Goddess Academy: The Complete Reverse Harem Collection

by Clara Hartley

  “I can fight monsters now,” I said. I raised my wrist, gesturing to my bracelet.

  Liam snorted. “Yeah, like a modicum of grace is going to help you with battling mythical beasts. It doesn’t work like that.”

  Hansel scratched the back of his head. “Liam might have a point.”

  “We keep our distance,” I said. “We haven’t had any clues ever since our trip to the Cierro family failed, and it’s high time we amp up our levels of investigation. If the obstacles at the chiasma prove too difficult, we just turn around and leave. But we’ll never know until we try, right?”

  Silence fell as the vassals considered my words. I continued staring at the giant orb outside. I could still sense it calling to me. The object exuded a certain deathly presence that, strangely, made it more tempting. I wondered if my attraction to it would increase if we got any closer.

  I placed my hands on my hips. The guys were taking too long to answer. “So?” I asked.

  Theo scratched his chin. “Once the danger becomes too much, we leave. Understood? I’m not going to risk you.”

  The level of care he gave to me was touching. I had to hold myself back from giving Theo a big snuggle.

  I nodded. “All right.”

  Liam raised his hands. “Wait. How are we supposed to get to the Chiasma, anyway? We can’t leave the Sanctuary, not without activating the barriers surrounding it. And then the whole goddess council will be on our asses.”

  “Devon has a carpet,” I said.

  “We’re not all going to squeeze on to it,” Liam replied. Another silence fell. Cocking his head, he asked, his voice shaky, “Are we?”

  Ten minutes later, the five of us attempted to balance on the carpet as we flew out of the compound. We needed to head out of the Sanctuary as quickly as possible so no one would spot us.

  “Cara?” Hansel asked. “You’re pushing me off the carpet.”

  I leaned away, but that only mae me smash against Theo, who took up the most space.

  Theo grunted. “Uh, I’m going to fall off if you inch against me even more, and as much as I want to be brave, I’d rather avoid dying from a drop like that.”

  Devon sat uncomfortably close to Liam, and they didn’t seem to like having so little space between each other. The scents of the guys swirled around me, mixing together and making me giddy. Claustrophobia had taken hold of me too.

  Devon sat out front, maneuvering the carpet. He hugged us close to the shadows of the Sanctuary. Coupled with the fear of falling, my worry worsened when I thought about getting spotted by one of the professors. They’d definitely send us to detention again, and I didn’t want to go anywhere near that horrid room.

  A commotion played below us, distracting me from keeping myself from falling to my death.

  “We want answers!”

  I narrowed my eyes at the courtyard beneath us. Papers flew about the place, looking like they’d just been knocked from a stack. Vaguely, I spotted a girl’s face on the papers. She looked about sixteen, and the picture they’d used reminded me of Moping Miley. This girl, however, was much cheerier. She had her hair tied in a bouncy ponytail and wore an offensively pink dress.

  Wind swept across the papers and blew one into my face. I pulled it away and looked at the picture. I recognized this girl. She’d attended potions class with me, and my bickering with Francesca Bitchface had screwed her over once.

  Jeanine.

  I hadn’t talked much with her, but I knew she was studious. Mostly she’d minded her own business, and that helped her keep focus. It gave her the ability to climb up the scoreboard.

  Beneath her name, in big, bold letters, was Justice for Jeanine. That phrase hit me with déjà vu. The same thing had happened with Miley not too long ago.

  Jeanine was dead?

  I squinted at the fine print beneath the header:

  This young girl, only sixteen, was found dead in her room last night. There is injustice happening in the Sanctuary. Our students are dying left and right, but the council is doing little to solve the crimes. Sign this petition to bring more attention to this matter.

  Beneath the script was a single bolded line, meant for a signature.

  What was a petition going to do against literal gods? I imagined the goddesses laughing this off, then continuing with their merry lives.

  “Should we take a look?” Devon asked.

  I turned to my right. A crowd had gathered in front the line of vines that kept them out.

  “We can make a short detour,” I said.

  Devon nodded. He rounded a few corners, using the carpet to bring us to somewhere secluded. We fell from the carpet as soon as it hit the ground. I hopped to my feet (with svelte grace, of course). The lack of personal space made the air around me too stuffy. Hansel pulled the collar of his shirt from his neck to try to cool himself off. Sea-green eyes met mine as he did so. I licked my lips, recalling how he and Devon had taken me just a couple nights back.

  I cursed myself for getting aroused so easily. I didn’t need any of this now.

  I turned my attention to the crowd. Brightlings attempted to push the girls away, but the half-bloods had powers to fight back. I spotted a brightling who’d been completely frozen over with ice, and another had a tuft of hair on its tail charred black from fire.

  More goddesses stood behind Agness’s vines—another line of defense, should the girls get too rowdy. Tension buzzed through the air, and it seemed like a war between the half-bloods and goddesses might break out at any time.

  Behind the vines, I saw Jeanine’s vassals sitting on a flight of steps. Brightlings provided them with refreshments to try to appease them, but they left their food and drink sitting on the steps. My guess was that losing Jeanine had caused them to lose their appetites. What was going to happen to them?

  Danna, surprisingly, stood amongst the crowd. All the cheer had drained from her. I wasn’t used to looking at her this sullen. “Her roommate, like you, woke up to a dead body,” she said. “Jeanine was gray when they found her.”

  “Miley was the same.” I pressed my lips together. Before this, thoughts of visiting the chiasma excited me, but the murder had put a stop to my cheery mood.

  Danna nodded solemnly.

  I glanced at the vassals. “What’s going to happen to them?”

  “They’re going to be sent off to the camps. Prematurely, too. They didn’t have the opportunity to prove themselves.”

  “Was that what happened to Miley’s vassals?” I hadn’t seen them get taken away.

  “Yep.” Danna sighed. “Jeanine was doing well for herself, always scoring well enough to be close to the top of the class. I feel really bad.”

  “There’s no need to feel that way,” I said. “It’s not your fault.”

  “I need a drink.”

  “You’re underage.”

  “Doesn’t usually stop me.”

  I arched a brow at Danna. For some reason, I got the impression that she was a goody-two-shoes. That she followed all the rules and made sure she crossed her t’s and dotted her i’s.

  The girls around us chanted their protests. “We want answers!” They weren’t going to get any around here. Peaceful demonstrations and petitions could only go so far. If we wanted to get to the truth, we had to take the extra step. We needed to go to the chiasma. The vassals and I had spent long enough dallying.

  “Where did all of you come from?” Danna asked.

  I glanced at the brightling standing next to us. This one had a horse’s head. I didn’t want him to overhear, so I lied, “Uh, to get some food? To find meaning in life. Somewhere.” I was terrible at lying.

  Danna frowned at me.

  “And we have to go,” I continued, grabbing Devon’s hand. “Life, uh, time waits for no one.” I laughed sheepishly. “Got to find one on my own.”

  Danna’s frown deepened. “All right, then. I thought we might spend the day together, since we have it off and all.”

  I considered inviti
ng Danna on our expedition. She might prove a useful addition. But I recalled the dangers we had to go through while looking for Medusa’s bracelet and decided against it. I didn’t want to risk Danna’s life.

  I glanced at the paper in my hand. Jeanine was actually smiling in this photo, her eyes bright with hope. She’d died too young. Looking at her picture and imagining her face grayed and dull gave me more motivation to find out the truth. These girls were my age, all filled with aspirations, desires, dreams, and this mythical genocide was ripping them from the lives they deserved.

  I gave Danna a hug and waved her goodbye.

  “Go find food and meaning in life, then,” Danna said. “Some people would argue that they’re one and the same.”

  Just before we were about to leave, Agness strode out of the dormitory, dressed with her usual elegance. She scanned the gathering of half-bloods, searching for someone.

  I wanted to avoid her, so I grabbed Hansel and pulled him away.

  “Devon!” she shouted.

  I stilled.

  Why was she calling for Devon? She waved him forward.

  Devon peered at me. His eyes lingered on me, as if he were asking for instructions. I bit my lower lip, my suspicions rising.

  “Make it quick,” I said.

  “I will.” And he walked away from me, breaking into a jog. He halted in front of Agness and bowed when he was in front of her. I didn’t like watching Devon show his obedience to Agness. It felt like betrayal.

  Theo wrapped a hand around my shoulder and squeezed.

  “Can we trust him?” I said softly. Guilt inched up my chest. That shouldn’t even be a question. With our shared moment, Devon had promised that he belonged to me, and I shouldn’t have to question where he stood.

  Still, he was a member of the Cierro family, and they faithfully served Agness, a woman who was out to get me.

  The four of us watched carefully as Devon confronted Agness. Each passing moment incited more doubt in me. Devon backed away from Agness, and knowing he’d return to my side soon gave me a sense of relief.

  But before he left her, Devon knelt before Agness. He lowered one knee to the ground and placed a hand on his chest. Agness regarded him with a pleased expression. She placed a hand on the top of his head, treating him like he belonged to her and not me.

  Inside, I grew cold.

  “What’s up with that?” Liam asked. It was nice to know that I wasn’t the only one shocked by the sight.

  Devon then stood. He waved the goddess goodbye, before walking briskly toward us.

  “It’s nothing to worry about,” Devon said once he returned. “Just some talk about my parents. Nothing important.”

  I eyed him warily.

  Devon placed his hand on my back. His touch did little to calm my suspicions. “Let’s head to the chiasma, shall we?”

  Chapter Thirteen

  “This carpet is magical,” I said.

  Liam sniffed, clutching Fenrir tightly to his chest. “Oh, really? What gave it away? The fact that it’s floating a couple hundred feet up the air?”

  “That,” I replied, “and how it’s supporting the weight of five people. Four of them huge.”

  “You should lose some weight, then,” Theo said, chuckling to himself. “Keep the pounds off, like me.”

  I looked at him like he was crazy. He was probably heavier than Liam and Devon combined. I looked at Devon’s broad-shouldered back, still thinking about what happened with Agness. We hadn’t discussed it, and the fact that I didn’t know what they’d talked about annoyed me like an itch I couldn’t scratch.

  I decided to ask him anyway. “About that conversation with Agne—”

  “It was nothing,” Devon replied.

  I bit the inside of my cheek. He’d responded too quickly. What put him on the defensive?

  “What are you hiding?” I asked.

  Devon glanced over his shoulder. His yellow eyes pierced mine, and I searched them for hints of deceit. I found none, which struck me as odd. “It really wasn’t. They warned me about you again. My father and Agness really don’t want me to be around you for some inexplicable reason. Agness suggested she reassign me to another half-blood. I have no idea why they’re so insistent on this.”

  “We fixed that whole clumsy bit,” I said, running my finger across my bracelet. “So I definitely won’t be accidentally beheading you or anything.” I forced myself to calm, but the image of him bending in front of Agness wouldn’t get out of my head. “Why did you kneel, then?”

  Devon tensed his jaw. “A common custom in the Cierro family. Our father trained us to behave that way with Agness. Agness believes in respect and wants her vassals and her family to show the right amount of it. Kneeling before her when she asks us to ensures that she maintains this dynamic.”

  “That’s it?” I asked. “It’s not because you want to devote your soul to her or whatever?” I folded my arms across my chest, pinning Devon with my gaze before realizing I shouldn’t have done so. I’d almost knocked Liam off the carpet by shoving my elbow against him.

  Liam, together with Fenrir, growled at me. “Hey! Watch where you put your arms.” They were starting to show the same mannerisms.

  Devon’s eyes darkened. “It offends me that you think I might have full devotion for anyone but you,” he said. “You’ve taken my heart, Cara. There’s no questioning it. Should I have to decide between Agness or you, I’d pick you in a heartbeat.”

  I swallowed at hearing the intensity of Devon’s words. He used to look apathetic all the time. “I’ll…” My voice quavered. “I’ll try to take your word for it, then.”

  Devon’s lips broke into a smile. He took my hand in his, then planted a kiss on the back of it. The act would have seemed a lot more romantic if we weren’t all trying to balance on top of a rug, but I let the butterflies that danced in my stomach flutter through me.

  The chiasma grew larger in size as we neared it. Its beckoning to me thrummed at a continuous pace. I reached my hand toward it when we flew across its sides. Little balls of magical power loosened from the giant object and floated past me. I raised my hand to touch one of them.

  “Stop touching random things,” Liam said, grabbing my wrist and pulling it toward his chest. “It’s not safe.”

  “But it’s pretty and shiny.”

  “What are you, a monkey?”

  “I often give in to my instinctual side.”

  “Often? You mean ‘always.’”

  As we moved across the chiasma, the skins of my vassals grew duller. The change in color was barely noticeable. I looked at my hands, and noticed that they were shifting to a grayish tone, too. “Does anybody else feel weakened?”

  “Yeah,” Hansel said. “The chiasma’s hungry for energy.”

  “Why?” I asked.

  “That’s what we’re here to find out.”

  A soft, growly noise rumbled from Fenrir’s throat as the mythical beast sank deeper into Liam’s embrace. I kept forgetting that the pup could grow to ten times our size. I wondered if Fenrir might ever return to its original form, or if his affections for Liam had tamed him too much.

  “We’re here,” Devon said. “I’m waiting for killer monsters to jump out at us.”

  “We’ll have to take care of them first,” Theo said. He pointed to the brightlings that stood beneath us. There were three of them on patrol, a half-shark, a half-tortoise, and…

  I shuddered.

  The last of the brightlings had an ant head. It was the first insect version of a brightling I’d seen, and it was the most horrific thing I’d ever had the bad luck to come across. Sights like this belonged in nightmares. Tiny hairs stuck out from the giant, oversized ant head, and the sight of the two spiny antennae sent tingles down my spine.

  They were dressed differently than the brightlings back in the Sanctuary. Thick vests covered their torsos and padded armor circled their limbs. They held wands in their fists.

  I was about to ask Devon to fly f
aster and avoid the creatures when he leapt from the carpet. He plummeted toward the ground. I squealed, holding myself back from screaming his name. Devon threw his dagger mid-fall, lodging it into the shark brightling’s arm. He summoned water from his palms a split second after. The water circled the remaining two brightlings, knocking them out through drowning.

  I balked at how efficiently he’d taken out those creatures. Then again, why was I surprised? Devon had already established that he was badass when it came to fighting.

  Devon waved two fingers at the carpet, and it lowered itself closer to the ground. We didn’t need any prompting to hop off the rug. I glanced at the ground and was tempted to lick it once my feet landed.

  Safe, I thought.

  “Don’t go licking random floors,” Theo said with a chuckle in his voice. Had I blurted that thought out? “You don’t know what bacteria they contain.”

  “Do goddesses fall sick?” I asked.

  “No,” Hansel replied. “But half-bloods do. Other than your powers, you’re completely human.”

  Devon kicked the side of the brightling he’d knocked out. All three were still alive. I could tell from the light rising and falling of their chests. Devon wiped the brightling’s blood off his dagger then slid it back into the sheath strapped to his belt. He paused before looking to his left. Something had caught his attention.

  The rest of us followed his gaze. Beneath the chiasma was an entrance flanked by two pillars. The entrance was thrice our height, and two serpentine figures guarded it. More snakes? I shuddered. It looked like trouble, and after what had happened with those Medusa children, I wanted to huddle up in a nice, comfy, safe bed.

  Damn it and my need to do right. It was easier just to not care about shit, but how else was I supposed to react to a bunch of girls getting murdered left and right? If I knew a genocide was happening and let it continue, what would that make me? A villainous bystander?

  “You could just try to top the class,” Hansel said, apparently hearing me accidentally voice my thoughts. “That’ll make you a goddess, and you’ll continue living life as you should. In eternity.”