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

“So it’s true,” Sophie said. “You’re leaving.”

I said nothing. There wasn’t really much to say.

Diana snatched the satchel off me. “Can I please have that back?”

She made a derisive sound. “Screw that. I get it. You’re pissed. I would be too. But running away isn’t the answer.”

“I’m not running away.”

“Yeah right! You haven’t been to classes in over a week. You snarl at anyone who looks at you sideways. Shit happens. People lie. Deal with it.”

“Diana,” Sophie said. She shook her head.

“Can I please have my satchel back?” I asked again.

“You want it?” Diana said, “Come and get it.”

I went and got it. Whenever we’d sparred before, I was always at a disadvantage. Diana wasn’t all that much taller than me, but she was sturdy. She’d started training with her da when she was five. Under normal circumstances, I could never hope to win against her in a physical fight. Normal no longer applied to me.

She brought her fists up. I ducked her first jab out of sheer luck. The second one came swinging past. My vision blurred. Her wrist snapped in front of my face. Every other time we’d done this, Diana would flick me in the nose. I wouldn’t even see it coming. This time, I reached out and caught it mid-air.

We both froze. Never in a million years did I ever expect to be fast enough to counter one of her hits. Duck and cover. That was my bread-and-butter technique. While she was distracted by her surprise, I snatched the satchel back.

Stepping away, I slung the satchel over my shoulder. Sophie blocked my way when I went for the door.

“Please don’t go,” she said.

“I have to.”

“No you don’t. It feels like it right now but give it time.”

“They lied to me, Soph. How can I hang around knowing nothing they say might be the truth?”

“I didn’t lie to you,” she said. Her eyes became teary. I tried to look at the floor. She sniffed. “I didn’t do anything wrong and now I’m going to lose my best friend. It’s not fair.”

I coughed to dislodge the lump in my throat. “If you want to be angry at the Council then I’ll be angry with you. But please don’t leave me.”

She grabbed me while I was wiping my face. I struggled against her, but she was still stronger than me. Diana piled on behind me. They locked me into place. The only way I could break out now would be to hurt one of them. The way Sophie was sobbing, it felt like I had already done that.

“I can’t stay here like this,” I said against Sophie’s shoulder.

“We’re not asking you to,” Diana said. “We just don’t want you doing something stupid in the heat of the moment. That’s what friends are for. You’re not supposed to just cut and run when stuff gets hard.”

Friends.

I’d never had any real ones before. I had people I hung out with, but I could never count on them. When things got hard, I had left them without a second thought. I knew that I hadn’t allowed myself to think about the consequences of leaving because the possibility of never seeing Sophie and Diana again was too painful.

If I left, I would never speak to Cassie, Charles, or Luther again. And in a messed-up part of my heart, I would miss that Nephilim jackass until the day I died.

I didn’t realise I was crying until I turned my cheek and there was a wet patch on Sophie’s shoulder. Her arms grew tighter as Diana massaged my back. We stayed that way until my sobs turned into aching breaths drawn over spent lungs.

Diana all but carried me to bed. It wasn’t even close to bedtime but I was exhausted.

“Sleep,” Sophie said. “We’ll wake you for dinner. Just promise you’ll still be here.”

I took her hand and squeezed it.

She smiled at me. I closed my eyes and drifted off.

37

I woke up to the scent of rosewater mixed with melted cheese. “I don’t know if I should be hungry or grossed out,” I croaked.

Sophie and Diana had set up a fold-out table in the middle of the room. On it, they had set up dinner. Pepperoni pizza, garlic bread, a garden salad, grilled vegetables and, oddly, baklava for dessert.

“I had a hankering,” Sophie said. She shrugged. “How are you feeling?”

“Like death warmed up.” I tossed the covers off me. “I’m going to take a shower.”

“Alright, but be quick,” Diana said. “I’m starving.”

So was I. All the more motivation. There was only one other person in the shower block. The goblin girl took one look at me and hastened out. A twinge of guilt bloomed in my gut. I really had been rolling around campus like I was possessed.

While we ate, Sophie and Diana filled me in on all the things I’d missed in class.

“Everyone is all geared up for the Showcase,” Sophie said. “Some of the kids aren’t taking it too seriously because there are going to be clear winners.”

They did their best to avoid topics that might set me off. I appreciated it even if it wasn’t necessary.

“They’ve started putting up the surveillance towers as well,” Diana said. “Professor Mortimer pulled some of the other professors and some of the fourth-years off their classes to help sweep the magic away so it wouldn’t interfere with the electronics.”

“They’re talking about having a meeting of low-magic users who are interested in helping to do upkeep of the tech,” Sophie said. “Did you by any chance want to go?”

I chewed slowly on my piece of pizza. The ache of betrayal was still raw in my chest. There weren’t many of us at the Academy. Peter was the only mortal amongst the staff. If I said no, I would be leaving them a body short. “I suppose so.”

“Are you any good with technology?” Diana asked. “I mean, you didn’t exactly have a roof over your head growing up…”

I tore