by M Guida
He shrugged. “Yeah, I know. But he’s a Dark Demon and he has killed vampires, vampires that didn’t deserve to die.”
I needed to change the subject. “Come on, the train will be here any minute.”
We gathered our trash and threw it away as we walked toward the platform. Cadye saw me and waved me over to where she stood next to Armond and the rest of the gang.
“Jaxon, come on. I’d like to introduce you to my friends.”
“Sure, thanks.”
We made our way over there and just as we got there, so did Gunnar and Nora. I tried to remain calm, and hoped my damn horns would behave.
Kyle’s older brother Evan saw us and broke out in a big smile. “Hey, Ebony. Already drawing guys to you like bees to a flower, I see.” He gave me a big hug, but I could feel my cheeks burn up and I’m sure I was turning ten shades of red.
I glared at him. “Evan…”
“Sorry. I can’t resist. Love seeing those horns pop out.” He released me and stuck out his hand. “I’m Evan Ellis. You’re Dante’s cousin, aren’t you?”
Jaxon shook his hand. “Yeah, I’m Jaxon. How do you know Dante?”
“He visited Legacy last year with Katona and Xavier. He said you were coming here.” He winked. “You look just like him except your hair’s shorter.”
Jaxon grinned. “Gotta have my own style.”
“Jaxon, this is Armond, Kyle, Darius, Rusty, Cadye—“ Suddenly, my throat got all tight and my voice came out like a toad’s. “and Gunnar and Nora.”
Nora laughed. “Choking on your cinnamon roll, Ebony?”
I swallowed, feeling like an idiot and wondering if I had frosting smeared somewhere on my face. I looked down on my shirt and sure enough, there was a glob of icing on my right boob. I quickly wiped it off, but only made it worse. God, could I go home now?
Nora slipped between me and Jaxon, forcing me to stand closer to Gunnar. “Why, you’re a handsome one. I’ve always found vampires to be extremely sexy.”
Jaxon laughed, but it sounded like a nervous laugh to me.
I immediately looked down at my feet. Gunnar and I were so close our arms were touching and heat rushed over me. I was a flipping hot, sticky mess. If I could fly, I would have shifted and flown back to Havenwood.
Toot Toooooooot
I was saved by the bell, and the train rolled onto the platform. I was getting as far away from these guys as I could. When the doors opened, students shoved and pushed to get inside. It was a zoo.
I grabbed the first seat I found next to the window. I didn’t even look to see where the others were headed, but my heart sank when Gunnar and Nora decided to sit across from me with Armond and Cadye on the other side of me. I don’t know what happened to Jaxon, but I wished I had waited for him. Sitting across from Gunnar and Nora all the way to Legacy was going to be torture.
“Well, that sucked,” Armond grumbled next to me.
“It’s always a crush like that,” Rusty said. “People are assholes.”
Cadye moved forward in her seat and looked at me. “But thanks to you, we got some great seats.”
“Yeah, that was really good,” Gunnar nodded. “Otherwise, we would have all been separated.”
That was the idea.
Trying to avoid looking at Gunnar, I focused on Rusty. “How long does it take to get to Legacy?”
“About forty minutes. So, how’d do you hook up with that vampire? You sure work pretty fast.”
Leave it to Rusty to make me squirm in my seat. “I didn’t hook up with him. He just asked if he could sit with me when I was eating my cinnamon roll.”
Nora flashed her gaze over me. “You mean wearing it.”
Gunnar frowned warningly. “Nora…”
“Sorry. But how can you miss the icing?” She gestured with her hand. “It’s smeared all over her shirt.”
I squeezed the armrest tightly and looked out the window.
Armond patted my thigh and leaned in close to me. “Don’t let her get to you.”
“You look fine,” Gunnar agreed.
But I couldn’t look at him. Nora was resting her hand on his thigh as if she owned him. Why did I still carry a torch for him? It was stupid. Obviously, Ms. Perfect Nora was much more his type. I was far from perfect.
I nodded numbly and turned to look out the window. I felt stupid and hot. I just wanted to get to my room and stay there until classes started tomorrow.
Nobody talked much through the rest of the trip. Rusty lit up a cigarette, even though there was no smoking on the train, but no one said anything. Mostly because it was Rusty and everyone else had something on their minds.
At least I did. How to escape Legacy.
But even if I did go AWOL, either Dad or Raven would drag me back here. So here I was, stuck here for the next four years, living in my sister’s shadow and watching the guy of my dreams fall in love with another girl. What a complete and utter joy.
Finally, the train stopped. Once again, there was no order as people shoved and pushed to get out. We all waited because none of us wanted to get mobbed. I would have loved to see Nora get trampled and have her perfect red hair get messed up. It was layered, curly and thick. Mine on the other hand was white and straight as a board. No matter how many times I tried to curl it, it laid straight. I gave up and just let it do what it wanted.
We were the last group off the train. Cadye and Armond led the way. I followed right behind Armond, but as luck would have it Gunnar was right behind me. I could feel his warm breath on the back of my neck and he smelled so damn good. His scent always reminded me of a warm cinnamon roll. I smiled to myself. Probably that was why I loved those sweet treats so much.
Once off the train, we had to board buses. Since we were the last ones off, we couldn’t get seats together and I had to sit up front right behind the bus driver. The most undesirable seat, but I didn’t care. It was only a short ride, and then I’d finally get to Legacy.
Out the window, I thought I saw a yellow blur move through the trees super fast, but I wasn’t sure. It might have been nothing. I hoped so. But there had been reports of more and more Unseelie crossing over from the Elder Dimension.
That’s all I needed, for the Unseelie to attack the buses. But luckily nothing happened, and we pulled into the Legacy parking lot without incident.
I got off my bus just in time to see Nora walking with both Gunnar and Jaxon. I don’t know what magic spell she wove, but she could make any guy fall at her feet.
I sighed and followed the crowd toward the castle.
“Are you scared?”
I turned to see Kyle Ellis, walking alongside me. I didn’t even know he was there. He looked about as nervous as I was.
“Honestly? A little.”
“Yeah, I don’t know about this. It’s too weird to even think all of this is even real.”
I smiled. Kyle and Evan had always thought they were human, because their older brother Sam had never shifted. The three of them had been Armond’s surrogate family and protected him as best they could from Armond’s aunt and uncle. Then Kyle and Evan suddenly shifted when they were eighteen. Surprise, it turned out that Evan and Kyle had gotten the recessive shifter gene that had skipped a couple of generations in their family.
I bumped his shoulder lovingly. “You’ll be fine. You’ll just have to find something else to do besides playing video games.”
“I don’t know why Anton has such stupid rules about video games and the internet.”
“Because of humans. Some of them hunt us.”
“Yeah, Evan gave me an earful about tha—whoa. Is that Anton?”
I followed his gaze. Five seconds ago, nobody was there, but now, wearing a dark black robe, Anton was standing on Legacy’s front steps. The vampire was just as tall as I remembered him. Veiled power radiated from him, like clouds trying to smother the sun. He was over five hundred years old.
Anton flashed us a big smile and spread out his arms. “Good morning.”
Just like everyone else, I murmured automatically, “Good morning.”
He put his hands on his hips. “Are you not awake? I said good morning.”
We all gave him a louder and more energetic good morning.
He spread out his arms wide. “Welcome to Legacy. Upper classroom, you will be picking up your schedules and going to your dorms.” The portcullis rose, and Rusty, Evan, and the other upperclassmen slipped passed us.
After they left, Anton smiled. “Freshman, as I am sure you know, you are assigned to your dorms based on your bloodlines. Dragons go to Wyvern, the . Vampires to Shadow. Golden Demons to Mystic, Fae to Glamour and Wolves to Pack. Each of the towers has a runner flag with the name written on it.” He bowed slightly. “Proceed inside to start your new adventure.”
I glanced around the remaining students. Nora was in between Jaxon and Gunnar, looking for all the world like a princess.
Cadye and Armond joined Kyle and me.
“This is it.” Armond clasped the back of Kyle’s neck. “No offense, but you look pretty pale, dude.”
Kyle gave him a sheepish grin. “Just a little nervous.”
“Don’t worry, Kyle, I’ve got your back.”
Cadye nodded. “We all do. We’re the next wave of Defenders.”
I thought about that and shook my head. “No, We need a new name. Otherwise, we’re going to be living in their shadows.”
Kyle grinned. “Good point. How about the Avengers?”
Armond rolled his eyes. “And what? You’re going to be Iron Man? No, we need our own name. Something new.”
I looked at each of them in turn. “How about The Sentinels?”
Kyle frowned. “The Sentinels?”
I nudged him. “We’ll be the guards and prevent a sneak attack. That’s what sentinels do.”
He thought about it. “Sounds pretty cool.”
I stuck out my hand. “To The Sentinels.”
Armond put his hand put his hand on top of mine and winked. “The Sentinels.”
Cadye and Kyle both followed suit.
Then I caught a whiff of freshly-baked cinnamon rolls and another arm stretched inside. “The Sentinels.”
Gunnar was so close I could kiss him. He and the others lifted my hand and yelled, “Break.”
He pulled out his arm and headed toward the gateway into Legacy with Nora at his side. I guess she didn’t want to be a Sentinel. Fine by me.
Cadye looped her arm through mine and leaned her head on my shoulder. “Don’t let her get to you.”
I stood straighter. “I won’t, I promise.”
Liar Liar Pants on Fire
We headed toward Legacy. My whole life was about to change. At least I knew The Sentinels had my back, even if one of them was breaking my heart.
Chapter 3
Anton motioned with his arm. “I would like all the freshmen to follow me out onto the lawn for an assembly.”
The students dispersed into smaller groups and headed through the gate. The professors, including Montae, sat on a podium in the middle of the lawn that faced rows of metal folding chairs. Each of the professors had on robes representing their bloodlines. The Fae wore green that sparkled, Vampires black with red roses and Dragons were dressed in dark purple. I held my books and made my way to the lawn alone, trying not to look at either Gunnar or Nora. Armond and Cadye were walking with them and I refused to be in the way.
Cadye waved to me to come join them in a middle row, but I pretended not to see her and plopped down in a chair in the last row, hoping to disappear.
“Are you trying to avoid Gunnar?” a soft male voice whispered in my ear.
I nearly jumped out of my skin. Darius, Armond’s twin brother, had appeared next to me. He had the same long curly hair and silver eyes as his twin, but I could tell them apart. Armond always seemed to have a touch of sadness in his eyes. His life had been hell growing up, ever since the Dark Demon King Ryker had kidnapped him when he was a toddler.
I put my hand over my thundering heart. “God Darius, you scared me half to death.”
“Sorry. Didn’t mean to. Nora rubs me the wrong way. I just don’t see why Gunnar doesn’t see it.”
I smiled gratefully, not knowing if he meant it or was just trying to make me feel better. Either way, I appreciated it.
Nora laughed a little too loudly at something Gunnar had said and flipped her hair behind her. She leaned close to Gunnar, and I swear she was blowing in his ear. It all made me really tense.
Darius gave me a sympathetic look. “She really gets to you, doesn’t she?”
I shook my head and sat straighter in my chair. “No, why would you think that?”
He nudged me with his arm gently. “Your horns are showing.”
Warmth spread across my cheeks and I looked down at my backpack.
Luckily, at that point Anton said in a loud voice, “Students, let me introduce our wonderful teachers. Please hold your applause until the end. Professor Gorwin Elfiel, who teaches demonology.”
A tall male Fae with crystal blue eyes and long blond hair stood and bowed slightly.
Anton gestured toward a short bald man with puffy gray hair. “Professor Griffith, your potions teacher.”
I sighed. Raven had excelled in potions and it was just another area where people would be expecting greatness from me.
"Professor Maggie Quail, your magic teacher.” Anton nodded toward a woman with long blond hair—another Fae. Professor Quail waved slightly, as if she were a model on a float in a parade.
He gestured toward a red-headed woman. “Professor Nora Tuamma is the trainer of dragons.”
My gut tightened. Raven had had problems with Professor Tuamma. I hoped I didn’t have a gigantic X on my forehead, just because I was Raven’s sister.
“I’m very proud to introduce our newest teacher.” Anton put his hand on Montae’s shoulder and Montae’s face turned red at Anton’s compliment. “Professor Montae will be teaching Defense and Battle Techniques.”
Finally, Anton came to was another man with long blond hair, wearing a long flowing green gown. “This is our wonderful healer, Dr. Ke Greenwood.”
Dr. Greenwood flashed a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. I found myself wondering if maybe he was tired of working at Legacy. He was from the Starlight Kingdom and maybe he wanted to return. Was he a little homesick, like me? I missed home already.
Anton clapped his hands together. “Now, I have wonderful news. This spring, Legacy will be hosting the Academy Games. Tryouts will start after Thanksgiving break, which should give you plenty of time to hone your skills.”
We all gasped and excited whispers broke out all at once.
Darius grinned. “Cool. I love races.”
“Like anyone would ever be able to catch you.”
Anton raised his hands. “Settle down, please. Students will be able to try out to participate in the games but not everyone will be chosen. Those not chosen can be supporters. The events will be based on your classes, similar to your trials. Those who are the best in each event will compete in a maze to find the Academy Bell. Around the rim of the bell, there are jewels that represent each academy. The winner will receive a trophy and become a legend throughout all the academies.”
Darius winked at me. “You know it’s going to be you, but I’ll give you a run for your money.”
Dread clogged my throat. I couldn’t answer him and pretended instead to be concentrating on Anton. He only thought that because of Raven. Not me.
I don’t know if I was imagining it or not, but Anton seemed to be looking directly at me. I squirmed in my chair. Even Anton seemed to have high hopes for me. Raven would have aced every event, but I wasn’t her. I couldn’t even shift when I had tried over the summer, and I was supposed to be shifter. Why was my dragon hiding? Was it scared? Did I have a yellow one? Queen of the Chicken Shit Dragons?
No matter how many times Raven told me to talk to my dragon, nothing happened. Raven sai
d if I closed my eyes my dragon would appear, but it never worked.
“So this year, you will need to be extra diligent with your studies if you hope to participate. I wish each of you luck.”
He proceeded to tell us where our classes would be and the rules of Legacy, but I wasn’t really listening. A bunch of snakes squirmed in my gut and I thought I was going to get sick.
I was nervous enough already, but now these Academy Games twisted my nerves until I thought they would snap.
“Ebony?”
I blinked.
Darius was smiling. “The assembly’s over. We’re supposed to go to our towers, get our schedules, our books, and then go to our rooms.”
Students were leaving in small groups.
“Oh, God. I wasn’t paying attention.” I grabbed my backpack.
“Yeah, I noticed. Are you okay?”
I nodded. “I’m fine. Just daydreaming.”
“Thinking about the Academy Games? Picturing yourself winning them and becoming a legend?”
I rolled my eyes. “Hardly, but it looks like you are.”
He shrugged. “What can I say? I like competition.” He was the complete opposite of Armond. Contests didn’t mean anything to him. But he was definitely a hero and had risked his life to save us from our Unseelie and Dark Demon enemies.
“Well, I’ll see you later. I guess I’ll go meet my new roommate.”
I left Darius and headed to my dorm. I hoped I was as lucky as Raven and got someone who would be an ally. I needed something good to happen.
I followed some other girls who were heading toward Wyvern Tower. The long purple runner hung down, reminding me of my dad. He was the only purple dragon that I knew. I wondered what color my dragon was and wished she would hurry up and reveal herself. It would be really humiliating if I was the only girl who couldn’t shift, especially when my sister was one of the most powerful dragons of our time.
This pressure could stop any time.
I walked inside the tower and gasped at how beautiful it was. Dragon frescoes of every color of the rainbow were painted on the ceiling. A dark wooden stairwell wound upstairs. The hardwood floors had been polished until they shone. This place was amazing.
