Azure Dragons (Supernatural Shifter Academy Book 2) Read online

  The twist, of course, was that the other children used to grant me my abilities turned out to be the same guys in my friend group now. The fact that we all ended up in detention together only lends credence to the idea that we’re all in this together, pawns in some game that we don’t understand just yet. All we know is that all subsequent attempts to recreate that experiment failed, but that hasn’t stopped the powers that be—the alliance in charge of making sure humans and shifters could coexist, without ever revealing our existence to the world—from continuing their attempts. It all came to a head soon after I arrived at the Academy, with Brody’s disappearance; one of the two recruiters who brought me to the Academy in the first place was overseeing the experiment that killed the poor guy, and if we hadn’t stumbled on the plot, others would no doubt have followed suit. She was hauled off by the bureaucrats and never seen again. But I don’t believe the conspiracy ends there.

  Not for a second.

  We make our way across the dining hall and to the table Landon’s saved for us; I slide into the spot next to him while Shade and Hazel take seats on opposite sides of the table. “I heard the two of you were getting up to some ‘extracurriculars’ out in the woods earlier,” Landon remarks, his eyes gleaming.

  I groan, rolling my eyes. “It was nothing like that.” Shade catches my eye then, smirking, and something passes between us, but I push it away. “I’ve got an exam this week. Aaronson wants to see how long I can hold my wolf form.”

  “That shouldn’t be too hard, should it?” Landon replies. “You held it for a while when we fought Samantha.”

  “Yeah,” I reply, “but that was an emergency situation. I don’t know if I can replicate it. I certainly haven’t been able to with my other forms.”

  Hunter frowns. “At least you can shift,” he remarks. “I’m stuck listening to Amelia give me shit every other day.”

  “Why the hell do you put up with that, anyway?” Shade asks, turning to the vampire shifter. “You’re a big boy—can’t you just tell her to lay off.”

  “Charming,” mutters Hunter, before sighing and running a hand through his red hair. “If your dad was on the school board, you’d be talking differently, Ivis.”

  “If my dad was on the school board, maybe I’d have an easier time passing my Integration class,” Shade fires back. “I swear, now they’re just holding me back for the hell of it.”

  “I seriously doubt that,” comes a familiar voice, and I turn around in my seat to see Silas Aconite, the tall dragon shifter, making his way over to us with a tray of food in his hands. He sits down next to me and leans forward, glancing at the others. “What did I miss?”

  “Just Hunter bitching about his sister,” Shade replies. “You know—the usual.”

  “You’re in top form today, you know that?” Hunter fires back at him. “You’re just trying to piss me off, aren’t you?”

  “It took you long enough to catch on.” Shade turns to Silas, raising an eyebrow. “You look like you’ve been run over by a train.”

  “Gee, thanks,” Silas replies, rolling his eyes. “Rehab hasn’t exactly been easy, for your information.”

  Shade clears his throat, looking down at the table. “Right,” he mutters. “Ah, sorry. Forgot.” It’s the first time I’ve ever heard the wolf shifter apologise, but we’re all treading a little lightly around Silas in the aftermath of our showdown with Samantha.

  The tension propelling the current state of affairs hits closest to home for Silas. His parents seemed to be on the verge of acting against the humans overseeing the shifter community when they were taken away from him, never to be seen again. It’s possible they knew something about the experiment, and were on the verge of saying too much, but it’s never been clear. Silas was the one who discovered the truth about my origins, and my ties to the other guys, and that revelation nearly got him killed. If we hadn’t come to rescue him from an underground testing facility beneath the registrar’s office, he would have been, and that thought is enough to make my blood run cold.

  I’m not sure if I can even put my finger on the nature of our relationship, exactly. It’s certainly not platonic, but even after kissing each other, we’ve been dancing around labels as if trying to define it will jinx it somehow. Maybe he’s picked up on my attraction towards the others, or maybe he’s shying away from anything that might put us in danger the way that his discovery of the truth did. Either way, my heart skips a beat when he settles into the seat next to me, and his presence is enough to make me flush a little. “Boots,” he says, nodding to me, “are you okay?”

  “Yeah,” I reply, a little too quickly. “Just wondering how you were holding up.”

  “Could be worse,” he says, shrugging his broad shoulders. “At least my powers seem to be more or less back to normal. Using them still takes it out of me, but they are coming back.”

  I clear my throat, feeling a little awkward under the scrutiny of the others. “I’m… glad to hear it.”

  He gives me his signature crooked smile, the one that always sends me reeling, and the feeling of his leg brushing up against mine is nearly enough to make my head spin. I was never a very romantic person before coming to the Academy—chalk it up to years of moving from place to place; I guess—but the kiss I shared with Silas seems to have awoken something in me, something as alluring as it is dangerous.

  Fuck. Who would have thought university would end up being this complicated?

  “Look,” says Landon, nodding, and the rest of us follow his gaze to the raised platform at the front of the room. The setting sun casts a bright glare through the side facing windows, illuminating the poised figure of President Hawthorne as he makes his way onto the platform and clears his throat. Something about his presence is always enough to instill a sense of awe and dread, in spite of the fact that he’s only human, and today is no different: a hush falls over the assembled students as they realise he’s waiting for them to quiet down.

  “Great,” mutters Shade, “this ought to be good.”

  “It’s good to see so many smiling faces here tonight,” Hawthorne says, clapping his hands together with a smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “Before you get started on your meal, I wanted to address something with you while I have you all here today. This will save you from having to go to an assembly before class tomorrow morning, so bear with me.”

  I exchange a look with Silas, who seems just as concerned as I am. The last time Hawthorne made an announcement to the school like this, it was to tell us that we were going on lockdown until further notice. There’s nothing quite so ominous as watching the guy speak, and a chill runs up my spine as his gaze sweeps the dining hall. “I’ll keep this as brief as I can,” he continues, putting his hands behind his back. “We are witnessing something of great concern for both the student body and the shapeshifting community as a whole, something I fear could have dire consequences for everyone at this school - faculty and students alike.”

  My heart sinks, my stomach drops, and my mouth goes dry, but not because of the words he’s saying.

  It’s because, in that moment, Hawthorne’s eyes have settled directly on me. And no matter what I do, I can’t seem to pull my gaze away.

  Chapter 3

  I nearly jump at the feeling of a hand on mine, and my eyes are wide when I look to see Silas watching me with a concerned expression. “Boots,” he whispers, “are you okay?”

  Wordlessly, I nod, swallowing hard as I return my gaze to Hawthorne. Whatever ominous spell he had me under seems to have broken, but the silence in the room is nearly oppressive, and an uneasy murmuring passes through the crowd of assembled students.

  Hawthorne shakes himself and clears his throat. “We take great care to not cause unnecessary panic when a situation like this arises,” he continues, “but it’s also important to acknowledge the gravity of what is happening outside this island.” He takes a breath, moving back a step. “Some of you may have heard of a certain level of… unrest between
the shifters of the world and the humans who know about their existence. Obviously, the human-shifter coalition exists in order to help keep this a secret from the general population, but there are subsets of humanity who know the truth about shifters.” There’s something I don’t like under his words, and it feels as though they carry a double meaning.

  “These groups have been causing a bit of a stir amongst shifter communities around the world of late,” Hawthorne continues. “I can’t speak to any talk of a so-called ‘uprising’, other than to assure everyone here that they have nothing to be afraid of. That said, though…” He straightens his dark jacket. “This isn’t something to be taken lightly. Skirmishes in shifter communities are increasing, and more and more humans are beginning to buy into conspiracy theories about the existence of magical beings. We’ve seen it here, too, at this very school - the incident involving a missing student and one of our faculty members has been treated with the utmost severity.”

  I catch a glimpse of Shade rolling his eyes, and Hunter elbows him. I can’t blame him - if the Academy administration thinks for one minute that I’ll buy this being an isolated incident, they’re sorely mistaken. They had a whole underground testing facility, one that seemed incredibly active and state-of-the art, in spite of Hawthorne’s claims that it was long defunct before Samantha began to use it for her own purposes.

  Hazel shoots the two shifters both a withering look, and they return their attention to the President, who continues his speech. “For this reason, the human-shifter coalition has organised a conference to address this shifting dynamic, the precautions our communities must take, and steps that will ensure the continued coexistence of our species. Ambassadors from both groups will be there, as well as the presidents of all the world’s Shifter Academy branches. As for what this has to do with you all,” he goes on, “the conference is scheduled to be held next week, in the city of Boston in the United States—the location of the North American Shifter Academy. I have consulted with the board members, and we have decided that this is an excellent opportunity to introduce the student community to the inter-species politics that are a reality for shifters living in the modern world. For this reason, we’ve decided to bring the students at the academy to Boston to witness this historic event and continue their studies in an urban setting.”

  It’s like a jolt of electricity bursts through the crowd. Everyone starts talking at once, their eyes lit up and their voices excited as the news of the field trip sinks in. I turn to look at the others; Landon has a broad grin on his face, and Hazel looks like she’s ready to burst with excitement. “Class trip,” says Hunter, giving a slow nod of approval.

  “Did you know about this?” Landon asks him.

  The vampire shifter shakes his head. “Why would I? My dad never tells me anything.”

  Hawthorne holds up a hand to quiet the group, although a few snippets of conversation carry on. “We have already arranged travel to Boston this Wednesday,” he says when he has the room’s attention once more. “This will allow you a week of seeing the conference firsthand, as well as a weekend of supervised excursions in the city. That said, you will be expected to continue with your studies, which is why we have arranged boarding for you all at the American Shifter Academy.”

  There’s another burst of activity from the group at the prospect of an exchange program with the American school. I’ve never been outside the U.K. before, and in spite of my unease around Hawthorne, even I’m delighted by the idea. It’s times like this that I’m reminded that, in spite of the experiments and decades-old conspiracies, this is still a school setting, and an opportunity to have experiences I never would have gotten otherwise. The others seem to feel the same way; even Shade, who never seems impressed by anything, has a fresh gleam in his eyes.

  “You will be provided with more information over the coming days,” Hawthorne finishes, “but I would advise you to begin preparations for the journey. If you have outstanding assignments or anything to clear with your professors, make sure you finish them before we go, as you will be studying under the American instructors while you’re in Boston. Now…” He glances over his shoulder at the line of other faculty fellows, who nod their approval. “I believe I’ve covered everything. Without further ado, I’ll let you all have your meal now. Enjoy your evening, ladies and gentlemen.” He gives a slight bow before retreating to the admin table, where the other instructors and board members are starting in on their food.

  “This is so exciting,” Hazel exclaims as we tuck in ourselves. “Vacation! I mean, I’m from California, so it’s maybe bigger for you guys, but still… I’ve never been to Boston.”

  “Do they do this often?” I ask, looking around at the others. “Field trips, I mean.”

  “No,” Landon replies, shaking his head. “I mean, last year they brought us to London to see one of the oldest siren communities, but that was just for a day trip. Nothing this big.”

  “I’ll be curious what the American students are like,” Hunter admits, picking at his food thoughtfully.

  “If they’re anything like you and your sister, I’m guessing uptight, boring, and bummed out,” Shade tells him. Hunter kicks him under the table.

  “Boys, boys!” I say, laughing. “Am I going to have to separate you two?”

  “Not a terrible idea,” Hunter mutters. “Absence does make the heart grow fonder.”

  “Damn, your sarcasm is improving, Ash,” Landon observes. “Looks like we’re rubbing off on you.”

  The vampire shifter gives a dry laugh. “Yeah. Maybe. Don’t tell Amelia.”

  Silas has remained quiet, and I turn to him. “You okay?”

  He nods. “Just thinking.”

  “‘Just thinking,’ eh?” teases Landon, although his tone is good-natured. “What else is new?”

  There’s a long pause, and the big dragon shifter sighs. “Actually, I, ah… I think I might head up to bed, you guys. It’s been a long day.”

  “Already?” asks Hazel. “You’ve hardly eaten anything.”

  Silas glances down at his plate. “I’m not really hungry anymore. This whole trip thing is putting me off a little.” Getting to his feet, he nods at the rest of us. “Might as well get a head start on packing though, yeah? I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

  “Later,” Shade replies, and we watch him disappear into the crowd.

  “Wonder what’s gotten into him,” Landon says, frowning.

  “Hawthorne,” I reply, leaning an elbow on the table. “And I don’t blame him.”

  Hunter’s brow furrows. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean…” I shrug. “Don’t you think it’s a little odd that they’d decide to bring us all out to America so soon after what happened with Samantha?”

  “I don’t see how that tracks,” Hazel replies.

  “I’m not sure I do, either,” I admit, looking down at my hands. “It’s just a little weird, that’s all. It feels like all this stuff with humans and shifters has started happening all at once, you know? I mean, had you guys heard about any of what Hawthorne was talking about back there - riots, skirmishes, conspiracy theorists?”

  “My dad’s mentioned it a few times,” Hunter admits. “We were talking to him last weekend, actually. He said one of the shifter settlements in Russia was attacked by a pro-human fringe group. It sounds like the government is doing an okay job of keeping a lid on the rumours, but…”

  “It can’t be an easy job,” Hazel remarks. “Think about it - you’re basically having to keep the existence of a whole species a secret from the general population. And with the internet and everything…” She shrugs. “I’m honestly just surprised this hasn’t happened earlier.”

  “It’s a strange time to be a shifter,” Shade comments.

  “Yeah,” Landon agrees. “Damn right, it is.”

  The excitement doesn’t seem to die down, even after dinner concludes and the students start making their way up to their rooms. I say goodnight to the others, and I�
��m on my way to the girls’ wing of the dormitory when I catch sight of Silas in the downstairs common area. He’s looking out one of the broad bay windows, his arms crossed as he sits slumped in one of the armchairs. “Hey,” I say, coming to stand next to him.

  He seems a little surprised to see me. “Hey, yourself,” he says. “You guys finish dinner already?”

  I nod. “The others are headed to bed. I was thinking of going too, but…” I chew the inside of my lip. “I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

  “I appreciate it.” He stands up, and I’m stunned again by just how much he towers over me. “I think this trip thing just caught me off-guard, that’s all.”

  “Yeah,” I say, rubbing the back of my neck. “You and me both.”

  “Do you feel a little like…” He purses his lips. “Like this is a bit sudden?”

  “Yes,” I exclaim, relieved that someone else had the same reaction. “Yes, I was just saying that to the others!”

  He nods in the direction of the stairs leading up to the boys’ dorm, and I follow him to the door. There aren’t many students left in the common area, but Silas keeps his voice low when he turns to me and says, “I’m worried, Boots. What if this is just some kind of ploy to get us away from the Academy? What if…” He trails off, but I see where the question is going.

  “You’re worried they’re going to use this as a way to continue the experiments.”

  Silas nods. “Maybe that’s just my paranoia talking. I don’t know. But if it’s not…” He looks down at his hands, which are still shaking a little - the tremors have gotten a lot better since we first broke him out, but he’s still not back to a hundred percent.