Page 24 of Fortune Academy: Year Two
Hot magic hissed against my neck where Dante’s blade rested against my throat. He smirked.
Bastard.
I extracted my claws from the Hunter’s side and warm blood trickled down my fingertips. Guilt hit my chest with a sharp pang when he staggered, but his smug grin never faltered.
By the look on Professor Payne’s face, a stalemate was a first in the arena, but then again, so were real weapons.
“I think that’s enough demonstration for now,” the dwarf said with a clap. “You two get out of my arena! We have other students to get through their studies today.” And by studies, he meant death and maiming.
A grumble came from the crowd, but a sharp glare from Nikki sent them into silence.
I stared at my fingers until they transitioned back to human, then rolled my shoulders. Maybe I was getting the hang of this new power, but I still didn’t like using it. Every time I explored the darker parts of my gifts, I felt like I was getting further and further away from unlocking my third power that could redeem me.
Dante sheathed his dagger into a small scabbard at his hip, then tugged his coat to cover it. I glared at him and spun on my heel to get out of his sight. He wasn’t who I thought he was, and he couldn’t be trusted.
I didn’t want to admit how much that hurt me. Dante was the first of my Virtues that I’d ever met, and even if my heart skipped a beat around him, it didn’t mean that he was destined to be mine. Kaito had said that Virtues could reject one another, but what he hadn’t said was how painful that rejection would be.
I had thought that Dante was my ally in all of this, when in fact he was a double-crossing bastard who didn’t deserve another second of my time.
His heavy footsteps followed me as I barreled through the halls and left the arena. I wanted to talk to Olivia and get all of this off my chest. She was the only person I could trust. She wasn’t a Virtue, so I knew any fondness she felt for me was real and not some conjuration of the cosmos. That’s what I needed right now, to be loved just for me.
Dante caught up to me when I tried to lose him down some of the Academy’s backstreets where the shifters liked to run. He was fast, but I was pissed off. I spun on him when he grabbed my arm, hissing with pain as his touch grazed the weakening binds Kaito had put on me. The invisible runes flashed, then sparked and died.
I stared at my skin where tiny droplets of black blood formed. “What did you just do?” I shrieked.
He retracted his fingers and stared at the wound. “Sorry,” he admitted, “I didn’t realize Kaito’s binds on you were so weak. You shouldn’t try to use your powers so much.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Want me to take you to him so he can redo it? I have a charged dagger he can use.”
“I noticed,” I snapped as I ripped off my sleeve and wrapped it around my arm. No one could see I bled black or I was done for. “And no thanks. I’m not going anywhere with you.”
He blinked those gorgeous orange eyes at me. Up close I could see streaks in his irises that lanced towards his pupil, making his eyes look like tiny works of art. “Why are you so angry? I thought you would have appreciated a fight with real weapons.” He rested his hand on the hilt of his dagger. “From what Kaito told me, you still haven’t Awakened, and…” He let the words drift off.
Then I realized what he meant. The Academy worked on the assumption that the Awakening happened when fear and the instinct to survive kicked in. If pushed far enough, such as using real weapons in the arena, it would theoretically break down any barriers my mind had put up between me and my powers. Maybe that was true, but all fear managed to do was drive me closer to the darkness, to my powers as a demonspawn and as a succubus.
The latter kicked in, taking note of Dante’s incredible form, strong arms, and chiseled jaw made for kisses. My fingers reached out as instinct took hold, wanting to fill that cold emptiness inside of me that had returned with my binds broken. I stroked my touch over Dante’s wrist, taking his hand and turning it over. I pressed a kiss to the tender flesh where his veins throbbed, the only tell that I was having an impact on him.
“Lily?” he asked as he shook his head. He pulled away from me and I let his hand fall from my grasp. “We really need to get you to Kaito,” he said, rubbing his temples as he scrunched his brows with concentration.
“No,” I snapped.
I didn’t need Kaito.
I didn’t need Dante.
I didn’t need any of them.
“I’m going to go see Olivia and you’re not going to stop me,” I insisted. I would never hurt her, and from what I knew about being a succubus, I wouldn’t be able to feed off of women anyway. She was safe from me, and plus she would know what to do. She’d been studying spells and I trusted her to help me control my darkness way more than I trusted any of my Virtues to help me do anything right now. It felt like they all had an agenda and no one was really looking out for my best interests.
Dante frowned and was about to say something when a wolf sauntered up to us. Logan transformed in an instant, his shift a brilliant display of twisting flesh and bone that resulted in a gorgeous naked man who looked down his perfect nose at us with a scowl.
“Don’t tell me,” he said, his voice as sharp as a blade as he glared at me. “You’re looking for more guys to fuck around with?”
I really didn’t have time for this shit. “Logan,” I began as I rubbed a throbbing temple. “I’m—”
He cut me off with a raised hand. “Don’t waste your breath. I came to tell you that Orion has left campus.”
My eyes bulged at that. “What? Why? And… how?”
“Travel isn’t permitted…” Dante began, his voice taking on a gruff authoritative tone.
