Supernatural Academy: Year One (Supernatural Academy #1)(30)

Realizing that I was still just sitting there at this table with guys I didn’t know and that the rest of them would be there in a minute, I started to rise.

“Wait,” Axl said, and I almost jumped out of the chair because I hadn’t been expecting that. “I haven’t had a chance to ask you anything about your life and energy and future yet. I need to know all about it.”

“Uh,” I started slowly. “I mean, that might take a while, and really, I’m not that interesting.”

Jesse made a rumbly sound that I was certain no human could have done. It was very leonine, starting deep in his chest. “I have to disagree about the not-interesting thing.”

Whatever that meant, I was totally not analyzing it.

“And if you don’t sate his curiosity somewhat,” Jesse continued, “he’ll never stop asking you questions.”

“What about the others?” I asked, trying my best not to look around the table. “I mean, pretty sure after having met me just once, Rone already hates me. Might get a little awkward.”

Jesse and Axl both laughed. “Nah,” the book-smart wizard said, “Rone is just angry a lot. He doesn’t trust easily. He’s had a messed-up life and—”

Jesse cleared his throat, interrupting Axl, who trailed off. “Sorry,” he muttered, “I have a problem with keeping secrets. My natural curiosity means that I’m almost incapable of keeping anything I learn to myself.”

“Honesty is worth a lot to me,” I told him seriously.

Jesse looked wounded. “It’s not that I’m not honest, I am … almost to a fault. It’s just that some secrets are not ours to tell. Rone’s and Asher’s especially. They have a lot of darkness in their past, and it shapes the supernaturals they are today. Something you’ll have to learn on your own.”

Uh, yeah. I doubted that would ever happen.

Axl nodded, and I could tell this was an old conversation they’d had to have a lot with him. Genius he might be, but he was sort of a clueless genius, if that was possible.

Since they thought they could ask me questions, I decided to throw some of my own back at them. “So, it’s just the five of you in this Atlantean club?”

It slipped out before I could think about it, and I wondered if maybe I’d offended them by bringing up their heritage so casually. A relieved sigh left me when neither of them reacted negatively.

“The five of us grew up together,” Jesse said. “Axl, Rone, Asher, Calen, and me. We met in Russia, when our parents were travelling between the prison communities. We’ve stuck together ever since.”

“You don’t sound Russian,” I said, looking between them both. If anything, Axl had almost no accent, and Jesse’s was slightly British.

Axl chuckled, his hands flat on his textbook even though he wasn’t reading it any longer. “We’re not Russian. You can think of us like human army brats. Our families were close because the ‘descendants of Atlantis club’ is small. They were mostly all friends, which turned into shared work traveling between the different supe communities. We were dragged along, and in that regard, we have no real home or identity.”

“Except here,” Jesse added. “This is the first home for all of us.”

“It’s my first real home too,” I admitted, before slamming my lips shut. That was such a personal thing to reveal, but then again, they were sharing with me and it felt right.

Silence fell between the three of us, and it was surprisingly comfortable. Which lasted exactly two point three seconds before an asshole destroyed it.

“What the fuck is she doing at our table?” Rone said, slamming a book down on the other side of Jesse. Now it was three of them facing me, and whatever comfort I’d been feeling completely disappeared.

Rone was even broader across the shoulders than Jesse, which was quite a feat. His features were beautiful. I mean, a fallen angel from the sky beautiful, with that golden-blond hair and icy blue eyes framed by long golden lashes, defined cheekbones, and a strong, angular jaw.

But I knew angry men, the kind that had a hatred festering deep inside of them, swirling violently until they could no longer control themselves. Rone was that sort of angry.

Lurching to my feet, I slipped around the chair and started to back up. “Wait,” Axl said, holding a hand out to me. “Ignore Rone.”

It was too late though. The moment I felt my safety was compromised I was out of there—an instinct that had saved my life more than once growing up. Spinning, I got no more than a single step in before I slammed into a hard wall. Strong hands wrapped around my biceps, stopping me from bouncing back into the table. I knew before I even lifted my head that it was going to be another one of the five. I hoped it was Calen, because the devil you know … but my luck had officially run out.

Sea-green eyes streaked with silver met mine—it was almost as if silver had been melted through his irises, that’s how bright it was. Even through my jacket, I could feel the heat of his hands, and my heart started to race as I fought against myself. I needed to get away, but I couldn’t make my legs move.

Asher continued to run that disconcerting gaze over me, and I wondered how the fuck he was real. Lashes that were dark and thick framed his eyes, topping a nose that was straight and proud, no sign of ever being broken, unlike most of the dudes I knew back home. His skin was golden … bronze … and his face was strong and perfect, like every piece of him had been hand selected and assembled by those many gods they worshipped.