Supernatural Academy: Year One (Supernatural Academy #1)(50)

“If it’s here,” Rone said gruffly, still in the doorway, “we’ll find it.”

A wave of exhaustion pressed on me, and I rubbed tiredly at my temples. “So, what am I supposed to do now? How do I stay off their radar?”

“You should be safe in the Academy,” Axl said, “the securities here are top notch. I’ve even checked them myself. But … there’s no guarantee. Every system has a flaw, and if they figure out this one, then they could infiltrate.”

I rolled my eyes in his direction. “Very reassuring, thank you, Ax.”

The slightest pink lit up the apple of his cheek at my use of a shortened version of his name. “We’ll keep you safe,” he added quickly. “You’ll just have to stick close to us.”

Without conscious thought, my gaze slammed into Asher’s, and judging by his tight jaw, he didn’t appear to be a fan of that plan. “I think step one is to unlock your powers,” Axl hurried on to say. “It’s the best way to determine once and for all if you’re Atlantean.”

“We should try it right now.” Asher rose to his feet, broad frame crowding over me, while that fresh salt-air scent had my head spinning. Before I could protest, he reached out and grabbed my hand. His power wrapped around me, slamming down my arm and stopping in my gut. I cried out as the heat hit me and the ground started to vibrate.

“Asher!” I cried.

“Hold on, Maddi,” he growled, his eyes flashing silver at me.

Doors all around us swung open, and it sounded like glass was shattering somewhere, but I couldn’t turn to see it. The front door was in my line of sight, and I was the first to see the tall blond man that ran through.

“Stop!” the stranger yelled, power bursting from him, so strong that it threw everyone but Asher and me across the room. We were like a live wire at that moment, our power holding us in place, but I was starting to shake so badly I wasn’t sure I would survive whatever was happening between us.

The stranger strode forward. “You need to release her, Asher,” he said, his voice deep and rumbly.

Asher’s jaw was locked, but he managed to mumble, “I can’t.”

Panic was building. The power was literally rattling my teeth; my entire jaw ached. Light started to rise before my eyes; the heat inside of me felt like it was burning through my body, eating away at my insides.

The stranger pushed in closer, but he was moving slowly, like each step was hard for him to take. Another scream rose in my throat—it was hurting. Too bright. Too painful. Too much.

Light and energy exploded from us, and finally our hands were wrenched apart and I went flying back. As my head slammed into a nearby wall, everything went dark, and I lost hold of consciousness.





Awareness returned, bringing with it a pounding head and dry mouth. I was scared to open my eyes in case the headache got worse—it was borderline a migraine right now. My memory was clear though, especially Asher’s face when we’d been blasted apart. He’d tried to fight the energy, to reach me again, and there had been concern on his face.

Needing answers more than I needed to protect myself from the headache, I squinted one eye open, and then the other. Thankfully it was dark in the room. I was tucked into a large, soft bed.

The air was cool and calm; there was a scent of ocean around me. Either this was Asher’s room or he’d sat with me for a few moments, because he was the only one of the Atlantean-five with this particularly unique smell. Dropping my bare feet off the bed, I walked to the door, opening it to find myself in a hallway. It led out into the guys’ living area. Asher and Jesse were standing in the kitchen, and it looked like they were having a somewhat serious conversation. I padded closer, too tired and pained to give a shit about interrupting.

“Maddi,” Jesse said, hurrying toward me. “How are you feeling?”

I shrugged. “Like my head went through a wall.”

He shot me his slow grin. “That’s pretty much what happened, so I’d say you’re doing good.”

My gaze settled on Asher and my chest squeezed tightly as the silence extended between us. “What was that?” I asked softly. He didn’t pretend to misunderstand my question.

“I have no idea. Whatever was blocking your power, it was designed to fight Atlantean energy. Mine was strong enough to cause a reaction.”

I swallowed roughly, needing to move closer to him. “Did you break the block?”

“According to Louis, I did.”

I paused, tilting my head. “Louis was the good-looking dude that busted in?”

I mean, I hadn’t been so out of it that I didn’t notice he was hot as fuck.

Asher’s jaw ticked, and Jesse snorted from beside me, but neither of them disagreed with me. “Yes, Louis arrived in time to heal us both and reset the blocks on your energy.”

I gasped. “What?”

Why? Why would he do that? I thought the entire point was to free my energy.

“You’re too strong to be released just yet,” Asher explained as he stepped out from behind the kitchen island and joined Jesse. “But he’s pretty sure our powers won’t collide any further. The reason our powers fought was because of the block, not the power itself.”

Jesse cleared his throat. “He did advise that you should minimize physical contact until he can figure out exactly what Maddison is dealing with, though.”