Creatures of Chaos (Creatures of Chaos, #1)

by Julie Hall

The faelight torches that illuminate the underground passageways crisscrossing beneath Nightlark Academy

But normal students have magic. I do not.

I may not have the natural instincts of a shifter, but what instincts I do have are suddenly screaming at me. “Run, little bunny,” a taunting voice whispers from the yawning abyss in front of me. Jules.

As an alpha female in her pack, her natural instinct is to dominate. She wants to see me broken, in body and spirit. But that will never happen. I’ll never give her the satisfaction of breaking my spirit.

the small fae girl, Ensley, and her dragon shifter twin brother, Becks, have been my ride-or-die besties ever since.

If only my father’s shifter strength or my mother’s fae magic would finally manifest in me. I’d even welcome some distant ancestor’s creepy vampire powers if it meant I could face off with these girls on an equal footing, but here I am, almost eighteen and well past the age creature powers emerge and still not presenting even the smallest spark of magic.

Most creatures come into their magic at around eight or nine, before puberty starts. There are rare instances where a kid reaches ten or eleven before presenting their magic, but creature powers always manifest well before their teen years. Always. Without exception. Except me.

No one in their right mind would mess with Becks. He’s the most powerful dragon shifter in our generation.

Her waist-length blonde hair hangs loose and long down her back, streaked with glamoured purple highlights today. The off-the-shoulder graphic tee she’s wearing under her cropped black leather jacket is as white as it was this morning, and her rocker chic jeans are only purposefully

but as a shortie with red tinted brown hair that might be considered auburn on a good day, light brown eyes, freckles, and no discernible magic, it’s not like I’m stopping traffic on the regular.

“Cool. I’m starting at Nightlark Academy on Monday. My Uncle Drake told me to look for you. Said you could show me the ropes. I’m Talon.”

“Later, Freckles,” he says under his breath as he passes.

“If you believe in the old legends, it’s an object of unparalleled power that was forged in the lakes of Hell and given by a demon to the first Vampire King to aid him in his bloody campaign to rule over all creatures.” Talon’s eyes darken and his voice takes on a serious undertone. “You see Shadow Striker wasn’t just a fancy-looking weapon. It was a dagger that gave its wielder unimaginable power.”

“The legend says that once activated, the wielder of Shadow Striker can take another creature’s power by drawing their blood with it.” “It steals powers from murdered creatures?” “I never said that you had to kill to take powers, just draw blood.”

“So the vampire’s one true love knew that the male she fell in love with was gone, even though he wasn’t technically dead. The one caveat of Shadow Striker was that if anyone willingly sacrificed themselves for the wielder, the power he or she had gathered would be stripped from them. She knew this loophole because he’d confided in her about it, and so she baited him into a fight. The dagger had so warped his judgment that he became enraged and fought her. She willingly stepped into the path of his blade, sacrificing herself so that he would be restored to his former self, which he was the moment the steel pierced her skin.” “What happened to them?” “She died in his arms and the Vampire King, realizing what he’d done, was filled with remorse and dread. He vanished into the Harshlands, never to be seen or heard from again. Or that’s how the story goes.”

“I could never leave you to face them alone. No matter what, Locklyn, I’ll always be there for you. To the depths of hell or the heights of the heavens. It’s you and me against the world. Always.”

“Then let me tell you what I do know. If I had—” He snaps his mouth shut. His nostrils flare as he sucks in a breath.

“You shouldn’t settle for someone who doesn’t accept you for who you are. You need someone who sees you. Really sees you and recognizes that you are enough, more than enough, just the way you are. It’s not magic that makes the creature powerful, it’s the strength of their character and the depth of their soul, and you, Freckles, are the most powerful creature I’ve ever met. If that pathetic excuse for a dragon heir doesn’t recognize how powerful, strong, and beautiful you are, he’s not worth your time, let alone your life.” His gaze skips over my face, his eyes softening. “You’d be a fool to change one thing about yourself. You’re already perfect.”

“Just for the record, Freckles, I wasn’t saying that you wouldn’t win because you weren’t capable of doing so. In a lot of ways you’re the strongest creature I’ve ever met, a true fighter. I said that you wouldn’t win because there’s no scenario where I don’t win the dagger back.

I have to, because failure in this situation isn’t an option.”

“That’s right. For our Natural Chemistry class. We’re doing a project on objects in nature and their natural attractions to each other. It’s going to take a couple of late nights, but I’m sure we’ll get the assignment banged out soon enough.”

“That’s it, isn’t it? You’re trying to get that dragon shifter you think you’re in love with out of the arranged life-mating.”

“Make no mistake. Your dragon heir has a choice. He just wants his cake and to eat it too. And you’re letting him.”

“And I will. I’ll get your princeling freed from his arranged life-mating. That is, after all, what you really want, isn’t it?”

The moment my hand slips into his, a rush of heat swamps my body, starting from the point where our hands connect and running up my arm straight to my head and then down my body. It leaves me lightheaded. I gasp. “What was that?” “I was just sealing our agreement.”

“Don’t you realize that you often have to fight for the things most worth having?” Reaching forward, he pushes a strand of hair behind my ear, and for some reason I let him. “You’re worth fighting for.” I blink up at him, feeling raw and exposed. “I know you’ve been fighting for your princeling, but has he really been fighting for you?”

“You’re even cuter when you’re feisty.” You’ve got to be kidding me. Now he’s hitting on me? “I love your freckles, Freckles. I wanna kiss each one of them.” I ignore the way my face heats. “Yes, I know I’m just adorable, but you need to do as I say. Now!” When his eyes start drifting shut again, I give him another slap and they pop back open. “Ouch.” “Talon,” I warn. “Okay, okay, bossy. I release you.”

“So you guys took him out.” He shakes his head. “I’d like to say I’m surprised to hear that happened, but I’m not. What an idiot to go up against the both of you. You’re a formidable team.”

“That mark on the flyers and the coins, that’s not a Chaos symbol,” he says. “It’s the Shadow Striker emblem.”

“Not exactly. It’s kind of a family thing. That doesn’t matter though. What you need to understand is that the cross symbolizes the dagger. The inner circle represents the first trial that’s meant to thin the herd. And then the four symbols in each of the quadrants stand for one of the trials of strength I mentioned before. Three swirls for physical strength, zigzag for intellectual strength, the two overlapping circles for mental strength, and then the six-pointed starburst for magical strength.”

“The first time we kiss, Freckles, it won’t be to make another guy jealous. It’ll be because we can’t live another second without tasting each other’s lips. I’m a patient creature. I can wait.” Wait. What? “Lock?” Becks’

“The reason you never developed creature magic is because you aren’t actually a creature at all.” I blink back at him. “Of course I’m a creature. What else would I be?” He shakes his head. “No, my dear. You’re not. You’re a human.” Human? “I can see by the look upon your face you’re unfamiliar with the term.”