Red rose academy year th.., p.1
Red Rose Academy Year Three: Paranormal Academy Romance, page 1
Red Rose Academy Year Three
M GUIDA
Copyright © 2023 by M Guida
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Created with Vellum
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Dear Reader
About the Author
Also by M Guida
Chapter
One
End of May
Summer Sessions Begin
I stood in the dim inner sanctum of the Nightshade family crypt, trembling as I tried to wrap my head around what was happening. The air was heavy with the scent of ancient magic and dust, and my heart pounded furiously in my chest. I looked around wildly at the bookcases filled with spell books, candles, potions and cauldrons, unsure what to do.
I could barely breathe as the Dark Demon Ari clutched Bellona and Valentin by their throats. Their legs dangled helplessly, their feet kicking the air. Bellona’s black fur was standing on end, her tail lashing as she desperately clawed at Ari’s arm.
It didn’t even faze him.
She looked at me, her huge golden eyes, which were filling with terror, and I heard her pleading in my mind.
Rose…you have to do something.
My father—no, not my father, just Grayson Allen now…that was still taking some getting used to—scanned the inner sanctum and folded his arms. Amusement flashed in his gray eyes. “What are you going to do now—daughter?” His hard voice was like a judge slamming his gavel down, sentencing me to being a big fat failure.
Hate swelled in my chest that he was still calling me that. How could he stand there dressed in his perfect suit, enjoying our despair? But then again, Grayson was a sadist and he liked to make not only me squirm, but also any of the underlings that worked beneath him. His biggest joy was finding their weaknesses and then using it against them.
Dressed like a rock star in his leather digs, Ari glared at me. “I’m waiting.” He shook Valentin and Bellona like two rag dolls, making their eyes ricochet around like a set of white bollard balls. “I said to choose. Which one lives and which ones dies?”
I put my shaking palms up. “Please, no. Don’t hurt them.”
“You really shouldn’t have angered the Master,” he quipped.
“Rose, you’re strong,” Valentin gasped, his voice barely audible as he struggled for breath, his hands pulling on Ari’s coiled fingers. “You can save us.”
But his face was turning a ghastly shade of purple as Ari tightened his grip on his throat like a boa constrictor strangling its prey. Valentin’s arms grew limp and fell at his sides.
His words sparked determination within me. I refused to let them die. I called upon my telekinetic powers, willing them to work against Ari.
Candles glowed brighter, their flames reaching for the ceiling. Spell books flew through the air like bats and smashed into Ari’s body. Cauldrons spun around him like whirlpools, and he laughed in response—a cruel smirk stretching across his lips.
Spell books dive-bombed Ari, smacking him in the head. Cauldrons smashed into his body.
Ari laughed and gave me a you’re-such-a-stupid-silly-girl smile. “Seriously? That’s the best you can do?”
The candles dimmed and the books fell limply onto the floor, landing with a loud splat. Cauldrons rolled away in defeat.
Once again, my telekinesis had failed me—it was no match for a demon as strong as Ari.
“Is that really all you’ve got?” With his dark red eyes and shiny, sharp teeth, Ari flashed me a sinister grin that came right out of hell, turning my blood cold. “Pathetic. Tell me, Rose…” he sneered, his red eyes boring into mine as he dangled Valentin and Bellona in the air, their gasps for breath growing more desperate by the second. “How does it feel to know you’ve failed the ones you care about the most?”
I can’t breathe, Rose! Bellona’s panicked thought pierced my mind, her small body convulsing in Ari’s cruel grip.
Suddenly, fury exploded inside me—a tsunami of emotions that I could no longer contain. My hands trembled as the force building within me rose up and surged out my fingertips. Colors swirled around my hands and arms like a blue, silver, and white fire.
But it wasn’t hot.
It was freezing.
SSSSSSTTT
My eyes widened as an icy cold silenced my breath and goosebumps broke out all over me—doubling, tripling, quadrupling, sweeping over me like an avalanche.
Ari’s face twisted with shock as he watched his fingers yanked back one by one, as though pulled by invisible strings.
He snarled and sputtered and shrieked through his gritted teeth. “What kind of sorcery is this?” His words reached the fervent pitch of a squawking crow.
He tried to grip Bellona’s and Valentin’s necks, but his hands went slack and his arms dropped uselessly to his side.
Luckily, Bellona and Valentin fell onto the hard floor, gasping for breath. Their eyes watered as if they were crying.
I rushed over to them, panic swelling, swelling, swelling inside me until everything stopped—my heart, my blood, my breath. Everything stopped, but the swelling fear of losing everyone I held dear.
I placed my trembling palms on Valentin’s reddened face. “Are you okay?” My voice shook as badly as my hands.
Ari scowled and rushed toward us. But unbelievably, the same arc of rainbow-like energy moved in front of us like a living shield, protecting Valentin, Bellona, and myself and keeping Ari back against the wall. I had no idea how I was doing this or how long it would last, but I could feel the magic inside me pushing away evil.
The strange symbols etched into the walls glowed, turning first blue, then purple, pink, and green. I could feel the magic pulsing through them, making every hair on my body stand up.
Then the rainbow of colors swirled around my hands once more and then settled on them, like a swirling, glowing tattoo.
Valentin blinked his eyes. “No, not really. But at least I can breathe.” Blood trickled down the three ugly scratches on his neck. I could see faint black lines radiating out from the bloody marks like spiderwebs. Crap, he was infected with dead demon blood. Dead demon blood could kill a vampire and a definitely a familiar. Time was an enemy, a deadly enemy.
Desperation. Despair. Determination—all descended onto me at once like heavy weights, pulling me down into a muddled confusion. But I couldn’t give up. Valentin’s and Bellona’s lives depended on me finding a way out of here.
I picked up Bellona’s limp body, and she had the same ugly scrapes around her neck. She shook uncontrollably and her voice in my mind was very weak. I knew you could do it.
Valentin clasped my arm with his shaking hand and cleared his throat. “I knew…you could do it. But how?” His croaking, choking tone was like a dying toad’s.
Bam Bam Bam
Ari slammed his shoulder into the force field that separated us and I jumped, my bones rattling.
“How?” Valentin coughed and sputtered and then rubbed his throat. The long, spindly black lines had grown darker, disappearing below his T-shirt. The dead demon blood was spreading, creeping toward his heart.
I raked my fingers through my hair. “I don’t know,” I admitted, my own amazement mirrored in Valentin’s eyes. “But we need to get out of here quick, before Ari breaks through that.”
Time ticked away and I was no closer to finding a way out of here.
Grayson was still lurking just outside the sanctum, unable to enter without an invitation. He didn’t seem to care that Ari was trapped close to the wall. To him, Ari was just another underling, easily dismissed. With his smug grin and the merriment in his eyes, Grayson seemed to be eagerly enjoying the show, anticipating who wall fall first.
But we all knew this was only temporary. Ari would break through and then Valentin, Bellona and I were all dead.
Grayson’s smug grin fueled my anger, knowing he was responsible for this nightmare.
“You’ll never get out,” he taunted. “You’re trapped here until I and my hex bag decide you can leave.”
“Let Valentin and Bellona go free. They’ve been infected with dead demon blood.” I couldn’t keep the desperation out of my voice, but my pathetic plea fell on deaf ears like it always did.
There was no mercy, no pity, no humanity in his eyes. Only pure evil looked back at me, and he broke out into a gleeful I-won-and-you-lost grin.
He chuckled. “Like I care.” He glanced over at Ari. “He’ll be free soon. If you beg for mercy, I might ask him to spare your life.”<
There was no limit to his evil, an evil that fed on the suffering of others.
I narrowed my eyes. I didn’t even know if it would work or not. But I pushed my palms toward Grayson and the same energy field moved around him, trapping him in a rainbow bubble.
“What are you doing?” Grayson moved his palms around on the iridescent force field like a bad mime. “Let me out, bitch!”
He kicked and slammed his fist into the bubble, making it shimmer and shake, but it held. For now, it was unbreakable. “I won’t forget this!”
I glared at him. “Neither will I.”
Boom Boom Boom
Ari smashed his fists against the force field. “When I get out of here, you’re all dead.”
He dragged his long fingernails down the bubble and then he jammed his nails into the field again and again, trying to pierce or rip it open. But the barrier remained impenetrable. I could feel the energy coursing through me, fueling the shield that protected Valentin, Bellona, and myself.
But how long would it last?
I rushed over to Valentin, fear clutching at my heart. I couldn’t lose him. Not now. I pushed his hair back from his slick forehead. “I have to get you out of here.”
I stood on my shaky legs, looking around the inner sanctum, trying to ignore Grayson’s threats and Ari’s interminable pounding.
Search the wall, Bellona urged.
Not questioning her, I ran my palms over the walls, hoping I would trip a secret passage like in the movies. My fingers fell across something small, round, and smooth, and I noticed it was a crescent moon button etched into the wall. Without hesitation, I pressed it, and a secret entrance opened, revealing the graveyard.
Dawn was approaching, turning the clouds overhead pink and orange.
I grabbed Valentin’s hand and pulled him to his feet. “Come on, we’ve got to go.”
“You can’t escape forever,” Ari warned. “We’ll find you and you’ll be sorry.” His menacing tone promised pain and more pain, and every hair on the back of my neck stood straight up.
As soon as we stepped into the graveyard, the colorful tattoos on my hands faded and I could sense my strange new powers weakening. We couldn’t afford to slow down. I had a feeling once the tattoos were gone Ari and Grayson would be able to escape and pursue us.
I held Valentin’s cold, clammy hand as we threaded our way through the dark maze of crypts. Valentin and Bellona began to falter, their bodies weakened by the dead demon blood coursing through their veins.
But the further I got away from the crypt, the lighter and lighter my tattoos got, the power slowly slipping away.
I could see the exit. We were only a few blocks from Red Rose Academy. The sun was just peeking over the horizon, and I could see the roofs of the school buildings. It was so close but at the same time felt so far away.
“Almost there,” I whispered, my heart pounding in my chest as adrenaline coursed through my veins.
“Rose, I really can’t go any further,” Valentin whispered, his body trembling, his feet stumbling over the cobblestones. His feverish tone warned that time was catching up to us, and if I didn’t get him to Red Rose Academy, I’d lose him forever.
Neither can I. Bellona added, her small form collapsing against the cold stone path.
“Please, you have to keep going,” I urged them, scooping Bellona up into my arms.
I pulled on Valentin’s arm, but he dropped to knees, all his energy was spent. “I’m sorry. I can’t.” His normally vibrant brown eyes were now clouded with pain and threatened to roll back into his head, his face pale and gaunt.
“Valentin!” I screamed, dropping to my knees beside him. I shook him hard. “Don’t pass out. Please, stay with me. I can’t lose you.”
“Rose…” He gasped, reaching for my hand. “You’re safe...that’s all that matters.”
“Stay with me, Valentin,” I choked out, tears streaming down my cheeks as I clutched his hand. “Please, please, don’t leave me. I need you.”
But his eyes fluttered shut and his head tilted back as he collapsed on the cobblestones with a heavy thud. I shook his shoulder.
“Valentin, Valentin. Wake up.” My voice rose to a fever pitch—a terrified woman in danger of losing the man she loved.
But he was barely even breathing. This fucking sucked.
I turned to Bellona, who lay motionless on the cold earth. Her once-glossy black fur was dull and matted, and her ears were flattened back against her head. She looked up at me with weak, pleading eyes. I couldn’t bear to lose her, either.
Rose, you need to leave us. Go get help.
Never. I shook my head vehemently. My tattoos are fading and when they’re completely gone, Ari and Grayson will be able to escape, I’m sure of it. They’ll kill you both.
No. Go now. Before it’s too late. Then, like Valentin’s, Bellona’s eyes slowly closed.
Bellona! Bellona!
She didn’t answer me.
Shitshitshitshit
I could carry Bellona, but there was no way I could carry Valentin. We were so screwed. My tattoos were barely visible. I could feel the coolness leaving me. When it was gone, I had no doubt that Ari and Grayson would be free, and then they would hunt us down like hell hounds.
Headmaster Tarus. He could help us. He was strong enough to fight off Ari and Grayson.
I couldn’t just stand here. I had to make a choice I didn’t want to make. The only thing I could do was draw on my vampire speed and get to Red Rose Academy and hope I could get Headmaster back here before Ari and Grayson escaped.
Tears blurred my eyes. “Stay strong, Valentin. I promise I’ll be back for you,” I whispered fiercely, pressing a gentle kiss to his sweaty forehead before picking up Bellona.
My heart ached at the thought of leaving Valentin behind, even for a moment, but what else could I do?
If only I had the Fury sword with me. Then maybe we would have had a chance.
“You’re not going to abandon my brother to certain death, are you, beautiful?”
Chapter
Two
Dimitri stepped out from behind a mausoleum and folded his arms across his chest. He looked handsome as ever with his dark wispy hair and dark eyes. In his dark blue jeans and leather jacket, he looked like the ultimate bad boy.
Well, let’s face it—he was.
“Dimitri,” I cried out panic. “Help me. Please.”
He glanced at my hands and then over to the Nightshade crypt. The cool rainbow colors around the crypt had faded and were almost as translucent as the ones on my hands.
He slowly cocked his eyebrow. “So, I take it you locked up Ari and Grayson in the crypt?”
My eyes widened. “How did you know?”
He shrugged. “I followed them. But unlike Grayson, I was smart enough not to go into the crypt.” Something in his voice put my guard up.
Grayson was many things, but stupid wasn’t one of them.
I studied him, trying to peel back the onion to figure out what he was hiding. But he was a magician of many faces and only allowed me to see what he wanted me to see—a smile, a frown, a chuckle, a glint in his eyes—but never letting me see what was really behind the mask. “How did you know that wouldn’t be a good idea?”
He grabbed Valentin’s arm and flung it over his shoulder. “Right now is not the time to satisfy your curiosity, beautiful. Bad and Badder over there are about to break through your magic barrier.”
I followed his gaze. The rainbow hues that had been painting the crypt were beginning to fade away. Sunlight shone through the dwindling colors, revealing movement inside. But its warm rays missed me. Instead, icy cold fear clutched my heart and paralyzed my lungs and legs.
“Oh shit,” I whispered, clutching Bellona tightly in my arms.
“Come on. Let’s haul ass.” His urgent voice snapped me out of my trance, melting the cold gripping me.
