Bloodline Diplomacy: A Young Adult Urban Fantasy Academy Novel (Bloodline Academy Book 3), Lan Chan [best way to read an ebook .TXT] 📗

Professor Aisling took exception to me being late. “You’re already behind as it is, Alessia. At this rate, you will be repeating the class.”

That did not sit well with me. I didn’t want to take this class the first time around. The last thing I wanted to do was repeat it. Isla had no sympathy for me when we made our way to the mermaid lagoon. We passed through a small portal rather than make the twenty-or-so-minute walk.

“Don’t look at me,” Isla said. “I don’t think you should be in this class either.”

I was going for a snippy comeback when the first hint of saline around the lagoon hit me. I stopped dead. One of the Fae barrelled into me. They might appear graceful but they were no less fragile than the shifters.

“Ow!”

“Mind where you’re walking,” the Fae girl spat. I hurried to the side of the pathway and just kind of stood there. Isla noticed me lingering behind. She stalked back and grabbed my arm.

“What are you doing?” she hissed.

I shook my head at her. “Are you crazy?” she continued. “Do you want everyone to know you’re scared of saltwater? They’ll eat you alive.”

She was miles stronger than I was. Which was why she ended up dragging me towards where the horizon opened up to an enormous body of water that I had no idea was even part of the Academy. My mouth gaped.

“H-How?” I asked.

Isla beamed. “My parents helped shield this place,” she said. “Their magic makes sure the lagoon is protected for the mermaids.” She eyed me sidelong. “And it shields the Academy from the mermaid’s song.”

So basically, this lagoon had been here all along and I didn’t know about it. By now I was sweating through my shirt. The paved walkways of the Academy eased to sand and rocks. The lush growth of European trees and eucalyptus died away and was replaced by low-growing reeds and thick-leaved succulents. The sound of the waves lapping sent a cold shiver down my spine. By all accounts the pristine blue waters were breathtakingly beautiful. My heart kicked in my chest at the mere sight of the foam crawling up the sand. I swallowed as Professor Aisling came to a stop in front of a rocky enclosure.

“I’m sure you’ve all read the requisite pages of your textbooks,” she said. I did not imagine the way she looked at me sceptically. “The key to drawing the mermaids out is patience. We will start by wading into the water and using our energy to send them a message.”

The Fae wasted no time kicking off their shoes. Some had already done so on the way here. In the halls of Bloodline, they were often haughty and aloof. Out here, some of them were grinning like little kids. I stood a little off to the side. They waded into the water. I pretended to have trouble taking my socks off.

“Problem, Miss Hastings?” Professor Aisling asked.

“No, ma’am. Just don’t want to get cold feet.”

“I can assure you the water is the perfect temperature.”

I had hoped she might forget about me and move away, but she just stood there eyeing me until I couldn’t make any more of a spectacle of myself. Isla was rolling the hem of her jeans up nearby. For all her sniping, she wasn’t such a pain in the butt anymore.

“Come on,” she said. As soon as my socks were off, she yanked me towards the water. My limbs locked. She was basically carrying me at this point.

“What’s the deal?” she asked. “You walked across a bloody roaring river during our first semester.”

In the reflection of her eyes, my face had gone white as a sheet. “It’s just water. The mermaids are fickle but they’re not going to hurt you.”

I clawed at her arm to try and get her off me. The sound of the waves was probably no more than a low rumble, but in my mind, I heard it as a roar. When I yanked her hair, Isla yelped and dropped me. I landed with my knee in damp sand. Some of the Fae around me laughed. But they were too enchanted by the lagoon to rub it in. Isla glanced between me and the water. I could feel the itch of her anticipation.

“Just go,” I whisper-shouted.

She didn’t think twice and ran into the water. I crawled back up the dunes until I was far enough away that my pulse didn’t want to leap out of my throat. I placed my shaking hands in my lap.

A shadow drew up beside me. Professor Aisling tsked. “Jacqueline did warn me that you might be reluctant. But it’ll be impossible for me to give you a passing grade if you can’t get into the water.”

I wanted to scream at her that I didn’t care about her stupid passing grade. The scathing glare she gave me as she walked towards the water made my head droop. I didn’t understand. For the billionth time, I tried to scrape up some memory of why I was so terrified of the ocean. This wasn’t even a real ocean. It was a magically produced version, and yet I still had the same visceral response to it.

As a result, I sat at the farthest edge of the shore as I could get away with while the Fae and other water elementals played in the waves. I held my breath when the first tailfin glided through the water. Streamlined bodies erupted from its surface in a spray of foam. The Fae clapped and laughed as the mermaids swam along with them.

Unlike the water shifters, the mermaids were humanoid but para-human. Their skin and hair were reminiscent of angel fish. On either side of their necks were membranous gills. They noticed me sitting by myself. One of the mermaids coasted on the water towards me. She slid onto the soaking sand and braced herself on the balls of her palms. The underside of her chest was covered in