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

I jumped up and grabbed my things, my mind racing. Next time I came back here, I would have a plan. Those mirrors would definitely let me pass through.

It was in the dead of night that I made my way back to my dorm room. I wasn’t the only one out either. Drunk students ambled back from the woods. Others crept through the spiral topiary bushes, trying to hide their walks of shame. There was also a group of Poseidon students out for the full-moon ceremony—I had to do a double take as they ran past, bare naked.

Light spilled out from the bottom of my dorm room door. I paused with my hand on the handle, wincing. Xander was inside; I could sense his magic. And if he was here, that might have something to do with the change in my evening routine. Oh, who was I kidding? He knew I knew about him following me to my dorm each night.

I always made a big show of looking over my shoulder, huffing, so he knew I wasn’t happy about him watching me. Because we were supposed to be staying away from each other.

Dammit, why did I already feel guilty? I didn’t have to answer or explain my every move to him, but somehow, he managed to make feel like I did.

Taking a deep breath, I pushed the door open and put on a brave face.

Xander immediately stood up from the edge of my bed, his eyes bloodshot. Nothing could have prepared me for the look of absolute relief flooding over his stricken features. Across from him, Ione slowly stood too, acting wary of Xander, as if he might explode at any second.

He crossed the room, stopping directly in front of me. Without saying a word, he grabbed hold of my arms, and my bag fell from my fingers, thudding against the floor. Anger poured off of him. For one brief moment, I worried he might slam my head into the wall. I gasped when he hugged me, pressing me gently against his chest. Threading his fingers through my hair, he held me for several long seconds, releasing the most choked breath I’d ever heard. Oh man.

Then, still not speaking, Xander abruptly released me and left the room. The silence he left behind was almost deafening. I stood there, staring at Ione, feeling about two feet tall. How had Xander managed to do that? And all without saying a word?

Now that he was gone, Ione’s shoulders relaxed, and she immediately started in on me. “He combed the whole school looking for you. The woods, too.”

“This isn’t what we agreed to do,” I reminded her, avoiding eye contact. Looking at her only made me feel worse.

“So, you did this to teach him a lesson?”

“I’m just playing by his rules, Ione.” My whole body trembled as I changed out of my toga and into my PJs. I could still see his relief the moment I walked into the room.

It made me feel horrible. Worse than horrible.

The guy probably thought I got myself eaten by monsters or worse, all because I had something to prove.

“No need for the attitude.” Ione crossed her arms over her chest. “I agree with you.”

I spun around. “You do?”

“Absolutely,” she said, her voice stern. “My brother shouldn’t be following you around, but you should have just asked him to stop instead of making us worry.”

“It wasn’t planned or anything,” I mumbled, my shoulders drooping. “I fell asleep in the gateway room.”

“I figured he was probably overreacting, and that you were fine. I did start to panic when he couldn’t find you though.” She blinked, realizing what I’d just said. “What were you doing in the gateway room?”

“Peter Hallas suggested I spend some time staring into the mirrors.”

She nodded, considering the idea. “Did it help?”

“I’m not sure yet, but I think so.”

“Hmm…” She went to her bed and got under the covers.

“What’s the hmm for?” I said, eyeing her.

“Nothing. You just continue to surprise me, that’s all.”

“In what way?”

“Well,” she said, turning on her side. “It’s clear both you and my brother have it bad for each other—”

“That’s not what’s going on—”

“And you’re turning out to be the stronger one. That’s surprising because my brother had always been the strongest person I know.”

I sat on the edge of my bed, where Xander had just been sitting. “You have it all wrong, Ione.”

“Do I?” She shook her head. “I don’t think so. I’ve studied love magic my whole life. I know obsession when I see it. This thing between you is the start of…something. It’s more than just protection, that much I’m sure of.”

I pressed my lips together, unsure of what to say. Arguing was pointless because she was right. There was something there, an invisible tether between us I didn’t have any control over. As much as I wanted to cut it, I couldn’t.

“Everyone has these glorious ideas of love,” Ione continued, staring up at the ceiling. “But love is only good under the right circumstances. Sometimes, as much as you think you’re right for someone, it doesn’t work. Like a puzzle piece in the wrong box—it doesn’t fit no matter how hard you try.”

Doesn’t fit.

Geez, that seemed sad.

Ione was jaded, or that’s what I told myself anyway. Life had deeply scarred her, and this was the end result. Then again, she was more experienced than me when it came to love magic. She had altered human lives through the mirror realms, and she had seen more relationships play out.

I thought of my mother’s warning again. Whatever invisible tether was there, we were better off cutting it.

32

The next day, Zack and I held our breaths at the entrance to the mirror realm, waiting to see if I would finally be worthy enough to pass through. Even grumpy old Themus stopped what he was doing to watch.

I was so nervous that my hand trembled as I held it out. This mattered more to me