“I thought it couldn’t be done!” Ava’s purple hair blurred around her as she turned her head so rapidly from side to side. “Tarun, how?”
“Matilda helped me find a solution,” he answered, crossing over to her.
“I am deeply grateful to Tarun and his team.” Geraldine patted Tarun’s hand. “I may not have made it out if they hadn’t—”
Her husband cut in with that booming baritone Ava was so used to. “He did what I was afraid to do. I’d heard about an ancient spell used to restore lost shifters. But it was risky. There was no testing on hydra dragons or any mythical for that matter. I was told she could lose every chance of returning if I did the ritual wrong. I was a coward, my love.” He stared up at her lovingly.
“It wasn’t your fault, Dear, you tried all you could, and you never gave up on us.”
“Sir, I thought Levine—”
“Oh yes, she did. I had to return to collect my research. Possibly my wife. I never expected to see her again.”
Madame Waters cleared her throat and spoke again. “I may not be able to shift ever again, but you kids have returned what I treasure most.”
“You can’t shift?” Ava scrunched her brows.
“It doesn’t seem so. The ritual removed all that was magical in me—that was the pact. Can’t have it both ways.” Her emerald eyes were still dancing.
Ava searched the woman’s face; there wasn’t an iota of fear or regret in them. She just stood, caressing her husband’s shoulders.
“I’m so glad you’re safe, Madame—”
“Geraldine, please.”
“Geraldine. I’ve been searching for ways we could return you to us. I’m so happy I don’t know what to even do!”
“Thank him for me.” Geraldine glanced at Tarun who stood with his fingers hooked in his pockets.
Tarun left the wall and came to her. “We should let them pack, Ava.”
“Okay, it was a pleasure to meet you, Geraldine. And Sir, the tournament is nothing without you.”
Sir Waters folded his lips into a solemn line and nodded.
Together, Tarun and Ava left the dust-ridden office.
“So?” Tarun asked the second the door was shut, “were you surprised?”
“Tarun, I’m way more than surprised, I’m shocked. How could you embark on such a risky mission without telling me?”
“Babe, it was a surprise. And I didn’t want to get your hopes up. I knew what it meant to you. I wasn’t about to ruin it.” He touched the bottom of her chin with his fingertips. “Besides, you did pretty much the exact same thing to me last year. Now you know how it feels.”
She felt the fight go out of her and sagged against him. “Sometimes, I forget how brave you are, the things you’re capable of.”
His arms squeezed her tighter, closer. “I’m sorry, Ava, for punishing you with my distance—my moodiness.”
“I thought we were over this? It wasn’t your fault.”
He tilted her head up, held her captive in his gold-flecked eyes. “I love you, Ava.”
“I love you, too and—” She was shushed into silence.
“From now on, no matter how hard it is, we tell the truth, we don’t keep secrets.”
She smirked. “Well, yeah, that’s easy for me!”
“Okay, well, I promise then.” He leaned down and captured her lips in his. Savoring the burst of flavors on his tongue, letting her body meld into his, Ava could feel him healing.
Azar, watching from the end of the hallway, grinned. Blushing furiously when they fell into each other’s arms. Satisfied with her results, she slunk away. They would never know where the ash came from, and it was better that way.
“Do you ever intend to tell your friends?” Matilda had asked her.
“No, they deserve this victory for all they’ve done,” she’d replied, and she meant every word.
The boys no longer followed her from class to class, and they rarely cat-called now or made stupid gross remarks about her body. It was reduced to notes stuffed in her locker.
Ava and Tarun had done a lot for her. This was her little way of paying them back.
Azar stopped walking—what was she doing exactly? They were trying to be friends with her, and all she did was rebuff them. She was here alone, and no one survived like that.
Maybe she should finally give them a chance.
A week and a half into their training, the students’ techniques began to change. Ava collapsed on the grass to let her muscles unknot. On the field before her, the junior league rounded off their obstacle training and were gearing to go again.
The timidity was gone. Further down, the senior league caused fire to rise into the blazing sky—they traded real swords and occasionally a howl of victory.
Water animals weren’t left out; the sea roiled violently as sharks and dolphins splashed. Bills was covered in seaweed—not that he cared. He was running along the shore with the shifters, spurring them on.
“I swear, I don’t wanna see another troll in my life, ever,” Azar grumbled beside Ava.
She—Azar—was still a mystery to Ava, deciding to leave her cage for once.
“What? I can’t wait to go back. In fact, stand up. Downtime is over.”
Azar jostled her good-naturedly. “You are such a sports nerd.”
“I want to make it clear that I don’t know her when she’s barreling through the field.” Winta declared, breathing heavily as she blinked past the burn of sweat in her eyes.
“Aww, you guys. All these compliments…”
“Comp—what? I’m just happy we’re on the same side. You’re a Class-A bitch as an opponent,” JiSoo griped.
“Hey!” Ava protested.
“Now that was a compliment,” Azar said, grinning.
Then she bounded to her sneakered feet. “C’mon, Tortellini’s giving us the evil eye.”
“I don’t care. I really don’t. I just want my bed,” Winta groaned.
“C’mon, girls. The competition is just six days away—we need to be ready.”
“Uh oh, she’s about to give us the lecture.”
“Don’t worry, I’m on my feet already,” JiSoo pleaded, eyes glinting.
Ava was temporarily distracted when Tarun finished his course and celebrated by pulling off his shirt and twirling it high above his head.
“My boyfriend is soooo sexy. I wonder what our wedding will be like…” Azar cooed in Ava’s ear.
“Haha, very funny.” Ava half-smiled. “You know, I preferred it when you didn’t talk to anyone.”
Azar set her palm over her thinly clad chest. “Ouch.”
It went on and on, that day and the next: hardcore training. Yet Ava felt like something was missing. The shifters were trying their best no doubt. Unfortunately, their best wasn’t enough for the tournament.
“Ava, is everything in place?” Tarun asked from a step ladder. He swung another light into a nail and reached for another in his tool belt. His muscles rippled as he pounded the nail in.
“Um, uh…no…I mean, yeah,” she stuttered. She’d been lost, staring at his glistening skin, the taut backside that was directly in front of her. How did anyone expect her to arrange tables with that kind of distraction?
Tarun smiled knowingly—he made an extra show of hanging a light, puffing out his chest. “I didn’t get that… Did you assign everyone their seats yet?”
Ava snapped out of her stupor and glanced down at the name tag in her hand. “Not all, but I’m almost finished.”
The hall was beginning to take shape. Round tables to seat four shifters at a time—Elaine had made it that each seat had a shifter from a different school, that way they could mix better. White tablecloths imprinted with red roses in the center. Lilac centerpieces, walls gleaming with the school’s colors.
Yes, it was coming together very nicely indeed.
“I have ten more names left and I’ll be through.” She was coherent enough now that she wasn’t looking directly at him. T
hat irked Tarun so a light ‘mistakenly’ slipped out of his hand and shattered.
“Tarun! Can you be a bit more careful?” Elaine scolded from the stage where she was arranging more lilacs. “Lord knows I’ve vacuumed a million times.”
Satisfied that Ava was once again entranced by his body, he continued his simple chore. He wasn’t even sorry. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ava wet her lower lip.
The next blue light slipped off his palm, his hands having gone clammy, and his breath quickened. A corner of that treacherous lip turned up as she bent to place a name tag on a table, ten feet away from him.
He narrowed his eyes; she’d caught on to his not-so-subtle game and beat him at it. That sly little cat, he thought with admiration.
“I swear to God, Tarun, one more glass…” Elaine yelled, jolting him back to the present.
Right, the lights, he told his errant heart and tightening jeans.
The sun had gone to a deep sleep when the decorating team was finally through and Elaine was satisfied with the outcome. The hall was like a dream; every detail finely inspected, thoroughly torn apart and built up again.
Never again would Ava make the mistake of calling Elaine a ditz. Just watching the girl flounce busily about the room made her head ache. She was in every line, every painting, every light—even the flowers received their fair share of yelling. Ava was sure the lilacs were wilted because Elaine had to have them directly under a perfect ceiling square.
“All right, shifters! We’re done for today. Tomorrow better be perfect. Welcome committee?”
“Yes.”
“Here.”
Right then, Elaine was like a commandant. Literally. Her blonde hair was piled into a camouflage barrette.
“Be in uniform two hours before four. That’s two. Jill, stop licking your fingers, that’s disgusting.”
Jill whimpered. Yup, Elaine was still a bitch.
“Be at the dock, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. You are the first impression of our school. You better not screw it up! Each group will lead one school to the dorms. I know we’ve been over this. But remember, the centennials are a celebration the school allows us to control. I want the best out of everything, down to the napkins. Make sure they do not run out of drinks or finger foods.”
“Is it too late to escape?” Ava whispered.
“No, does my lady desire our secret place?”
“Tarun? Get your mind out of your pants.”
“Hey, my pants have all the fun.”
“Ugh!” She rolled her eyes, but she was smiling.
“But seriously, if we survive tomorrow, the tournaments themselves will be nothing.”
18
Lazy sun rays dragged the last vestiges of sleep from Ava’s drowsy eyes. She squeezed her eyes shut and dragged the blanket over her face, groaning deeply.
She dearly wished this wasn’t kickoff day for the centennials. On the other hand, she thought, snapping her eyes open, there would be cute guys all over, especially the big, muscular ones from Kronos and Fire-Breather Academy… She was going to have a great time watching Tarun glower throughout the event.
She threw the blanket down and ran over to the opposite bed where JiSoo snored peacefully.
“Wake up! WAKE UP!” she squealed, bouncing up and down on her bed.
“I’m gonna murder someone before sunrise,” JiSoo grumbled, pushing her off.
Ava landed with a plop on her rug.
“Your cheerfulness is annoying.”
“Do you hear that music? Today is the DAY!”
“I’m confused, how are you suddenly so excited about this? We stayed up talking about how miserable we are with our pathetic team.”
“Yes, but now I get to show off my skills. Now get up, we’ve got a major makeover and only…ten hours to spare.” Ava bounced to the floor and zipped into the bathroom.
“Hey, hey, relax… We have our clothes set out. We just have makeup and hair left,” JiSoo yelled to her.
Ava’s laughter flowed over the bathwater she ran. Someone knocked on the door before JiSoo could even touch her feet to the floor.
“That’s probably Winta,” Ava called through the bathroom door. “She’s been a buzzkill lately, right? I mean, after kicking the poor guy away, you would think she would’ve had the decency to treat us right.”
“Ahem.”
“She’s right there, isn’t she?”
“I didn’t know you felt that way about me, Ava,” Winta called through the bathroom keyhole. She looked like she’d thrown the first shirt she could find on and hadn’t bothered to put a comb through her hair. Or wash out drool lines. She tended to let herself in when the girls forgot to lock the door.
The water stopped running, and a contrite Ava peeked out the door. “I’m sorry you had to find out this way, but I’ve thought the whole time that what you did to James was crappy—you left him hanging when he needed you most.” Water dripped from her hair into a puddle on the floor. “What kind of a person does that? And I’m only saying this as a friend.”
Winta’s shoulders quivered. “And I’m the friend who’s freaking out because her ex-boyfriend is coming and she hasn’t woken from the nightmare.”
“Omigod, what are we supposed to do with you?” Ava wrapped her arms around her, softening at the sight of the tears streaming down her friend’s face.
JiSoo led both of them to her bed.
“I don’t know what I’m gonna do. James will be here and I haven’t talked to him since he left.”
“Well, first of all…we have to do something about the drool streaks on your face.…”
Beyond the girl’s room, as Elaine did a last-minute sweep-through—yelling, shouting, and sometimes crashing a big bowl of spaghetti on an unsuspecting cook—Azar slipped out with the rest of the welcoming committee. A byproduct of sweet-talking herself into joining Ava’s team. Now, she was forced into red stilettos (she was about to topple over at the beach—elegantly) and a black-gemmed, knee-length gown that fanned out at the waist. Her jet-black hair had been brushed until every strand was glossy and straight.
Azar twirled in front of a glass window and stopped, stunned, at the image she saw there. Ava was right about the gown and shoes. It was part of the welcoming committee uniform, and for once she welcomed the stares that followed her all the way down to the reception hall.
Elaine had left no stones unturned there, as well—the counter was scrubbed thoroughly, and Azar could catch a reflection of herself on the black wood. The leather chairs where students reclined had been polished to a shiny gleaming red.
And the lights—Tarun had strung them out at the reception, leading outside. Everywhere she looked, people stood in groups, talking, laughing. Some of the girls took several bathroom breaks just to retouch their makeup.
She smacked her lips to align her red lip gloss because that was all she had allowed Ava to put on her face. Then she joined the rest of the committee and waited.
Azar took in a breath, taking in cloudless skies, a flock of shifter birds soared above the carefully trimmed lawn. Flowers were hand-picked and whipped into bouquets.
From the looks of things, the centennials were off to a great start. Or, they would be, that is, if the guests had any idea what it meant to be on time.
She checked—they'd been standing there for almost an hour, a feat she didn't think a group of anxious teens was capable of.
Behind her, the band was setting up, under Levine’s watch. The headmistress sauntered around the school, answering to Elaine, cooks, the band, ushers—everyone wanted a piece of her. Everywhere there was a need to fill. Azar filled her lungs with air and concentrated on the sea where the guests were supposed to come from. The portals had been opened for the occasion. Excluding BSA—they would come through the woods.
Azar heard it before seeing it: a long, trilling horn in the distance, indicating the arrival of a ship. An uncontrolled shout rose from the students as two mighty vessels soared above the de
pths of the sea.
Strung up as sails were two flags—one depicting a fire-breathing dragon, then another with a human morphing into a (hairy) beast. It was too far to see clearly what it was. Throwing all decorum into the ocean, Animage students ran toward the docks.
Unlike her, they had people to greet in there: shifters they had met and mixed with at the Winter Formal.
To Elaine’s eternal horror, all her elaborate plans for them to appear the least bit formal were discarded like yesterday’s garbage—some of her girls stooped to remove their heels and wave them excitedly at the ships.
Elaine growled mutinously, disappearing into the school. Probably safer that way—if she remained at the docks, someone might get their eyes pecked out.
The ships advanced closer, faster.
Azar readjusted her mini ball gown, shifting a bit for the crazy person beside her who insisted on screaming 'Harley!' over and over as though there was a way Harley could hear her over the ship's noise.
A silver anchor dropped into the sea with a deep splash. Students stood on the hulls, waving back at Animage. The first ship had scarcely docked when they began to jump off the hulls and land on the planked docks.
Cheerful music from the band heightened to a crescendo as Animage students hurtled forward to be reunited with old friends and new acquaintances. Azar gladly stood where she was, seeing as there was practically nothing left for her to do.
Ava was right...again. It was easy to see how beautiful the girls were and rakishly handsome the boys turned out to be. And they were all so tan and fit—including their headmistress, Levine’s twin.
Soon, the new arrivals, the Kronos shifters, began to reveal their true selves. The dragons roared, monkeys chattered, the ocean wobbled with new sea creatures delving into its depths.
Another horn tolled behind the first, and Azar, heels in hand, turned to stare avidly as a blood-red ship with a dragon-head mast leaped over the crashing waves. Even the other guests stopped to watch.
Animage Academy: Year Three ~ The Shifter Academy Down Under (The Shifter School Down Under Book 3) Page 12