The Devoted: A Reverse Harem Omnibus (The Devoted Season Book 1)(9)

“Get up,” Iris says, shadow engulfing me, “Get up and actually fight me.”

Explosions of magic surround us. Everything from ice and air to water and fire explodes on the wide open field of green. I blink against the backdrop of explosive offensive magic.

“Come on!”

“New join,” the instructor’s shadow curls around us, “are you broken?”

I shove myself up. I’m not giving up—but I won’t give in either, “No, ma’am,”

Her lips part into a smile, “Good. We’re not running a charity here. Get up.” in a blur of pale skin and sable hair, she’s gone, only to reappear near the group closest to us. She hovers nearby, prowling as two male new joins exchange brutal fire-tinged blows.

Iris shakes the ice from her right hand, “You need to actually fight back,” she snaps, “You aren’t doing either of us a favor by doing nothing,”

I narrow my eyes at her. If she only knew.

Fire explodes around her fists again and she drops into a fighting stance. This time, instead of charging at me, she waits.

I’m not stupid. I’ve been playing with elements ever since I was a little girl—and that’s exactly why I don’t want to play with them now. Undisciplined magic does horrible things. I want to play safe, but with this girl...I don’t think that’s possible.

She rears back her right hand and tosses a flaming ball of fire at my head. I could sidestep. I could drop to the ground and roll away. But the eyes burning into my back make me hesitate.

Instead of running, I call ice to my wrist and pray to the gods that my magic doesn’t decide to go haywire. With my heart roaring in my ears, I block the ball of fire. A grin teases my lips and I lower my forearm to do a quick scan of my body.

All whole. Everything is okay.

Maybe I can do this.

Iris rushes at me, a wicked grin stretching across her face. A presence appears nearby, the Instructor reappearing in my field of vision right behind Iris.

I catch Iris’s small shoulders and hold her off. I’m not used to this kind of elemental fighting. The combination of physical attacks and magic attacks is kind of throwing me off, but I think I’m getting the hang of it.

Ice congeals between my fingers and I dig my fingertips into Iris’s shoulders. She gasps, but fire still rockets up her forearms, catching on her elbows. She’s trying to pummel me into the dirt with her charge, but we’re evenly matched in weight. Instead of giving in to her, I dig my heels into the dirt and press my palms into her shoulders with all of my weight.

My eyes are drawn to Instructor Caterina’s.

They glisten. Like the dangling crystals in the foyer’s massive chandelier. They are multifaceted and brilliant.

Iris grunts, but the grunt is prolonged and deep. Her movements start slowing down, every lurching step forward is followed by her ghost, almost as if there are two of her. Every pump of Iris’s legs slackens like she’s running through thick syrup. The explosions of elemental magic popping off all over the field become muted balls of white and red light. Instructor Caterina blinks and the color of her eyes change.

A rainbow of kaleidoscopic colors explodes like fireworks. Her face tilts and her fingers brush her chin.

A cold sweat breaks out on my back.

What’s going on?

The pressure from Iris’s charge melts. The grass beneath my feet bows. The sky above darkens to a woody brown. I shut my eyes tight, my stomach clenching. A cramp stabs through me and I grab my stomach. I think I’m going to be sick as the world whirls and meshes together around me. I concentrate on one thing: making a black dot my vantage point. Everything stills and I drop to my knees, eyes wide open.

There’s laughter. Deep and rolling and dark.

I’m home.

Not home home, but home. Back at our old house.

How?

Dark wooden walls surround me. Da’s mattress is pulled off the bed. My hands hold something—parchment. A letter. My fingers tremble and at first, I’m shaking. Fingers bending into the parchment, threatening to rip it. Heart using its spindly arms to choke the life out of me as it pumps and pumps.

I shouldn’t be here. This place doesn’t exist anymore.

And yet, here I am.

Staring at the letter, my hands vibrate like the whole house is quaking. I’m reading, but the words are just blurs and blots of ink. A screech pervades my ears, raking through them. A headache surges behind my eyes as heat wells up. The rough wood floor bites into my scraped knees. My eyes rove over the letter and inkblots merge into a term I’ve tried so damned hard to forget.

Academia.

My nails create little crescent indents on the parchment as I grip it tighter. The screech ripping through my eardrums explodes into a roar. A roar of pain and hurt and...and flame.

Orange scissors through the floorboards. Scarlet breathes across dad’s wooden bed frame. Academia’s letter is still in my hands, glued. The damned thing won’t let me go. I stand, I tumble away from the flame. But it’s surrounded me. I stalk toward the fiery orange edge only to be chambered in by another arm of the blaze. Tears prick the edges of my eyes as I back away. A burning heat behind my eyes sets them free and they trail down my face, but they do nothing to stop the burning licking my skin.

I scream.

New join!

I drop to my knees and let a primal screech rip through my throat. I shouldn’t be here. I shouldn’t be here.