CONVICTION OF THE DAMNED: SUPERNO ACADEMY BOOK ONE Read online

  “Am I the first creature you’ve seen with wings or something?” He asked unkindly, coming to a stop in front of me when his wings were safely gone.

  I didn’t want to stand and talk to him but it’s not like I had anywhere to run to, so I was forced to stop here watching the sneer twisting up his pretty face.

  “Well yeah. We had normal birds and things back home but obviously people didn’t have any wings, let alone ones made of fire. I presumed you knew that about the Human world idiota.”

  He smells like danger. I can’t get near him. He’s going to burn me. Though I bet it would feel kind of nice.

  “Where was home for you exactly, Ryder only mentioned you lived in America which is rather vague. And seeing as you speak Italian too it doesn’t make things any clearer.”

  I had figured Ryder would have spilled whatever secrets he had found out about us, and that the Heirs would already know what we had done and where. But clearly, he hadn’t run off to the overlords right away with all our secrets.

  Either Ryder had exceeded my expectations, or I had misjudged him, the former being the preferred option.

  “All over really. We bounced around foster homes too often to say we’re from anywhere in particular.” It wasn’t strictly a lie; we had been in foster care, jumping between homes until we were eleven when the asshole father of ours decided to take us in permanently.

  I was bouncing on the balls of my feet, aching to leave and find a way to quell the tidal waves in my soul. But until Xavier had said whatever he had stopped me for I had no choice but to stay here itching for release.

  The bastard could see I was uncomfortable, but he wasn’t going to make any concessions and let me leave.

  “I didn’t know you were in foster care.” He said, cocking his head to the side and letting a small piece of hair fall free. The number of times I had spotted his unruly locks doing as they pleased irritated me beyond belief.

  How hard was it to tie your hair up properly?!

  “Why would you know stronzo? It’s not like we’re friends and I don’t make a habit of telling everyone I meet nobody wanted us.” I didn’t mean for my words to sound as sad as they did, I simply answered with the truth. Nobody had wanted to take my family into theirs.

  Xavier didn’t respond the way I predicted, which was becoming another trend of his. He stayed silent for the longest minute of my life before deciding he would shatter my already weak heart.

  “I guess you being an orphan seems fitting. I couldn’t have pictured you with a family.” There weren’t many times in the last few years that someone’s words alone could hurt me but hearing that come out of Xavier’s mouth sent a flurry of invisible tears up to the back of my eyes.

  Do not cry. You don’t show weakness.

  “Well I'm glad you think I deserved to be an orphan. It’s always wonderful to hear testa di cazzo.” Dickhead. I snapped, turning around to go anywhere but here. “Good talk, let’s not do this again.”

  I made it two steps before a raging firewall stopped me in my tracks, the strength of the fire almost singing my hair off.

  “It’s rude to insult and turn your back on your future King.” Xavier spat. “Do you have no manners?”

  “You’re not my future anything, so back the fuck off you glorified pigeon!”

  In hindsight insulting the guy threatening to burn me was probably not the smartest idea, but I had never been known for my intelligence in the face of danger. I was very much an act first think later type of girl and unfortunately, I had to deal with the consequences of that. Even if the consequences were a tall, dark, and handsome bird man covered in flames and willing to kill me without provocation.

  Xavier stared at me again, doing that I'm-a-hot-guy-with-issues type of thing that made girls weak at the knees and desperate for his attention. Not that it was working on me. I was better than that. Sure you are Kaida; your knees are totally stable. Not an ounce of quivering going on.

  “I’ve been called a lot of things in my life, but a pigeon is not one of them.” His fire disappeared and he laughed like he was amused, but it only made me worry for his mental state.

  He was hotter and colder than I was which was a difficult feat.

  “Yes well, first time for everything I suppose.” I didn’t want to stand here and argue with him, but I also didn’t want to go until I knew it would be okay.

  I had the feeling he wouldn’t react so ‘calmly’ if I turned my back again.

  “I'm sorry that we can’t be friends Kat, you always were funny.”

  “What?”

  “I knew you as a child. You always made me laugh.” I wonder if baby Xavier had the dark and brooding thing even then.

  I had no response. I didn’t remember him and the idea that he had memories of my childhood that I didn’t wasn’t sitting right with the swirl of demons in my brain. It wasn’t fair.

  “Would it make a difference to you if I said I wasn’t after you crown, and that you could superglue the damn thing to your head if you wanted?” I didn’t want to be his enemy, not if there was another way.

  I never expected him to take me at my word, but it was worth a shot that I was willing to take.

  “Not really I'm afraid. I don’t believe you; your family were known to be liars and traitors. Plus, the other Heirs parents would never believe a thing you said.” I never understood why people said things like that. How was I supposed to react?

  I wasn’t insulted; I didn’t know my family. But at the same time, it felt like I should be defending their honor somehow, purely because I shared their blood. I did not know if they were liars…

  “Well like I said, I don’t know anything about my parents so feel free to think whatever you want. It doesn’t bother me stronzo. I'm an orphan remember.”

  I wondered if he could hear the sheer amount of sass I was restraining from my tone in a last-ditch attempt to not get turned into a Kaida BBQ.

  “I don’t have parents either.” He said, not an ounce of emotion breaking the mask on his face.

  “Well that sucks. I'm sorry.” I can’t even be mean to him about that for fucks sake.

  I didn’t want to feel sorry for Xavier, but it was hard. He had been a jerk to me, but I knew how it felt having nobody there to guide you in life, and no one there to tuck you in at night with a kiss on the head. Having no one to love you sucked and I would never say otherwise, even to someone like Xavier.

  His behaviour wasn’t excused for his lack of parenting, but it let me have empathy for him which was the best I could give.

  “My parents died the same day yours did. I presume you don’t remember that day either?” He said, holding out his hand and revealing my Portal. I must have dropped it when I had fought Caleb.

  I grabbed it off him, careful not to touch his hand that was smoking at the edges. I couldn’t feel the heat of it, but I wasn’t stupid enough to still lean in closer to the flame.

  “I don’t remember anything. Our memories have apparently been wiped from being in the mortal realm for so long.” Xavier nodded at me slowly, before his wings began unfurling once again, practically toasting me like a marshmallow.

  His wings barely came out, yet they were still ridiculously huge. Already four feet of air was being taken up by Lord Angry Bird and his furry body parts.

  “That’s a shame. I was hoping you’d be able to tell me that my suspicions were wrong.”

  “What suspicions?” I asked hesitantly.

  “That your parents were responsible for mine dying, and thanks to you I’ve been alone most of life.” And with that revelation he flew off, not once looking back at me as I stood rooted to the ground in disbelief.

  Laina

  Okay, I think I am in love. Without a doubt there was something about Tory that my soul seemed to know on a deeper level. No doubt it was just the sheer fact that she loved lizards. I didn’t have many interests in life, but an obsession with reptiles was definitely one of them.

  The foster
home we had lived in for a few yeas till our eleventh birthday had been next to a zoo, and the old lady who looked after us used to take the entire house there once a month to look at the animals.

  I wasn’t deranged; the fluffy animals were cute. But there was something about the reptilian exhibit that really got my heart going more than anything else in this world. Even Kaida, who loved snakes, hadn’t even understood why I was so overjoyed with watching a bunch of reptiles sleep and ‘do absolutely nothing’ for hours on end.

  If I was being honest, I had no idea why I liked them so much. Maybe it was their cute faces, little bodies, and vicious teeth. Or even the fact that most of them were going extinct around the world and I was desperate to save them.

  This exact desire to help was how I had discovered Tory had the same obsession as me. When she removed her sports jacket for our spar, I noticed the tattoo of one of my favourite reptile rehabilitation charities right below the base of her sports bra. It was a turtle wearing a crown and sitting on a rock.

  Upon further discussion we discovered that we had both watched pretty much every single documentary as each other, and that Tory also owned a bearded dragon called Gollum.

  “He’s so cute even if he is old.” She said, as we made our way to our next class together. Dari had stayed behind to talk to Professor Long about Kaida and had insisted we go ahead without her.

  “How old is he?”

  “It was his eighth birthday last week!” Tory exclaimed.

  For the rest of our walk to our history class I was shown a vast array of photographs from Gollum’s party, and his life and I was ridiculously jealous that I had never owned such a magnificent creature.

  “You’ll have to meet him one time.” Tory offered shyly.

  “Oh my God, I would love that!” That would be so awesome.

  “Cool, it’s a date.” Tory held the door to our lesson open, and I was far too busy hyperventilating at her words to even notice where we were.

  The classroom was inside the bottom floor of the library that Tory forgot to mention on our first day. It was a three-story square building, with classrooms on the bottom floor and hundreds of rows of books on the rest.

  Apparently, it wasn’t used as much anymore on account of people having all the information they could need on their Portals, but I had always been a sucker for books and made a note to come back here after lessons.

  The classroom itself was pretty; it had high ceilings, brick walls and a ridiculous number of plants in every colour imaginable. But the main feature was the giant waterfall that seemed to be coming out of the ceiling and trickling across the pale wooden floor.

  “Oh shit, this is cool.” Tory whispered; her dark brows rose as we strolled towards the centre of the room without getting wet. I didn’t know if the water was just a mirage, or if the creator had spelled it so that it wouldn’t soak the visitors of this room.

  As if he could hear my thoughts, a middle-aged man waltzed through the centre of the waterfall with a huge grin on his tanned face.

  “Welcome to my classroom my dears! Do not be alarmed, you will not get an ounce of my precious water on your little bodies.” He waved me and Tory towards him, and I spotted Allie entering the room right behind us too. The three of us headed over and the man introduced himself as Professor Cardon, our new History teacher.

  Cardon was a witch, specifically with nature. He was able to manipulate plants and was pretty much the world’s best gardener. He was even responsible for all the greenery around school and in the Potions classroom. I had to admit I was a little jealous; having that skill would be amazing.

  Cardon handed out a different flower to each student he summoned, pointing them in the direction of their new seat based on whatever he gave them. With a wink he handed me, Tory, and Allie a dark red rose each and smiled knowingly as he showed us where to go.

  “Once you are all seated, I will begin today’s class with a brief introduction to our history. So, if you could all open your Portals, and find a book called The History of Mirane, then we shall begin with a quick synopsis of the royal families, on account of our special new student.”

  All eyes turned to me, and I felt the beet red blush coating my cheeks. Tory sniggered beside me and squeezed my hand, urging me into my seat and out the way of prying eyes. Allie lounged across the two-seater couch opposite me, not budging for any more students.

  It wasn’t like she refused to move; nobody asked her. The few kids that were sent out way took one look at the wild girl in the chair and chose to sit elsewhere, darting me looks as though they couldn’t figure out how on earth, I had the balls to be here when I had only arrived in this world yesterday.

  Tory began discussing the benefits of some sort of magic hair dye with Allie and I zoned out, returning to the safe space in my head like I always did. I didn’t mean to be rude or anything, but without my sisters backing me I felt ridiculously out of place.

  I could hear the whispers of the students near me and spot the glares of the ones who were fans of the Heirs. But I didn’t have the guts to call them out on anything when I was on my own. Usually, Dari would always take charge of conversations and fights, and Kaida was the first ready with a snarky retort. I was the one who just nodded along like a little kid, unable to handle myself in any situation properly.

  I doubted there would ever be a time in my life that I would be the first to throw a punch or ever come remotely close to calling people out on their shit and standing up for myself. There was a reason Kaida’s nickname for me had always been sunflower; I was pretty and completely useless.

  Just as I began contemplating the idea of joining some sort of acting class for confidence the room turned to me again, and I cursed myself for not paying attention.

  “Did you hear me, Miss Darklight?” Cardon purred, turning his steely gaze on me.

  I shook my head and shrugged, apologising, and asking him to repeat the question. A couple of the mean kids from before laughed at me, the words freak and fucking moron flitting around between them.

  “I asked if you could tell me the names of the Darklight Heirs, and their predecessors. The birth names that is, not the ones you go by now.” I blew out a breath in relief, glad I at least knew one piece of information.

  I gave my answer; Kaida had been called Katarina, and Dari was Annabella, and I was the unfortunate one stuck with Gwendolyn.

  “I know the Queen was called Carissa, and that the King was called George. I presume their surnames were Darklight, though I don’t know who took who’s name when they married.”

  More laughter ensued and I felt the blush returning to my face. Seriously what was wrong with people. Cardon shushed them with a dark look.

  “Correct on all accounts, well done Laina. And as a reminder your father was the Queen’s husband, so he was the one who changed his surname to-”

  Cardon was interrupted with a terrifying scream echoing throughout the walls and the stampeding sounds of footsteps racing. For a single moment everyone was silent, waiting to see what the hell it was. But then the classroom door slammed open, and Novak rushed inside.

  Her usual bright smile was completely gone, and I just knew that whatever it was she was here for, it was bad.

  “There is no need for alarm, but can all students please return to their bedrooms immediately and declare themselves as safe once they do,” she was out of breath and panting like a dog, “there has been a possible shadow spotted on the edge of campus, so I kindly need you all to return to your designated safe spaces immediately!”

  I had never seen people panic so fast. The entire class bolted out the room without a care for any of their belongings or decorum. People were shoved out the way and elbows were thrown into the guts of whoever dared get too close.

  Tory swore under her breath, and I could see the smallest burn of fear in her eyes.

  “Come on little Princess. Let’s run like the wind.” Allie said with a huge grin, grabbing hold of my hand and half pulling me
out the door as she ran.

  Allie had yanked Tory too, and the three of us were sprinting faster than ever to get back to the Royal dorms. I could see the Greenhouse in the distance and knew we were going to be fine. We’d be back to the safety of our rooms in less than five minutes; surely a shadow couldn’t reach us from the other side of campus that fast? Not that I knew much about our so-called enemies.

  “Laina!” I heard a voice shout my name and sighed in relief as I spotted Dari heading towards us.

  We slowed down when we reached her, but I knew we couldn’t stop for long even if I had a stich in my side and hadn’t ran since I was thirteen and got made to try out for track.

  “Have you seen Kaida? She was heading this way and I lost her.” Dari asked, as we all shook our heads.

  Dari bit her lip, tension rolling throughout her body.

  “We’ve come straight from History, but wherever she is I hope she gets indoors.” Tory said, a flicker of concern crossing her face.

  “Cazzo!” Fuck. Dari swore.

  “Yeah, you don’t want to be outside with a shadow; the Guards are pretty much the only ones who know how to kill them properly.” Allie added.