Deadly Declaration (Shadow Veil Academy Book 2)

by Heather Renee

  “The sky is red.” Sure enough, it lit up again, so I tossed it back at Enzo, afraid of touching him for a second time.

  “For you to really understand, I have to go back to the beginning, and it’s going to take a while. We’ll probably miss our next class.”

  “Let’s just get this over with. I’ll have the headmaster explain to the professor if necessary.” I had no doubt Alistair would vouch for me, given the circumstances.

  If this was going to take a while, I didn’t want to pace for the entire time, so I took a seat on the very edge of the bench, hoping Enzo would get the point that I didn’t want him too close to me. Thankfully, he did and sat on the opposite side but twisted his body so his legs were mere inches away from me.

  “My grandfather was one of the creators of Elora. He lived a long life, doing good for his people in hopes of our world surviving for many generations to come. When my father replaced him on the original council, it was he who proposed the Doyens be created. He didn’t believe our world was enough, and he thought with more power players, our kind could take over Earth.”

  I snorted. Men like his father disgusted me. Never satisfied, even if they had everything they could have ever dreamed of.

  “Before the Doyens were created, my father had already married my mother. They’d been trying to conceive, but she’d lost several children through miscarriage. Malina had been created and grew close to my father. I don’t know their exact relationship, but a deal was struck between them.

  “She spelled my mother to carry a baby to full term, a protective spell to prevent another miscarriage, in exchange for my father’s servitude. If he failed to uphold his side, Malina threatened to take me. My mother had no idea until the day I was born. Sure enough, my father had thought he could play the sorceress, so she wanted the child she had helped create.”

  Holy shit, Enzo was supposed to be me, or at least that was how he was making it sound. I wanted to ask all of the questions, but I could tell it was hard on him, so I let him continue while nodding my head and listening intently.

  “My mother fought back and was killed in the process. I’m not sure how the rest of it worked out, but my father ended up raising me until he died a few years ago. Then, Malina sent someone to fetch me, so I could do her bidding. They explained how my father’s debt was now mine, and she would let me out of the contract if I did her one favor.”

  “Bring me to her,” I said, now understanding that Enzo hadn’t just found me in Portland last year. He had been looking for me, and the scavenger attack had given him the perfect opening.

  “Yes,” was all he replied.

  “Did you send that scavenger to attack me, so you could play the role of my hero?” I asked, needing to know or else I would always have too many “what ifs”.

  His only answer was a short nod as he looked away from me.

  “How many times did you try to approach me before that little stunt?” My voice was thick with rage.

  “Three. All three times, you rejected my request by either punching me, screaming at the top of your lungs, or, last time, you attempted to stab me in your kitchen.”

  “Why don’t I remember these things?” I remembered feeling like I had seen him before when I first met him, but had long forgotten about it. I was pretty sure I knew the answer now, and I wasn’t going to be happy about it.

  “Because I made you forget, but every time I did, you grew stronger, which was why I couldn’t convince you to go with me and you broke through my spell to remove your pain.”

  My fist swung out for the second time that day and connected with Enzo’s jaw. He held his chin, wincing at the power I put behind the punch.

  “I hate you, and I don’t want to be involved in whatever you’ve gotten yourself into. If you ever truly cared about me, you’ll respect my decision and leave me the hell alone. For good.”

  “You can hate me all you want, Raegan, but it only gives me hope. You can’t have hate without love, and I will fight for you for as long as it takes.”

  Turning away, I moved back through the trees, unable to speak any more words as I fought the burning sensation in my throat. I hated him even more, because he was right, and I had no clue what I was going to do about it.

  Chapter 4

  There was no way I could have gone back to class after that interaction. My mind was racing, and I was pretty sure my heart was going to rip from my chest. It seemed like a good idea to no longer have one, other than the not living part. The organ had been nothing but a betrayer lately with its feelings.

  My heart still cared, and I didn’t want it to. Not one damn bit.

  Enzo hurt me in all the worst ways. He had taken my memories, brought me to the monster that was Malina, and kept secrets from me when I needed the information most.

  I might have been able to forgive him had he confessed months ago, but to hear it from Malina that he wasn’t who I thought… it had crushed me. Then, to know there was more made my skin itch with scales I’d managed to keep at bay.

  With all of that, it made no sense why my body physically hurt as I stormed off further and further away from the canopy of the trees.

  I SHOULDN’T CARE! I screamed inside my head as I fought ridiculous tears that showed themselves whenever I was severely pissed off.

  As I plowed my way into the school, I realized it was the last place I wanted to be and turned right back around. I needed to fly, and I needed to be free, even if it was just for the afternoon.

  Racing toward the forest, I realized I should have gone back to change first, but I didn’t care. I had other shirts. When I was within the privacy of the trees, it took no effort to call upon my dragon. As wings unfolded from my shoulders, I heard the tear of my shirt. Though, I tried to be easy, so the back of it stayed somewhat intact.

  Once the shift was complete—well, as complete as I was capable of—I pushed off the soft dirt ground and flapped my wings until I was high enough to catch the wind. We were close enough to the ocean that the sea breeze often found its way over to the school, and I enjoyed the salty taste in the air as I soared.

  That was, until something else caught my attention.

  Couldn’t a girl get some damn alone time?

  Apparently, not. I also wasn’t sure what I was going to do, because the scent I was picking up was the same one that had been trailing me almost all summer. Considering my options, I decided there really were only two: race back to the academy and ask for help or hunt the bastard down who kept following me.

  The latter seemed like more fun and, after my conversation with Enzo, I needed the release.

  Taking my time, I swooped around in a few circles before changing my trajectory. If the wind wasn’t screwing with my senses, my stalker was hanging out closer to the trees and to my left.

  Once I was near the treetops, I hooked a hard right and decided to try to get behind whoever was following me. When I disappeared into the branches, I tucked my wings as close as I could without losing momentum, but none of it mattered when my eyes landed on the thing in front of me.

  The thing was at least eight feet tall and covered in purple scales. But, the thing wasn’t supposed to exist and was more like me than I wanted to admit.

  Indigo eyes stared wide at me as I dropped to the ground, unable to keep my wings moving as shock took over. Stumbling, my back smacked into the rough bark of the tree trunk behind me.

  “Who are you?” I asked, then mentally chastised myself. Animals couldn’t talk, but maybe whoever it was would shift to their human form, so we could.

  “My name is JayLeigh, and I’m here to tell you about your dragon history.”

  Holy shit. Dragons could talk. Okay, one deep breath at a time.

  This was officially the worst first day of school ever—too much all at once—and I was going to lose my mind.

  “I’m sorry. I’m doing this all wrong, aren’t I? I was supposed to befriend you, and then show you I was like you, but you were always on the mo
ve and wouldn’t ever speak to anyone, so I just continued to follow you. I couldn’t go home until I at least made contact.”

  My eyes blinked rapidly. Her mouth only moved a fraction, but the voice projected as if she was a human standing before me. As she settled onto the ground, I took in her black talons and four-inch spikes running from the crown of her head down to her shimmering violet, barbed tail.

  “Oh, I’m sorry. You probably don’t want to talk to a dragon. Just a second.” Her body began to waver and shrink right before my eyes. I blinked once, and the dragon was gone.

  In its place was a badass chick. She had spikey, short blonde hair with vibrant indigo eyes that closely matched her dragon scales, and she was dressed in a black combat suit that formed to her muscular body perfectly.

  “Is this better?” she asked as she took a step toward me.

  “Uh, yeah.” I drew my wings in as I tried to figure out what to say without sounding like an idiot.

  “I really am sorry if I scared you,” she said.

  “No, you didn’t. I actually thought I was going to be kicking some stalker’s ass. So, you could apologize for ruining my fun, but not for scaring me,” I answered. It was the truth, but I said it more so she knew I wasn’t weak.

  “Oh.” Her brows raised. “You like to spar? We still can if you want.”

  This chick was crazy.

  “How about we start with answering some questions. Who sent you to find me, and where did you come from? Everyone thinks the last of the dragons died twenty years ago and I was some freak show when it turned out I had wings like one of them.”

  She glanced around. “Is it safe to talk here?”

  “I think so.” I shrugged.

  “Hold on.” JayLeigh clasped her hands together and murmured something softly before pulling them apart and over her head. A thick cloud rose above her head before forming an opaque dome around the two of us. “Perfect, now there aren’t any doubts if our words are safe.”

  Glancing up, I asked, “What is that?”

  “You’ve never seen one of these?” She gaped. “What are they teaching you at this school? And for four years only? It’s absurd, really. I went to Dragon School for eight years before following it up with Advanced Combat School for an additional two years.”

  “There is another school for people like us?” Maybe I could go there and get as far from Enzo as possible. It could be a win-win for everyone.

  “Well, duh. I mean, mine isn’t on Earth, but it’s close enough.”

  “It’s what now?” I stammered.

  “Oh, you don’t know. Which would make sense. You’re not supposed to know. Nobody is unless they’re a dragon, which you are, so I guess I could tell you.” Words spewed from her mouth at a million miles a minute. It was hard to believe this girl was supposed to be well-versed in advanced combat.

  “How about you start from the beginning?” I suggested, hoping she would continue to tell me things she maybe wasn’t supposed to.

  “I like you, Raegan.” She grinned her pearly whites at me. “The beginning sounds like a good place to start, but I’ve been flying for a while. Mind if we sit?”

  “Not at all, but where are we going to sit?”

  “One second.” She left the dome area and headed for a log that had probably been on the forest floor for years. With what seemed like little effort, she picked up the eight-foot trunk and carried it back into the dome. “There.”

  While she took a seat, I gawked at her, unable to move. I was beginning to understand why someone would send her to reach out to me. She wasn’t at all what she portrayed on the outside. There was definitely more badass in her than I was giving her credit for, considering how much strength it would have taken to move the big-ass log.

  Finally, I took my own seat and turned to her. “So, the beginning.”

  She nodded eagerly. “Yes, let’s start there. Well, at least to the beginning of the end. Years ago, when the first Doyens were made, my grandfather saw the greed in most of them. He was grateful for his abilities and decided he wanted a safe place for dragon shifters. He had taken in the dragon Doyen as if he was another of his children and wanted to protect him. We are a rare bunch, and others often sought our kind out to use and harm.”

  I cringed, wondering what kind of harm had been done by Malina to steal whatever she had needed to make me part dragon.

  “That’s when a sub-realm of Elora was created using strictly dragon magic, not elven. So, when Elora fell, Drakken did not. Though, the dragons were trapped there for some time before they found a way to make another portal to Earth.

  “Once they did, our present clan leader Marek Skye came back to Earth in hopes of finding other Doyens and the council still alive. When he arrived at Shadow Veil, so much time had passed that most of the other originals had either been killed or chose to die. All that was left was Malina and a new council that he knew nothing about. You keeping up so far?”

  “Yep, I knew parts of it already, so I’m piecing it together as you go. I’ll speak up if I have questions.” My mind was absorbing every bit of info she was willing to give.

  “Perfect. Anyway, fast forward a little bit and Malina betrayed Marek somehow. Nobody really knows what happened, and he shut down the portal until recently. I had just graduated from the academy, and he came to me asking a favor. I was top of my class, so it was no surprise that he would want my help, but I couldn’t believe it when he wanted to send me to Earth.”

  Her eyes roamed over my body before she smirked. “But now I know why,” she added.

  “Care to tell me your theory?”

  She shook her head. “That’s not for me to tell. I’m sure Marek will fill you in when you meet him. So, are you ready?”

  My eyes pinched together in confusion. “Ready for what?” I didn’t think we were done talking yet. She didn’t tell me much that I didn’t already know.

  She huffed as if it was obvious. “To go to Drakken.”

  My first instinct was to say “no way in hell,” but as I took an extra minute to process it all, maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea. I didn’t belong at Shadow Veil Academy. I was different from all of the other students. More importantly, I would be as far from Enzo as possible.

  However, there were good reasons for my first instinct. I was still very much human at heart. I had Gemma and Jules, who I had already abandoned for the entire summer. Could I leave them at Malina’s mercy if she came back looking for me and I wasn’t anywhere to be found on Earth?

  No, I couldn’t. No matter what JayLeigh was offering, I had responsibilities to deal with before I even considered it.

  “I’m sorry, but I can’t leave.”

  “What do you mean?” Her voice lowered, and I knew she hadn’t been expecting me to reject her offer.

  “There are people here who need me, and Malina is still out there. She’s going to come back for me, and when she does, I won’t let the people I love pay the price for my leaving.”

  She laughed. Actually full-on belly laughed, and I had to wait a solid minute before she was able to contain herself.

  “Malina? You’re worried about her? Don’t be. We have protectors all around the academy. It’s how we kept an eye on you last year, but when you left, Marek got nervous, and that also prompted his choice in sending me to find you.”

  “What do you mean by protectors?” I asked.

  “The gargoyles. Do they not teach anything at this school?” She rolled her eyes.

  “Nothing about dragons, because nobody thinks it’s relevant,” I snapped back.

  “Hmm. That would make sense. Well, anyway. Yes, the gargoyles are there to help keep people at the school safe. They can’t really fight. I mean, they are only statues, but they still have enough magic fused into them to zap someone out of existence when another life is in danger. Unless the people you care about are completely useless, you shouldn’t have anything to worry about. So, let’s go.”

  She reached a hand for my wr
ist, but I smacked it away. “Listen, JayLeigh. I appreciate you coming here to fill me in on the little bit of history you did, but I’m not going.”

  Her silver eyes turned to slits. “Why?” she practically growled as her dragon peeked through.

  “Because I make my own damn choices, and you can’t force me.” I mentally punched myself in the face. I sounded like a child. Why was this chick bringing out the worst in me all of a sudden?

  “Your dragon is fighting for dominance. Can you feel it? You’d know more about that if you’d just come with me.”

  She was pushing my damn buttons.

  “If you seriously want me to consider this, then I need to speak with the headmaster and my aunt. You can’t just show up and expect me to drop everything to leave for some place I’ve never heard of.”

  She grunted. “Well, actually, I can. You did it once before when you came here with Enzo.”

  My heart constricted as I remembered how easy it was for me to trust him and leave for Shadow Veil Academy. “Yeah, and if you know so much, then you also know how that worked out for me.”

  “Touché.” She stood up. “Well, let’s go talk to whoever it is you need to consult with first.”

  As I straightened, she removed the dome around us and put the tree trunk back where it had been with ease. She moved with precision and confidence, traits one could only acquire from years of training.

  “How old are you?” I asked randomly when we started walking back toward the academy.

  “Twenty-two. What about you?”

  “I’ll be nineteen next month. So, you started training at age twelve? Seems a little young.”

  She laughed. “Well, it’s not like we start out killing people. Damn, girl. Try to give the dragons the benefit of the doubt before you judge too quickly. I know this is all new to you, but we didn’t stay hidden all these years because we’re bad people. It’s the exact opposite, if you ask me.”

  She was right. I didn’t really know anything about them. So, I focused on what I did know about myself and from what she had already told me.