Scholomance 9 by Logan Jacobs (read books for money .TXT) 📕

“Congratulations!” her voice boomed from across the hall. “We finally have our students back! And they have the third and final relic among them! Not to mention two new powerful additions to our academy!”

The applause grew louder, and when I looked at my women, they were all smiling and glowing with pride. Blushes crept across some of their faces, but others wore a proud smirk or a demure smile. The familiars hovered around us, and when Alexander perched himself on my shoulder, his talons gently dug into my skin as his voice slipped into my head.

Well done, Cole, he said in a cheery voice. You did it.

“Thanks, man,” I muttered. “I couldn’t have done it without you, though.”

Yeah, you could, he chuckled, but I’ll admit I did make it easier for you at times.

“You really did,” I answered as the clapping slowly died down, and everyone was silent and waiting for the Headmistress’ next words.

“If you don’t mind, Cole,” Theodora said before she gracefully lifted her hand in the air. “I’ll be taking that.”

I followed her gaze, and I realized she was referring to the silver crown in my hand. My iron-like fingers were white-knuckled around the artifact, but I nodded in Theodora’s direction, and she snapped her fingers. The relic quickly left my tight grasp, floated over to the Headmistress, and hovered inches away from her face. Then she snapped her fingers again, and this time, the crown thinned into nothingness and disappeared from view. I breathed a sigh of relief when it was gone, and it felt like a huge weight was lifted from my shoulders.

“Now,” Professor Luna said in a sing-song voice before she stood up and gestured at the food. The pale-haired professor wore a long silver gown with white feathers on the hem and matching earrings. “Please sit down and enjoy every morsel and drop of wine in front of you! You certainly deserve it!”

I nodded in the pale-blonde professor’s direction, and her smile broadened before she raised her goblet in the air and then took a deep sip. In fact, it looked like she drank the entire helping in one go.

“Still as strange as ever,” Akira snickered behind me, and without even turning around, I could feel Morgana nudging her in the ribs.

Everyone continued to cheer, and as their eyes focused solely on us, a part of me still couldn’t believe we were back. Like the women had said earlier, it really did feel like a dream come true.

Enjoy yourself, Cole, Alexander said in my head. We’ll leave you to it.

“Thanks, man.” I smiled before the familiars flew, slithered, or crawled out of the hall.

There was a table with just enough empty seats for our group behind us, and when I sat down, the women’s clothes and hairstyles immediately changed, as did mine. When I looked down, I saw I was dressed in a deep-blue velvet suit, and every inch of my body felt clean and rejuvenated.

“Wow,” Akira said as she studied her black and purple corset gown and then the wine and food. “This looks incredible.”

“How did Theodora know we were on our way?” Circe asked, and she was dressed in a rose-pink gown with a square neckline and a black diamond choker. “Everything was already prepared. We could have been dead for all she knew.”

“She sensed our victory from me,” Vanessa explained, and her cheeks were so flushed it matched the body-clinging red gown she wore. “We all know how fast she works… I just wish she remembered that technically, I belong at their table, not yours… no offense.”

“None taken, Professor,” Morgana said as she chewed on her lower lip, and she looked down at her deep green gown with a low front cut that was trimmed with black lace. “I-I still can’t believe we’re back at school… it almost doesn’t feel real.”

“I know,” Penelope added, and she smiled as she looked down at her bright gold gown. “It’s a beautiful nightmare come true… thanks to our master, of course.”

“We all had a part to play,” I said as I looked at each beautiful woman. “Thanks to all of you, we’re safely and successfully back.”

The women blushed and muttered their agreements, and then we all started to eat and drink. My plate was filled with mashed pumpkin, roasted quail, grilled leprechaun, baked spiced bread, and fresh, exotic greens, and my goblet was filled to the brim with black wine. When I ate and drank, the spices tingled my taste buds and sent a pleasant shiver through my body, and I still couldn’t believe we were back home eating a proper dinner and celebrating with the other students. My women barely spoke as we devoured our meals, and serene music continued to play in the background.

As I chewed on my food, I couldn’t help but notice how awkward Samara looked in her periwinkle-blue dress. She was an unholy vision dressed to perfection, but still, there was a slight frown etched on her lips as she played with her food. I stared discreetly at her, and when I met her gorgeous ocean-colored eyes, she forced herself to smile, even though she could feel the other students’ unwavering eyes on her. I knew Samara felt uncomfortable, and now that things were different, I wanted to make her feel as relaxed as possible.

“It’s alright, Samara,” I said before I placed my hand on hers. “You’ll officially be one of us soon, and by then, I promise you’ll feel more at home.”

“Oh, you’ll feel a lot more than that,” Akira said with a sexy wink, and it seemed like the usually caustic witch was coming to terms with our coven’s soon-to-be new addition. “Trust me. You won’t be able to walk properly by tomorrow morning.”

“Dear Satan,” Vanessa grunted under her breath before