Academy of Protectors (The Protector Guild Book 1) Read online

  I shook my head, trying to maintain focus. I was still working on the whole hellhounds were real thing and, right now, that took precedence.

  Cyrus stood up quickly and dropped a heavy tote on my bed. “Now read up, you have a lot to catch up on before you get back to your classes tomorrow. I’m sure Ro can confirm that this academy here is no joke and you’re both already very far behind. I’ve kept you from this world long enough, but since you seem to be running towards it, and it towards you, with all the grace of a troll, you need to catch up.” Cy moved towards my door before looking back at me. “And some infernal girl keeps pestering me for details about your recovery everywhere I turn. Her phone number is listed on several pieces of paper in that bag. Update her yourself and tell her if she bugs me again, I’ll make her training a living hell.”

  And with that he was gone.

  “I’m going to go pick up some dinner. I’ll bring you back a plate,” Ro said before following him out.

  I rummaged through the bag, ignoring all of the heavy books and pulled out the number so I could give Izzy a call. My body was humming with excitement about getting back to classes and exploring the academy before I looked at the absurd number of assignments I had to make up. This was going to be a long night. I’d have to bribe Ro into helping me later on.

  I never thought I’d be so excited to go to school.

  Okay, okay, that was a lie. I’d begged Cy for years to let me go to a real school, with real people. But I was even more excited today than I had been when we first arrived. After throwing on some brand new workout clothes that Izzy left outside my door as a get-well present, I was ready for my jailbreak. The leggings were black and had grey swirls, and the top was a strappy black sports bra. I threw on a black zip up to cover up. I wasn’t exactly comfortable with wandering around campus with so much skin showing.

  “Jesus, Max, chew your food before you swallow it,” Ro said, staring at my plate. It was already half empty before he even had a chance to sit down and join me. “It’s not going to run away from you or anything. Plus, if you eat that fast, you’ll be sick during training this afternoon. And after so many days of rest, it’s bound to be a difficult session as it is.”

  “Cy said last night that if I hurry up, he’ll let me down to feed Ralph some breakfast.” I nodded to the large pile of eggs, sausage, and ham sitting on the plate next to mine. “I’m hoping to trick him into letting me take him for a bit of a walk so he can stretch his legs. His little window room was tiny.” I shivered, thinking about how claustrophobic I’d been feeling over the last few days, and I had a whole suite to myself. If he was anything like me, he was seriously struggling down there.

  “He’s not a pet, Max.”

  Declan’s voice startled me enough that I dropped my fork and had to pause the food-to-mouth shoveling process I’d perfected. Craning my neck, I found her standing above me, dressed head-to-toe in black and looking every part the avenging angel. She seemed so serious, and standoffish, even now when there was a hint of teasing in her tone. Out of everyone I’d met, she was the most difficult person here for me to get a read on—and that was even including Atlas and his consistent dickishness.

  “I know he’s not a pet,” I answered, sliding my tongue over my teeth to make sure there wasn’t food stuck somewhere. “But he did save my life. Twice. And he deserves to be treated decently, especially since I’m the reason he’s cooped up in the first place.”

  She rolled her teeth over her bottom lip, her pink tongue peeking out just briefly. She seemed to be weighing something and after a moment of internal struggle, landed on a decision. “Fair enough. I saw Cyrus outside. How about I come with you to greet the hellbeast? I didn’t get to meet him the night of the, er, event.”

  I breathed out in surprise and grabbed the pile of food I’d scavenged for Ralph. “Awesome, let’s go now. Ro, you in?” I turned back to him.

  He nodded once before bussing my tray and joining us. I could get used to him waiting on me. Maybe getting attacked by a vampire came with a few perks.

  Now that food didn’t have my complete attention, I noticed everyone’s eyes trained on me, with whispers trailing every table we passed. I scratched at the invisible bite on my neck, uncomfortable with the attention. Luckily it was early, so the room was fairly empty. Declan opened the main doors as we reached them, scowling at a group of students who were debating rather loudly whether or not I was actually attacked by a vampire or just making the whole thing up for attention.

  I recognized Theo and Reza in the center of the group and suppressed a groan. As if the attention wasn’t bad enough—now I had to worry about people thinking I was asking for it.

  “Ignore them,” Ro muttered, while Declan shot over an icy look that shut them up instantly. I’d have to learn that trick sometime. My intimidation factor was apparently really low.

  Ignore them. I knew that was the mature thing to do, that I shouldn’t care what people thought of me. But that was a lot easier said than done. I opened my mouth to defend my honor when the sight of Cyrus had me snapping it closed again.

  Right. Ralph. That was way more important. Maybe ignoring them would be easier than I’d thought.

  “Cy!” I entered into a light jog, balancing the plate of food precariously. Ro and Declan trailed right behind me. Cyrus looked more tired than usual, a weariness on his face that I wasn’t used to. The bags under his eyes were the sort of heavy they got after a night of hard drinking. Which, to be fair, happened regularly. Cyrus had more demons than most, that much was evident. Even if I had no clue what any of them were. “Can I go see Ralph before my sessions start for the day? It’s been ages. I promised I’d try to visit him days ago.”

  I sounded like a whiny child. I heard it. I was aware. I just also, in this moment, didn’t really care. My body was humming with energy.

  Cyrus pinched the bridge of his nose, frustration flaring briefly behind his eyes. “No you can’t. Not now, Max. I’m sorry. Just focus on your courses and training for the moment. And take it easy. It’s your first day back.”

  “But—” I started, stumbling at the exhaustion crawling across his features. Had he gotten any sleep? “You said I could visit him, that you’d try to get me in. Why can’t I just go right now?” I turned back towards the infirmary, ready to do just that.

  “Max, he’s not there right now,” anger laced his voice but I realized instantly it wasn’t directed towards me. The bend in his posture made him almost look sorry, guilty even.

  “What’s going on Cy?” Ro took a step next to me, squaring off in solidarity. His heavy hand clapped down on my shoulder, the reverberation enough to drop a piece of bacon from my plate.

  Cyrus glanced briefly at Declan, a curious look passing over his face, like he was sizing her up, determining whether she was trustworthy or not. He turned back towards me. “They have him in a lab right now. They’re running tests. Studying him. Seeing if they can get to the bottom of his fascination with you, along with the vampire. With the increased other realm activity, everyone is on high alert and every supernatural beast is viewed as hostile or suspicious until proven otherwise. It’s the way things are in this world. I’m sorry. Maybe another day.”

  Anger like I’d never felt before bubbled low in my belly. “What the hell are you talking about?” My fingernails sunk deep into the cushions of my hands, as the plate dropped to the ground, splattering my shoes with runny eggs. “What kind of tests? Are they hurting him?”

  “How did you let this happen?” Ro’s temple was pulsing as he bent down to scoop the food back onto the plate. “Ralph is the whole reason Max is even alive right now. We owe him. How could you let them take him and run tests on him?”

  “They wanted to put him down.” Cy’s eyes rose to meet ours. “If I didn’t let them run their tests, they were going to kill him. Hellhounds are notoriously dangerous and unpredictable. You have no idea what kind of reputation and history they have amongst our people. It was the best way I could protect him. Trust me, I’m not happy about this situation. Not one bit. I didn’t have much of a choice.”

  Declan scratched at the back of her neck, clearly uncomfortable. She exhaled softly, shaking her head. Dark strands of her hair spilled out of her ponytail and curled around her shoulder.

  “Got something to add?” I snapped, a little too aggressively at her. The frustration in my voice made even me wince—but, for some reason, I couldn’t completely contain it.

  “This shouldn’t have happened,” she started, tentatively, “but I’m sure there’s a good reason for this. They probably just want to make sure he’s safe. See if there’s anything they can learn about the other realm from him. I’m sure they’re just trying to make sure that he doesn’t hurt anyone, or at least try to figure out why he keeps showing up only when there’s trouble.”

  The accusation buried in her voice made me bristle and Ro’s fingers brushed over mine in a quiet warning. Too bad I was terrible at heeding those warnings. Especially now.

  “What the hell is wrong with this place? How is this even a discussion?” I turned on Declan, unfazed by the tension in her jawline. I needed to let some of my frustration out. I felt like I was ready to explode at a moment’s notice. Like the vampire’s aggression was pooling in my blood along with his venom. “He’s not some demon beast who’s orchestrating attacks. He’s a harmless dog who saved my life. How can you think this is even a little bit okay? Ralph is the whole reason I’m even alive right now. He shouldn’t be in a cage in the first place, let alone subjected to who knows what down in your evil dungeon.”

  Guilt. I was feeling guilt. And while my brain could recognize it, I couldn’t stop it from spewing out of my lips.

  “That’s not what—” Declan stuttered, looking down. Her nose flared slightly. “You’re right. I’m sorry. You’ve been here all of ten seconds, so clearly you have this all figured out.” She looked past me so that her green eyes landed on Cy. “Good to see you again, sir.” With a shake of her head, she turned and left.

  And of course, the very second that she left, shame pooled low in my belly. It wasn’t her fault, I knew that. And I knew it wasn’t Cy’s fault either. My temper was all over the place today and I needed to sort it out before I snapped at someone else. I wasn’t sure if it was the house arrest or the leftover effects of vampire saliva—gross—but my mood swings were on another level.

  Without another word to Cy, I turned out of the cafeteria. It was early enough that I could still squeeze in a jog before my morning classes, or else the anger, frustration, and helplessness would cloud my mind and make training impossible. Ro stayed behind, which was good. He was always the best when it came to figuring out whether I needed space or company.

  The breeze lapped against my skin as I tore through the east side of the forest. There were a few odd cabins scattered in this part of the grounds, but it was serene and devoid of anyone. Most people were probably still grabbing breakfast.

  The isolated calm of crashing through the forest and hopping around overgrown tree roots did wonders for slowing down my thoughts and letting me assess the situation. Cyrus and Seamus made sure that Ralph wasn’t put down. He was as safe as he could be, given the alternative. For now, I had to be thankful for that. It was a start.

  So the next step was to find a way to get him out of here. I wasn’t entirely sure why he let himself get captured like that, but regardless of the reason, he was not going to die here. I wouldn’t let it happen. I could feel it in my bones that he didn’t mean me harm, I just needed to find a way to prove it.

  Almost a second too late, I realized that I was heading straight for a quaint little pond. Planting the breaks, I went skidding through the mud until I stopped an inch before the water.

  “Shit,” I breathed, hands planted on my knees as I caught my breath. I plopped down and started laughing as the cool breeze dried away sweat. The sun was up now and it reflected beautifully against the glassy water, the ripples dancing around the lily pads and twigs from surrounding trees. Something about the serenity here reminded me of home—of being far away, secluded. The thoughts running through my brain, the fears, they seemed to almost entirely stop.

  “Beautiful isn’t it?” a low voice sounded behind me.

  I froze, tension spilling through my body as I turned, looking for the voice. It was rare for me to be caught off guard like that. Was I still within Guild boundaries? I needed to get a map asap.

  And then I saw a familiar set of brown eyes. “Eli.”

  “The one and only,” he said, walking over and dropping down next to me. He picked up a rock and tossed it into the water, creating a fresh wave of ripples across the surface. “This is my favorite place on campus. I used to come here a lot to clear my head. Not too shabby, right?”

  The usually cocky, teasing expression on his face was softer out here. He was still devastatingly good looking, but he seemed more gentle in this light, less intimidating.

  “Feeling better, kid? We were all pretty worried about you,” he dropped his head down, his elbows bowed against his knees, “after you know, the attack.”

  Trying not to bristle too much at the kid comment—after all, I had been acting like a petulant child just a few moments ago—I nodded. “Honestly, I feel pretty great.”

  His dark eyes turned towards me, studying the now smooth spot of skin on my neck. He reached a hand forward, like he wanted to trace the invisible mark with his finger, but dropped it before reaching me.

  “Amazing. When I brought you in—there was so much blood. Your neck, it was a mangled mess.” He shook his head, a crease forming between his brows as he studied me. “I don’t understand how it’s just gone now.”

  I shrugged, smiling awkwardly. There wasn’t anything to say. I didn’t understand it either. And over the last few days, I forced myself not to think about it, not to question it too closely. Because I wanted desperately to belong here, to belong to this world I’d only ever read about. This? The miraculously healing vamp attack? That was something that set me apart when I wanted so badly to fit in.

  Clearing my throat, I met his eyes. “I’m sorry about that night—” I broke off, unsure how to handle this topic. Especially since the thought of Eli, pounding into the girl from the shop, coated me in an uncomfortable heat. I looked away, unable to match his stare any longer. “I didn’t mean to, you know, interrupt. And I really should have left immediately, but shock just sort of had me frozen for a second too long.” I could feel myself blushing, and I hoped that the evidence wasn’t painted across my cheeks.

  Eli laughed, a low rumbly sound before pressing his fingers into the ground and leaning back. His body had inched over closer to me, and I was all too aware of his energy surrounding me. “Don’t worry about it. I’m sorry that I teased you about it. I made an already awkward situation worse.” He snuck a few looks at me out of the side of his eye. “Forgiven?”

  I nodded, unable to stop the grin. “I hope I didn’t ruin things between you and that girl?” Judging by the sounds she was making when I left, she didn’t exactly seem like she was in a grudge-holding mood.

  “Who? Emily? No, she was fine. We laughed it off after you left and she’s already contacted me for another date. So no harm, no foul.”

  For some reason, the thought of them having another date stung, but I brushed it off and grinned at him, glad that I hadn’t messed things up too badly for him. “Is it difficult dating humans? Cy’s always been really strict about letting us around them for too long. And the one time I got close, the protector world just—complicated things.”

  Poor Michael. I hoped wherever he was, he was okay now. And hopefully concussion-free. Though I had a feeling that his brother was quite pleased that we’d moved away in the middle of the night.

  Eli’s eyes widened as he straightened his spine. “Oh, I don’t date humans, Max. None of us do. Hook up? Yes. Anything more than that? Hell no. Way too complicated and way too dangerous, for everyone involved.”

  Right, that made sense, although I wasn’t sure if I could really do the whole casual thing. Especially since my experience was exactly one fishy kiss and nothing more. My thoughts floated to the conversation in class my first day. “Is your mate okay with that?” He made a weird choking sound and I belatedly realized that was absolutely none of my business. “Sorry, that was way too nosy of me. Please don’t answer.”

  “My. Mate.” He looked off over the water, his brows bent in confusion. “What makes you think I have a mate?”

  My stomach dropped and I dug my fingers into the dirt, trying desperately to disappear from this conversation. “Er, sorry. I just remember my lesson from the other day. Reese—I think that was her name—was talking about bondmates and protectors. And then you’d mentioned the Headmistress’s bondmates before, so I just assumed—that everyone had one once they were placed in teams?”

  A giant grin stole across his face as he shook his head softly, breathing out an incredulous chuckle. “No Max, I don’t have a mate. And even if I did, they aren’t inherently romantic or sexual. I think you’ve maybe been watching too many movies and reading too many romance novels. I’ll probably end up bonded to Dec eventually, but it will be for a way to strengthen our team, nothing more. We’ll both be free to, er, go after our own individual pursuits.” He paused, studying me again as he scratched his cheek. The expression in his eyes was unreadable, but I shivered nonetheless. “Cyrus really kept you both in the dark, didn’t he.”

  It wasn’t a question, more so an acknowledgment.

  I nodded, not sure what more I could add. I seemed to be digging myself in deeper and deeper here. And the more I fell into this world, the more I questioned why Cy had hidden so much of it from us. It certainly made our entry into The Guild unnecessarily confusing.

  He brushed my shoulder playfully with his. “Allow me to demystify then. Bonds are sacred to us. They strengthen trust between team members, and act as a sort of vow. Sometimes they become more than that. But that’s all they are. When two or more protectors—or, more realistically, their parents—decide to bond together, there’s a ceremony and the ties are woven. It’s a strange magic our kind has fabricated over the years. True bonds were a part of our history, they occurred naturally. But that hasn’t happened in centuries—maybe it never even happened at all, realistically.” He paused, skipping another rock. We both watched in silence until the pebble and waves slowly disappeared. “Over the years, the bonds have functioned as a tradition, nothing more. A way to keep us safe in a life that can be quite dangerous. So yes, you’ll most likely be tied to another protector one day, but that doesn’t have to mean anything more than loyalty and friendship.”