MAYA'S POV

I peek to glance at my arm, but the light is still flashing bright, almost threatening to blind me. I try to move my arms, but I feel an impossible weight on them. What the hell? I stay stiff for a few seconds before the light gradually dims and life returns to my arm. I fling it in the air. "What just happened to me?"

Jaden says nothing but just stares at me. "Maybe it's the academy's way of welcoming you back." He stands to his feet.

"Welcoming me back? But I was never here?" I'm so confused. How do I believe this crimson-eyed, pale-looking guy?

He gets to the wall, biting his pinky finger and spilling blood; the door reappears.

"Where are you going? Aren't we supposed to wait for the Grandmistress?" I counter, but still follow him.

"I don't need a freak to tour me around. I know everywhere in this academy. I only came to the office to welcome my queen back home." He smirks, and fangs peek through his lips.

"What queen? Can you explain everything going on here? I'm not even supposed to be here."

"You really don't remember anything?" He turns to me, leaning in slightly to stare into my eyes.

I look away. He has the most hypnotic eyes I've ever seen. "If I did, why would I still be asking?

He sighs and bites his lips. I can't lie; he looks so mysterious, like someone hiding dark secrets.

"There's nothing to say. You're not supposed to know more than the academy lets on." He unlocks the door and holds it open for me. "Ladies first." He steps out after me, holding my hands and leading me to the stairs. "Do you trust me?"

"How can I trust you? I don't even know you." I pull out from his hold. I hate this weird burning sensation I feel whenever he touches me. I run my hands over my body to stop the chills from spreading. I turn the opposite direction and start heading for the academy's grand doors.

He doesn't even come after me, but I feel his sharp gaze on me. "You can't just walk out of Blood Valley Academy. It doesn't work that way. You'll die." His lazy voice calls after me. He sounds so spoiled, like someone who's used to having his way.

I ignore him and keep marching for the door. I hope this one doesn't disappear when I reach it. How would I even open it?

"It'd be a shame to watch the queen burn to death in the very red sea she set against her foes." He adds more energy to his voice, shouting and sounding more serious this time.

I stop. "What do you mean?"

"If you walk out through that gate without being prepared, you'll die. Forget the boiling red sea; there are lost souls and forgotten kings lurking beneath the valley for souls. They're other academies raging war against the Blood Valley." In a split second, he's by my side. How did he walk so fast?

He walks in slow circles around me, and I feel wild sensations all around me. Why am I reacting like this to him? I've never felt this...not even with the boy I loved my whole life. "If you want to leave here, you need to regain your powers. And while you're in the academy, you have to study this place because if you fail the academy's test, you also die here." He chucks my chin and lowers his head, whispering against my lips. "You need to trust me. I'm the only one who can help you."

I try to steady my breathing, but it's impossible. I wet my lips and gulp. He says I should trust him, but with his looks—the tattoo, slick hair, ring on fingers, and perfect face—he looks like the last person anyone should trust. I take deep breaths and try to sound unaffected by his closeness when I ask my next question. "Could you speak plainly for once?" But my voice still betrays me by cracking.

"Plainly? Fine, you leave, you die. You stay, you fight; that's the Blood Valley laws." He bites his lips with his sharp fangs, and blood drops to the ground. His fingers move from my chin to my neck, caressing gently, and it feels so good.

I feel warm heat on my waist—lower, between my thighs. "Why are you helping?"

He rest his nose on my neck, and it's so warm. He sniffs in and lets out a satisfied grunt. "Let's just say you owe me a favor, mate, and when the time is right, you'll repay me as the hex queen." He whispers, his breath brushing my lips. I think he's about to kiss me, but he quickly steps back shaking his head and mumbling something.

Breathe. Breathe. Breathe!!! I step back too. "Why are you speaking in so many riddles? If you know something, just tell me already." I throw my hands up in the air.

He flashes me a smug grin and heads for the staircase. "I know you're my mate."

"What's a mate?" I hurry after him.

"Fuck, my queen." He chuckles. "California really did you dirty."

"How do you know where I live!?" I snap and stop moving. I'm just realizing all I've been asking so far is questions, but I've not gotten any answers.

He just laughs, but there's nothing sweet or humorous about it. It's the dangerous kind, the laugh a predator flashes before lunging on his prey. "How I know where you live is the least important thing to freak over." He climbs the stairs to the fourth floor, where he takes a left turn. "You should know not everyone in this academy is your friend, and you have to activate your sixth sense on who to trust—"

"I don't plan on staying here for long. How do I get out?" I cut him off. I feel much bolder now that he's not touching me and I'm not under any lust spell.

We burst into a long hallway with lockers on either side of the walls. Shit! Am I in high school again?

"I'll make a blood ritual to get you out, but you just have to do as I tell you, and you'll be out of the academy in no time. Maya—my queen." He corrects himself, and gently grabs my wrist turning me to face him. "This conversation never happened. You can't discuss it with anybody because you don't know who's the real enemy."

"Okay, freak." I say, though my voice cracks. I can't even use humor to hide my fear anymore.

"You think I'm a freak?" He chuckles, stepping in front of me to unlock one of the lockers. "Wait until you attend magical objects 201." He unlocks the door and throws his hands in the air as if unveiling something. "Let the freak show begin!"

We walk through the door and step into a field. A field in a room? I turn back, but the door has already vanished. Jaden leads me through the clearing to a class. The space is covered by flowery branches and bushes. I barely have time to appreciate the architecture and decor of the class when a magical surge happens.

Objects glow and clash against each other; spell portions spill on their own accord. The ground begins to quake, and everyone is staring at me. I see clear reflections of everyone's mind, their fears and thoughts mirroring before me.

Some people scream at me while others try to conjure up their powers. The sky rumbles in anger; people duck their heads down as hot stones fall from above.

I feel my blood pressure awkwardly high, and my entire body feels a kind of heat I've never felt before. I start convulsing on the ground. The leaves wither, and birds fly away in a loud cry. Jaden kneels beside me to touch me, but the professor in charge of the class shouts to let me be.

The professor climbs on a high podium in the class and begins mixing portions and ranting enhancements as his scrawny fingers eagerly swipe through pages of spell books.

My eyes lock on the mirror man; he looks as mad as ever. I glance at the man from my dream who's physically present. He's leaning into the mirror guy and whispering something; he looks concerned.

I choke on a scream and clutch my chest as I try to control whatever power is surging through me, and that's when I notice someone new watching me.

A muscular man standing in the corner with his eyes snapped open in fear. "It's impossible." His lips don't move, but I can feel his voice in my mind. "I watched you die." He adds, staggering back like he's seen a ghost.

My body is still in so much pain, the ground is trembling beneath me, but all my mind is worried about right now is the meaning of what he's just said.