My heart lurched as Max shoved us forward with a gust of air, forcing us down to our knees in the mud. Darius took out his Atlas, aiming it at us with a wicked cruelty in his eyes. “Give us a good show for FaeBook. Let’s remind the school who you are; a couple of rats who crawled out of the cesspit of the mortal world and tried to rise above their station.”
A deep determination filled me and I clenched my jaw, silently vowing that those words would not pass my lips. I glanced at Tory, finding the same resolve in her eyes and she lifted her chin in defiance.
“Beg,” Max growled, his voice thick with Coercion which rammed against my mental shield. I flinched under the force of it, refusing to let it in.
Seth growled, pacing back and forth on the verge of the circle.
“She’s not hurt,” Max spat at him and Seth nodded, but his expression remained taut.
Caleb stepped forward, tilting Tory’s chin up to face the camera. “Say it, sweetheart,” he tried to Coerce her and she blinked hard, pressing her lips together as she fought against his power.
Max gripped my hair, tugging to make me to look up at him and I battled a wince as pain flared through my scalp. “Beg me.”
His magic pushed at my will, making the words rise to my lips. A weight of pressure mounted against my mind and drove needles into my skull. Part of me wanted to beg and beg until he ended this suffering but I managed to hold out through sheer willpower.
Darius stepped closer, angling the camera down at us, a furious snarl leaving his lips. “What the fuck?” he snapped at Caleb and Max.
Max huffed, leaning down so he was right in our faces. “BEG US!” he commanded, the fullness of his power nearly forcing me down the easier road. Seth barked, stepping toward me and Caleb shoved him back, wrapping his arms around him.
I just have to say the words and this pain will stop.
But if I do, I’ll never forgive myself.
My skin tingled from the glassy ice encasing my hands and I drew heat to my palms once more, willing it to burn away Max’s magic with all my heart. Relief filled me as it turned to water and Tory’s fingers snared mine as she managed it too. I immediately interlocked them, a fiery blaze seeming to pass under our skin. It rushed through me, coating my veins like a barrier and I gasped as the pressure of Max’s Coercion started to fade.
“You can’t stand there, you’re in shot.” Darius kicked mud at Max and he backed up with a huff. The wall of fire passing between Tory and I grew hotter, forcing his will from our bodies entirely.
“Earth,” Tory whispered and I nodded to her, understanding that the word was for me.
“What?” Darius snarled, his eyes suddenly dropping to our hands as he realised we were free.
Anticipation clutched my heart as I slammed my free hand to the mud at the same time as Tory, throwing my power into the soil and asking it to do what I bid.
A powerful tremor gripped the ground and the Heirs stumbled backwards in surprise. With our combined magic wielding the earth beneath us, it was easier than ever before. A surge of tremendous power sped from our skin and a shockwave exploded out from us, knocking the four of them from their feet.
We were up in a heartbeat, leaping over Max and sprinting out of the copse. Adrenaline coursed through my blood and made my pulse rocket. Shouts of pure rage sounded behind us and we cast a fierce air shield just as vines swung at us from above, wielded by someone’s earth magic.
They crashed against our shield and I ducked instinctively, but they didn’t make it through. We pressed our advantage, speeding across Earth Territory as fast as we could. The freshmen had escaped from the rings of fire Darius had cast, the grass smoldering and charred where they’d been.
We raced to The Orb, blood pounding in my ears and making me lightheaded as we finally stumbled inside, muddy and exhausted. The rest of the freshmen were gathered there as well as most of the A.S.S.
“There they are!” cried a freshman girl with pigtails. “I saw them get through the final ring – they did it!”
The Heirs burst through the doors behind us with furious expressions, halting as the entire A.S.S stood up, their hands raised as they started clapping.
“To the only freshmen to make it through the ninth ring of hell!” Geraldine cried and a grin spread across my face as I looked to the Heirs, daring them to deny it.
Their eyes burned into our backs as we walked over to join our friends, showered in compliments as we went. Rage burned so hot from Darius, I felt the heat of it rolling up my spine. But I didn’t care how angry they were that they’d failed their sad plans of soiling what little reputation we had. We’d fought the Heirs and won. And that felt incredible.
***
A yawn tore its way out of my throat as I arrived in Fire Territory for our trial, exhausted after the morning we’d had. I’d studied hard last night, practising all the fire magic I knew and refusing to let any other distractions in, but my mind was currently full of the Hell Week prank we’d endured. But that was the idea. To make the trials even harder to complete. The only thing that mattered was getting through my exam, so I had to focus.
I’d managed to avoid Orion since our argument and was on a solid streak which I didn’t plan on breaking until after we’d passed The Reckoning. The problem was, the time apart from Orion was telling me something that scared me; I cared for him. A lot. And knowing things between us were in stormy, shark-infested water, was akin to slowly pushing a blunt object into my heart.
I’d tried and failed to talk to Diego about his uncle a bunch of times since Orion had asked, but I had a plan. On Sunday, everyone would be heading to the Fairy Fair in Tucana and I was going to ask Diego to go with me. He couldn’t avoid me if we spent the whole evening together alone.
“Hey,” I said, smiling as I met Tory and Sofia outside their House, their clothes changed from the muddy, wet attire we’d been left in earlier this morning. Other freshmen were peeling away from the door, heading in the direction of the Fire Arena. “You guys ready?”
Sofia nodded a little nervously but Tory smiled.
“Yep. Let’s do this.” My sister had a spark in her eyes that ignited a fire in my chest. After fighting off the Heirs, I was on a high which I hoped would carry me through the day and it looked like Tory was still riding it too. We were half way through the trials already and I was ready to cross another one off the list.
We soon arrived at the towering Arena, joining the line of fire freshmen who were on their way in. A strange noise reached my ears, playing on repeat up ahead. A girlish giggle then a splash. Giggle, splash, giggle, splash. What the hell?
Some of the freshmen started laughing as they emerged in the Arena and Tory and I pushed forward to see what the source of the noise was.
On the far side of the Arena, filling the crescent stone seats that rose up to the roof were the Heirs and their fan club. Geraldine and the A.S.S had the remaining seats, seeming oddly quiet as we arrived. Their eyes were all on something above our heads and I turned to look back at the wall which towered above the archway we’d arrived through.
Projected there was a two second clip which alternated between the moment Tory dove into that swimming pool and Seth cut off my hair. The giggle evidently belonged to Kylie who’d been filming me from the bushes. Shock gripped my heart as the two most painful moments we’d experienced in this place bounced back and forth like some sick action replay.
I was hot all over as I turned away from it, moving closer to Tory as we marched on through the sand.
“I wanna destroy them,” Tory said under her breath and I nodded.
“This is because we beat them this morning,” I breathed, trying not to let them see me shaken as jeers called out from the Heirs’ nasty friendship group of mindless sheep.
Professor Pyro ushered us toward the changing rooms to follow the other freshmen, but we stood firm. We’d made a decision last night and we weren’t going to back out on it. Sofia cast a worried glance back at us, but I gave her a comforting sm
ile and she headed away.
“We’re not going to wear the protective suits, Professor,” Tory said, giving her a stare that dared her to try and force us.
She looked between us in surprise. “Well I suppose that’s up to you, but the school won’t be liable if you burn yourselves.”
“We won’t,” we said in unison then shared a grin over our twin moment.
“Off you go then, line up over there.” She pointed to a shimmering golden line of magic that extended right through the centre of the Arena.
We headed that way, standing side by side and facing the opposite wall. Nova was sitting at a table with a female professor with silver hair, the chair beside her empty and waiting for Pyro.
The stands were buzzing with noise, drawing my attention to the Heirs once more. Seth was giving me a glare that spoke of absolute rage and I frowned at him, confused by the sheer hatred I saw pulsing in his gaze. I mean, sure he disliked me. But he hadn’t exactly been acting his usual callous self lately. Not since he’d made me his Omega.
I turned to Tory as more freshmen appeared, lining up beside us in their skin-tight silver suits. “Do you get the feeling Seth is extra pissy today?”
She glanced over her shoulder, giving him a sweeping look then turning back to me. “He looks like someone took a shit on his grandma.”
“Like we did you mean,” I muttered and she shrugged.
“Maybe he’s just playing up to his pathetic friends.”
“True,” I said, but I still had a niggling feeling that that wasn’t quite it.
Pyro moved to stand in front of us, giving us a tense look as she waved a hand to draw silence from the crowd. All that remained in the quiet was the giggle, splash, giggle, splash of that godforsaken video. FML. Are the teachers really going to leave that playing?
Pyro didn’t seem to notice it, smiling at us all. “Your Fire Trial will shortly begin. You will be required to walk across a narrow bridge from one side of the arena to the other while casting a shape out of fire approximately ten inches in diameter.”
“You can just cast my dick then, Tory!” Caleb cried out and she scowled at him.
Darius shot him a glare that could have murdered a small village and all of their farm animals.
“Yes well, I’d prefer if the object were more sanitary, but you may cast whatever you please,” Pyro said, looking a little flustered. She ran a hand over her hair then smiled again. “You will be graded on the complexity, clarity and the length of time you keep the magic in form. If you lose focus, simply recast the object and continue. You will have just twenty minutes for this trial. Good luck.” She raised a hand and a timer appeared above us made of fire then she turned and headed off to take her seat at the table.
“Where’s the bridge?” Tory murmured and the second she said it, the ground parted right down the golden line, splitting into two crescents and drawing us backwards. Below it was a fiery pit of hell that made me want to hurl. Lava spewed up ten feet below us and twenty narrow metal bridges stretched between the continually extending gap.
“Oh my god,” I breathed as the ground slid to a halt and we were left on one side of the blazing inferno. It was fifty feet across, the heat of the lava already raising the temperature in my blood and sparking a flare of power under my skin.
“Begin!” Pyro cried and the clock started counting down.
Tory and I moved to the nearest bridge and I tried to avoid looking at the terrifying sight below as I decided what to cast. I spotted Sofia moving to a bridge a few over from ours, her face fixed in concentration as she cast a diamond above her hand. Tory flexed her fingers and a fireball burst to life in her palm, shifting and moulding until a small motorbike hovered above it. She grew it to the required size, her brows pinching together.
“Be careful,” I said, my heart stammering as she stepped onto the bridge. It was barely wider than her shoe.
I swallowed hard, moving forward and raising my hand. I cast an intricate flower above my palm, painting on as many details as I could as I focused. Without the protective suit, the fire seemed to move to my will so much easier, like it was an extension of my flesh.
I steeled myself as I stepped out onto the bridge, carefully placing one foot in front of the other. The blazing heat around me did nothing but fill me with energy and a tingling sensation in my shoulder blades made me wonder if my Order form was simmering under my skin, drawn to the inferno. Maybe I really am a Dragon.
Tory was just a foot ahead of me and students moved in my periphery. I caught sight of Sofia’s magic flittering away in her hand before she quickly recast it and my heart panged for her. I drew more energy to the flower hovering above my palm, making the petals fall away like embers and Geraldine cheered.
A smile pulled at my lips, but it was short lived as a huge spray of fire exploded up from the lava to my right. Then on my left too. Pockets of pure magma burst into the air and flames roared so keenly they nearly licked my skin.
A scream caught my ear, but I couldn’t look to see what had happened as a collective gasp sounded from the audience.
I set my eye on Tory’s back and didn’t stop moving.
The Heirs were suspiciously quiet but Marguerite led a cheer, seeming to grow more and more agitated every time she belted it out, like us not being burned alive at that current moment was irritating her. “Let the Vegas burn! Let the Vegas burn! Let the Vegas burn!”
The bridge beneath me trembled violently and I released a gasp at the same time Tory did. Either side of me, the other platforms were beginning to shake too. With every passing second, the tremors grew stronger and fear took root in my chest.
“Look forward!” Tory called to me anxiously. I was unsure on my feet at the best of times, let alone on a tiny bridge above a pit of goddamn lava.
Heat seared my eyes as I clenched my teeth, trying to keep my balance, but as I took another step I lost it. A swooping sensation accompanied my scream. My flower fizzled away to nothing as I fell, reaching out desperately to catch myself.
I caught the bridge at the last second, dangling off it, fire spewing below me and flaring against the soles of my shoes.
Panic dug into me. If I used any magic other than fire to get up, I’d fail this exam. But if I didn’t, I might fall. The violent tremor finally stopped and I released a slow breath as I tried to haul myself up.
Tory dropped down to help me, her motorbike evaporating. My heart jolted as she caught my hand and pulled me to my feet. We steadied ourselves by resting our hands on each other’s shoulders and her gaze burrowed into mine as she checked I was okay. Marguerite’s chant had died away and one glance that way showed me the Heirs were on their feet. Darius’s hands were raised, but he dropped them the second I met his eyes.
“I’m sorry,” I said to my sister, furious with myself.
“Don’t be. I’d never leave you.”
“I wouldn’t leave you either.” I squeezed her arm then braced her as she turned around. We recast our fire shapes and continued on. We’d fallen behind a lot of the students, but a quick look told me plenty were going even slower than us, their magic stuttering out over and over again. One girl had resorted to shimmying along on her butt, not even casting magic as she focused on just getting the hell across.
Pitchy screams made my heart lurch and I glanced to my right as a fierce blue light bloomed in my periphery. A raging hot fireball hurtled through the air on a magical rope like a wrecking ball, swinging across the centre of the Arena. I caught hold of Tory’s shirt in a moment of sheer panic, tugging her back a step as the blazing ball swept past us. The second it hit its highest point it started rushing back again.
“Go go go,” I urged and we ran forward as fast as we could.
Heat scorched the back of my neck as it swung by once more and I took a breath to try and steady my heart. Miraculously, we’d both managed to keep our fire casts in place, but nearly half the other students had lost focus and dropped theirs. I caught sight of Sofia rec
asting hers and a couple in the audience who must have been her parents cried out in encouragement.
We were over half way and one look at the timer told me we were still making good time. Pockets of fire lit up ahead on the bridge itself and yelps sounded around us as people were burned by the flash fires. They sizzled out as quickly as they came, reigniting in completely random spots so we had no chance of predicting them.
Students were slowing to a halt as they tried to figure out how to cross this next obstacle. Those who’d gotten halfway even had to retreat as they were burned.
“Shit,” Tory cursed. “Let’s just go for it.”
“Do it,” I agreed, my heart jack-hammering in my chest.
She started moving forward as fast as was sensible and I hurried to follow.
Fire flashed between us and I waited for it to vanish before darting past the blackened spot. We managed to avoid the fires by luck alone for several seconds, but our luck ran out.
At the same moment, fire blazed beneath our feet. I flinched but no pain came; the flames singed the bottoms of my leggings but I was somehow completely fine. I looked up in confusion, finding Tory glancing back at me with the exact same expression on her face.
Muttering broke out amongst the crowd and I felt the judges eyes on us like a row of hawks.
“Keep going,” I said, flustered and confused as we moved on.
When fire flared at my feet again and the same thing happened, we both quickened our pace, throwing caution to the wind. I didn’t know what it meant, but I sure as hell was gonna take advantage of it.
We soon took the lead, hurrying toward the end of the bridge and I couldn’t believe we’d almost made it through the trial.
A huge door made entirely of fire bloomed at the very end of the bridge. Our final challenge. One other student reached the end a few platforms across. She reached out to touch the door, then yanked her hand back as it burned her.
“Can we get rid of it?” I suggested to Tory.
“Maybe, but...” She reached out and I felt everyone in the Arena staring as she pushed her fingers into the fire. She turned her hand side to side and my lips parted.
Zodiac Academy 3: The Reckoning: An Academy Bully Romance (Supernatural Bullies and Beasts) Page 38