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

“Something’s in there with them!” Sophie yelled.

The guards were already converging on the door to the arena. The red light surrounding the seals of the door continued to pulse. Mr. Thompson was leaning on the door, his palms spread out in front of him.

My head pivoted to the screen. The mirrors were running on overload, capturing the confused expressions of the contenders. Something reached into my chest when Diana’s frozen form was displayed on screen. She was hunkered down in the marshy bank of a stream in between the reeds. It was clear by her stealth camouflage that she had figured out something had gone wrong. I watched as one of the younger contestants stumbled upon her. She reached out and yanked the boy down, holding him until he stopped struggling, her words urgent in his ear.

Things had gone eerily quiet. I sprinted to the arena doors.

More guards streamed in. After failing to open the doors via magical means, they were now attempting to pry it open physically. As if that would work!

“Why is it so quiet in there?” I asked.

Mr. Thompson glared at me. Aggression skirted over my skin. His once-grey eyes were now ringed in gold. Shayla clamped a hand on his shoulder.

“We’re trying to shut down the program,” he growled.

“Alistair,” Shayla said. She dug nails into his flesh. Claws pricked out of his fingertips. “Hold it together.”

“No,” I said. “You need to keep the program running. If you shut it down, they’ll be sitting ducks. Turn the sound back on. Give it everything you’ve got. Otherwise, she’s just going to pick them off one by one.”

“She?” Shayla said, alarm creeping into her voice. “You don’t mean...?”

“I think so, too,” Sophie said. “There are shadows all over the screen when I try to look at it.” Her eyes were beginning to mist. The same terror I felt displayed on her face.

Bright bursts of energy signalled the arrival of others. Professor Mortimer and Jacqueline appeared at my side, teleported by a straight-faced Astrid. She said nothing as she stood there for a moment, her light blue aura glowing frantically.

“I can’t teleport in,” she said. Her fist made contact with the door sending sparks radiating around and my heartbeat skyrocketing. For the first time since I’d know her, Astrid appeared flustered. She manifested her blade, a short rapier that was fitting for her lithe frame. The impact of it as she smashed it against the doors was no less brutal than any other angel blade. It still had little effect.

“Step aside,” Professor Mortimer said. Unlike schools in the human world, the supernaturals put great importance on employing the best possible teachers for their children. It was why the professors in the school were amongst the most powerful magic users in the world. Professor Magnus arrived just then. The two professors surveyed the sealed door.

“They’ve woven a circle into the magic,” Professor Magnus said.

“Can you undo it?” Jacqueline asked.

“Yes, but it might take a little time.”

The headmistress looked into the mirrored screens. The competitors were beginning to find each other. All except Kai who was keeping himself at a wary distance. Max was rounding up the younger kids, ordering the older ones to stand guard around them.

“Get to it,” Jacqueline said.

“Why do they keep targeting us?” Alastair asked, his eyes now completely golden. I understood how he felt. If this was a fight involving brute strength, he would have the advantage. But for non-magic users, it was difficult to break through these types of spells unless they wanted to hurt themselves badly. The only way they could counter-attack would be to kill the magic user. If he could get to them, I imagined Alastair would tear the Sisterhood limb from limb.

I was standing there watching the lines of worry play over Sophie’s face when she turned her head towards me. There was a second of absolute stillness. Her pupils were dark baubles against the growing whites in her eyes. And then something tore inside my mind.

I screamed and doubled over. The cornucopias that served as amplifiers for the magic users blared out feedback as somebody inside the arena echoed my screams.

Kai.

If I had not heard that cry a hundred times in my head, I would have been paralysed by it. The absolute agony of his deep timbre lanced through my soul.

“Merciful heaven,” someone in the crowd gasped. Voices crying out in fear hit me. The shifters and other competitors were terrified. The block on the door did nothing to dampen the emotions that permeated the arena. Around me, shifters growled in a chorus.

“Hold,” Alistair snarled. His voice had gone predator sharp. What part of my mind that was still cognitive was glad. The last thing we needed right now was for the shifters to lose their shit.

Sophie wrapped her arms around me. “Lex!”

I couldn’t breathe. The world disintegrated in the wake of the terrible pain that radiated through my entire body. Before I knew what was happening, I shoved Sophie away and was drawing a circle in the sand.

“Nobody go near her,” Professor Mortimer’s voice said. “Alessia, you need blood. It’s the only way to counter it.” I felt him pressing a smooth metallic object into my palm. A knife.

I did need blood. But more than that, I needed strength. Shutting out the world, I dived into the swell of power inside my mind. Sweeping aside the blue of the hedge-witch magic, I called upon the dark power that dwelled beneath.

When I beckoned, the power surged to the surface. I could hear the low vibration of it, like a cat purring to be allowed free. I snapped my eyes open, lifting my head to the mirror screens for the first time since Kai was attacked.

I locked my gaze on his figure where he was doubled over. While the mirrors showed me only that which mortal eyes could comprehend, the magic showed me