Page 2 of Fortune Academy: Year Two
I shivered and yanked myself free from Ally’s grip. She stumbled back, then caught herself. It pissed her off to no end that I was just as strong as her.
“It’s creepy that I can’t see you,” I complained at Zero’s disembodied voice. It felt like his breath was on the back of my neck and the air shimmered as he followed us.
“Then fix what you’ve done,” came the logical reply.
Guess I deserved that.
“I don’t know why you guys think that I have any control over Orion’s powers,” I countered. All I had done was unwittingly initiate the beginnings of the Virtue bond. In spite of Orion’s romantic advances, I knew his ploy was to get me to think I’d won. I felt his resistance in our bond like a cold dagger stuck in my chest. He thought this was something I actually had control over, which was fun at first, but now it was getting annoying.
Did I really want a Virtue connection with a playboy Demigod that had slept with over half the Academy? I mean, not really, but I couldn’t deny how I felt around him. Part of me wanted to punch him in the face, but the other part? Yeah, it wanted to try out some very Demigod-like kink.
“What do you mean you don’t have any control?” Trevor snapped. “I’m calling bull, because you’ve been leading Orion by the dick for weeks. It’s time to stop.” He yanked a door open to a classroom I’d never been in before. I peered inside, spotting only one row of desks and a disgruntled looking Orion leaning against the wall. The only evidence that he’d noticed me at all was the flaring of his nostrils.
But gods, was he beautiful.
His bronze skin glowed from within, illuminating freckles that spanned over his entire body that made him look like a walking constellation. His eyes were always beautiful, even now with his powers on the fritz. His weakened state was demonstrated by his silver-grey eyes that followed my movements as I stepped inside, making me feel drawn to him in spite of myself. Soft locks with a slight curl on the ends made me wanted to run my fingers through his hair, perhaps while kissing, and taking a bite out of those oh-so-delicious biceps.
“Hello?” Trevor drawled. “Ringing Lily Fallen. Quit staring at your boy toy and fuck him already.”
I cleared my throat and absent-mindedly palmed the Blood Stone that continued to draw power from all the Demigods in the room. A glance at the front desk told me we were all very much alone.
Not good.
“What kind of class doesn’t have a teacher?” I complained, trying not to sound too shaken. Even though I was on the path to discovering who and what I was, it didn’t mean I had any substantial defensive powers to work with. I’d survived the Academy this long because Hendrik was a tentative ally and Kaito kept tabs on me, staying one step ahead of the red tape that the Dean put in place to catch someone like me trying to bend the rules.
I had my supernatural strength, which might be enough to spring me to the only exit. I turned around, only to find that all three Demigods stood in front of the door, staring at me expectantly.
Zero, or what was left of him, shimmered into the visible range. Lightning streaked across his skin and it looked painful for him to remain corporeal, but his jaw flexed as he suffered through it. My Blood Stone hummed as if delighted to slurp up his pain.
Trevor had been draining the Academy’s water bottle supply for quite some time, but he’d really stocked up today. He summoned a trident and pinged it against the ground, sending a sharp ringing to settle in my ears and make my teeth clack.
Ally rested her hand on the hilt of a long sword that had materialized at her thigh. “You going to do something, or just stand there with that dumb look on your face?”
I cleared my throat. “Well, clearly you lot are putting all the cards on the table.” I propped my hands on my hips. “How long can you keep this up? Do you really want to drain what’s left of your powers just to frighten me? That’s a good way to get Hendrik on your ass.” The Demis and the Mages were supposed to be allies, but all this tension between Orion and myself was definitely causing some waves.
A hand slipped around my middle and rested on my stomach like a brand, pulling me in close to a hard chest.
“Who said anything about draining our power?” Orion whispered in my ear, making me shiver.
Then I felt it.
Fuck, the bastard! “What are you doing?” I snapped as I twisted in his grip, only to find myself perilously close to his lips.
He grinned, showing no pity on me as his growing erection dug into my abdomen, turning me on even more. “I’m not sure whatyoudid tome, little star, but I know what I’m doing to you.” He waggled his eyebrows. He knew that I loved his new nickname for me, even if I’d never admit it. “I’m turning you on, which means I can feed off of you.” He held me tighter when I tried to squirm away from him. “It’s your own fault, really. You cast a spell that bound me to you, making it impossible to feed off of anyone else. No more orgy parties to give the Demis the boost we need to stay at the Academy, leaving a void.” He licked his lips, taking his time running his gaze over me as if he was ready to devour me. “Which means I will take what I need from you.”
My body reacted to his lust, but my heart sensed it was only skin-deep. I wouldn’t take a Virtue who didn’t really love me. No fucking way.
I used my strength to rip out of his hold. “What about that poem you wrote me? And the chocolates you sent the day before? Or the ‘puppy’ I found in my room with a red bow and a note it was from you?” And by puppy, I mean an undersized wolf shifter who had been frightened within an inch of his life not to turn human while in my presence and to pretend to be my new pet, Orion’s orders.
“What about it?” he asked as he took a seat at one of the desks with an innocent expression plastered on his face. He leaned over the back of his chair, leaving no room for imagination when it came to every curve of his body that cut through his uniform illumined by his divine heritage. “I tried wooing you. Didn’t work.”
“So now you’re opting for force?” I bit out.
He shrugged, flashing me a panty-melting grin that sent my mind sprawling with a whole new set of things I wanted to do to him. “I’m not forcing anything. You’re the one lusting after me, and I’m feeding off of that, little star. I don’t even have to touch you.”
I turned to find the Demis a good deal stronger than a moment before. Ally’s muscle tone had definitely improved. Zero didn’t look quite as pissed off trying to stay corporeal, and Trevor had enough energy to dance a trail of water over his knuckles in a show of power.
Okay. Maybe not the best predicament to find myself in, but there was a solution. All I had to do was stop lusting after Orion.
