by Belle Malory
I studied Hazel, waiting for her to refuse. Her mother made her promise she wouldn’t go there, and I didn’t take her for the disobedient type. “I don’t like this,” she said, chewing on her bottom lip. Her worried gaze steered to me, and she let out a defeated sigh. “But Jett’s right. You can’t go alone. Count me in.”
Jett clasped her hands together excitedly. “A clandestine mission. Teenage rebellion. Folly Promenade—count me in, too. One hundred percent.”
I grinned, grateful for a plan, and way more optimistic than yesterday. I was doing something. Trying. Which sure beat the hell out of sitting around, waiting for the curse to manifest. And the cherry on top—I think I might actually have made friends.
17
After lunch was Seduction Principles, the class I was dreading. It didn’t help that the room itself looked like a lady’s boudoir. Dimly lit chandeliers hung from the ceiling. The seats were plush velvet ottomans. The tables were covered in precious gemstones and magically enhanced oils. And scattered throughout the room were dress forms and mannequins, scantily clad in nighttime garments. I looked around, fidgeting with the charms on my bracelet. After reading The Art of Seduction, I already knew the things we were going to learn, and I wasn’t looking forward to any of it.
Ione claimed the seat next to me, keeping up with her mission to take me under her wing. Everyone assumed she sympathized because her brother was a defector, but they didn’t know she was the one who’d trapped me in the net. She despised me from the start, which meant this whole owing Xander a favor thing was legit. Whatever Ione’s reasons, her methods were working. The gossips were moving on to other students and scandals.
As we waited for class to begin, I swiveled my ottoman toward Ione. “Hey, do you know where I can find Xander? I really need to speak to him.”
It was all I had been thinking about since the lake.
He said he wouldn’t answer any more questions, but I would regret it if I didn’t try again. It was bad enough Dad wouldn’t talk about my mom, and I still wanted to know what Xander meant when he said I looked just like her. Had he seen an old picture? Or did he—I gulped—know firsthand? One way or another, he had to tell me.
“Why?” Ione pulled out a fancy bedazzled notebook and a pink ballpoint pen, setting them both neatly on the table. “What is this thing with you two anyway? Why does he protect you?”
I blinked once. “There is no thing.” Other than the fact that I was embarrassingly attracted to the guy, and he was sort of, kind of, oddly nice to me.
She rolled her eyes. “Whatever.”
“So?” I asked again. “Do you know where I can find him?”
“Next period, he’s on the Ares training fields. But he won’t talk to you there.”
“Why not?”
“Because he’s Ares’s house leader, and you’re a defector. He won’t be seen with you.”
“Seriously?” He didn’t seem like the type to care about what other people thought, especially since he’d been the only one willing to free me from that net. Then again, there hadn’t been anyone else around to witness it.
“Try if you want,” she said with a shrug. “But you’re wasting your time.”
“Then where will he talk to me?”
She swiveled around to face me. “Do you want my advice, fire-blood? Don’t go there, don’t be seen with him—don’t be seen with any Ares descendant. If you want the acceptance of House Aphrodite, you need to fully invest yourself here.”
All valid points, and if this weren’t so important, I would gladly take her advice.
“This class, for instance,” she continued, nodding to our surroundings. “Is one of the cornerstones of the curriculum. This is where you should apply yourself.”
I tried not to groan. “Seduction Principles, really?” I was surprised it was a real class, much less a cornerstone.
Ione’s nose twitched. “It’s the foundation of our magic. You would do well to take it seriously.”
“I don’t get it.” I dug inside my messenger bag for my textbook. “Why do we have to learn this stuff? I mean, maybe if I wanted to be a prostitute…” I stopped as a shadow loomed over the table. It suddenly occurred to me that the room had gone silent. I looked up to find a busty, plump woman with bright red hair staring at me through gold-framed lenses.
Oh god.
Please don’t let this woman be the professor.
“Let me guess. Miss Thorne?” Each syllable dripped with derision.
I winced, wishing I was anyone else. The entire classroom stared at me like I was in for it, and I probably was. I’d just compared her life’s magic to prostitution, and I laid the condescension on pretty thick while doing so. Oh, why couldn’t I have kept my stupid mouth shut?
“Sheridan Thorne?” she said, again.
“Yes, ma’am,” I sighed.
“Ma’am.” She snorted, mocking me. “I’m sure your South-Eastern tutelage taught you that word to show manners, but in this class, I consider it an insult.”
I swallowed. “Sorry.”
“Professor Lilyworth,” she corrected me.
“Sorry, Professor Lilyworth.”
“Now, then. Since you held up the start of the class with your offensive chatter, why don’t you help me demonstrate its importance? Let’s find out if you know anything about seduction.”
I nodded, my face hot with shame. “Sure.”
“The following three questions will be on your final exam. If you answer correctly, I won’t give you detention this weekend.”
Great. I hadn’t even served out the detention from yesterday, and I was already adding another round. Grandpa was going to have my head for supper.
“First question,” she began, her voice sharp. “What item of clothing did Aphrodite use to attract love to her subjects before she began working with Cupid?”
Oh, I knew this one.
“A belt.”
She pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. “You would be wro—” Her jaw dropped slightly. “Actually, that’s correct. I suppose it was an easy question.”
Her red heels clicked against the floor as she slowly paced in front of me. She hadn’t thought I would answer correctly, but I would’ve known without having magically downloaded the entire textbook to my mind last night. My dad, being the mythology nerd that he was, made sure Riley and I knew all the stories about the so-called Olympian gods and goddesses.
But I’d bet my life her next question wouldn’t be so easy.
“What is the most powerful aphrodisiac created by any mage or mortal?” she said, her voice echoing throughout the room.
I paused, remembering the section on aphrodisiacs. There were so many, but the most powerful was an elixir that was said to tempt even the most nonsexual of beings, and it was also the most difficult to brew. “Amaridonna.”
Professor Lilyworth stopped pacing, her nostrils flaring. “What are its ingredients?”
Part of me wondered if I was supposed to answer correctly, but I did so anyway. I didn’t want to risk another detention. “Mettle-twig, rose water, gryndleberry, belladonna, and,” I paused, swallowing, “falcon sperm.”
Her voice rose several octaves. “How did you know that?”
I cleared my throat. “It’s, um, in the textbook.”
She crossed her arms over her chest, jutting one leg out as she studied me. “Most sexual color any man or woman can wear?”
“Red.”
“Why?”
“Because of the association with blood.”
She scowled. “What is the purpose of dannellion?”
“I-I thought there were only three questions,” I said nervously. This was beginning to feel like an inquisition.
Lilyworth flattened her palms against my table, narrowing her gaze on me. “Indulge me, Miss Thorne.”
“Dannellion is a s-stone.” My voice was shaking now. “Its purpose is to heighten the wearer’s natural beauty and increase pheromones.”
&
nbsp; Her entire face tightened, the blood rising in her cheeks. “How could you possibly know that?”
“I told you. I read the book.”
“Very well,” she acceded, walking away from the table. “You’ve avoided detention, Miss Thorne.” She stared back at me for several long seconds. “But I have one last request of you. I’d like you to walk down the aisle with the Grace of Aphrodite.”
My legs trembled. The Grace of Aphrodite was a term used to describe the ability to be seen and cause euphoria to the beholder. It was done by stepping on the balls of your feet, elongating your neck, and straightening your back. While you walked, you had to levitate to appear as if you were floating.
I’d never be able to do it, and if I so much as tried, I’d probably fall flat on my face. “I-I don’t think—”
“You can’t?” Professor Lilyworth supplied for me.
I shook my head.
A smirk pulled at the corners of her mouth. “Not everything can be learned from books, eh?” Her attention darted to Ione. “Will you be a dear, and show her how it’s done?”
Ione nodded and stood. In perfect form, she began to move, and I’m pretty sure her feet didn’t touch the floor. She was a vision of beauty, floating down the aisle like a swan on a lake. Everyone was in awe.
If I could hide under my ottoman, I would gladly have done it.
“Well done, Ione.” Professor Lilyworth glowed with approval. “Now then, class. If any of you feel this subject is beneath you, there’s the door. Otherwise, let’s begin.”
Ione took her seat beside me, giving me a disapproving look. The moment class was over, she started in on me.
“What was that about?” she whispered furiously as we packed up our things. “Here I am, trying to do everything in my power to raise your status, and you’re ripping my good work to shreds.”
“I’m sorry.” I sniffed. “I didn’t think she was listening to our conversation.”
“That’s the problem.” Ione threw the strap of her bag over her arm. “You weren’t thinking. You’ve been in this school for two seconds, and just like a human, you think you understand everything. Next time I give you advice, just take it.”
She sidestepped me, leaving for the door in quick strides.
I sighed, gathering the rest of my things. She was right. I didn’t understand much about magic or this life. Only two days in, and I was already digging my own grave at Arcadia. If I was smart, I’d heed her advice, all of it, including the part about staying away from Xander. Part of me really, really wished I could do that. But the bigger, more desperate, part of me wasn’t ready to give up. Not while this nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach kept me looking back. Until this curse was lifted, I would never feel whole anywhere. It was only a matter of time before its prophecy was carried out, and Xander knew more than he was letting on. I refused to let him get away with it. One way or another, he needed to tell me everything.
I headed to the Ares training field, determined to make him do just that.
The field where the gladiators trained was surrounded by the amphitheater, where visitors came to watch live combat. The raw size of it was enough to keep me staring like a starry-eyed tourist visiting the colosseum for the first time.
Inside the field, things only got more intense. Multiple combatants went at each other with all sorts of weapons. Some I recognized, some I didn’t, and some that looked enchanted. I lit up at the sight of an electrified whip giving off sparks of energy as it cracked it into the air. Another student’s sword appeared to glow a bright blue every time it connected with his opponent’s red one. Looking around, I could feel my eyes growing bigger by the second. I was in awe. I wanted to be out there on that field, instead of stuck in boudoir classrooms learning how to craft stupid love potions.
I eventually spied Xander across the field, fighting another gladiator without weapons. Dressed only in his gladiator’s kilt, he was naked from the waist up. Every lean muscle in his chest and back rippled in the sunlight, and I couldn’t help but drool a little while watching him.
Get it together, I reminded myself. You’re here to get information, that’s all.
I tried to make my way across the field, but two sour-faced gladiators blocked my path.
“No entrance,” said the one on the right.
“House Ares students only,” said the one on the left.
The two of them crossed their muscled arms over their puffed-out chests, looking like bouncers on a power trip.
“I just need a few minutes.”
Neither of them budged. It was clear they weren’t letting me through, no matter what reason I came up with.
I looked over at Xander again, desperate.
His fight had stopped…and he was looking over here. Straight at me! I waved, trying to signal him. Several long seconds passed, he wiped the sweat from his brow, and then turned his back. Completely dismissing me.
That bastard.
Ione was right. He wouldn’t talk to me out here.
Seeing what happened, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum laughed. “Run on back to Aphrodite, defector.”
Dammit, I hated that everyone knew that about me.
Squaring my shoulders, I left the field, swearing once I learned how to brew a decent potion I would make those two meatheads become infatuated with toads. And Xander—I squeezed my fists together, feeling the heat rise in my arms, that untapped energy built on anger and passion brimming just beneath the surface. Xander was lucky I couldn’t tap into my magic because I would’ve directed it all at him in a firebolt of pain.
Small hiccups, I reminded myself, taking a deep breath.
Eventually, I would get it together.
18
Unlike Seduction Principles, the rest of my classes were enjoyable. Flight Equestrianism was held outdoors, just outside of the school’s stables. Hazel was in that class, too, and we both gawked, in awe of the Pegasus descendants. We learned the parts of the winged horse and the types of riding styles and saddles. Eventually, we’d get a chance to ride, but it wouldn’t be until later into the semester.
In Mirror Realm, Zack waited for me in a circular room full of mirrors, his pack of arrows strapped to his back. “Is it just us?” I asked, confused at the isolation.
He nodded, signaling me to whisper. “This place is sacred,” he explained. “The originals built it.”
The room was located in the heart of the school, underneath the library. I had to travel down two flights of stairs to get here, and now, I wasn’t sure what here was…it definitely didn’t look like a typical classroom.
“She’s not ready.” A wrinkled, old man appeared, hunched over in the doorway, leaning his weight against a wooden cane. He eyed me through glasses thicker than the mirrors surrounding us, shaking his head in disapproval.
Zack cleared his throat, nodding to the ancient-looking man. “Sheridan, this is Themus, Master of Gateways.”
“Nice to meet you.” I glanced at Zack. “Gateways?”
“That’s what the mirrors are,” he said. “They’re gateways into another realm.”
“She’s not ready,” Themus said again, sniffing. With that said, he turned around, tapped his cane against one of the mirrors, and then…he walked straight through it!
My skin chilled as the old man had all but disappeared. I saw his reflection, getting smaller and smaller by the second.
“Where’d he go?” I asked Zack.
“Into the mirror realm. It’s an ancient dimension that remains invisible to the human eye.” He gestured toward one of those mirrors, and I could make out a faint reflection of a teenage girl in an apron. She appeared to be working in a café. Her shoe caught the edge of a mat, making her trip, and the coffee pot she held went flying. It shattered across the floor into a thousand pieces. Poor girl looked like she was about to cry. “This will be your first subject.”
I snapped to attention. “Subject?”
“You’re going to make her fall in love.” He p
ointed at a crowded table in the back of the café. “With that guy.”
The guy he pointed out was clean-cut, handsome, and wore a school letter jacket. He sat in the center of the table, clearly popular inside his huge circle of friends. It wasn’t hard to see where this was going.
“So she’s the geeky girl, and he’s the rich jock. This has every teen movie cliché written all over it.”
Zack stared at me.
“We’ll put them in detention together,” I explained. “Get them to spend some one on one time.”
This was cake.
Zack looked skeptical, obviously questioning my judgment. “And how are we going to do that?”
“First, we need to get through there and shoot off one of your lust arrows.”
Zack gestured me forward. “Ladies first.”
It seemed like a trap, especially after that whole you’re not ready bit the old man kept repeating, but I shrugged and figured what the hell. This was about embracing Aphrodite, after all. I stepped forward, and—
Ouch!
My face and body smacked directly into the glass. “Was that supposed to happen?” I whined, my forehead and nose throbbing.
Zack laughed, holding his belly as his cheeks turned rosier. “Themus was right! You’re not ready.”
“What the crap does that mean?”
“The mirror only lets those through who are worthy.”
I frowned, more worried now than ever. “I’m not a true Aphrodite descendant. What if the mirror never lets me through?”
“These mirrors aren’t used solely by Aphrodite students,” Zack said, his chuckles dying down. “All of the descendants use the mirror realm to practice their magic. Don’t worry, you’ll get there. It’s just going to take some time.”
Time…great.
Guess I could add this to my growing list of sucktastic things about this school.
“What do we do until then?”
Zack made his way toward the staircase leading out of here. “Nothing,” he said over his shoulder. “We try again tomorrow.”