by Jaymin Eve
I could feel the tension in the room now. Atlantis was an unknown factor that was about to insert itself into our world, and it was scary to think of what might change.
The door near the back opened, and I turned to see Asher stride in. I wasn’t the only one to look either; half the students were craning their necks to see him. Asher was somewhat of a god in this school, and with the recent Atlantis news, his notoriety had risen even further. People weren’t sure if they should fear the Atlantean-five or try and cultivate a relationship with them. Especially with Asher. They were obsessed with him.
And so the fuck was I.
Gorgeous bastard.
He strode in like he owned the place, not an ounce of unease at the thousands of eyes on him.
Princeps Jones chuckled. “Speaking of the Atlantean devil... Thank you for joining us, Asher.”
Asher shot him a half smile. He was dressed in the uniform, but the cooler, less “proper” version. His sleeves were rolled up to expose bronze, muscled forearms, collar open, white kicks on rather than the dress shoes, and his black hair with those silver and golden streaks was tousled like he’d run his hand through it a dozen times this morning.
Jesse moved over before he got to me, and I was thankful not to have to force that issue.
“Hey, baby,” Asher breathed in my ear, his warmth settling in beside me as his energy sent tingles across my skin. His shoulders were so broad that he half pushed me out of my chair, but I wasn’t complaining. When his lips brushed across the sensitive skin along the side of my neck, I completely missed everything else Princeps Jones said.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, distracting me, and I glared at Asher—the gorgeous bastard was now a distracting bastard—before I reached in and pulled the phone out.
Asher: You look so fucking sexy. I’m going to strip those tights off you tonight—just leave you in the skirt.
Jesus. Fucking. Christ.
I hadn’t even seen him touch his phone.
Forcing myself not to look at Asher, I tried to control my breathing, shoving the phone back into my pocket and focusing on Princeps Jones. I could see Asher in my periphery, and there was that slight smile tilting up his lips that made me want to both punch and kiss him.
“This year, I want you all to work on integration,” Princeps Jones said. “This is why we’ve introduced a mandatory, all-year sports morning on Wednesdays.” He shot us a warm smile. “Which, lucky for you all, is today.”
It got a little noisier then as everyone started to guess at what sports it might be. Princeps Jones had to clear his throat a few times to regain the attention of the room. “Before I sign off and allow my amazing fellow teachers a few words, I just want to add one more thing. This world is going to try and divide us. We’re all different races. This is a fundamental truth. But once you push aside the small differences, you’ll find that we’re all the same as well. Supernaturals. Together we can fight anything. If one race has a weakness, then there will be another race with that as a strength. Learn to fight together, and nothing will ever take you down. Thank you all. Have a wonderful year.”
His words resonated deep in my soul. Maybe it was because I hadn’t grown up knowing I was a supernatural, but I’d never seen that many differences between the four races. I had best friends who were shifters, vampires, and magic users. I’d met fey and liked them as much as I did other magic users like me.
I didn’t get the divide.
Fleecia, my old Herbalism teacher, stepped up to speak: “This year, we’ve had an influx of students. We’re at maximum enrollment with two thousand, seven hundred and fifty-six students. Our waitlist is now at ten thousand.”
She let that sink in for a moment, reminding us that we were all lucky to be here.
“We’ve opened up some new classes to meet the demand, so if you need to change any of your timetable around, come and see me on level two. Room 1912.”
She smiled and pushed back her golden-blond hair as she rejoined the other teachers.
When the teachers were done, the chimes sounded and everyone jumped to their feet.
I’d been doing my best to ignore Asher, because those texts were running through my head, driving me insane. I was so fucking turned on that I’d probably leave a wet patch on the damn seat when I stood up.
Now that the assembly was over though, I couldn’t help but tilt my head up to him. He was watching me, that lazy smirk still on his face. Leaning over, I returned it with a smirk of my own. “You’re playing a dangerous game, Asher Locke. Better make sure you can win.”
He didn’t look worried by my words; if anything, his amusement grew. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, Maddison James.”
Most supernaturals didn’t have middle names, from what I’d learned. That was more a human thing. In fact, in the Academy, most of them didn’t use their last names much either. I only knew Asher’s because his family owned a massive company in our world, and it was famous. Locke Industries.
“Come on,” Calen bellowed over the noise, pushing along the row. “We’ve gotta get to this sports bonding thing.”
Axl was grumbling as he walked out as well. “We better be on the same team, because I don’t have time to learn how to be sporty today.”
That made me chuckle. “I’m excited about it,” I said. “Nice to have some classes outside. Fresh air, friends, sunshine—”
A crack of thunder and lightning interrupted me, like the asshole weather it was, reminding us that there was not a ray of sun to be seen in the Academy.
“Where are they holding this sports thing?” I asked Larissa, looking at my schedule to see it had Back Field noted next to the class.
“It’s out in the same field where they held the Shifter Full Moon party,” she told me.
Jesse made a low rumbling sound, like a contented cat. “That was one awesome night.”
It had looked pretty incredible—we’d watched from the Atlantean house—but I also was kind of glad I wasn’t a shifter, falling victim to baser instincts at times. Ilia knew all about that. Last Full Moon party, her ex-boyfriend, Josh—a lion shifter—had sex with another shifter, and she was apparently pregnant. No one had heard anything about her after that though, and according to Ilia, she’d left the school and was living back with her parents.
Josh … he’d been trying his best to get back into Ilia’s good graces, but she was staying strong. I was proud of her. She deserved so much better than that sort of disrespect. Maybe it was very “human” of me to think so, since supes were generally promiscuous until they found their mates, but I still thought it was disrespectful.
“What will they do about the rain?” I asked as we crossed through the commons. It was fine in here because the barrier was up, but out in that field, there was no barrier.
Asher looped an arm around me. “You’re about to get a firsthand view of mass magic at work.”
Generally we weren’t supposed to use magic outside of classes, but I’d noticed that wasn’t policed that closely. It was mainly to stop “magical bullying;” otherwise, the teachers turned a blind eye. This, though, would be teacher sanctioned. It was for an official class.
Excitement had my feet moving faster. “I can’t wait to see how they erect the huge barriers,” I said.
“I’ll be front and center,” Calen said, smirking. “If there is one thing I have no issue with, it’s erect—”
I blasted him in the face with water, cutting him off midsentence. I’d recently learned that when it rained, I could take the excess water in the air and form water weapons to shoot at dickhead Atlanteans with more balls than brains.
Calen just grinned as he wiped his face. “You always think the worst of me. I was just going to say that I’ll be out there adding my magic.”
Asher pressed in closer to my back. “If you want to be able to make it out there still breathing, I’d keep moving now.”
Calen took the threat seriously, spinning around and hurrying after R
one, Larissa, Jesse, and Axl, who were in front, leading the way.
“I had it handled,” I told Asher.
He smirked. “Never said you didn’t.”
He couldn’t help himself … always trying to save me. He’d sacrificed himself for me one too many times already, and I was trying to break him of that habit.
“Next water ball is for you, Asher,” I warned him.
Fucker didn’t look remotely concerned.
When we were close to the back of the Academy, between the mansion and fey dorms, the field came into sight. It was quite large, and I’d seen lots of sporting events take place out there, only I’d never been interested enough to check them out. “What sports do supernaturals play?” I asked Asher.
“We play a lot of the same sports as humans,” he said, reaching out to link our hands together. He was always touching me, and it threw me off my game every single time. I’d had the occasional boyfriend and lover before, but none who seemed to want to be with me. Wanted to touch me—not like Asher did.
I was greedy for even more.
“But there’s one that’s our main sport, something that requires a mixed team of four, a member from each of the four races.”
This grabbed my attention. “Supernaturals-only sport?” I asked breathlessly. I didn’t learn as many new things after being here for a year, but still, it felt like there was something every day.
Asher nodded. “Yep … SSW. Supernatural Strategy Wars.”
Flickers of rain hit my face as I glanced up at him. Asher quickly erected a small shield above us while we waited for the larger one. Exactly what I was saying about magic. No one flinched using it in small amounts outside of classes.
“So how does this SSW work?” I asked him.
“There are teams of four,” Axl said, and I jumped, because I hadn’t realized he was behind me. “One from each of the races has to be represented, even if it’s mixed race.”
“It’s a lot like paintball,” Rone added, crossing his arms and looking around with disdain at all the students close to us, “where you have a magical artifact that you’re protecting, and you can use magic and spells to try and take the other team out. But the spells are limited to the few that will immobilize whoever you hit for no longer than twenty seconds.”
I shook my head. “But vampires and shifters can’t really use magic?”
Jesse’s face was lit up, and I was starting to see that the guys were actually pretty into this sport. I wondered why they hadn’t played last year. “There are different positions. The fey is generally the shield, the magic user is the one who usually shoots the other team with spells, while the vampire is the runner. The runner and the shield are the ones aiming to grab the artifact, while the other two are the attack. Shifter and magic user work together to take down the team. If you’re hit by a spell, you’ll be out for up to twenty seconds, leaving your team short.”
“Is the artefact hidden?” I couldn’t quite picture it in my head, but I also hadn’t played paintball before.
“It’s not hidden.” Asher shook his head. “But the magic user is allowed to use spells to protect it. So you have to be careful about what you’re going to face.”
“It’s a race between trying to protect your own artefact and going after theirs straight away before they lay too many spells.”
Larissa laughed, crossing her arms. “It gets pretty heated out there, and obviously the stronger your skills in your race are, the better your team will be.”
I could only imagine. “Is that what we’ll play today?” Her dad often gives her inside information, and since this was a new class…
“Shield’s going up!” someone shouted from nearby before she could answer. “All magic users report for duty.”
That was me, and I wondered if it was a smart idea or not to put my power out there on an open stage like this. I still didn’t have the best control over it, and my worst fear was accidentally hurting someone because I couldn’t handle my own power. I didn’t like not pulling my weight though, so I quickly crossed with Asher, Axl, and Calen, and stood in the huge group of magic users. The four races were pretty evenly spread across the students, but it seemed that magic users had slightly higher numbers.
“Use Shinsense,” the same deep voice added. “First years need not help. On my count…”
I’d erected a shield using this word last year, when I’d almost been crushed by an undersea waterfall. It had worked then, so hopefully it would work now.
“Surely they don’t need hundreds of magic users for this?” I said, looking around as we all prepared.
“It’s a unity thing,” Asher added right as the deep voice started his count.
“Three … two … one … go…”
Grabbing hold of my magic, heat burst within me, and I whispered the word, directing my energy toward the shield. It reminded me of Atlantis, the way the energy wrapped around and rose above.
I shivered at the memories. It had been scary, and I hadn’t thought about it as much as I should have, mostly because I liked sleeping without nightmares.
The heat grew in my body, and I felt that uncontrollable shaking of my limbs from releasing too much energy. No. I cut it off immediately and would have fallen to my knees if Asher’s hand under my arm didn’t keep me up.
“Are you okay?” he murmured.
I nodded, but before I could reassure him further, gasps from the crowd stole our focus.
“What in the world…?” Axl muttered, and I turned to find he was staring into the sky.
Something clenched in my chest, and slowly I tilted my head back.
Fuck. Shit. Fuck.
“Did I do that?” I whispered. It might have been arrogant of me to assume it was my energy, but when there was an ocean above our heads, the large mass of water blocking the rain, it was hard not to think that was me.
“It definitely arrived through water magic,” Asher said, stepping forward, his forehead creased as he examined the moving ecological system.
“There are animals in it,” I choked out, noticing a school of fish dart by. And I heard someone shout about a shark over near the fey dorms.
“What were you thinking when you sent the spell out?” Axl asked, and I dropped my eyes to meet his.
“Uh—” I broke off as I tried to remember my exact thoughts. “Shield. I was thinking about how this felt the same as the shield I created when we were under the water…”
I trailed off as we all returned our eyes to the sky above.
Holy gods. I’d just brought the ocean here, probably the very ocean right where I’d been in those underground caves.
Well … this was bad.
8
The noise of students talking and freaking out was getting louder, and I swung to Asher, unsurprised to find his eyes on me, stare assessing. “Have you figured out a way for me to fix this?”
Asher tilted his head before he leaned in closer and inhaled. Almost like he was … smelling me. I mean, not the weirdest thing he’d ever done, but right now it didn’t seem like the best time. “You smell different,” he said.
Suddenly I was being sniffed from all angles, especially by Larissa, Rone, and Jesse. Vampires and shifters had the strongest senses, and sense of smell was very important to them.
“Her powers are evolving,” Larissa said softly, her eyes wide and glassy. “That’s worrying, considering how strong they were to start with.”
Amen, sister. A-fucking-men.
Reaching up, I gripped the pendant, holding it tightly, trying to calm the swirling of power in my center. It was so much harder when my emotions were erratic, but losing control was about the last thing I needed right now, so I had to calm my shit.
“What does my energy smell like now?” I asked Asher.
Despite his warm, reassuring smile, I could see the worry in his eyes. “You’ve always smelled like power and life, like the ocean as it dominates everything. Now it’s just … more. The ocean on its stormiest
night, where a scent of hail and electricity lingers in the air.”
“A dark, tumultuous ocean that wants to destroy and kill,” Axl added unhelpfully.
I took a few calming breaths, trying not to freak and lose the small control I’d regained over my power. “They’re sending everyone back to the commons,” Larissa said, giving me another focus.
I turned to where Princeps Jones and the other teachers were dismissing students. When almost everyone was gone, he raced over to us, his normally calm features tight and unhappy.
“What’s happening? What do you know about this?” he asked Asher, who was the go-to when it came to anything water magic or Atlantean. “Is this an attack? Are the Arterians … or someone else behind it?”
Knowing I couldn’t let Asher deal with my mistake, I took a small step forward. “Actually—”
I was cut off by a hand over my mouth as Jesse wrapped his arm around me and lifted me back behind him. Rone and Calen closed in on either side of me.
“It’s definitely water magic,” Asher told him while I wiggled in an attempt to get free.
“Quiet,” Jesse hissed, his warm breath brushing across my ear. “Let Ash handle this.”
Why? I wanted to shout, but his hand was still over my mouth. I barely… barely stopped myself from biting him.
“I think I can reverse it,” Asher was saying, “I just need some time to make sure that there’s nothing else going on here. I don’t want to make it worse.”
“What caused it though?” Princeps Jones asked, and while I couldn’t really see him through the broad shoulders surrounding me, I sensed he was looking in my direction.
Asher sounded confident when he replied. “Right now, I’m not sure. But I’m going to do my best to find out. I suggest making this an out of bounds area, and we can let the students back in once I’ve contained the situation.”
“What will you do?” That voice was unfamiliar, and I assumed it was another teacher.
