Page 44 of Phoenix Academy: Madness

So of course they all say yes.

And of course, while the schedule she prints out for me is the same, it now includes David in more than just my history class. I'll now be learning Group Combat with the twins, studying Weapons Combat with David and Xavier, and learning the ins and outs of Hand-to-Hand Combat with Reggie. That's on top of my morning Magic Casting Control class, which they're all still attending for the foreseeable future.

In the meantime, I'm supposed to be studying, learning how to control my powers, and researching a way to un-familiar the trio. How I'll find time between all of that to hunt down the Heretic and enact my revenge, I have no idea.

"Oh, and one more thing," the headmaster says, making me tense up in wariness, "we got a student ID made for you, Ariana. Mage Auerbach will be your sponsor for now, until we can find a... suitable replacement. You'll be able to use this to get into the library as well as the research area after hours."

I stare down at the ID, trying to remember when I told anyone here my middle name, or my exact birthday.

In a pleasant but knowing voice, Mage Auerbach adds, "By the way, your ID won't open up the Victoria Cheng Building—that's what we're calling the gymnasium—anytime you don't have a class scheduled or time reserved in the combat arena. As a precaution, of course. Because we don't want anyone getting hurt."

"Of course," I echo, not able to meet his eyes, since we both know what I did in the dark hours of the night. "I'll be sure to use my student ID to get around. And I'll try not to have any bad dreams. Or get mad... ever."

"That's the spirit," Reggie quips. "Just become an emotionless drone, and everything will be fine."

He jokes, but it's basically my only option.

Viva la dead inside Ari.

* * *

Four Months Later

"So, I won't be with you next semester," Dani says, to a few groans and I'm sure even more silent inward cheers of excitement. "I know, I know, hold your applause. Apparently I have a Destiny, capital D and all. I'll be off campus for a few months. But just to make sure my absence isn't felt too sorely, I went ahead and recorded extra siren songs just for you guys, complete with intros and instructions from yours truly. They're all on this download link I'm emailing to all of you right... about... now."

My academy-branded phone buzzes in my pocket, but I don't pull it out. It's embarrassing not to have a regular phone like the other students, who all seem to come from long, industrious lines of phoenix families and have money for things like the latest smart phone.

I may have gotten used to being here, these past few impossibly long months, but that doesn't mean that I feel as if I belong. Between the fact that no one has powers quite like mine, I'm still stuck with a trio of shifter familiars who don't always seem thrilled to have me around, and every once in a while I have prophetic dreams about the spirit realm, this semester has been quite the strange, topsy-turvy adventure.

At least Mage Auerbach is leaving soon, to be replaced with a mage whose last name doesn't make me break out in hives. And while it's been close a few times, especially during some of my combat classes, I've managed not to lose control of my powers and nearly kill the whole student body—again.

It's helped that the guys are almost always around, ready to channel my excess magic away if I need them. More than once I've looked to my left or right, heart in my throat, and been able to reach out to take Xavier's hand and quietly fix a problem I started. Or Reggie will sidle up to me, smirk on his face, and slyly put his arms around my shoulders.

David is never so warm or eager, but he is always there when I need him, begrudgingly or not. I can feel something different about his shifter spirit every time we interact, but he won't say why, and I'm afraid he'll hate me if I ask. It's clear that shifting doesn't come easy to him the way it comes to all the others, and he has a chip on his shoulder about it.

Sometimes my dreamsaren'tprophetic, and have nothing to do with the future at all. They're...different.About Reggie's hands on me, Xavier's eyes roaming my face, David tearing my clothes off and nipping my skin, then other, hotter things that make me wake up in my bed with my sheets twisted between my legs, an embarrassing ache between my thighs.

I've been telling myself that it's just a side affect of the familiar bond I created with the trio.

But deep down I know that's a lie. They're attractive, they're around a lot, and I feel something stirring between me and the three of them. Something that will inevitably tear us apart—because if David's anger, Reggie's possessiveness, or Xavier's sweetness are anything to go by, none of them would be okay with me having a crush on the other two.

So I push the feelings down, along with the rest of my emotions. I practice what magic I can with Auerbach, who is pleased with my ability to control my breathing and center myself, but little else. I've learned how to disarm a man holding a knife, and escape a chokehold. I can recite every important date of the Phoenix Wars, and resist basic siren song, if not the more advanced stuff.

I still miss my mom. I still want to find out what happened to my sister's body and spirit. More than anything, though, I want to use what I've learned to track the Heretic down, wrap my hands around his neck, and squeeze until his eyes pop out.

"Alright," Dani says, taking position at the front of the class, a summoning circle at the ready, "let's do this thing. Remember: deep breaths, and think of things that have nothing to do with the siren's song. If it helps, close your eyes and pretend like she isn't even here. Ready? Just kidding, I don't care if you're ready."

She summons the siren with a flick of her hair, which has been bleach an impossibly platinum white and has pink tips—hair she had to chop off because, no doubt, the bleach killed it. Though I wonder if in part she got pink hair because she was mad my phoenix powers came with blue hair and hers didn't.

Think distracting thoughts.I'm already well on my way with that. The siren appears and opens her mouth with a gleeful sound, so I try to keep thinking about hair dye instead of how badly I suddenly want to lay down and not get back up again.

Hair dye. Long hair. Long, braided hair. Xavier's hair resting against his back. A bare, muscled back, with rich brown skin and wide shoulders that narrow to the V of his hips. Oh, there's David beside him, completely naked, his big...

So, yeah. I manage to distract myself during Siren Resistance class. Too bad that by the end of it I need a cold shower and a reality check. None of the guys is ever going to want me to touch them the way I do in my fantasies; if they were into me, I'd know by now, so they're definitely not interested.

The sooner I manage to break this familiar bond and separate our odd thruple status, the better.

Otherwise I just might spontaneously combust, which would be bad for everyone on campus when it sets my powers off.

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