Dragon Fire Academy 2: Second Term

by Rachel Jonas

That is, assuming I could re-learn how to control my magic.

  “Come here. I have something to show you.” There was sort of a gleam in Ori’s eye when he spoke. It was akin to excitement.

  A little skeptical, and super intrigued, I waited the few seconds it took him to turn off the stove, and then followed him back into the living room. We didn’t stay there, instead heading down the dark hallway to his bedroom. On the way, we passed by Paulo’s room where he and the other two were still sitting around, laughing and arguing all in one conversation.

  The second we crossed the threshold into Ori’s space, and the door closed behind me, it was like we entered a cone of silence. The background noise and chatter lowered considerably, and it was just us.

  We hadn’t had very many moments like this, moments alone. That may have been intentional on both parts, to avoid any awkward lulls where we sometimes ran out of things to say.

  “Have a seat,” he offered, gesturing toward his bed after turning on a dim lamp.

  I did as he suggested, keeping my eyes trained on the ink-stained skin on his back where his tank didn’t cover. He moved to the dresser and reached for the shelf above it. The small, blue box trimmed in gold I noticed before was taken from its place. I hadn’t pried, but curiosity had definitely left me wondering what was so sentimental that it had its own case.

  He came toward me again, and something about the way he clutched it in his hand told me whatever it held was of great value. Even if only to him. The fact that he thought enough of me to share it made me breathe deep when he joined me on the bed.

  “I uh … I don’t talk about myself much,” he admitted, keeping his eyes trained on the ground while I stared only at him. “It’s not because I don’t want to let you in, it’s just the way I’ve gotten accustomed to being, but … I’m working on it.” A faint smile touched his lips, but left too soon. “I lost my dad when I was a kid.”

  A breath passed between my lips as I listened, unable to speak when the conversation took an unexpected turn.

  “A man came into the store my parents owned one night—a dragon, enraged and possessed with The Darkness. He lunged for my mother, but my father intervened so she could get away,” Ori shared. “He … didn’t make it out of there alive.”

  I exhaled again, feeling Ori’s pain as my own as I tried to imagine how this must have torn his world apart, at such a young age.

  “We didn’t have much, so there was no fortune or property to inherit,” he continued with a small, humorless laugh. “There was only this.”

  The box creaked open and my gaze went there, to a silver necklace. At its center, an oddly beautiful, smoke-colored crystal hung from the end.

  “It’s incredible,” I practically whispered, staring at the unique piece.

  “Dad found the crystal himself,” Ori shared. “Apparently, he believed it brought him luck. In a way, I suppose it did. Within a week of wearing it, he met my mother.”

  This time, when Ori smiled, it was steeped in sentiment.

  His gaze shifted toward mine and I don’t think either of us meant to stare so deeply into the other, but we did. Something about this man made me want to pull him into my arms and never let him go. He held so much love within him, although he didn’t readily show it. He cared intensely for those he kept close, and it made me want to be the one to care for him.

  “I, um … it’s customary for an alpha to present his queen with a token of his loyalty,” he finally forced out, tearing his gaze away. “And this is mine to you.”

  My heart skipped an entire beat hearing these words. “Ori, I can’t accept this. You can’t part with something that belonged to your—”

  “Noelle, giving it to you doesn’t mean I’m parting with it,” he said gravely, daring to look into my eyes again. “You’re with me forever, so it’s with me forever.”

  My breaths came quickly as he slipped the necklace over my head.

  “Instead of hiding in a box … it’ll be worn by my queen.”

  He stared where the piece rested gently on my collarbone, likely noticing how my pulse throbbed just beneath the skin. A tsunami of emotion rushed in, reaching to the hidden parts of my heart I hadn’t yet let Ori into, but there was no keeping him out now.

  The feel of my hand at the side of his face made his body go rigid. He wasn’t used to being touched, but he’d get past that in time. For now, I was okay being the one who chipped at the wall between us, removing the debris that encased his heart a little at a time.

  His gaze slipped to my lips and I knew he wanted to kiss me, but I also knew his iron-clad will would never allow it. My body gravitated closer to his and the desperation in his eyes only became more apparent. With the others, touching and kissing had become our state of normalcy, leaving me to burn with curiosity about Ori.

  What did he taste like?

  When would the beast inside him finally take what it wanted?

  How would it feel for there to be nothing between us but shared breaths and sweat-dampened skin?

  The space keeping us apart disappeared when I leaned in, unable to resist at least feeling his mouth against mine. A broad hand gripped the side of my neck and I breathed out at the feel of it, at the realization that he was just as tired of fighting this as I was.

  There was no impatience, no rushing, only long, tender strokes of his tongue slipping over mine. The hand not already on my skin moved to my hip, bringing me closer as the kiss deepened. So close, his scent was potent and dizzying—a strange frenzy of smoke, earth, and testosterone that drove me crazy. It didn’t take long to realize why it was so different, so much more potent than the others.

  It was the scent of an alpha.

  My bottom lip was drawn between his, and then released just quickly enough to make me long for more. But then another deep plunge of his tongue inside my mouth made me forget my own name, and all was forgiven. My waist tingled with the sensation of warm fingertips working the button of my shorts, and the hunger inside me swelled with the lowering of my zipper. The shorts—and then the thin cotton beneath them—were pulled away from my stomach.

  Allowing just enough room for a hand to slip inside.

  Air passed from my lips to Ori’s when the relief of being touched by him swept in like a hurricane. His silken strands shifted between my fingers when I moved my hand through the back of his hair, keeping him close when I lost concentration, ending our kiss. How could I possibly focus on his mouth, when his … fingers …

  “Should I stop?” The deep rasp against my ear made me shiver.

  I only panted against the side of his face at first, finally finding words a few seconds later. “No, please don’t,” I answered with what little breath I had.

  His lips found mine again, and soon electricity radiated from someplace deep, causing my body to quiver. Wrought with pleasure, every part of me cried out for him. I squeezed the back of his neck where I held him, and he swallowed the series of soft moans that forced their way up my throat.

  Tension drained from my limbs and I rode a slow wave down from ecstasy, practically melting against him. Without hesitation, I reached to place my palm against the front of his sweats, feeling the evidence of his need. My mouth grazed the side of his neck where. Dazed, and still not sure of my name, I placed soft kisses on colorful art that told a story I had yet to unlock.

  He seemed both reluctant and desperate, so I chose to only focus on the latter—his desperation. I’d barely loosened the drawstring and tugged at the elastic waistband when …

  “Wait …” he panted, the single word laced with so much frustration. “Someone’s here.”

  “Can’t the others take care of it?” I sank my teeth lightly into his collarbone with the question. “While I … take care of you?”

  “It’s one of the alphas,” he explained with a sigh. “Might be important.”

  Although I deemed this between us to be important, too, I knew better than to interfere with Firekeeper business.

  So
, matching Ori’s frustration, I backed off, putting my hands up in surrender when I let his strings fall from my grasp. “Okay.”

  Several deep breaths later—and probably quoting baseball stats to send blood racing back to the rest of his body—Ori stood and leveled a look my way. One I read loud and clear.

  “Rain check?” he asked.

  I looked him over before answering, accidentally letting my stare linger on certain parts of his anatomy longer than others. I hadn’t meant to, and was also certain I’d been caught, but who was I kidding?

  The Omegas had me open, and I was no longer afraid of what I felt for them. So, I answered Ori truthfully.

  “Just say when.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Noelle

  Ori and I got to the living room last, for obvious reasons. He needed to … calm down before facing his brothers, and the one who’d stopped by at nearly eight this evening.

  It was Ty—the Solaris Hive alpha.

  All eyes shifted toward Ori and I when we entered the space, and the collective expressions were filled with concern.

  “What’s up?” Thick arms crossed Ori’s chest after asking. He didn’t sit, just stayed posted beside the sofa while waiting for an answer.

  “We need to talk,” Ty spoke up. “I’ll get to the real reason I’m here in a sec, but possibly an even bigger issue is the fact that I’m standing here at all.”

  The statement seemed to confuse the guys, and me too.

  Ty tapped the side of his head. “I can’t remember the last time I’ve had to stop by to deliver a message,” he explained. “Should’ve just been able to reach you in thought.”

  Now, I understood. Well … kinda. It sounded like Ty had tried to access the guys via their tether—which I hadn’t realized before now extended into the other hives—but he hadn’t been able to get through.

  I glanced left, to witness the grave look on Ori’s face as he stood beside me frowning. “What are you saying?”

  “I’m saying we’re somehow disconnected. And it’s not my hive, or even my connection to the others.” His eyes slipped toward mine, unintentionally I believed. “It’s just you all.”

  There was a stretch of silence that felt loaded. Like, there were so many unspoken thoughts that the air seemed thick and heavy.

  “What’s going on?” Ty’s inquiry made the silence even more apparent.

  “Nothing that I know of,” Ori expressed, staring at the ground while he thought. The deep crease between his brow was an indication of confusion.

  My thoughts shifted back to a couple weeks ago, when Kai seemed to have trouble getting through to the other Omegas while they ran patrol. Maybe Ty being locked out was the same thing.

  “Have any of you noticed anything strange?”

  The four peered up when Ty asked.

  “I’ve felt weaker,” Paulo spoke up. “When my dragon steps forward, I should feel the surge of power at least tenfold, but it hasn’t been that way lately. It’s like …” He paused to find the right words. “It’s like how a lightbulb starts to dim and flicker, just before going out.”

  The analogy made my heart sink. Just the idea of him—or any of them—losing their abilities was terrifying. Especially considering how danger lurked a little too closely for my liking.

  Ty let out a deep sigh, keeping his stare trained on Paulo. “That doesn’t make sense. You’ve located your queen. If anything, you should all be at peak performance now, functioning more efficiently than ever before.”

  Hearing this made me extremely uncomfortable. I was aware that me being added to the hive should make the Omegas reach their full potential, but … why hadn’t that happened? Why did it seem like—based on this conversation—me being linked with them had actually been a setback?

  My hand wandered to the back of my neck, feeling the warm symbol just beneath my hairline.

  “I hadn’t said anything,” Rayen spoke up, “but the other day, I had trouble shifting. I thought it was just me, just a onetime thing, but … now I’m starting to wonder if it’s more than that.”

  Their growing concern was unnerving. So much of who they were was connected to their role on this island as FireKeepers. If something was wrong, I had no idea what that would mean for them, this unit of four who were real brothers except for the fact that they didn’t share blood.

  “None of this is a coincidence. The issue seems specific to your hive, so you can’t ignore it. Seek counsel,” Ty advised.

  Agreeing, Ori nodded once.

  “I’ll get in touch with Maureen as soon as she returns,” Kai chimed in. “Even if she wasn’t my aunt, I’m not sure I’d trust anyone else with this.”

  “I think that’s wise,” Ty concurred.

  The sensation of static prickled my skin before unspoken words filled my head.

  ‘Maureen’s away?’ Ori’s voice faded in with the question.

  ‘Mount Panluah,’ Kai answered. ‘She’s due back soon, though.’

  ‘I hope you’re right about that.’

  Ori hadn’t come right out and said it, but his sense of urgency made it clear he wasn’t taking any of this lightly.

  “Well, I suppose this brings me to why I needed to speak with you all in the first place,” Ty shared. “I just left Chief Makana’s chamber and was given a very peculiar assignment.”

  “And what’s that?” Ori’s tone was fittingly suspicious.

  “We were asked to keep close watch on you five, and to report back any strange findings.” When he finished speaking, Ty smirked. “However, while I will always be loyal to my island, I’m loyal to our brotherhood.”

  A look of mutual respect passed between Ty and Ori, and I swallowed hard. Why on Earth would Kai’s father want him—want all of us—surveilled?

  “I have no interest in secret missions, nor will I betray my brothers. So, I’m doing what Chief wouldn’t,” Ty added. “I’m bringing my concerns to you directly. Man-to-man.”

  There was another breadth of silence, but then Kai stood. “I might know something about that.”

  All eyes darted toward him when he spoke up.

  “When I visited him,” he said, “we spoke about Noelle. Chief shared his thoughts and, if I’m being honest, he wasn’t exactly thrilled.”

  Well, there’s a shocker.

  “To start, he isn’t convinced it was Spirit who sent her to us,” Kai forced out.

  And I say he forced the words, because the strain behind them made it seem as if he wished he could have kept them to himself.

  “He seems to think she … might serve a different purpose than what we think,” he continued.

  “Like?” Rayen asked gravely, his expression hard and suspicious.

  Kai’s gaze met mine before he said more, and there was no missing the remorse behind them.

  “He thinks she’s a curse,” he breathed. “He thinks … The Darkness sent her to infiltrate our hive, and tear us down from the inside.”

  “That’s ridiculous.” It surprised me that Ori was the one who spoke first, defending my place within the Omega Hive. “We all felt the connection when Noelle was given to us. That can’t be faked.”

  My gaze lowered to the floor, and I had no choice but to think about what Chief said. I mean, really think about it.

  From the symbol on my neck, to the way my magic had been behaving, to the hive being off kilter ever since I was added to them was … one huge coincidence. Still, the look on Ori’s face told me he wasn’t willing to accept it that easily.

  Maybe because he’d been so reluctant to let me in, and now that we were getting closer, he couldn’t imagine undoing it all.

  “We’ll consult with Maureen,” he said harshly, “and until then, nothing has changed. We’ve all seen how Chief’s conducted himself lately, and I’m not even sure he’s on our side anymore. The last thing I’m willing to do is take his word on this matter.”

  And there it was. The alpha had spoken.

  The other three se
emed to linger in their thoughts, likely still processing what Kai had just shared. None seemed to readily believe that I was their hive’s curse, but … it was only normal that they’d at least consider it now.

  I certainly was.

  “If anything should arise, you know the Solaris have your backs,” Ty promised. “And rest assured, nothing I see or hear regarding this matter will ever be reported to the chief.”

  Ori stepped forward and placed a hand on his comrade’s shoulder. “Thank you. We’ll be in touch.”

  Ty gave an earnest nod, and then we were alone again. The night had started off so well, and now, as we stood in silence, I wondered if their thoughts aligned with mine.

  I wondered if they were thinking I was their downfall.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Noelle

  It was nice coming back to this place. For more reasons than one.

  Seeing that the kids and staff had recovered from the ordeal months ago was mostly why, but also because I believed the guys and I needed a change of scenery. They’d been here to visit several times, but this was the first I’d been able to join them.

  It felt like I’d barely had time for anything other than studying lately. By day, I kept my head down and tried to keep focused on school—and not the fresh whispers floating around about me. By night, I was sneaking off with Blythe, to the basement of the dorm.

  Our sessions were nothing like I thought they’d be. When she first led me down to the small room tucked away deep in the dark corner, I half-expected to walk in and find potions in a cauldron. However, aside from candles and the smell of sage, there wasn’t much else to speak of. There were no spells and incantations. Only yoga and meditation.

  At first, I laughed at her new-age approach to fixing me, but I was starting to understand. Because my magic was a part of me, I needed to first ensure that my mental and emotional health were in balance. As much as I hated to admit it, being around her had been kind of helpful.

  For instance, as I sat with ten girls ranging from the ages of five and eleven running brushes through one half of my hair, while awkward braids stuck out on the other, my blood pressure didn’t even spike. Nope, I was completely Zen.