Deviant Descendants (Descendants Academy #2) - Belle Malory Page 0,17

you.”

We stood on the ledge, staring out at the inlet, along with Reina and Cassius. They surrounded me, looking anxious with their crinkled brows and their matching worried gazes.

“If I don’t jump, I’ll look weak.”

“So look weak,” he practically growled. “Better than you getting hurt.”

“Xander, I agreed to the terms. I have to do this.”

His jaw ticked, but he didn’t argue. As much as he might wish it were otherwise, we both knew it was too late to back out now.

The ledge lay flat over the water, about fifteen feet down, just as Xander said. I gazed down at the glassy surface, wishing I had more confidence in my magic. Bibliomagery came naturally, but the rest I was still learning as I went. Creating fire wasn’t all that difficult. That, I could do easily. Directing it, though, could be tricky.

It didn’t help that Riley and her trio of gremlins had banded together across the inlet, their lawn chairs parked in the dewy grass, and they brought popcorn. I was their freak sideshow act for the night. Down below, Calypso rounded her hands over her mouth, shouting, “Time to jump, Two! We don’t have all night!”

Xander scowled. “Don’t let them get in your head. The best thing you can do is stay focused on getting to the shore as quickly as possible.” His voice had turned calm, a trait of his that only occurred when he was afraid and trying not to show it. If there was nothing to worry about, he’d crack jokes or make fun of me, and he wasn’t doing either of those things.

Reina pulled me away from Xander, offering her own advice. “Ignore those petty bitches. The less attention you give them, the more disappointed they’ll be.”

But Riley was hard to ignore. She sat perched in her lawn chair like it was a throne, watching one of her subjects get beheaded, her cool gaze lit with undeniable satisfaction. In that moment, I hated her. Destroying her didn’t sound half bad, curse or no curse.

Looking away, I tried to get a grip on myself. I would deal with her later. For now, I had to focus on getting through the inlet.

Reina blew her bangs out of her eyes and gave me a once over. She squeezed my biceps, clicking her tongue. “Not much physical strength, eh?”

“You’re not very good at pep talks.”

She smirked. “I just meant you need to rely on magic. And ditch the toga. It will only slow you down. The mermaids will just rip it off anyway.”

Rip it off? Oh, dear god.

At my look of horror, Reina squeezed my hand. “Don’t freak out. You’ve got this, Sheridan.”

“That’s right,” Cassius said from behind her. “Mermaids are child’s play.”

I offered a half-smile, grateful for his enthusiasm, even if I didn’t fully believe him. “Thanks, Cassius.”

This was obviously way worse than they were letting on.

“Do you know how to perform an underwater spell?” Reina said.

“What do you mean?”

“Produce fire underwater. To fend off the mermaids.”

I balled my hands into fists, trying to maintain my composure. Fire magic was a fairly new skill. I knew nothing about using it underwater.

“No, I don’t.” My situation was looking bleaker by the second. Clearly, I hadn’t thought this bet through all the way.

Her mouth twitched, and I caught her worried look right before she shook it off. “It’s fine. You’ll be fine.”

Yeah, I didn’t detect a crap-ton of confidence there. “I’m fish bait, aren’t I?”

At that point, Xander stepped between us, letting out an impatient breath. “I’ve got it from here, Reina.” He steered me back around to face him. “Repeat after me: liquidus ignis.”

“Liquidus ignis.”

He nodded. “Good. While you say it, become one with the fire. Give it as much strength as you can.”

“Exactly how am I supposed to say the spell if I’m underwater?”

“Find a moment when you’re not. Say it right away or even as you jump. Don’t give the mermaids a chance to get to you.”

I looked down at the murky water again, noticing ripples that hadn’t been there before. The mermaids likely knew we were here, just waiting for some fool mage to jump. Waiting for me. I was the fool mage because I agreed to a stupid fool’s bet.

“Maybe I’ll get lucky and they won’t want my beauty.”

This stupid fool mage could still hope.

Xander reached for me and pressed his lips hard against mine. I raised my brows, caught off guard by the kiss. His magic flowed through me, building confidence along with sparks of heat