Page 14 of Blood & Betrayals

She swaps my phone for her coffee, and I scroll through the profile she’s made for me.

“Okay, I just need to tag@RaysofSummer.”

The second Alice tags me in the post, my phone blows up with notifications as people follow me, obviously intrigued by the new weirdo who causes fights at the hottest party of the night.

“I can’t believe I’m friends with someone who pouts in photos.” Alice nudges me, rolling her eyes.

I look at the photo. “What? It’s good!”

She mimics my artful pout. “Is this how you practice it?”

I roll my eyes, nudging her. “You’re an asshole.”

“You know, the other benefit to havingNexusis that you can access your class schedule on the app. The whole school uses it, and there’s a portal for official school stuff only. Rumor is it started as a way to get school information to students fast, but eventually, it spiraled into a more social networking thing. And it’s not just Avalon exclusive anymore. People from all over the realms use it.”

I scroll through the app and pull up my schedule. My interest piques when I notice that my first class is Realms 100, and Alice is in it as well. The last book I read was on Realms, specifically this one. Alice is decidedly less enthused about the idea of going to class, and when we arrive, she tugs me to the back row of the classroom. I pull out my notebook, so ready to learn and excited to be in a place that reveres knowledge and hands it out.

A handsome sorcerer steps forward. Fuck, are they all this gorgeous? Though this one is far less intimidating than the headmaster. I am unsure if there is anyone who could top him on that.

“Welcome to Realms 100, first years. My name is Professor Ambrose, Sorcerer First Class. As part of this course, we will be analyzing each of the realms that no doubt many of you have either come from or visited. As part of your grade for this course, you will be asked to do a final project on a randomly assigned realm and its history.”

The classroom door opens, and the angel from last night, the one who I made out with, the one who tried to force-feed me afuckingsandwich, walks into the room.

“Ah, Mr. Morningstar, thank you for joining us,” Professor Ambrose greets him. “Mr. Morningstar will be assisting me today prior to his classes commencing tomorrow.”

Morningstar? Why is that name so familiar? I realize why the second the door closes. Connor walks into the room and sits next to the professor. I slouch lower into my chair.

Alice looks at me, her eyes wide as she finally puts a face to the name. “Oh, shit,” she whispers loudly, drawing everyone’s attention in the otherwise quiet room.

Connor meets my gaze, and his lips pull into the most handsome, shit-eating grin I’ve ever seen.

Fuck me.

6

Summer

Professor Ambrose clears his throat and gives Alice a seething look for the interruption to his class. She mouths a silent apology. I glare at her, doing everything to avoid looking at the blond bombshell angel whose gaze is boring into me. His grin clings to me like plastic wrap around a burn. I have to be cursed. There’s no other explanation. In a school as big as this one, how could I bethisunlucky?

“As I was saying, your final project will be a paper on your assigned realm. I expect at least five thousand words on the subject, along with a critical analysis of the realm’s leadership, the languages spoken, and information on the integral nexus points of the realm. As part of the project, you will also be asked to interview a native of the assigned realm. If you pull one of the Lost Realms, you will interview me or another faculty member.”

I try to take notes, but I’m so on edge. Of course, I’ve had encounters with previous flings before, and the angel and I hadn’t done anything more than a little kissing. So why do I want to crawl into a hole and never come out right now?

“As you are aware, there are thousands of realms, some so hostile that only those born there can dwell in them. However, within this course, we will mainly look into the realms closer to home, the ones most relevant to bright young persons such as yourselves. As you know, Avalon is surrounded by eleven main realms, and from there, they branch into many more. The second semester will focus on more hostile outer realms and delve into the beings that thrive in such conditions.”

Fuck, I focused so much on learning aboutthisrealm. I don’t know much about the others at all. Ihatednot knowing things.

“Can anyone name one of the Locked Realms?” Professor Ambrose asks.

Another angel at the front of the class raises his hand and says shyly, “Eden.”

Professor Ambrose nods, smiling, “Ah, yes, Luke, another Morningstar in my class.” Connor beams at what I can only assume is his younger brother. I don’t recognize him from the party, but I was pretty drunk. “Let’s hope you cause less trouble than the previous two. Now, Mr. Morningstar, can you tell the class what a Locked Realm is?”

Luke nods. “A Locked Realm is inaccessible unless you have been granted access or are brought by someone who has access.”

Professor Ambrose nods. “Very good. This could be because a society has chosen to remain closed for security. Eden is closed due to their impressive military. The Legions are elite and consist of thousands of angels. Can anyone name another?”

I raise my hand, recalling one I’d read about recently.

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