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

Out of all the monsters I’d encountered, the dragon’s was the only one that didn’t vanquish into ash. I read it was because dragons were originally from earthly planes, made up of both dark and light, just as humans were. Eventually, its body would absorb into the land, sprouting plants and flowers.

Leaning over, Petra stroked the dragon’s head, her eyes misty. “A Helios Dragon—they don’t attack without being threatened. Unless they were ordered to by a master.”

I pressed my lips together. It seemed so strange that Petra could be someone who could easily kill and torture, and at the same time, feel sorry for a dead dragon.

“Someone sent it?” Xander said.

She nodded. “It’s the only explanation.”

“Back at Arcadia, someone sent a chimera after Sheridan.”

Petra looked up, her face pale. “It takes great skill to summon monsters. Whoever did this is powerful.” She looked at me in confusion. “Why didn’t you draw your sword?”

“What sword?” I said, unsure what she meant.

“She doesn’t have one,” Xander said, by way of explanation. “The Fates advised her to join House Aphrodite.”

“House Aphrodite—please tell me you’re joking!” She looked between us both, as if she were about to go off the rails. When she saw we were serious, she stood, grabbing me by the shoulders. “Aphrodite is not who you are.”

I stiffened beneath her death grip. “You don’t know who I am.”

“Fine,” she conceded. “Are you content then?”

Well, no.

But she didn’t need to know that.

“I haven’t gotten to raise you, thanks to your miserable grandfather,” Petra said, clenching her jaw. “But my blood courses through yours. You need to fight, to win, to find victories, and to be the heroine of your own story—this is what Ares blood craves. If you’re not getting that, you’re slowly dying.”

As much as I hated to admit it, she was probably right. Every time I went to the Ares training fields, I felt it all the way to my bones. I should be there, learning fire magic and training to fight. I let out a breath. “The Fates said if I join Ares, I’ll never return home.”

“Sheridan, you are home.” Petra tilted her head to the side. “Not here in the Underworld obviously, but Mythos is your true home. If the Fates said you would never return to the human world, it’s probably because you won’t want to return.”

Huh. I’d never considered that.

“Swear you’ll transfer back,” she said, shaking me.

The Fates only mentioned two paths, a set one for Ares, and a set one for Aphrodite. But they never mentioned what would happen if I chose a combination of both.

“Sheridan, you’re my daughter.” Petra spoke like it was the only thing that mattered. “I want you to thrive.”

I took a deep breath. “I’ll try.” And not because she asked it from me, but because deep down, this was what I desperately wanted.

Relief flooded her features.

Behind her, Xander looked stunned. “You will?”

I nodded. “On one condition—” I turned to Petra. “You have to stop trying to kill Riley.”

She let go of my shoulders, slowly straightened, and took a step back. “No deal.”

Seriously? “Whether you like it or not, she’s my sister.”

“She’s also going to murder you.”

“You don’t know that—”

“Yes, I do. I’ve seen this curse before. My father enacted it because he knew it would cause the most grief and heartache. It won’t fail, Sheridan. One of you will die—better her than you.”

I frowned.

There was a stubborn tilt to her chin that told me she planned to stand firmly on this. A shame, too. For a split second, there was almost something likeable about her. Sure, she’d done a lot of crappy, messed-up things. But the way she slayed the dragon was incredible. The way she mourned it, even more so. I thought I saw something redeemable, but I was wrong.

“Let’s head back, Xander,” I said, casting one last heartbroken gaze on my mother. “I’d like to get out of this place as soon as possible.”

Away from here and away from her.

41

As soon as we made it back to Arcadia, Xander and I went straight to Grandpa’s apartment and told him everything.

Apparently, I revealed things even he hadn’t known.

After we were done, he went into his bedroom and refused to come out. “He just needs time to process it,” Xander said, sighing. “Leave him be.”

I nodded, but I stayed there anyway and waited. I sat on the sofa, unsure of what to do next. Xander stayed too, sitting beside me silently. I appreciated it, especially the way he sensed I didn’t want to talk. So much had happened so quickly, and I needed the mental break.

Several hours later, Grandpa finally emerged, looking more haggard than I’d ever seen him. He wasn’t the type to show much emotion, so it surprised me when he wrapped his arms around me. “I’m so sorry, Sheridan. This is all my fault.”

“This is no one’s fault,” I insisted. “I don’t blame you for any of it.”

“Thomas was always trying to one-up me, but I had no idea he’d go after my family. If you’re depending on me for answers, I have none, Sher Bear. I don’t know what to do.”

“I do,” I said, thinking of the book from Twilight Island. I glanced at Xander. “But neither of you are going to like it.”

Together, the three of us discussed the idea of returning to the Underworld with Riley, of trying to break the curse by using Persephone’s Cure. Xander still hated the idea with a passion. He paced in front of the window, shaking his head the whole time while Grandpa and I tried to work out a plan.

“We’d have to keep you hidden from Thomas,” Grandpa said, scratching his jaw. “That would be a challenge. He more or less rules the place, and he knows everything that’s going on down there.”

“And what about the monsters?” Xander added. “You were down there only a few hours and a dragon attacked you. How