The group he was talking to all nodded in agreement. There were about eight or nine of them all huddled together; one of them was Char, the girl who’d handed me my ass a week earlier. Her lip curled into a cruel smirk as she saw me approach and made no attempt to lower her voice as she said, “It must run in the family. Her mother was a total slut too—that’s the only reason she even exists, after all.”
I tried not to react, I really did; I hadn’t even known my mother so what the hell should I care what some salamander bitch said about her? But it had always been a sore spot for me; the guilt I felt about how she’d died, combined with how crappy my childhood had been without her had led me to put her on a bit of a pedestal. The recent knowledge that my father had actually turned his back on his people for love of her, knowing he’d die for it just made it even worse. Also, I just really wanted to wipe the sneer off Char’s face, which is why, against all of my better judgement, I found myself reaching for one of the advanced attack spells Dante had helped me master—one of the ones we weren’t supposed to be learning until well after fledgling training—and directed it at Char.
A flurry of flames erupted at her feet, quickly morphing into a swarm of vicious little birds made of fire that rose up around Char and attacked. She screamed and cried and danced around wildly attempting to throw them off, but to no avail. It wasn’t the fire that hurt her—like the rest of us she was immune to flames—but the little fire birds had sharp teeth that were nipping and biting at her skin.
“Get them off! Get them off!” she screamed at no one in particular.
Her little group of cronies tried to help, going through all the charms we’d learned in training in attempt to get rid of the birds, but nothing worked. It wasn’t until Fenix arrived a good ten minutes later that someone was finally able to make the birds go away. I was amused to see little red welts had been left all over Char’s skin.
“Char, I thought I made it clear you weren’t to practice any magic without my supervision,” Fenix said.
“I didn’t do anything! She attacked me!” Her face was thunderous as she jabbed a finger in my direction.
His eyes flicked to me; I was expecting to see admonishment but instead found a glimmer of amusement. “Seraphina attacked you?” He asked Char, his tone and expression portraying the perfect mix of concern and confusion. “With an advanced spell? That seems…unlikely.”
I bit down on my jaw in annoyance. Yes, I was grateful he was taking my side when there was no doubt in my mind he knew what I’d done, but it still rankled to be reminded of my ineptitude in front of the whole class.
*
Later that night, Dante and I were leaving the library after one of our ‘theory’ sessions, as he’d started to call them, when I heard Char’s voice floating down a nearby passageway. Without thinking, I grabbed Dante by the arm and dragged him into a deserted little alcove nearby, out of sight of the passageway.
“What are we doing?” he whispered, his breath tickling my ear.
“Hiding.”
“Hmm, yes, I gathered that much—why are we hiding?”
I turned my head towards him, bringing our faces inches apart. “That girl, Char—she wants to get me back for something I did to her in training today.”
“Ah, well don’t worry, I’ll keep you safe.”
I smiled at him. “That’s good to know.”
A moment later, his lips were on mine—a soft, hesitant kiss that made me tingle all over. But before I even had a chance to really register what was happening, he was pulling away.
“What was that?” I asked him, not actually annoyed or upset by the fact he’d made a move.
He offered a shy smile. “I wanted to see if Aidan was right—he told me you were a good kisser.”
I cocked an eyebrow at that and he blushed in response.
“Also, I just wanted to kiss you—you have nice lips.”
My brows shot up into my hairline. “Thank you?”
He let out a soft laugh. “You’re welcome.”
“So what’s the verdict, then?”
“Hmm…I think I need to check again.”
He kissed me again, more thoroughly this time, the softness from earlier completely evaporated as he devoured my mouth. The spark that had kindled with the previous kiss ignited into a raging inferno, engulfing my entire body. Damn, he could kiss.
He broke away from me and opened his mouth to say something but I didn’t let him, instead throwing my arms around his neck and pulling him back down toward me. I grabbed at his hair, holding tight as he pushed me further back against the wall, his body flush against mine.
There was a tiny voice in the back of my head telling me I probably shouldn’t be doing this; Aidan and I weren’t official or anything, but we’d made out a few times—once in front of basically the whole court—and he’d made it pretty clear he wanted to keep doing it. I wanted Aidan, I cared about him and I wanted to keep seeing him, but I couldn’t deny that I wanted Dante as well. And even though I should have felt so completely guilty right now, I just couldn’t bring myself to—this felt right.
We finally broke apart, and after I’d managed to collect myself I dared to ask the important question. “Is this weird for you? Kissing me when I’m sort of…seeing your brother?”
“Honestly? It should be weird. Sharing isn’t something salamanders usually do,” he said. “But it actually doesn’t feel weird. At least not for me—does it feel weird for you?”
I shook my head. “No. It feels…like this is what’s supposed to happen.”
He offered me that shy smile. “Good. I really like you, Sera, so if you like both of us I’m okay with that. I’m sure Aidan will be, too.”
“Well, I’m sure Aidan will have moved on to someone new by next week, anyway,” I said with an eye roll.
Dante shook his head. “I don’t think so, you’re pretty special.”
I smiled and we went back to kissing.
*
For the next couple of days, I was basically floating on a cloud. Dante had been right about Aidan being okay with the new development, so now I found myself involved with two guys I really liked and who also cared about me. Not even Char’s death glares could bring me down.
“Okay, this happy mood of yours is really starting to freak me out,” Ember said with a chuckle as we sparred with each other during training. “No one should be this cheerful when they have a sword flying at their head.”
Yes, we were working with swords today. Real, actual swords. I really didn’t get the point, because surely someone who could wield flame as a weapon would never bother actually carrying a sword, but apparently it would improve our reflexes if we were defending against something that actually hurt us.
“Okay, that’s enough for today,” Fenix called.
I stopped and lowered my sword, but Ember wasn’t so quick to react.
“Oh my god! Sera, I’m so sorry!” she called, after realizing she’d accidentally sliced my shoulder open.
“It’s fine,” I said through my teeth, wishing I didn’t sound so much like I was dying. I didn’t think it was a super deep cut but damn, it fucking hurt.
I ignored the titters from the rest of the group and Fenix’s concerned expression as I made my way out of the arena and headed toward the baths. I’d gotten about halfway there when Fenix caught up with me.
“Sera, wait a second, I want to check you’re okay.”
I paused in my step and turned to face him. “I’m fine.”
His brows furrowed in concern. “You’re still bleeding.”
“Kind of a side effect of being sliced open with a sword,” I said with an eye roll. “It’s fine—I’ll bandage it up and it’ll heal in a couple of days.”
He was still staring at the cut on my shoulder as if it had somehow offended him. “It should have healed by now.” He frowned, head shaking in annoyance. “It must be your human blood. Here, come with me.” He grabbed my arm and led me down the passageway to an
apartment very similar to Aidan’s.
“What are we doing here?” I asked, glancing around. I was about nine-eight per cent sure we were in Fenix’s private rooms.
“I’m going to heal your wound—you can’t train like that.” He left me by the door and disappeared into the other room for a moment, returning with a damp cloth. “Okay, I’ll clean this blood away first, then I’ll use my magic to heal the cut. Sound good?”
I nodded.
He brought the cloth up and gently wiped at the blood that had spilled over my shoulder and down my arm from the cut. Once that was done, he threw the cloth aside.
“This might feel a little strange,” he said, wiggling his fingers.
“That’s okay.”
Nodding, he began the healing. He ran his fingers over the slice on my shoulder and it was like little flames licking at my skin as the healing magic did its work; I shivered from the sensation, my eyes flicking to his and finding them glimmering with something I wasn’t sure I wanted to name.
When the healing was done, his hand remained at my shoulder, his thumb moving gently back and forth over my sensitive skin.
“You killed my father,” I said, trying to remind myself why I shouldn’t be affected by feel of his touch or the heat of his gaze.
“I wish I hadn’t.”
And it was as if those words unlocked something inside me, the regret giving me permission to act. Suddenly I was reaching for him, my hand curling around the back of his neck and pulling his face toward mine.
Our lips met in a blistering kiss that seared me all the way down to my toes. It was fierce and demanding and like nothing I’d ever experienced before…and I couldn’t get enough.
His hands left a trail of heat as they slid down my body, landing on my ass as he lifted me from the ground and pinned me to the wall. My legs automatically curled around his waist, my hands buried in his hair as I pulled him even closer.
I heard the sound of someone clearing their throat and finally tore myself from Fenix to see Aidan standing in the doorway, his eyebrows practically in his hairline.
Fenix set me back on the ground and, after taking a moment to catch his breath, turned to face his brother.
“So, are you planning to make out with all my brothers?” Aidan asked with a smirk.
My eyes widened in horror. I knew he was joking but that didn’t stop the flush of embarrassment from creeping over my face.
“Just in case you were, I should really warn you about a few of them—Blaze looks like a toad,” he said, holding up his hand to count off his fingers, “Coal has a definite body odor issue. I’ve heard Ash kisses like a fish…”
My brows shot up. “A fish? What the hell does a fish kiss like?”
Aidan shrugged. “I don’t know, but if you’d like to find out you can go and kiss my brother Ash.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m good, thanks.”
Despite the jokes, I was still a little wary of Aidan’s reaction to finding me with Fenix. He’d taken my thing with Dante totally in stride, but this was a little different—Fenix and Aidan had a…complicated relationship to put it mildly.
“Um…are you okay? With this?” I asked him awkwardly, gesturing between me and Fenix.
Aidan arched a brow. “What exactly is this?”
I turned to Fenix—we hadn’t really gotten to that, had we?
“Well, I’d like it to be the first kiss of many,” he said simply. “If that’s what you want.”
After that kiss? Oh, hell yes. But there was something important to clarify first. “You know I’m seeing Aidan, right? And Dante?”
He nodded. “I do.”
I bit at my lip; there was no judgement whatsoever in his tone, but for some reason I felt the overwhelming urge to defend myself. “I’m not usually like this, you know. I mean, I’ve never done this. Three guys at once?” I shook my head. “That’s, like, just not something people do—and I know what people are going to say—”
Aidan stepped toward me, his dark eyes intense. “We don’t care what anyone says, and neither should you.”
“The only thing that matters, Sera, is what you want,” Fenix said. “We all want to be with you—do you want to be with us?”
I nodded. “I do.”
The conversation ended there, as they closed in on me, holding me close and kissing me—on my lips, my neck, my jaw. We moved into Fenix’s bedroom where they slowly removed my clothing and took turns devouring my body. They didn’t take their own pleasure; they didn’t even get undressed. It was all about me and what I needed, and they were both happy to oblige.
8
If anyone thought juggling three boyfriends while attempting to get through all this training would make things easier, well they were an idiot. Every time I went to the library to research, I’d end up disappearing into an alcove with Dante to fool around; every time I had a one on one training session with Aidan, we’d spend half the time fooling around; and while Fenix at least had enough restraint not to dry hump me in front of the entire class of fledglings, it didn’t stop me from getting completely distracted by the way he was always looking at me—that indifferent expression was long gone, his blazing gaze sending tingles across my skin every time it landed on me. And of course, as soon as class was over we’d end up somewhere private, fooling around.
“Sera! That’s like the fourth time I’ve gotten under your guard today!” Ember cried, throwing her arms up in exasperation.
I cringed, rubbing at the spot on my chest where she’d just hit me. “Sorry. I got distracted.”
“Yeah, no shit.” Her eyes slid across the room to Fenix, making it clear she knew what—who—had been the source of my distraction.
She let out a soft sigh and stepped toward me, lowering her voice. “Listen, Sera, you should probably know—people are talking.”
“About what?” I asked, although I was pretty sure I already knew.
She arched an eyebrow at my lame response. “I know you guys haven’t exactly been flaunting this thing, but you haven’t been entirely discrete either. This isn’t the Sea Court—we don’t share partners here…it’s just not something that happens—so when three princes are all hooking up with the same girl, a halfling no less, it’s going to raise some eyebrows, to put it mildly.”
I bit my lip nervously. “Do you think it’s wrong?”
She let out a huff of laughter. “Hell no! If three hot princes wanted to bang me there’s no way I’d say no!”
“We’re not banging,” I said with a roll of my eyes. “It’s not like that. I mean, yeah, the physical stuff is great, but it’s more than that…”
Ember’s eyes widened, her mouth dropping open in surprise. “Shit—you’ve fallen for them, haven’t you?”
“I-I don’t know…”
“Yes, you do. Sera—” she grabbed my arm and pulled me closer to her—“you know there’s no future with them, right? This can’t be anything more than just a bit of fun. They’re princes—one will probably be the next king…”
“Yeah, I know, I know.”
*
Ember had been right about people starting to talk; it seemed word had begun to ripple around the Court, my relationship with three of the princes becoming one of those not-so-secret secrets. None of us had actually openly admitted to anything, but the guys didn’t exactly hide their affection for me and they made no attempt to deny the rumors. I knew what people thought about me—the kinds of things they must have been saying—but honestly, I’d heard worse, and the fact that none of the salamanders really liked me all that much to begin with made me less inclined to take their judgement to heart.
I did worry about the guys, though. They were princes, and if Ember was right in her thinking, Fenix and Aidan both had a shot at becoming the next King; I didn’t want to jeopardize that. If I was smart I would have just ended things there; I’d no longer be an issue for the guys and I could go back to focusing solely on my training and the Testing that was now only a
few weeks away. But, of course, I wasn’t so smart.
I sat soaking one of the private hot springs, mulling everything over and attempting to clear my head, when I head the tread of footsteps approaching from behind me. Swinging my head back, I found Fenix striding toward me. Unlike the last time he’d visited me here, I was actually happy to see him and offered him a warm smile.
“You mind if I join you?”
My eyes lit up. “Sure!” Did that sound too eager? Oh well…
I tried not to seem too disappointed when he didn’t actually strip down and join me in the pool. Instead he removed his boots and rolled up the legs of his pants, positioning himself behind me with his legs dangling in the water on either side of me.
He placed his hands on my shoulders and began kneading at the muscles. And oh my god….
“This okay?”
“Yesss.”
He let out a soft chuckle and continued the massage. “You’re really tense.”
“Yeah, well, the Testing’s only weeks away and I so don’t feel prepared for it—not to mention the fact everyone hates me.”
“Everyone does not hate you.”
I turned my head back so I could arch an eyebrow at him. “Okay, fine—everyone except, like, five people hate me. I know what they’re saying about me—they think I’m some half-human slut that somehow beguiled three princes.”
“Well, that last part is definitely true,” he said, bending his head down to place a kiss against my jaw. “You are very beguiling.”
I rolled my eyes. “Fenix…”
“Don’t listen to what anyone says, Sera—the people here can be a little…narrow-minded.”
I snorted. “That’s an understatement. But I don’t really get what the problem is—it’s not like—”
He leaned down to kiss me again, and suddenly it wasn’t enough; I needed to be closer. I stood, so I was waist-deep in the water, and turned to face Fenix. He looked at me for a long moment, the heat in his gaze electrifying my body; and then he was reaching for me, his hands sliding over my wet skin, his mouth crashing down against mine.
Paranormal Academy Page 82