Bloodline Alchemy: A Young Adult Urban Fantasy Academy Novel (Bloodline Academy Book 6), Lan Chan [free ebook reader for android TXT] 📗

Beside me, Sasha went rigid. “I knew I should have swapped out with Roland.” He glanced down at me and then pulled me against him. “Though it’s good to see you, Soph.”

My feelings were evident in the fact that I hadn’t stopped watching him out of the corner of my eye, fearful that he might just disappear before I could say goodbye. Ironic, considering that’s what I had done to them in the first place.

Tyler stepped up beside Professor Eldridge. The sunlight coming from the window grazed the side of his face, causing the scales on his temple to shimmer like oil-slicked water. It made me wonder whether being half para-human made his resistance to the malachim stronger.

“Take a look at the floor, folks,” he said. “The room has been sectioned off into grids. Come up and grab a set of supplies from the front and then find yourself a spot.”

Breaking away from us, Astrid went to supervise while we jostled with the other students, many of whom we didn’t know, to follow the instructions. I wasn’t short by any means, but height wasn’t a determining factor when dealing with supernaturals. Fear increased their competitiveness. I wasn’t anywhere close to the supply table when something clipped me on the right side of the head. “Ow!”

The girl who’d struck me didn’t even give me a second glance. I would have said something if I thought she’d done it on purpose, but she continued to bump into the bodies around her. If I stayed around much longer, I would be a walking bruise. Somebody grabbed me and pushed me in front of them.

Dev’s big, brown hands landed on my shoulders. He bit the air in front of him, a growl rippling in his throat. “Move!” he ordered the students in front of us. They parted like the Red Sea.

“It’s okay,” I started to say.

He pushed me forward gently. “It’s okay for you,” he said. “But if Max hears that you got hurt on our watch, we’re not going to be okay.”

“I’m not a china doll. I can handle a bit of jostling.”

Grabbing two sets of supplies, I allowed him to part the crowd once more so we could break from the huddle. “No offense, Soph,” he said, “but you probably wouldn’t realise someone was trying to hurt you until their knife was already in your back. And then you’d stop to ask them what they were doing.”

“Excuse me? Over-exaggeration much?”

“I’m just saying, there’s no harm in being careful.”

“As opposed to what I’ve been doing my whole life?”

“You haven’t been almost mated your whole life.”

My nostrils flared. “I am not mating with him.”

He held up his hands in a surrendering gesture. “Okay, okay. All I’m saying is, it doesn’t hurt to be careful. Some of the other females aren’t going to be above using any excuse to rip the skin off your face.”

Taking in a calming breath, I went to find a spare space close to Sasha. It wasn’t until we were all separated within our spaces that I glanced around me and noticed that I was surrounded on all sides by my friends. Well, and Isla in front of me. It was hard to consider her a friend. Sasha was on my left, Dev at my back, and Kieran on my right.

“Cut it out, guys,” I said. “I already have a bodyguard.” One who stood silently in the back of the room next to Anastasia and hadn’t opened his mouth the entire time. I hoped she was feeling awkward as hell.

Nobody responded. But nobody moved, either.

Tyler was in front of us once more, while Professor Eldridge took to leaning on the desk that she had picked up with one hand and pushed against the side of the room. “We all know that the malachim were once lower beings of angelic nature,” he said. “They are susceptible to angel and demon blades just like the seraphim and Nephilim. Sadly, we’re not all walking around with easy access to those blades. Nor are many of us able to withstand their mental coercion or open up portals in order to escape. Sometimes portals might not even work depending on whether the malachim have determined the intent of your location. One of the few things that might buy us some time is this.”

He raised his hands in the air and a spark of orange light ignited around them. With the light, he drew a single word in a language that had the air sucking out of the room: Angelical. Sasha swore. Beads of sweat gathered around Tyler’s brow. Lines creased his lips with the effort of just writing the words.

Tyler continued. “Now we all know how dangerous this Heavenly language can be. It’s fortunate that we are not able to access its raw potential. That doesn’t mean that the same rules don’t apply to using them as wards.”

Orla raised her hand. It was shaking slightly. “Are we sure it’s not going to have any detrimental effects? I mean, I’m all for power, but I don’t really want to also die because of it.”

Tyler shook his head. “The strongest mages and sorceresses amongst us have utilised these words and there has been no ramifications. But I understand your hesitation.”

“Remember that this is war,” Professor Eldridge said. “We no longer have the luxury of placing caution above all else.”

In other words, write or die.

“We will start off with something basic today,” Tyler went on. “A simple repelling word.”

He went around the room making the symbol in the air so that everyone was able to see it. When he was done with his lap of the room, he had to rest on a seat but gave the green light for us to try. “Those of you who are comfortable, feel free to use the blood.”

My head turned down. I inspected the bundle in my hands. Sure enough, folded within the purple velvet cloth was a small vial of blood. Thankfully, it seemed to have been extracted