Page 30 of Phoenix Academy: Madness

Then again, the touch of my feral magic drives men mad, my hair has turned blue, and I recently came back from the dead. Stranger things have happened.

"Itoldyou that's not my name." A voice from the closed door that leads to the office distracts me. "You were supposed to put 'Dani' on the class schedule, notDanielle.Why haven't you fixed it? It's been two days."

"A nickname is not a proper name." The responding voice is low, with a slight buzz to it. "I cannot put such a thing on the class schedule. Perhaps if you had another, fuller name I could use..."

Because I'm insatiably curious, I reach out with my naturalist senses to feel the area around me. In the other room I can sense a human spirit, though my powers don't let me do anything to influence anything bigger than a large predator.

The second spirit, however, isnothuman. Not animal either, or a mix between the two like the shifters, who have both spirits living alongside each other in their bodies. What I feel is like a burst of light in the vague shape of something human-like.

And this spirit is very aware of my presence.

"Hold on," says the low, buzzy voice. "One of our students has arrived."

The door opens, revealing two figures on the other side. I notice the human girl and slide my eyes past her; she's average height, with dark hair and a scowl on her face, wearing the dark red Phoenix Academy uniform.

Standing beside her is what can only be a pixie. Diminutive in size, with a pointed chin, wide eyes, and shimmery gold skin, she would look human to the average non-magic person, especially while using her pixie magic to glamour them. But to my witch eyes she looks like a bright spot of magical power, from her colorful hair to her sharp teeth.

"You must be my new student," she says, which confirms my impression that this must be Shimmer. "This is the Blue Phoenix we'll be teaching, Danielle. Try to remember that she can drive people made with just the touch of her fingers, and don't give her a reason to want to use her powers on you."

"Whatkindof reason are you talking about? I'm perfectly pleasant in every single way. And it's Dani."

Shimmer raises her strange, dark gold brows. "Just summon the sirens and don't get carried away. The last thing we need is for you to accidentally hypnotize a rare phoenix student into jumping out of the windows just to get away from you."

The girl scowls. "That wasonceand it wasmostlyan accident." Shimmer snorts. Turning towards me, the girl holds out her hand, and I step forward to take it. "Call me Dani. You must be, what was it, Ally or something?"

"Ari," I correct her, wondering what exactly a girl my age is doing as a teacher's assistant. "I'm the new Blue Phoenix—not that I completely get what that means yet. Everyone seems surprised that I even exist."

"You haven't met Ocean Johnson yet, have you? Tall guy, braided hair, enthusiastic about history—that guy?" I shake my head. "Consider yourself lucky, then. When he finds out youdoexist, he's going to be tempted to tie you up and lock you in a small room for him to study."

"Dani," Shimmer scolds. "Don't talk about the teachers like that."

"Whatever." She flaps her hands in the air dismissively. "I'm just glad I'm not the weirdest phoenix here anymore. Maybe now I can actually fade into the background."

Somehow I doubt fading intoanythingis possible for a girl like the one in front of me. She seems like the type to stand out no matter where she is, from her smart mouth to the glimmer of mischief in her eyes. It doesn't surprise me to find out she's one of the so-called "weird" phoenix, either.

Since class is about to start, I decide that now is the perfect time for questions. "I just got here, and maybe I missed something, but what exactlyisSiren Resistance? And why are a pixie and a phoenix student teaching it?"

Shimmer says, "It's a simple class to help build up your tolerance of, and resistance to, demonic hypnotizing."

"AKA your worst nightmare," Dani cuts in. "Because outside of this class, the only time you'll ever encounter siren demons is if a Grim is around. They use their songs to hypnotize phoenix and steal our hearts."

"And inside this class?" I frown. "We're going to be dealing withdemonshow exactly?"

"Ones that I summon." Horror and dread fill me, which just makes Dani smirk. "Don't worry, I won't let them sink their teeth into you—yet. That's what finals are for."

"Danielle," Shimmer scolds her, but before the teasing or the recriminations can continue, more students start to pour into the classroom.

Apparently I'm not the only one about to be tortured.

Ifthisis the safest place for phoenix to live, I'm starting to wish I wasn't one. Nine lives or two, nothing is worth having to deal with demons on a daily basis.

I'm starting to wonder if I'll survive classes long enough to face the Heretic head-on.

Chapter 15

Dani-not-Danielle is,it turns out, a phoenix born of a Grim, called a Black Phoenix. She has all the powers of a Grim: demonic summoning abilities, necromantic channeling, and the ability to use death as fuel for power. In addition to her Grim powers, she can summon flames, like me and the other phoenix, and has more than one life.

As well as four pet demon lovers who are bonded to her and fight at her side.

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