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

Before I could ask more questions, Grandpa was back with our tickets. “All set?” he asked us, and we nodded. He reached for my suitcase and held out his arm, leading the way. The nausea had passed, thank God, and I could stand without feeling like I would fall over.

“Let’s board, then we’ll make use of the ferry’s café. Sheridan, you’re probably starving.”

“Not really.”

“You haven’t eaten anything since yesterday,” he said, frowning.

My stomach felt like it was caving in on itself, but the thought of food was sickening. Grandpa gave me a look that said he didn’t buy it, but he let the subject die.

Once I was up and walking, I dissected the huge crowds of passengers. Mages and creatures were everywhere. Most looked like your normal, garden-variety human beings. I wondered what kinds of magic they possessed. Then I wondered what kind of magic I possessed. Remembering the way the curtain caught fire in Riley’s room sent a little thrill through me. Could I do it again?—Did I even want to?

It happened while I was at my worst. Did that mean the magic itself was tainted? What a terrifying thought.

Filing in line, we quickly boarded and headed to the main lobby where there were rows of tables and chairs, and the café Grandpa mentioned.

Hazel tapped my shoulder and tipped her head in the direction of a group of guys who looked like modern-day gladiators dressed in leather kilts and metal armbands. Four in total, all of them proudly displaying well-defined muscles and golden from head to toe. I practically salivated—they were gorgeous.

“Betcha they’re House Ares students,” Hazel said with a wink. “That’s their uniform.”

“House Ares?” I said, confused.

She shook herself. “Oh, right. I keep forgetting you’re a newbie. Arcadia has houses for each of the original bloodlines, and one for special creatures such as yours truly. Wherever you get placed is where you focus your magic. Ares, for example, focuses on strength, fighting, war, and heroism.”

I stared at the gladiators more closely, in awe of their gleaming muscles and the raw power they exuded. They carried themselves with confidence, keeping their heads held high and their backs straight, as if they owned the world. I was a little jealous. I wouldn’t mind possessing some of that power for myself.

“Be careful, or you’ll drool all over the floor,” Hazel said, and I laughed.

Almost as soon as it happened, I stopped and pressed my lips together. It didn’t feel right, laughing. I wasn’t sure if I should be allowed to have happy moments, not this soon, anyway.

Grandpa noticed my reaction. “Hazelwood, be a darling and go and get us some lunch from the café.” He pulled out a few bills from his wallet, obviously trying to get rid of her. “Coffee would be nice too.”

I shook my head. “I’m really not hungry—”

He pushed the bills into Hazel’s hands. “Three sandwiches. Three coffees. Oh, and three of those strawberry pastries, the ones with the honey glaze and powdered sugar. Take your time.”

I groaned internally, knowing another speech was coming. Hazel gave me a sympathetic look before she darted off to do my grandpa’s bidding.

Once she was gone, he gestured to a nearby empty table. “Have a seat.”

I dropped into the plushy chair, and he took the one across from me. “This has been one helluva journey for you, these last twenty-four hours. Lots to take in.”

I nodded, wondering where he was going with this.

He stroked the edge of his jaw, studying me. “How are you handling it so far?”

“About as well as Alice after she fell down the rabbit hole.”

He chuckled. “Yes, I can see that.”

“I’m fine, Grandpa. Really.”

“The situation with your sister…” His salt-and-pepper mustache twitched. “Are you ready to talk about it now?”

“You know what happened.” I fidgeted with the charms on my bracelet, the one I’d forgotten to throw away and had strangely found its way back to my wrist.

Dad heard and saw enough to know why the fight started. I figured he would fill Grandpa in on all the awful details.

“I heard the short version. I’m giving you a chance to tell your side. I’m also hoping to God I got it wrong, and you’ll tell me this didn’t start over a goddamned boy.” He shook his head, as if the idea disgusted him.

A boy.

I almost laughed.

It sounded so cliché and petty summed up like that.

Connor wasn’t just any boy. He was the perfect boy-next-door I’d been crushing on since middle school. He was every girl’s high school fantasy packaged together in six feet of lean muscle and wavy blonde hair. He was intertwined fingers, long kisses, and phone calls that lasted until four in the morning. But most importantly, he was mine.

Yes, it started with a boy.

I blinked once, trying to unsee everything I’d seen, but the images flashed through my mind, one after another. The two of them breaking apart when I walked into her room. The way they hurried to adjust their clothes. Riley’s lack of remorse. “Dad wouldn’t have let me see him,” she said, her voice eerily monotone. “He kept me confined to this house, like a caged animal.”

At least Connor seemed sorrier than she did.

“Please understand, Sher.” Tears watered his green eyes—eyes I used to daydream about. Eyes that used to gaze at me as if I were all that mattered. “It was the only way we could be together.”

Their confessions slammed into me, each one hitting me with the weight of an anvil. I could barely breathe. “The two of you used me?”

Connor dated me to get access to my sister.

Somehow it seemed worse, that this wasn’t just about cheating. This was a carefully laid plan of deception. It meant every tender look, every kiss, every moment of affection Connor and I shared was fake, all done for her. Ugh, it was sickening.

The freaking shitstorm of all love triangles.

I pushed Connor aside to face Riley, glaring as rage brewed inside of me. She squared