Goddess Academy: The Complete Reverse Harem Collection

by Clara Hartley

  Devon cut in, saving me. “What Cara means is that being here is the right thing to do, and that I was the one who brought her here. This is my idea.”

  Maxwell narrowed his eyes. He twined his fingers together before resting his elbows on his desk. “Continue.”

  “We were at the east wing of the Sanctuary, and we saw things we shouldn’t have.”

  Devon let silence fall between us. The hollow sound pounded through my ears, and judging from the shock on Maxwell’s face, it did the same to him, too. “What did you find there?” Maxwell asked.

  Devon opened his mouth to answer, but a brightling walked in, armed with a tray of refreshments. Quietly, it set a cup of lemonade in front of me, then proceeded to put drinks before Maxwell and Devon, too. I peered into Maxwell’s cup and saw that he drank his coffee black. The brightling had a head shaped like a zebra, but instead of black stripes, it had blue ones. The tension between Maxwell, Devon, and me pulled tight like a knot. We heard each and every footstep of the brightling as it walked toward the exit.

  Maxwell broke the silence. “Cara, could you see yourself out?”

  “Why?”

  “Please.”

  “I’d much rather stay and listen.”

  “Politeness is a virtue. The door’s right over there. Kindly leave before I have to drag you out myself.” There was little malice in his threat—merely a stern warning. I swallowed thickly before sliding myself from my chair and leaving the room. Had we revealed our cards too soon? Maxwell might have been Devon’s father, but he seemed to take his job seriously, and his allegiance lay with Agness.

  I shut the door of his study behind me and situated myself at the wall right across it. After I leaned against the bricks, I snapped my feet together nervously, then brought my hands to my stomach and began fidgeting. I had this bad habit of picking my nails whenever I got nervous, and I was doing it again.

  Should we have stayed in the Sanctuary? But this was our only lead.

  The minutes crept by as I waited for Devon. Eventually, I couldn’t stand the torment of not knowing, so I lowered my ear to the door and tried to eavesdrop. No luck. The door was soundproof.

  “Please don’t kill Devon,” I muttered to myself. What exactly was their father-son relationship? It didn’t appear to be peachy, judging from their last interaction. How badly would Maxwell punish Devon for snooping around?

  When the door clicked open again, I fell forward. I put my hands out in front of me so I wouldn’t fall on my face. Devon caught me before my teeth landed against wooden tiles. I looked up at him and saw the apprehension across his face.

  “What did your father tell you?” I asked in a soft whisper. I hoped that Maxwell wouldn’t hear me.

  “I’ll have to discuss this with the guys,” Devon replied, not giving me the juicy information I wanted.

  “You’ll have to spill it. That’s why we’re here, right?”

  Devon flicked his gaze to his left, indicating that he was concerned about his father, who was judging him from behind.

  “Later,” Devon said.

  He helped me stand up and balance, before pushing past me and walking away.

  As he moved down the corridor, I stared at his back, getting the odd sensation that I shouldn’t trust him anymore. Then again, maybe I never did in the first place.

  Chapter Seven

  Last night, Devon told me to have a good night’s sleep before dropping me off from his carpet. Why was he being so nice? He’d even let me wrap my arms around his shoulders during the entire ride back. While I did, I expected him to make a snide remark and push me away. He didn’t.

  What his father said to him must have really gotten to him. Throughout the ride back, I repeatedly prodded him about what his father had said. Still, he preferred to keep the information to himself, and when Theo tucked me in bed and sang a lullaby with his low, masculine voice, I couldn’t get over the fact that Devon was hiding something from me. Theo really needed to stop with that lullaby thing. I loved his voice, but whenever he did that, I had a sense that they were spoiling me too much, and getting used to so much indulgence couldn’t be healthy.

  I had to refocus my attention on my lessons. I wondered if I’d learn anything new about Miley’s death from them. So far, nothing good came from schoolwork, other than my improving grades. I guessed that was something to be happy about.

  “Ready?” Hansel asked, wearing a bright, sparkling smile. He was leading me to the next lesson—creature cordiality. The last time I’d joined that class, the guys almost got killed by a wyvern. Needless to say, I wasn’t looking forward to it. In fact, after what happened at the morgue, I wasn’t looking forward to anything in the Sanctuary.

  Hansel gave me a pat on the back. “You can ace the class, Cara. Just have to focus and put your mind to it. If you don’t daydream, you can actually be pretty effective.” His encouragement shone from his eyes. They looked like the ocean on a sunny day. And I never could never get tired of the speckled green in his irises. Looking into his irises made me all hot and heavy, and I remembered what he’d done to me… just pleasuring me…

  I snapped out of my momentary stupor. Hansel had a strange, sensual effect on people—girls, especially. “Who said I daydreamed?” I asked.

  “You do it all the time. It’s written all over your face. Your name is pretty much synonymous with the term.”

  “Prove it,” I said. Was I really that obvious about it?

  “Bananas.” Hansel’s lip curved up as his expression turned smug.

  I tried to stop myself, but my mind immediately shot into a plethora of scenarios, and since I was bad at holding myself back from saying stupid things, I blurted, “Banana split, banana pie, banana lotion on Theo and those yummy, yummy abs. Banana pie on Theo’s abs. Oh my sweet bananas, that would be amazing.” I ran my tongue over my bottom lip. Hansel’s gaze dropped to where my I’d licked, and noticing him stare like that caused a knot to form in my stomach.

  Hansel wrapped his hand around my wrist. His hands were huge compared to mine, and the touch sent my memory back to when those hands were spread over my belly, or wrapped around my waist and drawing me closer to him. “See why I’m right? As your vassal, I pay close attention to you, Cara, and it helps that you’re easy to read. Like an open book.” His lashes fluttered over his hazy eyes.

  “I can be your Gretel any time,” I said dreamily.

  “What?” Hansel asked, stopping in front of the amphitheater that creature cordiality was held in. “Did you eat something bad today?” He palmed my forehead to check my temperature. “You’re saying out-of-it things more frequently than usual.”

  “Says the guy who poisoned my Heineken.”

  “Poisoned?” Hansel cocked his head. “I did no such thing.”

  “This is some sort of dream that I’m stuck in, and my real body’s lying in some hospital somewhere on Earth. My head probably hit something hard before I passed out, and I’ll wake up thirty minutes later in real life like in one of those television dramas.”

  “Believe me,” Hansel said, “everything here is completely real.” He drew my hand to his chest. I spread my palm over his ribcage and sensed the beating of his heart. “Even this.” He gave me a hooded expression that caused my heart to race.

  “And what’s that?”

  “It’s beating for you.”

  Shit. That was so fucking corny. But it came from Hansel’s lips, so I loved hearing it anyway. Hansel dropped his head closer to my lips, hovering. His breath was warm against my mouth. He placed his hand behind my back, then, in one rough tug, pulled me up against him. I drew my arms up and hugged them around his neck.

  “Are you done?” Liam asked, stepping out of the amphitheater.

  I peeled myself away from Hansel and turned to Liam. Liam had a hand on his hip and looked like he didn’t want to be here. He was a tough nut to crack. The rest of the guys seemed to be warming up to me, but Liam continued to keep his distance. “You’re almost
late for class. Again. How terrible do you want your grades to be, Cara?”

  “I’ve been doing well.”

  “Keep it up.”

  I frowned, wondering whether Liam saying that was him giving encouragement. It sounded more like a reprimand.

  “What’s the lesson today?” I asked, parting myself from Hansel.

  “Chickens,” Liam said.

  “What?’

  “You heard me.”

  “Are we going to eat them?” I asked.

  “Nothing of the sort,” Liam replied. “We’re going to make them lay golden eggs.”

  Ten minutes later, after I was properly situated, I came face to face with a hen that was clucking at me. I gaped at it, flabbergasted. The hen had a speckled coat and crazy eyes that looked like they might pop out of their sockets. I stared at it warily, and the imaginative part of me began to think that I was having a mental showdown with a chicken.

  What had everything come to?

  “Do you want to fight?” I said, grabbing my wand, which was attached to the belt on my waist. “You don’t want to get on the wrong side of lady love, chica. Love can hurt you real bad.”

  “Are you really talking to a chicken?” Liam asked, raising a brow. He’d been assigned to stand next to me.

  “I talk to everything.” Myself especially, and I was proud of it because I was my own best company.

  “Hundreds of goddesses I could have gotten,” Liam mumbled, “and I get the one with more than a few screws loose in her head.”

  “You got the adventurous one. The goddess who won’t leave you bored.”

  Liam sniffed. “That’s one way to put it.”

  He could mope all he wanted. Awesome with a capital A was standing right next to him, and he was too blind to see her.

  The professors had begun placing scoreboards in front of every class. After my better performance yesterday, my name was sitting somewhere in the middle. Still, that was nowhere near the top ten percent I needed to be in to be completely safe.

  The professor called for us to look at him, so I snapped my gaze to him.

  Francesca Bitchface had also joined this lesson. She looked like she’d never seen a chicken before, and she stared down her animal like it was a puzzle. She handled her chicken improperly. It flapped its wings and let out a distressed sound. Francesca yelped and took a step back.

  “What are you smiling at?” Liam asked.

  “The small things in life.”

  Liam followed my gaze. When he noticed Francesca, he snorted, not caring much about her.

  The professor began, “These chickens look normal, but they are anything but. They were blessed by Athena herself, and are capable of providing riches along with sustenance. If you treat them right and they like you, they will give you a constant supply of golden eggs. Fail, however, and the chicken will only lay poison green eggs. Our goal today is to make these majestic beings like us, so they will want to provide for us.”

  It was the first time I’d ever heard a chicken be called “majestic.”

  “It’s simple. Give the chicken what it needs and likes. Slowly figure it out. The first step is to feed it the right kind of grains. There are many to pick from. Millet. Rice. Corn. Every chicken is different, and we must take care in understanding their desires.”

  “I’m not even sure if I want a golden egg that much,” I said.

  “Pay attention,” Liam replied.

  “If you give it the right food,” the professor continued, “the bird will warm up to you. Then, all you have to do is stroke it the right way.” He demonstrated what he meant on his own chicken. A moment later, the bird released a strained sound. It flapped its wings, sending white feathers in a multitude of directions, and a golden egg popped out of its behind.

  The professor lifted up his prize to display it to the class. “Behold. Our reward. The shell is pure gold, and its contents are nutritious, even more so than normal eggs.” He looked at his chicken with reverence.

  I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or be disturbed by the lunacy of this situation.

  After the professor finished his demonstration, we were left to our own devices. It didn’t take long for me to christen my chicken Molly. Molly cawed at me and shifted in her nest. She didn’t seem to want to leave her spot.

  “Millet?” I asked, grabbing a handful from the stacked boxes of grains next to me. “What do you like to eat?” I offered the food to her, spreading my hand out in front of her beak.

  Molly’s head twitched away from my palm. I clenched my jaw. To get Molly on my side, I had to try harder. I offered Molly more types of grains, but she declined every variety of them. My heart sank slightly each time. Never before had I wanted so badly to be friends with a chicken. Life experiences always hit you whenever you least expect them, and this moment had to be one of my lowest points. I tried all the available types of grains, and still, Molly refused me.

  Anger rose in my chest. The unfamiliar, dangerous side of me threatened to surface. I sucked in a deep breath and pushed that version of me away. I’d be damned if, after fighting the voice for so long, I gave in to it because of a stupid chicken.

  “Are there any more grains to try?” I asked Liam.

  “I could ask the professor for you.”

  “Please do.” I nodded.

  Half of the girls had already finished with their assignment. I glanced at the scoreboard and saw my name gradually drop down in rank.

  I watched the girls inspect their golden eggs with awe. They were beautiful eggs. But of course they were enrapturing—they were gold. People on Earth would be fighting over them.

  Francesca Bitchface finished earlier than I did, too. She glanced across the table, smiling smugly at me. I scrunched my nose up, containing my anger. Her haughty grin tempted me to punch her face.

  Liam returned with breadcrumbs. Did chickens eat those?

  “Molly,” I said to the chicken, who gave me a stink-eye in return. She clucked, then wiggled in her spot. “Can you please stop making this difficult?” Should I be using such an aggressive tone? “You look really pretty today. I, uh, like your feathers. And when you cluck, you sound like a nightingale.”

  I took the breadcrumbs from Liam.

  “What are you doing?” he asked.

  “Trying to get on her good side,” I replied.

  “I don’t think the professor mentioned having to sweet-talk the chicken.”

  “If something doesn’t work, try something else. Maybe Molly isn’t hungry. Maybe she’s just a sad soul with nobody to love her and needs to hear some compliments to uplift her spirit.”

  Liam frowned. Giving up trying to understand me, he sighed and said, “You’re weird.”

  “You’re only noticing this now?”

  I offered the breadcrumbs to the chicken and attempted to ignore how my name was slowly dropping down the scoreboard. I kept hearing oohs and ahs around me as the girls got their eggs. Molly accepted my offer, finally. The sweet-talking must have worked.

  “Yes,” I said, in a half-excited, half-creepy manner. Creepy, because I was looking at Molly like a mad scientist. “Aren’t you a pretty girl? Don’t you want to lay some eggs for me? You have a cute butt capable of laying pretty, golden, yummy eggs.”

  “Can you not talk like that?” Liam asked.

  I raised a finger and pressed it to his lip to shut him up.

  “You’re supposed to stroke the chicken,” Liam reminded me.

  Ah, yes. I needed to put all my efforts into making the chicken comfortable. Other girls stroked their chickens lightly, mimicking the professor’s movements. I, however, gave mine a full-on shiatsu massage. I’d never had to massage anyone before, but I did watch a couple YouTube videos on how to when I’d found myself lost to the strange side of the internet.

  The chicken cooed. I thought I needed to give it space, so I let my hand fall and allowed it to preen its feathers. It looked at me with crazy eyes, then cawed.

  “What’s t
hat supposed to mean?” I asked Liam.

  Liam shrugged. “Don’t look at me like that. I don’t speak chicken.”

  “I thought you were smart.”

  “Am I supposed to be offended by that?”

  “Yes?” I said. “You take offense at everything because you brood at everything. The universe wouldn’t be working right if you were as jolly as Theo.” I shuddered at the image. Imagining Liam all happy gave me the creeps for some reason. It simply wouldn’t be like him.

  We waited for a good three minutes in front of Molly.

  I broke the silence by attempting to make more conversation with Liam. “Have you ever wondered what will happen if this all doesn’t work out?”

  “What doesn’t work out?”

  “Saving the girls. Or trying to get to the top of the class. Surviving. What if I die and you guys get sent to the concentration camp?”

  “I’ve thought about it,” Liam said. “Keeps me up at night sometimes.”

  “Does it?” I gaped at him. I hadn’t expected him to admit to a weakness. There were moments when Liam couldn’t sleep?

  Liam huffed. “It’ll just suck. That’s why I’m by your side now, even though I find you kind of a pain in the ass.”

  “Just kind of?”

  “Yeah,” Liam said without a smile. “But strangely, I believe in you.”

  I already had a snide remark on my tongue, but hearing the compliment gave me pause. “Huh?” I didn’t even believe in myself.

  “You’re working hard to keep us safe, even though you seem like a dimwit half the time. Can’t hate somebody who tries so hard. Might even start to like her.”

  “Like me?” I laughed his comment away sheepishly.

  Molly stood from her nest haughtily, halting our conversation. She pranced off, revealing three eggs that lay neatly to each other. With beady eyes, Molly regarded me as if she hated me, but, judging from my results, I must have won her favor through my efforts. Instead of only one golden egg, she’d awarded me with three.