Supernatural Academy: Year One (Supernatural Academy #1)(37)

Her head jerked back, and she narrowed rich, chocolate brown eyes on me. “It felt like I hit a brick wall. There was nothing soft or spongy about it, that was for sure.”

I shook my head, having no answers for either of us.

Our line started to move again as Asher gestured for everyone to step forward. “This doorway,” he said, “is protected by Sonaris, our god of the water. He lets only those worthy to wield the magic of water step through. If you can’t find a synchronicity with the water, you’ll never make it through the doorway. Don’t despair though … the first task is almost impossible for newbies. You have a year to prove your worth. If you don’t figure out how to push through the water energy without assistance by the end of your first year, you’ll no longer be eligible to take this class.

Sonaris. I’d never heard his name before, but there was a familiarity in that unfamiliar word that I didn’t understand. Asher waved his hands across the barrier, murmuring something I couldn’t hear, before he nodded in the universal gesture for us to get our asses inside. Confusion filled me, and I still couldn’t figure out what had happened when I tried to cross the barrier. Clearly that was not the same thing everyone else had experienced, but … why? I wanted to ask Asher, but I also didn’t want to. Because asking would require me to stand close to him and talk to him and breathe in that stupid, amazing scent of his.

I wasn’t strong enough to handle that right now.

Which was why I didn’t even look his way when I crossed the now barrierless entry, stepping into the dark world beyond.





15





I’d had no idea what to expect on the other side, but a circular room with three arched doorways was probably not it. Slightly anticlimactic.

“Through here,” Asher said, pointing to the door on the right. “Don’t take the other two paths without guidance. They’re for advanced students, and there are creatures and environments back there that will kill you.”

His warning did nothing except intrigue me, but I decided not to be stupid today and just followed him along the safe path. As we moved forward, there was a distinct sound of crashing waves. I’d never spent much time at the beach—only twice in my life—but I’d never forget that noise.

Crossing through the arched doorway was exactly like falling down the rabbit hole. We were in another world. Sun and sand, with aqua waves lapping against the shoreline.

My watch said it was 7:30 P.M, but here the sun was telling me it was midday in the Bahamas.

“It’s perpetually summer here,” Asher said, the bright sunlight highlighting the silver in his hair. “This is a vacation spot for students that win academic and practical magic awards, and it’s where we will start our water magic lessons.”

Vacation spot?

I looked around and my eyes bugged at the gorgeous little beach houses that were nestled back in a grassy, sandy area just behind the white sand. There were four of them, each a different color: aqua, purple, yellow, and pink.

This was a postcard magically brought to life, and I never wanted to leave.

Students started to move around me, and I realized I’d missed our instructions. Discreetly, I watched what they were doing, trying to follow along.

“I’m starting to get a complex.” His low voice came from just behind me, causing me to jump and spin around.

“Uh, what?” I said, giving him my full attention. “A complex?”

He shook his head. “You keep running away from me, and I’m almost certain you haven’t listened to a single word I’ve said since we stepped onto the sand.”

Shit. He’d been talking the whole time? “I was listening,” I lied, my voice stupidly breathless. “I heard everything. We’re all … swimming…”

I trailed off, squinting at the students who were wading out into the waves. They’d taken their shoes off and rolled up their pants. It wasn’t exactly swimming.

Asher laughed, a low, husky rumble that made me feel stupid shit I didn’t want to think about. “We’re not swimming, Maddison. We’re communing with Sonaris … with the water itself. This is the most important part of this class, because if you can’t connect with it, you’ll never advance to the next level.”

I cleared my throat, already reaching down to slip my shoes and socks off.

“You probably don’t have anything to worry about though,” he added, and my gaze snapped to his.

“What does that mean?” This was where the extroverted part of my personality came into play. I generally called people out on cryptic statements because they pissed me off.

“It means,” Asher said slowly, “that you almost made it through the doorway. If you hadn’t panicked...”

I swallowed. “My energy is locked down, so … that doesn’t make sense.”

Asher watched me closely, his eyes burning with intensity. “Just because you can’t actively access your power doesn’t mean it’s not there. It exists within you. The water is not confused by blocks on power. It knows all. It sees all. Sonaris, and his water, blessed my people long ago, and for that, all supernaturals owe him their loyalty.”

“He blessed Atlantis?” I asked, my curiosity about Atlantis pushing through my unease.