Shadow Magic: Year 3 Read online

  Academy of Sorcery

  Term 3: Shadow Magic

  Alexa B. James & Catherine Rycerz

  Academy of Sorcery, Term 3: Shadow Magic

  © 2020 Alexa B. James

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the express written permission of the publisher, except in cases of reviewer quoting brief passages in a review.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are used factiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, and events are entirely coincidental.

  Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

  Use of any copyrighted, trademarked, or brand names in this work of fiction does not imply endorsement of that brand.

  Published in the United States by Speak Now.

  Cover Design by Melody Simmons.

  First edition

  ISBN-13: 978-1-945780-81-3

  Table of Contents

  Academy of Sorcery

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter One

  “You’re sure you didn’t leave anything at the house?” Dad asks for the hundredth time today. The worry in his voice is impossible to ignore.

  “Dad...” I give him a dramatic groan, making sure to smile so he knows I’m kidding as I pull to a stop at a sign without a single bullet hole shot through it or word of graffiti scrawled across it. I kinda miss home on the bad side of post-disaster era Jacksonville.

  “Alright, alright.” Dad sits back in the passenger’s side, watching houses pass us by as I turn off onto the main road to the Academy of Sorcery, where I’ll be starting my sophomore year. “I just want to make sure you have everything you need this time around.”

  “I’m sure I’ll always need something,” I say, giving his arm a gentle squeeze. “You’re my dad.”

  Dad sighs, but I can feel the tension radiating from him. “Sorry if I’m smothering you, Jade. It’s just with everything that happened…” He stops, the lump almost audible in his throat. “I just wish I could do more for you.”

  I’m not going to cry on my first day back. I refuse to start sophomore year all red-eyed and puffy-faced. I’m going to be just fine. If last year taught me anything, it’s that I’m truly a badass who can handle anything life throws at her.

  “Hey, come on, now,” I say as lightheartedly as I can manage. “You’re literally the only reason I’m still as sane as I am. Just keep yourself out of trouble this year and be safe. That’s all you ever need to do for me.”

  Dad pats my arm and smiles. “I’m happy to leave the excitement to you. I had more than enough last year.”

  Until last year, September was just the same as every other month for me, and not just because Florida’s never heard of the season. While folks up North got to watch the changing leaves, wear cute scarves, and enjoy the taste of pumpkin spice in literally everything, and most of all, go back to school with friends and boyfriends and teachers they’d remember for a lifetime, I was stuck here toiling away for Silas. The only bright side was that another year would start soon, meaning I could erase another tally off what felt like an infinite line of tally marks before I’d be finally free of his contract when I was too old to start a new life.

  But last year?

  Let’s just say life is full of surprises.

  Whoever’s in charge of fate threw me a serious bone. Actually, a few bones, and quite attractive ones at that. From amassing an entourage of hotties to standing face-to-face with the Queen of Hell twice in one school year, I can safely say that last year held more excitement than I’d had in my whole life combined.

  I have a feeling that if I give destiny the opportunity, it’ll throw more my way this year. Kinda comes with the territory of being the High Priestess, the living embodiment of the divine feminine and the magic of life. Oh, and sex.

  Now, here I am, another year upon me as Dad and I cruise down the street, my few possessions packed in the duffle in the back seat. Soon enough, I’m pulling the car through the gates of the Academy of Sorcery. Once, I thought I would never set foot in this place. Now, it feels like home. A flash of guilt goes through me at the thought. The cramped, ugly apartment I shared with Dad for the two years after Mom died couldn’t compete with the Academy. Not to mention that this summer, our evil boss Silas got his wish, and we had to live with him, since Dad gave up the apartment last year.

  I pull up to the Academy and shut off the engine. As the two of us hop out of the car, I’m suddenly grabbed from behind. I let out a surprised yelp, Cleo furiously humming with energy in my belt. Adrenaline kicks in before a familiar voice squeals my name.

  “Oh my gawd, my favorite sex goddess has returned!” Asher lets out a giggle as he spins me around on the sidewalk. “Girl, it has been an eternity. I need to wallow in that stunning, voluptuous energy of yours.”

  My own laughter is out of sheer embarrassment as Dad pokes his head around the back of the car. I narrow my eyes at Asher and lower my voice. “Keep that thirst bottled up, would you? My dad’s literally right there.”

  “It’s fine,” Dad insists, hauling my bag out of the back seat. He licks his lips nervously and glances at the main entrance. “Can you get yourself checked in?”

  “Of course, Dad,” I said, my throat aching with emotion. Yes, it’s been great to spend time with him, but he hasn’t changed. I pull him in for a quick hug. “Thanks for coming with me this year.”

  “Sure, honey,” he says. “I’d better get home and leave you two to catch up.”

  “Right,” I say, nodding and swallowing the lump in my throat. It was a big step for him to come all this way with me, and I can tell he’s had enough excitement for the day. I can practically see his anxiety ratcheting up a notch every moment he’s out of the place he now calls home—Silas’s manor.

  Summer break was a much-needed reprieve from all the insanity despite the less-than-ideal living situation. We made it work. For three months I didn’t have to worry about mean girls, confusing feelings about multiple men, and mixed messages from the one guy I can’t stop thinking about no matter how many times he tells me he’s not interested. And best of all, I could keep an eye on Dad, who refused to stop working even though he was nearly killed at the end of the last semester.

  After making a full recovery thanks to some extra healing magic from me, he insisted on continuing to work for Silas. With my work in the mix, we took double the time off my sentence.
Working side by side with Dad was nice, too. It’s been too long since we spent that kind of time together. Even nicer, we spent evenings being the grandest of all couch-potatoes, marathoning hours of Warlock Weddings and A Werewolf in Sheep’s Clothing reruns.

  “No worries, Mr. Jade’s Dad,” Asher says. “I am nothing if not a gentleman. I’ll help her unpack.” He shoots me a wink, casually taking the bag from me as Dad practically dives into the car.

  “Do you have to scare my Dad away like that?” I ask with a dramatic scowl. “Priestess or not, I’m still his little girl. He doesn’t want to hear about my sex magic.”

  Another cacophony of cackles comes from Asher as he loops the strap of my bag over his shoulder. “Aw, he’ll have to get used to it eventually. Besides, he’s had you all summer. I want you all to myself now. Sorry, not sorry.”

  “Says the guy who bats for the other team,” I say, rolling my eyes and jabbing him in the ribs. “Admit it. You’ve got some guy in your back pocket and you need a little pick-me-up.”

  “Jade! I am surprised at you.” Asher places his hand over his heart, sighing dramatically. “You make me sound like a vagrant, a villain, an absolute cad. I beseech you, fair maiden, to curb that tongue of silver.”

  I laugh out loud, slipping past him get the door of the girls’ dorm. “Sounds like someone enjoyed his romp around Ren Fairs this summer, then?”

  Asher grins as he steps past me. “You know my kryptonite is guys in tights.”

  “You don’t say.” Nearly every day I got a text from him, either pictures of jousts or gorgeous shots of costume-cladded geniuses. Some of the stuff folks could pull off with cardboard and paint was an entirely different sort of magic. And, no surprise, most of these pictures were of incredibly well-endowed men which Asher refused to believe wore cod pieces.

  “Seriously, girl,” Asher continues. “I missed your ass. We should’ve hung out.”

  “I know,” I say with a sigh. “But I had work, and my dad…”

  Now that I see him, I realize how much I missed my school friends. Sure, it was great to connect with Dad, but being back at the Academy fills me with a buzzing, exuberant energy. The summer was supposed to be a cooldown time, though, an attempt to pull me off the map after the media caught wind that a High Priestess was on campus. That meant no friends, no sexy sorcerers, no Professor Darius.

  Now, I’m more than ready to be around people my own age—and have someone to share my magic with. Not that I didn’t have fun releasing my magic by my own hand this summer. But being with someone else is so much better.

  “We’ve got a whole school year ahead,” I reassure Asher. “Plenty of time to get into our special brand of trouble.”

  Asher grins, going in for an awkward high-five with my bag still slung over his shoulder. I return the gesture, the two of us grinning like fools. This feels all kinds of right. I’m going to miss Dad like hell, but I have my school family right here by my side. Well, one member of it, anyway. I can only hope things are as easy and unchanged with the others when we reconnect.

  “Hey, speaking of hanging out,” I say as we drop my bag off in my new room—a single this year, with only one twin bed. “Did you run into Elowen, yet? I was hoping we could all walk around campus together, figure out where our classes will be this year, maybe crack open a bottle to celebrate our sophomore status?”

  Asher’s face goes from giddy to grim. It’s the quickest I’ve ever seen his mood shift. “Oh. Yeah.” He starts back down the hall in front of me, his tone sober. “We crossed paths briefly.”

  This is weird. He sounds so distant about her, like he’s not her best friend since high school. We stroll out onto the lawn, where other students are gathering to greet each other and catch up.

  “What happened?” I ask, wanting to cut straight to the point. “Don’t tell me you haven’t made up over the whole Topher incident.”

  Before Asher can respond, the lady of the hour makes her grand appearance. Elowen scurries towards us from the main entrance, maybe having seen Dad’s car peel out a few minute ago. For a moment she looks happy, with a big smile spread across her face and a hand stretched out to wave my way.

  All that goes to shit when she locks eyes with Asher. Elowen skids to a stop, her hand falling to her side.

  Holy mother of Lilith, the tension between the two could be cut with a knife. Cleo seems happy to test the theory, briefly starting to change into a butcher knife before I give her a warning shake. For a solid minute, nobody makes a move, myself included. It’s like Asher and Elowen are having a telepathic conversation, leaving me in the dark.

  Then, Asher turns to me, ignoring Elowen. “I’m gonna go make sure my keycard works. Meet me inside?” Without giving me a chance to respond, he spins on his heel and marches past Elowen. She turns her head after him, tears pooled in her eyes.

  “I take it you and Topher are still seeing each other,” I say lightly.

  Elowen turns back to me, letting out a whimper. Then she wobbles forward and falls into my arms, grabbing me around my waist while breaking down into sobs. “He—he’s never going to forgive me for this,” she wails. “I just know it!”

  Damn. What a way to start my first day back.

  I maneuver Elowen up so I can awkwardly hug her back. Emotional stuff is not my specialty. Asher’s better at dealing with this side of Elowen. But Asher’s not offering, so I do my best. “I seriously doubt Asher’s going to throw away his friendship with you that easily. You two survived high school with the Bellas. This is child’s play in comparison.”

  “He hates me, he completely hates me…” Elowen continues crying into my shirt, lost in her own maelstrom. “I knew he liked Topher, and I still went out with him. He likes me, Jade, and I don’t even deserve it.”

  “Elowen, seriously,” I say. “You’re fabulous, and you deserve to have a boyfriend and a best friend. You can’t help that Topher likes you—and you shouldn’t have to. Asher knows your boyfriend’s not gay. He’s just hurt that you weren’t honest with him.”

  She pulls away from me, her face a splotchy, teary mess. “I don’t deserve him, or Asher’s friendship, or yours, for that matter. You two are better off without someone like me.”

  Seeing Elowen so broken down over her own bad choices makes something inside me snap. I step away from her, hands settling on my hips. “Do you like Topher?”

  “What?” Elowen wipes her face with her sleeve and sniffs.

  “If I was in Asher’s shoes right now,” I continue. “I wouldn’t be mad at you for dating him. I’d be mad because you’re not taking the relationship seriously.”

  Elowen blinks at me like an owl. “That’s easy for you to say. You literally radiate with confidence. It’s not the same with me. You could have anyone you want without losing anyone else in the process.”

  I have to bite my tongue not to snap at her. She has no idea what I went through last year and no right to say that.

  “Topher is the one who chose to be with you,” I say, trying to keep my tone sympathetic. “And you’re gonna lose Asher because you act like it doesn’t matter. If it was worth risking your friendship, you better be really fucking in love with Topher. If not, you’re telling Asher his friendship doesn’t mean much to you.”

  Fat tears roll down my friend’s face. I feel for her, I really do. Elowen is lost, confused, and not being her best self. That doesn’t mean I want to lose her, much as her choices frustrate me.

  “What should I do?” she whispers.

  “Accept that Asher might be mad at you for a bit. If you want to fix that, do something about it. I can’t do that for you. But don’t let that ruin what you’ve started with Topher. You owe it to them both to be genuine. You owe it to yourself, too, Elowen. You’re a good person, and you do deserve happiness. Convincing yourself of that is going to make all the difference.”

  She stares at me like I cast a petrification spell over her. Part of me doesn’t want to leave her there, but the other part
knows I can’t keep babying her. Elowen has to grow a spine, and she has to do it on her own.

  I offer a sympathetic smile. “If you want to come over later, we can catch up. I’d love to hear about your summer.”

  Elowen blinks, looking up at me with an expression I haven’t seen before. “I’ll…I’ll think about it.”

  With a nod, I continue to the main office, trying to push my friend drama out of my mind and focus on the exciting new adventures with magic that lie ahead.

  Chapter Two

  Asher lies back on my bed after dinner, patting his nonexistent belly and sighing in contentment. “Maybe I’ll just get fat this year instead of getting laid.”

  “Who says you can’t do both?” I say. “Besides, you’re not allowed to call yourself fat in the presence of someone who weighs more than you.”

  “You have curves,” Asher protests. “That’s a good thing.”

  “And you don’t have an ounce of fat on you,” I remind him.

  “Men are visual creatures,” he says. “The competition is fierce out there. You’re lucky you snagged someone already.”

  Maybe a few someones, but he doesn’t need to know the dirty details.

  “You’ll meet someone,” I say. “I have a good feeling about this year.”

  “Where’s all your stuff?” he asks, sitting up and looking around.

  “I don’t have stuff. Most of my clothes were provided by the Academy when I got here last year.” I flop down next to him and make myself comfortable.

  “Okay, reveal time,” he says, nudging me with his elbow. “I know you have a kink box hidden somewhere in here.”

  “You’re awful,” I protest, feeling my face warm. My kink doesn’t fit in a box. Unless the box is big enough to fit four sexy, muscular sorcerers who make my knees weak and my clit throb with just a look. But I’m not getting into that with Asher yet. He teases me enough without knowing I’m a thirsty bitch who fantasizes about being gang-banged by all four of them at once.

  “Awfully astute,” Asher says, arching a pierced brow. “You’re blushing.”