Page 3 of Academy of the Wicked, Year One

I froze.

Lounging in a chair by a crackling fireplace sat possibly the most beautiful man I'd ever seen.

A very naked beautiful man…

Dark hair tumbled in careless, artful waves across his forehead, framing a face sculpted to perfection, as if the gods themselves had lingered too long in admiration.

His eyes—piercing, otherworldly, a violet so vibrant it seemed stolen from twilight—glinted with teasing mischief that sent shivers coursing down my spine.

Every line of his body, lean and honed to wicked precision, was on full display, his state of undress an unapologetic challenge that left me breathless.

The golden glow of the firelight danced across his bare skin, highlighting the sharp contours of his collarbone and the ridges of muscle that seemed carved from marble. Heat pooled low in my stomach, and for one humiliating moment, I wondered if vampires could smell desire.

If they could, I was ruined.

“I-I-I'm so…” I opened my mouth to apologize, words stuttering out to explain —to say anything to get out of this unexpected confrontation despite the generous…view— and stopped short at the sound that emerged from my own throat.

Deep.

Masculine.

Wrong.

The glamour wasn’t supposed to work on my voice. At least, I wasn’t talking like a man moments before. Its purpose was to affect my appearance.

Only that…so what the fuck happened?

The stranger's lips curved into a devastating smirk as he rose from his chair with fluid grace.

"I must say, I've had my share of admirers, but none quite so...dramatic. A boy no less? A first for everything it seems.”Admirers? Who the fuck is he to have admirers? I mean…okay. I can see why with a body as dauntedly sinful as that, but hell…I don’t admire myself enough. Why would I admire a man?“Falling through my ceiling, though? That's a new one."

"I'm straight!" I blurted out, then immediately wanted to die as I processed his words. "Wait—boy?!"

His eyebrow arched elegantly.

"Indeed. Though I'm normally introduced to my fellow students through more conventional channels,” he confesses while intrigue dances through the depths of those violet eyes of his.

Uniquely serene but far too dangerous to ignore.

“Prince Damien Constantine." Rising and giving me a generous view of ‘everything’, I can’t attempt to stop myself from taking him in from head to toe.

He gave an elegant bow that somehow managed to be both mocking and graceful.

"Welcome to Wicked Academy, mystery man. I do hope you'll make your future visits during normal visiting hours. Although..." His smirk widened. "I must admit, your entrance was far more entertaining than the usual tedious introductions."

I scrambled off his bed, my mind racing.

Of all the places that ward could have dumped me, it had to be in the private chambers of one of the notorious paranormal princes.

I recognized that name because the girls back home couldn’t stop obsessing over the news of a set of princes entering Wicked Academy, which should have been common, but apparently, this set of princes was different.

Tainted. Sinister. Merciless.

All wrapped in a combo of trouble and unforgiving turmoil if you look at them the wrong way.

Yet, here I am, in one of their chambers looking like a complete idiot…as a BOY!

And not just any prince — thevampireprince.

---