Princes of Paradise: An Academy RH Bully Romance (M.A.G.E. (Magical Academy of Gods and Elementals) Series Book 1)

Home > Other > Princes of Paradise: An Academy RH Bully Romance (M.A.G.E. (Magical Academy of Gods and Elementals) Series Book 1) > Page 13
Princes of Paradise: An Academy RH Bully Romance (M.A.G.E. (Magical Academy of Gods and Elementals) Series Book 1) Page 13

by Kailin Gow


  you’re certain. I can’t risk…no, I can’t face losing you in the

  flames, too. Not you, Mac. I’ll choose another before I put

  you through the test, if I have to…”

  Chance pulled away, and I felt a sudden chill. I felt

  we had finally broke through our wall, but now it seems there

  was another.

  167

  KAILIN GOW

  Chapter 15

  I spent that night in a haze of confusion, trying to

  make sense of all that had happened. I had seen a book – a

  stone. I was told that I could be a goddess. I had heard of

  truthsayers and seers, of Olympus and Hades, of all these

  words I knew only from my history textbook, words that had

  no real meanings before today. For once I was relieved to

  find the familiar post-it on the door telling me that my

  mother would be otherwise engaged for the evening;

  apparently, the Cutter Imperial was having a wedding or a

  reception at least every other night. I didn't mind. I needed

  the time to process what was going on, to try and screw my

  head back on.

  On the one hand, everything that I had heard and seen

  today was incredible. If somebody – my mother, my friend,

  anyone – had come up to me and told me half of what I had

  168

  Princes of Paradise (M.A.G.E. #1 )

  experienced in the past couple of days, I would have called

  them crazy. Was I crazy? I had hallucinated the fire, perhaps

  – and if I had hallucinated that, then what was to say I hadn't

  imagined the stone and the book, imagined flying through

  space.

  But another part of me felt that each new question

  that burned in my brain was also an answer – answers to

  questions that had dogged me my whole life without my

  even knowing it. Why was it that I felt such a strong

  connection to certain stones – why did they glow in my

  hand? Why was it that I had felt so attracted to the flames at

  the luau the other night? Why had we moved here – out of

  all the islands in the world? What if there was some force

  calling us here, calling me and my mother to this mysterious

  place, summoning me to fill the role of Vesta?

  No, that was unbelievable, I told myself. I wasn't a

  goddess at all. I was just a normal girl.

  And yet something in me, buried as deep as the

  memories of a dream, told me that all that I had seen and

  experienced today was real. That it was, in a sense, more real

  than any part of the life I had lived before now – as if all else

  169

  KAILIN GOW

  was a dream, and this – this was the reality.

  I couldn't concentrate. I had walked up and down the

  length of our cottage too many times – and I certainly wasn't

  going to be able to get any homework done in this state. And

  so I decided to clear my head and take a walk along the beach

  – perhaps the calm lapping of the waves would give me some

  answers. Perhaps the book would have some answers. I

  stared at the tome mournfully as I placed it into my tote bag

  – I couldn't bring myself to open it just yet. Touching the

  book would confirm to me that I really was crazy, that I

  really did believe all this talk about magic and Olympus.

  I decided to compromise with myself. I'd take the

  walk first, and then I'd read the book on the beach. By then,

  I thought, I'd be able to approach the text more calmly.

  The sun was just starting to set as I approached the

  beach. To my surprise, although the torches had been lit, few

  guests were swimming. Perhaps the whole hotel had been

  booked out for the wedding reception, I thought. But as I

  walked a little further down the coast, I heard a scream

  coming from the water. I whirled around to see a splash in

  the distance – a woman was crying out for help, the waves

  170

  Princes of Paradise (M.A.G.E. #1 )

  closing repeatedly over her head.

  “Hello?” I called out. “Help! Someone needs help! Is

  there a lifeguard around?” But there was no answer. I sighed,

  placing my tote bag down on the shore. There was no help

  for it; I'd have to go in myself.

  I had been a strong swimmer at my old school –

  although from what I gathered I had nothing on Haven – but

  as I coursed through the water I was shocked by how rough

  the sea had gotten. The placid beach had become a roaring

  ocean in a matter of moments.

  “Hello!” I called out, paddling furiously towards the

  place where I had last seen the woman. But she was nowhere

  to be found. I kicked my legs repeatedly, trying to keep my

  head above water, scanning the horizon for some sign of an

  arm, a hand, a body...but the water was flat and dark. And

  then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a sight that made my

  heart stop.

  An enormous tail poking out of the water.

  I gasped and tried to escape towards shore, but it was

  too late. Something – something – had sunk its teeth into my

  leg. I screamed with the pain, my mouth filling with water

  171

  KAILIN GOW

  as the creature pulled me under. I struggled, trying to pull my

  leg from the creature's grasp. I opened my eyes underwater,

  trying to fight the creature off. What I saw astounded me. It

  wasn't a shark at all, as I had thought, but a large scaly

  creature, with what almost looked like a human torso and

  face, shrouded by long, matted hair. And long rows of sharp

  yellow teeth, like a barracudas, snapping at me.

  The creature snapped again, catching the sneakers I

  still wore in its teeth. Before it realized that what it had

  caught wasn't my flesh, I wriggled as fast as I could out of

  the shoe, paddling to shore. The mermaid let out a high,

  unearthly wail that seemed to shake the waters; I swam

  faster, my heart pounding with terror.

  But just as the shore seemed to be in sight, something

  else took hold of me. At first I thought the mermaid had

  returned, but as I looked down I saw not scales but tentacles

  – eight legs, lined with small suckers, wrapping around me,

  pulling me into the depths.

  “No!” I cried, but it was too late. The octopus was

  dragging me into the water. I kicked and fought back, but it

  was no use. My mind was going black from lack of oxygen;

  172

  Princes of Paradise (M.A.G.E. #1 )

  my lungs seemed to burst against my ribcage.

  The mermaid I was able to fight off – but this creature

  was too strong. As my mind grew hazy, my lungs screaming

  for air, I felt myself begin to fall unconscious. Yet as the

  blackness took hold of my mind, I seemed to see a man's

  shadow swim towards us...

  I gasped. Suddenly I was above water again; the dark

  night sky over us. I was in his arms – a man's arms –

  swimming towards shore, beating the foam with our fists.

  The adrenaline swept over me, and everything once more

  began to grow dark...

  I woke up to his lips upon mine, breathing air into<
br />
  my drenched lungs. The agony was gone now, replaced by

  an ache in my chest. I could feel a hand stroking my hair,

  another hand pushing down on my chest, expelling the water

  from my lungs. His mouth giving me strength, giving me

  oxygen. Giving me life.

  I sat up slowly, shaking the water out of my ears.

  Suddenly, the figure that had saved me took on a familiar

  shape. I could recognize those broad shoulders, those tight

  abs, that long golden hair anywhere.

  173

  KAILIN GOW

  “Varun...” I whispered. “Varun, you saved my life!”

  I coughed as more water made its way out of my lungs.

  “You were almost a goner there, Mac.” Varun held

  me close. “Thank goodness I managed to come when I did –

  or you would have been done for.”

  “There's someone else in the water!” I cried. “There

  was this woman drowning, screaming for help – I went in to

  save her, but there was nobody...”

  “Hush,” Varun put a finger to my lips. “That was no

  human in the water. That was a siren. She was trying to pull

  you in, to lure you....”

  “A siren?” I let myself fall back onto the sand. “Now

  you've got to be kidding me. This is getting all too weird.”

  “Then I'm pretty sure you're not going to like what I

  tell you next.”

  “Shoot.” I covered my face with my hands. “Nothing

  can shock me next.”

  “That creature that bit you?”

  “Yep?”

  “Mermaid.”

  I let out an audible groan. “I'm growing crazy,” I

  174

  Princes of Paradise (M.A.G.E. #1 )

  sighed. “Like actually, certifiably crazy. You, me, Chance –

  we've all collectively experienced some sort of weird audio-

  visual hallucinatory experience...”

  “If it makes you feel better, the octopus was just an

  octopus. But it was probably controlled by whomever sent

  the mermaid.”

  “Great, I feel so much better.”

  “Look, I know it's a lot to take in at first,” said Varun,

  looking at me with his enormous blue eyes. “It's hard to

  come to terms with the existence of this sort of thing. Magic

  can take a lot of getting used to.”

  “Today could not be any weirder,” I admitted to him.

  “Between the flying and the fighting and the gods and a

  stone turning into a book, I think I must be accidentally

  ingesting magic mushrooms in my sleep. I mean – do you

  really believe all this...”

  Varun looked concerned as he cut me short. “Hold on

  a second, Mac,” he said quickly. “A book – you saw a stone

  turning into a book?”

  “What – after sirens and mermaids, you think that's

  the weirdest thing that's happened to me all day? I didn't just

  175

  KAILIN GOW

  see it, I touched it!”

  “You touched the Book of Vesta?” He sat up straight,

  evidently concerned. “Do you still have it?”

  I went over to my bag. “Of course I still have it,” I

  said. “I put it right here...” A few hours ago I hadn't been

  ready to let myself read the Book of Vesta. Reading the book

  would mean that I believed – and believing would make it

  real. But now, after the mermaids and the sirens, I knew it

  was real, and that the Book of Vesta was the only chance I

  had to figure out what was going on. Before it was too late.

  I slipped my fingers into the bag. This was it, I

  thought – I was officially insane. I'd gone over to the dark

  side. I believed.

  But there was only one problem.

  I looked up at Varun in horror.

  The book was gone.

  176

  Princes of Paradise (M.A.G.E. #1 )

  Chapter 16

  The next day at school was torture for me. I tried my

  best to look like I was concentrating, pretending to scribble

  notes on the lectures, and thinking up awkward excuses for

  why my homework was shoddily done. But I had bigger

  things on my mind right now. Varun had walked me home to

  keep me safe, but was as confused as I was about the

  disappearance of the book. “Somebody could have stolen it

  while you were at sea,” he said. “Or it could have turned into

  another form – a grain of sand or a pebble – sometimes books

  like those sense threats and transform in order to hide against

  potential danger.” But we were both nervous. How could

  anyone have stolen the book if only Vesta could touch it?

  Chance had mentioned that Vesta’s lineage, her

  handmaidens or servants can touch it at times, didn’t he?

  Maybe one of Vesta’s lineage was here. Or if the book

  vanished, did that mean I wasn't Vesta at all?

  I did badly in each of my classes today, but somehow

  177

  KAILIN GOW

  my teachers didn't seem to mind. Odd, I thought – in such a

  seemingly competitive school, I expected teachers to be far

  stricter about things like missed assignments; even back in

  my old public school, I would have gotten detention for

  failing to turn in homework. But my teachers were

  surprisingly laid-back, choosing to ignore my failure to

  finish my homework.

  That afternoon I had to attend the tryouts for the

  swim team, and although I wanted nothing less than to spend

  another hour in school, I needed to distract myself from my

  worries about Chance and Varun and the whole Olympus

  thing. I figured that swimming pools were far less likely to

  be peopled by mermaids and sirens than the oceans were.

  To my continued surprise, Haven remained as

  friendly as she had been since learning that I was a strong

  swimmer. Evidently, she was willing to put aside her natural

  suspicion of me as long as it looked like I could help her win

  her way to Nationals. As Haven explained the audition

  procedure to me and the other hopeful swimmers, she tossed

  her long blonde hair back over her shoulder and looked us

  up and down with effortless grace. I wasn't sure if I liked

  178

  Princes of Paradise (M.A.G.E. #1 )

  Haven yet, I decided, but I certainly admired her; she was

  strong and self-confident, evidently comfortable with

  leading her team. I wanted to impress her – to convince her

  that I was just as worthy of swimming in the big, Olympic-

  sized pool as Cassie and Leia, the two most talented

  members of Haven's coterie.

  I was nowhere near as good a swimmer as Haven, of

  course, but I managed to perform the fastest breaststroke of

  all the auditionees, and came second in both backstroke and

  butterfly.

  “Not bad,” Haven said with a smile when I came out

  of the water.

  “Except when compared to you and the others...” I

  shook the water out of my hair.

  “You'll catch up,” said Haven. “Don't worry – I know

  talent when I see it. And if you're willing to commit to daily

  practice, I'm pretty sure that we can make an amphibian of

  you yet; isn
't that right, Cassie?”

  “Mhm,” Cassie nodded vigorously.

  “I'll do my best,” I promised. “However good that'll

  be.” If I wasn't distracted by books or getting killed by

  179

  KAILIN GOW

  mermaids, that was.

  “Listen,” said Haven. “How about we save you a seat

  at lunch? We've got an extra space at our table, and we'd just

  love it if you ate with us tomorrow. Right, Cassie?”

  Cassie's job seemed to be to nod at whatever Haven

  said.

  “Really?” I was shocked at Haven's sudden change

  in behavior. “I wouldn't be intruding!”

  “Not at all,” Haven said. “We love having new blood

  – we always sit in the back center table – the square one with

  a rickety leg. Come find us, okay?”

  Somehow I'd managed to thaw Haven's suspicions of

  me. But how? She'd seemed to dislike me on first meeting

  me, and other than revealing my penchant for swimming, I

  wasn't sure how I'd managed to change that impression.

  As I went back to the locker room, I overheard Cassie

  and Leia talking in hushed tones.

  “I know, it's scary.”

  “Especially from the back – with her hair wet.

  Spitting image.”

  “I thought we'd seen a ghost.”

  180

  Princes of Paradise (M.A.G.E. #1 )

  “And Haven! She must have been devastated when

  first meeting her. Imagine – this girl shows up looking just

  like your dead best friend. I'd have been freaked out too, if

  that was me.”

  I remembered what Brandon had said about me –

  about my similarity to Jana – and colored. Were the girls

  talking about me? I felt a strange, sick feeling in my stomach.

 

‹ Prev