Page 32 of Fortune Academy: Year One
I felt acutely aware that there weren’t any witnesses here and according to Kaito, Hendrik had every right to boss us around. Maybe there was a line he couldn’t cross without breaking Academy rules, but how far down the road of sanity that line might be... I didn’t want to guess.
Olivia and I took our seats gingerly, opting for separate chairs rather than the loveseat. The chairs would give me more stability if I needed to get to my feet quickly and Olivia seemed to have the same idea as she sat on the edge, setting her feet flat on the ground ready to bolt for the door at any sign of trouble.
Hendrik chuckled at our obvious unease. “Relax. I can be a hard ass, but you’ve both demonstrated obedience by coming here. I don’t kick weaklings when they’re down. All I ask for is cooperation, and as long as you continue to give that to me, you have nothing to fear.”
Rage boiled in my chest. He thought that he could just order everyone around and he’d get away with it. I clenched my fingers around the chair’s armrest and my rune burned on my arm as I resisted the urge to use my succubus powers. I knew what they felt like. I could sense that Hendrik wanted me. It was in the subtle way his gaze lingered on my body and as much as it both excited and revolted me, I could use that to my advantage?—but not revealing what I was. I couldn’t give him any leverage against me, so I was going to have to do this the old fashioned way.
It was something Jess had taught me. When a man wanted you, then you played hard to get and you reminded him what he was missing by being a jerk face.
I forced myself to lean back in my chair and crossed my legs, allowing my skirt to ride up my thigh. I didn’t reach down to correct it and his gaze lingered on my skin. “Where’s Dante?” I pressed while he was distracted.
His midnight gaze flashed to me. “Why do you ask?” He eased onto the edge of the sofa and took a sip of his drink. “If this is about Logan, I just needed to separate him from you. I worked hard for that alliance and I won’t have it undone in a single day by a freshman.”
“Don’t care about your stupid alliances,” I said, scratching at my rune that was starting to burn. I was tugging on Hendrik’s desire and he leaned instinctually towards me. The heady sense of domination over him made my core tighten. “I know that you chopped off Dante’s hand and he thought it would grow back. It didn’t. Now he’s off-campus on some mission. I want to know where he is.”
Hendrik gave me a raised brow. “No wonder my spell was so easy to work. Are you sleeping with the hunter?” Jealousy flickered across his features.
Olivia’s chair creaked as she shifted her weight uncomfortably. I’d almost forgotten that she was there.
Hendrik startled, also seeming to have forgotten about my dark mage friend. “Let’s not dwell on unimportant matters. You’re here to pay your blood debt.” He set his glass onto the end table and stood, going to the mantle and drawing out a blade from the tiny drawer. He held it up and the metal flashed unnaturally against the firelight.“Who’s first?”
I crossed my arms like I’d seen Jess do, plumping my breasts up to strain against my uniform. Hendrik’s eyes went to the distraction. “Thought you said Olivia was off the hook? I was donating in her place, right?”
The dark mage rested the point of the dagger against this finger and twirled the hilt in thought. “Maybe I changed my mind and require blood from both of you.” He gave me a wicked grin that rivaled Logan’s wolfish teeth with raw malice. A different sort of metallic need scented the air and my stomach turned. His arousal heightened at the idea of hurting me, both emotionally and physically. He tore his gaze from me and rested his sights on Olivia. “The new mage should go first.”
“No,” I said, rushing to my feet. “You’re not going to touch her. That’s the deal.”
His grin faded. “Or what?”
I didn’t have time for his shitty games. I pulled out the orb that Olivia had given me and crushed it in my palm.
A terrifying otherworldly screech filled the room and darkness bowed in on us instantly.
Oops.
Wrong orb.
Sacrifice
So I might have just conjured a demonspawn from hell.
No big deal.
The creature unfurled from raw shadow where black ooze had dropped from my hand onto what had once been a pristine—and likely expensive—carpet.
Hendrik’s eyes widened and he grabbed Olivia’s arm, shoving her behind him.
Did he just… try to protect her?
The creature’s red eyes glowed as it took us in like a newborn emerging from its mother. If… that mother was a pit of shadow and the newborn was a terrifying creature with sharp teeth.
Its gaze latched onto me first and it tilted its head as if curious. It tried to speak to me, but the garbled words that came out of its mouth didn’t make any sense.
Hendrik moved so slowly I almost didn’t notice when he took the ceremonial dagger and sliced a long line across his palm. My nostrils flared at the pungent scent of roses and blood that hit the air.
Blood magic.
He worked his magic skillfully, weaving it silently as his lips moved and power worked through the air, but it wasn’t enough. The demonspawn lost its focus on me and spun on the source of the attack, its sliced nostrils flaring as it bared its teeth and screeched loud enough to make me throw my hands over my ears.
