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

The closer we got, the more reticent I became. At the first sound of voices, I tried to duck away from him. His grip turned to iron.

“You know that thing that Skander said about letting the demon blade take control?” I said. “I’m going to try it out on you if you won’t let go.”

Just for that he waited until two Fae girls were just passing us and then he grabbed me and kissed me. It was an open-mouthed kiss, his arm caging me to his chest. What annoyed me was that equal parts of me were mortified and charmed by it. When he finally let go, I wasn’t even sure what I was trying to avoid in the first place. I was sure that I was annoyed, though.

“That’s it,” I said, stepping away from him. “You’re totally dumped.”

He laughed and veered off towards the boys’ dorm. I was left there to deal with the glances from an emerging group of dwarf girls. I was pretty sure they had just come out to see the show. Typical.

26

When I arrived back at the dorm, Sophie was curled up in a ball on her bed rocking back and forth. “What the –?” I said, rushing over to her. “What happened?”

Basil sighed. “It’s not the end of the world, Sophie.” He indicated the mirror. “Nora called through. She’s striking a deal with the Council. If the low-magic users agree to help with the security against the Soul Sisterhood, the Council will grant them admission to their ranks.”

I couldn’t believe my ears. “How in the world did she manage that?”

Sophie whined. “She started up a union.” Then she flattened herself over the bed and whimpered quietly into her pillow. When she was done, she pushed herself up into a sitting position.

“Mama had a message for you too,” Sophie said. “And I quote, ‘If Lex has already agreed, she needs to break her contract. We don’t want any scabs.’ Can you believe that?”

I could believe it. Now probably wasn’t the right time to point that out. Or the fact that I thought it was a brilliant move.

“I only wish it hadn’t come to this,” Basil said.

“What’s the problem? We’re getting what we want, aren’t we?”

“By strongarming the Council.”

“I fail to see the problem. They strongarm us into doing all kinds of things. They don’t even really like each other. They just have to get along. It’s called politics, and clearly, it sucks in every dimension.”

Basil scratched at his non-existent hair. “I suppose it might work. Congratulations Sophie. You’re going to become the daughter of a Councillor.”

Sophie reacted as though he’d kicked her puppy. “I so don’t need this right now,” she said.

“What happens from here on in?” I asked.

“There will be a vote amongst the Council members. If everyone is in agreement, then they will pass the edict. It means Nora will become the first human representative on the Council.”

“It gets better,” Sophie said. “She’s managed to get in contact with some of her friends back at home. Turns out, my mother knows a lot of people in law enforcement. She says if they elect her to Council, she’ll be able to broker a deal with the humans to use their resources to provide technological protection for us.”

“How is that even possible?”

“We’ll have to remove all traces of magic around the outer edge of the Academy and anywhere else where we want machines to do the guarding.”

I whistled. “That is some high-powered negotiating.”

“It feels a little bit like extortion,” Basil commented.

“Maybe just a little,” I grinned.

“I’m glad you guys think it’s so amusing,” Sophie said. “I’ll bet Brigid won’t be so happy about it!”

“Who cares what she thinks?”

Sophie arched her brow at me. “Is that why you jump a mile away from Kai any time we go into the dining hall?”

“How did this suddenly become about me?”

Things moved at breakneck speed after that. Given the dire circumstances, I wasn’t at all surprised when the motion was passed a week later. It was almost unanimous. Sophie had a bit of a pity party, but Wanda and I tried to console her.

During my next meeting with Skander, I couldn’t help thinking of Fred. There were supernatural prisons all over the world. As he was underage, Fred had been sent to Bloodline Penitentiary, a place that was essentially juvie for supernaturals. I wondered if things would have been different for him if we had had a Council representative in the months when he’d attended school with us. I knew he had been sentenced to imprisonment for his actions, but I couldn’t help thinking about how frightened he was.

Fear was something I never would have associated with Skander Rameros. But when Giselle nudged him out of his stasis, there was a wet sheen to his eyes that he couldn’t clear quickly enough.

“What’s wrong with him?” I asked Giselle while Skander was still gripped by the last of the immobility spell.

“The draining did not agree with him today,” she said. Her voice was cool. There was a scratch down the side of her neck. I wondered if Skander had given it to her. If he struggled before they drained him.

It made me quiet as he spoke to me about the possibility of using the blade as an extension of my powers. “What’s wrong with you, kitten?”

“Nothing,” I said.

“I have a feeling you didn’t practice the thing I taught you last fortnight.”

“I’m not allowing the sword to have free will,” I said. For the first time, a sliver of emotion broke past his calm exterior. Just the slightest spark in his eyes. I think it was the free will comment that did it.

“Then you’ll cut off a valuable tool to spite your own face.”

“So be it.”

He spent the rest of the time we had together trying to get me to push my magic into the blade so that it would flame the same way the angel blades did. The only problem was that my