Shadowborn Academy: Year Two (Dark Fae Academy Series Book 2)
Page 15
I flinch at the booming noise across the room.
“I guess you’re right.” The man leans back, his shadow blinking in the light. “But she isn’t just any girl, and I suspect she will survive this treatment. Won’t you, Izora? I will be disappointed if you die on me. I’ve researched your bloodline long enough that I am certain you should survive this and become something incredible. Are you ready to be reborn, little one?”
Reborn? Die? Bloodline? My head swims with the words.
“What are you going to do to me?” I choke out, a tinge of fear crawling up my throat, threatening to strangle me. I summon my dark magic, the magic I’ve trained for years to learn to control, but nothing happens.
True panic kicks in, snatching the air from my lungs, and the fear tightens its grip. I let out a strangled scream and continue to thrash despite my inability to move. A hand presses down hard on my chest, pinning me to the table, while another yanks my head to the side to expose my neck. A sharp needle pricks my nape. I snap my gaze up, delving into a pair of gleaming green eyes. Those eyes are all I remember once the pain takes over.
My bones break and shatter, my heart clenches, my lungs clamp together, and my veins pulse with an agony that is like nothing I have ever felt before. It’s like every little part of my body is being ripped open and shredded apart. I scream until my throat gives way, and then I silently beg for death. I beg for my parents to save me. I beg for Selena, the Goddess of the Moon, to spare me.
But no one comes, and the pain doesn’t stop.
My heart thrums in my ears like a train racing off the tracks, louder and faster, about to explode under all of the pressure. And then power like I’ve never known surges into my body, filling me with warmth. A blinding white light shines around me, and a smile touches my lips as all the bindings holding me down disintegrate into dust.
I sit up, looking around at the six males in the room, each of them wearing lab coats.
The one who was leaning over me steps back, his eyes glazed with tears of joy.
“You’re a light fae,” he says, seizing his colleague’s arm. “It worked. It finally worked!”
The pain I felt before is now gone, replaced by a growing strength that heals every torn vessel in my body. I feel like I’m trapped in a dream as I slowly turn my head to see the most breathtaking white wings fluttering behind me. Their beauty is almost otherworldly, and they feel so utterly natural and painless attached to me. It’s like they’ve always been there. Always been a part of my being, rooted in my soul.
Entranced by their beauty, I reach out to touch them. The snowy feathers are like silk between my fingers. So beautiful. But why… why did they do this to me?
I don’t notice Green Eyes approaching me. It’s not until he places a hand on my shoulder and everything in the room turns nuclear white. The walls crack and tumble and the floor caves into the earth. Dust invades my senses, and the sharp copper tang of blood infiltrates the air, but not once do I feel any pain or sense the blood is my own. It’s like the whole world is crumbling at my feet. And yet, I can see the moon, so beautiful, so close, nestled in the inky-black sky. Only then do I let myself fall, praying that the goddess herself will catch me.
Get here
(as mentioned in the book)
Zorya Kingdom
THRONE OF LUNA
Capital City: LUNA
Ruler: Queen Narah
DEADLANDS
Inhabits: Cimmerians, Draugers, Deserters, Bandits
THE BLACK HARBOUR
THE WISHING WELL
SKULL CAVE
aka Howling Hollow Cave, Statue of Aeon
THE GORGON LAKE
FAERIE POOLS
DEVIL’S DROP
SHADOWBORN ACADEMY
SHADOWBORN PRISON
DRACONIA
Capital City: Emeria
Ruler: King Cyrus, Naraah’s brother
Queen Valessia
ZORYA INN
Helios Kingdom
THRONE OF HELIOS
Capital City: VASILI
Ruler: King Ulric
Princess Evangelina
LAKE LUMEN
HELIOS ACADEMY
AURORA BAY
PEGASUS TAVERN
FAERIE POOLS
KYLLAROS
Ruler: Chiron
Prince Elias
STUDENTS
Corvina Charles
Sage Millhouse
Zander Sabhain, Shadow Warden
Jonah Vincent
Jane Vincent
Ronan Fairweather, former
Izora Dawn
Willow Greene, Head Girl
Trolen
Kitty
WARDENS
Zander, Shadow Warden
Theodore Sabhain, High Warden
Mrs Sabhain, High Warden
TEACHERS
Lady Ivywood, Current Headmistress, Magical Defence, History of Magics, Light Fae
Maximus Greyhorn, Former Headmaster, Magical Defence, Dark Fae
Professor Aengus Lochlan, Basic Magic Control, Kelpie
Professor Stonehart, Illusions of Magic, Gargoyle (molten)
Professor Mune, Former History of Magics
Professor David Gale, Tryouts Mentor, Fox Shifter
Gage Michaels, Therapist
OTHERS
Mirrian, Corvina’s mortal mother, deceased
Joseph, Corvina’s mortal father, deceased
Ambrose
Rook, Crowe, Wren—ravens
Sir Leonidas, Headmaster of Helios Academy
Zaxier, Zander’s biological father, former High General of Draconia
Master Gia, royal dressmaker
ROYALS
King Ulcric, Light Fae King of Helios
Princess Evangelina (Eva), Light Fae Princess of Helios
Queen Narah, Dark Fae Queen of Zorya
Alastair Pitch, Dark Fae Prince of Zorya
King Cyrus, Draconian
Queen Valessia, Draconian
Prince Drusus, Draconian
Princess Kaida (Kai), Draconian
GODS & GODDESSES
Selena, Goddess of the Moon, Persephone
Danica, Goddess of the Sun, Aphrodite
Hades, God of Darkness
Ares, God of War
Aeon, God of Life
Eris, Goddess of Chaos and Discord
Grand Wardens—royal advisors, supreme judges, head of the High Table, the most powerful of all the wardens
High Wardens—members of the High Table that govern certain fractions of the forest and human world (like mayors)
Shadow Wardens—law enforcers, highly trained and skilled, powerful
Junior Wardens—still powerful, will advance up to a Shadow Warden
Keepers—protectors of Shadowborns and magic users, never really advance
(how the Enchanted Forest came to be)
In the beginning…
Aphrodite and Persephone decided to create a magical forest for all manners of creatures. They appeared in their natural form, unearthly beautiful and fae-like, and brought with them their favourite stars—the Morning Star and the Evening Star. They each placed them in the sky, and one became the sun and the other the moon.
Aphrodite became known as Danica, Goddess of the Sun, and she created the Throne of Helios where she would reign over her part of the forest.
Persephone became Selena, Goddess of the Moon, and she created the Throne of Luna, again where she would rule her half of the forest. To their kingdoms, they became known as the Zorya Sisters.
As the Almighty Goddess of the Moon, Selena, walked through the forest at twilight, admiring her many creations, she came across a shard of glass gleaming on the forest floor. She used this to create the Fountain of Mene which allowed her to see whatever her heart most desired, and to guide her down whichever path she sought in darkness. Selena often used it to see her husband Hades and their children.
The Dark God, Hades, used this fountain
to send her a cloak of darkness on their anniversary, which Selena wove it into a blanket of stars that became known as the night sky. Now the moon had stars, and Selena told her people to use them as guides and sources of light within the darkness, for neither of them should be feared since they cannot exist without the other; just like how Selena’s kingdom cannot exist without Danica’s.
Many decades later, a strange presence crept into the forest. Eris, Persphone’s half-sister, had grown envious of this Selena and Danica and she planned to spoil their New World.
First, she unleashed monsters into the forest.
Darkness.
The creatures of dark spread like wildfire, breeding chaos everywhere and anywhere they could. Danica tried to chase them back whence they came, but Selena pitied and grew to love them. Some even became her loyal servants. While she became occupied with her new settlers, Eris sent Danica the Golden Apple of Discord, a feigned gift from Ares, which poisoned her.
Hearing of her sister’s illness, Selena rushed to her side. Nothing could be done to save Danica. Eris watched from the shadows as Danica’s light faded and her sun waned. But then Selena ripped out her own heart and pressed it into Danica’s chest. This allowed Danica to live, but Selena faded and died in Danica’s arms before she joined the stars in the sky, and because of her sacrifice, she became one with the Evening Star and the Moon.
When Hades learned of what happened, his anger shook the realms. He used the fountain as a portal and managed to kill Eris, but without his wife to bring out the good in him, Hades’ grief drove him to insanity. He partnered up with Ambrose, the God of Life, and they waged war on the kingdoms. Hades killed Eris, but now that Danica had her powers and her sisters, she was able to severely injure him so much that he had to retreat back to the underworld and was stripped of his ability to return.
Peace settled among the forest for a time, and Danica gave the Throne of Luna to Ares, who was quick to succumb to the allure of darkness and he became the first Dark Fae—Queen Narah’s four-times great-grandfather.
G. Bailey is a USA Today bestselling author of books that are filled with everything from dragons to pirates. Plus, fantasy worlds and breath-taking adventures. Oh, and some swoon-worthy men that no girl could forget. G. Bailey is from the very rainy U.K. where she lives with her husband, two children and three cheeky dogs. And, of course, the characters in her head that never really leave her, even as she writes them down for the world to read!
About me?
I love tea. (Maybe a little obsessed but what Brit isn’t?)
Chocolate and Harry Potter marathons are my jam.
I own way too many notebooks and random pens.
Please feel free say hello on here or head over to Facebook to join G. Bailey’s group, Bailey’s Pack! (Where you can find exclusive teasers, random giveaways and sneak peeks of new books on the way!)
Scarlett Snow comes from a big family in a small Scottish town and has always strived to prove that if you are passionate about something, no one can stop you from chasing your dreams. She lives with her wolf dog and kitties and is unashamedly addicted to coffee.
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