Page 1 of Fortune Academy: Year Three
“I can’t believe we’re really in Hell,” I said as I stared up into a bleeding sky.
I couldn’t tear my gaze away from the horror above as I dug my fingers into the soft bed of dried grass at my side. Despite our chilled surroundings, faint warmth bled up from the soil as I watched the black clouds mix with the red hue of the atmosphere. Skulls with beady red eyes dipped in and out of the fog and watched us, waiting to see what we’d do next.
This place is fucking creepy.
Oblivious to the floating death over our heads, Dante rested at my side and laced his fingers through mine. After a year of living with only one hand, he couldn’t stop glancing down at the regrown appendage. He continued to stroke my knuckles, seeming to enjoy the sensation of warmth that passed between us after we’d sealed our mate-bond for good. “We could just stay here,” he suggested with a wry smile.
I nudged him with an elbow. “You’re just drunk on the power of the Blood Stone.” After our trip to Hell’s outer icy crust, he had nearly died. Even a badass bounty hunter like him wasn’t built for the trip, but his bond to me kept us both in one piece. Having both demonic and succubi heritage had its perks.
“I’m drunk onyou,” he corrected. He nuzzled into my neck as steam curled around our bodies. The Blood Stone resting on my chest supplied us with ample warmth that kept the chill away. Ironic as it was, a frigid breeze kept the ground frozen and killed anything stupid enough to step foot on the outer wastelands of Hell. Snow piled up in a tidy circle around us like a little wall that separated us from the responsibilities waiting outside.
I poked my finger into the flimsy barrier and ice melted as fresh steam puffed into the air. “I don’t know how long the Blood Stone can keep us warm. We’d better get into the tunnels.”
“Maybe this place runs on a strong hot and cold cycle, because things seem to be melting.” He indicated the sunken-in waves of snow down the horizon. “See?”
I scrunched my brows together. “We shouldn’t be able to impact the landscape that far.”
“That’s right. If things are warming up, you don’t have to worry. So how about you just relax?” Dante asked as he leaned on his elbow. He stroked away a strand of my hair and tucked it behind my ear. “Rushing is what got us in this situation in the first place, anyway. Let’s just enjoy the moment.” He pressed a light kiss on my cheek. “I rarely get you all to myself, so I’m going to enjoy it.”
I wasn’t used to Dante being like this, so sweet and attentive. A part of me wanted to take him up on his idea just to stay here. I wanted this moment to last forever, but painful flashes of my other Virtues swept through my mind, urging me to reunite with them.
“Logan’s hurt,” I admitted on a coarse breath. Thinking of my wolf brought our connection to the surface and a flash of his pain swept through my senses. He’d been injured during the battle at Fortune Academy when the Dean had sent Melinda and her thralls after us. Logan’s wolves, and Hendrik’s Dark Mages, had worked together to defend us against the students under Melinda’s control, but it had resulted in a horrible bloodbath.
And then there was Olivia.
I grabbed my chest as my heart twisted and tears steamed at the edges of my eyes. Had I made a terrible mistake? Leaving her to die at the Dean’s hands, didn’t that make me the monster I always feared I’d become?
Maybe Hell is where I really belong.
“Logan?” Dante pressed as his hand ran up to intertwine our fingers again. “Surely he’s fine, being an Alpha wolf and all.”
“I’m not going to ignore him,” I insisted. “Stop thinking with your dick for once.”
Dante smirked, unaffected by the insult. “I’m pretty sure thinking with my dick saved my life. If you hadn’t reversed your succubus powers to let me feed off of your sexual energy, I’d be a frozen statue.”
“That would be an improvement,” I shot back.
He grabbed his chest. “Oh, babe. You wound me.”
Our banter edged off as I stared up at the sky again, feeling both annoyed and defeated. How was I supposed to find anyone in this place?
And how was I supposed to live with myself? Olivia had been such a good friend, a much better one than I ever deserved. After everything she’d done for me, I’d just abandoned her for some stupid quest to save the world. If she died, what kind of world would I be forced to live in?
“I just got the hand back, Lils. I’d really appreciate it if you didn’t pop it off.”
I glanced down to see I had a death grip on Dante’s poor fingers. I released him and grumbled an apology.
“Are you worried about the others? The last time you felt them you said they were stressed, but calm. So they’re okay, I’m sure.”
“Enough,” I said as I struggled to my feet. Snow puffed into steam as I hit the edge of the unmelted wall around our shallow spot. More divots in the landscape crumpled and began to steam.
I glared at my Hunter who blazed with a beautiful red glow. The aura of the Blood Stone burned through him after our union, solidifying our bond on a deeper level than I had with any of my Virtues. “I know what you’re doing. You’re trying to distract me from the fact that I’m a massive failure and everyone I love is doomed because I fucked up.”
If the Dean hadn’t found me out… If I had bonded with my Virtues sooner… If I hadn’t been such a royal screw-up, then maybe the universe would have gotten the Champion it deserved.
Instead, it chose me, proof that the universe had lost it.
“I’m not doing anything,” he said, sporting an innocent grin that brought out his dimples. He got to his feet and wrapped one arm around my waist, bringing me in close to him. He nuzzled his nose into my neck again as he breathed me in. “I just don’t want you to worry about things you can’t control.”
