Chapter 1
Chapter 1 For the first time in many years, I contemplated allowing another person to join me in the bathroom while I changed my hair color. The yearly ritual was usually an act I committed alone, my time to erase the past and push for a new future. A new year to get it right. Lately I’d been feeling a little off about the whole thing. If the last two years at the Academy had taught me anything, it was that a new hair color didn’t change my fate. I couldn’t circumvent the truth of who I was, couldn’t change my role in this world. No matter how hard I worked, I couldn’t seem to change a damn thing. Still, the entire point of the different hair color—outside of the clean slate thing—was that it was the one thing I could control, the one part of my life that no one could take from me. So the ritual continued. This year I had chosen a color that meant a great deal to me, the color of the ocean when the sun’s rays hit it just right, turning translucent water into a hue of greens and blues—when it was so clear that one could see down for miles. The color of Atlantis, its jeweled tones casting calm across the city. The color of my third year at the Supernatural Academy. Aquamarine. I once again had the fleeting hope that this color would be kinder to me than pink and purple … wishful thinking at its finest. There was no way I’d ever say it out loud though, tempting the Fates when those bitches hated me. Swirling the mixture one last time, I was impressed with the perfect shade of aqua staring up at me from the dish. I’d already done the base prep-work to strip the purple away. If only I could strip away the scars from the year of purple as easily. “You okay in there, Mads?” “Yep, I’m all good,” I called back to Ilia, not sure if that was the truth or not. Maybe if the nightmares would just leave me alone … if I got a decent night’s sleep … if there wasn’t a fucking god popping up whenever he felt like it to torture me. At least I’d ditched my phone so no more random texts, but he was still out there. Biding his time. Ugh. I needed to stop being such a maudlin bitch and accept that there was bad in every life, and I had a shit-ton of good as well. I needed to be happy about that. If I had one resolution this year, it was to find the happiness in whatever moment I could, because last year had been dark. Really fucking dark. I wouldn’t go there again. I could never go back to that place. Determination filling me, I lifted the bowl of color and got to work. I had this down to a fine art, and due to whatever special nature in my hair, new color took hold and stayed with bright perfect pigments for as long as I wanted it. An hour later, I shut off the hairdryer and went back to my room to find Ilia and Larissa both fast asleep on my bed. A chuckle burst from me, before I managed to choke it down. Ilia looked uncomfortable, her long body scrunched up against the headboard, red hair smushed on one side and springy curls on the other. Larissa’s head was in her lap, the new shorter blond strands tangled everywhere. Both of their mouths were open as they breathed deeply. Guess I’d taken too long on my hair. I ruffled the light aqua strands again, loving the feel of the silky lengths falling across my face. This new tone shifted the color of my irises from a deep blue to something closer to green. It was almost magical the way my skin and eyes adapted to the new hair, shading themselves to suit it. Some Atlantean/god power probably … one of the more awesome ones. Stepping silently, I gently rearranged my friends so they were more comfortable, draping a blanket over them. Neither of them stirred at all, beyond exhausted, and I was glad we’d decided to forgo attending any of the New Year’s Eve parties tonight. That didn’t mean the Academy wasn’t filled with celebrating students. Many had returned to kick off the New Year’s festivities before we started our new school year on the second of January. How the hell I’d been here for two years already… There was no denying my life had changed in almost every way from the first moment I was kidnapped by Ilia. For the better. So much better. I’d take the pain just to feel all of the love. With my bed fully occupied, I left the room, wandering pretty aimlessly through the halls of the magic users’ tower. It was quiet, none of the usual witches and wizards dashing about. Even the common area only had three people in it, all of them watching a Christmas movie. It was still the season apparently. Eventually I found myself heading to my favorite place here. The one building that drew me more than anywhere else. Or at least the people inside of it did. The Atlantean mansion. The Atlantean-five wanted to be with me tonight, not just because they got a kick out of my hair transformation, but also because it was my birthday. I’d told them I’d be by later after I hung out with my girls and drank some fey wine. The birthday thing really wasn’t a big deal. I was pretty much the only one in my group of friends who even bothered to acknowledge the day of birth. Atlanteans were just not into it, and since we were almost certain most of us would live for hundreds if not thousands of years, it felt silly to keep caring about a number. Some habits … rituals … they were hard to break though. Like my hair. Even if I was having the strangest feeling that maybe this would be the last year I changed the color. Why it would be the last was still to be determined. Taking the final set of stairs down to the common area of the dorm, I felt my spirit pick up at the thought of settling in for an all-nighter watching movies with my boys. I loved when we hung out together, family style. I couldn’t wait to see Asher, my love, the sexy fucking god of an Atlantean, who did things to my body that were probably illegal. Not to mention the things he did to my heart. I had a dream, one that I didn’t linger over during these trying times, but deep down I knew: I wanted to spend my life experiencing the world with Asher Locke. With our family. Our brothers. Axl, spouting off whatever cool random fact he was studying that week; Calen, flirting and asking me a million questions about Ilia, who he was lowkey obsessed with; Rone, strong and silent, but always with these moments that were so damn sweet my teeth would ache; and Jesse, my current pain in the ass problem. He would be brooding, doing his angry-at-the-fucking-world thing he had going on. Jesse and I were close, probably closer than any of the others outside of Asher, but lately he’d been withdrawn and absent. I hadn’t said anything, because I had an idea what was upsetting him, and he was entitled to feel all of the feelings. I deserved some of his anger. I’d leaned hard on Jesse when I thought Asher was dead. We’d gotten super close, and while I loved him, it was the love of a family member, not the love of a soulmate. I just wasn’t sure he felt the same way. Only one brooding Atlantean owned my heart and soul, and that was Asher. I just needed to find Jesse his own perfect match and he’d understand. Icy winds brushed across my bare arms as I stepped out of the magic users’ dorm. The weather had been more unpredictable lately—Axl believed it was the newly “unlocked” powers of Asher, Connor, and me. He was working on a spell to end the erratic weather inside the Academy, but he was only in the initial testing phase. My feet moved faster as I dashed through the commons, noting that it was much busier here. Partying had a lot of hungry supes around, and I marveled at the magical appearance of food on the tables. I could definitely destroy a burger— “Maddison!” I jumped as a tiny fairy appeared before me, brow furrowed and hands on her hips as she examined me closely. “Mabs,” I said, recovering quickly, smiling at her. “Where have you been? The library has felt empty without you.” Mabs was the literal queen of the fairies, an ancient, immortal, and frankly scary supernatural creature who had been the keeper of the Atlantean library for many years. It had taken us a long time to find it, but since the true Atlanteans were back inside the library walls, she was free to leave. It had been a few weeks since I saw her last. “I went to visit some old friends,” she told me, a look of confusion still on her face, “but your … energy, it drew me back.” She waved her tiny hands across me, gossamer wings flapping rapidly. She was dressed just in a thin, almost transparent white gown, and I wondered if her magic kept her warm in the frigid air or if she was immune to the cold. “Your soul is dark,” she murmured, and I made a coughing gasp sound. “What?” I blinked at her, trying not to panic. Did she just say dark? Uh, that was definitely not a flattering color for a soul. I mean … how freaking dark was it? Like light gray? Or … brown, maybe? I mean, as long as it wasn’t black, I had a chance, right? Her tiny, perfect face scrunched up, like she was thinking hard. Fuck. My panicked thoughts were cut off as she shook away that pained expression, flying a little higher so we were eye level. “No, no, no. Calm down, Maddison. Your heart is going to pump out of your chest. It’s not dark in an evil way. There’s a heavy pressure inside your essence … it’s dragging you down. Your spark and joy is fading.” “Fucking hell, Mab,” I breathed, hand on my chest. “Way to scare the life out of a chick.” My soul was metaphorically dark, not physically. I could work with that. And I didn’t disagree. I’d felt it for days. Drowning in my fears ... and the fucking dreams would not leave me alone. I’d almost lost everything last year, more than once, and I think I had some sort of PTSD, because the fear that this year would be even worse was terrifying me. Funny part was, I couldn’t even remember what I dreamt. Just that it was red and fiery, and I woke up terrified and exhausted. Fun times. “I’m trying to capture the happiness,” I told her. “ I promise. It’s just … hard, you know?” “Don’t let them win,” Mab said fiercely. “If you let them get inside your head, you’ll have lost the battle before it even begins. You can do this, Maddison. You would never have been blessed with your path if you did not have the skill, courage, and power to walk it.” I wanted so desperately to believe her, but she hadn’t been there. She hadn’t seen the way the gods handed our asses to us last year. It was pure luck that we’d made it out alive. Luck and Sonaris, who I now owed a favor to. A favor he could call on at any time. Hence the nightmares. “He could ask me for anything,” I murmured, realizing that a large part of what was pressing on me was that. “I should never have given him that sort of power over me. I might have risked everything, and I feel like I didn’t even try and fight as hard as I should have. I could have pushed through my fear, stepped further into the underworld and found the Hellbringers. I should have fought the gods then and there!” I was just short of shouting at this stage, but she didn’t seem bothered by it. If anything, there was a different look on her face … almost like excitement. “Don’t wait for him to come to you, then,” she said, lowering her voice. “There’s a way to destroy the gods, you just said it out loud. Now you need to figure out how to bring that plan to fruition.” Hellbringers. The mythical creatures who could supposedly kill a god were never far from my mind. The one weapon that I might wield. “It’s too late now,” I murmured. “I can’t get back into the underworld. Well, even if I could, it’s literally littered with gods who are probably not very happy with me. They’re not going to let me stroll in there and find the very beings who can destroy them.” Mab smiled, a little intriguing smile. “There is another road into the underworld, accessible by the living. It will be difficult and dangerous. You’ll have to take a journey that no supernatural being has survived before, and you won’t be able to do it alone. But you can survive this.” “Will you help me?” I pushed. Her lips pressed into a thin line. “I wish I could say yes. I want to help you more than I can tell you. But I’m sorry. I can’t. I can’t be trusted with original magic, and it’s littered throughout that place. Just … trust me, it’s better I’m not there.” I wanted to ask more questions about that, because there was a lot she wasn’t saying. But this wasn’t the time. “So who do I need?” I asked. “Asher?” She paused. “Yes and no. He will be vital to this journey. But he is not all you need.” Fuck’s sake, Mab. This shit was like trying to pry secrets from the dead. Thankfully, before I could lose my shit at the ancient, powerful, possibly crazy fairy, she started to talk again. “Right now you’re not ready, but you will be soon. The path will open to you when the time is right, so for now train your powers and bond with the other two born of both worlds.” Useful. Thank you. “How long do I have to train?” Her eyes glazed over. “I don’t see everything. It looks like there’s one time only that the doorway will open for you. I sense that you’ll be nudged in the right direction. When the timing is perfect.” I sighed. “You can’t give me more information?” She shook her head, focusing on me again. “No, I can’t. As I said, I don’t see everything, and I also don’t want these words to reach ears they shouldn’t. Evil lurks in the darkness. I have faith, though, that you’ll learn everything when it’s time for you to know.” Ah, yes, that old caper. Pretty sure it was time for me to know now. Or even five years ago. Before I could say another word, Mab vanished, doing her too-powerful-for-her-own-good thing. To be perfectly honest though, I was glad she’d found me. Her visit had lifted a weight from me, only a minute amount but the sliver of hope that she’d given me cracked some of the darkness in my psyche. If Mab said there was a shot at defeating the gods, then I would trust her. A shot was more than I’d had ten minutes ago.
Chapter 2
Chapter 2 “Holy gods,” I gasped, head thrown back, hands clenched around two pillows as my legs moved against my will. “Ash, seriously. Fucking hell.” He laughed, lifting me with both hands and pulling me onto his lap. “You’re just so responsive.” I shoved him. “You know I hate being tickled.” More of his laughter rumbled across the room and I felt my heart swell. Just having him close like this was the best way I could think to spend my birthday. After Mab’s shock appearance last night, I’d continued on to the Atlantean mansion, and the six of us had watched movies for hours. Lord of the Rings—my usual birthday movie marathon. When Asher finally got me into bed, he’d loved me until I couldn’t breathe or remember my name. He knew exactly how to touch me to drive me crazy, destroy my control, and my soul. Fuck. I didn’t care. It belonged to him anyway. “What time is it?” I asked, straightening my top. I’d started the tickle wars, but he’d finished and won in spectacular fashion. Definitely my fault for insisting no powers be used. I was disadvantaged against his long-ass arms, and without my abilities… “Just past 1 P.M.,” he said, pulling me back to the bed, his body covering me, as a low moan escaped my mouth. His lips pressed firmly against mine. I wrapped my arms and legs around him, pulling him closer, our tongues tangling together as we kissed like it was the first time we’d ever touched. It didn’t matter that I’d kissed Asher so many times now I couldn’t count them. The butterflies in my stomach never faded. The need I had for him only grew stronger. A heavy knock on his door barely even startled us. “Come on, you two, stop screwing.” Jesse’s voice got lower as he muttered, “…and making the rest of us nauseous.” His voice grew louder again. “Get your asses out to the pool for lunch and a swim. The birthday girl needs to eat her cake.” “You want this or cake?” Asher murmured against my mouth, tracing a hand down my body, caressing the edge of the tiny panties I wore. One finger slipped under and I moaned as he glided across my skin and down through the wetness pooling there. As one finger slid inside, my eyes closed and I decided that next time this was the game I’d play. Tickling was dead to me. “Asher! Maddison! I will break this door down.” “Fuck off, Jess,” Asher said, his eyes locked on me, a wicked smile on his lips as he pushed a second finger slowly inside. “We’ll be out in a minute,” I gasped, sounding breathless, but fuck, Asher was driving me insane. I heard grumbling, and the earthy lion shifter energy faded as Jesse walked away. “You love teasing me,” I gasped, my body moving as I swiveled my hips, needing the release that was hovering close by. “I love you,” he replied, before he shifted his thumb, and stroked across my clit. Pleasure exploded, the swirling sensations in my gut spiraling out of control as the world flashed black and white at me. I managed not to scream, but I was far from quiet as I rode out the orgasm. “Gods,” I groaned, falling back, limbs jelly. “One day my heart is going to give out when you touch me like that, and I’m not even going to be mad about it.” Asher’s eyes darkened even as he laughed, fingertips brushing across my bare skin. “You’re fucking adorable, but no more talk of dying. I’m not entertaining that thought. Not ever again.” It probably was too soon. Asher and I had both died, sorta, last year. Our mortal bodies had been destroyed to allow for our rebirth as god-ish entities, with a ton of new powers that were still developing and changing daily. One in particular had been on my mind. “Have you noticed anything odd when we’re close to each other?” I asked him, not sure if I was crazy or not. “Especially when we’re touching.” Asher propped himself up on one arm, his broad chest very distracting, so I forced myself to focus on his face—not that it was any less distracting. “Like what?” he asked, his gaze like a caress as he ran it across me. “Uh…” I cleared my throat, “I have occasionally been picking up on your thoughts. And I’m almost certain you’ve also heard mine.” It started late last year, Asher answering me when I was positive I hadn’t said anything. At first I’d dismissed it, thinking maybe I had spoken out loud, but when it happened five or six times, I knew it was something more. I was sure I’d heard a couple of his thoughts too. Just random snippets, almost like a whisper across my mind, but it was there. He was watching me closely, expression unreadable. “Does that mean something to you?” I asked softly. I’d caught up a lot on knowledge of the supernatural world, but I was still miles behind everyone raised in this world. That’s what twenty-two years of thinking you were a human would do for you. “It’s not completely unheard of,” he finally said, “especially for dragon shifters with true mates. Possibly Atlantean mates have the same gift. We are somewhat closely related to dragons. Our energy.” He leaned over and cupped my cheek. “We already know we’re true mates, we just have to figure out how to trigger the bond.” I nodded, my head hazy as it always was when he was close. “And maybe we should ask Jessa and Braxton about the mind reading thing…?” I paused. “Or Rayge?” Rayge was a dragon shifter—not confirmed, but I knew it—that I’d met in Germany. Asher refused to tell me what their history was, just saying that it was in the past and it was something he’d rather not revisit. I couldn’t let it rest though. I’d only spent a few hours with Rayge, but I already knew he had too much going on to waste his life drinking in some tiny supernatural dive. Right now it wasn’t a priority to find out his story, but I would be dealing with it once the god situation was over. For now, I’d continue to casually slip Rayge into conversations in the hopes that Asher would accidentally reveal some new information. He grinned, perfect white teeth flashing. “Nice try, baby, but we’re not talking about that scaly beast today.” Yes! A dragon was a scaly beast, right? He’d at least confirmed that much for me. “Jessa and Braxton, on the other hand, are definitely viable sources on this mind reading thing. Be nice to know if we could communicate when separated.” Part of me—the human part I was sure—freaked at the thought that Asher might have free and unfettered access to my mind. Sometimes a chick just needed a little privacy. Like those times he pissed me off and I started planning ways to torture him. I’d lose my surprise attack, and that was essential to success. On the other hand, I totally got the positives to us communicating from a distance. That would be a priceless gift. If we had that sort of bond, I might have felt his mind when he’d been “destroyed” and known he was alive. I definitely would have known later that he was only pretending to hate me to keep me safe. Saved myself a hell of a lot of heartache. Hindsight was a beautiful thing. “Come back to me,” Asher murmured, and I shook my head, focusing on him again. “Sorry,” I said with a sigh, “I was just thinking that the mind reading thing, and even more important the communicating over a distance thing, might help in our battle against the gods.” He let out a low breath against my skin. “You haven’t been sleeping well.” He tried to hide his worry, but I felt it. Pressing my face to his chest, I breathed him in. “I keep having dreams. I can’t remember what they’re about, but I always wake tired and … scared. It has to be about losing to the gods—a manifestation of my own worries.” He wrapped me up so tightly that, for a moment, all my broken and jagged edges were smooth. “We will deal with the gods. Together. You don’t have to carry this burden alone. In fact, just let me take all of it. I can’t stand seeing your spark dull like this.” Mab had said the same thing, and I took a second to acknowledge how fucking lucky I was to have so many who cared. Especially Asher, who loved me more than I deserved. “I love you,” I said, voice thick with the emotions filling my chest and pushing into my throat. He cupped my face in both hands, and I met those sea-green eyes, now traced with both silver and gold. “Live with me, Maddi, please. I don’t want to be apart from you any longer.” My heart lurched, eyes burning. I’d refused that request a lot. I didn't want to give up my dorm, the one thing that was mine … a last piece of independence. At this stage though, it was pretty stupid to keep denying him. I struggled to sleep at all without Asher, the dreams so much worse, and on the rare occasions I stayed in my dorm, I usually ended up back at his place at 2 A.M. anyway. It was time to let go of the past and recognize that I could still be strong and independent with my mate by my side. If anything, we were stronger together. A fact that would no doubt come into play a lot in the next year. “Okay,” I whispered. He stilled beneath me. “You’ll live with me?” he asked, quirking an eyebrow. I nodded, a husky chuckle escaping. “Yes. You’re my future, Asher, and I’m done being stubborn about it. I don’t want to waste any more time.” His lips crashed into mine and I welcomed him. Unfortunately for Jesse, I doubted we were going to make lunch today. Maybe afternoon tea. Asher pulled me up, shifting our bodies so that he held me back against his headboard. Yeah, maybe not afternoon tea either.
Chapter 3
Chapter 3 The assembly this year was a little different to previous years. Firstly, Princeps Jones was not here. I hated that he wasn’t; it felt like a broken tradition, one I’d only just become a part of. “He’s so annoyed that the meetings ran over,” Larissa whispered to me as we stared up at the teacher stumbling through his information. It was a professor I didn’t know, one who taught advanced demon studies, and he looked like he’d rather be anywhere but here. “All the leaders are still there, arguing about what to do. Romania is the place to be apparently.” The princeps had been going back and forth to these meetings for months. “Please tell me they at least found some sort of resolution?” I murmured back, trying not to make it look obvious. We were still in the front row, because Larissa liked to be there. She snorted softly. “All they decided is that until something is decided, no one will step foot in Atlantis. They’re worried a surge of power could weaken the prison locking up the gods. In a complete contradiction though, once this meeting is over, a bunch of powerful magic users, Louis included, will head there to reinforce the door. Oh, and apparently Jessa and Braxton are seeking more advice from the queen of the dragons.” Clearly most of the supernatural community had no fucking idea how to deal with this situation. Gods. That was beyond their pay grade and they were scrambling for solutions that would result in the least number of deaths. The largest problem of all … killing gods was not easily done. Minor deities, maybe, because they weren’t powerful enough to destroy the world with their free energy. But the full gods were a very different story. Even if you did manage to kill one—an almost impossible task—you still had to figure out what to do with their power so it didn’t explode the world. That was apparently where the Hellbringers came into it. All theory of course. “We need to figure out their weaknesses,” I murmured to Larissa. “Everyone has a weakness. The gods also have rules. Supernaturals have forgotten, especially about these gods that have been sleeping for thousands of years, but that doesn’t mean they have none.” “We’ve scoured the library,” Larissa said, dropping her head, her shoulders slumping. “There’s nothing new.” Yeah, we kept coming back to the same thing. Hellbringers were the only weapon. It was the only fucking way. Hence why Asher, Connor, and I were even created. Even other gods had to follow the rules about their kind, and the Hellbringers were the best way to ensure they could kill and contain power. We focused on the teacher again, or at least Larissa did. She felt it was her duty, with her father not here right now, to keep an eye on everything. I instead watched my friends. Calen’s head was back, lightly snoring—Ilia, sitting beside him, kept turning a soft smile on him, all this emotion in her face. My fingers itched to capture that image, so she could finally see how she was so fucking gone over him, but a photo would probably just send her running. She wasn’t great at dealing with strong emotions. A side effect from abandonment issues due to her upbringing. She was giving it a decent try to make Calen and her work though, and I was totally digging their vibe. Axl faced the stage, paying attention just like Larissa. I loved his new shorter hair, artfully spiked with just a few soft strands falling forward. The red was slightly stronger in the auburn lengths. Our genius. He’d definitely be able to tell us, word for word, what was said in this assembly. I was distracted from Axl by a huge hand reaching over from the other side of Larissa, resting behind her seat. Rone. I wondered if they were going to step forward from the will-they-won’t-they thing they’d been rocking for the last two years. I hoped they would, because the spark between them was strong. Gods knew neither of them had been able to extinguish it, no matter how hard they tried. Asher, was on my other side, lazily playing with my hand, brushing his fingertips over it. His eyes were unfocused, gazed off into the distance, and I wondered if I could push into his thoughts and tune in on what had him so distracted. We’d experimented with it yesterday, but the moment I tried to actively hear his thoughts, I got nothing but a solid wall. We were missing something, and I made another mental note to try and get in touch with one of the supes who might help. Jessa and Braxton might be out though if they were in Faerie, visiting the dragons. As students started to move around us, I realized the assembly was over and I’d missed ninety percent of what was said. Hopefully Larissa wouldn’t quiz me on how many students were here this year. Ilia shot a smirk in my direction, like she’d had the same thought. “What’s your first subject today?” she asked, pushing past a few students to reach my side. We followed the crowds out the door. Reaching into my satchel, I pulled out the ever-changing magical schedule. We looked it over together. Monday 10am – Sword and Sorcery Year Three 11am – Advanced Herbalism 12pm – Lunch 2pm – Advanced Attack and Defense Year Three Tuesday 9am – Herbalism 10am – Healing Magic 12pm – Lunch 1.30pm – History of Supernatural Races 7pm – Water Magic – Advanced Wednesday 9am – Sports Bonding 10am – Healing Magic 11am – Sword and Sorcery 12pm – Lunch 1pm – Advanced Attack and Defense Thursday 8am – Herbalism 9.30am – Healing Magic 12pm – Lunch 1pm – History of Supernatural Races 2 pm – Race Morphology Advanced 3pm — Race Morphology – Demi-fey 7pm – Water Magic Friday 8.30am – History of Supernatural Races 10am – Race Morphology — Demi-fey 12pm – Lunch 1pm – Herbalism 2pm – Healing Magic 5pm – Advanced Attack and Defense It was Friday today and I had a full day. “History of Supernatural Races is up first,” I said. “I legit can’t even remember what we learned last year.” Ilia shot me a sympathetic look. “Well, at least you aced that class. So whatever you learned, you learned it well.” A sad chuckle escaped. She wasn’t wrong, I’d done well in my classes last year. So well that they were talking of testing me out of my fourth year, allowing me to possibly graduate early, at the same time as my friends. It would no doubt depend on whether I was attacked by gods before or after this year’s graduation. “At least using your powers is pretty easy for you now,” Axl said, lingering nearby. I swore he always knew when people were talking about school and grades, needing to be part of the conversation. “Yep,” I agreed. “Powers are easy, the book work not as much.” Who the hell had time to read textbooks these days? I was too busy trying to keep my friends and family alive. He wrapped an arm around me. “You know I’ll help you with that. Don’t stress for one second about it.” I hugged him back just as tightly, letting my head rest on his chest, absorbing the familiar energy and scent. Axl was the least volatile of the five, but his power was strong. And his extra special superpower was his brain. “Thanks for all the help over the last two years,” I murmured into his shirt. “I wouldn't be topping classes without you.” His chest shook as he laughed. “Yeah you would. Pretty sure there’s literally not one thing you can’t achieve if you set your mind to it.” If only. “Meet you in the library after school?” I asked, pulling away. “Let me know if you figure out how to stop the random weather.” He kissed my cheek. “You’ll be the first to know.” I shook my head, noticing that somehow he already had a book in his hands, reading as he walked. He never tripped either. Another superpower of his. “I’ll see you at lunch,” I said to Ilia and Larissa, hugging them both. Larissa was a year ahead of me, and we only shared one class, but had the same lunch break. That was a schedule requirement she forced her father to uphold, no matter what. Ilia was generally working for the Academy, but when she was here, we always made an effort to eat lunch together. Calen dropped a kiss on my cheek, and then Rone and Jesse did the same. The lion shifter of our group turned away fast, still acting weird and cagey. He wouldn’t meet my eyes, brushing a hand over my hair before he was off. Narrowing my eyes on him, he glanced back once, shooting me a half-smile. Then he turned and strode away, long legged and graceful as all shifters were. “He’s hiding something,” I murmured to Asher. “Don’t worry about Jesse. He’ll work through it soon enough.” I stuck my tongue out at him. Typical dude answer. He replied by wrapping huge hands around my biceps, pulling me closer as his full lips pressed into mine. As the scent of ocean and home filled my body, Jesse became a distant memory, and I lost myself for a bit. “Fuck, I love you,” Asher growled against my lips. “I still can’t believe I have you back in my arms. It’s why I need you to move in with me, because when you’re not close the panic kicks in. That feeling when I thought I’d lost you … I don’t want to experience that ever again, Maddison. Fuck.” His chest rumbled, but he got himself under control quickly. It was a feeling I knew all too well. I’d been broken last year, into a million raggedy pieces. I never thought I’d find my way back to being even remotely whole. But apparently love was an amazing healer, and when you were bathed in enough of it, some of the cracks healed. I wasn’t—and would never be—the person I was before losing Asher, but I thought of myself now as the Japanese people did with broken things. When they broke a bowl, they repaired it using gold. Highlighting the crack. Because your flaws make you who you are, and they should never be hidden. I was littered with gold-infused cracks, and maybe that made me even stronger. The chimes of the musical bells sounded and I sighed. “What class do you have now?” I asked, not willing to step away, enjoying this moment to be wrapped around him. He pressed a lingering kiss to the top of my head and my eyes briefly fluttered closed. “I’m teaching water magic this morning, then I have some fight classes in the afternoon.” Pulling back to see him, I smiled. “Same schedule as last year, I see.” He nodded, brushing hair back from my face, tucking it behind my ear. “Yeah, there’s really no point in me specializing in anything. I have Locke Industries, and water magic is my strength, so I’m honing my fighting and attack spells. I graduate this year anyway.” My heart hurt, and I tried not to let that show on my face. Asher leaned closer. “If you leave of course. Wherever you are, Maddi, is where I am. I don’t even care if I have to take a permanent water magic teaching position to stay here.” I chuckled, and the vise across my chest eased. “Since you own half the school, and have your own house on Academy grounds, I don’t think you need to worry about being kicked out.” A darker laugh emerged. “And the gods might have wiped us all out by next year anyway, so let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” Asher made a low, rumbling sound that started deep in his chest. “You can’t think like that, baby. I know it looks bad, and at times we’ve been in way over our heads during this battle, but if there is one thing I know about you, it’s that you’re a survivor. And so am I. No one is going to tear us apart again, not your parents, or mine, or whatever gods they recruit. A path will show itself, and we will not falter.” Path. Exactly what Mab had said. I found that interesting. Maybe something was in the works, something bigger than any of us, because I was getting the “signs” … they were coming in loud and clear. “I’ll try not to be such a downer,” I said, forcing a smile across my face. “I have everything right now, and I’m going to enjoy it.” “That’s my girl,” Asher said, and then with one last kiss on the forehead, he laced our fingers together and led me to an archway covered in vines. He walked me all the way to my class, and we reluctantly separated at the door. “See you at lunch,” I told him, on my tiptoes for one last kiss. He deepened the kiss, possessing and claiming my mouth, and then he was gone. Stumbling into the room, flustered and red faced, I sank down in a desk near the center. If I hadn’t already died once, I would be certain Asher was going to be the death of me. In the best possible way.
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