Bloodline Secrecy: A Young Adult Urban Fantasy Academy Novel (Bloodline Academy Book 2), Lan Chan [readict TXT] 📗

many layers of protection built into the Academy grounds. There were supernaturals here that could scare the pants off of anyone. I was pretty sure there was a bunyip in the billabong. I’d heard it bellowing on nights while I trained. But knowing Kai was around eased some of the gnawing fear that often plagued me when it hit me once again that I was in an Academy with the kinds of supernatural beings that only showed up on television.

Now that he had returned, I could relax and go back to my usual routine of trying to avoid him at all costs.

Which was all well and good except when I stumbled upon him in the Grove one morning. He sat by the small pond the nymphs used as a bathing pool. None of them were around. I walked in, saw him from behind, and honestly debated quietly tiptoeing away. Except what I considered stealth was akin to an elephant stampede to supernatural ears. He turned his head in my direction.

“Are you avoiding me in general or specifically because of what happened?” he called out. The stiff line of his broad back told me his muscles were tensed.

“In general,” I said. I really just couldn’t keep my big mouth shut.

His posture loosened. In for a penny, I suppose.

I walked up and sat down beside him. “How are you?”

He shrugged. “Could be better.” In my periphery, I saw his gaze track over me. “Could be worse.”

I dredged up the image of him dying to stop from reaching out and taking his hand. Things could be a lot worse. I had to keep reminding myself of that.

“I suppose things are really messed up in Seraphina, huh?”

He placed his palms on the stone bench either side of him. He wasn’t one for hunching, but the way his head dipped made me feel as though he was carrying a heavy weight. “They’re lost. Not because of the death so much as the fact that they don’t even know where to start with it all.”

He turned to me. “Astrid tells me some of the kids are giving the low-magic users a hard time.”

It was my turn to shrug. “They’ve been giving us a hard time since I got here. It’s a little worse right now because they’re scared, but it’s nothing we can’t handle.”

He lifted his head and stared into the long walk which was a strip of lawn that led to a gap in the tree line.

“Sometimes this feels kind of pointless,” he said.

“It does. Until something pisses you off and then it’s all worth it again.”

I didn’t glance at him to see if he was smiling. That way lay danger. It was time to go. “Anyway, I have chores to do and meditation to attempt.”

“Attempt being the operative word.”

“Bite me.”

“Maybe later, Blue. If you piss me off enough.”

I almost ran away.

Eating in the dining hall had become a strategic battlefield. Depending on which of us got there first, Sophie and I would heap our trays up with food and either take it back to the dorms or find somewhere quiet on the lawn away from all of the prying eyes.

Sometimes Wanda joined us. The speculation about the Soul Sisterhood was getting out of control. One night after another failed meditation attempt, I trudged back to the dorms. I walked in on Sophie having a terse conversation with her parents.

“What do you mean the Nephilim guards came to see you?” Sophie was saying. Basil was doing his best impression of a worried parent by pacing behind her. I waved at Nora and Mani from behind Sophie’s shoulder.

“They’ve gotten it into their heads that since we’ve been trying to gain a seat on the Council, what better way to do that than to get rid of someone already on there.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Sophie said. “As if we would be that stupid!”

“I guess they really are grasping at straws,” I said.

“Tell me about it,” Mani said. “Thankfully we had a meeting in Rivia at the time, so we have an alibi. But they’re not ruling out the possibility of us having hired the Sisterhood.”

Sophie ground her teeth. “Where did they think you magically got the contact details of the Sisterhood?”

Nora sighed. “They’re trying to appear like they’re in control. The fact that they let this get so far is concerning to some of the population. The last thing we need is for people to panic and for others to jump on the bandwagon. It could turn into a witch hunt.” She shook herself. “Enough about the doom and gloom. They have every resource thrown into uncovering this threat. And they’ve taken to guarding all of the Councillors more heavily. I’m sure the Sisterhood won’t try anything again so soon.”

“Funny,” I said, “I don’t ever see Kai with any guards.”

Nora smiled. “His is a unique case. The Academy does have all manner of protection. He would be a much harder target to get at.”

“As opposed to the alpha of the shifters?”

“Durin has strength,” Mani said. “But he is also bull-headed and unreasonable. As a non-magic user, he is also more easily confused by magic.”

“So are the para-humans,” I said. I was already concerned about how they would protect themselves if the Sisterhood came after them. Most of the goblins I had met at school and in Rivia were gentler than their rough exteriors would have you believe. Also, I had a soft spot for Griff, the goblin representative, for his support in letting me retain the demon blade.

“The likelihood of the Sisterhood going after the Goblin king is quite slim. He’s very apolitical.”

“Who knows what the motives of mad women are?” Basil muttered.

“Shut up,” I said.

“I wasn’t referring to you.”

“Just shut up.”

The weekend of Charles’s birthday arrived a week later. I was still short one present. I really needed to get a job. Sadly, between all of my classes and my early morning and evening duties in the Grove, I had almost no time. Sophie bought him some enchanted