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

Zack nodded. “Oh, he’s trouble, too. The guy refuses to back down from a fight. It kinda makes him a target, but it’s also how he made it to where he’s at.”

I blinked, gaining some respect for the guy. He sounded fearless. “I was referring to the rumors about his family.”

“Oh, you mean about them being Hollows?” Zack looked around, making sure no one was listening, in the same cagey way Hazel had.

I nodded.

“Don’t buy into it. Hollows are full of cold, dark magic. I speak from personal experience. Witnessed one myself being escorted to prison on Winter Island.” He shivered. “You’d know if one was around.”

To be fair, nothing about Xander seemed cold or dark when I met him. In fact, just the opposite…

Still. Keeping my distance was probably a good idea. There was no need to further piss off Grandpa, and I really, really needed to stay focused. The Fates sent me here for balance and inner clarity, and neither of those things seemed possible around that guy.

“We’re here,” Zack said, stopping in front of the Academia building with the animals carved into the arches. “Your classroom is the first one on the right.”

“Thanks, kid.”

“Yep. See you later for Mirror Realm.”

I still had no idea what that was, but it was too late to ask Zack since he was already walking away. Oh well. Guess I’d find out soon enough.

Taking a deep breath, I looked up at the intimidating entrance. A pair of lions topped the archway, carved mid-roar. I bit down on my bottom lip and started climbing the stairs, hoping for the best.

Here goes nothing.

11

The torment didn’t end in House Aphrodite. Class was just as bad, if not worse. The whispers and stares started almost as soon as I sat down.

“Daniel Thorne’s daughter.”

“Cursed.”

“Why is she in Aphrodite?”

“Why is she at Arcadia?”

“Where is her sister?”

My cheeks flamed and my whole body went stiff. I hated being the subject of so much attention without knowing why. This couldn’t all be because I switched houses. Headmaster Waddley said it wasn’t often done, but he never warned me I would become the freaking outcast of Arcadia.

For a long while, the seat next to me remained empty, no one brave enough to sit there. The room itself was lovely. Rows of stone tables arranged with polished wooden chairs in place of the plastic and metal versions I knew from my old school. The walls were covered with oil paintings, bookshelves, and a giant candelabra floated from the high ceiling. But I couldn’t focus on any of it, too distracted by everyone else.

“She doesn’t belong.”

Hmm.

They were probably right. Outside of this place, I was a would-be murderer. Here, I didn’t know the first thing about magic. I wasn’t sure where I belonged.

A dark-haired girl in a black toga sat down, dropping her stack of books on the table. “Hello, Thorny. I’m Jett.”

Hades descendant, obviously. She wore a spiky choker collar, her eyes were surrounded with black shadow, and her magic felt different than any I’d encountered so far. It smelled of charcoal and minerals, and it felt like an iron grip.

I cleared my throat. “You know my name?”

“Everyone knows your name.”

“Yeah, I’m starting to get that,” I said sheepishly. “But how?”

She pulled out a notebook from her bag and set it out on the table. “Apparently, your dad was some sort of legend.”

Dad?

Maybe she meant Grandpa. I couldn’t see my studious professor father making waves in a school like this.

“No, I meant your dad. Daniel Thorne, right?”

I nearly jumped out of my chair. Holy shit—she can read minds!

“Only when the subject is close, and only when the thoughts are really loud, like yours.”

“Well, stop it,” I practically screeched. “That’s an invasion of privacy.”

She rolled her eyes, like I was making a big fuss over nothing. “You can shut me out if you try hard enough. Look for me.”

I wasn’t sure what she meant, but then I started to pay attention to her magic again, noticing that sharp, cold feeling at the center of my skull. I visualized a hot, solid shield and put it up like a fence around my thoughts.

“Good job,” she said, looking impressed. “But that smacked of Ares magic, and you’re supposed to be Aphrodite, aren’t you?”

How the hell did this chick know so much about me? How did everyone know so much about me?

“That’s true.” I cleared my throat. “While we’re on the subject, I thought the mind tricks belonged to Athena.”

“Hades descendants are gifted psychics too. We have to be in order to bridge the gap between the land of the living and the dead. Most of us can communicate with spirits.” Bitterness filled her voice as she set out a pen and a notebook. “Unfortunately, that particular talent skipped a generation in my family.”

I wouldn’t have minded, but Jett sounded torn up about losing out on that ability. “If it makes you feel any better, I’d much rather read minds.”

“That’s why you’re not in Hades.” She smiled, easing the tension. “Don’t worry, by the way. Everyone will be talking about something else by the end of the week.”

God, I hoped so. “Do you know what my dad did that made him so, um, legendary?”

She flinched at the question, but the classroom door slammed close before she could reply. The sound echoed throughout the room, and a hush fell over the students.

A tiny woman with a pixie cut scurried inside, carrying a box of supplies that she placed on the front desk. “Hello, hello! Welcome to Basic Magic Principles.”

For a woman so small, her shrill voice carried throughout the large space.

“I’m Professor Ambrosia. Now, before we begin, we need to set something straight.” She walked down the main aisle, folding her arms across her chest as she scanned our faces. “This class is taught at first period because the morning is the best time of the day for practicing magic. Energy is regenerated through sleep cycles, and the dawn provides us with the perfect