Academy of the Elites: Unbound Magic

by Alexis Calder

  “The fear part or the feelings of her being a magical badass?” I asked.

  “Maybe not the fear so much as that was more about the event than her,” he said.

  “Alright,” I said. For all she’d done to me, she had at one point, been a mentor. She’d helped me regain my magic and find out about my past. I knew she was powerful, though apparently, she had the wrong kind of magic to open a portal.

  Ahead, I saw a dark archway form out of black smoke. “What’s that?”

  “An opening to a dream,” Luka said. “Let’s find out if we got the right person.”

  I squeezed Luka’s hand, not wanting to let go as we approached the black smoke. There was nothing visible through it and a creeping sense of dread clawed at my chest. It didn’t feel right. It felt like I wasn’t all here. Like I was watching myself instead of actually moving through the archway.

  The air felt thicker and cooler as clouds of black mist wound their way around my ankles. I held my breath as blackness took over, leaving me in what felt like a moment of freefall.

  Just as I was about to panic, the smoke cleared and we were standing in a field with a long table in front of us. The table was surrounded by people in fine clothes and they appeared to be sipping tea. Trays of sweets, bowls of fruit, and towers of tiny sandwiches lined the table. Bouquets of fresh flowers dotted the center of the table and butterflies flitted around them.

  A warm breeze blew a loose strand of hair, making it tickle my face. “Where are we?” I whispered.

  “We’re in someone’s dream,” Luka said.

  “Professor Halifax’s dream?” I asked.

  “Hopefully,” he said.

  I scanned the gathered people, looking for a familiar face. Then I spotted her. Professor Halifax was at the head of the table, smiling down at those gathered around her.

  She was in a flowing white dress and a wide brim hat. Not something I’d expect to see her in but it was rather sunny in her dream.

  I pointed to her. “She’s there.”

  “I see her,” Luka said. “Here’s where it gets delicate. We need to feel like we’re part of the dream. It will help her stay asleep longer.”

  “Okay,” I said.

  “See what they’re wearing?” he asked. “Imagine yourself in something similar so you blend in.”

  I looked down to see that I was still in my shorts and tee shirt that I’d gone to sleep in. Actually, I wasn’t sure if I was asleep but that was a question for another time. I closed my eyes and imagined myself in a white lacy dress that might be appropriate for an occasion such as this.

  When I opened my eyes, I was in a cocktail length lace sundress. Not bad. I turned to Luka and he was in a cream-colored linen suit. He looked very good in that suit.

  He extended his elbow. “Shall we?”

  I slid my arm through his and we casually walked to the end of the table where Professor Halifax sat. Her eyes widened when she saw us and she stood.

  “Greetings, dear professor,” I said as if we were old friends.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked. “How did you get into Faerie? You shouldn’t be here.”

  “Why not?” I asked. “Am I not fae?”

  “Of course you are,” she turned to Luka, “you. This is a dream, isn’t it?”

  “It is a dream of a party, isn’t it?” Luka asked.

  “Don’t try to play me,” she said. “I know you can enter dreams but I have no idea how you got in. If this is a dream, I’m still in that shit hole prison. And you want something from me.”

  “I need to know about the book you gave me,” I said, dropping all pretense.

  She smiled. “So you figured it out, did you? Took you long enough.”

  “I didn’t figure anything out,” I said. “I locked it up. There’s a shadow fae trying to take it from me.”

  She walked away from the table and moved close to me. “Are you sure?”

  “I’m sure,” I said.

  She shook her head. “I was afraid of that.”

  “Spill, Professor,” I said. “We don’t have much time and he’s already tried to kill at least one student.”

  “That book is ancient dark magic, but it only works in Faerie,” she said. “I stole it when I came here so I could destroy it. Turns out, it’s indestructible. But it’s magic is useless in your realm. As long as it’s here, it’s nothing but a book. If it gets back to the other realm, though, you can kiss both our realms goodbye.”

  “So what do I do?” I asked. “I can’t let him have it.”

  “It’s not my problem, is it?” she asked. “I’m in prison.”

  “You owe me,” I said.

  “I don’t owe you anything,” she said. “I’m repaying any debt I might have owed you in this cell. My magic is gone. Drained completely and they feed us gruel. I haven’t seen the sun since I arrived.”

  I had to admit, I felt a little bad. But then again, she did try to kill me. “You brought that on yourself.”

  “If you grew up in Faerie and you got trapped here, you’d understand,” she said. “I don’t regret anything.”

  “Where’d the shadow fae come from?” Luka asked.

  Professor Halifax shrugged. “He must have snuck in when we had the portal open.”

  “It was surrounded by monsters,” I said.

  “Shadow fae are not like other fae,” she said. “They can become the shadows, move with them, control them. He could have come through and none of us would have noticed.”

  “How did he know to look for the book here?” Luka asked.

  I glared at Professor Halifax. It was a good question. “Why did he come through that portal?”

  “I don’t have to tell you all this,” she said.

  “Please,” I said. “I know you won’t help us directly but you could at least level the playing field. We’ve got nothing.”

  She pursed her lips and looked like she was considering saying something.

  “Come on,” Luka said. “What can you give us?”

  “Fine,” she said. “It might be my mate. He knew I took the book and he might have sensed me through the portal.”

  “Is that why you were trying to get back?” I asked. My stomach tightened. What would I do to get back to my mates? I couldn’t even imagine being away from them for more than a day, let alone years. That must have been torture for her.

  “I did what I had to do and now question time is over,” she said.

  “Wait,” I said.

  But the black smoke was already circling around my ankles and Professor Halifax and the tea party vanished.

  I woke with a start and turned to see Luka staring back at me. “What happened?”

  “She woke up,” he said.

  I closed my eyes and whined. “We were getting good information. We just needed a little more.”

  “We got everything we need,” he said. “We now know that book can’t get in his hands. And we know what kind of fae we’re dealing with for sure.”

  “What now?” I asked.

  “I guess we wait till he comes around to see what his next move will be, then we make a plan,” he said.

  I hated it. I hated everything about this. We couldn’t give the book to him and we knew how dangerous he was. How was I supposed to fight against that? What was I supposed to do when he came for me again?

  “Raven,” he said. “We need to tell the others.”

  I nodded. “Fine, but nobody else.”

  16

  Raven

  The next few weeks went by without so much as a whisper from the shadow fae. I wondered if he had left the school or if he somehow managed to get inside my desk without us knowing.

  When I asked Zach about that, he wondered if the shadow fae was waiting for us to unlock it to check. So the drawer remained locked. And we waited.

  Classes blurred into each other as the weeks dragged by. We were still preparing for the trials and all our teachers were finding new and creative ways to
push us.

  The one good thing that had happened was that Violet was finally out of the hospital and back to attending classes with the rest of us. Every time I saw her, I was reminded of how dangerous our situation still was even if the shadow fae hadn’t shown his face again yet.

  “Don’t forget everyone, you have a meeting with your trials mentor tonight,” Professor Craft called. “Meet in their classroom at seven.”

  I tensed. In all the post fake-trials craziness, I forgot all about the meetings we’d had leading up to them. My mentor was currently in a prison cell and was pretty pissed at me for that.

  The sound of bags being zipped and students preparing to leave filled the room and I glanced up at the clock. The bell would ring any second. I shoved my notebook and book into my backpack just as the bell rang.

  My classmates filed out and I made my way up to Professor Craft’s desk.

  “Ms. Winters,” she said. “Did you have a question about the lesson?”

  We’d moved on from fae history into the demon wars of the twelfth century. It wasn’t as interesting as it sounded. “No, just about the mentor thing. My mentor is currently incarcerated.”

  “Ah, yes,” she said. “Her replacement, Professor Flora, is taking over her students.”

  “Wonderful,” I said. Even after a few weeks of lessons, I still didn’t have much of a feel for Professor Flora. We’d taken notes and done independent research in the library so I hadn’t had much time to figure out her views on the world.

  I had no idea what to expect in our meeting with Professor Flora, but when we discussed it at dinner, the five of us agreed we should be prepared for anything. Which meant changing out of my black jeans and into something that moved a little freer.

  Makayla and I left dinner together and walked back to our dorm room. “How’s Remi?” I asked.

  “He’s fine,” she said. “He’s still convinced I’m going to move in with him after we graduate.”

  “Wait a minute.” I grabbed her arm and stopped her from walking. “Were you going to tell me this?”

  “I didn’t tell you?” she asked.

  I put my hand on my hip. “Makayla! That’s a big deal. Why didn’t you tell me?”

  She shrugged. “I’m not sure if I want to move in with him. I don’t even know if we’re going to keep seeing each other after graduation.”

  “You better figure it out if he’s asking about living together,” I said.

  She sighed. “I know. But hey, I don’t see you making plans about what you’re going to do with all four of your mates.”

  “Good point, I’ll drop it,” I said, resuming walking.

  She walked alongside me. “Any word on what the actual trials will be like?”

  I shook my head. “No idea. I just hope it isn’t as awful as the fake ones.”

  “I am so grateful I never had to go in there,” she said. “And I still can’t believe all the trouble Professor Halifax went through to get you to open that portal for her.”

  “I know,” I said. “Some days it feels like it was a hundred years ago and other days it feels like yesterday.”

  We reached the common room and waved to Starla and Jamal, who were curled up on a couch in a tangle of limbs. It was hard to tell where one of them started. They were a giant pretzel.

  “Don’t you two have a room you could go to?” Makayla asked.

  “It’s more comfortable here,” Starla said. “Besides, I thought you’d all be out at your meetings.”

  I forgot they weren’t taking the trials. “Not till seven.”

  “We’ll wait till then before we get naked,” Jamal said.

  “I am never sitting on that couch again,” Makayla said.

  “You might not want to sit on any of the couches then,” Starla said.

  “Okay, TMI,” Makayla said.

  “Seriously? You have your own rooms,” I said.

  Jamal shrugged.

  I shook my head but kept a smile on my face. “Fair warning, I’ll be coming back through here in a few minutes.”

  “You have till seven,” Jamal said.

  “Come on,” Makayla said. “We better hurry.”

  The two of us burst into laughter as we left the common room and headed to our dorms. "I am never going to look at those couches the same way again,” Makayla said.

  “Me neither,” I agreed.

  “Raven, you got a minute?” A deep voice said from behind me.

  His voice sent a shiver down my spine in a good way. I turned to see Ben crossing the common room toward us.

  “I won’t wait up,” Makayla said. “See you later.”

  I waved to Makayla then turned back to my shifter. “Everything okay?”

  “Can we talk?” he asked.

  “Sure,” I said, unlocking my room. “Come on in.”

  I held the door open for him and he walked in. I followed, then closed the door behind me. “What’s wrong?”

  “I know I told Luka I’d let it go, and I’m trying. I really do trust you. I want to let you do it all on your own, but I can’t stop worrying,” he said.

  My brow furrowed as I stared at my mate. He looked distraught and uncomfortable. The two of us usually fell into such easy understanding but that wasn’t happening right now. It was heartbreaking to feel him like this. “Ben, what exactly are you talking about?”

  “The whole fae thing,” he said. “I don’t want to bother you about it, but are you keeping things from us? I don’t want you going off to be the hero. I want to help.”

  I let out a breath and closed the distance between us. “I’m not hiding anything. I just haven’t heard from him.”

  Was it possible that my alpha was feeling left out? I had been spending a lot of time with the twins doing homework lately since our classes were similar. And there was my dream time with Luka. I really hadn’t made much time for him in the last few weeks and I felt terrible.

  I caressed his cheek, feeling the rough stubble under my palm. “Ben, thank you for worrying about me.”

  He grabbed my hand and pulled it to his mouth, pressing his lips against my fingertips. “You know how much you mean to me, right?”

  I nodded. “And you know I feel the same about you.”

  The whole room seemed to heat up and I clenched my thighs together against the rush of arousal that was spreading through me. Ben’s lips brushed against my fingers, one at a time, kissing as he moved along.

  He took hold of my other hand and repeated the kisses. My breath hitched and I found myself internally begging for more. It felt like teasing. Giving me those gentle kisses. It was so unlike his usual aggressive nature when we were intimate.

  I could sense his unease and I wanted to make him feel better. To let him know how much he meant to me. I leaned into the kiss, pushing my lips against his, harder. He met the pressure, letting his hunger for me take over.

  My panties were already soaked and I wanted nothing more than to feel him inside me. I slid my hands under his shirt, feeling the rippling muscles of his abs and up to his rock hard pecks. Every inch of his skin felt like it was on fire and I knew he was responding to me.

  He deepened the kiss, his usual aggressive urgency returning. I moaned into his mouth, feeling my own body temperature rising to match his. As his hands moved under my shirt, surges of electricity radiated from his touch. Everything was in overdrive. All my senses working at once. I wove my fingers though his hair, pulling his head down to kiss him harder. He responded by biting my lower lip and then sucking on it until I moaned.

  Ben broke away from the kiss but his lips moved to my ear, then down my neck to my throat. He kissed the sensitive skin making me shiver with desire. I breathed out his name as pressure built in my core. “Ben, please.”

  He looked down at me, his expression hungry and fierce. With a low growl, he pushed me against the door. I gasped, getting even more turned on by his actions.

  My wrists were in his hand now and he pinned them above me, hol
ding them in place. His legs caged me in, keeping me trapped against the door.

  With his free hand, he worked the button and zipper of my pants and I lifted my hips to help him guide them down. Then, he removed his pants and kicked them aside. Mine were still around my ankles, acting as another restraint but I didn’t want to fight it. I wanted him to take me.

  “Gods, you are so sexy,” he said, his voice filled with lust.

  “Ben.” My brain was so foggy I couldn’t even form words. I couldn’t wait anymore. The way he looked at me, the feel of his rough hand on my stomach, his erection pressed against my hip. It was all too much. My breathing was heavy, desperate, I needed him.

  He grabbed my thigh with his free hand and pulled my foot out of my pants. My panties were still on but they were already soaked. I could smell the arousal of both of us mixing in the room and all it did was make me pant harder and want him more.

  Ben let go of my wrists and I threw my arms over his shoulders. My leg was around his waist now and he angled his cock toward my entrance.

  With a thrust of his hips, he filled me and I tossed my head back with a moan, hitting the door. I didn’t care, though. The only thing I could think about was the feel of his huge cock inside me.

  Ben grunted as he pushed into me and I tightened my leg around him, forcing him in deeper. His arms went around my head, caging me in.

  I raked my fingers through his hair and pulled his head toward me. Our lips met in a sizzling kiss, my lips swollen from the pressure. His stubble scratched my cheeks as his mouth moved to my neck, then lower to my breasts. I moaned as he licked each of my nipples.

  Suddenly, he pulled out, leaving me panting for more. With a smirk, he grabbed me around the waist and turned me roughly so I was facing away from him. His hand slid down my back to my ass. With one hand around my waist, he pushed me down so I was bent, my ass in the air.

  His fingers slid into me with ease and I gasped as pleasure surged through me. His cock rubbed against my ass while his fingers continued to bring me near orgasm. I grabbed my ankles for support, feeling lightheaded from being upside down. There was too much sensation at once. His fingers, his cock, his rough hand on my back. It all worked together to send me into a screaming orgasm.