluttered.

  Montae immediately caught him and maneuvered him to the bed. Drawing every ounce of energy I had, I gritted my teeth and forced myself to roll to my side.

  “Lucien.” My voice was hoarse, and I wasn’t sure if anyone heard me.

  Montae put his palm on Lucien’s forehead. “He’s ice cold.”

  Anton studied Lucien. “He’s experiencing what Raven did.”

  I cleared my throat. “No.” A puff of smoke escaped from my stiff lips as if I was outside on a frosty morning.

  Anton gave me a small smile. “He will not die.”

  Montae glared. “Are you sure? He’s blue.”

  Anton carefully laid a comforter on Lucien. “He needs to stay warm, but he will heal, because Raven healed.”

  Montae and I both blurted at once. “What?”

  “This was a blood spell. They are now linked. They will feel what each other’s feels and will remain bonded.”

  “But they were already mated.” Montae carefully tucked the comforter around Lucien. “I don’t understand how this is different.”

  Despite being gruff and overbearing, he obviously cared a great deal about Lucien.

  Anton washed the blade that he must have used to cut my palm. “Their blood has mingled. It is stronger than any other bond, including the mating bond.”

  “That wound needs to be cleaned.” Dr. Greenwood put a bowl filled with water on the table next to my bed, along with bandages.

  I could smell the antiseptic and alcohol. The good doctor dipped a cloth into the water.

  “Please give me your hand.”

  I immediately obeyed, but it was hard to even move my hand a few inches.

  Dr. Greenwood gently dabbed the cloth on to my cut, and I winced.

  He frowned. “Are you okay?”

  “Just stings.” I tilted my head stiffly. “You need to help Lucien.”

  “I am. The blanket will keep him from going into shock.”

  Lucien’s ashen, and his lips had turned blue. “Are you sure he’s going to be okay? He doesn’t look very good.”

  Dr. Greenwood wrapped a bandage around my palm. “He will be fine. Give him time. I don’t believe he took in as much as the poison in the shadow demon’s dart as you did.”

  I glanced up at Dr. Greenwood. “How do you know?”

  “When you were shot, you were a dragon. I believe you absorbed most of it.”

  I stilled. “Anton, you don’t think Lucien took as much poison as I did as a dragon, do you?”

  “No, I don’t think so. His breathing as stopped. Just give him time.”

  I didn’t like any of Dr. Greenwood’s or Anton’s answers, and I wasn’t sure I believe them. I got the feeling that they were pacifying me, and I didn’t like it.

  I wanted to go over to where Lucien lay perfectly still and hold his hand. Dr. Greenwood studied my palm. “Feel better?”

  “I’m fine. Please, help Lucien.”

  Dr. Greenwood lifted an eyebrow.

  My teeth were chattering, and I was shivering. I rolled my eyes. “Okay, I’m still cold.”

  “You need to stay warm.” Dr. Greenwood picked up the cloth, bowl, and extra bandages and tilted his head toward Lucien. “He will heal. Like Anton said, you absorbed most of the poison. You sweated most of it out.” He gestured with his hand. “Look at your sheets. They’re soaked. Even your hair is wet.”

  I hadn’t even noticed it and clasped a strand of my hair. My eyes widened. It was soaked as if I’d just washed my hair––gross.

  “I think you need to move to another bed,” Dr. Greenwood said gently.

  “I’ll help her.” Anton lifted me.

  “I heard someone say I was out for three days.”

  “You were. Lucien almost lost his mind.”

  “I want to stay with Lucien.” I pushed on his chest and kicked, but I was so weak I could barely move my feet.

  “You will.” He placed me in the empty bed on the other side of Lucien.

  I stuck out my chin. “I want a chair.”

  Anton opened his mouth as if to argue, but instead he sat me in a chair. I was so weak I almost slid out of it, but I pushed on my lead feet to keep from falling.

  Anton brought me another chair and placed it under my feet. He wrapped a quilt around me.

  “There. Feel better.”

  I nodded. “Thank you.”

  I held Lucien’s hand, praying silently he would wake.

  Sweat stuck to me and what I really wanted was a hot shower, but I refused to leave Lucien. Who was I kidding? I was too damn weak to move. If I took two steps, I’d fall flat on my face.

  Until I was satisfied he was out of danger, I refused to do anything else but hold his icy hand, even sleep in a bed across from him. I needed to touch him to make sure he was still alive.

  Since his blood had mixed with mine, I didn’t want him to dream about Bo. Bo was my cross to bear, not Lucien’s.

  I thought about Lucien’s missing brother, Armond, and wondered if he would have the power to heal Lucien. I wished I knew where he was. Because what if Anton and Dr. Greenwood were wrong? What if Lucien died? I couldn’t take the anguish again.

  Chapter 6

  Someone shook me gently. “Raven, wake up.” Dr. Greenwood’s calm voice didn’t do anything to reassure the uneasiness tugging at my heart.

  I jerked open my eyes. For the first time, I hadn’t dreamed about Bo. Did it have something to do with the Victory of Darkness spell?

  I cleared my tight throat. “What? What’s happening?” I smelled something sweet and spicy, making my stomach growl, but wasn’t sure what it was. “What do I smell?”

  “Forest Amaranth broth––a special brew from my Starlight Kingdom.” In the fireplace, a caldron simmered over a flame.

  Dr. Greenwood gestured with his arm. “Look.”

  Lucien smiled at me weakly. “Hey, sleepy girl.”

  I put his shaky hand on my cheek. “Lucien.” My voice cracked with joy.

  “Worried?”

  “Yeah, I was.”

  Montae sat on a chair with his arms crossed over his chest. “Your snores could have fooled me. You both have been asleep
for the past twenty-four hours.”

  Lucien glared. “Montae.”

  Montae shrugged but didn’t make another smart comment.

  For Lucien’s sake, I bit my tongue to keep from giving Montae a sharp remark. He had no idea I hadn’t a restful sleep for weeks. Sharing my demons with him wasn’t an option.

  “What time is it?” Despite the anger flowing through my veins, my voice still sounded half asleep.

  Dr. Greenwood stood at the end of Lucien’s bed. “Eight o’clock in the morning.” He glared at Montae. “I don’t advise upsetting him. He’s still weak and needs rest, but he’s out of the woods.”

  Some of the fear inside me dissipated. “Good.” I clutched Lucien’s trembling hand. “Are you hungry?”

  “I could eat something.”

  “Forest Amaranth broth for now,” Dr. Greenwood interrupted. “I have some cooking for both of you.”

  Lucien frowned. “Broth?”

  My stomach growled, and I licked my dry lips. I eagerly looked at the bubbling cauldron.

  “Your system isn’t ready for anything else. The broth contains Lion Weed, Fire Ink Plant, Queen’s Thyme, and Yellow Nightshade. Mixed together they contain protein and a special healing power.”

  He dished up a bowl for me and handed it to me.

  “You can just sip the broth out of the bowl. You don’t need a spoon.”

  Montae helped Lucien sit up so he could have some of the broth, too.

  I waited for Lucien to drink before me, just in case he needed help eating, but as always, he was able to do it himself. I tipped my bowl to my lips and the most delicious broth slipped down my throat. Greedily, I lifted the bowl and finished off the broth.

  Energy moved through me faster than I thought possible, and I felt like I could actually walk.

  Dr. Greenwood clutched my shoulder. “Do you feel better?”

  “Yes, I do. Much.”

  He studied me. “You seem, to be healing fine. Would you like to freshen up?”

  Code word for I looked like shit.

  “I’ll be okay,” Lucien said in a soft voice. He handed the bowl to Montae.

  He definitely wasn’t himself, and the broth didn’t seem to have the same effect on him like it had me. He definitely needed something else.