Hearts of Darkness: A Valentine's Day Bully Romance Collection

by Joanna Mazurkiewicz

  “Yeah, and sweetheart, you’re not a pimple. Far cuter. I’m Katie and your roomie.”

  Stretching out my hand to shake hers, I watch as she scrunches up her nose and rolls her eyes. “No need to be formal. Your name will just suffice.”

  “I’m Genevieve,” I reply. “But you can call me Evie, everybody else has.”

  “Pretty name, but if it’s all the same to you, I’m going to call you Genevieve. You can call me Kitty. And I don’t like the name Evie at all. We already have an Evie here and she’s a bitch.”

  “You can call me Genna if you like—and duly noted. I guess I need to avoid her?”

  “Unfortunately, you can’t, she’s our dorm leader.”

  “So, you’ve been here before?”

  “Actually, my second year.”

  “Then why are you bunking in the freshman dorms?”

  “I skipped out on my freshman year last year, and my parents forced me to come back or they’d cut me off my inheritance and I need that.”

  Must be nice, I think to myself.

  “Oh, it’s very nice, without that money I won’t be able to roam the world after I graduate.”

  “You heard me say that? I’m super sorry.”

  “It’s whatever, you mumbled it, and I’ve got superb hearing like a cat,” Kitty says. “I’d be careful to keep your mumbling to yourself though and your thoughts.”

  “Why?”

  “We’ve got some mind readers here, Genna.”

  “What kind of place is this?”

  “You don’t know? You applied to an Academy that dabbles in the supernatural side of things.”

  “Wait, what? I didn’t apply. Someone paid for me to get in, and I don’t know who.”

  “That’s odd, you have to be super special to get in here and have some magical ability, you can’t just waltz in here.”

  “Well, it looks like that’s what’s happened.”

  “Don’t let anybody know—and we need you to figure out your magical ability before shit hits the fan.”

  “I don’t have any magic abilities—” I stutter. “Unless you count healing animals and having a ridiculous green thumb.”

  “We can work with that. We’ll just classify you as a fairy and I’ll help you on the side.”

  “That’s really kind of you. Why are you being so nice?”

  “Trust me, you want to make friends and not enemies here. Being the new girl, you’re gonna want some allies.”

  “What have I gotten myself into?”

  “Welcome to Avalon Academy,” Katie smiles.

  “Avalon Academy?”

  “Yeah, descendants of the Lady of the Lake and Guinevere decided to preserve Arthur’s legacy and once he passed away, Guinevere left the cloister and got into all the mystical stuff on Avalon to defeat Morgana and her magic.”

  “Woah,” I whistle.

  “You didn’t know all of this? Girl, you need a history lesson asap. Evie will have a field day with you. Just stay low this weekend and you’ll get a crash course before school starts. She isn’t here yet, they show up on Sunday night, so I hope you’re a fast learner.”

  I groan. “Yeah sure. Bring it.” I pause. “Who else do I need to stay away from?”

  “I’ve got a whole list of people, but more importantly keep your head low and stick with me and you’ll be fine.”

  I look Kitty up and down. “Oh yeah, and what is your magical ability?”

  “Oh, I’m a descendant of the Lady of the Lake and I’ve got a whole arsenal of shit. I’m like Regina from Mean Girls minus the mean girls. I’m the It Girl.”

  “If you’re the It Girl, why are you in my room?”

  “Call it a charity case. I’m extra protective of new girls. Especially you, Genna.”

  “But you don’t know me.”

  “I don’t have to know you; I’ve seen your kind before.”

  She smiles and it creeps me out, my skin crawling and goose pimples covering me from head to toe. “My kind?”

  “Yeah, the lonely, sensitive kind.”

  “Wait, I’m not sensitive or lonely.”

  “Oh yeah? You have no family here, and you are oozing with teen angst and sadness. She waves her hand and tears begin to prick at my eyes.

  She steps closer and I feel her hot breath on my cheek. “You’re an orphan, Genna. You can’t be weak here. I’m here to make you stronger and to fulfill your purpose.”

  “Hey why are you trying to scare the new girl Kitty Kat?” a voice says behind us.

  My breath hitches in my throat and I feel like a mouse in Kitty Kat’s clutches.

  “Oh, Lance babe, I’m not scaring Genna,” she purrs and then turns to me. “Am I?”

  I shake my head no. He smiles at me and his smile is dazzling. I practically need sunglasses to even look upon him.

  “Well, good because I’d hate to have another one run off before the semester starts.”

  “You’re hilarious, he’s joking. Anyway, Lance and I are going to grab some food, come with?”

  “No, I’m good.”

  “Okay, suit yourself. If you change your mind, turn right and go down the hall, past the suits of armor. But be careful they come to life, just don’t irritate them.”

  “What do you mean?” I ask.

  “They get a little territorial with newbies around,” Lance interjects.

  “Especially with fairies,” Kat grins. “Not everybody likes fairies, Genna.”

  “I don’t even know what I am—” I begin. But I stop as I see Lance shifting and his eyes brighten, and Kat slits her eyes at me.

  “You don’t know what you are, and you’re at Avalon?” Lancelot asks.

  Kat slaps my arm and laughs. “She’s teasing, such a kidder, Genna is.”

  “She is? You’ve known her long?”

  “Oh long enough, she really warms up and opens up fast. She’s a hoot. Anywho, we’re outtie, Genna. Sure you don’t wanna come with?”

  “No, I’m good thanks,” I suppress my anger. “See you later, Kat.”

  I let out my breath and relax as they both leave me alone. I throw down my bag on a bed and start putting things away. “I hope I survive,” I say to no one.

  “Do you always talk to yourself?” a voice says behind me. I spun around to see a tall glass of water staring at me.

  “No—” I stutter.

  “The most intelligent conversations happen that way,” he winks. “I’m Ace. So you’re the new girl everybody is talking about?”

  “Gossip travels fast,” I cringe.

  “Unfortunately these walls can talk,” he says, and he does not laugh. So I take that he isn’t joking.

  I shrug it off. I have to pick my battles. “Ace? Is that your real name or a nickname?”

  “Nickname, actually. My name is Peter, and you’re Genna?”

  “Genevieve, but Genna is cool too. But I’m more curious about how you got the name Ace.”

  “I have the ability to get everything I want, also I ace every challenge I face.”

  I snort and roll my eyes. “Not conceited at all. I thought maybe you flew or something.”

  “Sweetheart, nobody flies here. This isn’t that kind of magic academy,” he deadpans.

  “What kind of academy is it then?” I ask.

  “You’ll find out soon enough. Have you eaten yet?”

  “No, but I’m not really hungry,” I say then my stomach decides to throw me under the bus.

  “Seems like your stomach says otherwise. I’ll take you to the cafe. You can meet the rest of the guys.”

  I internally groan. I do not want to meet the rest of the guys or see Kitty Kat. I must have thrown him off and was scowling. He takes me by my elbow and leads me out of the room. Once he touches me, my resolve changes. I feel warm and fuzzy around him.

  “See I told you, I always get what I want.”

  “I wouldn’t go that far. I’m really hungry all of a sudden. So don’t flatter yourself, Ace.”

/>   Chapter 2

  Lance

  “Earth to Lance.” I hear Katie’s voice. I let out an irritated sigh and put down my cell phone.

  “What, Katie? Can’t you see I’m busy?”

  “Seriously? You dragged me from my dorm room to grab food. And you’re too busy texting.”

  “Something came up. I have to go.” I don’t even apologize because I’m so done with her.

  Katie stands up, and in one swoop picks up her apple before I can stop her. The apple hits me in slow motion. It bounces off my shoulder and she slits her eyes. “This.” She motions between us, “ We. Are. Over. It is always something, Lance. I’m not going to compete with whatever is going on anymore.”

  She storms out and I do not stop her. “It’s about time,” a voice says behind me.

  I turn around in my seat and see Nick shaking his head.

  “Shut up, dude. I didn’t know it would take her this long to dump me.”

  “Why didn’t you dump her first?”

  “I thought she was the one,” I say.

  “But you figured out she wasn’t the one for a while now.”

  “I got bored and wanted to keep her around for some fun.”

  “Was it at least worth it?”

  “She was a good fuck, but too demanding. But that’s neither here nor there. Have you seen the new girl, Genna?”

  “No, not yet.”

  “Well, I sent Ace a text to lure her out. So you’ll see her soon enough. Nobody can resist his charms.”

  “Why didn’t you send me instead?”

  “You lay on the charm a bit too much. We don’t want her to fall in love with you. She’s mine. Got it?”

  Nick salutes me. “Yes, boss.”

  I see a flicker of light behind us. I’m blinded, it’s her. “Stop it and turn off the love shit.”

  “Why?” he asks and turns around. “Oh, my Goddess. She’s hot AF. You might have competition, Lance.”

  “Don’t even try,” I growl.

  Nick sits down next to me and whispers. “She’s a fairy. You know we have to destroy fairies, Lance.”

  “I know, so leave it to me.”

  “How so with Katie out of the picture?”

  “Don’t worry about that. I’ll take care of that too,” I whisper as I get up to greet Genna.

  This is going to be easy, especially since she has no idea what she is, I muse to myself.

  Chapter 3

  Genevieve

  The hairs on my arm rise as soon as Ace lets go of my elbow and when I’m face to face with Lance. Something doesn’t seem right. I look around for Katie.

  “She’s off doing yoga or something,” Lance says, interrupting my thoughts. A chill runs down my spine. He can read my thoughts. I need to fix that asap.

  “She doesn’t seem to be the yoga type,” I say.

  “Looks can be deceiving,” he says, and I shiver again.

  I need to get out of here, this place is giving me some bad vibes. I brace myself waiting for him to interrupt me and answer my thoughts. I wait for a pregnant pause and nothing. Absolutely nothing at all. Instead, I turn my attention to the other guy behind him. He looks like he walked out of a GQ magazine. My heart beats and my pulse quickens. Maybe it’s not such a bad place after all.

  The mystery guy steps around Lance and smiles. “Hey, Genna. I’m Nick. It’s a pleasure to finally get to meet you.”

  Oh, he’s good. He’s being real nice. Though I’m not sure what his angle is when he reaches for my hand. I put my hand out awkwardly, assuming we’re going to shake. But instead, he scoops me up in his arms and embraces me. I freeze at the subtle hints of sandalwood in his aftershave. I melt. I’m going to turn into a puddle right here and now.

  I hear someone growl. I’m not sure why because I’m really enjoying being held by Nick. He’s yummy.

  I feel a hand on my shoulder pulling me out of Nick’s embrace. “Should we get you two a room?” a voice asked, clearly irritated. Jealous perhaps.

  I opened my eyes only to regret it. Because I’m face to face with a very angry Lance. My stomach flips and not in the good way. He’s genuinely pissed off and I don’t know why. Then his cold demeanor flips into a smile. It’s a forced smile, and I know one when I see one. I’ve seen it before, so I know I need to tread very carefully.

  “I don’t know what came over me,” I say. Why am I apologizing? I didn’t do anything wrong, but I feel like I did with the way Lance is still throwing daggers at me.

  “It’s whatever, just we don’t do PDA here,” Lance says with a bit of growl in his voice.

  I’m furious and pissed. Is this dude trying to gaslight me? When Nick is the one who pulled me in. Why am I apologizing for something that I didn’t initiate?

  “Hey, just lay off Lance. I was just being friendly,” Nick comes to my rescue.

  Lance pushes Nick. “Don’t let it happen again.”

  Nick tumbles down onto the floor and Lance walks away. I didn’t think Lance hit him that hard to push him down.

  I help Nick up and he gladly accepts it. It’s electric when our skin touches and I’m thinking about having babies and a white picket fence with him. As he gets up, I let go immediately. What the hell is going on here?

  “Are you okay?” I ask Nick. “I didn’t think he hit you that hard.”

  “I’m cool. But Lance he has a brute force to be reckoned with. It’s best you don’t piss him off. He can squash you like a bug.”

  My head swims with confusion. I sit down at the table and Peter is on one side and Nick on the other. I place my head in my hands. I tremble. Tears are threatening to shed and I’m not the emotional, cry at the drop of the hat kind of girl, but the energy is off the charts with Peter and Nick at my side.

  “You okay Genna?”

  “Yeah,” I lie. “What’s up with Lance?”

  There is dead silence. Like you could literally hear a pin drop. I look up and they both have deer in the headlights look. Then I look around to see we’re alone. I want to crawl into a hole and never get back out. Then my stomach grumbles again.

  “Hey, I’ll grab you something to eat. You just sit tight,” Nick says. But before I could protest, he was up going over to grab me a sandwich from the display case.

  He was back in less than a minute with a sandwich, drink, and chips.

  “I got you turkey on rye. Your favorite,” Nick says.

  My eyes grow big. “How did you know?”

  “I have my ways,” he winks.

  I’m impressed at how he knew and how fast he was. I didn’t even see him pay. My stomach grumbles again before I could press for answers. I bite into the sandwich and I feel a bit better. Though I could have done without Nick and Peter watching my every move. I felt self-conscious. Was there some mustard on my face? I wiped my face with a napkin. Then I hear laughter, but it wasn’t from Nick or Peter.

  I twist around to see Katie on the arm of Lance. She’s not wearing yoga clothes and doesn't look like she broke a sweat. They walk past us, and Katie and Lance are shooting daggers at me. I shrink so I can disappear. I push away the rest of my sandwich and get up to leave.

  “Where are you going?” Nick asks, whimpering like a hurt puppy. Was he expecting a good boy for fetching me a sandwich?

  “I need to unpack before it’s too late. Thanks for the sandwich.” I pat him on the shoulder. Oh my god, what is wrong with me?

  I rush out of the cafe before I embarrass myself and call him a good boy.

  I run out so fast that I come in contact with a hard body. I fall back onto the hard floor. A woosh of air leaves my lungs and leaves me breathless. The person I bumped into lends me a hand and I accept. I try to avoid the urge to rub my butt and to avoid eye contact.

  “Watch where you’re going,” they say. I look up to see a knight. I want to hide fast. I was told to avoid them. “You shouldn’t be here.”

  “Excuse me?” I am furious. No one tells me I don’t belong anywhere.

&
nbsp; “You shouldn’t be down this hallway, Genevieve.”

  I’m shocked. How did it know my name?

  It took off his helmet and the sight before me knocked the air out of my lungs again. It was human. Not an empty suit of armor.

  “Who are you? What are you?”

  “You can call me Adam. I am one of the keepers of this castle.”

  “Castle? Keeper?” I ask in shock. “This is too much.”

  “You’re lost. I’ll escort you back to your room. You are not to come here again. You shouldn’t have been able to either.”

  “It matters not. Let us go now.”

  He grabs hold of my elbow, but there is no electricity, only cold metal.

  Within minutes I’m back in my dorm and Katie is there reading a book.

  “Where were you?” Katie asks looking up.

  “I got lost.”

  “Where did you go?”

  “I ended up being escorted by a knight.”

  “We aren’t allowed there. And nobody can get in there anyway.”

  “How come?” I ask.

  “It is protected by magic. Does anybody else know?”

  “No,” I say.

  “Good, because heads will roll. Because this proves that you are fae, or even a descendant of Guinevere or the Lady of the Lake,” Katie says. “But that’s impossible with the latter.”

  There is disgust laced in her response. I can tell. Before she could read my thoughts I just spit it out. No sense in hiding it. “Why does that seem impossible? I could very well be a descendant of either.”

  “Well, honey. Our kind would never procreate with fae.”

  “But didn’t Arthur when he was tricked by Morgana?”

  Katie throws her book down and rises with the speed of a cheetah. She’s in my face and livid. “Do. Not. Spread those lies ever again. Do you hear me?”

  I don’t back down, squaring my shoulders. “What is everybody’s problem?” I ask, not faltering.

  “We don’t have a problem. But it would seem that you just might become one.”

  Just as fast as she got up she is back in her bed. She smiles at me. “Lights out.”

  I am not going to spend the night with her. I back out and bump into something that smelled like sandalwood and citrus and I know it’s Nick.

  I spin around and he is smiling. “Need a place to crash?” he asks.