Descendants Academy: Young Adult Urban Fantasy, Belle Malory [motivational novels for students .txt] 📗

“Hello, gladiator.” There he was, directly below, looking magnificent in his leather kilt and metal armbands. “What are you doing here?”

“When you didn’t meet me at lunch, I asked around. Overheard some students laughing about the new girl who’d been snared. Had to see it with my own eyes.” He rocked back on his heels, grinning.

Ugh.

He was here to mock me too. I shouldn’t have been surprised. He was from Ares, after all.

“Well, here I am. Trussed up for everyone’s amusement. Go ahead, have a good laugh.” I forced myself to look the other way. Rocking back and forth, I pretended I was having a grand ole time in my hammock. Sooner or later, Xander would go away.

“How’d you end up like that?” he said.

Guess that meant later rather than sooner.

“I’m supposed to stay away from you, remember?” Not that I could do that at the moment. Being strung up in a tree made it kind of difficult.

“Considering your current situation, it doesn’t look like you have much choice.”

“No, I guess I don’t.” I sighed, really wishing I could summon that fire bolt.

“Well then? Why don’t you tell me how you ended up in the snare?”

Oh, what the hell. It’s not like I had anyone else to talk to anyway. He was still watching me, as if he had nowhere else to be.

“Apparently, my roommate doesn’t like sharing her space.” I shrugged. “She never even gave me a chance. As soon as she found out I’m an Ares descendant, she wanted me gone.”

“What’s her name?”

“Ione.”

“Ah.” He nodded. “I know Ione very well.”

I rolled my eyes at the emphasis on very. “So that’s your type, huh? Tall, blonde and evil?”

“Not exactly.” He laughed, and God, even the deep, pleasant sound of his laughter added to his overall gorgeousness. “She’s my sister.”

“Your what?” The pieces clicked together. If Ione was his sister, that meant—“You’re the boy who switched houses.”

“Guilty. My parents are from Aphrodite.”

That…that wasn’t fair.

“But my archer said you’re respected around this school. You’re the leader of House Ares. Why is it different for me?”

“Believe me, I had to earn that respect. Got called lover boy a lot before I ever became house leader.” He rubbed the back of his neck, looking up. “And things are probably different for you because of your father.”

There it was again, another reference to my dad. “So I’ve heard.”

I really wished Dad was here, so I could yell at him for throwing me into this lion’s pit.

“Did your pops ever tell you anything about his history here at Arcadia?”

I shook my head. “Nothing. I didn’t even know I was a descendant until a few days ago.”

Xander winced. “That’s too bad. You deserve to know.”

Yeah…

Then again, I hadn’t believed half the stuff Dad told me that last night in Davidson, when he tried to explain Mythos. Maybe that’s why he left so much out. Grandpa deserved more of the blame. That slimy old bastard could’ve filled me in once we got here. He had an earful coming his way.

“Tell you what.” Xander shuffled his feet, letting out a long, contemplative breath. When he finally looked up again, he said, “Why don’t I help you down, and we’ll talk about it?”

I held my breath, wondering if it was another trick. “You want to help me?”

He held his hand to block the sun and looked around, scouting the area. “Don’t see anyone else here to do it.”

“That’s…” really nice.

But the words got caught in my throat.

Before I knew what was happening, Xander flung a knife straight toward me. Holy crapballs! I squeezed my eyes shut. The knife struck the branch above me, slicing the top part of my net. The whole thing collapsed, and I fell straight down, waving my arms and legs like a maniac. Xander broke my fall, catching me in his arms like a pro.

Whoa, muscles.

“We learn to save damsels in distress pretty early on in Ares.” He gave me a teasing wink, then set me upright on my feet.

I dusted myself off, still dizzy from the fall. “Uh, thanks,” I said, stretching my arms and legs.

Being on solid ground again felt amazing. But now that I was down here, standing only inches away from Xander, I had a whole new set of problems. Up close, his magic moved through me in warm, inviting waves, and those dreamy blue eyes of his held mine with magnetic force. Good grief, I could hardly be around the guy without feeling like I was melting from the inside out.

“Let’s take a walk,” he suggested, as if reading my mind.

Thinking of Jett, I panicked. Could he actually…?

Dear. God. No.

He couldn’t know I thought he was the hottest guy I’d ever seen in real life, and that my stomach was doing little flips in his presence, and that his magic was turning me into a puddle at his feet.

I quickly searched for that little forcefield at the center of my forehead, but I didn’t notice anything unusual. Not a mind reader, what a relief.

“A walk sounds great. As long as it’s not back into that zoo you people call an academy.”

He laughed. “C’mon,” he said, leading the way. “We’ve got a lot to cover.”

Right now, I didn’t care if Grandpa warned me to stay away from the guy. So far he was the only person at Arcadia who hadn’t treated me like a leper, and he was the only one willing to tell me what the hell was going on.

And I was ready to know everything.

13

We walked together slowly. Instead of heading back in the direction of the school, Xander steered me down a dirt path leading away from it, surrounded by lilac blossoms and hydrangeas. Considering what I’d been through today, I was grateful. Part of me never wanted to go back to that place again.

“Your dad was a star at Arcadia. He excelled at everything he did, becoming one of the most powerful students House Ares has ever seen.”

I lifted my