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

He glanced down at the card. “Is that what you wanted to talk to me about?”

“Yeah.”

He blew out a breath. Then he cupped my cheeks and kissed my forehead. When he crushed me against his chest, I let out a little sigh. “Please don’t come rushing into a room with that look on your face again unless someone is dying,” he said against the top of my head.

“I just thought –”

“I don’t care about money, Blue.”

I nudged him in the ribs. “That’s because you have it.”

He laughed at that. The door to our classroom closed. Kai grabbed my hand and we walked in together. Max wolf whistled. I went beet red.

Kai dropped me off in the seat where I’d left my things. I heard him punch Max on the arm. There was a scuffle.

“That’s enough,” Professor Mortimer said. He launched right into the lesson. This one was on the use of dead languages in circles. How interpretation of said languages could completely change the basics of the circle. That reminded me I needed to speak to him about some of the symbols I’d seen in my dreams.

When the class broke apart to start practical work on their circles, I waited for him by my section. “Professor?”

“Alessia, how can I help you?”

Good. He seemed to be over his hissy fit about me not choosing this class for my showcase. “Can I show you a circle?”

“Of course.”

“Actually, it’s not the circle so much as the dead language.”

He tipped his head to the side.

“Dead Languages is Professor Suleiman’s speciality.”

“I know. He says he’s never seen it before. I just thought you might be able to give me some insight.”

“Fire away.”

I drew the circle I’d seen twice now in my dreams. Professor Mortimer frowned. “The characters are unusual,” he said. “Nothing I’ve come across before. But somehow oddly familiar.”

He made a copy of the circle. It took him no time at all. That was why he was a professor, I guess. “Can I get back to you?”

“Sure.”

“Where did you say you saw this again?”

“Ummm….” Professor Suleiman had asked the same thing. At first, I’d wanted to lie but what could I say? They would find out the truth. The library had no such books and anyone I pinned this on would be questioned.

“I saw it in a dream.”

“A dream.”

He kept looking at me. It was a tactic Nanna used. She’d just look at me until I started to freak myself out and then I’d fold like a deck of cards. “Yes. It’s a recurring dream I have.”

“Interesting.”

I had Herbology up next. Peter and Thalia tried to convince me to grow big vegetables with my power.

“Is that what other students are doing?” I asked.

“You know we can’t reveal exactly what they’re doing,” Peter said. He thought he was being so subtle with his coded blinking. It was hilarious.

“I don’t think the committee is going to be impressed with a giant tomato. I mean, isn’t the point of this to drum up more funding for Herbology?”

That was the other side of the Showcase. It was meant to make the board see whether there was a better way to do things.

“We are happy with what we stand for,” Thalia said.

I looked around at the class. It occurred to me that Roland and Trey weren’t the only ones who had taken the class because they thought it was cruisey. We were the supernatural equivalent of home economics.

“I’ll think of something,” I said.

Between my classes, preparation for the Showcase, the meditation, and taking care of the Grove, all of my spare time was taken up. It was lucky I sometimes saw Kai in class because with the increase in patrols around the Academy, we’d never see each other.

The day of the ball Sophie and I teleported to Rivia so that we would arrive with Nora and Mani. I wish I’d known that so I wouldn’t have had to cart my dress around everywhere. Basil came with us. Not to attend the ball but to use Nora’s place as home base for meeting his friends.

He figured that if he wasn’t allowed out, then his friends could come to him.

There was no shortage of people popping into the apartment.

“We’re going to have to think about a bigger place,” Nora commented to Mani. They were in the living room preparing for the arrival of some constituents. Sophie and I were in the kitchen being servants yet again.

“This is getting slightly out of hand,” I said.

“Just wait until after the ball,” Sophie said. “They won’t know what hit them. This isn’t all fun and games.”

She was crouched down in front of the oven. The mitts were in her hands. Every now and again she’d open the oven door. “You know that’s why there’s a light, don’t you?” I asked.

“All I can see is orange when I turn it on.” She huffed. “At least if we get a new place it might have proper facilities. I can’t cook under these conditions!”

We worked our butts off all afternoon. Members of the magical community dropped by with flowers and gifts. Most of them were low-magic users. “I didn’t realise there are so many of them,” I said.

“There aren’t. Those are people who have married low-magic users or are related to them somehow.”

By the time evening rolled around, my feet were killing me. “You guys need to hire some help,” I said, flopping onto the couch. Basil hopped up beside me. I’d spent part of the day restitching him up so that he would be in top condition. The last time we’d been here I’d bought fancy yarn that was apparently magically constructed. I hoped that would mean he would stay intact for longer.

“That’s what family is for,” Nora said.

“You mean slaves,” Sophie said.

“Okay, girls. I get your point. Thank you for helping.” She glanced at the sundial. “It’s about time we started getting ready. We don’t want to be late.”

Sophie and I dragged ourselves to our room. “I could