Fortune Academy: Year Three - J.R. Thorn Page 0,25

began and rested a hand on his arm. He jerked away from me.

“Don’t ‘Dante’ me with those blushing cheeks and swollen lips.” He paused, looking at the evidence of what we’d all done together. He’d been the one to bite me and I ran my tongue over the delicious hurt, which only made him frown.

“I can explain,” I whispered.

All my Virtues stared at me expectantly, but it was Hendrik who seemed to put it together first. “You don’t have everything you need to fight Calamity. Is that it?”

I slapped my hands against my thighs. “I don’t know. I guess? I mean, all of you have shared… everything with me.” I glanced down, unable to meet their gazes. “It should be enough.”

Kaito slipped his arm around my waist and brought me to his chest. He’d put on a pair of pants and I tucked my hands into the back pockets. “But it’s not,” he confirmed.

I nodded against him, both humiliated and frustrated that I couldn’t just enjoy the moment. “I’m really sorry.”

“It’s not your fault,” he said, shushing me as he tucked my head against his shoulder. “You’re a Champion, Lily, and of one of the more powerful Echoes of Calamity. They only get stronger and more violent as the waves progress. It’s never been like this before. Your achievements are unprecedented and we shouldn’t be so hard on you.”

Orion’s warmth spread across my back as he rested a claiming hand on my neck, then gave the back of my head a kiss. “We support you, little star. I think we’ve proven that.”

Logan snorted. “Sure, but you have to admit, it did kind of ruin the moment.” He crossed his arms and narrowed his brilliant blue eyes at me as I snuggled closer into Kaito’s warmth. “So, what does this mean, Princess? Are we going to have to go get him? Where is he?”

“I… I don’t know,” I admitted. All I knew was that he was in pain, he suffered, and we had to get to him as soon as we could.

But he felt far away. Not in Hell, maybe, which presented a problem. I didn’t exactly know how to get out of here yet. The plan had been to trap Calamity. Escape was just a luxury.

But, I felt incomplete. I didn’t just see my Virtues as a means of survival or tools to be used. They were all pieces of my heart and when we came together, I felt whole.

I needed to figure something out… and fast.

When I released a small sound of frustration, Kaito kissed my forehead before brushing away my hair, giving me a smile. “We’ll figure it out, Koneko-chan. First, let’s stick to the plan and find your mother. Whatever we decide to do next, we’ll have a better shot if we have the Queen of Hell on our side.”

I sure hoped so, because if Calamity found us before we knew how to contain it, we were all dead meat.

“Look at this spread!” Logan barked as he jumped into one of the massive chairs lined up against a dining table. After we’d all managed to get a few hours of sleep, Luc’s underlings had knocked at our door and guided us to the dining hall.

And wow, this was one hell of a breakfast.

The table’s entire surface gleamed with an assortment of delicious items that smelled heavenly, despite where we were.

“Wow,” Orion agreed, taking a seat next to the wolf. “I don’t even know where to start.”

“Start with blood sausages,” Hendrik said as he stuffed one into his mouth. His black eyes gleamed with the red glow of my power that surged through him like a drug. Out of all my Virtues, I think he took the black magic a little too far, not having anything to buffer it inside of his body.

Kaito pulled out a chair at the head of the table and ushered me into it while Dante took a napkin and folded it onto my lap—of course coping a feel on the way. I glowered at him, which only earned me a dimple-studded grin.

All the rest of my Virtues took their seats and began filling their plates while demon servants stocked the table with what seemed to be an endless supply of food.

Something felt off about all of this. I couldn’t help but notice the heady scent that made my eyelids heavy and urged me to gorge myself.

“Guys?” I asked, the pitch of my voice going up with worry as they all began to feast.