Wicked Academy 3: Dirty Little Secrets

by Nissa Leder

  Wicked Academy - Dirty Little Secrets

  Term Three

  Nissa Leder

  Copyright © 2020 by Nissa Leder

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Thank you for reading!

  Also by Nissa Leder

  One

  Sometimes I still can’t believe everything that’s happened in the last year.

  Less than 365 days ago, I was packing my bags, ready for the normal college life. Boys, booze, maybe a psych major. Wicklow filled the first two expectations, but instead of studying Freud or how to diagnose bipolar disorder, I learned how to harness magic I never knew I had.

  Not only was I clueless to the power my bloodline gave me, but by making it through my first year at Wicklow, I now possess twice the amount of magic I was born with.

  Which both excites and terrifies me like nothing ever has before.

  In one week, I’ll be back at school. But today, I’m enjoying the chance to sleep in.

  As much as I’ve missed my roommate Olivia, I have no complaints about having a room to myself for the summer.

  I pull my blankets over my eyes to block the sun just a little longer. Although the warmth on my skin relaxes me, I’m not ready to face the brightness. When I finally find the motivation to roll over, I pick up my phone, which reads 12:04.

  It’s already noon? Damn.

  I should probably get out of bed. Not that I have anything exciting planned. My entire break has been overwhelmingly boring. Something I’m not used to.

  I’ve never been the kind of girl to use a break from school to catch up on sleep and me-time. If anything, I’ve avoided both as much as humanly possible. But after a grueling first year at Wicklow, my body, mind, and soul are tired.

  In a way, it seems silly. My group defeated Bianca’s and, by doing so, doubled our powers. I should be more ecstatic than I’ve ever been. But the pressure of having more magic than most Sorcerers has only dug into my mind and started a panic.

  In the past, any time I was stressed out, I’d always turn to Zane. He was the perfect go-to, always ready to distract me. But after turning him down at the end of the year, I’ve resisted every urge to text him. Plus, according to Beck, Callum is spending the summer with Zane.

  Or should I call Callum Sebastian now? Since he’s wanted by the Protectors, that’s probably not the best idea. So far, I’ve kept his secret. Does that make me an accomplice to everything he did? I haven’t forgotten the betrayal that struck me like a baseball bat when he told me he’d been helping the Shades. But he didn’t even try to stop my group and me when we barged in on their ritual. That has to count for something, right?

  I pull myself from my sudden philosophical battle and head to the kitchen.

  When I get there, Elaine is filling up a glass of water from the fridge. She’s in a white one-piece bathing suit with a towel wrapped around her waist.

  “Hey,” I say.

  She turns toward me. “Oh, hi.”

  I walk next to her and grab a red ceramic bowl from the cupboard. Mom bought new dishware over the summer. Retiring the boring white ones from before for a more fun red and gray palette. “Hanging out with my brother again, eh?”

  “Just lounging in the pool.” Her gaze avoids mine.

  “Lounging, huh?” I don’t buy it. She’s spent more time at our house with Beck than at her own house. I’ve walked in on them making out so often I’ve started singing every time I’m headed into a new room so they’ll know I’m coming. “I’m glad to see you so happy.”

  A year ago, I couldn’t have imagined how close Elaine and I would grow. We couldn’t be in the same room before without her scoffing or giving some sarcastic remark about how my destiny was to marry rich and look pretty. Don’t get me wrong, she could be a bitch, but I never knew the part I’d played in the unraveling of our friendship.

  Now we’ve both changed.

  And doubled our magic.

  “Sometimes I almost think I’ve dreamed everything that’s happened,” Elaine says. “It all feels…surreal.”

  “Tell me about it.” I find cereal in the cabinet to the right. “And something tells me this year is going to be even crazier than last.”

  “I think you’re right.” She guzzles her water.

  “Have fun lounging.” I wink.

  She blushes before walking back outside.

  I eat two bowls of cereal then head back upstairs to shower. On the way, I notice my dad in his office, typing on his computer with a scowl.

  “Everything okay?” I ask.

  He blinks as his attention shifts from the screen in front of him to me standing in the doorway. “Just some work drama.”

  His caramel-colored hair is longer than normal. How long has it been since he got a haircut?

  My parents have been gone most of the summer. Even more so than when I was a kid, which I didn’t know was possible. Now that Beck and I are adults, both fully aware of the Sorcery world, it seems we’re even less important. Nothing like having someone else drop the secret of magic on you then have your parents avoid you even more than they used to.

  Since finding my dad home is so rare, I take my chance.

  I step into his office. “Can we talk for a few minutes?”

  His eyes shift to his screen, but then he glances back at me and scoots his chair over to the right. “Everything okay?”

  “I was just curious about my grandma—your mom.”

  Dad’s expression doesn’t change, but I don’t miss the small twitch of his left arm. “You would have loved her.”

  “Lucas says I’m a lot like her.”

  Dad’s mouth curves, but the grin doesn’t reach his eyes. “You and my mother definitely have some similar qualities.”

  Since I don’t know any way to ease into the question, I go for a direct approach.“What happened to her?”

  This time, he winces. “She got sick and passed.”

  “Sick?”

  “Yes, there wasn’t anything we could do for her.” He grabs his cell phone from his desk. “I wish you’d have had a chance to meet her, but sometimes life doesn’t go like we want. I hate to be rude, but I really need to finish this up before I head back to Headquarters.”

  I’m not sure exactly what Headquarters means, but for the first time ever, my parents have let little bits about their job slip. “I should get a jump start on packing anyway.”

  Pushing my dad any more won’t help. He’s never been an open book, and I know when I’ve gotten all I’m going to get from him, which is never much.

  When I’m back in my room, I peek out the window. Elaine is floating in the pool, her chin tipped toward the sky and sunglasses covering her eyes. Beck slides off his floaty and slowly swims to
ward her. Once he’s close enough to reach, he lunges and tips Elaine over, sending her crashing into the water.

  I laugh as I step away from the window. I didn’t see Beck ending up with someone like Elaine, but something about them together totally works. A twinge of jealousy flickers in my stomach and rises up my throat. I’ve always felt sorry for people trapped in relationships. Having to work through jealousy and heartache and, for what? Trusting someone else with something as delicate as your heart is one of the scariest things I can think of.

  I’ve never thought of myself as a pessimist, but I’ve seen too many people let down by expecting too much from someone else. Keeping things casual and playful has never led me to eat a whole quart of ice cream in bed while watching a Nicholas Sparks movie.

  My entire life has been about having fun with guys and stopping anything before it actually starts. But sometimes, when I see other people falling hard for each other, envy coils around my heart, and I can’t help but wonder if I’m destined to be alone forever.

  Two

  A week later, I’m stepping out of the car and about to board the boat back to Wicklow.

  Elaine and Beck are already twenty feet ahead of me, their hands interlocked which is somehow both adorable and disgusting to me.

  As I’m waiting in line for my turn to get on the boat, cold hands cover my eyes from behind.

  “Guess who,” a clearly female voice attempting to sound male says.

  “I have no idea,” I lie.

  “Shut up,” Olivia says in her normal voice as she hops around me and pulls me into a hug. “Don’t patronize me.”

  She’s dressed in a lavender maxi skirt with a cream-colored crop top, looking ever the boho-princess with her hair braided into a crown.

  “Missed you, crazy,” I say. “I can’t believe I haven’t seen your gorgeous face in almost three months.”

  Out of everything that’s happened in the last year, meeting Olivia has topped the best list.

  She steps away and puts a hand on her hip. “You were supposed to come visit.”

  “I’m sorry.” My lower lip curls into a pout. “I kept telling myself I would, but honestly, I just needed some time to recoup.”

  I’m expecting her to continue to make me feel guilty, but her face softens and she nods. “It’s been an adjustment.”

  We should be thrilled, with nothing but positive emotions pouring from our brim. So, why do I see the same sadness in Olivia that I’ve felt since winning the battle against Bianca’s team and doubling my magic?

  Olivia exhales and grabs my arm, locking it with her bent elbow. “We’ve had three months to deal with everything that happened as freshmen, now it’s our turn to celebrate another year at Wicklow.”

  She’s right. I’ve already spent too long questioning the fairness of the end of last year. Now, it’s my chance to move on. “Have you heard from Micah?”

  Even though their relationship had its rocky moments, it seemed like they’d patched things up before we all headed home at the beginning of summer.

  “We’ve talked a few times. Sounds like he’s spent most of the summer partying and hooking up with any skank who will have him.” Envy vibrates in her tone.

  “And how is Jake?”

  Olivia’s straightens her posture. “He spent two weeks at my house last month. Mom almost walked in on us hooking up. She didn’t know we were at the house and she was bringing me laundry. If she hadn’t have yelled at the dog to get out of her way, she would have had to wash her eyes out with bleach.”

  We both laugh and follow the line until we’re on the boat. We’re directed to the lower floor, where a large banquet room surrounded by floor-to-ceiling windows has been decorated in maroon and white.

  Across the room, Callum notices me. His mouth curves into a cocky grin. The same expression that was plastered all over his face when he was Sebastian. Now that I know the truth, I don’t know how I didn’t see it all sooner. His looks might be different now—darker hair and eyes, not as tall, slightly pinker-toned skin—but his mannerisms are exactly the same.

  A second later, Zane turns toward me. He starts to smile, then resists.

  I’d hoped a few months apart would fix everything that happened between us.

  Guess not.

  Since I don’t want to seem like I’m ignoring them, I guide Olivia in their direction.

  “Well, look who it is,” Callum says.

  I tilt my head to the side and grimace. “I half-wondered if you’d be back this year.”

  Olivia gives me a confused look. “What do you mean?”

  “I figured he might ditch us for Carmichael or something,” I lie, remembering I need to be more careful. No one else knows Callum’s true identity.

  “And miss seeing you? Never.”

  Zane shifts his weight to his left foot as he stares at me. He’s always been the one with some witty remark to say to me. This quieter Zane is unsettling.

  “How was your summer?” I ask him.

  “Busy,” Zane says.

  Callum doesn’t say anything, but his sudden avoidance of my direction makes me think there’s more than Zane is sharing.

  “Did you guys hang out?” Olivia asks.

  “Zane was kind enough to have me over for the summer. Saved me from having to deal with my dad.” Callum’s fists close at his sides.

  It’s a lie, of course. Callum isn’t a real person. Just Sebastian in disguise, and Sebastian is an orphan. How did a summer with Zane’s family feel to him? I’ve had plenty of dinners at the Kline’s, and even with having parents, it had a way of surfacing a longing for something else. For a family that actually gave two shits about how my day was. I can’t help but feel a little guilt at the pity-party I’d throw myself when at least I had a family.

  A server interrupts us with a tray of hors d’oeuvres. Olivia and Callum each grab one, but Zane and I pass.

  Normally, Mom throws at least two parties a month during the summer. But for the first time in my life, we didn’t have a single one the whole three months I was home. Which, the more I think about it, is incredibly strange.

  “I’m going to go find some alcohol,” Zane says.

  “Oh, yes, lead the way.” Olivia unlatches her elbow with mine and follows him across the room.

  “You were with Zane all summer?” I ask Callum.

  “He offered and I didn’t exactly have anywhere else to go,” his voice is low. “His family is incredibly kind.”

  The urge to ask him what it was like growing up without a family flickers inside me, but I swallow it. It’s not exactly a polite question, and probably not one Callum really wants to think about.

  “Did he talk about me?” I’m not sure why I’m asking. I made my choice, and clearly, Zane has made his or he would have reached out to me sometime over the summer.

  “No. In fact, he worked very hard not to mention you,” he says. “A little too hard.”

  “But he’s okay?”

  “As okay as any of us. I…” Callum pauses, his forehead creasing. “I know I haven’t been the shining beam of morality, but doubling my magic has felt…wrong.”

  “More wrong than stealing someone else’s?” The words are out of my mouth before I can stop them. “I mean…” As hard as I try to find a way to not come across like an ass, I can’t.

  Callum winces and swallows hard. “You’re right. What I did was unforgivable. I don’t deserve to have any magic.”

  I’m about to tell him he’s wrong when I realize he isn’t. “You’re right. You probably don’t. But you have it now. You have the choice to be someone who deserves it from this moment on.”

  “How?”

  I open my mouth to respond, but nothing comes out. Truthfully, I don’t even feel like I deserve it. Sure, our group found a way to win the battle at the end of the year, but what does that really mean? Did we just have a good day? What would happen if we faced them again?

  “I guess we both will have to figure out how t
o earn it as we go.”

  Our eyes meet, and everything in me wants to lean into him.

  “Welcome, everyone,” a voice says over the speaker system.

  I lean back and bite my lip. I haven’t told anyone the truth about Callum yet, but that doesn’t mean getting close to him is a good idea. And I definitely don’t need to fall for him.

  “Now that everyone’s here, I have a quick speech to make,” Dean Waters says from a small stage at the front of the room. I’m surprised to see her here. I figured she’d be at the academy waiting for us.

  “This is everyone?” I scan the room. It feels too empty to be our entire class. Except, apparently, it is.

  “Last year was a first in many ways,” the dean says. “It was your first year at Wicklow. Some of your first year with magic. And it was the first year that our people joined together for the greater good to get one step closer to defeating the darkness lurking around us.

  “I am proud of each and every one of you for showing the skills needed to win your end-of-the-year battle. Now, you will all have the chance to shine even brighter. This year will be even harder than the last, and your professors will expect nothing but pure focus from you all.”

  No one says a word. The room is so quiet, it’s as if all of us have stopped breathing.

  “Enjoy the rest of the ride to the academy. This is going to be a great year.” Dean Waters dips her head and steps off the stage.

  Despite her encouraging words, somehow the pit in my stomach has sprouted vines that crawl up my throat and silence me. A year ago, I was stunned to learn I’m a Sorcerer. Everything was exciting and new.

  Now, I don’t know how I feel.