High Fae Academy - Year One: Fae Paranormal Romance Read online

  An almost territorial growl answers my moan, but it didn't come from Orin. It makes me stumble back to lean against the opposite wall which just happens to be the water building. I'm soaked down through my denim shorts and plain white tee shirt.

  I don't step away from the wall because the water cools my achingly hot skin. So much so that steam comes off me. The sight of it makes me laugh hysterically. I didn't realize that someone could steam from such a hot kiss! A throat clears noisily making me look up at the two men now in front of me. Orin looks sheepishly toward the ground as he rubs the back of his neck.

  The other man is more so what I suspected a fae would look like. He has dark hair slicked back that appears to tickle the back of his neck, deep green eyes, and a five o'clock shadow that looks like a permanent accessory. And his cheekbones are so rigid that they could cut glass. Lord save me, I knew all the men would be delicious! My own inner monologue makes me giggle again before I have the good sense to clap a hand over my mouth. He raises one dark eyebrow at my outburst.

  "S-sorry, I think I'm just a little bit overwhelmed and turned on."

  Shit! Why the hell did I just admit that out loud? Orin locks eyes with me and winks, and if I wasn't already against the wall I would have collapsed. The other man shoots him a glare before stepping forward and beckoning me toward him.

  I push off the wall on wobbly legs and grab onto his arm for support. A rush of emotion and magic swells within me at his touch, I close my eyes against the sudden onslaught both, wanting to survive it and savor it.

  After the initial rush our elements seem to slow and cling to each other--comforting each other’s souls. The feeling took my breath away in a different means than with Orin. His breath whooshes out of his chest causing me to snap my eyes open again. He's looking down at me in wonder.

  I breathe, "Earth."

  "Yes, my affinity is for Earth. And my name is Damon."

  His deep, almost soft voice is even more soothing than his touch. What in the hell is happening with these men? Why am I experiencing such a draw to them both? I've barely had one successful relationship, let alone two. I can sense my anxiety resurfacing through the blanket of comfort Damon had so briefly provided.

  Despite the natural almost immediate connection my magic seems to have with these men, my emotions are still playing catch up. Damon seems to sense it and steps away, giving me space. I'm grateful for it as I run my hands through my wet hair.

  "Uh, I'm not sure if this is possible but could either of you dry my clothes off before I meet the dean?"

  Orin steps up and holds out his hands just above my skin. A radiant heat courses over me and I close my eyes. It may dry my clothing but it leaves something else a bit damper than I was comfortable with. When he's finished I step back from them both. We had somehow drifted toward one another again. I suspect that our magical connections, whatever that means, might allow them to be aware of my heightened desire, and they can't help but respond. But again, my actual human emotions leave something to be desired in this bizarre situation.

  "Lead on."

  I gesture for them to get on with it. Thankfully they get the hint and give me some space by walking ahead of me. I wring my hands together nervously as I watch their muscled backs flex through the thin material of their tunics. Is this how supernaturals, or at least the fae, experience life all the time? If so, it must be exhausting.

  How do they not just go around boning each other all the time? The persistent battle of going from being turned on to upset and back to turned on again is an emotional roller coaster that I no longer want to be a part of. I want to scream, let me off! But I also have the sneaking suspicion that now that these men have found me they won't be letting me go.

  Chapter 3

  The dean's office turns out to be on the very top floor of the main school building. The space is large and classically furnished with huge floor to ceiling windows lining one half of the room. I can't help but step up to them and look out in fascination while the men with me pace back and forth by the doorway. All the students had watched us curiously as we crossed the campus to the main building.

  By the way their eyes followed the men escorting me I deduced that they must be famous or something. That or they're just so smoldering hot that no one can take their eyes off them. To be honest both of those things may end up being true. I had gotten more than a few nasty glares thrown my way from the equally smoldering women pining after the males. I throw a glance behind me to see that the two of them are still pacing like caged animals.

  "What's your guy's deal?"

  I plant my hands on my hips and squint at them until they stop pacing. They look at each other before opening their mouths to speak right as the doors behind them are thrown open. A small delicate woman shoves through them before bustling over to the massive chair behind the desk.

  When she settles gracefully into it the behemoth dwarfs her. She has deep chocolate brown eyes that hold decades’ worth of wisdom within them and matching hair. Her skin looks almost the same color but a few shades lighter.

  Her melodic voice soothes me, "Welcome to the supernatural academy for gifted children Tiana. I'm honored to have you here. My name is Fiora, please, have a seat."

  She gestures to the leather chairs in front of the desk. I cautiously take a seat, and can’t help but bounce my legs with nervous energy. She notes the movement but doesn't comment on it. I detect the two overbearing men in the room come to stand on either side of my chair and almost wince as the feeling of their magic caresses me. I move forward in an attempt to distance myself but it does little to ease the sensation.

  "So, what in the hell am I doing here anyhow? Orin said you'd explain some type of prophecy to me. Then he said I can decide if I still want to stay here or not. That's our deal."

  Fiora looks to my left where I assume Orin to be, but she doesn't look very happy about our deal. When her eyes travel back to mine she plasters another serene smile on her face.

  "Yes, well, I hoped to ease you into your role in the prophecy as it tends to feel a little overbearing. But I can see that you're determined and won't wait for answers, am I correct?" I nod vigorously for her to continue, "Well, then I will begin by stating the obvious. You are one of the most gifted fae of all time. Only one other fae has been documented to have access to all five elements, and he died in the first great war after establishing peace eons ago."

  I cut in, "Uh, I'm sorry to burst your bubble but I'm not a fae. I'm an elemental."

  She grins at me, "What is an elemental, exactly? A being close to the Earth's elements. That is what fae are. And while you do not have the telltale pointed ears of our kind it is because your father is human. Your mother, a full-blooded spirit fae, was a descendant of the man known to have access to all five of the elements. So you are half fae and half human with qualities of both. You were raised by your father while your mother fought in the war. But she died before you were even six years old."

  The air in my lungs seems to whoosh out of me as I leaned forward and put my forehead between my knees. My mother was a full-blooded spirit fae and a descendant of the most powerful fae in history. My mother. A woman I've never met and have never known anything about. Before his passing my father had never talked about her, even when I had wanted to he refused to acknowledge she had even existed.

  Now I understand that he was only trying to protect me from learning about both my magical blood and her passing. He didn't want me to end up like her. A victim of a centuries old war that only created bloodshed and destruction.

  "Okay, so my mother was a fae who was a descendant of some super powerful dude who saved the world. And that's why I'm so powerful. And she's dead."

  No one replies to my rambling statements. To be honest, I'm not sure what I would say to myself if I were them. I doubt fae are the best at doling out comfort or warmhearted apologies. That thought makes me suddenly grateful for my father's human blood coursing through my veins. He gave me humanity, f
eelings, and empathy which are things these immortal beings have to learn rather than simply inherit.

  "There's more," I snap my head up to find Fiora looking uncomfortable, "Centuries ago, after the first great war had passed and the king of the fae was dead, a second prophecy was foretold. A fae will rise every thousand years to inherit the power of the fae king and end yet another great war. Well, that's the short version."

  My mouth drops open and I whip my head back to glare at the two men behind me. Damon raises his hands in a hey I've got nothing to do with this gesture. Orin shrugs off my surprise and anger as if he isn't particularly interested in how I feel about this so called prophecy.

  There is absolutely no way that I'm some sort of savior to not only the human race, but all races of life on earth. While my mother may have been hot shit I'm just a small town girl from coastal Florida. And even though I was able to impale Orin with my power it was a total fluke. I don't know the first thing about using them, only suppressing them.

  "Okay, if you say so. But to be honest I know nothing about my powers. I've hardly used them. Me being able to impale Orin earlier was a fluke. I've never wanted to be a part of the academy, so I've always focused on making sure no one realizes who I am or what I can do."

  Damon steps forward, "So you're saying you've absolutely never attempted to use them?" He sounds deeply upset about this.

  "Uh, yeah that's pretty much what I'm saying. I've actually gone so far as to suppress them."

  Fiora makes a pained noise before whispering, "Oh, child. That must have been dreadful."

  They're all looking at me as if I should be in deep psychological or physical pain. But I feel like I always have, normal. That's why I've never thought I was a real fae because I'm not unearthly beautiful or special looking. Could that be why? Would I have looked more like the people standing around me if I hadn't suppressed my power from such a young age?

  "Oh, I'm fine. But maybe that's why I don't look like other fae because I've never let my true nature out."

  Fiora studies me for a moment before grabbing a folder from the desk and flipping through it. The complete and utter silence in the room makes me start to bounce my leg nervously again. After giving a satisfied nod she thrusts it in my direction. I take it hesitantly and open it up to find a list of classes, a dorm assignment, and other various explanatory documents about the academy. The classes listed are not ordinary college course by any means.

  Fiora watches me browse my schedule, "Your classes will be composed of two alternating days. One week you could have three A-days and next week will be three B-days to keep it balanced. This is to make sure you don't become overwhelmed with your training. Your classes will start officially tomorrow morning."

  A-DAY

  Breakfast

  Magic 101: An Introduction to Your Affinity

  Battle Combat: Non-Magic

  Lunch

  Fire Affinity: Training Hour

  Water Affinity: Training Hour

  Dinner

  B-DAY

  Breakfast

  Magic 101: An Introduction to Your Affinity

  Battle Combat: Non-Magic

  Lunch

  Air Affinity: Training Hour

  Earth Affinity: Training Hour

  Dinner

  Spirit Affinity: To Be Determined

  I squint at the final class on the list, "To be determined? What does that mean?"

  "Our master trainer of spirit is not on campus right now. He's traveling. You will take up training with him once he returns in one to two weeks."

  "And who would my mentors be?"

  "You will have five different mentors, one for each element. Each mentor is a master of their affinity and the head of that affinities house. That means that they're the princes of the fae, or the great descendants of the original founding members," I marvel at her words. How incredible will that be? I bet that they're old men who seem wise and powerful. I'm excited to start learning, that is, until Fiora continues, "Two of them are standing behind you. Orin Ignis, son of Odysseus Ignis and heir to the house of fire. Damon Terr, son of Gabriel Terr and heir to the house of earth. The others will introduce themselves, I'm sure."

  “I’m not sure about this. Even after everything you’ve said, I still had a life before this. While my family may be dead I had one of sorts with Annie and my bar.”

  She raises an eyebrow, “You’d rather work at a bar than be trained at the high fae academy?”

  “Don’t act like it’s some type of privilege to be taught here. As I told Orin this entire academy is an army factory. I know, you know, and so does everyone else.”

  The room is silent for several long moments while Fiora looks at me with a strange, unplaceable, expression on her face. Almost as if she can’t fathom why I don’t believe that the academy is a gift from god. It’s a bit insulting.

  “Yes, well, you may believe what you wish. But I beg you to please stay for at least one week before going back to your,” She pauses, looking me up and down, “Family business.”

  I should have known that not a single part of this would be easy. Sighing, I stand to go get settled in my dorm room which, according to the papers, is in the abandoned spirit dorm. Great. They're really making it hard for me to lie low here.

  Maybe that's the idea if they still believe that I'm some sort of savior descendant. Just because I have access to all five elements doesn't make me special. At least I hope it doesn't despite the dean saying there's only been one other person in history to have this power, the fae king himself.

  I'm so screwed. Why did I agree to come here again? Oh, that's right, the stupid alluring men trailing behind me like eager puppies. When I stop at the entrance of the spirit dorm and spin around they both stop in their tracks, looking sheepish.

  "I'm going in here, and as you pointed out earlier, you're not allowed in because you're not worthy. So, I'll see you later, in class." The two of them glance at each other, scowl, and then look back at me.

  Damon steps forward, "We're here if you need us. I know that this transition will be hard on you and we only want to help."

  His words send a warm sensation through my chest so strong that I briefly close my eyes. Despite not even knowing me he's offering his very valuable time as the head of the earth house to help me. My cynical side is whispering that he might have some sort of ulterior motive that I'm not aware of, but there's no indication of it. At the same time he is hundreds of years old and probably has practice lying to humans. I remind myself, but you're not human either.

  "He's right, all of us, even the ones you haven't met yet will be willing to take the time to teach you and be there for you," Orin says.

  "But why? Why take such an interest in me? Because of some stupid prophecy that might not even be true?"

  I look back and forth between them hoping for a truthful answer, something to reassure me that these are men that I can trust in a world of new and terrifying changes.

  Damon smiles wickedly, "No, we don't particularly care about that. But we will leave that discussion for another day."

  Chapter 4

  The inside of the spirit dorm is not as dark and ominous as I thought it would be. Even though the outside is a deep foreboding purple the inside looks like any other modern day living quarters. Past the entry hall is a space that reminds me of a four person dorm room. There's a living area in the middle with a few comfortable looking couches and a TV.

  Surrounding the area in a semi-circle are five different doors, the one in the middle led to a large shared bathroom decorated with white sparkling tile. On the far side of the living room is a small kitchenette area for in-dorm cooking.

  I trail my fingers along the counters which have little to no dust despite there being a quiet stillness in the air. There's no one else living here and there hasn't been for some time now. Despite that, it's obvious to me that this place was decorated and cared for by someone. I move toward the first bedroom door and pop it open. The room i
s spacious and filled with belongings that scream masculinity and sensitivity at the same time. This must be where the prince of spirit stays when he's at the academy.

  Well, that will be awkward when he comes back in a few weeks. I've never lived with a man besides my father. My face flames with embarrassment just thinking about it. And if he's as hot as the other affinity masters I might have a harder time resisting the pull. I suppose I will cross that bridge when I come to it and not worry until then. Not wanting to invade the man's privacy, I close the door and step back into the living room.

  After exploring the rest of the rooms just to find them empty I choose the one across from the master's. On the bed a suitcase appears which is full of my previous possessions. I take a few minutes to both unpack and change into my uniform before class.