Our core temps weren’t the only things that would have most people running scared. Screams weren’t unusual here, so that made it stranger when I thought about why the girl’s hoarse cries put me so on edge. I knew, point blank, I’d be hearing them for a long time to come in my dreams, and after my childhood, nothing had the potential to haunt my sleep.
At least, it shouldn’t have.
“She’s late to enroll,” Eren pointed out, his dark black brows furrowing as he rubbed his calf muscle where Nestor had kicked his feet out from under him fifteen minutes ago.
She was a semester late, and normally the instructors didn’t bring anyone in past the first two weeks.
“She must be special,” I murmured softly.
“Stefan, we’re all special.” Eren’s lips twitched. “Haven’t you figured that out by now?”
He wasn’t wrong, nor was he right. Most of us had been considered ‘special needs’ until we arrived here, then when we’d crossed through those gates, which had that girl screaming like she was being tortured, it had been similar to being reborn.
Even thinking of that day had the power to bring tears to my eyes. Tears of gratitude and relief.
I loved my country, but the way they treated orphans was no laughing matter. And sick orphans? Who required money from the state to care for them? I’d seen more horrors in the so-called state homes than I ever had in my time at Caelum.
Back home in Romania, I’d been a kicking post. Something to laugh at, something for the younger children to fear.
Here? I was one of many. One of four hundred pupils, in fact. Each of us were the same yet different.
We’d been gathered from across the world to be here, and I’d never felt that privilege more than when I’d seen that girl earlier.
She’d been dressed in something that looked like it was from the Handmaid’s Tale. A white dress that dropped down to her ankles, swirling around black boots that were scuffed but highly polished. The dress billowed out on her frame, as did the dark brown cape that had covered her from her shoulders down to her thighs. She wore a kind of headdress that reminded me of something a nurse might have worn back in the First World War. It kept her hair from her face, and there was netting at the back to contain her bun.
It made me wonder where she came from.
I’d come in rags. I’d worn dirty jeans with big holes in them and ragged cuffs that had threads dragging under my bare feet. My shirt had been threadbare and filthy. My coat was thick wool, but it was two sizes too small for me and had pinched under my armpits. Not that I’d cared though. It had sheltered me from the bitter winter back home.
Living on the streets in Ploiești hadn’t been easy, but it had been a damn sight more pleasant than staying at the orphanage, which sometimes felt as cold as the streets anyway.
Now, I wore thick workout shorts and had sneakers that not even the middle-class would wear back home. We had an allowance that we could spend on whatever we wanted, and I’d saved four months to get these sneakers. Because of where Caelum sat on the atlas, I was constantly warm. Had no fear of freezing to death, starving to death, or being beaten to death.
This was, to all intents and purposes, the heaven it was labeled.
As I stared down at the muscles on my body that had been skin and bone before, I murmured, “Do you think we should volunteer to show her around?”
Nestor frowned, his brow creasing in surprise. “Why should we? They don’t want volunteers. You know the Enforcers show them everything.” Just as they had with us once upon a time.
“I do, but she was… Well, those screams. She must be frightened. Maybe it would be nice to show her around from our perspective. The Enforcers don’t remember what it’s like to walk through those gates. They’re too old. But we’re not.”
Eren jumped to his feet, and I knew I had him. “I’m game,” he stated, confirming what I already gathered—he was a sucker for the underdog.
I nodded and rose too. With a sigh, Nestor stood and the three of us, dressed in our sweaty workout clothes, headed away from the gym where we’d been training and toward the administrative block.
Caelum consisted of over three hundred smaller buildings that had been linked together over time through necessity and a need for space. The gymnasium was closer to the admin block simply because we worked out so much, and training had been important since the earliest days of the Academy. Without working out, there was no way to control the souls who’d overtake us at their whim, and no means of defending ourselves against those who wished to destroy us.
No expense had been spared on Caelum. All creatures paid a tithe to fund the Academy, the only haven on this Earth that people like us had. I looked forward to the day when I could pay my dues. I was two years away from that privilege, but it would be my proudest moment when I could help fund the important work done here. The work that had saved my sanity and had saved thousands of other kids who had been just like me.
Society’s rejects.
As we walked out of the gym, I grabbed a towel and wiped off. We weren’t going to make the best of impressions, but impressions didn’t matter here. Not much. Whatever we’d had before Caelum, we no longer had now. We were on a level playing field for the first time in our lives.
Of course, there were those who didn’t appreciate that, and on our way out of the gym, we faced three douche bags who liked to think they were better than us.
Nestor, Eren, and I came from poorer countries. Living in the Academy was a blessing. Nestor was from Mexico, Eren from Turkey, and I was from Romania. Alexandre, from Brazil, was another of our friends and he too had come from a poor background.
There were always dicks, though. Samuel, Reed, and Frazer were three of them. They’d been spawned by wealthy parents, and even though they were several years’ deep into the Academy program, they’d failed to realize that we were all equal here. My gaze drifted over them as we headed into the admin block where they were beating the shit out of each other in one of the boxing rings.
It was difficult to say that I hated them. I didn’t. I didn’t care enough about them to hate them, but I thought they were pricks, and I had no problem telling them that when they got in my face. They were our natural opponents too, so that didn’t help.
Those three and my quartet were always racing to beat each other. We thrived on competition here, and those three jerks were, although I hated to admit it, just as talented as us. As we were for them, they were the ones to beat.
“Stop looking at them,” Nestor hissed, elbowing me in the side. He muffled the words with his towel, which he tossed into the laundry basket before we crossed the threshold, and moved from the bright atrium into the darker foyer.
“Just checking out their form.”
“You study them any harder and they’ll think you’re checking out their asses,” Eren joked, making me roll my eyes.
Eren had been reared a Muslim. But, just like Nestor and me, we were no longer what we once were. Two years ago, he’d have prayed for my eternal soul at the prospect of me being gay, but it was no longer two years ago. And it was the same with Alexandre and Nestor who weren’t Catholic anymore. And though I’d been forced to take part in Orthodox services as a child, back in the orphanage where my mother had dumped me as a baby, any need to pretend to believe was no longer necessary.
It didn’t matter if you were black, brown, white, or blue, believed in ten Gods or one, in Caelum, we were all equal.
I’d remind Dre of that fact when he woke up after the ass-whooping Reed had given him an hour earlier, which probably wouldn’t be for a few days at least. Arrogant ass needed taking down a peg or two. He’d grown sloppy in the ring, sloppy enough for Reed to gain the advantage during their scheduled fight.
Seeing Damon guarding the front entrance, I strolled over to him, aware my friends had my back. “Does the new girl need a guide?”
Damon cocked a brow at me, then let his gaze drift over our group. “Where’s Alexandre?
”
“Knocked out.”
He snorted. “In the sick bay?” When I nodded, his lips twisted. “Let me guess… Frazer.”
“Close. Reed.”
Damon laughed. “I told him to watch out for his right hook.”
Eren joked, “I’m sure he’ll take you more seriously now.”
Damon’s grin said, without words, that he’d help hammer the point home, and then he squinted at us as he asked, “Why are you asking about the girl?”
“She suffered when she crossed through the portal.” I wasn’t sure why it bothered me, but it did. We all experienced something different when we stepped onto the Academy’s land, but the girl had sounded like she was in true pain.
Damon shrugged. “It hits us all in unique ways.”
“I know, but someone showing her around, someone who isn’t ancient,” I tacked on wryly, “might help her fit in. She’s already two months late for the year.”
He studied me as though I were shit on his shoe—and I didn’t really blame him, Damon was a kickass Enforcer that had a rep as large as Caelum’s floor plan—but he dragged his cell from his back pocket and connected a call.
“Three volunteers to guide Eve around. You want them to help out or not?” There was a pause, then he said, “Nestor, Eren, and Stefan.” Damon listened, his face blank, and then he dipped his chin. “Go to Nicholas’s office,” he directed when he cut the call.
I shot him a smile that he didn’t reciprocate because he was studying me like I was a textbook he had to cram before finals. “Since when did you get nice?” he questioned, as I went to turn on my heel with my friends at my back.
I shot him a smirk. “I’ve always been nice.”
He shook his head. “You keep telling yourself that, Stefan.”
“Don’t worry. I will.” I grinned at him then started down the foyer.
“She must be more fucked up than we thought,” Eren stated, once we were far enough away from Damon that he wouldn’t hear.
“Why?”
“Because they want help.”
“Hardly help, Eren. We’re only showing her around the place.”
Eren shrugged. “Mark my words.”
“There’s nothing to mark.” I huffed out my irritation as I picked up my pace and started to jog. The five-minute walk to Nicholas, the principal’s office, took less than a minute at our speed. Although my heart had begun beating heavily, heavy for us and heavy for a human were two separate matters.
To a human, I had a resting heartbeat, but to us, that was fast.
I knocked on the double doors to the office, wishing now that we’d gone back to our rooms for shirts. Not that it would matter that much since we were always in a state of undress from training. But I knew the girl would be taken aback to see our half-naked forms, and that bothered me even if she’d adapt after a few weeks here.
Just from watching her cross the gates, I knew she was sheltered. That was a given. Her clothes alone told me she wouldn’t be used to seeing men half-dressed. In fact, now that I thought about it, I regretted not getting a shirt even more because sheltered might be an understatement. The shit she wore was like something from a movie set.
“Come in.”
Nicholas’s eyes were on me, not the others, as we stepped into the room. The second the girl saw us, she gasped, and I drew my attention from the headmaster to her. Her cheeks were bright red, and I could see the glassiness in her eyes as she took us in, and then in an instant, she whipped her head around to face Nicholas as though we weren’t just naked but were fucking right in front of her.
Christ, where had she been all her life where that was her response to seeing a man’s chest?
That innocence did something to me. I couldn’t say what, just that it put me on edge and soothed me at the same time. The discordant emotions made my voice hoarse as I stated, “We thought we could show Eve around the school.”
Merinda cocked a brow at us, but there was a wicked grin on her face—not that it was abnormal. She was a Lorelei after all. They were almost as bad as Succubi. Every inch of her was made for seduction, but it didn’t hit me as hard as it would Eren and Nestor. I wasn’t certain which soul of mine was dominant yet, but I had a feeling it would be an Incubus. Either that or a Lorelei. All told, I’d prefer the Incubus. Feeding through sex sounded very pleasant.
No man would ever complain about that.
Nicholas bowed his head at my words. “That’s very kind of you.” To the girl, he said, “Eve, there is plenty more that we must discuss, however, I think it would be better for you to get some rest and return to my office in the morning.” Then, as he uttered our names, he pointed at us so she knew who was whom: “What you see when Nestor, Eren, and Stefan show you around… you must not fear. You are safe here. Safer than you have ever been.”
I saw no fear on her face that said she was scared or fretful about what Caelum represented. It made me think that she wasn’t scared, but there was a faintly mocking curl to her lips that told me she didn’t believe him.
The prospect perplexed me. Nicholas wasn’t an enemy, nor was he a liar. This entire place ran as smoothly as it did because of him, because of his dedication to our people.
“Stefan,” Nicholas addressed me, “she’s in block A. Lori will give you her key. Eve, you will have clothes in there. You should change. Your current outfit won’t help you fit in, nor will you be able to work out in it.”
She frowned. “Work out?”
Merinda sighed. “He means train.”
“Train for what?”
I cut Nestor a look that had him shrugging—he didn’t know if she was slow either.
A tut came from Merinda. “The souls fight a lot,” she explained. “To control them, we must engage in physical activity.”
Her words, or lack of them, told me we were keeping some things on the down low. That wasn’t entirely unexpected. Eve would already be dealing with a shitload of information. Any more and I wouldn’t blame her for tapping out.
Merry’s words prompted Eve to say, “I understand. I’ve seen the men at the compound run and lift heavy things to build up their muscles.” Her cheeks were bright pink as her eyes caught mine before quickly flashing over my form. “They didn’t look like them though,” she choked out, and fuck, it made me want to preen.
I felt Eren and Nestor straighten up at my side, and knew they’d caught the look in her eyes too—desire, embarrassment, and shame all swirled into one cocktail that had her blossoming brighter than a red rose.
“Well, they wouldn’t. Not only were those scumbags not a creature, but it takes a variety of things to look like the boys do.” I winced at that word. ‘Boys.’ I was nineteen, hardly a boy, but to someone like Merinda, I was a baby.
“What’s a scumbag?” Eve asked.
“Old bastards who marry lots of young girls and make them pregnant, then keep them trapped on a compound because it’s God’s will, then beat them for daring to think or be anything other than their slave.”
Eve jerked back at Merinda’s bitter statement, which served two purposes. Answering Eve, but also confirming my belief that she’d been in a cult or something. That outfit alone was Cult 101.
“I can’t argue with that,” Eve replied softly, but her hands were taut as she pulled at the skirt of her dress.
“No, you can’t,” Merinda retorted, but her voice was gentler now. She was angry at wherever Eve had been living, but not at the girl. “What you learned when you were there, Eve, it was all wrong. And I’d say that even if you weren’t a creature. You’re one of us, yes, but those other girls and women on the compound… they shouldn’t be there. The New Order is a bad place.”
Eve’s chin jerked up. “I know.”
Nicholas shook his head. “I’m not sure you do. You’ve been indoctrinated, Eve. That will take some time to break.”
“I’m not sure what indoctrination means in this sense,” Eve admitted, “but I know I’ve been taught certain th
ings that have become a habit, but habits can be broken, can’t they?”
“Yes, they can,” Nicholas told her, his voice oozing sympathy.
“I-I’m not like some of the girls. They believe every word Father Bryan said. I didn’t want to marry him, but I would have because there was no point in fighting it. Some of his wives cried in happiness when he chose them. I wouldn’t have done that. I’d have endured.” Her smile was tight. “I’m good at that.”
“You’ve had to be. Your control is remarkable,” Merinda praised, surprising me because Merry didn’t seem to like anyone, and she was a bitch, more likely to give out shade than a compliment.
Eve’s brow puckered slightly, but she murmured, “Thank you.”
I cleared my throat. “What year will she be in?” Girls started here at fourteen, and there was no way she was fourteen. Even underneath the shroud, I could see her tits, and they belonged to a woman, not some snot-nosed teenager.
“Junior year.”
The three of us blew out surprised breaths, yet I was the one who sputtered, “But—”
“But nothing. She’s seventeen. She needs to be among her peers.” Merinda’s look was cutting. “You have a problem with that, boys?”
I almost winced at the insult. “No. Of course not. I was… we were just surprised.”
“Well, take your surprise elsewhere,” she chided sharply, her words like knives. To Eve, she murmured, “Try to settle in today. You won’t start lessons until the day after tomorrow.”
Eve didn’t reply; she just looked at Nicholas who nodded at her in encouragement. Like that was all she needed, she got to her feet and took a hesitant step toward us before she started to lower herself to the ground. Merinda was there in a second, her hand grabbing Eve’s and jerking her upright. “You curtsey to no man now, Eve,” she bit off, her anger wasn’t aimed at Eve, I knew, but once more at the compound the girl had left behind.
Eve jolted at Merry’s rough touch, but she simply nodded. “If you say so, Merinda.”
Seven Wishes: The Caelum Academy Trilogy: Part ONE Page 4
