Dragons.
“Wyverns,” Agness said. “Some of you might think they are dragons, but no. Dragons have four legs and are more difficult to tame. They exist, yes, but are often wild creatures, and even the goddesses themselves have trouble keeping them as pets. Today, you shall work with your vassals to tame the wyverns. These have yet to be bled.”
I tipped my gaze to Devon, who’d failed to prove himself trustworthy. Was he going to let me get eaten by the wyvern?
Jeanine rose her hand. “What do you mean by bled?”
“Very good question.” Agness swished her wand in front of her, although no magic appeared. “That means to subdue them. Wyverns respect beings that are stronger than them. I, together with many of the teachers here, have defeated the wyverns in duels. They see us as their superiors, and hence, will listen to our orders. Your goal for today is to tame a wyvern. Just one will suffice.”
“The wyverns understand your orders?” Jeanine asked.
Agness nodded. “They are incredibly smart creatures.” One of them bent its neck so its head was level with Agness, and Agness caressed its scales. For a split second, I forgot that the wyvern was a ferocious creature. It was so docile around Agness.
Agness turned to a basket next to her. She picked out a large slab of meat, then threw it at the wyvern. The wyvern opened its jaws, revealing sharp, knifelike rows of teeth. It snapped at the meat and gulped it down, drooling all over the floor.
I swallowed nervously.
I had to tame that? At least the vassals were on my side. I’d never seen them fight before. I hoped that they were more than looks. Maybe they were all swagger and no skill.
Agness clicked her fingers. “Group up and be quick about it. Caramel has already wasted enough of our time.”
The girls muttered meek responses, then scampered to their vassals. I noticed most of them giving the Wyverns a wide berth, avoiding them as if they were carriers of fatal diseases.
I glanced at Devon. He gave off the impression that he liked to lead things, so I sought him for direction, even though he’d been a complete prick earlier. “What else do I need to know about those creatures?”
“I thought you wanted me murdered.”
“I didn’t say that. I just suggested that with the way you talked, you must have made many enemies.”
Devon licked his bottom lip. “Mhm.”
“So?”
“If they think that you’re beneath them, wyverns will show you their awful temperaments. They won’t hesitate to kill you.”
I looked at one of the beasts. There were five of them. “Why haven’t they attacked any of the girls, then?”
“Agness is holding them back. Once she gives the instruction, they’ll attack.”
“And how do you fight them?”
Hansel cracked his knuckles. “Don’t worry about it. We have you covered.”
I lifted a brow. “Don’t you think I should have a weapon or something?”
“The rest of the girls don’t have weapons, either. This is an exercise in cooperation with your vassals. We’ll take care of you, so don’t worry. Plus, you have your wand.”
“Uh huh.” Considering what had just happened with Devon, I highly doubted I could trust them with my safety. Hansel and Theo might be on my team, but the other two were so wishy-washy that I had to question whether they wanted to hurt me.
“What am I going to do with this wand?” I asked, swinging the instrument back and forth. “Poke the creature to death?”
“I’d like to see that,” Liam said, wearing a mocking grin.
Theo chuckled. “Didn’t you attend essentials of spells and wands earlier today?”
“Yeah.” I paused. “I don’t trust myself with this magic thing. I was supposed to get my power to come out, but it didn’t work.” Apparently, only brightlings could use wands for a variety of spells. That was what I’d learned in class. Half-bloods used wands as a conduit to channel our main powers. Each half-blood had specialized powers. Mine, based on what occurred after I ate the amplier, seemed to be trivia about the school.
Not a very good power to have.
What was that going to do against a wyvern? Bore it to death?
I was beginning to lose faith in myself, which ticked me off. I needed to get on that self-love bandwagon they used to talk about in high school. Love myself for my flaws, one of which happened to be the inability to fight motherfucking mythical creatures.
Hansel clasped my shoulder and squeezed. “Loosen up. You’ll do great. We’ll help you along, and I’ll give you a massage later.”
I hummed. Hansel’s touch, strangely, calmed me down.
A massage sounded awfully nice. I just wanted to sink into his arms and forget about all this magic bullshit. Maybe I’d lick his muscles after that. I needed to get over my inclination to lick things, not that I’d actually acted it out.
“Justinia!” Agness shouted.
A student who had been hiding behind her vassals at the far end of the class squeaked. I frowned. Her squeaking hadn’t been that loud.
“Did anybody else hear that?” I asked.
“Is something wrong?” Theo asked, narrowing his eyes at me.
I shook my head, then glanced at my wand. “It’s nothing.”
Agness tapped her foot and curled her finger, gesturing at Justinia to step forward. “You’re up next.”
Justinia took small steps toward the wyvern. “Must I, ma’am? It’s—”
“Bleed the wyvern,” Agness said, hardening her features. She left no room for arguments.
I was almost beginning to feel sorry for Justinia, but then I remembered that I had to fight the creature, too. She most likely was going to do better than me. I had two left feet, and wouldn’t be surprised if I tripped and fell right into the beast’s mouth.
Agness darted her gaze toward me. “You’re up next.”
I didn’t bother arguing.
Justinia raised the wand at the wyvern, flinching as it roared. The wyvern spread its wings, scaly appendages casting long shadows on the ground. Her vassals leapt into action and protected their half-blood. We’d gone over the vassals’ powers during vassal theory earlier. They were mostly warriors with more strength and quickness than normal human men, but some of them, due to their connection with the chiasma, could also control the elements. I hadn’t had the time to question my own vassals about their abilities. I should, soon. I was curious.
“Why are you staring at me like that?” Devon asked, raising one of his thick eyebrows. “Something on my face?”
Just a bit too much hotness. I was wondering what element he controlled. My guess was that he wielded fire. “It’s ugly.”
Devon snorted. “You’re terrible at lying.”
“And you can’t take insults.”
Justinia didn’t even have to lift a finger to battle the dragon. She swished her wand around. All she managed were tiny squirts of water that made a water gun look formidable. Her vassals took care of the rest. They brought out ropes, circling the creature. The elements whipped around them. Fire. Earth. Water. Air. They wrestled the wyvern as they threw their powers about, tying it down, and when they finished, the beast lay flat on the ground, its wings fastened to its back. The wyvern made loud, rumbling moans.
Justinia flicked her hair and smiled. I didn’t know why she seemed so pleased with herself. She hadn’t done anything at all.
One of her vassals strode up to her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. She swung her arms around him and returned the kiss.
“Please leave your intimate moments behind closed doors,” Agness said. She waved her wand. Vines grew from the ground and began untying the ropes from the wyvern, freeing it so that it could face the next girl—me. “Are you ready, Caramel?”
“Of course,” I said, shrugging. I played it cool, but my hands were getting clammy. The wyvern seemed even more pissed off than before it faced Justinia.
I ignored my nerves and gripped my wand h
arder, as if that might make me stronger. Hansel stepped forward first, ready to face down the creature.
“Don’t mess up,” Agness said. “I’m removing points off your other classes if you do.”
“What!” I shouted over my shoulder. “How is that even fair?”
“You wasted my time being late!”
I had little room to argue, because the wyvern jumped straight over Hansel and aimed for me. My pulse skittered and I prepared to jump, but my left foot caught my right ankle. I’d nearly tripped when Theo grabbed me by the waist and pulled me aside. I leaned against his hard chest and panted.
Theo’s cheeks spread into a lazy smile. “You can call me your knight in shining—”
“Watch out!” I shouted, as the wyvern’s tail whipped out and hit Theo’s side, smacking him away from me. Theo let go of me and slid across the colorful tiles. He tumbled and rolled and made loud thumps against the ground.
While stumbling backward, I’d bumped into Liam. “Aren’t you going to help?” I asked Liam, talking over Hansel’s battle cry. Hansel had flown onto the wyvern’s back and gripped its wing. Did I just watch Hansel fly? He commanded the winds. The wyvern tossed its head back and forth before taking flight.
Liam pursed his lips. “I’m considering.”
“Considering?” I asked. “Hansel and Theo are busting their asses out there.”
“This is your test. Your points.”
“Yeah, but—”
Hansel fell from the wyvern. Luckily, the creature hadn’t flown that high yet, but he must have dropped at least ten feet. My heart sank. “Holy shit!” I said, hearing a craaack as Hansel body hit the floor. He created a cloud in front of him, which cushioned his fall, but it sounded painful nevertheless. I faced Devon. “Aren’t you going to help him?”
“Also considering.”
“The both of you are assholes.”
“We never signed up to be your vassal,” Devon replied.
“Yeah, but Theo and Hansel are getting their butts whipped.” I sounded whiny and was pleading too much. I wanted to be more useful, but all I could really do with my wand was swing it around. And the wyvern flew too high for me to poke it. “Do you not care at all?”
“You’re their half-blood.”
I was wasting my breath on Devon and Liam. I needed to move to action and save them. But how? Before coming to the Sanctuary, I was nothing but a human girl. I could sing really well, sure, and that got me good tips at the bars. I doubted the dragon would be impressed by my singing, however.
The wyvern stopped. It perched over Hansel and opened its mouth, ready to snap my vassal in two.
“Stop!” I shouted, pointing at the wyvern with my wand. I guessed that the wand worked kind of like it did in the movies, with students swishing them about and saying words that made sense but not really. “Stop, stop, stop!”
All that did was make the wyvern turn to me instead. It left Hansel alone.
“Cara!” Theo shouted as the wyvern flapped its wings and lunged toward me. Fear like never before crawled up my spine, stiffening it like a board. I shut my eyes and tried to summon whatever power I had, sticking my wand out as hard as I could.
I snorted.
Yeah, like pointing hard would do anything.
“Stop!” I shouted again, once I could smell the creature’s breath on me.
Theo bent down next to me and clasped my shoulder. “Cara, are you okay?”
I pried one eye open. I was staring straight at the wyvern’s nostril. Its loud and mucus-filled breaths brushed my cheeks.
Yuck.
“Did shouting ‘stop’ and pointing my wand really work?” I asked Theo.
He shook his head, then gestured to the wyvern’s legs. Agness had summoned her vines, wrapped them around the wyvern, and held it back. I was surprised by those vines. They had the strength of steel.
Agness placed her hands on her hips. She shook her head at me. “Your performance bodes terribly for the rest of your stay here in the Sanctuary. You can’t even work well with your vassals.”
I darted angry glances at both Devon and Liam, both of whom bore no hints of guilt whatsoever.
“I need to have a talk with them.”
Twelve
Once the rest of the girls left the amphitheater, I took the opportunity to yell my head off at Devon and Liam. Liam, Devon, Theo, and I strode down the pathway that led to the amphitheater. The grass along the path was blue-green, patches of flowers amongst it.
“What the hell was that!” I shouted, jabbing my finger at Devon’s nose. He caught my wrist and leaned backward before I accidentally stuck my finger up his nostril. “You were supposed to help. Justinia’s vassals easily subdued the wyvern when all of them cooperated.”
Devon flashed me a lazy smirk. “So?”
“I’m going to wring your neck.”
Liam sighed and dragged his hand down his face. “We have good reason for staying out.”
“Oh?” I asked. “Please enlighten me.”
Hansel’s injuries were severe enough that he had to be sent to the infirmary. He told me that he’d return to me as quickly as he could, but I’d replied that he shouldn’t stress himself. He should be taking his time to recuperate. I doubted he’d listen to me, however. He seemed in too much of a hurry.
“We were hoping your powers would show,” Liam said. “I mean, you were pointing that wand really hard. Facing a wyvern seemed to be a good reason to shock them into coming out. We don’t want to be sent away, you know? A labor camp sounds terrible, so we have incentive to be on your side.”
I rolled my eyes. “You could have stepped in.”
Devon shrugged. “Maybe. I just wanted to see Cara struggle. She looked cute doing that.”
Cute? The endearing term blindsided me. Devon didn’t deserve to give me compliments after being such a dick. I gave him my middle finger but kept it beneath my hip so he wouldn’t notice.
“I saw that,” Devon said.
My scowl deepened. “Doesn’t matter.”
Liam screwed his nose up. “I was going to intervene after watching you fail so hard, but Agness did so before I had the opportunity. I doubted she would have stepped in so early for other girls. She didn’t give us a chance to fully prove ourselves.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m not sure whether to hate Agness for taking too many marks from me, or worship her for saving my life.”
We stopped in front the dorms. I was supposed to put my bags down, change my clothes, then head to the east courtyard to meet Danna so we could sneak around the morgue.
Theo passed me a small bottle. “Before you head up, would you mind helping me with this, Cara?” He sat on one of the benches.
I accepted it from him, having no idea what it was supposed to be. I pulled its cap open, brought it to my nose, and took a whiff. It smelled like soap and… bananas?
Theo pulled his shirt over his head.
I balked.
And then I stared, because Theo was a fine specimen, a gift sent down to the universe by the sweet baby messiah. I couldn’t help but ogle. My inner fangirl awoke and jumped like a ditzy bimbo in my head.
Those abs.
I wanted to lick them. They looked like they were carved from stone. His arms, too, looked more massive when they weren’t clothed. I wondered if he’d be able to lift me up with a bicep curl if I tried hanging on to them. My inner perv knew no limits, and a plethora of nonsensical, horny thoughts zipped back and forth, bouncing off the walls of my mind.
“Cara?” Theo asked.
“Um, yeah?”
“I asked if you could help me apply that ointment on my back.”
“The… banana ointment?” I asked, lifting the bottle.
“You’re making her think of bananas,” Liam said. “And driving her bananas.”
“He is not,” I lied. I had to deduct ten points off the How Much Do I Like Liam scoreboard for those terrible lines.
Devon chuckled. “Don’t ta
ke your shirt off in front of innocent young girls like Cara. She’s probably still an unbroken virgin who doesn’t know how to take the heat.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “I am not an innocent, unbroken virgin.” I’ve had a few guys before Max. None of them good. Max was somewhat decent, but he’d decided to use his dick somewhere else. My jaw slackened as surprise took over. I realized that I wasn’t so angry about Max anymore, having left him behind.
Then again, when surrounded by hot guys like these, I had no time to worry about messy exes who only knew how to mooch off me. He wouldn’t even wash his own underwear. And the socks. He left them everywhere.
“You’re not?” Devon asked, referring to my virgin comment. “That means you know a way around a dick, huh?”
“That is none of your concern.” My fingers twitched with the need to throw a slap across his cheek. “Has anybody told you that you’re incredibly rude?”
“You have to respect Cara, Devon.” Theo spun around, offering me his back. My eyes trailed over the defined musculature there. “The spot here is really stiff. Doesn’t warrant a visit to the infirmary with Hansel, but I’d still like to get it fixed.”
“And you think banana will do the trick?” I asked, swallowing a nervous gulp.
He reached over his shoulder and patted his aching spot. “It’s not banana. It’s golden powder. Found in the darker reaches of Haven, taken from a special plant. Gets rids of sores immediately.”
I appraised the bottle, trying to hide how impressed it made me. “Doctors on Earth would kill to have this. A magical cure, literally. You think it can fix cancer?”
“Doesn’t matter,” Liam said. “Whatever is in Haven can’t be taken to Earth. Objects here are too tied to the chiasma, and if you bring them over, they’ll disintegrate. Only goddesses and their vassals can travel between worlds.”
“So,” I said, choosing my next words carefully. “When you say goddesses, you also mean half-bloods, right? How does a half-blood such as I travel across both real—”
“Are you going to rub it on my back?” Theo asked. “Or must I ask Liam? I’d much prefer it if it were you.”
Liam scowled. “What’s wrong with me?”
Goddess Academy: The Complete Reverse Harem Collection Page 10