InkSpelled (InkHaven Academy Book 1)

by Kenna Bardot

  Behind them I saw Vali kneeling and staring at me. My eyes locked to his, and I saw the relief in his before the adrenaline ebbed and the pain engulfed me.

  “What hurts?” he asked.

  “Everything.” I gritted my teeth. “But I think my leg is dislocated.”

  Gale’s eyes went to my hip, and he tightened his jaw at whatever he saw there.

  “We need a healer!” he called out, and the Fire Mage ran our way. Gale shoved my tunic out of the way, and Alec Gaius took it in his hands to hold it up. The start of angry bruising showed on my torso where I’d felt my rib crack, and Gale paused to stare at it with hate-filled eyes for a moment before he undid my pants and shoved them down far enough for the healer to get access to my hip.

  “Her hips are dislocated,” he said, placing those heated healers hands on my skin. “Hold her as still as you can,” he ordered. Ronan’s arm wrapped around me, and he stared down at me as the healer twisted my leg back into my pelvis. Pain roared through me, and I screamed against Ronan’s chest as my vision went hazy at the edges. The sound of my blood pumping echoed in my ears, reminding me of the sounds of the wind battering against me as I fell. I struggled in Ronan’s grip, only barely hearing him as he soothed me.

  “Hold still, sweetheart.”

  “She’s bleeding too much,” another voice said, and those warm hands touched my arm and sent a flash of fiery heat through my veins. I blinked away the haze a bit, hearing returning as the healer touched my rib. The heat pulsing through the bone was less intense, more of a slow rolling heat as my bone mended beneath his touch, and I let out a sigh of relief as I slumped into Ronan. Alec Gaius covered my back, leaning his face into my neck and shuddering. My body shook, all those tears I hadn’t been able to cry while I fell escaping in soul wracking sobs.

  When I caught my breath, Gale leaned forward and pressed his lips to the top of my head. It was the most affection I could get from him with the Headmaster looking on, but our eyes met meaningfully, pride shining through his and warming me enough that I wiped away the last of my tears.

  “I have to go. Alec Gaius, you’re up next and while I hate to take you from her, you still have to pass the Trial.”

  Alec nodded and gave me a kiss before he and Gale walked off towards the glider.

  I walked forward with Ronan supporting me- back to the group where the Headmaster stood across the field. I just made my way past the Headmaster wordlessly. We settled in behind him.

  “Mr. Garcia, you go up next after Mr Williamson,” he addressed a dark bald guy who I recognized as one of the men holding Ronan back as he watched me fall.

  Another student was on his way down, and he fought his way with harsh streams and jets of red Air. He plopped down onto the ground with more anger than flourish. He winced and fell down and I saw that he had a big gaping wound at his side. The same Fire Mage who had healed me rushed up to him.

  Looking up, I watched the glider Alec rode rise up higher and higher. Until he rose up too high, I saw him standing at the edge of the glider the entire time, cool and relaxed as the wind blew his hair about. Unless I was seeing things, I was pretty sure he dove head first off the glider, much like from a diving board. Ronan chuckled and what I’d seen was confirmed when he murmured, “Show off.”

  Watching Alec in the air was like watching a professional dancer. His movements were smooth, and he somehow predicted every attack the Air Mages sent his way, deflecting them with his own control. He eventually landed on the ground on his feet, hands raised towards the sky, walking toward us with that arrogant smile in place. He brushed some dirt off his uniform shirt sleeve as he walked, and I grinned at him. “Is that how it should be done?” I teased.

  “You survived, Kaia Wren, barely a year after you were reborn. That’s how it should be done,” he said soberly. The Headmaster glared, sending one of the other students off for his turn. I didn’t bother watching, just enjoyed the feeling of my men around me when I’d thought to never have it again. Ronan sat on the grass, tugging me to sit between his legs so he could wrap all his long ass limbs around me. The ordeal still weighed on me, my head resting against his chest happily. Even healed, sleepiness pulled at me.

  The student who came back wasn’t as fortunate as Alec, though his injuries were less severe than mine. A broken arm was the worst of his troubles for the healer to take care of.

  “Well, Mr. Daniels? Would you like to dazzle us?” the Headmaster spat bitterly. Ronan stood with a glare, handing me to Alec Gaius tenderly. He gave me a lingering look, and then walked off to the glider. We watched Garcia fall simply and survive even as we watched Ronan go up.

  When he fell, there was no flourish, but there was arrogance. Ronan just had that cool, confident swagger about him even as he brooded most of the time.

  He had stepped out, one foot before the other midair like he wasn’t going to drop to his death. He cut through the air feet first, fending off most of the attacks with ease. One of the Air Mages caught his lip with the edges of a gust and we saw his head jerk back slightly. He made it to the ground safely enough, hurrying back to us and waving the Fire Mage away with an impatient raise of the hand. There was a little blood on his lip, and I fussed over him as much as my energy could allow as he drew me back into his arms. Alec Gaius rested his head on my thigh, and they watched the last take his turn in the trial while I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.

  Nineteen

  Kaia

  My eyes opened slowly, coming to in the guys’ bedroom surrounded by warmth. My head laid on Emerson’s stomach, with Ronan and Alec curled into either side of me. I snorted a laugh. Ronan was using Emerson’s thighs as his pillow, his head so much higher than mine that it was tipped off the other side. Alec didn’t have the ability to use Emerson as a pillow, so he’d positioned himself lower with his face in my boobs.

  I somehow suspected he didn’t mind.

  I tried to resist the urge, but it couldn’t be helped. I gave Alec Gaius a shove, letting him fall to his back. His eyes snapped open in shock, staring at me groggily. “It’s a miracle you didn’t suffocate.”

  He gave me a lazy grin. “I think they’re a little small for me to suffocate in.” His eyes slid to them in a way I knew he wasn’t complaining. I pouted at him anyway.

  “Is that what you like? Huge boobs to bury your face in?”

  “I like you best.” He grabbed my hips, tugging me away from Ronan and placing me over his hips. My eyes met Ronan’s, and I wasn’t even remotely surprised. He’d probably woken up the moment I had, or even before like usual. He liked watching people sleep - the creep.

  “What time is it?” I whispered, trying to be somewhat careful as Emerson still slept like a baby. Alec had other plans, grinding me down to where his erection strained against me.

  “Early,” he answered, tugging me down to kiss me. I smiled against his lips but pulled back enough to speak.

  “Where’s Gale?”

  “His own room. He didn’t think it was smart to spend two nights in a row here, so he left us to take you when we got back,” Ronan explained. He crawled over to us, kneeling in between Alec’s legs to press himself against my back. His lips found my neck, and I smiled even as I tugged away.

  “Stop it,” I laughed. “Did I really sleep through you carrying me here?”

  “The healing takes a toll,” Ronan whispered, refusing to let me get far from him. His hand reached around to grab my chin, pulling me back to his body.

  “Still, I can’t imagine-”

  “Kaia?” Alec Gaius grinned at me.

  “Mhmm,” I murmured to him, trying not to moan at Ronan’s teeth sinking into my shoulder.

  “Shut up.” He grabbed me by the hips, guiding me up and dropping me down onto his length.

  I shut up.

  Well mostly.

  I was wet. Why I was so surprised to already be wet was beyond me. He slid right in to the hilt, and my flesh quivered around him as my ass sat against his thighs. R
onan’s hands took my breasts in hand, pinching and toying with my nipples as Alec guided my hips up and down on his shaft. One of Ronan’s hands left my nipple, and the cool air in the room instantly assaulted the flesh he’d abandoned. He stretched to the side, opening the nightstand drawer to pull out the bottle of lube the guys kept there. I bugged my eyes out at him when he poured some onto his fingers.

  He couldn’t be serious.

  It wouldn’t be his first time taking me there, but I flinched when Alec held my hips still to pause my movement. Ronan’s hand slid between my cheeks, probing gently. The first finger slid in easily, and I tried to pull off Alec. I felt full - too full.

  “Uh-uh,” Alec protested, holding me still with his hands and with his lips. “Just like this, baby.”

  Ronan’s finger retreated, advancing with a second one accompanying it.

  “Ah!” I gasped, letting Alec Gaius tug me down. He kissed me, distracting me, even though he only opened more of my body to Ronan’s attentions. I was no stranger to the way they stretched me to take me there, and I knew exactly what he was doing. I fought the urge to hyperventilate, unsuccessfully I might have noted.

  Emerson’s weight shifted at the head of the bed, and he knelt by Alec’s head, taking my hand and wrapping it around his length. Alec thrust up into me shallowly as Ronan worked me open, and I winced and sat up to protest the dual sensations.

  “Shhh, sweetheart,” Ronan whispered in my ear as he drew his fingers away. I took a deep breath, finding both relief and a strange emptiness at the loss. The head of him replaced those fingers, and I whimpered.

  “Shhh,” he repeated. “It’ll be good.”

  “How the fuck would you know?” I hissed at him as he worked the tip inside me. Alec Gaius groaned beneath me as I felt like I might stretch to the point of breaking, split into two. The more Ronan advanced, the more I got lost in the sensation of it.

  “Too much,” I cried, pushing a hand into Ronan’s abs to get him to pull out. He nearly did, pausing at the rim to let Alec lift me up lightly and offer encouragement for me to stay there with my ass just slightly elevated off his lap. With Alec only barely inside me, Ronan thrust in slowly, pausing for only a second in me before he retreated. As he did, Alec pushed up and in. I felt my eyes roll back as they alternated, finding a rhythm that somehow worked for them like it was choreographed.

  I whimpered again. It was too much. I was too full. There was too much pleasure - just too much everything.

  My hands went to Alec’s chest to support my weight as they used me, wringing pleasure from my overwhelmed body.

  “Gods,” Alec whispered, and I looked down to him staring up at me in adoration. My head hung forward, my chin pressing against my chest.

  Emers tucked my hair behind my ear, tilting my head to look at him. “Precious Kai, you look so beautiful,” he whispered, that voice full of a strange pride. I huffed a breathless laugh, but turned my head when he pressed himself to my lips.

  “All of us, woman,” Ronan grunted behind me, giving my ass a firm slap. I gasped, feeling Emerson feed himself into my mouth with a moan. He was only there for a few pumps when the door to the room opened, and I would have jumped if Ronan and Alec hadn’t held me still.

  “It’s okay, baby,” Alec Gaius said. “It’s just Gale.”

  "Couldn't stay away after all, could you?" Ronan taunted.

  “Gods,” Gale’s voice whispered from the doorway. "No. I couldn't."

  “Her first time,” Emerson grinned at him, taking my face in hand to angle me how he needed me and guide me back to his length. Ronan and Alec seemed to communicate without words, increasing their pace and fucking me harder between them. I moaned around Emerson, seeing Gale undress from the corner of my eye. Alec and Ronan lost their rhythm a bit with the harder pace, their alternations not quite as distinct. They both bottomed out inside me at once and I squealed. It wasn’t pain, just so full.

  “I think she likes it,” Ronan chuckled in my ear, and I wished I could have glared at him. Gale came up to the other side of Alec Gaius, mirroring Emerson’s positioning. A hand burrowed into my hair, and though I couldn’t see who it was, I knew it was Ronan from the rough handling. He tugged me up to lean my back against his chest, letting Alec Gaius hit me even deeper.

  “Did you like it, sweetheart?” he asked, using an uncommonly sweet nickname.

  “Yes,” I gasped. “Yes, I like it.”

  “Do you want more?”

  “Yes!” I cried out for how else could I answer in the throes of extreme pleasure. He shoved my head towards Gale. I opened my mouth, sucking his more than impressive cock into my mouth as Ronan went back to driving inside of me with a grunt.

  “Gods, this fucking ass,” he hissed with another slap. I groaned around Gale. “Dirty girl.” Emerson took my hand and encouraged me to rub him as Gale used my mouth. When Gale pulled back, Emerson took a turn. They kept at it for what felt like forever. Alec was the first to groan out a release inside me when I came around him the first time, but Emerson followed in my mouth shortly after. Apparently not satisfied, Ronan wrapped an arm around my waist and lifted me off Alec’s length. I watched in amusement when it flopped against his stomach. Ronan laid on his back, still inside me with me on top of him and facing away. He gave my back a push, and I put my hands out to support my upper body weight off his chest as he grabbed my thighs and tilted me back so that my feet left the bed.

  I watched Gale shuffle over, my eyes rounding in disbelief. I shook my head, trying to get away from Ronan who only chuckled and held me at the waist.

  “He isn’t that much bigger than Alec Gaius. You said you wanted more, sweetheart,” he teased.

  I whimpered as Gale rubbed himself through my lips and then slowly inched his way inside me. Ronan could only make shallow thrusts in this position, but he didn’t seem to mind as he groaned a long, low, “Fuckkkk.”

  Gale fucked me in long, smooth strokes as a contrast to Ronan’s shallow thrusts from behind. I was incoherent between them, lost to the overwhelming feelings they stole from my body. Gale moaned, his voice rising slightly in pitch, and I knew he was close when he put a finger to my clit and forced another orgasm from me. Ronan flooded me first, groaning low and deep. A few more deeper, harder pumps and Gale followed, collapsing his body into mine slightly. When Gale pulled out, I felt the rush of combined fluid from Alec and Gale run down to coat where Ronan was still sheathed inside me, and I whined as Ronan chuckled and lifted me off him to lay me on the bed where I stayed.

  I couldn’t move.

  I had no legs.

  Gone.

  Emerson laughed, getting a wet cloth from the bathroom to clean me up where I laid when it became obvious I was not going to make it to the shower.

  I smiled at him in thanks.

  And promptly fell asleep.

  Epilogue

  Kaia

  The rest of the year passed quickly. Too quickly for my taste, to be honest. The Trials had ended with no fatalities but there were some injuries about as serious as mine.

  Lottie had done especially well, or so Gale told me. I didn’t doubt it for a second - the girl was a menace.

  Alec Gaius and Ronan were graduating from InkHaven. Along with them, Vali, who I was going to miss horribly. Emerson, Gale, and I would be leaving the Academy for the summer as well, but we’d return in the fall. Alec Gaius and Ronan had signed up to be roommates in the Airquarters, even though it was slightly unexpected as they’d be working in different sects. With Alec Gaius off to the Assassins and Ronan to work security in the area surrounding the Temple, it would have been more expected for them to room with one of their direct coworkers. Thankfully, the Order was lenient enough, and we’d all decided to crash in their place over the summer even though students were offered alternative living arrangements.

  Gale, as an Assassin and Air Docent had his own personal room in the building, a privilege he received for having such a prestigious position.

  Lot
tie didn’t tell me where she was going, only mysteriously saying she might not see me as much as she wanted to during the summer season. I determined that she would reveal her secrets the next school year.

  I knew the guys thought about the fact that I would be going back with two less protectors in the fall, but I tried not to dwell on it. My connection to Air was stronger than ever since the Trial, reliable even. I had a long way to go to master it by any means, but I was thrilled that it was there. My whip worked with it well enough and my affiliation with that was no less but my sword was, funnily enough, working better and I felt more of an affinity with it as well.

  Every now and then, Gale still looked at me funnily whenever I used either of my weapons, but he never expressed any concerns. I knew him well enough by now to know I couldn’t push him to discuss something with me until he was ready, so for the time being I waited.

  He’d talk eventually.

  There was a smile on my face as Emerson walked me into the Assembly Hall, a very different feeling to the terror I’d felt walking in there a week prior. But I knew there were no more Trials to face, that I was only there to watch Alec Gaius and Ronan graduate. And Vali. Watching Vali graduate was a nice bonus too.

  There were no embellishments, and it wasn’t a complex graduation. A crowd of students stood in the middle of the room, hands clasped politely behind their backs and facing the podium. The rest of the student body was gathered around the edges of the room, observing the ceremony with varying degrees of interest.

  Headmaster Stewart approached the podium, and I felt my hand tighten in Emerson’s. I still felt so overwhelmed by my anger. His desperation to get rid of me had nearly succeeded, and in doing so had resulted in nearly killing several others.

  “Congratulations, certified Mages,” he said loudly, though there was no confusing the matter-of-fact tone to his voice for pride. He just simply didn’t care, one way or another. “As you continue on to faithfully serve the Order, remember where you have come from, remember the Academy who made you what you have become. We strive to train our students to be the best Mages they can be, and we have succeeded in doing that with all of you who leave these Halls for good today.” His smile was fake, and his eyes glinted in the sunlight streaming in the windows. “As you grow into your chosen paths, you will rediscover the importance of balance. For every Inked who progresses to a Mage, one Inked must die. This is why we require sacrifice from each of you, for you must be willing to pay that price to maintain the balance. For if Zeevar does not receive his balanced level of sacrifice, he is sure to turn. The Order maintains that balance, and as such your ultimate goal shall now be to contribute to that goal. Good luck, Mages.” He applauded half-heartedly and turned to glare at me. Emerson’s hand squeezed mine as the Headmaster strode from the room without another word. As quick as it was, the ceremony ended. There wasn’t much more to be said.