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

down, my tray filled with every available option the cafeteria offered. Fried melon with goat cheese, shrimp orzo salad, sea bass with herb potatoes, and honeyed pastries. After skipping both lunch and dinner the day before, I was starving, and had most of it down within minutes.

“Sheridan?”

I looked up at the familiar voice. “Hazel!” I smiled.

Seeing a friendly face for a change was so nice.

She was in her school uniform, an olive-green toga, her wild curls tucked into a crown of braids positioned just behind her horns. She sat beside me, pushing her purple glasses up the bridge of her nose. “I looked everywhere for you yesterday,” she said, setting down her lunch tray. “Where were you?”

I cleared my throat. “That’s, ah, a long story.”

“Story?” Jett was suddenly there, seeming to have appeared from out of nowhere. She sat down, cracking open a can of Dr. Pepper. “I’m up for a good story.”

Hazel and I gave each other a look; neither of us knew what to make of her. I shrugged, figuring what the hell. She continually invaded my thoughts without asking, but I kind of liked her, especially how she didn’t seem to care what the rest of the school said or did. And admittedly, this was better than eating lunch solo.

I told them everything, about getting trapped in the net, about my dad, Riley, the tablet, and the curse. Once I was done, I let out a breath, anxious to hear what the two of them thought.

Hazel was sympathetic. “I’m sorry, Sheridan. I had no idea.”

Jett, on the other hand, looked intrigued. “You said it’s an unbreakable stone tablet, right?”

I nodded. “Right.”

“Where is it?”

“My dad has it.”

“Get it from him,” she said. “Then you need to take it to the Curse Breaker.”

Hazel nearly spit out her soup. “Please tell me you’re not referring to the crackpot on Twilight Island.”

“He’s efficient,” Jett stated, matter-of-factly. “He holds the record for most curses broken in the New Age.”

I learned in my Mythonian History textbook that New Age was a term that referred to the weakening of magic. The original so-called gods and goddesses were considered all-powerful, but since their reign, the magic spread in younger generations was thought to have been diluted. The main reason why everyone was big on sticking to their own bloodlines.

Hazel shook her head disapprovingly. “They call him the Mad Hatter of Mythos. Why would anyone trust someone with that kind of reputation?”

“They call him that because he uses tea during his readings,” Jett said, rolling her eyes. “There’s no crime against being eccentric.”

I was skeptical, but not about the Curse Breaker’s sanity. All of it just seemed too easy, and I knew first hand, nothing came easily. “If curses can be broken, what’s the point?” I asked. “I mean, it seems convenient that one lone mage can reverse dark magic.”

“Make no mistake, it’s not easy and there will be a price to pay.” Jett wedged her fork into a potato and looked at me, her expression serious. “Curses suck on all levels. You’ll have to sacrifice something for its removal. Something big.”

“Like what?”

She shrugged. “The only way to find out is by going to Twilight Island and asking the Curse Breaker yourself.”

A sacrifice. Hmm…now that made more sense. It could be worth hearing what the guy had to say, if nothing else.

Hazel clearly didn’t like the idea. “Are you actually considering it?” she asked me.

I fidgeted with the charms on my bracelet, remembering the way I dug those scissors into Riley’s flesh. I hated remembering, hated who I was in that moment. No matter how much her betrayal hurt, I didn’t want to destroy my sister.

“I need to get my hands on the tablet first, but yes. I’m willing talk to anyone if they can remove the curse.”

Hazel groaned. “There’s one thing you’re both forgetting,” she pointed out. “Trips to Twilight Island are strictly prohibited.”

Jett waved that off. “Don’t worry. I know a guy.”

“Why am I not surprised?” Hazel muttered.

Jett glared at her. “Not everyone was born to be an obedient mule, creature.”

Hazel straightened, lifting her chin. “Get your facts straight. I’m a faun.”

“Whatever.” Jett sipped her Dr. Pepper.

I ignored them both, too focused on working out the details. “I’ll need a boat, preferably on a weekend night.” My mind was ramped up, the wheels turning over as I thought about what this could mean.

“Let me know when you’re ready,” Jett said. “I’ll speak to my guy about getting us a boat.”

“Us?” Hazel practically screeched.

“Well, yeah. It’s Twilight Island, and she’s new to magic. We can’t just let her go alone. She needs backup.”

I studied Hazel, waiting for her to refuse. Her mother made her promise she wouldn’t go there, and I didn’t take her for the disobedient type. “I don’t like this,” she said, chewing on her bottom lip. Her worried gaze steered to me, and she let out a defeated sigh. “But Jett’s right. You can’t go alone. Count me in.”

Jett clasped her hands together excitedly. “A clandestine mission. Teenage rebellion. Folly Promenade—count me in, too. One hundred percent.”

I grinned, grateful for a plan, and way more optimistic than yesterday. I was doing something. Trying. Which sure beat the hell out of sitting around, waiting for the curse to manifest. And the cherry on top—I think I might actually have made friends.

17

After lunch was Seduction Principles, the class I was dreading. It didn’t help that the room itself looked like a lady’s boudoir. Dimly lit chandeliers hung from the ceiling. The seats were plush velvet ottomans. The tables were covered in precious gemstones and magically enhanced oils. And scattered throughout the room were dress forms and mannequins, scantily clad in nighttime garments. I looked around, fidgeting with the charms on my bracelet. After reading The Art of Seduction, I already knew the things we were going to learn, and I wasn’t looking forward to any of it.

Ione claimed the seat next to me, keeping up with her mission to take me under her