Page 40 of Fortune Academy: Year Three
“This ismydream, asshole!” I yelled back over my shoulder. I had super strength, as well as a solid determination not to get killed in my own head.
A low, rumbling laugh rolled over the black fog as it closed around my body and I spent the rest of the night running from a Virtue who was going to be my biggest challenge yet.
“Hey, sleepyhead,” Olivia said, waking me up as she held coffee under my nose.
Still trapped in my relentless need for escape of my sexy but jerk-face dream-demon, I flailed, nearly knocking over the cup as Olivia tried to offer it to me. “Kick the bastard in the balls!” I yelled, my vision going in and out of focus as I tried to pull myself into consciousness.
Olivia jerked back, saving the coffee from dumping over me as she held a hand to her chest. “Holy crap, Lils. Don’t scare me like that.”
When I calmed down, she gave me a raised brow. “Sorry,” I grumbled. “Bad dream.”
She chuckled. “Yeah, I can see that.” She offered me the coffee again, swaying it back and forth under my nose. “So, I was hoping to wake you up peacefully, because he agreed, but there’s a little asterisk to deal with.”
“Who agreed to what?” I grumbled as I wrapped my fingers around the cup and pulled myself upright. I sipped at the warm delicious drink as my eyes fluttered closed. “Gods. Where did you learn to make coffee like this?”
Olivia grinned. “From Trevor. He uses water from Olympus.”
I opened one eye and spit the coffee back into the cup before handing it back to her. “Um, ew.” If I knew anything about Olympus, it was that nymphs bathed naked in it.
“Oh come on!” She set the coffee onto the end table. “A lot has changed since you’ve been gone. And need I remind you that you’re datingfiveguys, one of them which tried to kill me?”
“Hendrik didn’t try to kill you,” I countered. “He might not care about much, but his clan is his life. The second you Awakened as a Dark Mage you were part of his family and he wouldn’t have let anything happen to you.”
She crossed her arms. “Well, he did a good job of manipulating us by threatening my life all the same whether he was going to go through with it or not. I’m not going to forgive him for that,” she said, narrowing her golden eyes at me. “I’m not getting freaky with him, so maybe your mind is clouded.”
“Oh yeah?” I asked, sitting up. “And your mind isn’t clouded over Trevor? I’m not going to forgive that fishy bastard for using Orion against me,” I said, shrugging. “Guess we’re even.”
She sighed and rummaged through her backpack. “Well, I had hoped to warm you up with coffee, but since that didn’t work out I’m just going to have to do this cold turkey.”
“Or cold fish,” I suggested with a grin.
She rolled her eyes and pulled out a golden bracelet with studded red gems and shoved it at me. “Lucifer agreed, but only if you wear this. That’s the asterisk to our plan.” She turned it over and pointed at each gem, counting them out to six. “This is a timer. Once you put it on these gems will light up, one for each month that has passed. You won’t be able to take it off until time’s up.”
“What happens when all the gems are glowing?” I asked, taking the bracelet and turning it over. My fingers warmed against the unnatural heat coursing through the metal.
“You get pulled into Hell.”
“Damn,” I murmured with a low whistle. “And then what?”
She chewed on her lip. “So, Yuri wasn’t able to be more specific than that, but my guess is it’ll be on Luc’s turf to challenge him, but I doubt he’ll fight fair. You won’t be able to bring anyone with you and we don’t know if there’s even a way to get you back.” She gripped my arm. “You don’t have to do this, Lily. We could find another way.”
“What happens if I say no?” I asked, matching her gaze. “He’ll send his entire army, right? Then the Dean will make sure none of us get into the Monster Arena. I’ll never see Kaito again, or get Cole on my side, assuming we even survive.” I leaned in. “Tell me the truth. How bad has it been since Lucifer began his attacks?”
“Bad,” she admitted. “But that doesn’t mean you have to—”
I slapped on the bracelet before I could think too hard about it. A groan escaped me as a shot of scalding heat ran through my body, spreading up my arm and going through my bloodstream until I thought I’d burst on fire.
Olivia jerked back from me as my skin turned red. “Shit!”
I panted as I allowed the Hellfire to course through my system. I was part Demonspawn and Princess of Hell, which meant that I could survive anything Lucifer threw at me—that was my working theory, anyway.
Don’t burst in flames, Lils. You can do this.
It took three long, deep breaths before the pain subsided. Dazed, I turned the bracelet around my wrist, looking for the latch in case I wanted to take it off again, but the entire band had gone solid.
“Don’t scare me like that,” Olivia chided as she gave me a hug. “You’re so damn reckless.”
“I didn’t want you to talk me out of it,” I admitted. “I have to get to Kaito and Cole, and I need time to figure this out. Now we have six months.” I hugged my best friend, grateful that I didn’t have to do this alone. “We’ll figure this out, I promise.”
