Page 21

I turn up first for training class, feeling a bit of a spring in my step after crying on the floor of the bathroom most of the night.

I need something to make me feel better, and this…

well, this will do it. I left the room early after sleeping on the floor with my duvet, working on the hex all night.

It is a complicated, mostly illegal spell.

They can take the bath, but I’m not sleeping in the same room as them, absolutely not.

The floor isn’t that bad. I’ve slept on it a hundred, if not more, times when I was locked in the attic for misbehaving.

At least the bathroom floor isn’t rotting wood with spiky nails.

I lean against the wall, trying hard not to grin as I hear and feel Vale stomping down the corridor towards me.

He searches around the room until his dangerously angry eyes fix on me.

I figured out how he was getting all the points…

he was cleaning the weapons for the class and giving them back.

It’s grunt bonus work, but he was doing it a lot.

Until now…

“What the fuck did you do?” he shouts, storming over to me. “Undo the spell, the hex, whatever the fuck you did to me!”

“Well, witch magic doesn’t work on dragons.” I smile tauntingly.

He is breathing heavily. “Undo it.”

“Undo what?” I blink innocently.

He pushes his entire body into mine, and my body reacts even if I don’t want it to. His hand clasps around my throat, his hard body pressing me into the wall. “Fucking undo it, Hex!”

“I didn’t do anything.” I smile at him. It’s the first real smile I’ve had in ages. Maz was right. Getting back at him is the right way forward. His scent surrounds me now, like bergamot and oak mixed with fire. His eyes are dark, but the corners are slipping into silver.

Kane pushes him off me. “Enough, brother!” He pushes Vale back. “You’re going to fucking shift. Calm down!” He looks over his shoulder as I rub my neck. Vale didn’t hurt me. It’s just the shock. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I don’t know what his problem is,” I mutter the lie. This is fun.

“Someone hexed all my weapons. I can’t touch them. I can’t bring them here. I can’t take them to any of our training. I am losing points by the second and going down the board,” Vale shouts. “Someone hexed me and I know it was her!”

He must be so pissed that his smart self can’t get past my hex, and the added spell I wove into it hides my identity and makes it impossible to change back.

“What a shame. If you get on your knees and crawl to me, I might help you figure out a counter spell.” I smirk. I’m basically admitting it was me, but it’s worth it.

“Fuck’s sake,” Kane mutters, pinching the bridge of his nose.

I continue to glare at Vale. He lunges forward, but Kane stops him from getting closer. “I really hate you.”

“But you can’t hurt me, can you?” I arch an eyebrow. I’m done being scared of him.

A dragon roar echoes from his throat, and he shifts.

His dragon bursts out of where he stood only a second ago, the change so quick and flawless.

Kane moves completely in front of me, but to my surprise, Vale’s dragon turns and scratches the wall.

He leaves through the doors at the back, jumping up and flying out of sight.

Kane lifts his eyes to mine. He searches my face for a long second. Like he’s looking for something, something I don’t know. “What are you going to do?” I ask.

“Did you hex his weapons?” Kane questions.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I shrug. “Where is my bathtub?”

“You’re good at lying. I see that hasn’t changed,” he breathes out. “And you have a bed. Use it. We aren’t going to touch you or any shit like that if you’re scared.”

That thought never crossed my mind. It’s weird how I trusted them almost instantly on that part, when I rarely trust anyone.

I change the subject. “I didn’t remember you at all until I saw you at the academy.

Do you remember me, then?” I wanted to ask that from the beginning, and now we are alone for once.

He usually avoids me like I smell bad. “I have flashbacks. The first flashback I ever had of you was here when I arrived at this academy. Until then, I had no idea who you were. I don’t remember my parents much at all, and if you were there, do you remember them? Can you tell me what you know?”

“What kind of flashbacks?” he demands, crossing his arms.

“I don’t know, like…just a memory from when we were kids,” I mutter. “Do we know each other from when we were kids, and how? You were supposed to be here in the forest.”

The class is beginning and people are coming in. He leans into me. “Pretend that flashback never happened, or we will both end up dead.” He nods behind him. “I’ve decided to train you in combat after all.”

“Really?” I ask, shocked. None of them have agreed to practice and train with me in combat before.

He doesn’t answer, instead going to the spare mat and waiting for me like everyone else. Tutor Den raises a bushy white eyebrow and nods at Kane. Alright, this is really happening.

I run my eyes over Kane for the first time, over the tight black uniform that fits him perfectly.

He isn’t as muscular as Vale and Black, but his body is toned and his waist thin as it dips.

His silver hair is brushed back, and his silver eyes study me right back.

I feel like he really doesn’t want to do training with me, but letting me out of his sight when I’m clearly pissing off his friends isn’t a good idea either.

I don’t care what his reason is, I’m excited.

I usually just sit on my own and do stretches because none of my bonded will come with me to train.

“Attack me,” he orders, standing firm.

I raise an eyebrow at him. “I have no idea how to do that. None of you helped me in the first classes of the term and watching taught me nothing on how to fight. The tutor wouldn’t help because my shifters turned their back on me.

Everyone here is a lot more advanced than I am already.

” I wave at them all. “This is pointless. We both know you will ditch me tomorrow.”

“Run at me. You do know how to run, right ?” He sarcastically demands. I do, and he knocks me to my feet without even moving.

“I knew that would hurt.” I groan, climbing to my feet.

“Why don’t we split up and go against people who are not our bonded?

” Aster suggests, and I look over to see him standing with Tutor Den and Wini.

“Kane against Wini, and I’ll go against Juniper.

Wini has training, and I didn’t until I came here, so I will be a fairer fight than you, Kane.

” Aster smiles at me, and I’m not sure. Wini looks a little confused, too.

“As long as you take it easy on my bonded, Kane.”

“Sounds like a good idea.” Tutor Den claps his hands. “Everyone swap with someone else.”

Kane glares at Aster, whispering something to him that makes Aster pale before he walks away to the mat with Wini. Wini looks terrified of training with Kane. “I don’t think your bonded wanted this.”

“But I did,” Aster smoothly answers. He’s on me in a second, pushing me straight to the ground with a slam that takes all the air from my lungs.

I hear something crack in my back with the slam of the force.

Not another broken rib. I swing my foot out to try to knock him off balance, but it’s like hitting a rock, and I don’t know what I’m doing.

He jumps on me, pinning me to the floor with his body, and he punches me hard in the face.

The world spins. I didn’t expect it, not the force of the hit, not any of it.

Kane is running to us, or a blurry version of him that I can see.

Aster grabs my chin, forcing me to look at him.

“You have the best of our race bonded to you, and you are wasting it. They need to see what happens when they leave you untrained and weak! When you’re weak, we all are.

This isn’t personal and I am sorry, but someone needs to do it. ”

He punches me again. Stars burst across my vision, and for a second, I see an image of Vale in the forest and he is kissing me. The vision is gone so fast, and I’m left wheezing from the pain, my head hurting.

“Get off her—” Blurry Kane is closer now.

Tutor Den is here too, holding him back.

“If you take him off her, this is on you. Kane, you go straight down the leaderboard and you will be punished. Do you understand? This is her fight.” He grunts.

“Aster is right, this is your fault. By letting her get weak and untrained, you’ve put her in danger.

You are the strongest of your race and you are failing them all. ”

Kane doesn’t say anything, but I swear he is shaking, and then Aster punches me again.

Again, I see stars. The world spins in and out for a moment as I hold my hand up, trying to block.

Another image comes up. This time I’m between Kane and Maz, both of them pulling at my clothes, stripping me and kissing me.

I feel like I’m home, and happy, and content. What the fuck is going on?

“Enough.” Kane lifts Aster off me, and he throws him straight across the room. He flies across, slams into the wall, and breaks it. Wini goes running after him. “Down the leaderboard you go, Kane. So disappointing. Neither of you get points for that.”

Kane looks down at me, gritting his teeth, his eyes flaring like he’s angry. I smile at him. “You protected me.”

“You should be completely out of it. Why are you smiling? How are you not in an extreme amount of pain?” he demands, confusion making his dimples pop. “You’re absolutely insane, Juni.”

He leans down, picking me up like I’m weightless.

Maybe I am now. Or maybe there is something wrong with my brain from being beaten.

Who knows…or cares? I snuggle into his neck and he freezes, his hands tightening on my thigh and arm.

Heat pours through my body as I breathe in his fiery scent.

I must be delirious. “It doesn’t hurt. I don’t feel pain much anymore.

I stopped feeling pain or caring when it hurts when I was about twelve.

” I yawn. “You smell nice, like Vale. I could lick you.”

“Goddess, stop punishing me,” Kane mutters, and he walks faster. “Don’t lick me, and explain why you don’t feel pain.”

“Okayyy.” I laugh. “Well, being punched in the face is kind of new, but not being slapped. They’re really very similar, though Melody used to like to kick me more in the stomach or whip me.

Sometimes she’d cast spells to have a broom or shoe hit me over and over while I couldn’t get out from the spell.

She is good at healing potions and silencing potions.

She fixed anything she did to me and made sure no one heard my screams outside the house.

She was happier when I stopped screaming.

I knew if I screamed, she’d carry on for longer.

She’d hurt me more because I think she liked it.

She’d use weapons and—” I stop, seeing Kane has paused, his eyes wide as he looks at me.

I can’t read the look in his pretty eyes.

“I stopped feeling pain after about twelve like I said. It hurts, but not enough to care.”

“That bitch hurt you?” he asks. He asks it like he is going to set the world on fire depending on my answer. His eyes are fully silver.

I pat his cheek. “Yes, and I think it was character building. I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t live through that. It’s okay, I’m free now and I still laugh. I still make jokes sometimes.”

He leans down, looking into my eyes. “You’re mine now.” I shiver. “And it’s not character building, it’s abuse. She will never lay a finger on you again. No one will.”

“Why can’t Black touch people, and did you really kill your family? Why is Vale mean? Why is Maz always joking?” I blurt out. “Also, why are all dragon shifters built like gods or Greek statues? You have muscles on muscles, a pretty face, and dimples! It’s not fair.”

He sighs. “You’re clearly not feeling well.”

“Oh my god!” I hear Rue running over. “What happened to her?”

“Aster beat her up and I’m taking her to the healers,” Kane answers. “She isn’t speaking sense.”

“A dominance thing?” Rue asks, and I feel her touch my arm. “Shithead.”

Kane’s voice is deep, dark, and scary. “He touched what’s mine and will be dealt with.”

“I’ll teach him a lesson too,” Rue snaps. “And if we are being frank, you all need to care for your bonded more than this. If she knew how to defend herself, she might not be in this situation. Do you honestly want her to die, painfully?”

“No one asked your opinion, witch,” Kane grumbles.

“You don’t have to be mean to me, you know.” I yawn. “I just wanted to be friends with my bonded, to have someone who wanted me. No one really cares about me and I’m alone.”

“That’s a lie,” Kane whispers low, and I swear his lips brush my forehead before I pass out. When I wake up, which feels like a second later, I’m in a healer’s ward, and Rue’s with me. None of my bonded are here, and I feel fine.

“Yeah, you took one hell of a beating.” Rue looks up from the book she was reading.

“You definitely had a concussion. I won’t tell you about some of the things you said, because I don’t know if you’ll take it very well.

” There is a man in here by the door, someone that looks a little like Aster.

Rue looks behind her. “Oster, my bonded.”

I nod in greeting. “Nice to meet you.”

“I’m sorry about what happened. Aster has been punished by your bonded, and I’d appreciate if you told them enough now,” he asks.

“They don’t listen to me,” I admit and look at Rue. “Wait, did Kane come with me?”

She winces. “Yes, and it was a little embarrassing. Don’t worry about it. There is a party in a few hours. Do you want to come?”

“I’ve never been to a party,” I tell her, even though she knows this. I can feel one of my bonded coming closer.

“Neither had I until here.” She hands me a note. “Say the words, and the academy is spelled to open a door for you.”

I just finish tucking it into my pocket when Black walks in, followed by a tutor. I think he teaches the higher years. His hair is peppered gray and his skin is dark, matching his suit. “Juniper Daygan, the Umbral Authority are with the headmaster and wish to speak to you.”

“And I’m coming with you,” Black cuts in as fear coils in my stomach. I have to meet the leaders of the witch world and explain the big fucking mess I’ve gotten myself into.