Advanced Dragon Studies (Ember Academy for Magical Beings Book 1) Read online

  “Okay, first of all, I would never let this make things awkward between us. And second, it’s obvious that he feels the same way about you.”

  I just bit my lip once more, unable to shake the worry that she might be wrong.

  And that saying something might ruin things.

  We reached my room before we could continue the discussion, however, to find the door already open and someone already unpacking.

  She was a tall, slim woman who looked about my age, with long hair down to her waist and a smart black blouse with a white bow at the neck and white trim alongside the buttons and at the end of the long sleeves, perfectly complementing the black pencil skirt, tights and heels that she wore.

  None of those details really registered, though. No, not as much as the fact that her hair was a deep blue colour, and she had dark scales in place of skin, blue and green highlights barely visible on what otherwise seemed to be black. She also had deep black eyes.

  A Mermaid.

  Or, more accurately, a hybrid, given her hair. Though her slim, androgynous build suggested that whatever non-Mer blood she had was faint.

  I knocked gently on the door before stepping inside.

  The Mermaid narrowed her eyes as she spun around to face me. “Who are you and what are you doing in my room?”

  I straightened my back at her demanding tone, fire crackling just beneath my skin.

  Still, I forced myself to take a deep breath, not wanting to start off on the wrong foot.

  “I’m Skye,” I said in the nicest voice I could manage. “And I’m here because this is my room as well.”

  The Mermaid just looked me up and down with obvious disgust and I held out the letter with my room number on it.

  She clenched her jaw as she read, seeing that I was clearly right.

  “We’ll see about that,” she muttered between her teeth before storming past me, knocking my shoulder as she went.

  I just stared at her, at a complete loss.

  I turned to Elizabeth. “What was that about?”

  Elizabeth shrugged. “That’s Lorelei. She’s been here as long as me and Naveen, and yes, she’s always been that friendly. I think her parents are some kind of nobility back in Atlantis, so she acts like the rest of us are beneath her.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “I thought they didn’t like hybrids in Atlantis.”

  “They don’t, which is probably why she has such a chip on her shoulder. But I’m not about to throw a pity party for her. No, plenty of us have tried to be nice over the years, and she always throws it back in our faces. Better to let sleeping bitches lie.”

  I sighed. “Is there any point in unpacking my stuff if she clearly doesn’t want me here?”

  “Well, it would probably piss her off. Plus, I’m not so sure she’ll be able to get you kicked out.”

  I hesitated, not sure that spite alone could make me unpack everything, only to repack it, but I figured that I could make a slow start.

  Elizabeth helped me get my suitcase onto my bed, and we had barely pulled out my toiletries when Lorelei returned with an older woman in a purple blouse and black waistcoat and trousers.

  “Ms Griffin,” Elizabeth said, and I recognised the name. This was the woman who ran the academy.

  The head teacher to the lower school, but I wasn’t sure what her title was for us.

  “Ms Free,” she said as she turned to me. “Ms Smith here has told me of the cold welcome she gave you when you arrived. While I am reluctant to agree to her demands to have the room to herself, as she does not have a compelling reason for us to give her a room on her own, I would understand if you would prefer to change rooms.”

  I glanced over to Lorelei and saw that she was giving me a smug look.

  She knew that I would leave, not wanting to spend another second with her, and her nasty attitude will have gotten her exactly what she wanted.

  I placed my hands on my hips, fire once more crackling beneath my skin as I turned to Ms Griffin. “That won’t be necessary. I’ve already started to unpack, after all.”

  Ms Griffin gave me a look that said that she was suppressing a sigh.

  And that she deeply disagreed with my choice.

  I couldn’t blame her – I wasn’t exactly looking forward to sharing a room with Lorelei – but I couldn’t let Lorelei bully me into compliance.

  No, someone had to show her that it didn’t always work.

  Elizabeth snorted in a way that suggested that she’d been struggling to hold it in for a while, and the edge of my lips quirked up in response.

  Ms Griffin did actually sigh at that before shaking her head. “Well, if that’s what you want, I will let you finish unpacking.”

  At that, she left the room, just as Naveen came and knocked on the door.

  “Hey,” he said. “How are you settling in?”

  Lorelei stormed out of the room once more and Naveen only just managed to step back before he was barrelled over.

  Elizabeth turned to him with a smirk. “Skye’s rooming with the ice queen.”

  Naveen frowned as he turned to me. “What did she say? Was she awful? I’m sure if you talk to Ms Griffin, she’ll let you change rooms.”

  Elizabeth spoke up before I could. “She already came by. Lorelei tried to force Skye out of the room, so now she’s staying out of spite.”

  I sighed. “It’s not spite, per se. Just... I don’t like bullies. Someone should show her that she can’t intimidate everyone.”

  Naveen smiled and my heart skipped a beat. “I think you’re right. Still, if it gets too much... well, we’ll always have space in our room.”

  “Thanks.”

  Naveen joined us after that, helping me to unpack, and once we were done, he and Elizabeth showed me around campus, and we got some food.

  I approached my room with bated breath when we returned, but Lorelei was nowhere to be seen, so I invited the twins in for a while.

  As we sat chatting, Elizabeth on Lorelei’s bed and Naveen next to me, I subconsciously moved closer to Naveen, and he didn’t object.

  I smiled as I took that as an invitation to get closer, wondering if maybe Elizabeth had been right. Maybe telling Naveen how I felt wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.

  Chapter Six

  Naveen and Elizabeth left and I went to sleep before Lorelei returned that night, but I awoke the next morning to the sound of the bathroom door opening.

  I forced myself up into a sitting position, despite still being half-asleep. If Lorelei was back, I wanted to clear the air. For my own sanity, if nothing else.

  But she’d already locked herself in the bathroom before I could say anything.

  I waited as patiently as I could, flicking the corner of my phone case on and off as I waited for her to finish.

  Eventually, Lorelei left the bathroom fully dressed, but she grabbed her bag and headed out of the room before I could say as much as “Hey.”

  I groaned. At least avoiding me was better than being mean, but still, I would have preferred a roommate who actually liked me.

  I dragged myself out of bed and headed into the shower myself before pulling on some clothes and forcing myself to put on some makeup. As much as I often didn’t bother with anything more than BB cream and lip balm during the day, I should probably try to make a good first impression.

  I didn’t do much, just some mascara and subtle pink lipstick, but I still smiled as I examined myself in the mirror, wondering if Naveen would notice.

  Butterflies fluttered in my stomach as I remembered last night. We were often that close, but if Elizabeth was right, it wasn’t just platonic.

  The thought of telling him how I felt still terrified me but I glared at myself in the mirror.

  You are a strong Dragon Priestess. You can probably breathe fire if you put your mind to it, not to mention shapeshifting into a Dragon. One boy can’t frighten you.

  My nerves lessened for a moment, only to return in full force the moment I looked awa
y from the mirror.

  Shit.

  Well, I didn’t have to tell him today, I figured. It could wait as long as I needed. And hey, if Elizabeth was right in saying that he returned my feelings, maybe he would be the one to confess to me. Problem solved.

  I knew I was bullshitting myself, but I couldn’t find the strength to care as I grabbed my laptop bag and made sure I had everything I needed before heading down to the quad for breakfast.

  I was so nervous about my first day of magical classes, worrying about confessing my feelings to Naveen was just more than I could handle right now.

  I headed outside and swiftly made my way to the quadrangle.

  The lower school was more like a classic boarding school, with few amenities that weren’t school-run, but the uni was a lot bigger, not because they had more students, but because it was essentially a small town, with several independently owned magical businesses on campus.

  The quadrangle was where most of the cafés were, and Elizabeth and Naveen had a favourite that they’d told me they went to every morning.

  I arrived to see them already at the counter, and as there wasn’t a line, I hurried over to them.

  “Hey,” I said as I approached. “Have you ordered yet?”

  “No,” Naveen said. “But I get the same thing every day. What about you? A black coffee and a cheese scone with strawberry jam?”

  I blushed at how well he knew me. “Yes, please.”

  I didn’t feel bad about Naveen paying for my order. Both of his Demon mothers had been Underworld nobility before they – and by extension the twins – had been exiled, and they’d kept a large chunk of their wealth.

  Elizabeth and Naveen weren’t spoiled – their Human mother had made sure of that – but they definitely had more spending money than me.

  “So,” Elizabeth said as we waited for our orders, “are you excited for your first day of class? What have you got first?”

  I pulled out my timetable. “Magical History with Mr Stiles.”

  Naveen grinned. “Me too.”

  I couldn’t help but grin back as we finally got our orders.

  NAVEEN AND I BOTH HEADED to class with infinitely refilling to-go coffees, and I couldn’t stop smiling as I walked right at his side, our fingertips practically brushing up against each other.

  Even despite my angry roommate, I was finally here, at Ember Academy, with Naveen.

  And with all the other magical beings here that I didn’t have to hide from or lie to.

  And I was finally going to learn how to use my magic. How to become a good Dragon Priestess and prove that I belonged here.

  After so many years of waiting, I felt as if I was finally ready to begin my real life.

  Naveen led me to a small lecture hall, and he went straight to the back, picking seats right by the stairs closest to the door.

  An easy escape route if he needed it, just like when we went to the pictures.

  I didn’t mind. The lecture hall was big enough that I doubted this Mr Stiles would notice who was at the front or back.

  The rest of the students slowly trickled in and when nine o’clock finally rolled around, a tall, lanky man with sheet white skin and long, dark hair tied up in a ponytail approached the front of the room.

  “Good morning, everyone,” he said as he made his way to the front of the class. “I’m Mr Stiles and I’m your History of Magic teacher.” He then held up his wrist, showing a tattoo that looked almost like a dog chasing its tail. Naveen and Elizabeth’s mothers had similar tattoos, as did Auntie Alex.

  It was a bonding rune, used when Demons married.

  Naveen and Elizabeth’s mothers had one of two designs – one to indicate that they were married to a Demon without a house and another to indicate that they were married to a Dark Witch, aka their Human mother whose grandmother had been a Witch, with one on each wrist – whereas Auntie Alex’s was the crescent moon of the Demon royal family.

  “Before anyone asks, yes, this mark means that I’m married to a member of House Lyca, and yes, that does mean Prince Damon. Queen Freya is his wife, I’m his heartbond.”

  ‘Heartbond’ was the word Demons used for their second spouse, or the one they married for love if their other marriage had been political.

  So, if he was Prince Damon’s heartbond, and my Auntie Alex was Queen Freya’s heartbond...

  That gave me a headache, so I left it alone. I didn’t know much about that side of Auntie Alex’s life. As Naveen and Elizabeth’s Demon mothers were exiles from the Underworld, they couldn’t be seen to have ties to the Queen and my dads spent most of their time with them and the Guardians, not with Auntie Alex and the rest of the Enhanced.

  I turned to Naveen and whispered under my breath. “Is it okay for you to be in this class? I mean, with your mothers and everything...”

  He shrugged. “They’re the exiles, not me. I just don’t have citizenship in the Underworld and citizenship needs to be sponsored by either the Queen or a noble, and none of them will risk it. But proximity to Mr Stiles is fine.”

  He looked away, clenching his jaw and I regretted my question. I knew that he was happy here on Earth – especially with Ember Academy to act as a refuge – but that didn’t mean that it didn’t sting that he could never return to his mothers’ home.

  I reached my hand over to his arm, and he gave me a small, appreciative smile, though it didn’t quite reach his eyes.

  Still, he placed his hand over mine, and my heart jumped to my throat.

  My attention was drawn back to the front by Mr Stiles pulling up his sleeve to reveal another tattoo, this one the crescent moon of the Demon royal family, but it was on his bicep, not his wrist. “This also means that I’m a member of Queen Freya’s Queensguard, I’ve just been on loan to the school for the last several years. It turns out I have a knack for teaching. Now, if that clears up any personal questions you might have, we’ll get started on the lecture.

  “Now, the point of this module is to give you an overview of magical history and also give you the skills to research it on your own. I’m assuming that if you’re here, this is either your first year at Ember Academy, or you’ve never chosen to take History of Magic classes before. If neither of those things are true, you’ll probably be better off on a more advanced and specialised history module.”

  He paused, but no one moved or said anything.

  I turned to Naveen. “Have you really not taken history before?”

  “I did in my first year, but that was when I was ten. I figured it was worth the refresher.”

  I bit my lip, not sure that he meant it. Naveen and Elizabeth had always been in their own league when it came to academic work, and I didn’t doubt that he could have started in a more advanced class just fine.

  So, why take this one? Just so that we had a class together?

  No, it was probably something else. Maybe Mr Stiles didn’t teach the more advanced classes and Naveen wanted the perspective of a Demon who had lived in the Underworld for most of his life.

  You know, an additional perspective on top of two of his mothers’, who had both also run in the exact same circles as Mr Stiles.

  “All right,” Mr Stiles said, drawing my attention back. “If you’re all supposed to be here, I guess we should get started. If you’re going to learn magical history, we should probably start with the figure who will be touched on the most: Fate.

  “Now, no one can claim to understand Fate’s plans, not even her Oracle’s, but the fact that she exists and does have plans adds a perspective on history that Humans don’t have. And her Oracles do make appearances around important events, so it’s good to know of them and their roles throughout history.

  “So, for the basics. Fate is one of the four most powerful beings in creation, and alongside Life and Death, she forms the triad who oversee human life and the lives of we similarly intelligent beings. For anyone very new to their studies, Nature is the fourth powerful being, but she tends to leave us alone.r />
  “Fate, just like the other three, has Angels to help her do her work. For her, they’re Oracles. Anyone, even a Human, can be born a Seer, and Fate chooses her Oracles from them. Where Seers can peer into Fate’s plans to predict the future, Oracles can change the outcome of chance to change the future to Fate’s designs.”

  Naveen spoke up at that, having to practically shout across the room to be heard. “What if an Oracle or a Seer wanted to defy Fate? What if they wanted to change her plans? Could they?”

  I frowned. Surely that was something he already knew, given that his mother was a Seer.

  But then, Persephone never liked letting the twins rely on her powers, so maybe she also refused to tell them just how strong she was.

  Still, why would Naveen want to change Fate’s plan?

  Mr Stiles looked Naveen over for a moment and I honestly wondered if he would answer the question, or if he would tell Naveen off for interrupting.

  Eventually, he shrugged. “Avoiding prophecy is a tricky business. Many have brought about the thing they fear by trying to stop it and it becomes obvious that letting them know their path was deliberate on Fate’s part. If a Seer or Oracle were the one to defy her, however... Well, there are no records of such a thing. And if an Oracle was trying to defy Fate, she would probably stay silent on the matter, not wanting to alert Fate to what she was doing by shouting about it.”

  Naveen looked as if he had more questions, but he just nodded, turning his attention to his notebook and furiously scribbling.

  What the hell had that been about?

  I glanced over to his notebook but realised that he wasn’t writing in English. Or any other language that I understood...

  Possibly Daemonium?

  Naveen didn’t look up from his notebook for the rest of the class, however, and I didn’t want to disturb him.

  When the class ended, he just picked up his notes and fled from the room, not even saying goodbye.