Dead Air: A Collective World Novel (Academy's Rise Trilogy Book 3)

by Lia Davis

  As soon as I stepped inside, Gino walked out from between two stacks, followed by his parents. "Hey, Sterling, I found a spell that might..." His words faded as he saw me. "Ami." A grin spread across his face. "You came."

  "Of course I came," I said irritably, channeling Tala. As soon as Gino stepped into sight, my libido launched into overdrive. Nice to see losing my air didn't squash my sex drive. My irritation threatened to turn into sadness again as I thought about my missing air.

  Sterling raised his eyebrows at me. He knew it wasn't like me to be brusque.

  Ignoring him, I tossed my hair back. "This is my home."

  Gino's grin spread. "And a nice home it is."

  His mother walked past him, giving me my first full look at her. Her black hair shined in the light from the window, pulled back into a severe bun, making her already-sharp features even more prominent. "Hello," she said smoothly.

  By all rights, the polite and proper thing in our society would have been for her to incline her head, even if only a bit.

  She didn't. Not that I minded. I didn't have any illusions of grandeur. I was third-born, wouldn't rule, and didn't have any real power of my own to speak of. Besides that, she radiated power. A witch of some magnitude, I wondered how I'd never heard of her.

  As I stood in front of her, the severe and powerful woman, my mind blanked, and I couldn't have thought of her last name if my life depended on it. "Nice to meet you, Ms...?"

  "Drago," she said, venom dripping from her lips. "And you are?"

  My sisters' voices whispered through my mind, an imprint of how they would've handled this situation almost making me smile. Instead, I ducked my head. "Just Ami."

  No sense in making her mad. Then she might refuse to help us protect the Collective.

  "Well, just Ami, why did my son insist we stay until he could speak with you?"

  Couldn't her son speak for himself? I didn't mind being diplomatic and turning the other cheek, but even I had my limit. I raised my gaze and met hers, tired of cowering. "Because he is my mate, Mrs. Drago. And that means he is now tied to me."

  She scoffed. "The Drago heir will not be mated to a waif like you."

  I shrugged and opened my mouth to tell her to take it up with the ancestors when Gino stepped forward. "Enough," he said in a hard voice.

  I looked at him in surprise. Why had he waited so long to come forward? "Took you long enough," I said under my breath.

  He heard me. His angry face broke into a wide grin. "I wanted to see how well you could handle my ma. She's a lot."

  She rounded on him, probably about to give him a piece of her mind. I put one hand on my hip and ignored her. "And how'd I do?"

  "You started off rough, but came through in the second half for a spectacular touchdown."

  "A what?" What in the purgatory was a touchdown?

  "Nevermind. I can teach you the joys of football at any time. We have the rest of our lives."

  "Gino, enough of these games." She ignored me and focused solely on her son. I noticed his dad had retreated to one of the armchairs, beside the Hightowers, all three lined up on the sofa, watching in fascination.

  "Ma, do you honestly not know who Ami is?" Gino stared his mother down. "Come on, now."

  "How should I know who this teenager is?" Mama Drago shot me a scathing look over her shoulder.

  Straightening my spine, I drew on every bit of training I'd ever had. Our parents had forced us through etiquette training. Apparently, it was standard practice for vampires to have it, but my sisters gave up on it years before I did. I'd thought it was fun. So had Lilipad. She used to come and sit through the lessons with me sometimes.

  Meda had the witchy power, but I wasn't impotent. I trickled magic into my voice and stature. It was more a sense of largeness than anything, but it did the trick.

  "My name is Amitola Webb. I am the daughter of Kane, the King of the Vampires, and Jillian, the High Alpha of the Lycans. I am third in line to the throne of the Collective and fifth in line to the throne of the Kingdom of Hell. I am a Princess of the Collective, and that affords me a modicum of respect." I waited a tic before finishing. "Ma'am."

  Turning to Gino, I saw Sterling over his shoulder. He was doubled over on the sofa, silently laughing his ass off while his mother smacked at him. "Gino, we should discuss this. Would you care to come with me?"

  Turning my gaze to his father, I inclined my head.

  Using all the grace my heritage gave me, I turned on my heel and glided from the room. I knew Gino followed me because I heard him snickering all the way.

  Chapter Four

  I ducked into the first empty room I came to. It was my Dad's study. After Gino entered, I started to close the door when Noah and Harper appeared in the hall. I scowled at them. "I can talk to him alone."

  Harper shook her head. "You're not being alone with him."

  "Besides, this affects all of us." Noah nudged Harper inside the room.

  Throwing my hands up, I turned, leaving the door open, and faced Gino while crossing my arms. "Tell me why everyone is warning me about you."

  One side of his sensual mouth lifted. Magic sparked in his irises. "My family may have gotten a bad reputation over the years. We take care of our own and don't react favorably to those who wish us harm."

  I pressed my lips together and stared at him, sure he was being too vague.

  Harper snorted beside me. "While the Hightowers have connections to the mob, the Dragos are the mob."

  Gino cut a glare to Harper then glanced at me with amusement. "That is a rumor. There is no proof."

  Studying him for a few moments, I knew he wouldn't open up and spill his dark secrets right then. I'd have to ask around and do my own research. "As you may have noticed, I have two...three other mates." Maybe he'd come clean with a little time.

  Gino raised his brows. "Three?"

  "Phenex. He's a mate for my sisters too and our center." That was all I was willing to share with Gino at the moment. If he had his secrets, then I'd keep mine. For the time being. "Harper and Noah are also my sentries." I gestured them. "We'll have to learn to find a balance in this relationship."

  Gino nodded. "It will be interesting to see how this plays out."

  I wasn't so sure I could bond with someone who would lie to me and keep secrets. "If you can't be completely honest with me about something so big, then you can leave. I don't have time to deal with the drama of a mate who keeps secrets from me and our other mates." There was more to tell him about Phenex, but being involved in the mob wasn't something I could handle at this very moment.

  Although, I was pretty sure no one could lie to Phenex. The demon had his ways of finding out information. Maybe I'd ask him what he could gather up on Gino.

  Without another word, I turned on my heels and left the study. I sensed that Meda and Phenex were back anyway, and I needed to get back to Dad before he came looking for me. I didn't want to deal with explaining to him that I had an Italian witch mobster for a mate. Even though he'd indicated he suspected it.

  We were halfway down the hall when Gino caught up to me. "I'm coming with you. I could help with your demonic vampire issue."

  I spun on him. "Trinity is now everyone's issue. If we don't stop her, she'll wipe out the entire Collective. That includes the witches, now that Meda and Sterling are mated, and Tala and Fenton, and you are my..." I paused and narrowed my eyes. "Mate." His easy grin widened, both infuriating me and somehow making a puddle form at my core. Darn him.

  "Ami."

  I closed my eyes briefly at the sound of Papa calling to me. When I opened them, I glared at Gino before facing Papa and forcing a smile. "Yes?"

  Papa glanced at Gino and grimaced. "It's time to go."

  I started walking again, leaving it up to my mates and Papa to follow. The last thing I needed was to find another mate while preparing for a war.

  The great room was packed with people, and I almost couldn't breathe. Reaching for my element, I frowned
when it wasn't there and tears formed. Harper took my hand and drew me into her side. Noah stood behind me with his arms around my waist and his head on my shoulder. I relaxed under their touches. I wanted to curl up in my room and get lost in a book, forget the trauma of the day. That wasn't happening any time soon.

  Phenex glanced at me with an unreadable stare. He flicked his gaze to Gino and the corners of his mouth tipped down before he turned his attention to my Dad. I would have to talk to the demon about Gino.

  Dad stood on top of his desk and addressed the room. Good thing it was such a big room with vaulted ceilings. "Those who wish to go to the dorms with us are more than welcome. It'll be cramped, but it's safer, better equipped. If you have safe houses, you are welcome to go to them instead. The High Alpha, my fellow High Kings, and I will work with our sentries, my parents, and two of the largest witch circles in the nation to eliminate the threat. For good this time. Trinity has waged war upon us, and I will not hide behind politics. The council is behind the High Alpha's decision to go all-in to protect our people."

  Dad pointed to Phenex in the middle of the room. "Phenex is going to put a portal here, if everyone will back up, please." They complied immediately. "It will open on the top floor of the dormitories. Someone is on the other side to assign you a room or possibly a specific bed, depending on your family size." Within moments a large portal opened up.

  My sisters and I went through first. We directed people to their rooms, telling them where the linens could be found and that more would be brought over once everyone was settled into their rooms. "Single or family?" I asked a lycan I didn't know very well. "Single," he said gruffly. I smiled, trying to be warm and make him feel comfortable and safe. "Are you a fighter?"

  He nodded curtly. "Sentry."

  "Sentries are gathering in the last door on the right, top floor." All the sentries would be spread throughout the building to sleep, but they would take their orders from either Randell or Roberto.

  A small family came through: a male and female vampire with one young girl. "Vampire family?" I asked politely. The parents nodded. "Vampire families are on the second floor. You move faster than the Lycans. In the event of an attack from below, please have your child use the staircase on that end of the hall to move to the top floor. If you can fight, please use the staircase on the opposite end of the hall to go down to the attack. A sentry will be posted at each staircase. In the event you see no sentry, that means the staircase may not be safe. Understand?" I had to rattle through the information quickly, and I spoke loudly in hopes that the next people waiting behind the portal might hear. Meda and Tala had been doing similarly.

  "Yes, thank you, Princess," the mother said with a tiny head bow.

  "Ami, please." I squeezed her hand. "We'll get through this." They moved down the hall, and I faced the next family through.

  Lycans didn't have an issue with sharing their quarters with non-family members, because pack was family. Vampires weren't as touchy or cuddly as the Lycans. But for the time being, they seemed to be adjusting. Thank goodness.

  It was well into the evening when everyone was settled and food brought in. I worried we'd run out of food before Trinity came back to slaughter us all, but Phenex assured me he could portal us to a grocery store at night. We could leave cash for the items we took. It would be okay.

  Finally, free to relax, I stretched out on my bed with my head hanging off the end and stared out the window at the darkening sky. Harper and Noah were in a sentry meeting with my niswi and Mom. Since my sisters and I had three mates each, we were allowed to keep our bedrooms to ourselves. Mom and the niswi would bunk in the common area. Grandpa and Grandma were in the room Calista used. We'd never let anyone move into it. Yuck.

  The bed dipped, and I glanced up, meeting Phenex's dark eyes. He sat cross-legged in the middle of my king-sized bed and held out his arms to me. I sat up and went to him, curling up in his lap with my back pressed to his front.

  He took my hands in his and linked our fingers. There was nothing sexual between us, but being in his arms comforted me, brought me a peace I'd never felt before meeting him. "Close your eyes," he ordered in a soft tone.

  I did as he said and waited for his guidance into our meditation. We'd done this a few times, and I'd always found clarity afterward.

  "I want to try to see if your element was truly taken from you or blocked from your reach."

  I nodded. There were so many questions I wanted to ask him but pushed them aside for now. "What do I need to do?"

  Please just be a block.

  "Open your mind to me and follow my lead." His smooth, deep, slightly accented voice glided into my mind, comforting. I could listen to him speak forever. Sometimes he read to me until I drifted to sleep.

  Sensing my sisters, I opened my eyes. Meda and Tala stood inside the doorway watching us.

  Phenex said, "Come in and sit."

  They crawled on the bed and I shifted so we were in a tight circle, knee to knee. Tala glanced from me to Phenex. "Can you really see if our elements were shielded from our reach?"

  "I can." He brought our hands to the middle and my sisters placed theirs on top of our linked fingers. "I need each of you to open your minds. Focus and search for your elements."

  Closing my eyes, I searched inside myself for the part that was my element. It was empty and dark, and it made me sad. Where it normally was, a gaping hole taunted me.

  I felt alone without my element. After a little while, Phenex appeared there. He pulled me in and soon we stood in the darkness. Then Meda and Tala appeared.

  "What do you see?" Phenex asked.

  Meda answered first. "Nothing. Except for you guys, everything is black."

  "But that isn't nothing."

  "What?" Tala frowned, eyeing our demon mate.

  Phenex shook his head. "The blackness is what is containing your elements."

  Meda's eyes widened. "Like the spell Calista used on the students when she got here."

  "Not exactly but close. The power behind the walls is dark, evil. Yet, it's familiar. I can't pinpoint where it is coming from. But someone is pulling Trinity's strings, or she made a deal with someone as powerful as your grandfather." Phenex growled, and it was the first time outside of a fight that I'd heard him get angry.

  "Do you know who that could be?" I asked.

  "I have a shortlist. That's not important yet. That will be a job for your grandfather. What is important is figuring out how to end this curse." Phenex pulled out of our linked minds, breaking the connection.

  I opened my eyes to see Mom and Dad standing in the doorway. Mom frowned. "What were you doing? Did you hear me talking to you?"

  Meda turned on the bed to face our parents. I realized that we hadn't had time to explain how Phenex fit into our mating situation. Meda gave them the brief version. "Phenex is not simply a mate for the three of us. He is our center."

  Mom looked puzzled and opened her mouth to question us, but a voice behind her made her turn. Gino stared at me as he spoke. "Phenex is like their familiar, if I understand the mythology behind it. But he's more. He is bound to each of them and will be the catalyst of their powers as they grow, balancing the power of Hell, the elements, and their inner magic."

  Dad whirled on Gino. "Where do you fit in?"

  Gino calmly held Dad's furious gaze. "I'm Ami's mate. Though, we still have a great deal to work out and a few things to clarify."

  Dad stepped closer to Gino, but Mom placed a hand on his chest, stopping him. "Now is not the time. Besides. I know of another couple who were fated mates even though their families and even the law was against it."

  I glanced at my sisters. Both of their faces looked strained as we all held in a snicker. Mom was referring to her and Dad, of course. Back when they'd met and the mating urge slammed into them, the councils had forbidden the union of a vampire and a lycan.

  Mom turned to us. "Poppy and Lilipad are here. We're having a meeting in the common area."
/>   Meda, Tala, and I jumped up and rushed out of my bedroom. Our grandparents stood in the middle of the room talking with Papa and Paw. I rushed to Poppy and threw my arms around him. "Where have you been?"

  He kissed the top of my head as Dad asked, "Yeah, where the fuck were you two? You said you're there for us but when we need you, you don't answer our calls."

  I lifted my head to see Poppy's features flash in irritation. "Do you think you are my only child?"

  Dad glanced at Lilipad, then Mom before saying, "Um, yeah."

  Poppy shrugged. "You are." He laughed at his joke, which made my sisters and I laugh. Poppy made himself laugh more than anyone else. Though this joke was funny, for once.

  Normally he was prone to horrible grandpa jokes like, "How do you make holy water? You boil the hell out of it." Then he'd laugh until his face went red, and he ended up gasping.

  Mom pinched him and he jumped, rubbing his arm. "This is serious!"

  Sighing, Poppy took her hand and pressed a kiss to her fingers. "I know it is." Moving to the kitchen island, he sat on one of the bar stools. Lilipad leaned against him as he explained. "Someone in hell has been plotting against me and starting uprisings for years now. Maybe centuries. It's hard to tell because time moves in weird ways in Hell. Anyway, I can't pinpoint who the source is, but I'm getting closer."

  Meda asked, "Do you think it's the same person who is fueling Trinity's power?"

  "Trinity?" Poppy sat up and shared a look with Lilipad before turning his attention to Dad. "Kane, if you had mentioned Trinity in your message, we would've come right away."

  "That does narrow down who it could be," Lilipad said.

  Poppy nodded. "Yes, it does. Oh, damn. I thought she'd be dead by now."

  Dad crossed his arms and glared at his father. "Sharing is caring."

  A wide smile formed across Poppy's face. "So my son does have my sense of humor. I've never been prouder of you, boy." He shook his head and turned serious. "No, I can't share who I think it is right now. I have to be sure. I also have other shit to deal with. I am the ruler of Hell. As a King yourself, you know of the many duties that come with the job. Although you don't torture your people. Plus I have to allow time for my queen." He snaked an arm around Lilipad and nuzzled her neck.