Supernatural Academy: Year One (Supernatural Academy #1)(17)

“Pixies,” Larissa said. “They come across from the demi-fey school. They’re nasty little assholes, but they have the sweetest voices.”

It was true, they sounded like a choir of angels. From this distance I couldn’t see more than a little flutter of glitter—they were tiny, but their voices easily projected across the area.

“You’ll learn a lot more about the supe races in your classes,” Larissa said. “Don’t try and learn everything at once. You’ll drive yourself crazy.”

“When do I find out what classes I’ll be in?” I asked. At some point I’d gone from “wait and see how I felt about this insane world tomorrow” to “I’m going to school and I need to choose classes.”

She opened her mouth to answer, then something behind me caught her attention. “Uh, tomorrow,” she said faintly, “when you meet with my dad.”

I turned to see what was causing her distraction. The first person I saw was Calen, moving through a small crowd near the entrance to the dorm rooms. Everyone shifted out of his way like he was royalty. Actually, on second glance, it wasn’t Calen; it was the guy in the middle of them.

And … sweet mother of all that was holy.

“Do they have gods here?” I asked Larissa breathlessly. I couldn’t stop staring at him—looking away was a feat requiring more strength than I had.

“If there was any such thing as a god on Earth, Asher Locke is as close as you’ll get,” she replied, her voice as breathless as mine.

Asher Locke. Fuck. Me.

He was the one who’d had his head down when I first walked through. The one who’d captured my attention. Thoroughly.

Just like the other Atlantean-five, he was tall; his hair was black, but I could still see the shimmer of silver-blond dusted through it. It wasn’t streaks … more like an actual shimmer in the strands.

He wasn’t looking my way, so I had no idea what his eye color was, but I could clearly see the dark masculine planes of his face, full lips, and defined cheekbones that could have made him look feminine, only there was literally not a single feminine thing about that guy. He was broad, and hard, and deep breaths. “Facial hair,” I groaned, and Larissa made a noise of agreement. He wore a five o’clock shadow like nobody’s business.

He was too much. Like … everything about him was too much. There was something fantastical about Asher, even in a place like this Academy, which was already pure fantasy.

Finally, I couldn’t look any longer, because I might have actually embarrassed myself by drooling. Pulling my gaze, I forced myself to turn to Larissa. Only she was staring at the five.

“Is he one of the magic users?” They’d said there were three magic users, one vamp, and one shifter. “Or … the shifter, maybe?” There was something feral, almost animalistic about Asher.

She sighed, rubbing a hand over her eyes like she was trying to break a trance. “Magic user.”

Refusing to turn back, I asked more questions with the hope of distracting myself. “What exactly happened to sink Atlantis? Does anyone know?”

If the history I knew was even remotely correct, it had happened thousands of years ago, but maybe they knew something.

“No one knows for sure,” Larissa said. “Our history books detail a supernatural race that was beyond anything we have today. Stronger, smarter, more powerful and advanced, even though they lived over ten thousand years ago. It’s believed that in their quest for power and knowledge, they pushed too far and angered the gods. One of them sunk the island and almost all of its inhabitants.”

My chest ached unexpectedly as I thought about all of them being struck down by a god.

“That’s why Asher feels so much … more,” I said. “Because he has a very pure Atlantean bloodline?”

Larissa nodded. “Yep, he’s unique, powerful, and … so hot.”

He was definitely all three of those things.

There was something about Asher that didn’t feel the same as the other supernaturals I’d met. It made me curious and wary of him, because he was far too gorgeous not to be an asshole, and on top of that, he was descended from powerful super-mage-fey.

My head turned to where they stood, chatting with someone at a nearby table. I couldn’t help but stare. Calen’s eyes snapped in my direction and he shot me a smirk with a knowing expression. Apparently he hadn’t forgotten our little conversation before. I returned a scowl and resisted the urge to flip him off.

I really didn’t want to be on their radar; I already had to deal with a psycho redhead witch. That was more than enough drama for my supernatural school experience.

I’d just turned away when Larissa started choking and spluttering. “Uh, Maddi,” she finally got out. “I think they’re coming this way.”

“Who is?” I squeaked.

Don’t look. Don’t look.

“Calen, Jesse, Rone, Axl, and…,” she spluttered. “And Asher.”

Five names. Until then, I’d only known Calen’s and Asher’s, and now I wondered which one…

Stop! What the hell was I doing worrying about their names?

Standing, I reached out and grabbed her arm. “I’m sure you’re wrong, but just in case … we should move,” I said with urgency. I didn’t need to rile Kate further, and I really didn’t need to drool all over the guys if they sat near us.