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

I was. With a poisonous charm bracelet. She knew, and that meant she tried to destroy me long before I tried to destroy her.

Oh man.

This shouldn’t bother me, but it did. When I acted, it was out of rage, not a pre-meditated attempt on her life. She obviously thought this out, planned it, wanting my destruction to be slow and painful.

Tears stung at my eyes. I spun away so Peter wouldn’t see, but that was pointless. The guy just told me he could read emotional energy.

“It was someone close, wasn’t it?”

“My sister.” I sighed. “I’m sure you’ve heard about my…family issues.” Everyone at this school had heard one rumor or another.

“I have.” He gently touched the side of my arm. “If it helps, you’ve got my approval.”

I spun back around, blinking. “That easily?”

Wait. Why was I questioning this?

Thankfully, Peter didn’t take it back. He just laughed. “Energy, remember?” He looked over my head again, mesmerized, like it was the Aurora Borealis. “Everyone’s aura is unique, but yours is more unusual than most—a blend of several energies. You can be successful in love magic, but you have to really want it. It’s all up to you.”

I wasn’t sure what to say. “Th-thank you.”

Peter smiled. “Welcome to Aphrodite, Sheridan Thorne.”

23

“What took you so long?” Jett said, scowling.

Hazel was there waiting with her, looking around anxiously, as if she expected us to get caught sneaking off at any second.

“I got out as fast as I could,” I said, remembering the way Ione narrowed her eyes when I gave an excuse about not feeling well. She didn’t believe me, but she let it go, pleased enough I’d gotten Peter’s stamp of approval.

“Whatever, let’s just go,” Jett said, waving us along. “We need to hurry.”

Leaves crunched beneath our feet as we made our way into the woods. The moon shone brightly overhead, lighting our way through the trees. I wrapped myself in my cloak, having no idea where we were headed.

“How did your dinner go?” Hazel said, as the two of us tried to keep up with Jett.

“Great, for the most part. With the exception of this.” I showed her the inside of my wrist. “Apparently, my sister has been trying to poison me.”

Hazel stumbled, and Jett stopped to spin around. “Let me see,” she said, grabbing my hand. Her eyes flared. “Lethara—what a crafty bitch.”

“Hey, still my sister.”

I could call her a bitch, and she definitely was one, but that didn’t mean anyone else could.

“Evil stuff.” Hazel tsked, shaking her head. “This makes me feel better about breaking the rules. You need to get this curse lifted ASAP, Sheridan.”

Jett dropped my hand, and I rubbed the red marks.

“Hazel’s right,” Jett said, walking ahead. “If your sister is already toying with poison, who knows what she’ll try next.”

The sooner, the better. I could feel it, the urgency. It was building inside of me like a storm, ready to turn violent and deadly at a moment’s notice. Even thousands of miles apart, Riley had still found a way to get to me. With magic, of all things.

I needed to tell Grandpa about this, so he could pass on that information to Dad. Riley had been upset with Dad for grounding her. I didn’t want to believe she was capable of harming him, but she had no problem doing it to me—there was no telling what she might do to the guy who kept her under lock and key.

We came to a stop, and Jett steered us off the main path. She lifted a branch for us to duck under. “Come on, through here.”

“Um, where exactly are we going?” I said, wondering why students enjoyed venturing into a spooky forest. This was not my idea of fun.

“To see Van, the guy I told you about.”

I pushed through the foliage and shrubbery, knocking branches and leaves out of the way. “And why is he in the woods?” An owl hooted in the distance, the sound only adding to the overall spooky atmosphere. Why would anyone want to come out here?

“This is the place to be on Friday night.” Jett disappeared through a curtain of moss. “But Van crashes early, so we have to hurry. Come on, you two.”

Hazel and I rushed to catch up, pulling apart the moss. “Oh my…”

It was like stepping into another world. Bass began pumping as if we were in the middle of a nightclub. Neon lights soared all around us. Students were everywhere, dancing and playing games. They drank from flasks and wooden goblets, and they wore modernized versions of the school uniform, shortened togas, combat boots, and jeans.

“It’s enchanted,” Jett shouted over the music. “Beyond those trees, not a peep can be seen or heard. Keeps the professors out, for a while anyway. They usually find our party spots, but when they do, we just move them to new locations.”

I chewed the inside of my cheek, slinking away from a pair of dancers grinding against each other. I was definitely out of my element. This was the Mythonian version of a rager. Even in the human world, ragers had never been my scene.

Hazel glued herself to my side, looking just as out of place. “Oh my god!” she said, grabbing my arm.

“What?”

She nodded her head toward a group of fauns. “The one with the wavy black hair is Birch—he’s a family friend. He’s also…”

I noticed the way her entire being lit up as she watched him.

“Dreamy?” I finished for her, grinning.

Call me crazy, but this Aphrodite magic might be finally settling in. I could tell with one look that Hazel was crushing on that faun pretty hard.

“He doesn’t notice me like that,” she said with a shrug. “To him, I’m like a little cousin.”

“Then he’s blind,” I said. “You’re stunning, Hazel. If he doesn’t notice, good riddance. Find someone else who does.”

She beamed. “Thanks, Sheridan.”

Having had to turn back around, Jett stomped over to us and grabbed us by the neck of our togas. “I. Said. Hurry.”

“Sheesh,” Hazel huffed as soon