Darkblood Academy: Book One: Half-Blood (A Supernatural Academy Series)

by G. K. DeRosa

  Spinning me out once again, I landed back in Ash’s embrace. My head felt like it was on the tilt-a-whirl. I leaned into the big dragon to keep my knees from buckling. Over his shoulder, Raine and Drake danced, their bodies pressed so close together I couldn’t tell where one began and the other ended. I placed my hand on Ash’s chest to steady myself as a wave of nausea crashed over me.

  “You okay, Luna?”

  I cupped my head, hoping to keep it from spinning right off. “Um, yeah. I just need to sit down for a second.”

  “You want me to come with you?”

  I shook my head. Bad idea. Sprinting across the dance floor, I frantically searched for the nearest bathroom. Oh please don’t let me puke in front of everyone, oh please!

  Barreling through the dark oak doors of the common area, the music began to die down. If the Fae floor was anything like ours, the bathrooms should be at the end of the hall. The familiar golden plaque above a door made me squeal with delight. I rushed in and headed straight for the toilet. Sliding to the cold tile floor, I positioned my head over the ceramic bowl.

  But I was fine.

  The urge to puke vanished entirely, replaced by a warm giddiness. Hmm… well that was weird. Pushing myself off the floor and splashing a little cold water on my face, I stared at my reflection in the mirror. I looked good—damned good. My makeup was still perfectly intact, and my long golden locks fell in silky waves over my bare shoulders.

  A flier pinned up to the mirror caught my eye—it was a reminder that Ryder’s combat class was moved an hour back tomorrow morning. The demon bad boy’s face filled my vision, and warmth spread from my core. My heart beat wildly in my chest. I needed to see him. Like right now.

  I rushed out of the bathroom and darted down the hall to the stairs. A part of my mind was screaming that this was a terrible idea, but the hazy drunk part told it to shut up. I just wanted to run my fingers through his dark hair, feel his abs stirring under my touch, trace his tattoos with my fingertips.

  Damn, what was wrong with me?

  I shoved the logical thoughts aside as I made my way toward the faculty’s living quarters. Their building was attached to the student dormitories through an enclosed walkway much like the gym was. Finally reaching the second level, I hurried across the corridor, my heartbeats thumping in time with the slap of my heeled-boots on the hardwood floors.

  I swung the door to the walkway open, and the hair on the back of my neck rose. I froze as a wave of goose bumps prickled my skin. At the opposite end of the corridor, something moved in the shadows.

  “Hello? Who’s there?”

  A dark blob peeled its way out of the darkness and coalesced into a shapeless black mass. Glowing red eyes honed in on me, and the smoke monster surged forward.

  Aw, hell no! My heart leapt into my throat, ice crystallizing across my veins, but my limbs failed to cooperate. I tried to turn and run, but my body refused to obey. Squeezing my eyes shut, I rubbed them desperately. This must be a hallucination, a side effect from that crazy Fae wine. There’s no way a figment of my imagination was about to kill me.

  The creature’s crimson-eyed gaze consumed me; no matter what I tried, I couldn’t break free from its hold. All the defensive spells I’d learned dribbled out of my mind like a leaky tire.

  “Get out while you can, Luna. You shouldn’t be here.” A raspy voice hissed the words, but the monster’s lips never moved. Heck, it didn’t even have a mouth. I stood paralyzed, backed against the wall as tendrils of smoke reached for me. Icy fingers pierced my chest, and my lungs constricted as the dark cloud rolled over me.

  My lids grew heavy, every limb in my body suddenly weighing a ton. I wanted to scream, but even my vocal chords were paralyzed. The dense black thickened around me until I could no longer breathe. My knees buckled, and the darkness consumed me.

  Chapter 17

  “Luna. Luna, wake up!”

  A warm hand cupped my cheek, the familiar voice melting the ice and heating the blood in my veins. I fought the thick black cloud holding me down, and my eyes snapped open.

  Piercing dark irises hovered over me, full lips pulled into an irresistible pout. My arms moved of their own accord, wrapping themselves around the neck belonging to the face that starred in most of my dreams.

  I pressed my lips against his. They were soft and warm and tasted like the sweetest candy. When I didn’t meet any resistance, I knew it had to be a dream or another faery wine hallucination—a damned good one.

  Ryder’s mouth moved over mine with an urgency that rivaled my own. I pulled him closer so his firm chest rested against mine as my tongue explored his delicious full lips. His hand curled behind my neck, drawing our mouths closer so that his heady scent consumed me.

  Holy best dream ever!

  A growl reverberated in his throat, and he lurched back, his eyes wild. Bright yellow consumed his irises.

  Reality smacked into me like a two-by-four. It wasn’t a dream. I’d kissed Ryder, and he’d kissed me back. Warmth surged through my chest as unbridled giddiness threatened to burst free from its skeletal confines.

  “Luna, we can’t.” He raked his hand through his hair, pacing like a mad man in front of my bed.

  Somehow, I was back in my room. I tried to focus on the comforter curled between my fingers instead of his words and the dark expression on his face.

  “I never should’ve done that. That was a huge mistake.”

  I sat up, pulling my knees into my chest. Ouch.

  His black gaze was fixed on me, the depth of emotions swirling inside too muddled up to read. His lips said one thing, but his eyes divulged another story.

  I chewed on my lower lip as he regarded me—with terror or maybe something else? It was hidden too deep to decipher. “Why was it such a mistake?” I finally muttered, the tremble in my voice betraying the hardened shell I was going for.

  “You know the rules…”

  I stood, reaching for him, but he took a step back. Hot tears pricked at my eyelids. “But you kissed me back.”

  “I shouldn’t have. I really, really shouldn’t have. You’ve been drinking and—” He began pacing like a caged lion once again. The muscles in his arms quivered as he swung them back and forth.

  “Then why did you?” I knew I felt something. Whatever this thing between us was, it wasn’t only one sided. After months of denying it, I couldn’t anymore.

  He raked a hand through his wild locks, tugging at the ends. “Christ, Luna, for a horrible moment, I thought you were dead. I found you on the floor—you were so cold. I-I thought I’d lost you.”

  “So you do care about me?” I hated how pathetic I sounded.

  “Of course I care about you.” He paused and bit back whatever else he was going to say. “I’m supposed to be protecting you. I promised Kimmie-Jayne…”

  My eyes widened as cold certainty slapped me in the face. All the pieces of the puzzle slid into place, and I sucked in a breath. “You’re still in love with her—with my half-sister.” I wrapped my arms tight around myself, hoping to keep the fragments from crumbling. That’s why he’d kissed me back. That’s why he’d been so flirty from the start. “Do I remind you of her or something?” I choked out.

  He didn’t respond, but he didn’t need to. The answer was written across his face. He was still in love with her, and I was nothing more than the consolation prize—the conveniently forbidden student he couldn’t have.

  “That’s not—”

  “Please leave.”

  His lips pulled down, his expression darkening. “You shouldn’t be alone right now. Not after what happened with that thing...”

  I shot him my best glare, all the happiness from a second ago morphing into billowing rage. “I said leave! I can’t look at you, and I really don’t want to be anywhere near you right now.” I slumped down on the bed as my temples began to throb. “I’d rather take my chances with the smoke monster,” I mumbled under my breath.

  His dark brows furrowed,
the vibrant yellow in his eyes vanishing. “Fine. I’ll leave you for now, but we need to talk about what happened tomorrow—with that demon, I mean. And I’ll be right outside your door if you need me. I’m not leaving you, no matter what you say.”

  “I won’t need you,” I growled. I turned my back to him and curled into a ball before the door slammed behind him. As soon as it did, the waterfall of tears came.

  How could I have been so stupid? How could I have thought he actually liked me? Just because he flirted with me a little didn’t mean anything. He was a flirt!

  My chest heaved as sobs poured out onto the pillow. I’d been so consumed with Ryder’s kiss I hadn’t even had a second to process what happened with that demon. A chill skittered up my back. I could’ve died.

  And yet somehow, Ryder’s rejection stung a thousand times more.

  The click of the doorknob sent my heart into overdrive, and I yanked the comforter up over my head. “I said I wanted to be alone!”

  Light footsteps drifted over the plush carpeting, much too dainty to belong to Ryder. “It’s me, Cinder.” She rushed over to the side of my bed and sank down beside me. “Are you okay? I looked everywhere for you at the party and when I found Ryder outside our room, I freaked. Did you see him? He doesn’t look so good. Anyway, he told me what happened, and I can’t believe you were attacked.”

  I drew the covers back and sat up. When my friend’s eyes landed on mine, her lips turned into a pout. I must’ve looked like total crapola. “Was that all he told you?”

  “All? You were attacked by a relix demon on campus, Luna. That’s pretty huge.”

  I swept away the dark mascara, which I could practically feel ringing my eyes like a deranged raccoon and tucked my hair behind my ears. I didn’t want her looking at me with those pitiful doe eyes anymore.

  She reached her hand out, stroking my arm. “Did something else happen?”

  I snagged my lower lip between my teeth as I considered telling her about the kiss. I didn’t want to relive the embarrassment, but another part of me needed to tell someone to make it real. Otherwise it could’ve just been a terrible, incredible dream.

  “Luna, you can tell me anything.” Her warm golden eyes were like honey. I’d really lucked out on my roommate. “Did something happen with Drake?”

  I shook my head and huffed. “Ryder. I…um… sort of kissed him.”

  “What?” she cried.

  I slapped my hand over her mouth and eyed the door where he presumably still stood guard. “Shh!”

  A huge smile split her lips as I removed my palm. “How did that happen?”

  “The demon knocked me out or something, and the next thing I knew, I woke up here in our room. Ryder was hovering over me, and I was still pretty out of it. FYI, never drink the faery wine.” I rubbed my temples, which pounded with the intensity of a runaway freight train. “Or maybe it was the weird thing the demon did to me. Anyway, I really thought I was dreaming, especially when he kissed me back.”

  “He what?” she whisper-hissed.

  A grin pulled at my lips, but I suppressed it reminding myself what a jerk he’d been about it afterward. “But then he said it was a big mistake and blah, blah, blah.”

  Cinder reached out and patted my shoulder. “I’m sorry, Luna. I know you liked him, but even if he did have feelings for you, he couldn’t act on them. He’d be fired.”

  “Yeah, well I don’t think that’s the problem anyway.” She quirked a dark brow as I considered telling her my suspicions. “I’m pretty sure he’s still in love with Kimmie-Jayne.”

  She shook her head, her lips puckering. “That doesn’t make any sense. It’s been over a year since Hitched aired; there’s no way he’d still be pining over her. Plus I’ve seen him with other women—” She cut herself off when I scowled. “And anyway, Kimmie-Jayne’s married to Fenix. There’s no hope for them. Ever. Did he actually say that he still loved her?”

  “No, but he didn’t have to. I could just tell.”

  Cinder wrapped her slender arms around me and pulled me into a hug, patting my back. “I’m sorry, Luna. I really am. But maybe it’s for the best. You and Ryder could never really be together—not while he’s a teacher and you’re a student, regardless of how either of you felt.”

  “I know,” I huffed into her shoulder.

  She released me and sat back, a worried mom-look still in her eyes. “You should probably get some rest. You’ve had a rough night. We’ll talk more in the morning.”

  I nodded and settled back down under the covers. “Thanks, Cinder. You’re the best roommate I ever could’ve wished for.”

  “I know.” She winked and headed for the bathroom.

  “How was the rest of the party by the way?”

  Stopping midstride, she turned back with a huge smile lighting up her heart-shaped face. “It was good, really good. You were right, some of The Seven guys aren’t that bad.”

  “Are we talking about a certain dark-haired nephilim?”

  “Maybe… He disappeared right after I lost you along with Drake and the others. But it was fun until then.” With a shrug, she twirled around and disappeared into the bathroom.

  As I snuggled under the soft comforter, I was happy for my friend. At least someone’s love life was heading in the right direction. I was closer to getting attacked by another demon or poisoned by a vicious tree than having a real relationship.

  Chapter 18

  Of course Ryder’s class had to be the first one of the day the next morning. And of course, I practically tripped over him when I stepped out of my room still half asleep.

  “You’re still here?” I hissed as I steadied myself against the opposite wall.

  “I told you I would be, didn’t I?” For once, I wasn’t the only one that looked like crapola. I didn’t even think it was possible for the gorgeous demon. Dark circles rimmed his eyes and his button-down shirt was all crumpled from spending the night on the floor.

  A tiny twinge of happiness swirled in my heart that he’d stayed, but I shoved it down, reminding myself he wanted nothing to do with me. And he was most likely in love with my gorgeous half-sister.

  His eyes raked over me, and I resisted the urge to squirm beneath his intense stare. “Did you shower today?” he finally asked, breaking the awkward silence.

  My jaw dropped. What kind of a question was that? “Of course I did, but it’s really none of your business.”

  A smirk tugged at his lips as he shook his head. “Sorry, that came out wrong. Did you notice anything unusual when you changed? Um, when you were undressed?” His cheeks reddened. And I had been sure that nothing made the demon bad boy blush.

  “Not that I noticed,” I choked out. “Why?”

  He glanced at his watch. “Walk with me. We need to talk.”

  “I don’t think so.” Talking with him was the last thing I wanted to do.

  “I’m not asking, Luna.” I opened my mouth to object further, but there was something about the hollow look in his eye that stopped me.

  I stomped behind him as he led the way back toward the faculty quarters. My body stiffened as we neared the walkway where I’d been attacked. He held the door open, and I froze.

  “Don’t worry. Security already made a sweep of the campus. The demon’s gone.” He reached for my shoulder, but I recoiled, hitting the wall and shot him a good glare. “Luna…”

  I threw my hand up, shaking my head. “No.” I wasn’t getting into this again. Not when I’d finally quit crying. “So what did you want to talk about?”

  He released a breath and led me through the walkway, sticking close beside me. “Relix demons—the kind that attacked you—serve a very particular purpose. They’re lower level demons that usually work for someone higher up the food chain. They’re typically sent out to mark their prey.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “I wanted to tell you last night, but—”

  I threw my hand up again cutting him off. “I remember; I was there. S
o what does that mean?”

  We stopped in front of a door with his name stamped across a golden nameplate. “It means that if he succeeded, any demon will be able to sniff you out because of the mark.”

  “Great. So it’s like some sort of supernatural homing device?”

  He nodded as he ushered me inside his room. “That’s why I’d asked if you’d noticed anything. It’s a rather distinctive mark, but sometimes it doesn’t show up right away.”

  I tugged at the collar of my uniform blouse and peeked down my shirt. Nope, nothing unusual. “You’re a demon, so shouldn’t you be able to tell if I’ve been marked?”

  “Technically, I’m only half demon, but yes, I still should be able to sense it.”

  He eyed my blouse again, and I crossed my arms over my chest, his penetrating gaze sending unwelcome heated ripples over my skin. “So maybe it didn’t work?”

  I glanced around the room, the fact that I was standing inside Ryder’s bedroom only now clicking. It looked a lot like ours with dark mahogany wood and fancy embellishments. Only instead of two double beds, a huge king-sized one took up the majority of the chamber. A decent-sized sofa sat across from a fireplace, and a small kitchenette in the corner rounded out the cozy space.

  “Maybe,” he said before disappearing into what I assumed was his bathroom. My mind couldn’t help but wander to naughty thoughts—Ryder undressing just a few feet away from me. His swirling tattoos inked over his rippling abs, his broad chest and shoulders rubbing against his trademark tight tees.

  I clenched my teeth as heat swam up my neck. Stop it!

  A second later, he reappeared wearing a new shirt and jeans. His hair was slicked back, and he was back to his normal hot self. Even the five o’clock shadow darkening his jaw only magnified his bad boy good looks.

  Ugh. I hated him.

  “So what do I do if this mysterious mark shows up?”

  He looked up from tying his shoes. “Tell me immediately.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Standing, he slowly sauntered over. My heart rate doubled at his proximity, and all the saliva evaporated from my mouth. “Luna, this is serious.” He tipped my chin up, forcing my eyes to his. “What happened last night, we can’t let it come between us, okay?”