Supernatural Academy: Year One (Supernatural Academy #1)(71)

I nodded, and Louis got to business, stepping forward, both hands held out. He paused just above my breastbone. “I’m going to need to touch you,” he said softly, his face kind.

I nodded. “Go ahead.”

His palms pressed to my chest, on the bare skin above my uniform, and the heat of his power surged into me, taking me by surprise. “It was very worn down,” Louis said when he was done. “You’re getting stronger. I’m worried that soon I will not be able to keep it at bay. When that time comes, you’ll have to leave with me. We’ll go somewhere far away, where you can’t hurt anyone, and I’ll train you to control the energy. I won’t let the power destroy you or anyone else, Maddison. I promise.”

Louis was so swoon worthy. There was an old-school gallantry about him on top of the powerful and sexy thing he had going on. If I wasn’t completely obsessed with an Atlantean god already, I’d probably have a semiserious crush on Louis.

After I left the office, I turned my thoughts to the rest of this week. It was exam week, and there were no normal classes on. Today I had my Sword and Sorcery exam at 11:00 A.M—each student had their own fifteen-minute exam timeslot.

Which gave me plenty of time for breakfast and last-minute studying.

“Axl,” I shouted, waving as I hurried to his table.

I’d almost reached him when a tingle of energy rushed along my body and I went flying in the most overdramatic trip anyone had probably ever seen. I would have landed face-first into a nearby table if Rone, who must have been nearby, hadn’t used his vampire speed to catch me midflight.

“Holy shit,” I gasped, pressing a hand to my chest as I stared up with wide eyes. “What the fuck just happened?”

His lips twitched as I dramatically continued to curse—the twitch was as close as Rone got to a smile. “You tripped over your own feet.”

The fuck? I had not tripped.

I glared, struggling to get down. He dropped me to my feet, and I searched the crowd, finding the Clovers exactly where I’d expected them.

“It was Kate?” Rone growled.

I nodded, not taking my eyes from them. “Yeah, those bitches have been stepping it up lately.”

This was not the first incident, but it was the first one that someone else witnessed. I hadn’t told anyone about the bleach in my shampoo—which I luckily scented before it destroyed my pink hair. Or the clothing that I’d sent to be washed last week that had been returned in shreds.

Or the cliffston in my water bottle yesterday.

I’d been saved by my ability to scent water elements, helped along by the fact we’d been studying the herb closely in Herbalism. What they’d wanted to put me to sleep for, I would rather not think about.

“I’m going to have to confront them soon,” I said with a sigh. “Not this week though. This week I’ve got to pass my classes.”

Rone had his eyes locked on them, the icy energy of vampires ramping up as he glared. “Don’t worry about it,” I told him. “They’re just annoying, and it’s my problem to deal with.”

His eyes met mine, and I thought he muttered “We’ll see about that,” but he was gone before I could ask him to repeat himself.

I continued toward Axl, sinking into the chair beside him. “You okay” he asked, worried eyes running across me.

I nodded. “Yep, all good. Rone saved me.”

It seemed Axl wanted to say more, but he didn’t. “Sword and Sorcery this morning?” He patted the textbook on the table. “You’re more than ready. Use your magic to direct the arrows cleanly into the targets. There will be multiple different obstacles to make it harder though.”

I nodded. “I’ve been practicing my magic words and controlling the arrows, but I’m still nervous. The teacher said that they randomly select the obstacles, so there’s no way for us to know until we’re in there.”

Axl nodded. “Let’s work on the words. It’ll help, I promise.”

For the next thirty minutes he quizzed me, and I practiced pronunciation while calling energy. Louis’s reinforced block had it back to being harder to gather but easier to control. I hoped it didn’t let me down during the exam.

“You’re going to do great,” Ilia said. She’d arrived ten minutes ago and was eating her way through three plates of pancakes.

Since I was done with my exam prep, I turned all of my attention to her, finally taking in her drawn face and red, glassy eyes. “Everything okay?” I asked, reaching out to wrap an arm around her. “You look upset.”

Jesse and Axl were at the table with us, but they were deep in conversation about Parents’ Day, which was next week.

Ilia sniffled. “Josh and I broke up last night,” she said.

I gasped. “What? Why?” I pulled her even closer, one-arm hugging her the best I could. “What happened?”

She shrugged. “I found out that he fucked someone else at the Full Moon Party. He didn’t even remember it. They were drinking wolfsbane moonshine, and yeah, apparently she’s pregnant. Dumb bitch knew it was her fertile time and didn’t bother to take any precautions.”

Supes have very specific fertile times, even the magic users. The shifter would have known it was hers long before she frolicked naked at the Full Moon Party.