Shadowborn Academy: The Full Collection

by G. Bailey

  “Damn, you can be scary.”

  We both chuckle for a moment before he brings my lips to his. The kiss is soft—a goodbye, for now, that doesn’t need words. It hurts to step back from him knowing I’m sending him into danger, but it has to be done.

  Zander runs across the beach, through the shallow water and jumps into the sea, diving headfirst into the water.

  I run to the edge of the beach, letting the waves brush my feet as I wait for Zander to come back up. Even though I’m well aware he’s part dragon, and like all dragons, can breathe underwater, it’s still hard to wait for him. Just when I start to wonder if he’s swimming his ass to the city, a massive dragon jumps out of the sea, water glistening on his white scales and his yellow eyes meet mine.

  Zander.

  His beautiful dragon spins in the air, shaking off the water, and then flies straight for the city without stopping once.

  Good luck.

  An icy chill creeps over me as I watch him go.

  “Hello, Princess Corvina,” a voice says. “Princess of Ravens and Wolves. Princess of Freedom. Princess of the Light and Dark. I have heard many whispers about you.”

  I jump, spinning around in the waves of the sea, looking for whoever just spoke, but finding no one. Oddly, I can’t even tell if it was a boy or a girl, and the more I think of the voice, the more it seems like I heard nothing at all. I try to step out of the sea but my feet don’t move, and I look down to see I’m sinking into the sand. It’s pulling me under.

  “Help!” I scream the word out, digging at the sand under my feet as it quickly reaches my knees. I look up to see my guys running out of the forest just as a blast of water slams into them, sending them flying back into the forest. I call my magic but nothing happens. Fear clogs my throat when I realise that I’m stuck. My screams and pleads to Selena are lost to the sea as I sink further and my hands get stuck under the sand. Just as it gets to my neck, dark spots start to cloud my vision and the air clamps in my lungs.

  “You’re mine now, Princess. I have been waiting for you.”

  Then I’m lost to the sea and the sand, helpless to save even myself.

  “And that’s the end of class today. Make sure you have all your homework in for tomorrow!” I shout as the teenagers in my class all but rush out of the room the second the bell rings. I chuckle, remembering when I was just like them and not the teacher I am now. I couldn’t wait to get out and hang out with my friends. I gather the papers I need to mark tonight and my planner, shoving them in my bag when a knock on the door echoes twice.

  “Hey, hun. Still ready for tonight’s dinner?” My mum, the headmistress of our school, asks as she comes into my classroom. Still a beauty in her fifties, her pale blue eyes wait patiently for my answer. Mum and I have always been close, but I’m a daddy’s girl at heart.

  “Is Dad cooking his famous beef stew?” I ask, and she just laughs, walking over to my desk. Surprisingly, my mum hugs me tightly, not like she usually does. I hug her back. “What’s this for?”

  “All this isn’t real. You can’t choose this. Look in the water, dear,” she whispers in my ear.

  I laugh and pull away, frowning at her. “What did you just say?”

  She shakes her head, her long blond hair swaying behind her. “I didn’t say anything, dear. Don’t be late tonight. I love you!” She hugs me once more before rushing out of the room, and I stare at the door as it swings shut.

  Look at the water? What about any of this isn’t real?

  This is my life.

  I’m Corvina Charles, a normal girl who grew up in a little village and studied damn hard to become a teacher. I mean, I don’t have a love life, and no guy seems to compare to the four men in my dreams, but what girl doesn’t dream of sexy men?

  No, this is real. It’s as real as the air in my lungs and the sharp pinch I give my arm. But something about my mum’s whisper does shake me up. Even if it was meant as a joke, it’s a bizarre thing for her to say.

  Shaking my head, I chuck my bag over my shoulder and leave the classroom. I rush to the front door of the school, needing fresh air. Only the fresh air doesn’t help the panic or fear creeping over me.

  I look over the road at the small park, and in the centre is the wishing well that’s always filled with water. This whole area used to be a forest, but when the council decided they needed a park, they uprooted all the trees. That’s when they found the wishing well, which they decided to keep. Until this moment, I’ve never gone near it, but my mum’s whisper sinks into my mind, drawing my feet towards the park. Every step seems wrong. My whole body itches to run away even as I pass children laughing and running in circles, and the few teenagers from my class hanging out on the swings. Nothing seems right anymore.

  I stop at the well and stare into the water down below. I should walk away and go to the house that I share with my roommate, Sage, and get ready for dinner with my parents.

  What am I doing here?

  “Choose well, Princess, or you will never leave my sea again.”

  Why does the creepy water have to talk?

  Sea?

  What the hell?

  Without knowing why I drop my bag to the floor and start climbing the walls. I stand on the edge of the well, looking down into a dark abyss.

  “Choose.”

  The voice doesn’t tell me what to choose, or why, but I want to jump.

  I want to leave.

  And so I jump into the water without another thought.

  My body plunges into the salty water at the bottom and I gasp as it surrounds me, pulling me down into its depths. Slowly, light burns into my eyes and I see a sword floating right in the middle of the brightness. I stretch my hand out and grab the hilt of the sword. The water swooshes away, leaving me on a sandy beach with the burning sun bleeding into my eyes. Every real memory of my past and my reality comes crashing back to me as tears burst from my eyes and sobs from my throat.

  My human parents are dead. I killed them and I’ve accepted that it wasn’t my fault.

  I could have chosen to stay with them, but that world would never have been real.

  This world is, and everything that comes with it, the good and the bad.

  In this world, my guys are real, and with them is the only place that I want to be.

 

  I glance at the talking sword, which is so much worse than talking water. It is made of pure gold, but lightweight as I lift it up, my gaze tumbling over the hilt which glistens with starlit jewels. Symbols are drawn all over the blade and the leather handle is incredibly soft, fitting perfectly into my hand. As I admire it, the gold changes to pure black, and the stones turn into ravens, the wings holding the blade up. Damn, it’s my sword now. It sinks into my hand like sand dissolving into the ocean, and an amber glow travels up my arm. It vanishes under my skin before turning into a gold tattoo that replicates what the sword had looked like. I always wanted a tattoo.

  “Until the end,” I whisper, running my finger over the raised skin, feeling a strange addiction to the power—to the talking sword now etched into me.

  “Vina!”

  Jonah’s voice carries to me on the ocean breeze. I spin around to see him running over with Pitch and Gage at his side. They all crash into me and hold me in the middle of them. Echo calls out and lands on top of Pitch’s shoulder, and I swear he smiles at me.

  “It’s been three days. Where in the name of Selena did you go?” Pitch demands, his worry drifting into anger.

  “Three days?” I question with wide eyes. “It felt like an hour to me. The sword took me. It’s a long story. What matters is that I’m okay and I have one of the artifacts.”

  I show them my arm and they all frown at me in confusion. They can’t see the sword. So it’s only me who can see it? Ambrose comes rushing out of the forest, sighing and patting his knees when he sees me. To my surprise, the guys let Ambrose hug me when he gets closer and he lifts my
arm with a similar frown.

 

  “What happened?” Ambrose asks, stepping back. “Your power is leaking off you in waves. Something big has changed.”

  “I have a talking sword tattooed on my arm that only I can see,” I answer. Ambrose grunts, crossing his arms. All my guys look at my arm very uncomfortably, almost as if the sword is a new guy and they want to figure out a way to get rid of him.

  “You seriously have a problem with things talking in your head, you know that?” Pitch grumbles. I laugh despite the weirdness of the situation. We have the sword, Zander will get the dragons and we will win this war. Things are finally looking up.

  Before dusk settles, we stop by another cave to make camp. This one isn’t nearly as impressive as the last and has been used by animals. To prevent the smell of rotting bones hitting us, we built a fire outside the cave this time. I’m more exhausted anyway than I am eager to explore the area. I guess three days trapped in an alternative reality has started to take its toll on me. Pitch senses my exhaustion and takes my hand.

  “You should rest,” he whispers.

  I nod at him, unable to stifle a yawn. “There’s just something creepy about this cave. I can’t put my finger on it.”

  “It’s probably because we’re near the Deadlands border,” he says. “They won’t come near us. Like the centaurs, Draugars keep to themselves.”

  “And thank Selena for that,” Jonah adds, stoking our fire with a long wooden stick. “Those corpses stink.”

  “Sshh!” Gage glares at him. “I don’t know about you, mate, but I’d rather not attract their attention.”

  Jonah stands and grins at him. “Are you frightened, Professor?”

  “Go fuck yourself.”

  They both laugh as they walk off in different directions, probably to help Ambrose place more protection spells around us.

  “What are Draugars?” I ask Pitch, scooting closer to him on the fallen log. “This sounds like the perfect camping ghost story.”

  He chuckles quietly before answering. “There are sea-Draugars and land-Draugars. The ones close to the border are the former and control anyone who drowns in the Enchanted Forest, particularly in the Faery Pools. The land-Draugars protect their marshlands and ancient treasure-filled caves. They were rumoured to once fight alongside the Draconians in battle, but I think it’s only a tale.”

  “It’s not a tale,” Gage says, returning with firewood in his arms. He sets them down by the crackling fire Ambrose kindly set up for us. “My father used to collect ancient scrolls. In one of them, there was a legitimate account about the Sea Draugars helping to defend the forest when Eris’ sent her monsters. They helped protect Draconia while a lot of other places were destroyed.”

  Pitch lifts his brows. “There you go, then. They once weren’t as recluse as they are now.”

  “Are they living or undead?” I ask. “I’ve never heard of the term Draugar before and I don’t remember reading about it in the Book of Zorya.

  It’s Gage who answers me. “Undead. Funnily enough, it’s Draugars who created the Shades.”

  At the mention of his species, Echo hops off the log and flies over, rolling to a halt at our feet. I chuckle and lift him up, kissing him on his little wet nose.

  “How can something that sounds so terrifying create something this cute?” I hold Echo up to them. “I mean, just look at him!”

  “They were created this way as a ruse to befall their enemies,” Pitch explains, reaching out to touch Echo. It’s the first he’s ever tried to pet him. I hold my breath as he awkwardly pats Echo on the head. “Echo is the first Shade I have ever seen or I would’ve deciphered his species the first day you got him.”

  “I didn’t know either until Stonehart brought Echo to the staff room.” Gage reaches over and rubs Echo’s stomach. “Luckily, he was able to convince Stonehart to let him stay.”

  Ambrose returns with Jonah, but they don’t look as relaxed as Gage had.

  “What’s wrong?” Pitch stands and clenches his hands. “What did you see?”

  Ambrose stops beside us, the shadows from the fire playing over his face. “I only sensed something dark.”

  As soon as he says the words, a gust of ice-cold air sighs around us. It freezes the fire into swerving icicles, and our breaths turn into puffs of smoke. My teeth chatter as I hold Echo to my chest, looking around to see where the coldness is coming from. Every breath I drag in is like snow in my lungs. Even the water bottles beside me freeze into blocks of ice.

  “Is it Draugars?” I whisper to the guys, shivering as my breath streams out.

  Pitch shakes his head. “Something darker. Gage, Jonah, protect her. Ambrose, come with me.”

  He steps forward, his entire body radiating with dark magic, but he stops when an even darker shadow appears in front of him. The smokey-black tendrils materialise into a tall, cloaked figure with burning gold eyes. He looks almost identical to Pitch only older with slightly longer black hair and sharper features. His gaze drifts lazily between us, pausing briefly on me, before landing on Ambrose. A smile curves the edge of his lips.

  “Aeon. It has been a long time, my old friend.”

  Every part of Ambrose’s body visibly tenses. “I am not known by that name here and I shall never again be fooled into being your friend.” He pulls his lips back into a snarl and his skin glows like it did when I first met him. “You betrayed me!”

  “Betrayed you?” The Dark God scoffs, contemplating his black fingernails. “I kept you safe from my brother’s wrath. You should be thanking me.”

  “Balle eis Korakas!”

  Hades’ gold eyes snap up to him. “It is I who feasts on the flesh of crows, not the other way around. How disappointing you would choose to side with mortals.” He turns his gaze onto Pitch. “You, Alastair Pitch, are my son and heir. It is time to come home with me.”

  I practically choke on my own spit at the statement. I mean, sure, they look alike, but Hades is the Dark God of the Underworld. Pitch is…the Dark Fae Prince… It isn’t a wild stretch now that I think about it.

  “Pitch, is this true?” I whisper.

  He shakes his head. “My parents died after I was born which is why I was given to Narah.”

  The Dark God laughs scathingly, his features hardening. “I gave you to the fae queen until I was ready to retrieve you.” He holds out a hand and clicks his fingers. “Come. We have wasted much time already.”

  Pitch stares at the proffered hand with large, unblinking eyes. “No.”

  An even darker shadow gathers around Hades, oozing off him in waves. “You choose also to stay with the mortals, my son?”

  “Even if what you say is true,” Pitch replies, his tone equally as firm and confident, “you are not the blood I wish to stay with.”

  Hades’ hand falls by his side, his knuckles blanching white. He looks between Pitch and Ambrose for a long, awkwardly silent moment.

  “Very well,” he says at last. “If this is your decision then I shall go and leave you with a parting gift.” With a wave of his hand, gigantic roots claw out from the earth into a monstrous shadow. “No need to thank me,” he sneers before disappearing into a dark cloud of smoke.

  “What the hell has he done?” Jonah asks, pulling me protectively behind him.

  The darkness bleeding from the roots snap and crackle like bolts of lightning. They merge together until a beast with matted black fur and three wolf heads snarl at us. Holy fuck, it’s huge. Much bigger than Echo’s giant pink Thumper.

  “That is Cerberus,” Ambrose answers, the colour draining from his face. “He’s here to take me back.”

  “You mean the three-headed monster who guarded the Howling Hollow?” Gage frowns at him. “Please don’t tell me it’s that Cerberus.”

  “I’m afraid it is.” Ambrose swallows, his throat jerking nervously. “Nothing will stop him until he traps me with the Bonds of Chaos and returns me
to Tartarus.”

  The fear in his voice twists my stomach. He barely finishes speaking when the beast digs one of its paws into the soil. Chains covered in fire whip into the air around him.

  “Well that ain’t happening,” I say, taking his hand and giving a reassuring smile despite the tremor of fear catching in my throat. “That crazy pupper isn’t taking you anywhere, Ambrose. We’ll make sure of it.”

  He looks at me, his brows drawing together. “Why would you all do that for me?”

  “Because you’re our friend.” I nod to each of my guys. “And we don’t abandon our friends.”

  “Fuck yeah we don’t,” Jonah exclaims.

  Gage pats Ambrose on the shoulder and even Pitch, who’s never liked Ambrose, nods in agreement.

  “How do we defeat it?” he asks the god, his tone no longer scathing like it normally is when he talks to him. It’s also the first he’s spoken since the bombshell was dropped. I can’t wait until this is over and we can be alone together. “I don’t think positive reinforcement is going to work with this hound,” Pitch adds quietly.

  Ambrose runs a hand through his curled hair. “We cannot defeat the demon but we can restrain it. If we use the shadows to bind it, we’ll be able to escape. Who here is a shadowbinder?”

  All of us raise our hands and Ambrose grins. The earth shakes around us as the demon prepares to attack. We don’t have long. Seconds, if we’re lucky. I prepare to shield my guys just in case.

  “Gather the shadows around him, I will do the rest,” Ambrose instructs, and we split up.

  Pitch and Jonah shadowlocate behind the demon while I go with Gage to cover the front. Each of the demons’ heads snarls and snaps at us, but we shield him with magic. With our other hands, we peel the shadows away from the trees and out from under the rocks. They lift off the ground and Ambrose, still standing behind us, holds up his hands.

  His spell is stopped when Cerberus swipes its paw at me and I let go of the shadows. I slam against the ground with a startled cry and pain ripples through me. Blood trickles down my leg where there are now four oozing gashes.