Labyrinth Academy 2: Wars: an Urban Fantasy academy romance

by JA Wren

  She’d be done for.

  Drowning in a sea of monstrous insects.

  A tiny, glowing light caught her eye right as her back bowed. Her hands dug into the grass beneath her, trying to hold herself up against the weight of the bugs clambering over her. It zipped around her head in a little halo of red, and she almost sobbed with relief.

  “Tink,” she gasped. She’d never been happier to see the Wisp. “Where’s Ash?”

  Tink did three loops around her head, so fast she was a blur, and Rayna saw a flicker of an image—Asher battling two flaming creatures. His brothers, no doubt.

  She had to get to him. Had to help him. Before his brothers went after Delilah and her friends.

  Which meant she needed to get free of the damn Everlastings.

  Already she was sagging, nearly disappearing in the chirping mass.

  “Can you get rid of these things?” she asked Tink. The Wisp shook her miniature head. “Shit.”

  “Ray-Ray?” Kally appeared beside her. “Hold on, I’ll get you out.”

  She swung a huge sword glowing with white light, cutting through a layer of cicadas. The bugs squealed and scuttled away, only to come crawling back as Kally turned to slice through another layer.

  It took forever, but Rayna was finally free enough she could rise to her feet and help Kally battle the Everlastings.

  “How did you get out of the Grand Hall?” Rayna asked when the bugs were almost gone.

  Kally skewered a straggler with the tip of her sword and tossed it. “These critters suddenly did a U-turn and bolted. Most got roasted by Asher, but clearly not all of them. I left hotness to battle it out with his own kind and came looking for you. Good thing I did.”

  Kally grabbed Rayna’s wrist and tugged her along the cobble path, through the trees near the magical creatures realm. “We need to get you out of here.”

  “Everyone else safe?”

  “For now. Xander finally blasted another exit. Nick’s helping them get kids out that way. Hale, Quincy, and Lucia are ushering them to safety as we speak.”

  Rayna jerked her head around, scanning the grounds. Little wafts of gray smoke rose from the charred earth where she’d faced off against Ember and Khol. “Why haven’t the statues been deployed?”

  “They have,” Kally said softly, leading Rayna towards the greenhouses. Presumably taking her to the Lunar Fields. “It’s a full-scale assault, Ray-Ray. Multiple zones are under attack and the statues are doing their best to keep the worst of it from reaching the academy gates. Keep it within the labyrinth where they have more control. Where students can’t get in the way and end up hurt. Or worse.”

  Holy shit.

  “Wait.” Rayna tugged on Kally’s tight grip. “I can’t leave Asher. We have to go back and help him. Help the others. And where the hell is Tink?”

  She’d been there a minute ago. Right before Kally appeared.

  “Hotness can take care of himself. He’d want me to get you to safety. You know he would.”

  Yeah, maybe. But it wasn’t what she wanted. She wasn’t some little princess who’d sit in her ivory tower while the rest of the academy waged battle.

  She jerked her wrist free and turned to head up the path again. “I’m going back.”

  He could be pissed at her if he wanted, but she wouldn’t apologize for caring. For refusing to lose him. Again. Besides, he’d promised not to leave her side. She’d remind him of that if she had to.

  A whoosh came from behind her, then Kally dropped down in front of Rayna, blocking her path with her bat-like wings extended either side of her. “I can’t let you do that, Ray-Ray.”

  Rayna groaned. “I don’t have time to argue. Ash and our friends are in danger, and I refuse to go hide while they fight. I’m not a fragile fucking princess in need of coddling.”

  Or a damsel, for that matter.

  Her control might still be spotty, but she wasn’t useless.

  Kally’s sword glowed to life, her hands clenching around the hilt as she held it up in front of her.

  Rayna rolled her eyes at her bestie. “You’re really going to fight me?”

  “If I have to.” Kally adjusted her grip on the sword, the movement highlighting a symbol engraved into the silvery blade. “Or you could make this easy and come with me.”

  Rayna frowned at the etching. She’d seen something similar before, a simplified version with none of the detailing. With shaky hands, she lifted her palm and stared at the golden mark Dave had drawn on her skin.

  Backward C. An O with a line speared through the center of the two.

  They weren’t initials. Not even close.

  Kally’s sword revealed their true meaning—a sun and a moon. Night and day joined together.

  Rayna’s stomach dropped, her heart plummeting with it.

  Oh, gods.

  No. Not Kally.

  Twenty-Six

  “You,” Rayna gasped out, her heart tearing in two. “You’re the one who attacked Delilah and Ethan.”

  Kally winced, dropping the tip of her sword just a little. “Look, it wasn’t supposed to go down like that. And to be clear, it wasn’t actually me, though it was…an associate of mine.”

  A choked sound escaped Rayna. “Associate?”

  “This is bigger than you seem to think, Ray-Ray. War is coming, hon. You can’t stop it. You can’t deny it. And you sure as Hades can’t stick your head in the sand and pretend it doesn’t exist.” Kally curled her lip. “Like hotness back there. Asher’s been in denial for so damn long, he thinks he can avoid the inevitable. And now he’s gone and convinced you, too. Which, you know, is a giant pain in my ass and really confirms that men are a bag of dicks.”

  Rayna shook her head and edged back. “I can’t believe you’re part of this.” Another thought hit her. “The missing Valkyries?”

  Kally gave her a sad smile. “At some point, you’re gonna have to pick a side, Ray-Ray. This flopping around like a dead fish is really not working for anyone.”

  “And what side are you on?” she asked, mostly to keep her ex-bestie talking while she drew on the shadows, collecting the darkness. She tipped her head at the symbol on Kally’s blade. “Does that have something to do with it?”

  Kally shrugged one shoulder. “Light and dark are joining forces, babe. There is no middle ground here. No gray area. There’ll be winners and losers. I, for one, choose to be on the winning side.”

  “No,” she whispered, a shiver wracking down her spine as she remembered Liv’s words. “There’ll only be death.”

  A light shone in Kally’s eyes, the excited gleam of an unhinged mad woman. “And the world will be cleansed, not with fire or ice, but death and life. It’ll be beautiful. A fresh start. Like burned grass that grows back greener, healthier than before. The world will begin anew.”

  “You can’t be serious.”

  Kally’s eyes darkened and she gripped her sword tighter, raising it back up, ready to cleave through anything in her way. “In time, you’ll understand. This is the only way to fix everything.”

  Over Kally’s shoulder, Rayna saw a tiny glowing dot in the distance, slowly growing brighter. A flash of relief swept through her, but she didn’t dwell on it. Didn’t want to alert Kally that something was up.

  “No deal,” she gritted out at Kally. “You can claim a higher purpose all you want, but the truth is, this is about taking the throne of Olympus and you know it. It’s about power.”

  “It’s so much more than that, Ray-Ray.”

  “To you, maybe.” Rayna clenched her fists, tightening her hold on the darkness until the scent of ozone washed over her. “But it definitely isn’t to those you’re working with.”

  She unleashed the darkness before Kally could utter another word, letting it wrap around her former-BFF. Smothering her. Sucking all the oxygen from her lungs.

  If she could knock her out, maybe she could get her to the Retention Chamber. Lock her up and talk some sense into the woman.

&nb
sp; She had to see reason.

  Right?

  At the very least, Rayna had to try. She owed her that much after a lifetime of friendship.

  Kally broke free of the smoke and flapped her leathery wings. She took flight, but Tink gave chase. She came up close behind Kally and spun around her as the two rose higher. Acting like a mosquito, the Wisp buzzed around Kally so fast she couldn’t get a grip on her.

  It was a good distraction, but it wouldn’t hold Kally at bay for long.

  Rayna gathered more darkness, hoping to replicate the tornado thing again and send out black tentacles. Rip Kally from the damn sky. But instead, it thickened in her hands, the smoke densifying until a wicked scythe took form. The blade solidified into dark glass streaked with crackling red lightning.

  Okay, cool and all, but it wasn’t exactly helpful. Not in a fight where her opponent was halfway to the clouds. She had to get to Tink. Fast.

  She tried again with the tentacles, raising both palms up at Kally, but the smoke gathered thicker at her back.

  What the fuck?

  She glanced over her shoulder as the plumes billowed and took shape. They fanned out into a pair of beautiful, smoky wings. Black as a starless sky with red sparks snapping from the edges.

  Yes!

  With a burst of pure joy because she felt like she’d been waiting for that to happen forever, she flew after Tink and Kally. Her wings were wobbly at first and she almost collided with a tree. But they held steady, carrying her higher and higher until she could see the entire academy grounds, right out into the labyrinth.

  Battles were being waged all over the place. Chaos in every direction. Smoke and bursts of colorful light. Sparks and shards of ice or glass cutting through the air. Roars of pain and clanging metal as the hedges rustled.

  But it was the blazing fire right outside the Grand Hall that held her attention.

  Asher.

  She wasted precious seconds as she told herself he could hold his own. He’d be fine. She needed to focus on Tink. With a silent apology to him, she awkwardly swerved through the air and scanned the sky for Kally.

  She spotted Tink’s red glow several feet away, flickering on and off. Rayna flew in that direction, struggling to steer with her new wings. The two came into view, the moonlight glinting off Kally’s sword.

  Faster.

  She had to move faster.

  The sword glowed brighter, a streak of white against the dark sky.

  Images flitted through Rayna’s head, flash memories drowning her. She blinked them back because worst timing ever. But they kept coming. The past and present mingling. Double exposure.

  The arc of a glowing sword.

  A white blade slicing through a tiny flame.

  “No!” Rayna screamed. Past and present.

  Tink fell from the sky and Rayna’s heart shattered into a million tiny pieces.

  The Wisp’s glow faded, and she winked out of sight.

  Gone.

  Dead?

  Rayna roared at the sharp slice cutting through her chest, a part of her dying along with Tink. Ripped from her as though it had been cleaved from her chest.

  She swore she heard Asher yelling her name in the distance, but she didn’t spare it more than a passing thought.

  Darkness oozed inside her. Like thick tar demanding to be set free. Her body hummed, nerves and skin buzzing. Vibrating. Black smoke, crackling with red, burst in every direction. A bomb detonating. An explosion with her in the very center.

  It engulfed the sky, blanketing everything in its path. She wanted it to flow further, flood the earth until there was nothing left.

  Only darkness.

  Only death.

  Liv’s words slammed into her. Then a flash memory. Like a piece of a giant puzzle. It was a mere fragment, a sliver of the whole picture, but with it, several other lost sections fell into place and suddenly made sense.

  It knocked the breath from her lungs.

  Wait.

  That was Asher.

  He collided with her mid-air, wrapping his arms around her and surrounding them with scorching flames. More than she’d ever seen blazing from his body. They devoured the darkness, seeking out every tendril and coiling it all back into their tight bubble.

  “Asher,” she whimpered shakily into the crook of his neck. “There’s so much darkness.”

  “I know.” His voice was hard and gritty as he spoke right into her ear. Strained. “I need you to rein it in, love. I can only hold it back for so long. You have to help me here.”

  “I don’t know how. It’s too much.”

  “You can do this.” He kissed the side of her neck, his hands running soothing tracks across her back, right through her smoky wings. “You’ve done it a million times. Relax and concentrate. Reel it in nice and slow. Remember, just a deep breath.”

  She closed her eyes. Then filled her lungs with oxygen, more and more as she willed the darkness back into her.

  Slowly, it seeped away.

  “That’s it, love,” Asher praised. “You’re doing so well. A little more and we’ll be good.”

  The scythe still clutched in her hands melted away, shifting back into thin puffs of smoke. Then her wings faded into barely-there outlines. She released a sigh as the last of the darkness fled, leaving her cold and shaky. Empty. A chunk of her soul lost with Tink.

  “Where’s Kally?” she forced out, her throat scratchy and raw from her scream.

  “Gone.”

  “What do you mean gone?”

  “She high-tailed it out of here when you went nuclear.” He eased back enough to meet her eyes. “We can talk about it later, but right now I need to get you to safety.”

  She shuddered in his arms. “That’s exactly what Kally said.”

  He stiffened but said nothing as he slid one arm around her back and the other under her knees. She sagged against him, all her energy fading out along with the darkness. Making her feel even emptier than before.

  He was about to descend when he froze, a solid block of ice around her. Rayna followed his line of sight and spotted something in the distance. Two figures flying along the edges of the academy, flaming wings outstretched as they surveyed the chaos still raging.

  Asher’s brothers.

  He stared out at them, a fierce look turning his face to granite. His muscles tightening until he gripped her hard enough he’d leave bruises.

  She touched a hand to his cheek, his skin still hot enough to melt iron. “You have to go after them.”

  “I’m not leaving you.” But he didn’t glance away from his brothers. “Look what happens when we split up.”

  She let out a broken sob. They were supposed to stay together. That had been the plan. Until hell came at them with a swarm of fucking cicadas.

  “I need to find Tink,” she croaked.

  “Not now.”

  “Yes, now.” Her hand slid away from him to swipe at the tears falling down her cheeks. “I won’t abandon her.”

  He finally tore his gaze from his brothers and gently flew them down to the ground, right outside the Grand Hall. “Rayna, you just came fully into your powers again. You’re unstable. If you go searching for Tink now, you might endanger other students if you lose control.”

  “I—”

  “No arguments, Miss Knox.” Hale stepped into view, her usually pristine appearance ragged, and Rayna swore her blue dress held various scorch marks. “Asher will be taking you to a secure location while we handle this situation. Please do not waste valuable time fighting me on this. I’m already dealing with more than enough right now.”

  Rayna opened her mouth, but nothing left her lips. She didn’t want to add to Hale’s stress. Didn’t want to cause more havoc when the academy was already flooded with chaos. More than anything, she didn’t want to inadvertently hurt anyone.

  So, she nodded.

  Hale’s shoulders relaxed, tension visibly leaving her posture. “Asher. Take her to the infirmary. She’ll be safe there.
”

  Asher let his wings loose and carried her back up into the sky, high enough she could see all the way to the edges of the labyrinth surrounding the academy.

  The battle continued, smoke rising from the smoldering hedges and screams echoing through the night. Tiny glowing lights flickered inside the labyrinth and Rayna wept anew for Tink.

  Should’ve let her go home to her own realm sooner.

  She’d been selfish hanging on to the Wisp.

  And now Tink was dead.

  Twenty-Seven

  “Quarantine?” Rayna blurted as she eyed the block lettering on the heavy door they passed.

  A nurse led them to the rear end of the infirmary, away from the triage area they’d arranged for wounded students and faculty. The infirmary itself was compact, so they’d set up cots in the main admin building.

  Asher nodded. “For students who haven’t mastered control of their powers.” He dipped his head, almost…ashamed? “This is where Nissa spent the night after she burned your room.”

  She wriggled out of his grasp, fighting his hold as everything inside her screamed escape. That was the last thing she expected when Hale said they were taking her to a secure location.

  Quarantine made her think hazmats and deadly viruses.

  Bright yellow biohazard signs.

  Death encased in scary plastic bubbles.

  “Are you—” Her voice broke. “Are you locking me in there?”

  “No.” Asher’s face contorted in disgust. He held up both hands, looking far more tired than she’d ever seen him. “Why would you think that?”

  Because she’d gone nuclear back there. His word choice.

  “How does it work?”

  He rubbed the back of his neck, then spoke calmly. Slow and gentle. Like he was trying to soothe a skittish fawn. “It’s a larger, more effective version of the Retention Chamber.”

  That made sense. They couldn’t exactly lock uncontrollable students inside the glass coffin for any length of time. That would be inhumane.

  “Would it work on me?”

  A deep frown crinkled his forehead. “Why would you ask that?”