Labyrinth Academy 2: Wars: an Urban Fantasy academy romance

by JA Wren

  Comfortable enough she could let go and see just how much power was simmering inside her.

  Without bringing the entire academy down if she lost it.

  “Hey, Liv,” Rayna said with a wave. “You got a sec?”

  Liv hefted her sports bag higher on her shoulder and smiled. “For a fellow death girl, sure. Especially since rumors are already spreading like wildfire about something you did in Power Infinitum class. And I’m curious.”

  Rayna rolled her eyes. “I might’ve gone a little too far inside the Retention Chamber.”

  Liv nodded, her lips quirking to one side. “Happens to the best of us.”

  Rayna was dying to ask what the hell that meant, but she was on a tight deadline. “Yeah, well—”

  “What is that on your hand?” Liv asked, stepping closer to squint at the marking Dave had given her.

  Rayna clenched her fingers into a fist and stuck her arm behind her back. “Nothing.”

  “It doesn’t look like nothing.” The Valkyrie’s face hardened, her eyes zeroing in on Rayna like she was her sworn enemy. “Show me.”

  She really didn’t have time for this. “If I tell you, will you do me a favor?”

  “Maybe,” Liv said through gritted teeth.

  That wasn’t very convincing, but Rayna needed more sparring partners. Stronger opponents she could realistically take on without risking their safety. She didn’t know when the full extent of her powers would kick in, but as a death girl, Liv was one of the few Spirituals at the academy she might be able to legitimately spar with.

  Liv had said she could beat Asher without breaking a sweat, and Rayna hoped she wasn’t simply talking a big game. She shivered at just the thought of harming anyone. No denying she’d have zero guilt over anything she did to Apollo or his minions, but she’d rather die—or get trapped in a star—than hurt someone.

  If getting the Valkyrie on board meant showing off her new ink, so be it.

  With a sigh, Rayna held out her palm. “My friend was attacked—”

  “Nature Mage.” Liv spoke with her gaze still locked on the golden markings. “I heard.”

  “Well, it happened near Gorgon Fountain, and when I questioned one of the statues, he drew this on my palm.” Rayna tipped her head at her hand. “No clue what it means, but my friend thinks it’s an incomplete sigil, somehow linked to whoever attacked her and her boyfriend.”

  “She’s right.” Liv finally lifted her stare. “It’s also the same symbol burned into the ground where we think Valkyries were taken.”

  Rayna’s jaw dropped. “What?”

  Liv gave her a hard smile, nothing friendly about it. More sardonic. “Yep. Now you understand why I wanted to know what it was doing on your hand.”

  Rayna shook her head and held up her hands, instinctively seeking hints of darkness. Tink hummed inside her pendant in silent warning. Right. No powers. “Shit, I’m not invol—”

  “Don’t worry. I think it’s pretty clear you’re not involved.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “But are you doing something about it?”

  Rayna opened her mouth but didn’t know how to answer. Yeah, they were investigating what they could, but she kind of had other things to contend with. Namely, controlling her abilities.

  “Look,” she said, taking a step towards the Valkyrie. “I want answers as badly as you do. Whatever this symbol—sigil—means, it’ll lead us to those responsible for hurting Delilah. And while I desperately want revenge on whoever it was, I also have four days to learn to control my powers or my mother will lock me inside a star—again—and place me in the night sky.”

  Liv’s eyes widened, but she said nothing.

  Rayna sucked in a deep breath, steadying herself. “I came to ask if you’d be willing to help me. If I’m not worrying about eternity in the heavens, I can work on this damn symbol.”

  “Sigil,” Liv corrected, her voice deadpan.

  “Does that mean you’ll help?”

  She was silent for long moments that stretched forever, until she finally smiled. “Sounds like fun.”

  Relief washed over her, but she had to be sure Liv was agreeing. “Really?”

  “Yeah, really. What? You think I’m gonna pass up the opportunity to kick a Ker’s ass?”

  Rayna laughed, a trace of nerves coming through she hoped Liv didn’t hear. “Okay, then. We’re meeting at the Lunar Field. They’re—”

  “Beyond the greenhouses, I know.” Liv edged backwards. “Lemme grab Torrey and we’ll see you there.”

  Well, that was easier than she’d expected. Rayna thought she’d have to work harder at getting the Valkyrie to join their odd training session.

  When she got to the Lunar Field, Asher already waited with Nissa and Xander, but no sign of Kally.

  Asher pressed a kiss to her forehead. “No luck with the Valkyrie?”

  “Actually, Liv and Torrey are meeting us here in a little bit.”

  His lips stretched into that sexy half-grin, but Xander interrupted anything he was about to say. He bowed like she was royalty and gave a teasing grin. “Your Darkness.”

  No way was she acknowledging that one.

  “Where did you disappear to back at Power Infinitum?” She definitely hadn’t seen him since she’d lost it inside the chamber.

  Xander smirked. “To pick up the baby phoenix from daycare. AKA, shifter 101.”

  Nissa rolled her eyes like a teenager embarrassed by their parents.

  “I’m still supposed to be training Nissa,” Asher said. “So, she’ll have to join us.”

  “Safely, right?” Rayna asked, already worried she might inadvertently hurt Nissa.

  “Of course,” Asher assured her. “I’ll make sure she’d perfectly safe—”

  “Hey,” Xander butted in, swinging an arm over Rayna’s shoulders. “Did I hear you mention a Valkyrie?”

  “Yes.” Rayna shrugged him off her shoulders. “They agreed to help.”

  Xander’s excitement almost bubbled over as he let out a whistle. “Damn, those are indestructible women.”

  Asher cleared his throat. “Not indestructible. Just…more durable.”

  “Gee, what every girl strives for,” Liv said from behind them. “Durability.”

  “Livanna?” Xander gaped, then covered the shocked look with an overly friendly smile. “You’re helping?”

  If Rayna didn’t know any better, she’d think the guy had a crush on the Valkyrie.

  Liv shrugged and tightened her ponytail braid where it hung over one shoulder. “Better than playing with kid gloves with these other Spiritual guys. None of them can take a damn punch.”

  Xander smirked and wiggled his blonde brows. “I’d be more than happy to spar with you anytime, sweetheart. And I promise I can take whatever you dish out.”

  “Really?” Liv gave him a cute, wide-eyed look, so at odds with her badass demeanor. “Because my girlfriend and I can be pretty rough.”

  Xander’s jaw loosened and Rayna didn’t think she’d ever seen him speechless before. He was saved from responding though, as Kally and an unfamiliar girl joined them.

  The new girl was just as tall as Liv, but sporting killer curves, with dark brown hair and rich bronze skin. They looked stunning beside each other. Like yin and yang. Two sides of the same coin.

  She held out her hand to Rayna. “I’m Torrey.”

  Rayna shook her hand, trying not to wince at the hard grip. “Liv’s girl, right?”

  Torrey beamed, her full lips stretching into a gorgeous smile. “You guessed it. Liv and I are more than happy to help. I mean, besides getting to really stretch ourselves a bit, because she’s right about the Spirituals here. A bunch of weak-asses.” She laughed, a rich, throaty sound. “Us death girls gotta stick together, right?” She leaned closer and lowered her voice. “Plus, I hear you know something about a certain sigil?”

  “Enough chit chat, ladies. Time to train,” Kally said. She’d gone from serious professor to drill sergeant, her voice
unyielding as she called orders.

  Once the mothman had let them inside the Lunar Field, the sun disappearing and replaced with a full moon and clear night sky, Kally led them all to the center of the training arena.

  “Phoenix, Valkyries,” Kally called out. “I want you guys to pair off and launch an aerial assault. Xander, get your pretty butt to higher ground and do your thing.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Kally slapped Xander’s head, but otherwise ignored the comment. She leaned in closer to Rayna and tapped her pendant with one finger. “Tink? You in there, honey?” The Wisp hummed to life, then joined their group of misfits, hovering right in front of Kally. “You and I are taking Ray-Ray head on. Give her all you’ve got, okay, babe?”

  Tink did a merry loop around Kally’s head, then perched on her shoulder, blazing a much darker red.

  Kally stepped closer to Rayna and rested both hands on her shoulders. “Let the darkness take over, Ray-Ray. Let it out. Don’t fight it for once. You’ve been holding back all this time, and that’s the problem. You’re fighting your nature because you’re scared of what you are—what you could be. Embrace your destiny.”

  Rayna swallowed. God, Kally was right. She’d been too scared to reach into herself and find the source of her power. Too haunted by the nightmares and then the globe Nyx had shown her.

  But it was time to stop cowering from herself and accept her powers.

  Kally smiled. “Deep down, you know how to control it on your own. Remember what I said, the darkness wants to obey. All you have to do is command it.” Kally kissed her cheek. “Don’t worry, Ray-Ray. The old you could win this in a heartbeat.”

  Maybe. But could the current Rayna?

  Twenty-Two

  Oh, God she was gonna be bruised in the morning.

  Ten times worse than after her last training session.

  Rayna pushed herself up from the dusty ground and shook off the residual hum of electricity pulsing through her. She hadn’t even worked her way through Xander and the Valkyries yet.

  Liv and Torrey were scary when they soared high up in the sky with their magnificent wings. They were huge and feathery. Pure white and each feather tipped with just a smidge of red. Like they’d been dipped in blood.

  The fact they too could fly proved, once again, she was the only one stuck on the ground.

  Well, almost the only one. Xander hadn’t sprouted wings and she silently hoped he never did.

  Asher was tutoring Nissa in the meantime, the two sparring nearby while Rayna tried to get a grip on her powers. Kally yelled out orders, while Tink did little dances through the dark, only her glowing flame visible in the almost pitch black night.

  “Again,” Kally shouted from where she hovered in the air thanks to her bat-like wings.

  Xander smiled from where he leaned against some old piece of junk. Kind of like a paintball field, the arena was littered with random crap, providing obstacles and sources of cover.

  She wanted nothing more than to wipe his grin away, send him crashing into something, but so far, she’d only provided with him target practice. She’d tried to let go. Tried to do more than simply will the darkness into a shield that only cooperated sometimes, but despite her best efforts, something was still holding her back.

  Maybe she’d been wrong.

  Maybe it was time to admit this wasn’t working and resort to unlocking her memories with the star.

  She sighed and let her shoulders sag in defeat. It felt like crushing failure weighing her down.

  “You know,” Liv said from where she hovered nearby. “I think you need a little more incentive. Xander?”

  The sky crackled and a bolt of bright blue lightning speared through the air. It headed straight for an unsuspecting Tink. Rayna had no idea what it would do to the Wisp and she didn’t want to find out.

  She pulled on the darkness, willing the shadows closer, then sent them flowing towards Tink as a protective shield. Not fast enough. The bolt hit the Wisp in a flood of pure, blinding light, evaporating every trace of darkness in the arena.

  “No!” Rayna wailed as Tink fell to the ground, landing with a tiny puff of sand. Her glow faded until there was none left.

  Something dark and unfamiliar coiled inside Rayna. Bitter and edged in anger. Tears pooled in her eyes. Black tar oozed from her, creeping out under her feet in thick waves. Clouds billowed in the sky, reclaiming the arena from the light to circle high above Rayna’s head.

  She clenched her hands at her sides, her fists sealing around something cold and tangible. Twin staffs? A glance down showed they weren’t staffs at all, but hilts.

  She held two with wicked blades made of black glass.

  Sharp and deadly.

  A smile teased her lips and the crisp scent of ozone wafted around her. Red crackled inside each blade like electric currents.

  Xander had messed with the wrong Wisp.

  “Asher!” Kally called, but Rayna was too far gone to glance in his direction. “It’s go time.”

  She locked her gaze on Xander, advancing with nothing but vengeance on her mind.

  “Don’t let those blades touch you!” Asher yelled, his voice closer and higher. Like he’d taken flight.

  But there was no glow from his wings. No light at all. Only the darkness. It radiated around her, feeling more like home than anything in the world.

  Including her phoenix soulmate.

  Rayna worked up to a run, swerving as Xander flung lightning bolts at her. Faster and faster. Until they blurred. Nothing but hazy light spearing towards her. She dodged them with ease and didn’t even feel a hint of buzz as they sailed past her.

  A few feet away from him, she leapt into the air.

  Pure instinct.

  Her body moved as though it had done it a million times.

  Something was supposed to happen. She could feel it in her bones. Something was missing. Out of reach. But before she could figure out what, or land on Xander, Liv swooped in, grabbed his arms, and carried him away.

  Rayna screamed as she fell to the ground with a heavy thud.

  Her swords!

  She sent one crashing through the air, barreling towards them, but the Valkyrie skillfully shot of out the way. The sword landed in the dust, then melted into thick plumes of black smoke to join the shadows.

  Fire blazed at her back, hotter than the depths of hell as it slammed into her shoulders. She spun, twisting up onto her feet right as Asher threw another fiery ball at her. They didn’t hurt. His fire could never harm her. But they were a distraction. Like a mosquito buzzing around her head.

  “Use your powers, Rayna,” he roared. “Manifest a better weapon for fuck’s sake.”

  Manifest?

  She stared at her hands, red electricity snapping in the veins at her wrists. Could she create any kind of weapon from the darkness?

  Testing it, she pictured the Reaper’s scythe in her hands. Her fingers tingled, cooling even further. The dark clouds gathered in between her palms and formed the creepy weapon.

  Another ball of fire sailed her way, crashing into her and knocking her on her ass. His fire couldn’t hurt her, but that didn’t mean a ball hurtling at her didn’t have any impact. “A scythe isn’t gonna help you here.”

  He had a point, but it wasn’t like she could create a water tank to douse his fire.

  Wait.

  What other methods did firefighters use for killing fires?

  She couldn’t control sand. No way to use that.

  Oxygen deprivation?

  Did she dare?

  Another flaming ball crashed into her, followed by another three in rapid succession. “Do it, Rayna. Stop fighting your nature and fight me, instead. You know you won’t really hurt me. Let go. Just like breathing, remember?”

  He was right.

  She let out a deep breath, then filled her lungs while black clouds billowed out in every direction. Thick and heavy. Suppressant. She pulled them back in and willed them at Asher righ
t as another fireball flamed in his hand.

  The darkness consumed him. It wrapped itself around him until she had to use her night-vision to see him. A faint, silvery outline. Still the fire blazed, then came flying towards her. She narrowly dodged it, then waited for the next.

  It never came.

  Instead, a blast of lightning cut through her back, sending her to her knees, grit biting into her skin. She screamed as the shock rippled through her, but she kept a tight hold on the darkness. With a silent command, she sent it rolling at Xander in tumbling waves.

  Then aimed more at Liv and Torrey as they swept towards her, wings outstretched.

  More and more darkness gathered, easily manipulated and eager to obey. It smothered all of them, trapping them in black clouds they couldn’t escape. She tightened her hold on it, her vision tinting faint red.

  “Fuck,” Asher hollered from inside his dark cocoon. “Xander, get out of here. Now!”

  Crisp ozone teased Rayna’s nose. Red crackled from the tips of her fingers, and she smiled, twisting her hands to watch the sparks creeping out from her veins to dance along her skin.

  So pretty.

  So deadly.

  She let it infuse the darkness, crackling along the clouds like an electric storm—

  A little flame popped into view and landed on the bridge of her nose.

  “Tink,” Rayna gasped. She dropped her grip on the darkness and smiled as she stroked a finger down the Wisp’s tiny body. “You okay, sweetie?”

  Her head bobbed in a flamey nod, and she flung her itty bitty arms around Rayna’s nose, as much of a hug as she could give. Then she sat up and pointed at the black clouds drowning everyone, the red sparks threatening to fry them all.

  “Oh, shit.”

  With far more effort than it had taken to summon the darkness, Rayna tightened the reins. First, the red electricity seeped safely back into her veins, taking the scene of ozone with it. Then she willed the darkness back into the shadows. The sky. Wherever it had come from. Pushing it far away from Liv and Torrey, then Xander.