Page 51 of Fortune Academy: Year Two
Dante’s jaw worked so hard I wondered if he was going to pop an eye out. “I’m serious, Lily. This isn’t how it was supposed to go down.” He bit off a curse. “Kaito should have waited to bond with you. You aren’t ready for any of us. This will only accelerate Calamity’s Echo and draw destruction to you that you’re not prepared for.”
“What if she doesn’t need to bond with her Virtues to save us from Calamity?” Hendrik put in. “I’ve been working with the Mages on repositioning realms. We’ve been operating under Merlin’s direction, but that explains why it’s been all wrong. I’ve been trying to get us away from other realms, but he’s been lying to us.” He spun me around, letting me step away from him as his dark eyes gleamed, reflecting the red aura of the Blood Stone on my chest. “Once I know why he’s been tampering with our work to get us closer to the Hell realms, I can undo it and get us out of harm’s way. It won’t matter what Calamity does, if we’re not here when it all goes to shit, it won’t matter.”
Dante huffed. “Typical Dark Mage. Just interested in saving your own ass. What about Earth, Heaven, Hell, and all the other realms impacted by Calamity?”
“Wait. I think Hendrik is onto something,” I said, tapping my lip. “What if the Echo of Calamity is actually drawn to me? If I am far enough away from the other realms, won’t everyone be safe?”
“Huh,” Hendrik said, “I didn’t think of that.” He snapped his fingers. “Guess I’ll be tossing you into the nearest black hole.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Not what I meant, asshole. What if instead of hiding from Calamity, we trap it in one of the realms?”
“Which realm do you propose?” Dante asked, clearly intrigued.
I grinned. “I have an idea, but I’m going to need Jess to pull this off.”
If any of the realms could handle a bit of chaos, it would be Hell.
Chapter 19
With a plan in place, Hendrik and Dante both finally agreed on something. We’d bust Jess out and with her help, as well as the cooperation of Hendrik’s Mages, lure Calamity into one of the Hell realms.
Unfortunately, this meant we’d need Kaito’s assistance as well. Calamity wasn’t a soulless entity, but took on a physical manifestation by influencing an individual. We’d need to find out who was the Conduit for the Third Echo and get them to Hell as well. Of course, Kaito already had his suspects based on his research.
Were there any secrets hewasn’thiding?
Now that I had a use for my mentor, I would give him a chance to redeem himself. All of my Virtues had their flaws, but if they could be redeemed, then maybe there was hope for me yet.
Hendrik went to his Mages to work out the new plan while Dante and I went to Kaito’s office. A sense of urgency spurred my feet. I kept looking over my shoulder, wondering if we were being followed, but I didn’t see anyone aside from the normal wandering of students and the occasional shifter chase.
“What’s wrong?” Dante said, his voice low and his hand on the hilt of his weapon as we walked at a fast pace.
“Nothing,” I said as I clutched myself against the icy breeze. The weather was only getting worse and my breath puffed in tiny clouds in front of my face. Why did Kaito’s office have to be so damn far?
Dante narrowed his eyes down at me, but he didn’t offer his coat this time. “You really need to learn to dress for the weather, even if I do admire the view.” His gaze went to my taut nipples about to poke through my thin uniform sweater.
I rolled my eyes. “Keep it in your pants, Hunter.”
“If you’ll keep it in your shirt,” he countered, opening the door for me to the counselor’s office.
I stuck my tongue out at him as I walked inside, because yeah, I’m mature like that.
When we arrived at Kaito’s office, I didn’t bother knocking. I barged into the room and crossed my arms.
My mentor was as hot as always, leaning over a desk with his lean form wrapped up in an expensive suit like he was a present just waiting to be opened. His hair flopped over on one side today, grazing his tattoo that ran up his left cheek. His silver eyes flashed up to meet mine and a smile spread out on his face. He leaned back in his chair and tucked a thumb into the hem of his pants.
Why’d he have to be so gorgeous?
“Stop being sexy,” I chided him. “I’m trying to be mad at you.”
He gave me a wink. “Glad to see you’ve made it back from Heaven,Koneko-chan.” He raked his gaze over my body, pointedly admiring my breasts. “Did it hurt when you fell?”
I rolled my eyes. “Let me know when you’re done with the pathetic pickup lines so we can get on with business.”
Dante rounded me and crossed his arms, wasting no time to berate my mentor. “I know you bonded with her, Kaito.” His jaw flexed as fresh rage flashed in his eyes. “You said we’d approach that together when she was ready.”
Kaito bit the end of his pen, contemplating his response. That was my Kaito, always calm and calculated. “How’d you find out?”
“Doesn’t fucking matter how I found out. You lied to me, and now she’s bonded tothreeof her Virtues. She’s not ready, Kaito!”
