Descendants Academy: Young Adult Urban Fantasy by Belle Malory (most important books of all time txt) 📗

there were several things I had to get done before school started anyway, including that meeting with the Fates.

After leaving the Agora, Grandpa and I ventured further downtown to the grandiose parliament buildings made of tall Grecian columns. Just the sight of them was intimidating, and the people even more so. Mythonians were unlike any other people I’d ever known. Like their city, they were a mixture of ancient and modern. The way they spoke often sounded old-school, and they used magic everywhere we went. We passed a group of kids playing a game of magical hop-scotch where the chalk kept shifting, morphing into a staircase that lifted into the air. A silver-haired man used a gust of wind to open a door for me. And when I needed to check in for my appointment with the Fates, the receptionist spelled a rose into a pen.

Not gonna lie—it was overwhelming. Knowing magic was possible was one thing. Being around it, in the heart of Mythos, was another.

“Magic is only a transference of energy,” Grandpa explained after I let out a long, telling breath. “We are capable of limitless untapped energy, right here,” he said, patting the center of his chest.

“But there are so many different kinds.”

He nodded. “It is as unique and different as people are. Don’t worry, you’ll figure out how to harness yours soon enough.”

I hoped he was right. I’d rather not set any more houses on fire, if I could help it.

The room was circular and empty. Every little sound echoed throughout the space. In the center of the white marble floor, there was a single red circle, similar to a bullseye on a dartboard. Grandpa and I stood inside that red circle, and we waited for the Fates to arrive. Three wooden chambers were perched above us, where the sisters would enter and take their seats. The energy in this room was strong, as strong as it was at the portal. I played with the charms on my bracelet nervously. This place reminded me of a courtroom, and I got the feeling I was about to be put on trial.

A spotlight shone overhead, and one over each chamber as well. The Fates entered, one by one, each wearing long white robes and matching headwraps. As they took their seats, they announced their names.

“Past,” said the one on my left. Her eyes were clouded with cataracts, her skin wrinkled and weathered with age spots. I wondered just how old she was.

“Present,” said the next, who appeared in the chamber directly in front of me. She was dressed exactly the same as Past, but she appeared younger. Her skin was vibrant and supple, her eyes clear and healthy.

“Future,” said the final Fate, appearing in the chamber at my right. Her eyes were also clear, but they were an odd silver color that pierced straight through me.

“Let’s begin,” said Present, and she banged a gavel, the sound echoing loudly throughout the room. I blinked. I might be right about this being a trial.

“Name?” Present called out.

Grandpa nudged me with his elbow.

“Ah, it’s Sheridan—”

“Speak up, child,” Past bellowed, leaning closer to the edge of her chamber. “These ears can’t hear like they used to.”

I raised my voice several notches higher. “Sheridan Adelina Thorne.”

“Noted,” Past replied. “Reason for today’s hearing?”

Thankfully, my grandfather took over from there. “My granddaughter, a descendant of Ares, would like to enroll in Mythos Academy. With your approval, of course.”

Past nodded once, then went eerily still. “An incident has happened, I see.”

I glanced over at Grandpa as an understanding dawned on me. Past wasn’t just her namesake. She could literally see into my past, and if that were the case, the others could see my present and future.

Present spoke up next. “The child is angry.” She stared down at me, her tone sharp. “She is full of repressed rage.”

I inhaled.

I was angry. I’ve been battling it for years, but she made it sound so extreme.

“A temporary emotion,” Grandpa assured her. “She had a fallout with her sister—”

“There is nothing temporary about it,” Past said, clicking her tongue. “She hides it well, but she’s carried that anger her entire life.”

Grandpa gave me a wary glance, frowning, but continued on. “I believe the academy will provide a beneficial change.”

Present nodded. “Yes, I can feel her affinity for our people. She already is more at ease in Mythos than she was back on the mainland.” She tilted her head to the side. “And yet…she still longs for home.”

I swallowed. I hated the way Present could see right through me, as if I were transparent as glass.

“Why do you wish to return home, child?” she asked me.

There was no point in denying it. “My dad. He ah, needs me. He recently had a stroke, and I’m afraid if I’m not there…” I couldn’t finish the sentence, too choked up to find the right words.

She went silent. It was a long time before any of the Fates spoke again, each second ticking by slower than the last. My insides churned. I wanted to go back home, but at the same time, I didn’t want to leave either.

Future finally spoke. Her voice sounded distant and hollow, almost an echo of the real thing. “I don’t foresee any immediate danger in your father’s future. Yours, however, is uncertain.”

That was a relief. I didn’t care about my own future as much as I worried about Dad’s.

“What of her enrollment?” Past asked her sister. “Should we allow it? What do you see?”

Future’s eyes seemed to split me apart. “There are two paths,” she said, her words reverberating throughout my whole body. “Should she choose to embrace her true nature and conform to her Ares blood, she will thrive. In fact, this path gives her the potential to be quite powerful.”

Grandpa clapped me on the back, looking more and more proud by the second.

“But it comes with consequences—”

The short-lived glory was ruined.

“—as she will never return to her human life,” Future said.

My stomach felt like