InkBorn (InkHaven Academy Book 2)

by Kenna Bardot

  He pulled back from me, cupping my face with his hands. “Marcellus will be here soon so you can train your Air to be more responsive to you. Show that you are most certainly an Air Mage.”

  “Hide in plain sight,” I murmured.

  “I know you hate it, but we have to keep you safe.” I just nodded at that glumly as the door swung open, and Cel and Emerson walked in together, laughing at some joke. In their distraction, I took a moment to study Cel, letting out a long, low sigh at how beautiful he was to look at.

  “Let’s get started?” Cel asked, and I pulled my sword from its holster with a brief nod.

  Cel was putting his spear together, screwing on the two parts to get his long one. With one fluid motion, he swung the spear in my direction and the sudden gust of wind had me stumbling back.

  “Fight the Air, Little One,” he said it calmly even as his cruel weapon kept coming at me in stabby little bursts. Try as I might, I could not block them. I only stumbled back, sometimes ducking to avoid the attack. It was the best I could do.

  Of course, knowing he wasn't off-limits to me any longer, a fact he did not know, only made Cel all the more distracting. He stared at me from where he leaned against the wall in the shadows of the room, arms crossed over his chest and head tilted to the side in thought. "You're holding back," he accused. "Where's your focus today? I can attack you from here. And I’m leaning on the fucking wall. FOCUS."

  Emerson smirked at him, that knowing glint in his eyes. I knew he struggled with the reality that we could drag Cel off to my room and have our wicked way with him and his beautiful, oh-so-mysterious self. The fact, unfortunately, was that we'd decided not to proceed that way. Each of the other guys felt like they happened naturally, so we both wanted that for Cel too.

  I didn't want to have a conversation consisting of, 'Hey, I got permission. Let's fuck.' I may have been a dick collector, but I could still proceed with a modicum of class.

  Tricky, but manageable.

  I just had to keep my hands out of Cel's pants.

  "I don't know." I shrugged, but the more heightened my emotions felt, the more aware I became of the pulsating vibrations my whip made against the skin of my arm. It didn't like to feel neglected, and I'd been so focused on harnessing my sword and my Air, that I'd had very little time for it. Emerson glanced at my whip, as though he could see the buzzing I felt, but turned smirking eyes back to Cel. I knew I wasn't going to appreciate the next step in this conversation.

  "It was a long weekend," Emers said with a wink in my direction. "The guys worked her hard."

  "I am not a packhorse, Gods," I groaned. "Must you really talk about me like I'm not capable of speaking for myself. That was days ago!"

  Emerson just chuckled at me as he approached, running a hand over my side softly. "I'm sure you're still sore, Precious. Cel won't be offended if you admit that the three of us at once was too intense for you."

  Cel pursed those perfect, plump lips and raised his eyebrows as his hazel eyes darkened.

  "Emerson," I groaned. "What are you doing? You want Cel to want to be part of us, don't you?" He grinned at me and nodded. "Telling him that we're Depravity Central might not be the best decision then."

  "You think he wouldn't love to watch you get stuffed full of three dicks? You think he wouldn't love to slide inside that wet pussy with me and let Ronan take your ass?"

  “Zeevar, Emerson,” Gale spoke from his desk, looking up from the stack of parchment he was reading from.

  My eyes widened, and I slapped Emerson’s hand away with a curl of my lip. Cel stepped off from the wall, amusement fading from his face. "I-uh-well," I stuttered, backing up a step.

  "I suggest." He turned, narrowing his eyes at Emerson. "That we get back to the task at hand. Kaia needs to be training, not discussing what I'll do with her once I have consent."

  "I agree with that assessment," I squeaked out, finding the more intense version of my beautiful man even more attractive than his natural state of being.

  Messed up. I was so messed up.

  "Focus, Little One."

  I sighed when his fingers hit the flesh of my left arm, drawing that familiar warmth from me as he drew the Air to the surface. The sword in my left hand glowed with red wisps when the Magic hit my Conduit, tunneling into and surrounding the blade.

  "You're familiar with how to use your whip, but your sword is lacking as a Conduit. It should be just another extension of you. What is it about the whip that you prefer?"

  Gale stood from his previous position at the desk and walked forward, watching our exchange with curious eyes.

  "It's more fluid. Less structured. It's like a dance. When my body moves in this way, I know what the whip's reaction will be," I explained, and he drew his fingers away from my skin. The Air remained, circling me in a whisper of a caress that begged to be used.

  "Imagine it as you would your whip. Visualize the blade as the handle of the whip and let's see what happens," Gale said from the corner of the room. Cel nodded and stepped back, taking Emerson's hand in his as they made their way to the wall to watch next to Gale.

  Gale gave me a nod, and waited for me to take a deep breath and return it. Then he tossed the practice ball into the air, and I struck, curling and flicking my sword out like I might my whip. The red wisps flew toward the ball, slicing it so that it fell to the floor in halves. With a little tug, those red streaks returned to my sword, clinging to the blade once again. "An Air whip. That's interesting," Gale murmured.

  "Why so interesting?"

  "It's one of the more advanced Magics," Cel answered. "They don't teach it until Fifth year, as it requires a level of finesse most younger students don't have yet. And even then, not everyone can do it."

  "But it makes sense that she'd understand it, given how great she is with her own whip," Emerson considered.

  "It does," Gale nodded. "I think we skip the more blunt tactics. You don't have a talent for them, but anything more about movement you strive in. Do it again," he ordered, and not giving me time to react, he tossed two more balls into the air. I struck the first one, but just missed the second.

  "Faster," Cel ordered, and I felt his Air tickling my arm, stoking until it glowed brighter. Cel and Gale both tossed one each, and I curved my arm around and flicked it where necessary to catch both of them. As I called the Air back to me, the vibrations on my right arm increased so hard I gasped, losing feeling from the strength of them.

  I winced, letting the Air curl around my left arm while the sensation in my right tightened in protest. A glance at it showed my whip curling around tighter, digging into the flesh of my arm.

  "Kaia, what-?" Emerson cut off, and the sound of steps reached my ears as he approached.

  "Don't!" Gale protested. "Don't touch it."

  "Send the Air away, Kai," Cel suggested, stepping up to me. It didn't feel like leaving, jumping to lick at my uniform as it made its way to the other arm. Cel cursed, rushing to my side and taking my left arm in his hand. He drew the Air to himself, but it was too little, too late.

  As soon as the first wisp hit the tail of my whip, the vibrations became audible to everyone else, and there was a burst of bright magenta light that forced my eyes to close momentarily. The vibrations stopped, the hum suddenly gone from my skin. I peeked one eye open, glancing to where feeling was returning to my arm as circulation returned. My whip was no longer black, but a deep green mostly only found in nature. Leaves sprouted from it, tickling my skin as they grew to full size over the course of seconds and little curls spread from the main whip.

  Vine.

  My whip was a vine.

  "Well, that's new," Cel murmured helpfully, and I turned a sheepish smile his way.

  "Ronan's going to lose his mind," Emerson added, and I turned my attention back to my arm to drag my fingers over the corded muscle of the vine as it gripped me. Magenta sparks rose up at my touch. When my finger hit the thick end where the handle had once been, the vine lengthened to wra
p around my palm twice and finally taper to curl around my pointer finger.

  "What in the Gods made that happen?"

  "It felt left out." I shrugged, and Gale narrowed his eyes on me.

  "It?"

  "My whip. Earth, I guess. I was paying too much attention to my Air. Using it to replace what my whip could already do."

  "Oh fuck's sake," he groaned. "I would have died, all because it was jealous?"

  "I say we see what it can do." Emerson grinned, my boyish and carefree man. "The damage is done. It's there and not going anywhere. He grabbed one of the balls, tossing it into the air. With barely a flick of my hand, the vine untwisted from my arm and propelled toward the ball. It snapped against it, releasing a spark of reddish-purple. A rose fell to the ground slowly, fluttering in the Air. I stared at it, feeling the familiar tingle of my vine as it wound its way around my arm once more.

  Then I snorted out a laugh that Emerson joined me in.

  The Air whip had been slightly more threatening, what with the threat of dismemberment.

  At least my real whip was pretty, and the purple sparks vibrated like electricity as they coated my skin.

  “That color is pretty unique.” Cel’s look was intent on me.

  I tensed. “What do you mean?"

  "It’s not just purple. Much like your Air isn’t just red. It’s been there all along, and we just haven’t put it together.”

  “So what? They’re mixing?”

  “Of course they’re mixing. It’d be impossible for two magics mixing in one vessel and not have there be some mixing.”

  Wanting to see what it looked like again, I cracked my whip and a cascade of flower petals fluttered to the ground. “Ah, so that’s why it’s more magenta than a pure purple.”

  "What exactly are you going to do with that during the next Trial? Make a garden?" Gale hissed. My whip vibrated in response, and I snapped it to hit the floor in a quick slap. The resulting tremor shook the room, leaving a fissure in Gale's previously immaculate, shiny floors.

  "That’ll do," Cel added, ever-so-helpful. I grinned at him, and Gale tilted his head in defeated approval.

  "I imagine it will."

  Twenty-Seven

  Kaia

  Mar sat next to me on my right side before our Worship discussion started, her eyes blatantly staring at the dark green whip that I had controlled enough so it didn’t have huge flowers and leaves growing out of it. But it still looked like a mossy vine with very tiny leaves and plant life growing out of it, especially curled around my arm. The way it wrapped around me, it felt like a caress.

  Needy thing.

  "Kaia, my darling?" she asked when I continued to ignore her attention.

  "Hmm?" I hummed as I caught up on some reading before class started.

  "Are you really not going to acknowledge the moving herbage you've got attached to your appendage?" I stifled my laugh, but only just.

  "At least I'm not a guy. An herbed appendage does not sound sex-worthy." I shuddered as a very unappealing picture formed in my mind.

  "Kaia!" she hissed in warning.

  "Does it really need to be explained?" I chuckled.

  "Well, I mean. It's new." She pursed her lips together.

  "It is, and we also both know what it's about, so let's not draw attention to it, kay?" She snorted at me, turning her attention to where Docent Reid was approaching the front of the room. I wasn’t the biggest fan of Docent Reid but I enjoyed Worship discussions because I got to spend time in a class with Mar. Of course, Cel was there but I only just ignored him when he was being too overbearing.

  "I think that ship probably sailed like the moment the thing started moving, just saying," she whispered and my lips tipped up into a subtle smile. “Did you perchance, try to disguise it?”

  I tilted my head at her thoughtfully, staring down at the vine. I poked it gently watching the mossy green of it disappear to leave behind a leather whip - a dark leather whip, yes. But not an herbed appendage as she had succinctly put. “You’re right, thanks. Brilliant,” I admitted.

  “Yes, brilliant. Suggesting you attempt to hide the waving alarm. Genius, really,” she mocked. I glared at her before casting eyes around the room. It appeared that most hadn’t noticed the change to my whip, as I’d done everything I could to keep it from fidgeting.

  "Continuing where we left off," Docent Reid announced the moment he stepped into the room, and everyone's eyes turned to the front. "Let’s talk about the Temples. What mini-Temples hold prayer for the Inked twice a month?"

  One of the Ink students raised his hand, with a haughty grin on his face - one that I was coming to realize was fairly common of Ink Mages.

  Talk about superiority complexes.

  Even though I loved her, Mar was just as guilty of it as some of the others. She was just nicer and cooler to be with despite it.

  "There's the Temple for Inked Children, the Temple of the Waiting Land, and the Temple of Zeevarna."

  "Very good, Mr. Johnston. Can anyone explain to me why an Inked would engage in prayer in the Temple of Zeevarna?" Docent Reid paced at the front of the room, slow and leisurely steps as he tossed an apple in one hand and caught it repeatedly.

  "To pray for their children, those who've come and gone, in case they've survived to become Mages," another Ink Mage answered, and Reid nodded at him.

  "What are the four main Temples?"

  "Air for life. Earth for nature. Fire for health. Water for balance," Mar interjected with a smile for Docent Reid. When his attention turned away from her, she slid a weathered, leather book into my lap. I opened it discreetly, finding a note tucked inside the front cover.

  "It's a journal of a man who viewed himself as double blessed," she whispered, indicating the note, which was scrawled with a page number. I opened the book to page 178 as specified, my eyes scanning the page quickly.

  I tensed, discreetly tucking the book into my stack of books with a wince, while pretending to listen to Docent Reid's riveting lecture about the logistics of how Temple life worked. I knew it all, thanks to my Matron of the Temple mother, who spent all her life acting as a go-between with the Inked and the Temple Priests. She had worked hard, delivering offerings to the Temple daily.

  And also because I had chosen the Security track and already spent time in a temple seeing all that shit firsthand. I just let myself be distracted by the knowledge that Mar had given me.

  When class let out, Emerson was there so quickly I wanted to question whether or not he actually went to class as he approached me in the hallway. Upon reaching me, his face morphed into concern. "What's wrong?"

  “I’ll see you around, Kai.” Mar gave me a meaningful look, backing away discreetly and sneaking off down the hall.

  "Mar found another one," I whispered, and he took my hand as we started walking toward Gale's room. His class was empty, and he stood from the desk after taking one look at my face.

  “What happened to the other one like you?" Emerson asked, and Gale caught on quickly. He took the book as I fumbled with it, reading the note and turning to the appropriate page. His gaze froze, pausing on the words no one wanted to see. The last words of the journal before the rest of the pages were left blank.

  "He was found dead in his room with contusions to his throat," Gale said ominously, snapping the book closed.

  "Someone killed him?" Emerson asked on a horrified whisper.

  "We reiterate. You do not go anywhere alone. When one of us can't be with you, Cel or Mar will be when they can, and when they can't you stay with groups or in well-lit areas with other students around. I do not care if you have to sit in this room and watch me tutor other students, you under no circumstances go back to the room alone," Gale ordered, hands clenched at his sides.

  Tears filled my eyes at the sight of the intensity of his rage. "Come here," he choked out, and when I stepped into him he wrapped his arms around me. I clung to him, letting him squeeze me hard enough to hurt.

  Emerson
pressed himself against my back, tucking his head against the top of my head. "We're going to figure it out," he assured me.

  "No. It's too dangerous. We pretend nothing is wrong and hope they leave me alone," I protested. “Aren’t we supposed to leave it alone?”

  "We did that, Kaia. For a year and a half, and someone still wants you dead. We have to fight back," Emerson returned.

  Gale nodded. "I'll let the others know what we found out, try to change their minds on that score. See what else they have to say about it. But, either way, we keep things discreet." He pressed a kiss to my forehead and drew back, strolling to the door to leave and head to the Air Spire without another word.

  "Gale?" I asked with a whisper I wasn't sure he would hear.

  Of course, he did. "Yes, Thief?"

  "I love you, and I love them. Make sure they know."

  "Don't go there, Precious," Emerson whispered, and I nodded.

  But I knew one thing for certain.

  I'd never stop telling them I loved them.

  “Can I go back to the room, please? Perhaps Emerson can walk me?” I shot him a pleading look, and he nodded. “I know you won’t be too happy but I’d also like some time alone please. You can stay outside for all I care, but I just need some time with just me. Is that okay?”

  The two men exchanged a look, and I barely stopped myself from snapping at them. Rather than let the anger consume me, I remembered the love. Remembered that they did what they did, said what they said, because they loved me.

  Gale nodded and Emerson walked up to take my hand in his. “Okay, Precious. To your room then.”

  We walked in silence, one that was heavier than it usually would be with my more bubbly man. At the doorway of my room, I stood blocking the entrance. “You agreed.”

  He nodded and sighed, sliding down the wall to sit right next to the doorway in the hallway. “We did. I’ll wait out here.”

  I bent down to kiss him. “Martyrdom doesn’t suit you, Emerson, but thank you.”

  I shut the door behind him before I changed my mind and let him in after all. Once inside, I rested my back against the door and took a deep breath. I settled and walked towards the window and opened it a bit.