“Together.”
Using his magic, Lucent made the blanket under us disappear and then reappear on top of us. He kissed my forehead and I snuggled into him, taking in his smoked cedar scent. “Good night.”
He hugged me closer to him. “Good night.”
7
Ember
The next morning, after our first class, I stopped off at the bathroom because there was no way I was going last another hour. I shouldn’t have had the third glass of coffee with breakfast.
Lucent looked like he was going to stand outside the door to wait on me. I waved him off. “Go to class. There’s no sense in both of us being late.”
We only had five minutes between classes and I had already stalled at the end of calculus to ask the teacher addition questions about next week’s assignments. She was unimpressed that I went so far ahead on my own and acted put out that I dare asked questions about assignments she hadn’t taught yet. The nerve of me!
It was clear that she was one of those teachers that hated students smarter than her.
So my mood had shifted from annoyance at being in that damned school in the first place to pissed at the math teacher’s pissy attitude. Then there was my overprotective BFF. Lucent was lucky he was hot.
Locking gazes with him and raising a brow in challenge, I didn’t go inside the restroom until he walked away. Stubborn male.
But he was mine. A smile formed and my heart warmed at the thought of actively pursuing him as a mate. At least there was something to look forward to. This time at the reform school would give us the space to explore each other without my mother or the clan watching our every move, speculating if Lucent will be their Alpha male. It was something they’ve done our whole lives. It was annoying. But weren’t wrong about hoping for a mated phoenix pair to rule them since male phoenixes were hard to come by.
Lucent and I would be the first mated phoenix pair in centuries. Since there weren’t very many male phoenixes born, it wasn’t often when mated pairs were both phoenixes. Only I wasn’t full-blooded fire phoenix. I feared the day when my people discovered the truth. Would they reject my ascent as their leader?
Sighing, I pushed the bathroom door opened and went inside. I’d cross that bridge when I came to it. First, I had to survive this damned school and figure out why I was attracted to the twins and Caleb Foster. If Lucent was my mate, why would I be attracted to three other males?
Unless…No! I’m not going there. I don’t need four mates. Okay, so I knew that it would happen one day. That didn’t mean it had to be now. Besides, I didn’t know whose side Foster and the twins were on.
Pushing the thoughts of mating out of my mind, I chose the first stall to do my business. Just as I finished washing my hands the bathroom opened and four females entered. I inhaled their scents and at first, I thought they were human. Then I caught the low hum of power rolling off them. Witches.
Smiling politely, I moved toward the door. I froze when the one still at the door locked it, and unnatural dark power flashed in her eyes as she advanced toward me. The other three circled me like vultures. Oh great. I don’t need this shit.
Another thing that made this situation even better was they didn’t seem to have anything on that was binding their powers. It was a rule that all students had to wear something that associated them with their house, that was also spelled to dampen their powers while in class. At least while they were in the main building. The article of clothing or whatever was chosen by the house leader was different per house.
And here I was being the law-abiding student and wearing my blazer. Great.
“Are you like the official welcome crew?” I sent out my senses, gauging each of their powers as I studied their body language.
The one that locked us in seemed to be the leader of this little group. She had her brown hair pulled back into a high ponytail and her dark amber eyes narrowed on me. Her upper lip curled as she stalked closer. “You can say that.”
I pursed my lips and fisted my hands at my side. If they thought they’d intimidate me, they were delusional. Or on crack. Probably both.
Releasing the part of my power that I kept buried deep in my core, I felt the spell of my blazer pulse. The magic woven into the fabric of my jacket dulled my powers but didn’t block them. I figured that out pretty quick yesterday as I tested the spell on several different occasions. It was obviously created for a normal phoenix and not a hybrid like me—one with enough power that made the council nervous.
One of the three females that stood on either side of me, a blonde with short, pixie-like hair took a step closer. It took every ounce of my control to not light her ass on fire. The Pixie Blonde leaned in and sniffed the air. “This one is powerful. But we knew that already.”
In reflex, I jerked my attention to her while reaching out with my senses to gauge where the other three were. What did they know? Could they sense my magic and tell I was half god? Cold dread filled me, fueling both the ice and fire of my powers. The spell on my blazer was holding its own at against the push of my magic, dulling them. Fuck. Maybe I underestimated the spelled used.
I should pay closer attention in my spells and potions class.
The four females also noticed my weakened state. Before I could blink, the leader lunged for me, tackled me to the ground. Been there, done that. I connected my fist with her temple, slamming it home. She screamed out in pain and I pushed her off of me and stood.
Rounding on other three, I sent out a low pulse of power. Because that was all the spell allowed me to do. Fuck. I didn’t have time to take off the offended jacket because the pixie-hair female punched me in the side, making me stumble a few steps.
Twisting in circle, I managed to kick two of them. The leader was on her feet by that time and coming at me again. I was out numbered and low on power and out of my element.
But I would not go down easy.
I threw my arms out to the side, sending out a blast of power. It didn’t have the boost behind it I needed, but it was enough to throw the two beside me backwards. When I whirled around to face the leader, something cold and wet hit my face. Then a power ball of some kind hit the center of my back.
Instantly I was blinded by the potion that was thrown in my face. The energy at my back crawled over me, weighing me down like a heavy blanket made from lead. Fuck me. I stumbled and tried to reach out with my senses to see where the females were, but everything was weird. I was bathed in darkness and my inner phoenix was growing sleepy.
A fist hit my temple while another slammed into my ribs. I swung out my arms, trying to fight back but my limbs all felt heavy and sluggish. This wasn’t good. I was going to die.
Well, not permanently. I would be reborn. Then the thought flashed in my mind.
I reached for my death flame, but the potion and the energy ball kept my flames from reacting. This was a message from someone. They wanted me to suffer before I died.
I managed to catch a booted foot as it kicked my mid-section and twisted it before pushing it out. The female screamed in pain. That was when another one of them grabbed my hair at the base of my neck and yanked me to her. I swung my fists and kicked out. Not being able to see sucked demon ass.
Then the leader—I knew it was her because of her scent—moved close enough to whisper in my ear. “Night, night demi-god freak.”