Page 7 of Goody Magic Academy: Year Three

The door shuddered and shook under a heavy impact. Just like Jaxon said, there was an emblem of a cat carved into it. With one last desperate look around the tunnel, I steeled myself for what lay ahead.

I tapped on the cat three times like he had said to do. The lock clicked open softly.

I reached for the handle, but the door swung wide by itself.

Chapter

Four

My pulse skipped. Oh, shit.

A dark hooded figure stood just beyond the open doorway, moonlight glistening around his head like a sinister halo. My stomach dropped. It was a member of the Bloodborne Brotherhood. That’s who had been tapping on the damn door.

Run. NOW.

I spun around, gasping for air. The rough stone of the tunnel scraped my palms as I scrambled to escape?—

WHAM!

A vice-like grip clamped around my wrist. I yelped, the sound echoing off the walls. No no nono.

Adrenaline surged through me. I lashed out, my foot connecting with something solid with a resoundingthud.

“Peyton, stop. It’s me.”

The familiar voice sliced through my panic like a knife. I froze, my body still coiled tight as a spring.

“Jaxon? Is that really you?” My voice trembled, hope and fear battling in my chest.

“Yes.” He pulled me to him, my skin tingling at his touch. His handsome face emerged from the shadows, sending that familiar flutter through my stomach.

“You have to leave the academy.” The urgency in his tone turned my blood to ice. “It’s not safe here for you to stay in town. The Bloodborne Brotherhood has taken over.”

My muscles tensed and a cold stone settled in the pit of my stomach as I shook my head vehemently, my body trembling with fear and defiance. “I’m not leaving. Both my parents are here. My mother’s in a coma, and you yourself said my dad’s rotting in a jail cell.”

He clasped my arms hard, his fingers digging into my flesh. “Listen to me.” His tone was insistent. “The only way you can defeat the high priestess is if you go to New Orleans. The Dragon Nexus is there.”

I stared at him suspiciously. “How do you know?”

He released my arms and ran his fingers through his thick hair. “Your dad told me.”

The blood drained from my face and a cold wave washed over me from head to toe as my knees buckled momentarily. “What?” The single word was all I could squeeze out of my tight throat.

“I told you, he hid the Nexus from the high priestess. That’s why he was imprisoned.” Jaxon’s words hit like cold, sharp slaps. “He hid it in New Orleans in a family crypt. He told me the Bloodborne Brotherhood only knows it’s in New Orleans, but not exactly where.”

His eyes darted around the dark courtyard as if he were checking for eavesdroppers hiding in the shadows. He lowered his voice to an urgent whisper. “Your dad told me it’s an ancient gem, pulsing with raw power. Legend says it grants control over the black dragons. If the high priestess gets her hands on it...”

Panic rolled through me like a torrid storm. I had to get to New Orleans, but it wasn’t like I was rolling in money. Everydime we had went to pay for mom’s nursing home. I swallowed hard, my throat dry with anxiety. “How are we going to get there?”

Jaxon’s gaze raked over me, his eyes intense as he sized me up. “Can you shift? Dragon speed is even faster than an airplane.”

My stomach lurched at the thought, turning my gut into an unstable washing machine. “Are you serious? I can barely control it.”

His brow furrowed as he thought. “Okay. Then we’ll need help.” He took my hand. “Let’s go. They’re coming.”

Jaxon grasped my hand, his grip firm and urgent. He led me through the shadows of the courtyard as men in robes descended like swarms of locusts. We had to cross the courtyard to get to the faculty apartments and every nerve in my body was on high alert, my skin prickling with the sensation of unseen eyes watching us.

The bright moonlight was our enemy, painting us in stark silver that felt like a spotlight. Every shadow seemed to harbor watchful eyes. I wished there were clouds overhead, but the sky overhead stretched out vast and clear.

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