Descent (The Immortal Chronicles Book 1)

by Sloane Murphy

  “Party’s over ladies and gents, I suggest you put your drinks down and head back to your dorms right about now. Anyone who even thinks about protesting is going to seriously regret it,” Xander’s voice booms across the room. Everyone’s shocked still. Why is he even here? He’s meant to be back on the grounds of the Valoire Palace. A few girls start whispering about how pretty he sounds, he’s the only English guy we’ve ever met. Apparently he’s old too, so everyone sees him as some strict English gentleman to crush on. Personally I don’t see it.

  “Now!” he shouts, and the room becomes a buzz of movement as people put their drinks down, and start to head out. I stay sat where I am, I know Livvy and Logan will come over here to find us, so we can all head out together.

  “Maybe we should head out Ads?” Tyler whispers in my ear. It tickles, and I can’t help but giggle at him.

  “Miss Tate, Mr Knight. Shouldn’t you be moving by now?” I look up and see Xander looming over us.

  I stand up, followed by Tyler who takes my hand. It feels like I’m being claimed as they stare each other down, and I don’t like it. Xander takes a step closer, he’s so close to me right now, I’m sure if I took a deep breath I’d be touching him. My skin tingles where I’m pressed between them, and I can’t help the sensations I feel. I clear my throat to try and stop the display of testosterone that’s happening around me, when Livvy and Logan rock up next to us and Xander takes a step back. He still hasn’t broken eye contact with Tyler – I have no idea what’s going on there.

  “Are you guys coming?” Livvy asks, breaking the tension as Ty looks over to her and smiles.

  “Yeah, sure thing Liv. Come on Addie, let’s go,” he replies, tugging on my hand to pull me away.

  I follow them, but look back at Xander who is watching me leave. Dimitri has joined him and is stood talking to him, but it doesn’t look like he’s listening. I shoot him a small smile, before I tuck myself into Tyler’s side and head back to the dorm.

  I knew it was her as soon as I saw her across that room, she stood out among the crowd, I was drawn to her as soon as I walked in. Her big eyes zoned in on me and it was as if no-one else was in the room. Then I saw that pathetic boy pawing all over her and I saw red.

  She may not be mine, yet, but she deserves much better than some teenage boy. I hold myself back, knowing that she doesn’t know who I am. She doesn’t know that I’ve been watching over her, her entire life. Even if she doesn’t know that I’ve been there, I’ve always been in the shadows, making sure no real harm comes to her, stepping in where I can. That’s the whole reason Dimitri is the Defence leader. I wanted her to train with the best, and other than me, he is the next best option.

  I left D to shut the party down for the main part, I was solely focused on Addie. Then that goofball thinks he can mawl her, try and claim possession of her? He might as well have pissed on her, it was disgusting, treating her like something he can own. I don’t trust him.

  I try to calm the internal war going on, the one between leaving her alone for her own good, and stealing her away and hiding her away. Neither sit well with me, so I try to tame the beast within me that tells me she’s mine. At least I know she’s safe here at the Academy. It’s why I picked this one for her. She’ll never know the input I’ve had on her life, from picking Livvy to be her roommate - her family were good people, and I knew she needed that – to which dorm she ended up in.

  I watch her leave the room, and it takes a minute before I realise Dimitri is talking to me.

  “Man, you’ve got it bad,” he laughs.

  “I don’t know what you’re on about,” I deny. “I just want what is best for her, and that snot bag isn’t it,” I growl.

  He laughs at me again, slapping me on the shoulder. “Sure thing man, you keep telling yourself that.”

  I hear Livvy squeal, and I groan into my pillow.

  “Come on Liv, it’s a Saturday. Why are you awake already?” I moan at her. I miss sleeping in late, and last night wasn’t exactly an early one.

  After Dimitri and Xander broke up the party, all four of us came back and watched a movie, ate some popcorn, then ended up playing some stupid board game until about three in the morning. I glance at the clock and see that it’s only seven in the freaking morning. “Really Liv, FOUR HOURS! We’ve had four hours of sleep. Ugh!”

  “Don’t be such a downer Addie! Today is shopping day, and we can get our dresses for Prom!” she squeaks, and I moan again. God, I’d forgotten about prom. The idea of wearing a puffy dress and heels, while the boys wear suits, and we all stand awkwardly in the main assembly hall, with cheesy old world music on. This is one old world tradition I am not a fan of!

  “Ughhh, fine! What time does the shuttle leave to go to the centre? God forbid they could bring clothes here, like normal!”

  “Addie! Stop it! They let us go shop like we will do in the future, because it’s a special occasion. Please don’t ruin this for me. I’m so excited about finding the perfect dress, and about how amazing prom is going to be. I’ve been working so hard on the committee to make sure it’ll be amazing. Please just try, for me?” she pleads, and she’s doing that look that she does. The one that I can’t say no to, and if I even consider it, I’ll feel guilty for days. Stupid puppy eyes.

  “Fine! But I’m getting something black Livvy, I refuse flat out to wear colour! That’s my limit.”

  “Yay!” she squeals, as she dives onto the bed and hugs me. I laugh at her enthusiasm, and if it wasn’t so damn early, it might even be catching.

  “Yeah, yeah. Now let me up so I can go shower. I do not want to go out there stinking the place up. Are the guys coming?” I ask.

  “I haven’t asked, but I imagine so. I’ll go check now while you shower, then I’ll finish getting myself ready.” She smiles at me as she bounces around the room. I sink back into bed and psych myself up for doing the awake thing, all I want to do is sleep. I heave myself out of bed, grab my stuff and head to the shower room.

  When I get back, I can smell the coffee as I walk in the room. Thank heavens for Liv! I sink it down in a matter of seconds, she must’ve got it as soon as I left because it was the perfect temperature. No burning my tongue today. Score!

  “So….” she says to me, looking at me like she’s going to burst.

  “So, what?”

  “Seriously! You and Tyler! Last night! Tell me EVERYTHING!” she squeals.

  “There’s not much to say really, I guess. Well maybe? I honestly don’t know,” I ramble. “He tried to kiss me, that didn’t happen, because well, it felt a little weird. Maybe? Maybe I just wasn’t ready for it. But he made it very clear that you were right, and no, I won’t say that again, but yes, he is definitely interested in being more than just my friend.”

  “Yes! I knew it!” she squeaks, punching the air. “Well? Are you going to give in to him? You have to you know that right?”

  “Maybe, I’m just going to see how it goes ya know? It seems so fast.”

  “It might be fast Addie, but if it’s right, then it’s right. Who said love had to be measured in time?”

  I let what she says sink in as I dry my hair, and she seems to get that I don’t want to talk about it anymore. That’s exactly why I love her. She gets me. I straighten my hair then finish drying myself off and put on my standard jeans and black t-shirt, then lace up my boots and grab my leather jacket. At least I can be comfortable while in my own personal hell.

  “Are you ready?” Liv asks from her bed.

  “I am, are the guys coming?” She nods her head at me, “Okay, well then let’s go,” I say and grab my key, which I stash in my pocket along with our credits for today.

  I open the door and knock on Ty’s door. He opens it and I’m reminded of just how pretty he is to look at. He’s got his beanie on with a white tee, his jeans hug his hips and he just looks yummy. I look up and see his smirk as he watches me check him out. He lifts his arms to the top of the door frame, filling the space and lo
oks down at me.

  “Like what you see?” he asks, the smirk still on his face.

  “You know I do, now get your ass ready, because I am so not ready for today, it’s going to suck. I’m going to suck.” He laughs at me and shakes his head, before pulling me in for a hug. Sigh. He really does smell so good. He kisses the top of my head before releasing me. I hear my door click from behind me and realise Livvy has joined us.

  “Logan!” he hollers, which is pointless because he’s only about eight feet away. “Let’s go!” He grabs his wallet and keys and joins me and Livvy in the hallway.

  Liv links her arm through mine and skips as she drags me down the hall, down the stairwell and out of the dorm. The sun is shining and it’s a beautiful day, I hope it stays that way, only thing worse than being up this early, is if it rains on a day I got up this early. The shuttle is at the edge of the courtyard, just where we got dropped off on our first day here. I turn around and see Tyler and Logan with Benny and the rest of the guys, before starting for the shuttle with Liv.

  ***

  After being dragged through more stores than I can count, Livvy has tried on more dresses than I thought could exist, and has grown more frustrated at me for not having picked anything out.

  “Come on Addie, we only have time for one more store, we NEED to get something in here!” she pleads as she pulls me into a little boutique, which is drastically quiet. Thank goodness. There have been so many people everywhere today. I’m not really a people person. Livvy starts going through the racks and a sales girl walks over to her. They start animatedly discussing the upcoming prom and what the perfect dress looks like. I leave them to it; I would be absolutely no use to Liv at this point.

  I browse through a few dresses and come across a long black gown. It’s absolutely beautiful, and I know this is the one. I grab it and try it on while Livvy is distracted, the last thing I need is her over-reacting about the dress. It’s different from my normal style but it’s the only one I’ve seen all day that I actually like.

  Once it’s on and I’ve made up my mind, I get the sales girl to ring it through. It must be on sale because the price she asks for is only about a third of what the tag says, but I’m not about to complain. I hand over my credits; thankful I’ve got enough left to get the earrings in the glass counter that will look perfect with my dress.

  Once I’ve got my stuff all bagged up, I go and sit on the sofa by the waiting room and wait for Livvy to finish. She doesn’t show me her dress either, I guess she wants it to be a surprise. But I hear her squeal and know she’s fallen in love with one. The sales girl rushes into the changing room and they both gush about how amazing it looks.

  “Oh Addie, it’s so perfect! I can’t wait for Peter to see it! He’s just going to die!” she squeals from inside the changing room. I don’t respond because I don’t need to. She changes and gets the sales girl to ring up her dress, shoes and jewellery. I stay where I am, just watching her when I see her shoulders drop. She looks over to me and I can see the disappointment all over her face. I jump up and head over, ready to take the bitches head off her shoulders if she upset Liv.

  “What’s wrong?” I ask Livvy, she looks like she’s going to cry.

  “I don’t have enough Ads. It’s so pretty, and I look just like Mom in it.” I hand over what’s left of my credits, and she hugs me in the tightest embrace she ever has.

  “Thank you Addie,” she whispers to me, and I wonder about her dress. The only picture she has left of her parents is one of them on their wedding day. It sits on the table next to her bed and she says goodnight to them every night.

  “Anything for you Livvy, you know that. You ready to head back to the shuttle?” she nods to me, a smile back on her face as she picks up her bags and follows me out of the store. We head back to the shuttle to see that we’re the last ones back, shocker there. We climb on board and take a seat where the guys have saved us space.

  “You guys have fun?” Logan asks us, Tyler smirks as I flip him the bird.

  “Oh yeah, bundles,” I say rolling my eyes. Livvy slaps my arm and laughs at me.

  “She’s exaggerating as usual, it was awesome! I love shopping!” she says beaming, and we all laugh at her enthusiasm. I put my head back and close my eyes, as the shuttle starts back to the Academy. I feel like I could sleep for a week!

  It’s finally here, and I wish I could be as excited about it as everyone else is. God knows this last week has been nothing but Prom talk, and Prom prep. We’ve had a massive gazebo set up on the back field for tonight. I look in the mirror in front of me, and wonder why we’re partying already. Evals aren’t over, we’ve still got shit to do. And yet, even the Keepers are going crazy about Prom. The looks from the girls in lower years when they’re asked to go with guys that will be graduating with me, makes me feel a bit sick. Don’t they understand that there are more important things to be thinking about than a dance?

  I know I’ve always been different, I’ve never been one of the girls, I’ve always had a strong sense of duty. The feeling that I needed to prove myself. To be better. It’s like a shadow that follows me, and so I push myself, the Red Guard being my goal. So all of this seems like a waste of time, but jeez, there is no way I would ever say that to Livvy. Which is why I’m sat here looking at my reflection, not really recognising who I’m looking at, while she’s already down at the gazebo looking beautiful as always, helping the committee with the set up.

  I’m not entirely sure what it is Liv has done to my face, but I seem to glow. My grey eyes are lined with black, with a silver gem on the inside corner of each eye, and a line of glitter underneath, fanning out into a wing on the outer eye, making them look even bigger than normal. She’s added some green shadow to the tops of my lids, bringing out the silver of my eyes even more, and she’s finished it all with a nude lip colour, ‘eyes or lips Addie, never both’ I laugh to myself at her makeup mantra. She’s curled my hair into big barrel curls so they ripple down my back, with the most beautiful hair piece I’ve ever seen. At first I thought it was a necklace, but then she fastened the chain under the top half of my hair. It’s a black piece which sits along my hair line, made up of intricate swirling patterns that almost look like lace, which comes to a point just above the centre of my eyes, with a green teardrop hanging from the end. I have no idea how she knew about my dress, or if she even does, but it matches it perfectly.

  I get up and go to my closet, and pull out the bag that my dress is hung in, unzip it and let the material fall away. I pull my dress out and stare at it before slipping it on, hoping like hell I can get away with no bra, as it’s impossible to wear one with it.

  I smooth it down and walk back to the mirror, and sigh deeply. It is as perfect as I thought it was in the shop. The top panel comes up to my neck and is black lace, with loops for straps, it goes down and meets the black silky material that makes up the rest of my princess line dress. My back is completely bare, with the skirt starting just above my ass, floating down a few inches below my feet, so that when I lift on to the tips of my toes, it brushes the ground. I slip on the black heels Livvy left out for me, and run my hands down the dress as I try to calm myself. I can’t remember one time in my life where I wore anything like this, and if I manage to survive tonight without going ass over teacup, then the Red Guard will be a breeze. I laugh out loud to myself and my crazy thoughts. It’s just a freaking dance! I take a deep breath to calm myself, and put on the long black cape that came with the dress.

  I finish fastening it, when there’s a knock at the door and I smile. Tyler. I open the door and my jaw just about hits the floor, both Logan and Tyler stand before me looking more like men than I’ve ever seen them. Logan is in a black suit, with a deep red shirt and black tie, while Ty is wearing a silver grey suit with a black shirt and silver tie.

  “Well damn boys, you both look HOT!” I laugh. I can’t help myself. Ty smirks at me while Logan runs his hands through his hair, bless him, he embarrasses so easily
!

  “Not looking so bad there yourself beautiful,” Ty says to me as he walks towards me, wrapping his arms around me and drawing me in close to him. I tangle myself in him and look up into his eyes.

  “Just stunning wild cat. I’m not sure I want to share you, looking like that.”

  I slap his arm and take a step back. Boys!

  “Don’t be stupid Ty, can you imagine the fit Liv would pitch if we ditched prom? Believe me, I’ve considered it. Let’s get this show on the road,” I say and grab my clutch bag, shooing them out of the room so I can lock the door.

  I link my arm with Logan and wink at him, as I hear Ty growl from behind us. I look back at him innocently and see the scowl on his face. I can’t help but giggle at his reaction.

  “Come on, you too hot stuff. I like the idea of being escorted to this thing, with the two hottest guys in there on my arms.” They both laugh at me as Ty takes my other arm, and we make our way out to the gazebo.

  The darkness that greets us outside is lifted as we walk around to the gazebo, which looks to be as tall as the dorm building we just left. There is a long walkway from the back courtyard, to where the gazebo enhances the light. The path is lined with trees that are covered with hundreds of tiny lights, which sparkle lighting the path. They’re every few feet, and alternate on each side. The sight is so magical, it feels like it’s something I’ve seen before, and a memory tugs at the back of my mind, but I can’t focus on it as we start to walk down the cobbled pathway that wasn’t here this afternoon.

  We enter the gazebo through a curtain, to what I guess is the reception area. Again the darkness is thick in here, illuminated by smaller versions of the trees we just passed. A Keeper that is one of the teachers here is behind a desk, stamping each person’s hand before they can enter. We walk over and get ours done, and head past a red rope barrier which leads to so many stairs, covered in a red carpet.