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

“They’re spelled,” Ione said, grinning. “They think they’re playing another venue on their tour. By tomorrow, they won’t remember they were ever here.”

How devious.

But awesome compared to the lame DJ my old school hired to play at homecoming. I winced, thinking of that night. It was one of my first dates with Connor. Just a typical homecoming. Dinner, limo, and dancing. That night marked the first time he kissed me. I thought it was a magical night, but this one already beat it by a long shot. Here I was, in an enchanted ballroom, surrounded by mages, and listening to one of my favorite bands. Hey, maybe this meant I was finally over Connor. The thought made me smile.

“Hey, Thorny,” Jett greeted me by the entrance. “Well, aren’t you sparkly tonight.”

Next to me, I heard Ione groan.

Jett was decked out in a velvety blue dress, shoulders full of metal studs. Her spiky black hair was fastened into a barrette, drawing out the color of her gray eyes.

“You look stunning, Jett,” I said, smiling.

The entire ballroom was something out of a dream, the ceiling made up of twinkle lights, the floor full of purple and blue mists, and the tables dripping with white satin and glittery stargazers.

“Are you coming?” Ione said, tightening her grip around her clutch. She expected me to stay with the other Aphrodite students.

“I’ll catch up with you later,” I said, ignoring that scorch in her narrow gaze.

Just because Jett was a Hades descendant didn’t mean we couldn’t be friends. Besides, I worked hard to prove my allegiance, and I was proud of the progress I’d made so far.

“That stick is shoved pretty far up her ass, huh?” Jett said, give Ione the side-eye.

“Don’t you start, too.” I looked around. “Where’s Hazel?”

“She came with Biiirch.” Jett drew out his name in a mocking, lovey-dovey voice. “Over there.”

I spied Hazel out on the dance floor in a wispy plum-colored dress. Grinning from horn to horn, she looked beautiful and happy. “Aw, they’re cute,” I said, and Jett rolled her eyes.

“Let’s get some wine,” she suggested, tugging me by the arm.

“Wine—as in, real wine? They give that to teenagers?” I assumed the stuff we drank in the woods was stolen.

Jett shook her head, her face full of pity. “Oh, you poor, deprived, clueless mortal. Those laws don’t exist in Mythos. Come on.”

She led me to the drink table where there were crystal goblets brimming with white Mythonian wine. Jett picked up two, handing me one.

Across the room, I spied Xander, surrounded by his Ares friends. God, he looked gorgeous. His dark hair was combed back, and he smiled at something a friend said, his eyes dancing. I sighed, secretly wishing that smile was settled on me.

As if he knew someone was staring, his gaze drifted around the room. I lowered my eyes, trying not to get caught—crap, too late. His gaze burned through the crowd, landing on me. But unlike me, he didn’t look away.

I suddenly became super self-conscious. He shouldn’t be doing that. Not while there were this many people present. Of course, I’d been doing the same thing, but at least I tried to be discreet.

Tork, another Hades student, stole Jett’s attention away. They talked about a project for their séance class, while I stood back, pretending to listen. My focus was solely directed on Xander. I still felt him watching me, his gaze prickling the back of my neck.

Up ahead, the crowd shifted and parted. My stomach flip-flopped as I caught sight of his dark head moving this way. He was coming over here.

There were no Ares descendants in this part of the room. He couldn’t be that stupid—

“Dance with me?”

Apparently, he was.

I looked up. God, he was hard to resist, standing there with his hand stretched out. That warm magic drew me in, turning me helpless.

This wasn’t a good idea though. Students were everywhere, from all houses, many of their eyes on us. “Here? In public?”

We couldn’t do this. Our social status depended on us not being seen as friends. Xander had made that abundantly clear from the start.

He took my arm and guided me to the dance floor, not bothering to answer. A slow song started playing, and he wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me against him.

Great. This was looking worse by the second.

I laid my arm across his shoulder, feeling his muscles stretch beneath his suit. Even dressed up like this, that Ares strength exuded from him. He smelled amazing, too. Him, his magic, his body—all a little too intoxicating for comfort. I could feel the blood rise in my cheeks, my heart thumping against my chest.

I still didn’t understand why it was happening. In public. Everyone was staring, whispering, wearing matching expressions of shock and disapproval. “You couldn’t say whatever you needed to say in private?” I whispered furiously.

With his free hand, Xander threaded his fingers through mine. We slowly swayed to the beat. “I don’t need to say anything.” His voice tickled my ear. “I just wanted to hold you.”

I backed up to look at him, thinking he was joking. Everything in his expression told me he was serious, from the hard lines of his face to the intensity of those blue orbs staring back at me.

“You tell me for weeks we can’t be seen together, and then you suddenly change your mind—because you feel like holding me? On a damn whim?”

I was ready to punch him in his stupidly handsome face.

“So angry.” He grinned. “Didn’t the Fates tell you to work on that?”

I took a deep breath, trying to stay composed. “Why are you doing this, Xander?”

He shrugged. “When left to your own devices, you tend to make dumb decisions. You need me around—okay, okay.” He laughed as I pushed away from him. “Don’t go.”

“Then explain, and this time take it seriously.”

He nodded. “I did it for your benefit, not mine.