Advanced Dragon Studies (Ember Academy for Magical Beings Book 1)

by L. C. Mawson

  “What does it say? I can’t read it.”

  Elizabeth sighed. “It’s a kind of code Naveen invented. He probably figured that his language-deficient sister would be too stupid to figure it out, but he underestimated my skill with translation runes. It took some modification, but I had it cracked in half an hour.”

  “And what does it say?”

  “He’s trying to change my fate. The nerve of him...”

  “Your fate? How does he know that?”

  She sighed. “Mother told him. I should have thought to press him on it – she said that both of us would find out about the other’s fate – but I never dreamed that he would try to change things.”

  “What is your fate? What is he trying to change?”

  She grimaced. “He was smart enough not to write that down. Not beyond the fact that it has to do with my Soulbound, which I could have figured out myself.” She shook her head. “I know that Fate only binds together two people when she has a plan for them and that it likely won’t be easy or trivial, but I’m ready to face it. I don’t need my brother to try to fix things for me. Especially when he’s cocking up his own fate in the process.”

  I frowned. “His own fate? So, your mother did tell you about Naveen’s future?”

  Elizabeth gave a quick look that I couldn’t decipher before shaking her head. “It doesn’t matter. Or, at least, it shouldn’t. Not if I can get him to leave my fate alone and get back to his own.”

  I bit my lip as Elizabeth focused on the notebook once more.

  The only three people here who would talk to me were Naveen, Elizabeth and Lorelei. But Naveen and Elizabeth both had epic destinies ahead of them and Lorelei was a princess.

  Whereas I could barely conjure a flame any more.

  Did I even belong at this school? Would I ever be the Priestess I hoped to be?

  I suppressed a sigh as I realised that the answer was probably ‘no’.

  Elizabeth’s hand crackled with Dark Energy, and a moment later, the book in her hand caught fire.

  “Well, that should set him back at least.” She then turned to me. “Are you okay? You had your lesson with Nyssa and James this morning, didn’t you?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine,” I said. “Though I’m kind of tired. I think I need some food to perk me up. Do you want anything at the café?”

  “No, I think I’m good. But are you sure you’re okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m sure.”

  I headed down to the café, but I didn’t stick around once I’d gotten a snack and some coffee.

  No, I didn’t want to risk running into James or Lorelei while I tried to think this through.

  If I really didn’t belong at this school, where would I go?

  Probably to another Human school, but I’d never really looked. I’d assumed that I would either follow Andrea, or I’d go to train in the Dragons’ city.

  Yeah, neither of those things were possible now.

  I suppressed a sigh as I headed to the library, deliberately avoiding the sections on history and Fate, where Naveen normally sat.

  I needed somewhere quiet to look through my options and figure out exactly what I wanted to do.

  I eventually found a quiet corner and opened up my laptop, bringing up the information on the courses I’d been interested in when I’d been considering following Andrea.

  Not that I’d ever had too much investment in my Human schooling, always looking ahead to when I could leave and focus on my magic, but I hadn’t hated getting my undergrad degree in chemistry, so maybe it was time to actually see that through to a real career.

  I’d just pulled up a few courses when a familiar voice said, “Hey.”

  I turned with a slight frown to see Naveen. Apparently, I hadn’t sat far enough away for him not to see me.

  “Hey,” I said, before biting my lip. “Have you talked to your sister in the past hour?”

  He nodded with a sigh. “She just found me. I take it you know that she’s upset with me?”

  “Yeah, I went to talk with her just after she found your research on her.”

  “Well, she found me here and told me that she burned it. And she also told me to stop trying to save her.”

  “Why did you feel the need to, anyway? She wasn’t super clear on why you would go to such lengths to change her fate, just that it had something to do with her Soulbound.”

  “Mother told me who her Soulbound is.”

  “So, who is it? It would have to be someone bad for you to go to such lengths, right?”

  He regarded her carefully for a moment, and I figured he was probably trying to figure out how likely I was to tell Elizabeth.

  “I’ll tell you,” he eventually said, “but only if you agree to a binding spell so that you can’t tell anyone.”

  I just nodded, figuring that that was better than not knowing. And if this had been the thing keeping him distracted since we’d come to the school... “This is really serious, isn’t it?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, she’s my friend too, so cast the spell. Maybe I can help.” I then frowned as he pulled a focusing crystal from his pocket. “I thought Demons preferred binding runes over the spells. Aren’t they more difficult to get around?”

  He smiled. “You’re really enjoying that Basics of Spellcraft class, huh?”

  I smiled back. “It’s been fun to finally get a bit more context beyond just what I’ve picked up from you and Elizabeth over the years. But that doesn’t answer my question.”

  “Well, runes are permanent. Demons might not mind constantly tattooing themselves, but I figured you would prefer the spell. Plus, Elizabeth will figure it out for herself soon enough and we can break the spell.”

  “Okay, then cast it.”

  He closed his eyes, casting the spell without speaking – as was common with Litcorde – and a wave of magic washed over me.

  He opened his eyes again and I figured that the spell was cast as he said, “Elizabeth’s Soulbound is Princess Katherine.”

  I just stared at him for a moment. Kath? Kath was Elizabeth’s Soulbound... To be honest, I was more stunned that I hadn’t thought of it as a possibility earlier. “As in Queen Freya’s daughter? As in the heir to the Demon throne?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Well... Isn’t that a good thing? I mean, Cassy’s really close with Kath, and she sounds like exactly your sister’s type. If they get together, surely that would mean that either Kath or her mother would have to give Elizabeth citizenship to the Underworld and that would probably extend to you as well.”

  He grimaced. “Skye, something drastic would have to change to allow for that. My parents weren’t exiled over something petty, they were trying to dismantle the Demon monarchy. You don’t get to come back from treason, Skye. And neither do your children. Not without massive change and that kind of change won’t be easy or safe. And Elizabeth’s going to be right in the middle of it.”

  “If it’s so dangerous, why don’t your mothers do anything?”

  “Mother said that she couldn’t. When I asked her how dangerous it was... She didn’t deny that this could be fatal for Elizabeth if she’s not careful. She just said that sometimes danger is the least worst option, but I have no idea what could possibly be worse than Elizabeth potentially being hurt.”

  I nodded, biting the inside of my cheek as I tried to think of something reassuring that I could say.

  As I was so close to Naveen and Elizabeth and their parents, I didn’t really visit Auntie Alex and Cassy when Queen Freya or her family were there. But Cassy considered Kath her sister, and the way she spoke about her, I couldn’t imagine her ever letting her Soulbound be in real danger.

  Or at least, she wouldn’t let her face that danger alone.

  But I doubted that would help soothe Naveen’s worries. Not when his mother had confirmed that the danger to Elizabeth was potentially very real. And she would know better than anyone...

  Eventually, I just sighed. “It mus
t be weird having a Seer for a mother.”

  Naveen gave me a sardonic half-smile. “It’s not weird as much as it’s frustrating. She keeps so much of what she knows to herself, it becomes impossible to figure things out from the fragments she does give you.” He sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I swear, it makes me wish it was possible for me to have inherited her abilities.”

  “Why is it impossible?”

  He frowned. “Because she’s not my biological parent.”

  “Oh. I don’t think I knew that.”

  He smiled a little. “To be fair, I might have thought it was too obvious to say anything. But no, my mums were married and they had me and Elizabeth before Mum and Mother were exiled. It was only after her exile that Mother met my Human Mum and the three of them fell in love. I don’t remember a time when she wasn’t around, I was so young, but there’s definitely no chance of me inheriting her abilities.”

  “Makes sense. In my defence, you and Elizabeth mostly take after your Human Mum, aside from being Demons and Litcorde and that could have come from either of your other mothers. And I don’t think you know who my biological parents are, either.”

  “Well, no, but I thought you didn’t know who your biological parents were. Aside from it being your dad’s side of the family.”

  I sighed looking away as I fidgeted with my nail beds on my lap. “Well, I figured out that Auncle Hell was one of my biological parents years ago.”

  “Auncle Hell? That’s your dad’s non-binary sibling, right? The Drake?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I don’t think I’ve ever met them.”

  “Zie stopped coming by pretty much as soon as I figured out the truth. I didn’t even ask zir about it, but... Maybe zie figured out that I knew. I was so young, I might not have been subtle about it, and zie obviously left me with my dads for a reason, rather than raising me zirself, so maybe when zie knew that I knew, zie decided to distance zirself from me, so that I wouldn’t start thinking of zir as a parent, rather than a distant relative.”

  “And you don’t know who your other parent is? I could have sworn I’ve heard someone say that Hell is married.”

  “Zie is, but to Auntie Mia, my Da’s sister. She’s always been adamant about not wanting children and not wanting to be pregnant. I don’t think she would have let the pregnancy go on long enough to give me up if she’d been my biological mother.” She sighed. “No, I don’t think that’s an answer I’m ever going to get. My best guess is that they were another Enhanced, but that’s it.”

  I leaned back in her chair, stretching a little, as I was gripped by an urge to get up and pace. To get out some of the excess energy that talking about Auncle Hell had brought up as fire started to crackle beneath my skin.

  I took a deep breath and when I felt ready, I continued on, Naveen waiting patiently for me. “And it’s not as if I can ask Auncle Hell about it. Like I said, I haven’t seen zir in years. I think zie spends all of zir time in the Dragons’ city, and apparently I’m not wanted there.”

  I sighed. “I know that I shouldn’t care, and I don’t really. I love my dads, and I would never trade them for different parents. I’m glad that Auncle Hell left me with them. But... Well, I can’t help but think that if I was a stronger Dragon – if I was welcome in the Dragons’ city – Auncle Hell might have stuck around, rather than disappearing completely.”

  “Is that why you’ve been so focused on being the best Priestess you can be?”

  I bit my lip once more, my gaze returning to my laptop, and the information on other paths. “Yeah, I guess. But that was the childish dream of a girl desperate for somewhere to belong. And maybe it was always bullshit. Maybe looking for somewhere to ‘belong’ was a fool’s errand.”

  “Are you leaving?” he asked, and I turned back to see that he had followed my gaze, seeing the university webpages I was looking at.

  I tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear, not sure of what to say.

  “I don’t belong here,” I finally said. “I’m not strong enough to ever be taken seriously as a Dragon and now that everyone knows that I’m Enhanced... What’s the point? The Human world would be less isolating, and at least there, I won’t be constantly failing to measure up.”

  “What about Lorelei? I thought you two were together now.”

  “We are, but she was pushing me away because she was worried about me and I promised that I could take care of myself. But what if that was a lie? She’s dealing with assassins and she needs someone who can also deal with that.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “You mean like someone who can neutralise magical threats with a wave of her hand? Whatever’s going on with your magic, Skye, you’re still strong enough to deal with any kind of magical threat. As for the rest of it, you do belong here. You belong here as much as I do. I’m half-Human and my parents are exiles. Do you think the Demon students like me all that much? And the others don’t necessarily get along with Litcorde. But that doesn’t mean that this isn’t still somewhere that I can call home.”

  I frowned, looking him over for a moment. “Back at Human school, the other kids always bullied you and Elizabeth. I assumed that it was better here.”

  “It was, but only because Ms Griffin took such a hard stance against bullying. And to be honest, I couldn’t deny how freeing it was to be able to be open about my magic. You haven’t spent a lot of time in the Human world with your powers. It’s exhausting to have to keep remembering not to use them casually. So, between that and Elizabeth being here with me, this was the best place for me. And I’m sorry. I should have been there for you before, just as Elizabeth and I were there for each other. But I’m here for you now, just as Elizabeth has been.”

  I nodded, looking away. “I just wish you’d told me that you were trying to save Elizabeth. I thought you were ignoring me for just a random new interest. If you’d told me, I would have helped you.”

  “Well, I won’t ignore you again. Not without explaining myself, at least. And I’m also sure that if you spoke to Lorelei, she would assure you that she’s there for you as well.”

  I bit my lip at the mention of Lorelei. “Yeah, I guess...” I sighed, realising that I couldn’t have this discussion with him until we addressed the elephant in the room. “Are you bothered by the fact that I’m seeing her?”

  “I... Um...”

  He took a moment to find his words, eventually saying, “I’m glad that you’ve found someone you care about.”

  “Thanks,” I said, my voice small. I was glad that this wouldn’t get in the way of us being friends, but... “I just... I wish you’d told me about Elizabeth before. I thought...”

  “You thought?”

  I sighed, figuring that now was as good a time as any to tell him. “I was going to tell you how I felt about you before, you know?”

  “You were?”

  “Yeah. You agreed to come with me to a new restaurant in town while Elizabeth was busy and I got all dressed up, and then...”

  He frowned for a moment, and then his eyes widened as he presumably realised what I was referring to. “And then I told you that I was coming back to Ember?”

  I nodded. “I mean, I understood. With the new university, why wouldn’t you come back here? But after all of our plans to go to uni together... Well, it stung.”

  “Skye, I am so sorry. I wanted to stay with you, I really did.”

  “But you felt more at home here?”

  “Elizabeth did. She always struggled more than me in the Human world, you know how cruel girls can be. She was never given as much leeway with our peers as I was. But here... Well, Witches tend to be better educated on Litcorde. She missed you, but when it came down to weathering cruelty alongside her best friend, or not having to weather it as much...”

  “She chose not as much.”

  “Yeah.”

  “I understand. I do remember how bad she had it, Naveen. Honestly, I was surprised your parents didn’t home-school her.”

/>   “They would have, but I didn’t struggle as much as she did, and I didn’t want her to leave.” His gaze dropped as he brought his hands together in his lap, twisting his fingers back and forth. “I wanted to stay at the school, with my friends, and I didn’t want Lizabeth to leave me. So, she stayed. And when we got older, I realised just how much of a sacrifice that had been for her.”

  “So, when she wanted you to go to Ember with her, you felt like you had to?”

  He nodded. “She would have told me to stay with you if I’d said anything, but I never did. I couldn’t bear the proof that she was always better to me than I was to her.”

  I reached over and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “You were a kid, Naveen. You didn’t know any better. And I’m sure Elizabeth would say the same.”

  “I know she would. Which somehow makes it worse.” He sighed. “Either way, I’m sorry.”

  I smiled. “It’s okay. I just... I don’t want things to be weird between us now that I’m dating Lorelei. I... I really care about her, Naveen. I want to see this through.”

  “I figured as much,” he said. “But, you know, if you ever feel like you want a second partner... Well, I’ll be around.”

  I just stared at him as my mind processed his words.

  Despite knowing several adults with that kind of relationship... Well, I’d never been in a position where I liked more than one person at once. It had always just been Naveen, and then Andrea, and now...

  “I... I’ve not managed to even have one partner before, never mind two,” I eventually settled for saying. “I’ve not really thought about it before. And I wouldn’t even know how to bring it up with Lorelei, given how new our relationship is...”

  “It’s okay,” he said quickly. “I understand. Though, from the way you’re talking about Lorelei, does that mean you’re planning on staying?”

  “I... I should probably at least talk to her before making any further decisions. Especially given that my worry today was triggered by struggling with my fire, and that’s an elemental ability. Lorelei might actually be able to help me with it.”