Bloodline Secrecy: A Young Adult Urban Fantasy Academy Novel (Bloodline Academy Book 2) by Lan Chan (best e ink reader for manga TXT) 📕

Cassie was riveted by the topic. So were most of the other kids. I bet their parents scared them with the stories but never actually spoke to them about the specifics. She raised her hand. The professor pointed to her.

“How would we be able to defend ourselves against them if they don’t follow the same rules that we do?”

“That’s what we’re going to try and figure out in these lessons.”

“Is it true that low-magic users are immune to the Soul Sisterhood?” Charles asked. He eyed me speculatively. He was cruising for a bruising.

“Nothing has really been established in that area.”

Although now that Charles had opened that floodgate, there were a few things I wanted to know as well. I raised my hand but spoke regardless. “Why didn’t the seraphim document any of this so we wouldn’t be chasing our tails now?”

The professor frowned. It seemed that it was a question she had been grappling with as well. “Nobody knows for sure. I’m certain that over the years the seraphim have been questioned about it. But I suspect it is because the Sisterhood do not recognise the authority of the seraphim.”

“But they must!” Maddison protested. “The seraphim govern all dimensions.”

“The seraphim govern our dimensions. Some believe there are many others that haven’t been discovered. The seraphim were also the ones who allowed the barriers to fall. They allowed demons as well as other beings to invade the Earth.”

“That’s blasphemy,” Maddison insisted.

“It’s the truth. Whether we believe it or not and whether it’s a controversy we cannot abide, we have to accept it for what it is. We must work on the assumption that the Sisterhood have never before nor will they ever be restrained by the rule of Seraphim Law.”

“Does this mean that they could be conspiring with their low-magic counterparts?” Maddison pressed. Now everyone turned and looked at me. But Professor Magnus shook her head gravely.

“Quite the contrary. The Nephilim have brought the low-magic users into their fold. If anything, low-magic users are probably now considered traitors to their own kind.”

Huh, I hadn’t thought of it that way. My shoulders slumped. “Thanks a lot, guys.” Cassie patted my hand. Like that was supposed to be some kind of consolation.

8

For some reason the school board had thought it necessary for me to learn Dead Languages. I knew Diana and the others took the senior classes, but they actually used the languages in their ceremonies and spells. Yours truly couldn’t even get her mouth to form some of the vowels.

Cassie and Luther doubled over laughing as I tried to make heads or tails of the Fae language. “Why can’t people just write stuff the way they’re pronounced?” I groaned.

I was more than happy to leave it behind for lunch. That feeling lasted about two seconds. It was as though the dining hall was waiting for Sophie and me to arrive so that they could start gawking at us.

“What’s going on?” I hissed.

“Did you cover the Soul Sisterhood in your Demonology class today?” Sophie asked.

“Yeah.”

“We covered it in Magical History even though we did it in the junior school,” Sophie said.

“And in Dimension Integration,” Sasha said, cutting in front of us.

“Hey!” someone behind called out. Sasha levelled them with a dead-eyed stare. I never noticed how pale his features were. Or how cold his eyes could become. The protest behind us died down.

“You should stop doing that,” I said.

“Takes too long to wait.”

“Tough,” Sophie said. “We’re getting enough heat as it is. We don’t need this drawing attention to us.”

It appeared that despite what Professor Magnus had said about low-magic users being on the same hit list as supernaturals, the lesson didn’t take. Any clout we’re managed to claw back over the last six months slipped away. The narrow-eyed looks we got said that we were firmly back down on the totem pole. Dammit!

Sasha placed two cartons of blood onto his tray. “Where does that stuff come from?” I asked.

He cocked his head to the side. “This is the lower-grade stuff. They bleed animals for it.”

“And the higher-grade stuff?”

Sasha went quiet. “If I tell you, it’ll only upset you.”

“Try me.”

“I’d rather not.”

“Sasha!”

“Go and look it up in the library. I don’t want to get punched.”

“Soph?”

She blinked. “There are humans who are paid for their blood,” she said. “The vampires have a contract with some of the blood banks.”

Sasha had been right. I did want to punch someone. “How much do the humans get paid?”

“Nobody knows. The vampires keep the contract terms very closely guarded.”

“They’re feeding off us.”

“I’m going to go away now,” Sasha announced. He melted into the crowd.

“You know what?” I said to Sophie. “I know it’s embarrassing but I’m glad your parents are doing this. We need a voice.”

“You say that now but just wait until they have you canvassing the streets to get signatures.”

It seemed to me to be a small price to pay.

Since it was the first day of class, the hall was more packed than usual. We were coming up short trying to find a place to sit. Sophie managed to find a couple of spare seats at the end of a table by the bathroom. The vamps already at the table placed their bags and books pointedly in our way.

Sophie took in a slow breath. Instead of engaging, she resumed her search.

“Why aren’t the shifters at least being nice to us?” I asked. “I saved their alpha’s life!”

“It’s a toss-up,” she said. “You saved Durin versus you potentially leading a demon army against us. It cancels each other out. This is ridiculous. Let’s eat in the room.”

I didn’t like the idea of running away but we were pressed for time. Sophie was grumbling about how stupid some people were when she stopped walking and frowned. I followed the direction of her gaze and halted. A red haze filtered over my vision. Someone had spray painted the words “Demon Lover” over our door.

“Ignore it,”