Bloodline Secrecy: A Young Adult Urban Fantasy Academy Novel (Bloodline Academy Book 2) Lan Chan (pdf e book reader .TXT) 📖

Hearing Giselle’s name made something cold slither down my spine. At every meeting we’d been to, she had been the picture of a perfect guard. Not exactly hostile but not pleasant either. She’d played her part to perfection. What would she gain out of releasing Skander? Where did she fit in all of this?

I was so wrapped up in my thoughts that I didn’t notice when we reached my bedroom. I could hear the soft murmuring of voices inside. Kai kept walking. I tried to tug him back, but he was too strong.

“Hey!” I hissed.

He finally stopped when we got to the fork at the end of the hall that led around and joined the adjacent corridor. With the news, most of the students were still trying to process what had happened. They were all in their rooms. It was so quiet, it was eerie. I’d always lived alone but since I’d been here the constant hubbub had become a comforting white noise. This silence felt like something was holding its breath.

Kai halted in the darkest corner of the corridor and pulled me into his arms. Even if I had wanted to struggle it was impossible. Instead, I tried to kick him in the shin. He saw it coming a mile away but didn’t move. Pain vibrated up my leg, but he continued to look down at me without giving a single inch.

“You’re being a real creep,” I said. I hadn’t thought we could be smushed up any closer, but he dipped his head and tucked mine under his chin. God it was nice. I could feel the weeks of resentment and anger trying to slip away.

“I know you’re still pissed,” he said. His voice was a low caress across my skin. “I know I shouldn’t have kept the secret from you. But right now isn’t the best time to be holding grudges. Can we set this aside for the moment? I don’t think I can handle having my hands tied behind my back at the same time you’re not speaking to me.”

I wanted to point out that we might not exactly be on easy speaking terms, but he had me pressed up so close I could feel the ridge of his pecs against my cheek. “I’ll make it up to you,” he kept going.

That piqued my interest. This other side of Malachi Pendragon was almost as intriguing as the sexy, broody side. “How?”

“Have you ever experienced a white Christmas?” he asked.

“You know I haven’t!”

He chuckled. Christmas was like crack to a homeless kid. They hadn’t exactly been fancy affairs when I was a kid, either. It wasn’t even that I wanted stuff. For the last six years, I’d visited Nanna in the morning and then crawled into whatever shelter I could make it to for their leftovers. The thought of a real white Christmas had my heart racing. Or maybe that was just because Kai was running his fingers down my spine.

“Okay. You’ve got a deal. If I’m not dead by Christmas, I want the whole works!”

His muscles tensed around me. “Blue.”

A door opened down the corridor. “She’s been gone a long time,” I heard Diana say.

“Shhh. Just leave it,” Sophie replied.

I shoved against Kai’s chest. “If I don’t show up soon they’re going to send a search party.”

“Let them.”

He tipped my chin up. My mind seized. My stupid mouth opened up to him eagerly even though I was still having an internal argument about whether I should be kissing him. All of my resistance melted as he feathered his tongue over mine. He tangled his fingers into the hair at the nape of my neck. My entire body unfurled like a dry leaf in a rain shower. The bubble of resentment and anger in my chest deflated.

When he pulled away and cupped my face in his hands, I was sure I was going to pass out. “This was never going to be easy, Blue,” he murmured. I swallowed hard. Reaching up, I settled my hands over his.

“Do I look like the type who thrives on easy?”

He winked at me. My knees buckled but I caught myself by pressing my back against the wall. There was no way in hell I would let him catch me swooning. His ego was already the size of a blimp.

My face must still have been peaky when I went back to the room because Sophie bit the inside of her cheek to stop from grinning at me. Before either of them could utter a word the alarm for a bulletin sounded. The bubbling warmth in my chest was replaced by cold apprehension. A bulletin at a time like this wasn’t a good sign. All of the bulletins we’d received so far had been issued by Jacqueline. This time, when Sophie unlocked the mirror, it was Victoria’s pruney face that we saw. It was a shock to the system. Sophie and Diana inched back involuntarily.

“Citizens,” Victoria said. “You will no doubt be aware by now that we have had another breach in the security of the Dominion prison. Skander Rameros and his accomplices are currently still at large. We want to impress on you the importance of caution at a time like this. Further information has come to light regarding Giselle Hartnett, a former prison security guard. Ms Hartnett is a mind mage. If spotted, exercise extreme caution. Guard your thoughts carefully. The Council are doing everything in our power to recapture the fugitives.”

The bulletin cut off without so much as a goodbye. When the mirror’s surface turned reflective again, I saw that I was touching my temples. “You don’t think she stole your thoughts while you were in there visiting Skander, do you?” Sophie asked. She bit her bottom lip. Diana brushed it off.

“You would know,” she said. “Memory and thought reaping are quite painful.” She flopped back on Sophie’s