Descendants Academy: Young Adult Urban Fantasy Belle Malory (highly recommended books .txt) 📖

their gazes I’d never seen in regular horses. They were all so magnificent, it was hard to believe they were real.

I stopped in front of a gauzy white one. Her wings were almost translucent; when the sunlight hit them, they looked like glittering diamonds. I bet in the sky, she looked like a floating cloud. “Beautiful,” I whispered.

“I agree.”

I nearly jumped out of my skin. I spun around and froze on the spot.

Him.

The same gladiator Grandpa explicitly warned me to stay away from. And here I was, not staying away from him. Good grief, if Grandpa found me like this, I was done for.

Xander Arius took a step toward me. “Have you ever flown one?”

“Excuse me?” I couldn’t focus on his question, too caught up in his presence, his overall gorgeousness, and the way he continued slowly moving toward me.

He nodded to the white horse I’d been gawking at. “She’s a dovelith, the oldest known breed. We can trace their ancestry back to ancient Mesopotamia.” His voice was deep and honeyed, something about the sound pulling at my insides like an instrument. Apparently he overcame whatever made him so speechless back on the boat and transferred it to me.

I nervously eyed the hallways. “No, I’ve never flown one before.”

He was suddenly in front of me, and I could feel his magic again, stirring up parts of me it shouldn’t be stirring. Maybe the guy was a Hollow after all, and this was how they seduced their prey. With strange, addictive magic. It made me feel light and warm all over, like I’d found sunshine in the middle of a blizzard.

“Sheridan Thorne, right?” He leaned against the stall door, his gaze drifting over me with the same appreciation he had for the horse.

I swallowed, uneasy with the way he was looking at me. “That’s right.” I took a step back to try to think straight. “And you’re Alexander Arius,” I said, making it clear I knew enough about him.

“Guilty.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “I’ve been warned to stay away from you.”

There was no point in beating around the bush. I needed to get rid of this guy ASAP—before Grandpa found me and decided to take me to the Mythonian prison instead of the academy.

“You have?” He sounded amused. “I’m not surprised.”

“Apparently you have a bad rep.”

He shrugged. “Depends on who’s asking.”

Footsteps sounded from down the hall. Someone was coming, and quickly too.

Before I had time to panic, Xander’s arm snaked around my waist. He yanked and pulled me into a nearby empty stall. I was one second away from screaming bloody murder, but I stopped short. His blue eyes pleading, he held a finger up to his mouth. “Please,” he whispered, in the same way a guy on death row would beg for his life.

What did this dude want?

He looked over the stall door to make sure the coast was clear. “Sorry for the extreme measures,” he said, gesturing to our surroundings. “But I had to see you again. I had to be sure.”

“Be sure of what?”

“Of you.”

“Be sure…of me?” What the hell did that mean?

“Why are you in Mythos?” he said, still acting like he knew me.

I pressed my lips together. It wasn’t any of his business, but he’d find out anyway, especially if he was a student at Arcadia. “School.”

“Right.” He nodded, as if that made perfect sense. “Of course.”

This was getting really weird.

“What is this about?” I said, redirecting him back to the reason he dragged me in here. “Do you know me?”

“Of course—you’re Daniel Thorne’s daughter.”

He did know me. Or at least, he’d heard of me anyway.

Those magnetic eyes of his locked with mine. I felt it again, his magic, whirling around like a blanket of sunlight as he intently studied my face. “It’s unreal,” he said softly. “You look like her.”

I swallowed, trying to find my voice. “Like…who?”

Voices sounded from a few stalls down. “Sheridan?” My grandfather called out. “Where are you, my girl? We’re all set to go.”

Xander flinched. “Shit.”

My thoughts exactly. Grandpa couldn’t catch me here like this.

“I’ll find you later, at Arcadia,” he said, in a rush to leave. “I’ll explain everything.”

“Wait.” I grabbed his arm just as he was slipping out the stall door. Sparks of energy passed through me. Xander glanced down at my hand on his skin, and I immediately let go. “Who do I look just like?”

He stared at me hard before answering. “Your mother.”

My breath hitched.

My mother was dead.

She passed away shortly after Riley and I were born. There was no way he could possibly know what she looked like. I wanted to press him for more, but he was long gone before I had the chance.

6

The flight into the capital was a waking dream. The winged horses carried us in a cushioned carriage, soaring through the clouds with more elegance than I could’ve ever imagined. No wonder the original mages were revered as gods. This kind of life could make anyone feel like a god.

Down below, red and gold grass blanketed the ground, along with clusters of oak and maple trees. The air was crisp and fresh, carrying scents of fallen leaves and damp earth. Once we reached the city, the land turned into all cobbled streets, towering white temples, and open-air theaters, somehow managing to look ancient and modern at the same time.

I would’ve enjoyed the ride more had I not been thinking about what Xander said the entire time. I wanted to ask Grandpa about it, but then I would have to explain how I’d already disobeyed his order to stay away from the guy, and I knew that wouldn’t go down very well.

Once we landed, we dropped Hazel off with her older sister at a huge market called the Agora. Before leaving, she gave me a tight hug. “I’m staying with my sister’s family over the weekend, but I’ll meet up with you as soon as I get to campus.”

I was a little sad to see my only friend go, but