by G. Bailey
“Riley, remember Vesnia?” I ask, and he nods at me, not looking at her once. Before I can call Riley out on his rude behaviour, someone claps their hands. We all turn to see Professor Badhur standing on the steps, the white cloak long gone, and this time, he has a blue shirt on and black trousers, looking pretty normal except for the wings and long hair.
“Welcome, new students, to The Angel Academy. Today there will be no lessons because you are to have a tour around the academy and get to know your new home,” he exclaims with a big smile. “Now, there is a map and class schedule for your first year waiting in your room when you return. Until then, I am handing you over to Thallon Cross, who is in charge of the tour. Blessed be the angels, and I will see each of you in my class this week.”
“Hello, new students, my name is Thallon Cross, and welcome to The Angel Academy,” a man speaks behind us, and we all turn around at the same time to see who spoke. The guy standing a few steps up on the stairs is not what I expected to see. Thallon Cross has no wings, which is odd, considering where we are, and his eyes are literally glowing a bright white with tints of blue shining through. He snakes a tanned hand through his thick brown hair that is sun-kissed at the tips, and my eyes trace over his full bow-shaped lips and sexy jawline. He has a slight scar under his chin which makes him seem all the more real. I would guess his age around the twenties, but the way he holds himself tall makes me think he is a little older.
What is he?
“He can cross into my panties any day,” Vesnia whispers to me, and I chuckle.
“I am an angel before any of you ask. No, I won’t tell you why I don’t have wings,” he answers likely everyone’s questions all in one go. “Now follow me and keep up, you don’t want to get lost. When the tour is over, I have a surprise for you all in the kitchens in the form of sweets and hot chocolate.” The group follows quickly after Thallon as we leave the room and head into a long corridor. Thallon explains which lessons are in here, and then we get to the end of the corridor which leads to a big greenhouse.
“This is one of my favourite rooms of the academy. The greenhouse is dead centre of the building, and there are doors to every part of the academy from here. So basically, if you get lost, find the greenhouse and start over,” Thallon explains as we walk past tall plants with big green leaves, and tiny little red flowers in pots that line the paths. Butterflies of all different colours fly over our heads, and birds chirp in the distance. The greenhouse smells of plants and flowers, just like nature.
And I love it.
“Green Thumb over here is in her element,” Riley says, laughing and clicking his fingers in my face to get my attention.
“Do you like gardening then, Kat?” Ves asks me, and I nod.
“My mum and I would spend hours in the garden in our tiny greenhouse. I have a great rose collection going on. Well, had...” I drift off and Riley frowns at me. I don’t even notice the group has stopped, and they are silent until Thallon speaks, somehow right next to me.
“Roses are difficult to cultivate well. I’m impressed, Miss?” he asks, crossing his arms. I look up and meet his gaze, holding his stare as I answer.
“Kaitlyn Lightson, and yes, they are. I lost a few in the beginning, but it’s well worth the effort for the beauty that appears,” I explain. “My mum and I came up with a neat trick, but it’s a secret.”
Thallon seems amused by my response as Riley steps closer to me, his arm returning around my waist. “I am the gardener for the academy, and I would love an assistant with special secrets. Would you be up for the job?”
“No—” Riley tries to answer for me, but I elbow him in the ribs.
“Yes, I would love that,” I reply, and Thallon smiles as Riley coughs in annoyance. “So do you have any roses here?”
“This way, Kaitlyn,” he nods his head to the side, and I follow him through the plants until we get to a clearing. Right in the middle is a giant statue of three angels. They all look up at the sky, at the hole in the greenhouse above them, and at their feet is hundreds of roses of all different colours. The roses twist and climb around the bottom of their stone ropes, and it’s designed so beautifully.
“I think Angel Academy just got a hell of a lot better,” I say and grin at Thallon.
“Agreed,” he whispers so only I can hear him before raising his voice, “Let’s carry on with the tour. This way leads to the dining halls, where you can get food anytime you need, but breakfast and dinner are served to your rooms. Lunch and snacks are all that can be found in here, but they don’t give out the good stuff like sweets unless there is a party.”
“I don’t trust him, and neither should you,” Riley whispers to me, and I turn to frown at him.
“Why?” I ask, but he doesn’t answer me.
We follow Thallon through the academy as he explains our new home, and Riley doesn’t say another word.
I might not know Thallon, but I’m not judging him because Riley doesn’t like him. Riley has never liked anyone that tried to be my friend growing up. I always worried it was because he liked me as more than a friend, but Riley promises it isn’t that. He said he just wants to protect me, but when does protecting becoming smothering?
I’m sure I’m about to find out.
Chapter 8
After a long day of being toured around, we finally get back to our rooms. Vesnia hugs me goodbye before going into her room, and I head into mine, surprised to see several things on my bed. I shut the door behind me and sit on my bed, picking up the map first. It’s a clear map of the academy and where everything is. I pick up the blue paper next and see a class schedule written on it.
Monday- Equestrian Studies / Flight Beginner Class
Tuesday- History of Angels Class / Herbology
Wednesday- Intermediate Spear Training / Gym
Thursday- Light Angel Studies
Friday- Dark Angel Studies
Sat/Sun- Study Day
What the heck is spear training? I roll my eyes at the thought of me and a sharp spear. The only thing that is going to happen there is me somehow stabbing myself by accident—or stabbing someone else. Muttering to myself, I pick up the last note, which is on top of a white cloak that is similar to the cloak I had on last night, but this one is silky and has a strange black logo on the hood. I pick the note up and turn it over.
Be outside your room at six p.m. sharp. Wear the cloak.
I rest back on my bed and sigh, knowing I shouldn’t like Angel Academy at all, but even I have to admit this place is pretty cool for a school.
“Kat! Kat!” Vesnia’s voice drifts to me, and I hazily wake up, seeing her in a white cloak, standing over me on my bed. “It’s two minutes to six, and we are going to be late.”
“Shit,” I mutter, jumping up and picking my cloak up. I hurry to put it on as we leave my room and rush up the stairs, where everyone else is waiting for us. For the first time, I actually look at the other students other than Riley and Vesnia. Two girls with blonde hair that is very similar stay close together, a group of about four guys are talking quietly, but the rest of the students stand on their own, looking around with distrusting eyes. I don’t blame them. Riley is leaning against the wall in his white cloak, and when he looks up, we both just smile at each other.
“I’m sorry, I was a prick,” he says first.
“And I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you. Besties still?” I ask, and he nods as I wrap my arms around him and hug him tightly. “I know this is all stressful, but we need to stick together to make it out of this. No matter how nice this academy is, they are hiding the fact they don’t care about our lives. Remember the students that didn’t catch a horse?”
“I remember, and I won’t ever let anyone hurt you,” he firmly states.
“Same here, bestie,” I whisper back.
“You guys are so sweet. Did you ever think about dating?” Vesnia asks as I let go of Riley.
“Nope, dating would be weird. Riley and I grew up together,” I an
swer the same thing I always say to anyone that asks, and usually, Riley would agree, but he doesn’t say anything. Thankfully, one of the professors I haven’t seen before walks to the middle of the staircase. This teacher is much older with a withering figure, wrinkles marking her dark skin, and her grey hair looks bright in contrast.
“Hello, new students, my name is Professor Bates. I will meet you all later this week, but for now, I am to guide you to the dining hall for a special welcome dinner,” she says and turns around, no doubt expecting us to follow. We head through the long corridors and through the greenhouse until we get to the dining hall. This room is just as massive as I expected it to be with several doors going off to the kitchens behind them. With deep brown walls and real wood flooring, the room looks too polished, like it’s not even real. The smell of really good food finds me as I look around the dozens of white circular tables in the room. Each table has a little candle in the middle, and they are already set up with cutlery.
“Find a seat. The food will be served, and the entertainment will start soon,” Professor Bates instructs.
“Entertainment?” Vesnia whispers to me as we find a nearby empty table and sit down. Riley sits on the other side of me and no one else sits with us, giving us a clear view of the stage at the front of the room. Two bright lights shine on the stage as everyone finds their seats, and silence drifts over us all. Very slowly, piano music starts to play, a deep haunting tune that takes my breath away as the curtains of the stage slowly pull back. The first person I see is Henry at the side, his hands quickly moving across the piano, expertly playing the song without missing a beat. Like he can sense me staring, he looks up and finds my gaze, holding it for a long time.
And I feel like I don’t breathe. I don’t exist. I am thoroughly caught in an angel’s gaze.
“Aren’t the dancers amazing?” Vesnia asks me, and it gives me enough strength to look away and remember that there is actually a performance going on. Five angels dance with each other using expressive hand movements as they spin around, but never once touching each other.
The dance is a game. A game spoken with more than touch, and I’m starting to think playing this kind of game with a king might get someone killed.
Chapter 9
“Ready for equestrian studies?” Vesnia asks as she walks into my bedroom this morning after putting her tray back in her room. I frown at myself in the mirror as I take in the skin-tight black riding pants, the thin white T-shirt and tall boots. “Okay, you look incredible! Who knew you were hiding that kind of body!”
“I wasn’t hiding, I just never wear things like this,” I reply.
“Want me to French plait your hair out of the way?” she asks. “And yeah, you’ve been hiding. Or more likely, a certain bestie was hiding you away from all the other fish in the ocean.”
“Riley just sees me as a friend, Ves,” I remind her as I sit on the floor in front of where she sits on my bed, and I grab a packet of Parma Violets to chew on as she does my hair. Who knows what I’m going to do when I run out of my sweets? Have a mini-breakdown maybe? She slowly brushes my hair before starting the plaits, and I try not to wince from how hard she tugs on my hair to keep the plaits tight.
“I think he is confused about you,” she genuinely tells me.
“Nope, he isn’t, and I’m not. Honestly, about two years ago, we came close to kissing and it repulsed us both,” I say and chuckle at the memory. “I never had siblings, and he is my brother in that sense.”
“Got it,” she replies, but I sense she doesn’t believe me. “I had a best friend like that back home, but our relationship turned into more just before I died.”
“I’m sorry, that really sucks,” I whisper, catching her dark eyes in the mirror on the wall.
“Yep, especially when I just came out of the closet with her and told my dad. My life was literally the best it could have been before it was just gone,” she says.
“Well, I don’t care, you know that, right?” I ask as she finishes tying the end of my plait up. I turn and look up at her, seeing the real worry in her gaze. “You are my friend, and I don’t think anyone should have to hide who they like or love.”
“I’m happy I’ve told you now. I spent years worrying about telling my family and friends before, and I don’t want to start off my second life like that,” she firmly states. “My dad told me to always be proud of who I am and who I love. I fully intend to live my life that way.”
“You can tell me anything, just for the record. I won’t judge you. Ever,” I say and stand up. “And by the way, the riding outfit looks amazing on you too.”
“Oh I know,” she says and winks at me. “Now, can we discuss how jelly I am that you get to be the gardener’s assistant and spend time with him?”
“Hey, I thought you liked girls,” I bump her shoulder as we walk out the room, and she laughs.
“A girl can change her mind for a guy who looks like that. Well, at least for one night,” she replies, and I laugh with her. She does have a point.
“I’m actually looking forward to gardening. Now, if this place had a library full of new romance books, I might not try to escape in the future,” I jokingly say as we get outside and breathe in the warm air. The orb is shining bright light, and I look around for the sun, not finding it anywhere. The gardens outside the academy are just as spectacular as the greenhouse, and I know I need to have a good walk around on the weekend. As I try to remember which way the stables are, Vesnia tugs me aside just as two angels land right in front of me. If Ves didn’t move me, they would have knocked me over for sure. Both of them are dark angels with bright blonde, waist-length hair, and the only difference between them is one of them has green eyes and the other blue. They are clearly twins, and they never grew out of the stage where you stop matching your clothes as kids to look cute.
“Watch out, newbies,” the green-eyed girl all but hisses. Jessica lands next to her a second later, frowning at me, and I smile back.
“Annie, Bonnie, this is the girl I told you two about,” Jessica announces, flipping her hair over her shoulder. “Kaitlyn Lightson.” My name sounds like poison as she spits it out.
“I’m Bonnie, and this is Annie. We will be seeing you around, newbie,” Bonnie declares, smacking my shoulder as she goes past. I watch them walk away, and as they get to the door and go inside, Annie turns back. “By the way, the princesses always protect the queen. You should know that before you try and take the king.”
“Do you think it matters that I have zero interest in the king...wait, Henry. I’m not calling him that,” I mutter, rolling my eyes. Ves sighs.
“Day one, and we already have enemies. I knew there was a reason I hated high school, and this place is like high school but with angels,” she drones.
“Angel high school should come with a warning about the psychopathic blondes who roam the corridors,” I whisper.
“Or hot guys,” she whispers back to me, nudging her head in the direction of the trees. Right at the start of the forest is a little hut, and in front of it is a shirtless Thallon digging in the soil, covered in mud. Hot damn. Sweat drips down his impressive chest onto his six-pack and that V shape that dips into his trousers. There is a tattoo on his ribs of some kind of words, and I have to snap my jaw shut as he looks up and sees us, and he waves. I wave back and all but trip on thin air as Vesnia laughs and tugs me away before I can make more of a fool of myself. We see a few more of the students from our class as we head to the stables, which are busy as I find Riley talking to a light angel near the front. The light angel lifts his bushy eyebrows and points at me, and Riley nods when he looks back.
“Welcome, class, I do hope you had a good night’s sleep. My name is Professor Nina for all those who have forgotten,” she comments from the stable door. “Now in my lesson, I will teach you how to care for your horse, how to call your horse on demand and become a fighting pair.” She pauses and clears her throat. “I want each of you to stand a good distance ap
art and use your whistle. The whistle will only work if you want your horse to come, so you must want to call your horse. Let’s start.”
“Good luck,” I whisper to Vesnia as we walk apart. I find a clear space near the edge of the stable and pick up my necklace. I place the cold silver whistle in my mouth and close my eyes, thinking of Ayda. The second I blow the whistle, a strange hum of something shivers over my skin, and I know she heard me. I open my eyes, seeing other students blowing their whistles, but there is no sound coming out, and then I hear the horses. The sound of their wings cutting through the air can’t be missed. I look up as a herd of horses fly in the air, and right in the front is Ayda. She leads the group, and they fly in circles as they land right in a line behind Ayda in front of me. I smile at her and place my hand on her head, enjoying the simple contact of her soft fur. She neighs at me, and I suspect we agree. I try to think back to riding her last and how natural it felt, even though I was just in a cloak and I’d never ridden a horse before. Let alone a flying horse.
“Very good work. Except for you, what is your name?” Professor Nina asks, and I turn to see her asking a guy with brown hair.
“Eric, but I did try—”
“I think your horse has let you go for being weak. I am sorry,” she softly tells him, placing her hands on his shoulders. I scream along with my classmates as Professor Nina roughly turns Eric’s head to the side, and a snap rings out in the silence. Eric’s body crumbles to the floor, and Professor Nina leans down, picking up the whistle and tugging it from his body. I’m shaking as everyone is dead silent, and Professor Nina goes back to her happy smile.