And just like that, I was on cloud nine again. The trials were weeks away. I could spend a few days at least basking in the extra freedom I’d gained and enjoying my newfound power.
Now, I just needed to find my friends and celebrate.
31
Raven
For once, I was relieved to be heading into gym. The last few days of class had been relatively normal. No bullying from Delores, no expectations, nobody after me. And on top of that, Coach Miller actually seemed to be teaching.
It was weird. But I wasn’t going to argue.
I left the locker room and joined the circle of students, scanning them for Luka. Instead, I stopped on a familiar face that I hadn’t seen in weeks. “Violet!”
I ran over to her and threw my arms around her. She hugged me back.
“I’m so glad you’re back,” I said. “I hate that they won’t let people visit you.”
She let go of the embrace and smiled. “I can tell you, being in the hospital for that long sucks. I don’t recommend it.”
“Oatmeal and broth?” I asked, then I realized she didn’t eat the same food as me. “Bagged blood, maybe?”
“Cold, too,” she said with a shudder. “It’s almost worse that way.”
“I’ll have to take your word for it,” I said. “But I am so glad you’re here and you’re okay.”
“Thanks,” she said. “Dr. Green told me they got the guy.”
I nodded. “Yeah, they did.”
“Good,” she said. “I hope they do awful things to him in prison.”
“Me too,” I agreed.
“Violet, welcome back,” Luka said, wrapping an arm over her shoulders in an awkward hug.
“Hey, thanks, demon,” she said. “And thanks for the visits.”
“Visits?” I asked, lifting my eyebrow.
“I took some messages from Scarlet into Violet’s dreams a couple of times.” He shrugged.
“Wow,” I said, a little surprised. “I didn’t know you took orders. I would have had you check on her for me.”
“I gave you updates on her,” he said.
“That’s true,” I said. “I just didn’t realize it had been from dream visits.”
“It was only a couple of times,” Violet said. “And he was a gentleman if you’re wondering.”
I wasn’t actually. I trusted Luka and we’d never really talked about him being only with me. After all, I was with four men.
Luka slid his arm around my waist and pulled me into him before planting a kiss on my cheek. “I’ve only got eyes for this girl.”
“You two are enough to melt my little black heart,” she said.
“Us?” he said. “You should have seen Scarlet pining over you. She was a mess.”
Violet bit down on her lip. “Yeah, we’re kind of adorable.”
“Yeah, you are,” Luka said.
I grinned at my friend. She was safe and happy. I was in the arms of the sexiest demon there was. And he was thoughtful, kind, and all mine. Despite everything, life was good. Better than I ever thought it could be.
“Listen up, class,” Coach Miller said.
Luka lowered his arm from my waist and the three of us turned to face our teacher.
He was wearing a shirt today. I really was having the best day ever. Not having to look at his overly huge muscles and his spray tan was a nice change. “Listen up. You’ve got three weeks until the trials. Most of you will be taking them for real this time. This is it. No re-dos. No monsters or fae to ruin it. And I don’t get a say in how it’s run.”
He glared at all of us as if we’d done something to personally ruin the trials for him. “After the last issue, the school board doesn’t think we can handle it. So they’ll be setting up the trials. I have no idea what they’ll throw at you. All I can do is whip your skinny asses into shape over the next three weeks.”
I shifted, waiting for the burpees. Or the stairs. What fresh hell was he going to subject us to today?
“Suicides,” he called. “One-hundred of them. If you finish, you get to hold planks till the bell rings.”
We all groaned. Nothing like running back and forth for an hour. He’d really been on a running kick the last few weeks.
“Oh, and I forgot,” Coach Miller said.
I turned to look at him and a chill ran down my spine at the sight of his grin. He looked far too pleased for him to say anything good.
“The school board did get one thing right. You will each take the trials alone. No groups. No teamwork. Just you and whatever they decide to throw at you.”
I swallowed against the lump in my throat. That changed our plans for sure.
“We should have seen that coming,” Luka said.
“Thank the gods,” Violet said. “I have more chance of passing on my own than I did relying on the people I was thrown into a group with.”
I knew my group would have passed together and I had to admit, I was disappointed. Luka grabbed my hand and squeezed. “You’ll be fine.”
After my last session with Professor Flora, I knew I’d be fine. That wasn’t the reason I was upset. “I was looking forward to doing it together.”
“Don’t worry. There’s lots of things we can do together.” He winked.
I grinned. He was right. At the end of the day, I still got to go home to my mates. All of them. In one room. Every day I kept waiting for them to say something about changing the living arrangements, but instead, they seemed to be getting more used to it.
The other day, the twins grabbed some snacks for the room and they picked up Ben’s favorite chips and Luka’s favorite soda. A week ago, that never would have happened. We had all fallen into a weird, comfortable routine. We did homework together most nights and a few times, we’d all watched movies together on the couch. It was perfect. And I never wanted it to end.
The class was lined up, ready to start our sprints. Violet pulled her hair up into a messy bun and looked over at me. “I didn’t miss this class while I was in the hospital, that’s for sure.”
“I know you didn’t,” I said. “But I missed you.”
“Good,” she said. “Cause you’re going to slow it down so you can help me not look so bad. I haven’t run in weeks.”
“You got it,” I said.
Coach Miller blew his whistle and we took off. It felt good to move my body and let my thoughts drift. After a few minutes, I was breathing heavy. The one good thing about gym class was that it forced me to shut off my brain and just get through the task.
Though, I wasn’t going to miss it when I graduated. Three weeks. Thoughts about the trials tried to force their way in, but I was too tired from running to let them win. Right now, I was just a student in gym class with no other concerns. Worrying about the trials would have to wait until later.
32
Raven
The gym was a buzz of conversation as we all waited to hear what was in store for us. Last time we’d gone through this, we waited in the locker rooms with our groups. This time all of the students taking the trials were here together.
I stood next to my mates, the five of us in a close huddle. Several other small groups had formed, like us, they had planned to do this together. While people like Violet were thrilled to be away from the confines of their group, not everyone felt that way.
“Hey, don’t tell me you’re going to just stand guard around my girl the rest of the day,” Makayla’s voice came from behind me.
I turned to see her standing with her hands on her hips. “You know, not everyone is out to hurt her.”
“Habit,” Ben said, taking a step back.
They really were surrounding me like I was a prized possession. I suppose I didn’t blame them. While I knew they trusted me to take care of myself, we’d been through a lot together and I could see why they were nervous.
“You ready?” I asked Makayla.
“Hell, yes,” she said. “What could the school board really throw at us?”
“L
ast time the school board was in charge of running a trials, two students died,” Zach said.
I glared at him. “That is not the kind of news we need to hear minutes before starting the trials.”
“Hey, she asked,” he said.
“Sometimes keeping that to yourself isn’t a bad idea,” Luka said.
“How many died last time the school hosted a trials?” Matt asked.
“None if you count the fake one that was designed just to kill us,” Ben said.
“True,” Matt said.
“Last year one student died,” Zach said. “So I guess there’s risk no matter what.”
“Good thing I had two visits to confinement,” I said under my breath. The rumors about confinement leading to early deaths had been circling my mind a lot lately.
“You’re going to be fine,” Makayla said. “You took out two scary fae. I mean, who else can say that?”
“Actually, they did most of the work,” I said, looking at my mates.
“We did it together,” Ben said.
“And the last one wasn’t that big of a deal,” I said.
“Still better than most of the students here could do,” she said.
“Wait a minute.” I nudged Makayla with my elbow. “Why aren’t you freaked out about all this?”
“Cause I don’t have to work with my group,” she said. “They were going to get me killed. All I have to do is keep myself alive. That I can handle.”
I frowned. “I liked my group.”
“We can’t all be as lucky as you,” she said.
“Hey, babe.” Remi walked over to us and wrapped his arm around Makayla. Her face went beet red.
“Hi guys, Raven,” Remi said.
It was still a little weird playing nice with Remi, but he’d slowly been let into our group. Though, watching him and Makayla made it easier to accept him. It was clear they were crazy about each other and he spoiled her. Which I fully approved of. If anyone deserved a man to wait on her hand and foot, it was Makayla. She wasn’t the type to take advantage of it and Remi loved doing little sweet things for her. Who knew he was just a big softie?
“You all ready for this?” Remi asked with a grin.
“We’re ready,” I said, not feeling my words.
“Can you believe we’re all going to be graduating next week?” he asked.
“I am so ready to get out of here,” Makayla said.
I wasn’t sure how to respond. Things had been so good with my mates that I hadn’t brought up the plans for what we were going to do when we left. Now certainly wasn’t the time.
A whistle sounded and I blew out a relieved breath. Then I remembered that the whistle meant it was time for the trials. My pulse raced and my palms were sweaty already and I didn’t even know what we were facing yet.
Coach Miller slithered to the front of the group. He was accompanied by three women in suits and Dr. Green.
“Welcome, students,” Dr. Green said. “And honored members of the school board.” He nodded to the three women, then turned to us.
“You have all been waiting for today since the first day you stepped foot in our doors. Today you will put your years of practice, training, and lessons to the test in real life situations. Nothing you encounter today is an illusion. Everything is life or death.”
The words hung in the air. Nobody moved and I was pretty sure we were all holding our breath.
“The trials are an ancient tradition dating back to the first supernaturals competing in the Olympic Games. In those days, it was for promoting peace. Today, we use them as a way to determine that you have enough control and cunning to call yourself a graduate from this prestigious institution.
“The Academy of the Elites is the best school for supernaturals in the world. And we have a reputation to uphold. If you fail these trials, you will not earn your diploma.”
“If you fail the trials, you will likely die,” Coach Miller added.
Dr. Green nodded. “The trials are dangerous. There is no way out once you begin. You must finish.”
“Or die,” Coach Miller added.
Dr. Green seemed to ignore him. “You’ll have three hours. Coach Miller, will you do the honors?”
Coach Miller’s chest expanded as he straightened his shoulders. He was clearly enjoying his moment in the spotlight. “The school board has outdone themselves this year. You are all getting one of the most interesting and dangerous trials I’ve ever seen. Even I’m impressed.”
“Thank you, Coach,” one of the women said.
He nodded toward her then turned back to us. “They created a course that’s loaded with things that want to hurt you.” He slithered along the gathered group of students and stopped in front of me. I tried not to shudder at how close he was.
“All you have to do is get through it. You finish, you graduate,” he said. “Questions?”
The room was silent.
“Walk,” Coach Miller said. “Outside, all of you.”
As we passed through the doors of the gym, I expected to be met with spring sunshine. Instead, I was greeted by a tunnel made of vines and leaves. “What the?”
Ahead, the tunnel split off into two directions. Coach Miller waited for us at the fork. “Two minutes between each of you. I better not find anyone waiting for someone to catch up. Remember, this is a solo trial. I don’t want to spoil the surprise for you, but I’m pretty sure the board put in some extra surprises just for people who try to go in groups.”
“This should be fun,” Luka said.
“Can’t wait,” Ben said.
“Just think, when we finish, we’re done,” Zach said.
“I’ll meet you all at the end?” I asked.
“We’ll be waiting for you,” Ben said.
“Probably not, I’m guessing she’ll be waiting for us,” Matt said.
“I appreciate the vote of confidence,” I said.
“Remi,” Coach Miller called. “You’re up first.”
The buzz of conversation around us ceased in a heartbeat. The wait was over. It was time to go.
Remi gave Makayla a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll see you out there.”
“Good luck,” she called to him.
My stomach twisted into knots as I watched Remi disappear into the darkness beyond the door.
“Ms. Winters,” Coach Miller called.
My heart raced. I thought I was ready for this but now that it was my turn, I wasn’t so sure. “Yes?”
“Your turn,” he said.
I blew out a breath. “Might as well get it over with, right?”
“Good luck,” Makayla and Luka said in unison.
“You got this,” Zach said.
“Don’t over think it,” Ben said. “Use your instincts.”
“We’ll see you at the end,” Matt said.
I walked to the front of the group of students and stood in front of Coach Miller. “I’m ready.”
“I doubt that,” he said. “But you might as well go, anyway. Pick a side. Stay alive.”
I resisted rolling my eyes. He was so dramatic. How bad could it be? I stepped up toward the entry and dropped my guard, letting my magic flow through me. To the right, I felt nothing. No magic. To the left there was something else. Something that made the air feel charged with energy. It was a magical signature for sure. But to what?
Just because one side didn’t feel like it had magic, didn’t mean that side was better. There were lots of ways to make our life hell without magic. Monsters, booby traps, more monsters…
Deciding I’d take my chance with the magical elements, I turned toward the electrical buzzing in the air. With a deep breath, I walked into the maze, away from Coach Miller and all the other students.
As I walked through the dark tunnel, I realized I’d never really done anything on my own. There’d always been someone there to help me or bail me out. This was my chance to see what I could do on my own.
My feet sank into soft mossy ground and I breathed in th
e scent of a garden. If not for the tingle of magic around me or the heavy sense of dread weighing in my gut, this would be nice.
Light filtered in through cracks in the canopy above. Areas where the vines weren’t quite as thick as the rest of the tunnel. It was just light enough to see where I was going without using magic to guide my way. Which was a good thing as I wanted to save all my strength just in case something came at me.
The feeling of magic intensified, growing stronger with each step. Whatever I’d chosen to encounter was coming up fast.
Ahead, I saw a slight shimmer in the air. I wasn’t sure what it was, but I knew it was the source of the magic I’d detected. Stretching out my arm, I brushed my fingers over the shimmer. My hand met resistance, like glass.
It was a barrier of some kind, blocking off my path. I smirked. This was so much better than a monster.
Calling to my magic, I spread my fingers wide, reaching toward the shield. I sent a pulse of energy forward and it hit the shimmering air, spreading outward like ripples in a lake.
The shield sputtered and shattered, falling in like glitter to the ground. First obstacle done. I walked through, feeling more confident with each step. So far, this wasn’t anything to worry about. And if this was a sample of what the trials had in store, I was going to be just fine.
I reached another fork and peered down the two paths. One was dirt and lined with bare, brown branches. The other path was the same moss I’d been walking on and the tunnel was made of the green, twisting vines. Interesting. They’d even changed the appearance this time.
Once again, I felt for magic. As I breathed in, sending my senses outward, I heard a roar that made me open my eyes wide. A chill ran down my spine. I’d had too many encounters with monsters to walk toward one. Ever. Not going to happen.
I held my breath, waiting to see if the creature revealed itself again.
Another loud roar. I felt it vibrating in my bones. More importantly, I knew it was coming from the dirt trail.
Without hesitation, I turned and walked onto the mossy trail in front of me. I’d take any magic they could throw at me over a monster any day. I was tired of fighting off creatures.
Academy of the Elites: Unbound Magic Page 17