Page 5 of Fortune Academy: Year Two
Her pen’s tapping increased in tempo. “Did he say what they would do?”
Gods. I really wanted to know now. I’d never heard Miss Williams quite so flustered. “No.”
She relaxed. “Well, I suppose I can’t fault you, then. I’ll be sure to discipline the Demis for the prank.” She cleared her throat. “Was there anything else you needed, or did you just come here to apologize? Because I would like to get back to grading papers.”
By grading, pretty sure she meant massacring.
“Aren’t you going to tell me what the chocolates did? Was it bad?”
Her pencil stopped tapping. “Just tell me what you want, Lily.”
Okay. Here goes nothing.
“I would like to be transferred into a wolf shifter class, preferably one with the Alpha.”
She narrowed her eyes at me. “Why?”
I shifted uncomfortably under her scrutiny. “Because I owe Hendrik a debt and it involves the shifters,” I answered honestly. Hendrik had some sway when it came to the counselors. He got into shit sometimes, but I saw how they preferred to stay out of his way.
“You know I can’t approve that without you showing any shifter traits,” she said, making my chest fall before she quickly added, “however if you’d like to spend more time with the shifters, I suggest signing up for extracurriculars.” She returned her attention to her papers and began long swiping motions as she struck out answers—I suspected regardless if they were correct or not. “The wolves and panthers have a game tomorrow. If you think you can handle it, then sign ups are in Central Hall for anyone who wants to join in spite of what the shifters want everyone to think.” She made another mark with an aggressive scratch across the paper. “Now get out of my office.”
Mumbling my thanks, I shuffled out and closed the door behind me.
Looks like I was joining a sports team.
Chapter 3
Imet up with Olivia back at our dorms. She had picked her new Dark Mage curriculum for our sophomore “year,” which was a feat given that she still couldn’t perform magic without risking her own life.
She held up a translucent orb and stared at it until I cleared my throat. “Lily!” she gasped as she clutched at her chest. “Can’t you see I’m concentrating?”
A smirk lifted the edge of my mouth as I dumped my bag on the floor. “Is that a conjuring orb? Didn’t you learn your lesson from the last time we tried to use one of those?” Olivia had given me a truth orb that made the victim amenable to suggestion. It had been helpful when it came to a stubborn guy like Hendrik, but it was also why I was in this mess with him to begin with. I had accidentally used a Hell orb instead and summoned a demonspawn from the pit, draining three weeks of his magic and then some just to keep us all from dying a horrible, gruesome death. Oops.
She chuckled and placed the orb on the table. “This one’s a conduit.” She poked at my necklace. “Kind of like this, just not as powerful.”
I hummed. “So your plan is to gather magic on your own so that you don’t have to draw on the Dark Mage collective?”
She shrugged. “It came with a class and it would be nice to have an alternative.” She eyed my Blood Stone, her gaze growing hungry for its power. I wanted to give it to her, but then I’d be in shit with Hendrik all over again. No telling what he’d do to Olivia if I pissed him off twice. No, I had to figure out a way to get Hendrik under control. Everyone had a weakness. He was unwittingly teaching me how to exploit that in others and soon I’d figure out a way to turn those tactics on him.
“An alternative would be great,” I agreed as I slumped into the adjacent chair. “I’m getting tired of being Hendrik’s lapdog.” Everyone knew it, too, which made my debt all the more humiliating. Perhaps I was taking my frustrations out on Orion—or I had been, anyway, before he’d learned how to get me all hot and bothered and use that against me. Gorgeous glowing bastard.
Olivia rummaged through her bag and produced what I could only describe as a grimoire. She thumped it onto the desk and gave the cover a brush of her hand. “Well if kicking a Demigod in the balls isn’t a surefire way to charge your Blood Stone, I don’t know what is.”
I chuckled. “Yeah, that was fun, but Orion isn’t enough to charge this thing. Hendrik said I needed to go after Logan, too, and even then it might not be enough.” I didn’t even want to think about what else I’d have to do if I actually managed to unseat Logan as Alpha of his pack.
“He’s been totally MIA. Did you ask your counselor to get you into one of his classes? Because I don’t know how you’re going to mess with him if you can’t even interact with him.” When I bit my lip, she straightened and her dark eyes flared with excitement. “Oh, you figured out a way to butter up Miss Williams, didn’t you? How did you do it?”
I shrugged. “She wouldn’t get me into a class with Logan, but she did tell me how to get closer to him. Apparently the shifter games aren’t exclusive and anyone can sign up for them. I put my name down for a game tomorrow.” I plucked the translucent orb Olivia was working on off the table. It shimmered with the scraps of power she’d managed to store inside of it. I didn’t even want to ask where that power had come from or what this artifact fed on. “As forhow, that was easy. She was so flustered about whatever Orion’s chocolates had done to her that she helped me and told me to get lost. I think she just wanted me to get out of her hair.”
Olivia’s eyes widened. “Why would she be flustered over Orion’s chocolates?”
“Uh, because I gave them to her when I was trying to get on her good side?” The golden tin that housed glittering, delicious looking chocolates seemed like the perfect bribe at the time. I’d been tempted to keep them for myself, but something felt wrong to eat chocolates from a suitor who was just trying to play with my head. Orion wanted me, sure, but he didn’t fully understand the potential of our connection. I took my Virtue mate bonds seriously. Until he was done playing games, I wasn’t going to indulge him, even when it came to something as simple as chocolates.
Olivia broke out in one of the biggest smiles I’d ever seen. “You… gave Miss Williams the chocolates. The ones from Orion.”
I put the orb down. “Uh, yeah. That’s what I said.” I tilted my head. “What, do you know something I don’t?”
She bit her lip before replying. “So, I might have stolen a couple of chocolates.”
