Dragon Fire Academy 1 First Term an RH academy romance - Rachel Jonas Page 0,51
then took us closer to the roaring flow. From a distance, it had been deceiving, hiding its power until we were right up on it.
I screamed a little and squeezed Kai tight, unable to remember a time I’d felt more alive. We passed through to the other side, and the sound of the water changed. The mighty roar now echoed through a hollow cavern hidden behind it.
Kai reached for my arm and helped me off his back, not letting go until I’d climbed inside the grotto, and was safely seated on the edge. He followed me out of the water, sitting so close there was no space between his body and mine. Beside my guardians, I felt so small, like a mere human among deities who were far too much for this world.
My eyes went to his damp skin as water streamed down it in beads, trying not to stare, but something about him and the others called out to me.
Moonlight turned the falls into liquid silver before us, and we were completely cut off from the rest of the world. I imagined Kai must have hidden there often, clearing his thoughts, regrouping from the work he did patrolling the border. If I had something this beautiful in my backyard, I might not ever leave.
“Hopefully, you don’t mind that we dragged you out here, to the middle of nowhere,” he spoke up, pulling my gaze from where I stared at his chest, to his eyes. “I know Ori can be a bit of a hardnose at times, but he really does mean well. Sometimes he doesn’t know how to just own that he cares about someone. Instead, it comes across like he’s being a bit of a caveman.”
I smiled at that, thinking of my father. “Yeah, I know the type.”
Kai nodded. “It might not totally suck being held prisoner for the weekend. If it’s any consolation, Paulo makes a stack of killer pancakes on Saturdays when we’re not working.”
When I laughed, I didn’t miss how Kai became fixated on my expression, letting his gaze drift down to my lips. Suddenly aware of how he watched me, my smile faded some, and I felt a gentle tug within my soul, as if it was lurching toward him.
“I haven’t had the guts to say this yet,” he started, “but I’m sorry we were so hard on you when you first got to the island. We just—”
“You don’t have to say anything,” I interjected. “You all have a lot on your shoulders. I get it.”
I turned to face the falls again, wanting to push any negative thoughts aside.
“So, how are you doing? You know, with everything that’s gone on today?”
There was no need to think long and hard about that. My thoughts about the Pinning Ritual, and the lagoon a month ago, were practically all I could think about.
“When you snapped me out of that weird trance that day, I was afraid, and missing home because I didn’t feel safe here. That feeling was kind of fleeting, when I sat back and thought of how hard I fought to get here, how badly I want to succeed at the academy. But then, today, I was forced to reevaluate things. From a far less emotional standpoint this time,” I shared.
“And?” Kai turned to face me, but only for a second before following my gaze to the falls.
“And … I think you may have been right,” I admitted. “About maybe needing to leave here.”
Even the idea of it made my entire body fill with dread. Giving up was the last thing I wanted to do, but I was starting to think the incident at the lagoon was more than just a random event. Today—when the pendulum went wild—I was starting to get the sense that this was personal.
Not to mention, the entity had spoken to me, stating that I belonged here on the island. It made me think it wanted me to fulfill some dark agenda, and I couldn’t let that happen. Especially seeing as how I had yet to transition, yet to know what I’d become. Maybe that had been a sign of things that lie ahead, a sign that it sensed the monster inside me, waiting to be unleashed.
Beside me, Kai sighed, which made me turn to him again. “What is it?” I asked.
His long lashes closed over his eyes once, and then he met my gaze. “You mentioned that you may have led with emotion before, and … I think I’m guilty