Blazing Academy: Semester One (Academy For All Things Scorching #1) - Avery Song Page 0,66

but someone caught my hand, tugging me up, and my body stopped an inch from the cement surface. The rain all around us stopped like it was frozen in time, and my eyes landed upon massive white wings and gold eyes. He had the biggest scowl on his face, and I wasn't sure if he was upset with me, or annoyed that he had to come down from heaven and save me."

"Wait." The mention of a scowl triggered the thought of one person. "You're not referring to Gabriel, are you?"

"The one and only." His smile was priceless as his face brightened up. "I honestly thought I was seeing things, but that grimace of his never seemed so perfect. I passed out after that, the shock of everything finally kicking in, and when I woke up, I was in this massive mansion. I noticed a white bed and chairs. It was like I'd walked into a house in heaven. That's when Gabriel arrived and told me that I owed him."

"Why does that sound like him?" I commented.

"Totally does." He chuckled and shook his head. "I did owe him. He'd saved my life when he didn't have to. He was twelve back then, so the use of our flame magic to create physical traits like wings or even shifting was extremely hard on the body. He gave a good front when he confronted me about owing him, but once everything was settled, he was sick for a good two weeks. His parents are in really high positions and always work, so I ended up taking care of him. It was pretty ironic."

"Was that your payback to him?" I inquired.

"Nah." Shaking his head, he sighed. "In order for me to pay him back, I had to be his brother from then on."

"Brother?" I was a little confused as to what he meant. "Like, as in actual brother?"

Keru smirked. "Yup. He said because I thought life was so wasteful, my punishment would be being his official brother. That way, if he had to suffer in the world, apparently, I'd have to do the same. Only this time, we'd be in this together and it wouldn't such a lonely journey."

Now that he explained it, I was moved by the explanation.

"Doesn't that mean-"

"He asked his parents to adopt me and they surprisingly approved. I kept my last name for the sake of locating my parents one day or on the off chance I'd become someone famous or popular and they would come to find me. Odd way of getting revenge in my case, but it seemed smart at the time. We're legally brothers. They became family. I began therapy after that. Physical therapy to address the wounds I'd endured from my abuser, and then therapy to address my mental needs. That was where I met Mrs. CloverSpell, and learned all about the Blazing Organization that aids youth in becoming powerful individuals in our small society."

"Blazing Organization," I repeated.

"Some like to call it Blazing Agency, since they connect with other huge agencies that sponsor teens to become agents, teachers, leaders. It’s basically a place for us to discover what we want to achieve and make a difference in our fellow peers' lives. Most if not all teens attend Blazing Academy after we reach eighteen, but since Gabriel is a year younger than me, I figured I’d wait so we could attend together. It worked out in our favor, seeing as we got the opportunity to attend with you, but ya."

He slid off his chair and stretched. "I was slowly eased into learning about being a Hellhound Warlock and had to learn about everything from scratch. It was a new experience and scary, because I was clueless about this world filled with magic users and shifters. However, it was easier because Gabriel was there to cheer me on in his negative, insulting type of way."

"That's just one of his characteristics, huh?"

"Definitely." Keru laughed. "But it honestly works. Whenever he scolded me for being stupid or struggling to learn a spell, I always worked harder to prove him wrong. It was like a high to receive his praise, and whenever I did, I'd rub it in his face and make sure he'd admit what I'd accomplished. Gabriel is definitely rough around the edges, but he's really caring. He never wants to see someone truly suffer, especially when they don't deserve it. He could have let me die, but he waited to see if I regretted my decision, which I