Bloodline Diplomacy: A Young Adult Urban Fantasy Academy Novel (Bloodline Academy Book 3) - Lan Chan (thriller books to read .txt) 📗

with. Her attention came to rest on Kai. At the base of my neck, I could feel a slow sweep of cold whispering over my skin. I had never even thought to ask what kind of witch she was. “You’ve forgotten who you are.”

I had to give Kai credit. He had done pretty well up until this point. But the way Samantha turned herself in dismissal of them made his jaw clench. Jacqueline enclosed her hand around his forearm as he inched forward.

“Alternating weekends is too much,” Jacqueline said. “That’s almost half the time. She’ll never be able to catch up.”

Samantha laughed. “Then do what you must to ensure the lessons she learns from Bloodline are the ones she can only learn from your Academy. But I daresay she doesn’t need your Herbology lessons or any more of your Arcane Magic classes. We are much better equipped to help her in those areas.”

Professor Mortimer pushed his glasses up his nose. “If you’re going to end up teaching her those same courses then what’s the point?”

She shrugged, clearly bored with the conversation. In her mind, things were already settled. The contrast between her behaviour now and how she had acted five minutes earlier was drastic. In fact, both Sean and Jessica appeared to have done a Jekyll and Hyde as well. Inside the walls of Terran, I didn’t feel an overwhelming urge to smack Sean across the head. Right now, the smirk on his amused face made my skin crawl. How would this ever work if there was such animosity between us?

“Never mind the lessons,” I said. “When the hell am I going to get a break?”

Nobody said anything. Samantha gave me a pointed look which I translated into a question about what was more important. Rest or saving the world? I threw my hands up in the air. “Fine. Whatever. Can we go now?”

“We’ll expect you back here at the end of the week,” Samantha said. I felt a door closing in my mind. Or maybe it was shackles rattling. Whatever it was, it sealed my fate.

Back inside the bus, I let out a long sigh. Our party was quiet during the return trip. Jacqueline took over driving because Professor Mortimer was still rattled from his encounter with the soul gate. She put her foot down over a pot hole and the bus fishtailed. I gripped the seat in front of me. Kai shot me an I told you so look. I closed my eyes as the bus slipped through the portal and landed with the grinding of gears on the short runway.

Professor Magnus and Peter were still waiting for us. My inside clenched at the sight of him. Had I really just agreed to stop taking Herbology classes? And Arcane Magic. My two favourite classes at Bloodline. I must have let out a sound because the seat beside me dipped.

Warmth blanketed my side. Without turning, I allowed my head to slump on Kai’s shoulder. “You know you can always change your mind,” he said.

I thought of what Samantha had told me about Gaia and the planet going to hell. Suddenly I was so weary I could barely keep my eyes open. The knot in my mind was fraying at the edges. This time I turned and buried my head into the crook of his neck. He wrapped his arms around me, seeming to understand the source of my anguish.

“She’ll always be your grandmother. Nothing could change that.”

The bus door opened. I allowed myself a few seconds to steady my breathing. When I lifted my head, his eyes were soft. We’d been trying to figure out how I could use what I’d done to Basil to free Nanna. But the one time we had gone to Seraphina to attempt it, all I’d done was tug and Nanna had fallen unconscious.

“Time to get off the bus,” Basil said. My tension dissolved into irritation. Basil didn’t care. It was his mission in life to come between Kai and me whenever he had the chance. Rather than argue, Kai unfolded himself and took my hand. He lifted me up to my feet and stepped aside so I could turn down the aisle. Basil waited for me at the front of the bus. He too let me pass, and then he stepped in front of Kai to block the way. Despite everything, Sophie had a small smile on her face when I stopped in front of her.

Nora wrapped one arm around me. She pulled us both aside. “I know this is a big ask,” Nora said, “but the Council are having a difficult time containing the news that the Sisterhood have been here all along. There are rumours flying all over the place. We need to make an announcement soon. I was just thinking, maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to do that publicly.”

I could see where this was headed. “You mean like at a party?” She nodded.

“We could set something up in Seraphina.”

Sophie raised a brow. “After what happened with Artemis, how would the Council feel about allowing the Sisterhood into their inner sanctum?”

“They might not have a choice,” Kai said, coming up behind me. He grabbed hold of a chunk of my shirt and pulled me back into him. I wasn’t sure if it was for my benefit or his. “We’re either going to have to bend or break from this, and I have no intention of breaking. They have Blue, for now, and that’s going to mean we need to play nice with them.”

“Do you think you could float the idea of a meeting with them?” Nora asked me.

I turned me palms up into the air. “I haven’t even started school there and you want me to ask them for a favour?” The straight face she gave me said she wasn’t asking. I groaned. “Fine. But maybe if you let them see Giselle it might sweeten the deal.”

“No,” Kai said.

“But –”

“This isn’t a discussion.”

I yanked myself out of his