Page 12 of Unshaken

“It’s rare amongst Witches—Rodyn won’t be happy about this.” Ty lifts his eyebrow at Trys, who scoffs. They both stare at each other for a second, and I am so close to screaming I can taste my rage and frustration on my tongue.

“Fuck, Rodyn!” they both say at the same time.

“We share everything. This is fate, kitten.” Ty finally looks at me again and I am officially stumped and very angry.

“What does she feel? She has a name. Talk to me, damn it,” I huff in frustration. “I am so confused right now. What do you mean Soul Tether? I’ve never heard of anything like that. Wait, is that why the key was burning? And for fuck's sake, who is Rodyn?” I take one last look at them both, and now I guess it’s their turn to stare at me in shock. I throw my hands up in the air when they say nothing in response. I cross over to where I left my bag. Grabbing the handle, I start to walk pulling it behind me. I can feel them both as they fall in step beside me.

“Look, I am not in the mood to be harassed. If this is some kind of hazing activity you all do, then I am too damn old for that shit, alright. I just want to find out where I need to go and get there,” I say without looking back. I can’t look at them, if I do, I will end up throwing myself at them both, and I refuse to get up close and personal with strangers.

“Kitten, this isn’t a joke, this is real.” They both grab my arms to stop me from moving. I look down at where their two hands grasp my arms on both sides, and I lose it. I am trying really hard not to hurt them; something inside me doesn’t want to, and that should be another red flag altogether. I growl in frustration, feeling my power stir in a way it never has before as it builds up inside of me.

I give no indication that I will resist as I stand between them as calmly as I possibly can. Even though my breathing picks up and the urge to get them off me is the only thing I can think about. Something in my chest tugs, my heart beats faster, and a dark part of me knows that they belong to me, but I refuse to acknowledge the foreign feeling.

With the flick on my wrist, I direct my Telekinetic powers to either side of me, sending them flying. I look down at my hands in shock, I didn’t intend to send them flying away from me like two deadly torpedoes. I only wanted to shove them back. I have never been able to direct that much power before. Something has changed within me, my magic is swirling, brimming over with way too much power, and I have no clue how it happened. I don’t even turn around to see if I hurt them, all I can hear is Trys laughing in excitement, as if he is riding a damn rollercoaster.

“Next time, keep your hands off!” I yell as I grab my luggage and start moving as fast as I can. The last thing I need is for these two to catch up with me again. I am so determined to put distance between us that I don’t realize I have finally cleared the path and am standing in a massive courtyard. Green structured hedges, sectioned off into individual manicured gardens are scattered around, separated by stone pathways that lead to an expanse of buildings all around me. Each and every one is sculpted from shimmering black stone, so different from the crisp white marble that my parents told me Caelum’s buildings are made from. I have never seen it with my own eyes, and for once that thought doesn’t make me sad. As I stand here taking in the various architectural styles, I smile because they have never seen this place. I feel giddy, but that could be from my lack of food and water. It’s been one hell of a day, but I made it.

“Are you Micah Jones?” My attention turns towards a soft feminine voice, and I blow out a slow breath in relief. I don’t think I can take a meeting with another crazy-ass man right now. A petite woman in a white tank top and grey sweatpants is jogging towards me. Her ice white hair a stark contrast to her beautiful dark skin; so dark it’s almost black. Her piercing gray eyes shine with warmth. She is delicate, ethereal even, and absolutely stunning. I feel self-conscious as she approaches; I look like a hot mess in comparison.

“I’m Micah Jones.” I say to her as she stops in front of me and holds out her hand in greeting. I can’t help myself as I openly stare at the sliver crescent moon in the middle of her forehead, and I find myself leaning in to get a closer look. I have only read about the Seers from the Blue Mountain Coven, apparently, they all have the same identifying characteristics; white or silver hair, dark skin, and a silver crescent moon that lets the world know who they are.

“Esmeralda Blu, but Esme to my friends.” I smile as I take her hand in mine, and immediately snatch my hand away, hissing through my teeth. It’s the same feeling I felt moments ago with Ty and Trys. Not again. I think to myself as the now familiar burn squeezes my chest.

Looking down, my Anchor key flares to life, literally burning a hole through my shirt. I look up at Esmeralda as she sucks in a deep breath of her own.

“Did you feel that?” she asks as she rubs at her chest, her shiny silver anchor key with a pearl shaped bow gripped in between her fingers.

I felt it. Holy shit, I felt all of it, and I don’t have a clue as to what any of it means.

I need a book, or someone needs to tell me what a Soul Tether is. Hopefully my key will enlighten me.

Eight

RODYN

I’m standing in front of the large windows in my mother’s office peering down at the courtyard below when she appears from the path beyond the trees. Straightening my stance, I move closer, until my body is pressed gently against the glass for a better view. She looks worse for wear. I expected more considering what I overheard. I wonder if she expected to walk into the gates without being tried and tested. A Light Guardian, well, as close as this academy would ever get here at HellNight Academy. Hell has officially frozen over. I laugh out loud as I continue to watch her, rubbing my Anchor key absentmindedly as I take her in. She is tall, with long braids, dark brown skin, and I hate to admit, a beautiful athletic body. Even from up here I can see her muscles flex underneath her jeans, her toned muscular arms scream hours of training. Her eyes never stop wandering, as if she is constantly checking for danger. Maybe she will survive here after all. A tug in my chest causes me to step away from the window just as the Blue Mountain Witch runs across the courtyard to greet her. She is another one of my mother’s imports from another coven.

Blue Mountain Witches rarely ever leave the mountains in which they are named. They are a coven of strong magical Seers. They are strict about their descendants being anywhere but the Blue Mountains. So strict, that all the females take the last name of Blu to honor the place in which they live. In fact, they aren’t allowed to marry, only a select few Warlocks from a neighboring coven are offered a chance to mate with them under a blue moon once a year. How my mother managed to convince the High Priestess to allow—Oh, fuck. What was her name? I shrug. I barely know her, only seen her in passing, and I don’t think I’ve ever uttered her name. That’s how insignificant she is in the grand scheme of things. I hiss, rubbing at the slight discomfort in my chest as the doors to my mother’s office bang open.

“I think we need to bring her here now and talk to her, Lucretia. With her power, you can’t leave her in the dark. To lose someone like her to your games is a waste.” I turn at the sound of my mother’s heels against the shiny wood flooring. Her hair bun is pulled tight at the back of her head, only enhancing the permanent pinched look on her face. The face I have grown to hate with every fiber of my being. Her burgundy pants suit clings to her body along with the shiny gold Anchor key hanging around her neck. She twirls it absentmindedly, and I instantly let go of mine as she walks further into the room. Professor Bodin is hot on her trail, following her right into the room without invitation. His dark grey fedora tilts to the side of his head, matching his three-piece suit perfectly. Always impeccably dressed, a perpetual state of swoon. Well, that’s what the students say about him. They call him Swoon-cubus. Honestly, he’s a royal pain in the ass, a real do-gooder for a Demon with a slight European accent from his years spent overseas. Both of them are so deep into their conversation that they fail to notice me. I guess when you consider yourself an apex predator there is nothing to be afraid of, so they walk in without even batting an eye around the room.

“Like I said before, it doesn’t matter how strong she is, she will be—” She finally notices me standing against the window with my arms crossed over my chest.

“Rodyn,” she says my name as though she wants me to leave. The how dare you come into my office while I’m not here is written all over her face. I couldn’t care less, though. My mother lost the privilege of instilling fear in me a long time ago.

“Mother, please don’t let me stop you. How strong is she?” I indicate over my shoulder, and Professor Bodin crosses the room to peer down at the girl. No, not girl, woman in question. I shuffle over, watching the way he’s looking at her out of my peripheral vision. Already seeking another conquest, he is an Incubus, I guess he can’t help himself even if she is a student. My nostrils flare at the thought of him with her suddenly, and I squash those feelings down, wondering where the hell they came from.

“That’s hardly your business, boy. Now, you answer me. Why are you in my office?” I can see she is trying to steer me away from this topic, but she should know me better than that. I am like a dog with a bone. I always get what I want.

“What door did she go through?” I ask. My mother rolls her eyes as she sits at her mahogany desk fussing over papers that were already neatly stacked in a pile. She is trying to ignore me.

“Lucretia, we need to discuss this,” Professor Bodin says as he steps away from the window, taking one final look at the woman below.Interesting.

“There is nothing to discuss. She will sink or swim like every student here. Every student is given an equal opportunity to survive here at HellNight. There will be no preferential treatment.” The entire time she speaks, she’s looking at me as if she thinks that my brothers and I have it easy. We never have and look at what we’ve become. Thanks to this crazy-ass woman who gave birth to us. She is a psychopath on her best days.

“Considering the rumors of who and what she is, the other students will be gunning for her. With her power she won’t even be under the protection of the towers.” Bodin stops and looks from me to my mother and shrugs. “He’s here, I am sure he is aware of where she came from.”

“Yes, she was in training to be a Light Guardian, her mother is the Headmistress of Caelum, but the Angels didn’t want her, so they offered her to me to educate further.” Ugh, her smug expression makes me want to puke. Sons are supposed to love their mothers, there should at least be a need to protect her. I would rather slit my mother’s throat and watch her bleed out right here on these Persian rugs.

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