A Demonic Year Two: A Reverse Harem Paranormal Bully Romance (Academy of the Devil Book 2)

by Eva Brandt

  I had no place to hide or retreat to, and it took me only a couple of seconds to fall under the assault of the feathery mob. Several crows landed next to my face and tried to peck my eyes out.

  I panicked. Energy exploded out of me, blasting the crows away. I didn’t even think about it too much, nor did I realize what I was doing. One moment, the birds were there, and the next, the scent of scorched flesh and burning feathers filled the air, and pieces of dead birds littered the ground.

  It was honestly pretty disgusting. For a few seconds, the only thing I could think about was the fact that the whole sanctum looked like a nightmarish version of a KFC kitchen, with burnt meat scattered all over the place. Then, those moments passed, and a fierce pang of regret coursed through me. I’d always hated violence toward animals. The birds had attacked me and I’d only defended myself when I killed them, but still, I wished I hadn’t been forced to do that. “I’m so sorry,” I told Morrigan. “I didn’t mean to kill them.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” Morrigan said. She flicked her fingers and a parchment popped up in front of her. She extracted another feather from her strange garment and jotted something down. Once she was done, she looked at me again. “This is battle magic. You have to realize that you’ll be forced to do far worse than kill a few birds. Granted, I could bring the birds back if I so desired, but it’s not necessary.”

  Did that mean the test was over? Had I passed it? Surely, it couldn’t have been so easy.

  Morrigan smiled as if she could guess my thoughts. “Don’t worry. We’re just getting started. I did promise you some monsters, didn’t I?”

  Yes, she had, but after my nauseating clash with the evil crows, I wouldn’t have been averse to avoiding any other fight. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a choice. Morrigan blew a gust of air over the feather in her hand, and then tossed it into the middle of the circle. It didn’t hit the ground per se, but rather, landed on the mess of animal parts.

  Under my horrified eyes, the crispy remnants of the birds began to come together in a strange, crimson blob that glowed with ominous, dark magic. The process should’ve alarmed me, but I was too distracted by the genuinely disturbing sight. It was kind of like looking at a car accident. You knew it was disgusting and you didn’t want to stare, but you couldn’t glimpse away. The… thing rippled and flared, changing color and consistency like a chemical experiment gone wrong. At the same time, I could’ve sworn I caught glimpses of beaks and claws underneath the transparent, gelatinous surface as if the birds were still inside it and were trying to escape.

  I’d seen a lot of weird things since I’d come to the academy, but this was the strangest one yet.

  While I didn’t know what to make of the blob, Mikael didn’t have such problems. “Lady Morrigan,” he snapped, “you never said anything about Lyssa having to fight a necromantic construct.”

  When my other teachers had brought up necromancy, I’d always imagined things like skeletons and zombies, not shapeless, amorphous blobs. I should’ve known better than to expect anything here would be predictable or make sense.

  Morrigan ignored Mikael’s protests and anxiety. “It is precisely a necromantic construct that she must fight. We already know that she can handle elemental magic and I don’t want to tackle shadow magic with her yet. This sort of creature will allow me to judge her raw power.”

  “Yes, but—”

  Before he could finish the sentence, several holes popped up in the surface of the strange blob. One was bigger than the others and when it moved, a loud screech echoed over the sanctum.

  The blob had a mouth now. Wonderful. Its digestive system was sorely lacking, though, because remnants of the crows I’d killed splattered all over the ground in front of me and on the hem of my dress.

  “Oh, that is foul,” I muttered as I took in the gruesome spectacle.

  “Necromancy usually is,” Morrigan replied. “You remember what you need to do, right? Just hit it.”

  That was easier said than done. Earlier, I’d instinctively lashed out at the crows because they’d attacked me, but the strange blob was barely moving. It didn’t seem much of a threat at all, not to my health, at least. If it got any closer, I might lose my lunch simply because of the way it reeked, but I wasn’t in any danger. Was I?

  Next to Mikael, Shiro started to pace anxiously. TB hissed in distress. Mikael clenched his fists, looking like he wanted to jump into the arena, to shield me from the threat.

  Okay so maybe underestimating the massive amalgamation of animal parts would be a bad idea. But what else I supposed to do? Yell Abracadabra? Bombarda?

  No one at The Academy of the Devil used spells. They just… seemed to know how to naturally channel their magic. It had come to me too when I’d needed it, but how did I summon it when I didn’t have to face an immediate threat?

  “Well?” Morrigan prodded. “What are you waiting for? It’s right there.”

  Yes, I could see it. My target was not the problem.

  Okay, Alyssa. You can do this. You can attack the blob. It shouldn’t be too difficult. Just focus on it and blast it away. Like with the birds.

  I lifted my hand and pointed it straight at the blob. Taking a deep breath, I tried to focus on the power that had helped me in my fight against the birds, on the core of energy that had burned so brightly inside me the day I’d lashed out against Professor Jones.

  Nothing. I was left standing there awkwardly, with my hand extended, mentally scrambling for something that wasn’t there.

  Morrigan snapped her fingers and all of a sudden, the blob started to move faster. It didn’t attack me, though. Instead, it lunged toward Mikael, Shiro, and TB like an amorphous cloud of body parts and hatred.

  It shouldn’t have been possible, considering the way the blob had been moving before and the raw material it had been created from. But this island and its inhabitants obeyed no rules, not even the simple laws of physics. Why would a necromantic construct be any different?

  It didn’t matter anyway, because the blob didn’t get the chance to reach my companions. Three seconds before it could hit them, the creature vanished, as if suddenly consumed by a black hole.

  This time, there was nothing left behind except the regurgitated remnants the blob had spat out.

  I let out a sigh of relief. Morrigan must’ve realized I wouldn’t be able to fight the thing off and had decided to intervene herself. Thank fuck. If she hadn’t stepped in, I didn’t know what would’ve happened.

  I opened my mouth to convey my gratitude to the goddess and to apologize for my failure. She stopped me before I could say a single word. “Congratulations, Ms. Michaelis. It would appear that you are as powerful as I expected.”

  My mind went blank. What the hell? There was no way I’d done that. I should’ve at least realized it if I’d been the one to attack the blob. Right?

  “That was me?” I asked, my voice sounding like a squeak that would’ve embarrassed me had the circumstances been less serious.

  “Indeed. Another instinctual response, no doubt.” Morrigan’s feather jotted something else, and then disappeared, along with the parchment. She looked up at me, and her stern expression could’ve meant anything at all. “You have a bit of a mental block when it comes to attacking something that isn’t a danger to you or someone you care about. That’s not a problem, since you are very young, and you’ll get used to the necessity of killing.”

  I swallowed around the sudden knot in my throat. I wasn’t sure I wanted to get used to that. I’d told myself that I wouldn’t lose my humanity, but it was getting increasingly clear that fulfilling that goal would be a little tougher than I’d expected.

  “I never want to go into battle or anything like that,” I protested. “I don’t really…”

  I trailed off when I realized I had no idea how to finish that sentence. ‘I don’t really belong here?’ I couldn’t say that, even if it was true and countless people—students and teachers alike—had pointed it out. I’d
made Mikael a promise and I couldn’t abandon him now, because it was inconvenient for me.

  Morrigan rescued me from having to come up with anything else to say, although not in a way I enjoyed. “What you want doesn’t matter, because you’ve already started a war. Didn’t you realize it, Alyssa? When you attacked David, you would’ve killed him had he not been already dead.”

  My insides froze at her comment. It shouldn’t have shocked me as much as it did, because I’d known the blast had been very powerful and had done a lot of damage. But I’d seen Professor Jones walk around perfectly fine after that, so the possible consequences of my actions hadn’t occurred to me.

  Shiro huffed in outrage at the not-quite accusation. He padded to my side, deftly avoiding the remnants of the dead birds. When he tugged on my gown with his fangs, I knelt next to him and absently petted him. TB was still on top of him, so I ended up scratching her scales too.

  This was so crazy and I didn’t know how to feel. I couldn’t regret having enough strength to defeat the threats that targeted the people I cared about, but at the same time, I couldn’t afford to lose control of that power to the point of not even realizing I’d used it.

  In front of me, Mikael clenched his fists and sparks of dark light danced over his hands and wrists. It was only for a moment, and then, he turned toward Morrigan and shot her a pleasant, meaningless smile. “Lady Morrigan, I hate to intervene, but could we be excused? Lyssa is tired. She’s had a long day.”

  Morrigan couldn’t have missed the fact that he was furious, but she ignored it anyway. “Yes, of course,” she replied. “By all means. Take a break. I’ll speak with you later and let you know the results of your test.”

  The latter sentence was clearly addressed to me and I knew I should be thanking her for her aid or providing her with any other kind of reply. My vocal cords refused to obey me, and Morrigan didn’t have the patience to wait. She didn’t bother retrieving her sword again either. Instead, she made an elaborate gesture with her hands, something that looked like an inverted cross, coupled with a pentagram. I had just enough time to wrap my arms around Shiro, before a surge of black feathers erupted from her body, engulfing me and my companions whole.

  After my clash with the murderous crows, I should have probably tried to fight back against the feathers. But the magic that vibrated over my skin was comforting and quiet, and somehow I knew nothing bad would happen to me.

  My instinct was proven correct seconds later when the black swarm dissipated into thin air, and I could see again. Much to my shock, I found myself standing in front of The House of Envy dorms.

  I recovered from my surprise with ease and shared a look with Mikael. “I have to say, Mikael, I might dislike many things about this place, but the means of transportation are very convenient.”

  “Yes and no,” Mikael replied, helping me up. “Not everyone can create a portal out of nothing, you know.”

  “Well, that’s one kind of magic I’d love to learn as soon as possible,” I told him. “It could come in handy.”

  “Noted,” he offered as he ushered me inside.

  The House of Envy dorms were quiet, now empty of all students except us. During summer break, everything seemed lazier and more sedate, even the portrait of our patron, Leviathan. The dim rays of the sun filtered lazily through the green curtains, making the dorm seem sleepy and welcoming.

  Side by side, Mikael and I headed toward our room. As Dean Mephistopheles had instructed me at the end of the previous year, I’d moved in with Mikael. As the head of our house, he hadn’t had roommates, and it was easy to accommodate another bed and a second wardrobe in his quarters.

  It was less easy to live with a guy I was so attracted to and not jump his bones, but right now, I was too tired to think about that. As soon as I was inside our shared room, I felt exhaustion hit me like a wrecking ball. During the conversation with Morrigan, I’d mostly considered Mikael’s words an excuse, but it looked like he knew me better than I knew myself.

  I collapsed facedown on my bed. Shiro joined me, curling by my side like he always did. TB curled against my right arm, the feel of her cool body comfortable and familiar.

  Mikael grabbed one of the quilts off his bed and covered me with it. “Sleep well, Lyssa,” he whispered.

  “Thanks,” I replied as I closed my eyes.

  Considering how troubled I was, it should’ve been tougher to fall asleep. It wasn’t. I drifted off with almost alarming ease, my fatigue managing to overcome my restlessness.

  I had no idea how long I managed to sleep, but the next thing I knew, the sound of raised voices stirred me from my slumber.

  “What are you doing?” I heard Mikael ask. “When did you get here?”

  “Half an hour ago,” another male voice replied. It was Stefan, and my stomach did a little flip when I heard him. “The Watchers told us you were back in the dorms. Everything okay?”

  “That would depend on your definition of okay.” Mikael sighed. “Lyssa had to take the famous test today. It was with Lady Morrigan.”

  “And you allowed that?” Callum snarled in outrage. “Mikael, we talked about this.”

  I appreciated their concern, but I didn’t like their decision to blame Mikael for something that hadn’t been his fault. Even if Mikael had been responsible for what had happened earlier—and he wasn’t—I had no desire to see them fight again, especially not now.

  I threw off the quilt and slid out of bed. The bedroom door was cracked open, and I left the room, padding barefoot through the angular hallway of the dorm. I found the three princes of the school in the common room, facing one another in visible anger.

  Honestly, sometimes these boys were more exhausting than fighting off necromantic constructs that looked like floating, half-sentient blobs. “You do realize I don’t need a babysitter, right?” I asked without preamble. “I can protect myself.”

  Like one being, Stefan and Mikael turned toward me. “Alyssa,” they said at the same time.

  I still wasn’t sure I understood how the familiar bond between them worked, but today, they seemed in perfect sync, if only because of their shared concern for me. “Are you all right?” they asked.

  Unlike Mikael, who’d stayed behind all summer, Stefan and Callum had occasionally left to their respective families. They’d been very mysterious about it, and to this day, I had no idea where their families lived and what they did. I hadn’t pried, though, since they hadn’t offered the information themselves. They always came back quickly, and I’d decided to set it aside, for now. They had the right to their privacy.

  “I’m fine,” I told them. “I was just being stupid.”

  “It’s not stupid to be a little overwhelmed from time to time, Lyssa,” Mikael protested. “Besides, Morrigan isn’t the most tactful person in the world. She could’ve been kinder when she told you the truth.”

  “What truth is that, precisely?” Stefan asked, his dark eyes flashing with crimson fire. “What has she done now?”

  “I was just having trouble dealing with the possibility of having to kill someone,” I explained in Mikael’s stead, “and she pointed out that if not for Professor Jones’s unique nature, I would’ve killed him. And I’ve been thinking back a bit. I mean… For a while now, everything that’s been going on at the academy hasn’t bothered me that much. When Ammit killed Berta and Bartholomew, I felt… I don’t know, satisfied, a little. What am I headed for?”

  Stefan let out a heavy sigh and walked up to me. “Listen, Lyssa,” he said as he reached for me, “I understand where you’re coming from, but it’s not a bad thing to embrace your true nature. You might not be a demon like us, but mankind is inherently an envious, vengeful species. You’re not wrong to be resentful of the people who treated you like trash.”

  When he cupped my cheek with his large hand, I immediately felt better. Still, I wasn’t comfortable with ignoring the issue. “Yes, but—”

  “No,” Callum cut me off. “Stop questioning you
rself. If you feel something, let it happen. There’s no real right or wrong here. You can feel whatever you want. Believe me, I’m an incubus. I know quite a lot about emotions, and I can tell you the worst thing you can possibly do is to suppress them.”

  I bit my lower lip in anxiousness and confusion. “But what if you want to harm someone?” God—and Satan—knew I’d felt the urge to kill rising several times in the past, but I would’ve regretted it later had I pursued it.

  “There are degrees of emotions in everything, Lyssa. Let’s say you don’t like someone and you think ‘I wish you died’. That doesn’t mean you actually want to kill them. Real hatred, the real desire to harm and kill, goes far deeper than that.

  “I’m sure you disliked the Bones twins for the way they treated you, and you were perfectly entitled to. You don’t have to mourn them now that they’re gone. Don’t ever think you have to feel or be a certain way. Follow your heart. It won’t lead you astray.”

  That was one piece of advice I could get on board with. Then again, maybe that wasn’t quite true since I hadn’t been following my heart much lately, not when it came to Callum, Stefan, and Mikael.

  I kept doubting our relationship and postponing making a decision when I knew very well what we were headed for. I wanted them and they wanted me. It was so simple. Why couldn’t I accept it?

  “Lyssa?” Mikael asked, his voice thick with concern. “You okay?”

  Shaking off my distracting musings, I nodded. “Yes. Sorry. I was just thinking.”

  Callum narrowed his eyes at me, and I could tell he feared I’d had one of my absence seizures again. But no, against all odds, despite receiving such a shock and having to complete Morrigan’s crazy test, I was fine.

  “Tell me something,” I said. “Do you still want to fuck me?”

  Callum’s mouth dropped open, his eyes going almost comically wide. Stefan’s breath caught and his hand twitched on my cheek. His claws emerged, nudging my skin without causing me any pain.