by Lan Chan
“I take exception to that stereotype. Africa is not one big Lion King set.”
They both turned to glare at me. I threw my arms in the air. “I don’t know! Will your parents have an issue with a talking doll?”
“No, but for sure they’ll think he’s demonic.”
“Ah just let him come.” I held my finger up at him when Basil perked up. “But you be on your best behaviour. If you so much as make an inappropriate comment to someone’s grandmother, you’re going in a box.”
He readily agreed to those terms. It was no surprise that I couldn’t sleep. I found myself on the balcony overlooking the entrance of the Academy with Basil.
“How much do you know about visions?” I asked him.
“How much does anyone know about something so elusive? What’s on your mind?”
“Say I saw something that I think might happen in the future, what are the chances of it coming to pass?”
“Nobody really knows the future. Only an iteration of it. Often we self-fulfil these prophecies by focusing on them.”
Right. So in the future of unknown possibilities, there was an iteration in which Lucifer killed Kai because I defied him. And the solution was not to dwell on it. Kind of hard when I kept seeing it every time I closed my eyes.
“Why do you ask?”
“I saw something while I was in the cavern.”
“You mean that rumour Brigid has been spreading? Ignore it. She’s just trying to stir up trouble.”
I wished that was my only problem.
We had an assembly the next day in which all of the House points for this semester were added up. Thanks to the Council’s suppression order, I wasn’t allowed to be awarded any points for what happened in the cavern. That was okay with me, but I had to really bite my tongue when Fred’s disappearance was explained away as a mental breakdown from exhaustion. Diamond House didn’t get any points taken off for what Fred did either. My only solace was that Bradley was getting chewed out because he’d allowed someone in his House to perform black magic unnoticed. My group didn’t technically finish our exams so we weren’t awarded any points. So Sapphire House pulled into the lead. It was a bittersweet victory for them. Max didn’t even bother rubbing it in. He claimed it was no fun without Kai to annoy. Basil lost the money he’d bet on Obsidian House winning. Sophie didn’t know whether she should be happy her House was in the lead or annoyed that Basil had lost her money.
A day later, Sophie and I trudged to the portals with the rest of the students who would be returning to their homes for the three-week break in between semesters. I was bent over checking to make sure Basil was secured to the side pocket of my backpack when a hush fell on the waiting crowd.
A shadow came to a stop in front of me. My heart kicked in my chest. Even the outline of Kai’s shadow made my pulse thud dangerously.
“I’m going to make sure they have the right coordinates,” Sophie said. She yanked Basil out of the pocket and left us alone. The one time I didn’t want privacy and she was being all considerate!
I uncurled from my crouch and stuffed my hands into the pockets of my jeans. My gaze roamed over him greedily. The scar on his left eyebrow had made a few friends. I was already in lust with the mark just above the crease on his top lip.
There was a slight limp to his gait. His eye twitched as he moved his torso. It had to have hurt like crazy. Yet he smiled at me. I heard Lucifer’s voice in my head.
In that moment, I made a decision.
Kai wouldn’t die because of me.
“Skipping town, Blue?”
“Any excuse to get away from this place. Shouldn’t you be in Seraphina? You look like you’re about to keel over.”
I tried to subtly back away. He moved with me, his brow jerking at my assessment of his physical condition.
“I’m not spending my break lying around a hospital room.” He glanced at my packed bags. “You’re going with Sophie?”
I played with the hem of my shirt. “Yeah. Her parents invited me to their coven.”
“Her family live amongst shifters, don’t they?”
I nodded. How did he know that?
“Okay.” It sounded like he was agreeing to let me go.
I tried to bite my tongue to keep the remark from slipping past. “I didn’t ask for your permission.” Right, so this was happening.
His hands fisted. And here we were again. Right back where we started. I should have had more faith in my ability to piss him off.
Kai stepped towards me. I sensed the stares of the people around us boring into my back.
“Do you think after that stunt that I’m going to let you out of my sight?” he said. Oh right, like it was my fault!
“Do you think this is the Middle Ages?” I snapped. “I can go anywhere I want!” As much as his statement rubbed me up the wrong way, it was perfect. He’d just handed me the excuse I needed to keep the distance between us. Flattening my hands against his heated chest, I shoved hard. It would have been a pretty impressive feat if he hadn’t threaded his arms around my waist.
His head dipped. The light stubble on his chin grazed my cheek. It sent shivers cascading down my spine. A week ago I would have been silently shrieking that Malachi freaking Pendragon was going to kiss me. Today, I shrank back, my mind filled with images of his unseeing eyes.
He stopped moving. His arms still caged me but his muscles tensed. “I don’t think this is a good idea.” Sophie was going to knock me out later.
“Is this about what Isla said?” His tone turned gruff. Now he was just holding me in the middle of the portal field.
“It’s about a lot of things. We can barely be in a room together without bickering.”
“Talking is overrated.”
His lips brushed against my cheek. My stomach fluttered. He tipped my head up with the rough pads of his fingers. Eyes of deepest green peered down at me. Swimming in their depths was a fire I really wanted to have warm me from the inside. But I’d seen those eyes at their coldest. As the life bled out of them.
If I tried to hold on to him now, I might lose him permanently. This time I put everything I had into my shove. Surprise more than strength had him letting go of me.
“We’re just too different,” I said. “You’re the prince of Bloodline and I’m just a street kid who got lucky.” A quick glance around the field was a testament to that. Half the females looked like they wanted to claw my eyes out.
“I don’t care about any –”
“I know you don’t. You can afford not to care about stuff. I can’t. When I don’t fall in line, I get stabbed. Amongst other things.”
I could tell by the steely glint in his eyes that he wasn’t buying it.
“Lex?” Sophie said. “It’s our turn.”
I would be forever grateful for that save. Even if she didn’t get it, Sophie had my back. Without giving myself a chance to reconsider, I stepped away from him.
“Thanks for everything, Kai. I hope you feel better.”
Pride that I wasn’t crying overrode my embarrassment for being lame. Sophie hooked her arm through mine.
“You okay?”
I pressed my lips together and nodded.
She seemed to understand. Her smile was overly cheerful. “Right, let’s go home then.”
We stepped through the portal.
Pre-order Bloodline Secrecy
Can’t wait to see what Lex and Sophie got up to during their mid-semester break? Want to know if Lex can manage to keep her distance from Kai? Bloodline Secrecy, the second book in the Bloodline Academy series is available for pre-order now.
Did You Enjoy This Book?
This little writing demon is fuelled by reviews. Please help keep me going by leaving one at your favourite retailer. It means the world to me and helps me keep these voices in my head alive.
Newsletter
Want to know when I have a new release? Or get access to freebies that won’t be published anywhere else? Sign up to my n
ewsletter to be kept up to date with releases, news and sales.
Sign up for my newsletter
Connect With Me
If you would like to catch up with my author exploits or join my new release mailing list, please visit me at my website:
www.lanchanauthor.com
[email protected]