Supernatural Academy: Year Two (Supernatural Academy, #2)

by Jaymin Eve

“Listen up, water baby, you will get used to presents and birthdays and surprises. Because I’m not ever going to stop.”

He’d taken to calling me water baby because my newly-unlocked powers had me all fish-like. I was obsessed with water. I could swim faster than any of the guys, breathe under there, see in the darkest of nights, and manipulate the water to do my bidding. All the power was taking some getting used to, and I was damn glad that I had Louis’s pendant to temper it, but I was a big fan of not being vulnerable ever again.

I wanted someone who made me feel everything and never used those feelings against me.

When you loved someone, they had a certain amount of control over you. A scary concept when you truly thought about it, especially when it was someone who didn’t deserve or cherish that gift.

“There’s a bond between us that goes way beyond a normal attraction. Even before I loved you, I wanted to be near you. You consumed my thoughts and my dreams and my attention.” My heart pretty much stopped beating, and I sucked in air, trying to feed my starving lungs. “You … you said you love me?”

“Baby, you already know I love you. I’d sacrifice myself for you. I’d sacrifice the fucking world for you. If that’s not love, then I don’t have an explanation for it.” A tear escaped. “I’ve never had anyone tell me that before. Not really say it and mean it.”

My favorite little dolphin, who I’d named Blush, joined me when I was in the deeper water. She was the pinkest of all the dolphins I’d seen in here and also one of the smallest.

Heal in the morning, kill in the afternoon.

“You’re an idiot,” I told him. “Just don’t be sad if you wait too long and she finds someone who appreciates her.” His face morphed into a scary scowl, but I wasn’t done. “The old pulling-a-girl’s-pigtails-to-get-their-attention is not a good look. Be the supe she needs. Fight for your girl or fuck right the hell off and let her go.”

Men were such idiots at times.

“Baby, you’re the only supernatural I want or need. There’s no other like you, Maddi, and I will protect you whether you like it or not.”

Don’t dull your light for anyone.

The next text was from Asher. Asher: So … I’m wet. Which is not as much fun as when you are...

“I’m Maddi, by the way.” Amanda chuckled. “Girl, everyone knows who you are. You’re one of the Atlantean-six.” My heart skipped a beat when I realized they’d changed the number for me.

“My name is Jessa Lebron, and this is my mate, Braxton Compass,” the chick said confidently. “We’re here as a favor to a friend, to temporarily fill in as teachers for this class.”

Omg omg omg never been more excited in my life and soooo glad I read supernatural prison first EEEE

She’s incredible, but completely psycho.

“Dude, I’m not afraid of powerful supes. You’re already at the top of your game. It’s the ones below you, who are desperate to steal what is yours, that you need to fear. Oh, and by the way, I’m totally adding you to my girl gang.”

“Louis said it’s definitely a god thing, and that Asher’s power is combining with the god’s to form something new.”

This was a very good thing, because Braxton had two kids in his arms—their twins.

It’s … empty.” That word was like a bullet to my body. It slammed into me, breaking through my skin and shattering the fragile bone, muscle, and organs beneath.

I would go toe to toe with anyone who argued books weren’t life savers. They were the work of whatever god kept us functional when the world seemed too hard to handle. They were the air when we couldn’t breathe. The blood when it wouldn’t pump in our veins. The beat of our heart when we were done trying to force life to go on. Books saved lives.

I thought I would be stronger. But I felt as fragile as a spiderweb drifting in a storm.

Spiderwebs are very unique in their characteristics. In truth, many of them are able to withstand gale force storms. And did you know that if you break one strand of a web, the entire web as a whole becomes stronger?”

“You can read my mind?” She fluttered up and off my shoulder. “No, my darling,” she said softly. “But when your pain is broadcast so strongly, I feel it in my soul, and occasionally our minds connect. We have bonded, somehow, and you are one of the few supernaturals in this world I give a damn about.”

Do not underestimate a delicate, beautiful thing. It is never weak.”

“Give yourself time,” he murmured, and when I lifted my face, his thumbs brushed away my tears. “It won’t fix your pain, but you’ll learn how to live with it. You’ll function again. You’ll remember everything beautiful about what you and Asher had, and you’ll think on it fondly.”

was in a dark place. People in dark places did stupid shit to try to find a sliver of light to cling to. Something to guide them out of the pit of hell. Apparently alcohol was my first attempt. It wouldn’t be my second.

“Asher claimed you long ago,” he said. “He left his record with the tome as well, to confirm that there would be no mistake.”

Asher claimed you long ago.

I’d never looked for a savior … I wanted a partner.

Now I would do it alone … I would do it for both of us. I would be enough.

“You met Shera, who was a minor deity, but there are other many more major ones worshipped by supernaturals. Including the god of shifters and goddess of fey, but in regard to specific Atlantean worship, these are our main.”

“You could have killed him,” Calen said, and it wasn’t in a reprimand way; it was in a “why didn’t you kill him? You had the power” way. I shrugged. “He’s not worth it. I just needed someone to beat up on a little until I felt better.”

When he moved closer, I moved further away. Not because I was afraid of him—nope, I was afraid of me and what I might do if he was within strangling distance.

“Stay with me, daughter. Your energy fuels my own.”

My heart, the heart that had already been shattered, screamed in pain, and my soul wept for what I had lost.

Asher was alive, but I had a very scary suspicion that he was no longer my Asher.

“I don’t know who the fuck you think you are,” I hissed, moving even closer, our eyes locked, “but be very careful about how far you push me. You once belonged to me, Asher Locke, and even though I wouldn’t touch you with a ten foot pole right now, that doesn’t mean anyone else gets to touch you either.”

All I could do was put one foot in front of the other, do what I had to do, and then deal with the shit as it came at me.

Yeah, Louis was waiting for me. Yeah, the world was fucking ending. But I needed five minutes to cry.

None of us had been keeping track of dates, but I was surprised I’d missed so much school that it was almost April. Time really flies when you’re losing the love of your life, raising an ancient city, and getting murdered by your parents.

Jessa has also gone back to Faerie to talk with the queen of all dragons, so she’ll be two or more weeks until she returns.”

“Just act natural,” she murmured from the side of her mouth. “We’re being watched.”

Fury and pain … my old friends.

For a moment, I had a sense that I could do this. I could be strong enough to survive without him. I’d never wanted to be the woman defined by a man, and while I still wholeheartedly believed in love, maybe having a love as strong as ours was too dangerous.

I could not lose myself. Not right when I was coming to learn who Maddison James truly was. I’d spent ten thousand years in stasis, then twenty-plus years thinking myself human. This was finally my time to be real.

My speed picked up as I felt a renewed determination to learn magic, fight the gods, and live happily-the-fuck-ever...

I flipped him off and kept walking. Fuck that. Fuck that to hell and back.

The trust we’d had was damaged—maybe beyond repair. And while Asher was probably right about me being in danger—that god had been scary and strong—it didn’t change anything. I was here at the Academy to learn, and I would not let anyone distract me from that again.

Jessa and Braxton were not back for Advanced Attack and Defense, but they had brought in some badass called Tyson.