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

than usual; for the first time, I believed my work would be valuable on the other side of that mirror. So I took a deep breath and pressed forward.

Here goes nothing.

My fingers slipped beyond what was usually a solid surface, and a huge grin spread over my face.

“You did it,” Zack whispered excitedly. He raced into the gateway ahead of me, bouncing on the balls of his feet. “Let’s go help some humans fall in love.”

Walking into the realm was literally an out-of-world experience. It was almost like being underwater in the sense that I could see and hear the outside world, but it wasn’t crystal clear. Zack and I were there, but no one noticed us. Not gonna lie—we definitely gave off some creepy stalker vibes. Before, it felt like watching TV. The distance made it seem less invasive. But this marked a whole new playing field; we were right up in the mix with our subjects.

“When you become really skilled, you can feel their emotions,” Zack said as we followed Mia down the halls of her high school. “As guardians, it’s nice to remember what falling in love feels like again, all the highs and lows, the excitement and anxiety, and the way you feel everything more intensely.”

Aww. For a kid who had described himself as human Viagra, that was kind of sweet.

Over the next few hours, I laid out my plan, and Zack and I got to work on getting our subjects together for tutoring sessions. A carefully placed a flyer offering community service hours did the trick. Mia needed the hours for her college applications, and Ben noticed Mia’s name on the sign-up form.

“That’s it for today,” Zack said, linking his arm through mine. “Especially if you want to wait until their session before I take my shot.”

I was so proud of myself, there was definitely a little swagger to my walk. “We should definitely wait. If Mia feels desire beforehand, she’ll back out.”

“What makes you think so?”

“She’s too focused on work and school. A cute boy would be too much of a distraction.”

“A distraction she desperately needs,” Zack added, shaking his head as Mia pulled out a giant SAT study guide from her backpack.

I drummed my fingers against the side of my face, absently watching the poor girl comb over the book, her brows scrunched together. As the other students laughed and talked about their plans for the weekend, Mia stayed glued to her book. She was so focused, she hadn’t even realized the last bell of the day had rung.

“Agreed.” I nodded, letting Zack guide me back toward the mirror. I learned we only ever had to look north, and it would be waiting for us. A few steps later, and we were back in our own world.

“Things get much more interesting from here, Thorne.”

I smiled, more excited about it than I expected. “Same time tomorrow?”

He clapped me on the back. “Yep. See you then.”

On my way out, Themus stopped by the stairs and gave me a little nod of approval. My cheeks hurt so hard from smiling. Finally.

I was worthy.

Over the next few days, I found my groove within House Aphrodite, the mirror realm becoming the main source of my newfound confidence. Once we got Mia and Ben into their study session, I told Zack to take his shot. The baby-faced kid was a pro with those arrows too. He struck Mia directly in the center of her sacral chakra, and her aura exploded with vibrant colors that couldn’t be seen in the mortal realm. Deep reds and purples swirled around her. Blood rushed to her cheeks. She stumbled over her words, kept touching her hair, and had to excuse herself to get some water. Ben caught on to the effect he had, and he used it to his advantage. He inched closer, pointed out specific passages in his textbook, asking for clarification. Well played, dude. Well played.

Watching it unfold in the background, Zack and I high-fived each other, and it was one of the greatest feelings in the world. Because of us, two teenagers desperate for love were on their way to finding it with each other. Turned out this love magic stuff wasn’t so bad after all.

The rest of my days were filled with my studies at Arcadia. Unlike Mia, I didn’t have to work as hard, thanks to my bibliomagery skills. The extra free time came in handy; I spent a lot of it in the library, impressing as many books as my mind could handle. Or I’d go to the stables and sneak apples to the Pegasus descendants. Sometimes I’d go sit by the little pond where Xander told me about my mother. Even though it was the same place I heard the most shocking news of my life, I found it strangely peaceful there.

I never, ever, ever stuck to a predictable schedule. It made me feel guilty as hell, but I had to stop relying on Xander for safety, and he needed to stop obsessing over it. He didn’t choose this—his obsession stemmed from the Silver Oath. Knowing it wasn’t fair to him made me work harder at keeping my distance, too. This was the only way I knew how to give him the freedom to get back to his studies, focus on House Ares, and work toward his own goals. If he constantly worried about me, he wouldn’t have time to do any of that.

At lunch on Friday, I sat with Jett and Hazel, and we talked about her new relationship with Birch. “He asked me to the winter ball,” she said excitedly. “Maple is picking me up this weekend, and we’re going dress shopping.”

“What’s the winter ball?” I said, swallowing my bite of Greek salad.

Jett slurped from her can of Dr. Pepper, then answered my question. “This dumb event they put on for the students right before Christmas break. Everyone gets dressed up, they dance, and they enchant the pavilion to look like it’s