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

me several metres across the field. I landed on my tailbone and rolled. The hard-packed earth scraped against my rib cage as I landed. I gasped, holding onto my side.

Footsteps thumped ahead of me. Cold slithered down my spine. Inside the prison, I had thought that icy atmosphere was because of the starkness of the building. Now I knew better. Pushing up with my palms, I rose and stood facing Skander. If I weren’t trying to pretend I was more of a badass than I actually was, my jaw would have been scraping the ground.

During my visits, he was a husk of a mage. The draining had taken away more than his magical ability. The man in front of me was in the prime of his life. His skin was a smooth, even tan. His eyes shone with vigour. Around his neck sat a vial of blood on a leather chain. I was royally screwed.

He smiled. Or perhaps not. Maybe he would think I really was Giselle.

“Hello, Alessia.”

Oh brother. I couldn’t catch a break.

“Where is she?”

To my surprise, he inclined his head towards the assembly hall. “She’s gearing up to make this Showcase the most talked about event in supernatural history.”

“Get out of my way.” It would have been much more convincing if I wasn’t holding onto my side and dragging Curtis’s blade with me.

“Afraid I can’t do that.”

“Why are you helping her?” I asked. I watched every twitch in his body for an indication of when he might strike. I knew for certain he would. It was only a matter of time.

“She has the right idea.” He brushed imaginary dirt off his black dress pants. “The Council are a tired construct. It’s time for new leadership.”

“Also, they locked you up and now you’re going to make them pay for it.”

He smirked. There was no mirth in it. In fact, it didn’t even reach close to his eyes. “There is that too. I’m afraid you’re not going to get very far.”

He popped the cork of the vial. The blood inside slithered out and coalesced into a weapon of his own. It bubbled and stretched until he held a ruby long sword in his hands. I knew better than to think this was going to be an actual sword fight. Though it might appear solid, the blood would infect anything it touched. Basil had taught me that much. Blood magic wasn’t something to be trifled with.

As he took a step forward, I cut my palm open with Curtis’s sword. I let it drop to the ground as I used my own blood to draw a protective circle around myself. Skander broke into a run. He raised his arm mid-way and launched the sword at me. My circle was almost complete. The tip of his sword pierced through the opening in the circle. An ice pick of pain stabbed me through the brain. I screamed and curled into a ball, clutching at my head.

My vision swam. The earth shuddered as Skander’s body landed beside me. I scrambled backwards. He reached out and tried to grab my arm. His flingers slipped off as I pushed away. I drew another circle in my mind, this one composed purely of hedge magic. Skander marched forward and slammed right into the barrier of the circle. Grinning, he punched a fist into the barrier. It held.

He showed no signs of stopping. I scented metal and swiped my hand under my nose. It came away coated with blood.

“Funny, little kitten,” Skander said. He placed his hand flat against the air in front of him. The blood sword disintegrated and formed a swirl of crimson. When he drew the next circle, it felt like someone was using a razor to scrape against my skin. The patch of flesh where he’d touched me burned. I looked down to find a smudge of blood where he’d touched me. Panicked, I scrubbed at the blood to get it off me. My mind felt like it was made of cotton wool. If I didn’t do something soon, I would black out and they’d win.

Kneeling, I tapped into the well of magic. It was beginning to wane. I had to make a choice. Either I kept it directed at the senior campus to protect those who were inside, or I drew it back to help me stay alive. My moment of hesitation allowed Skander to regroup. When my circle flickered, he wedged his blood into a gap and used it to pry the magic apart.

I groaned as the circle broke.

Basil’s voice spoke in my head. “Blood magic is just as much about intent as other magic,” Basil said. “Only you have to mean what you think. Only use it if you’re willing to live with the consequences.”

Skander stood over my crouched body. He fashioned his blood back into a sword. Out of options, I yanked a chunk of grass from the ground and threw it in his face. He sputtered but it didn’t even slow him down. He raised his sword over his head. I had to pull my magic back from the trees. Except when I closed my eyes, I saw that they had created a barrier between the demons streaming out of the portals and the students who were weak and hiding wherever they could. If I saved myself, it was likely they would all die.

I squeezed my eyes shut. The whine was unintentional, but I forgave myself that one weakness given the circumstances.

Promise me you’ll come get me, I thought to Azrael.

A peaceful calm settled over me. It was completely at odds with the ferocious growl that pierced the night air. About when I expected Skander’s blade to strike, a body slammed into my side and pushed me clear across the grass. Thick arms curled around me to take the pressure of the impact as we rolled. My world turned upside down as I tried to absorb everything that was happening.

My nose told me it was Charles who had saved my