Fortune Academy: Year Three - J.R. Thorn Page 0,9
and found Jess cursing out an army of Demonspawn. The creatures didn’t seem so terrifying as they wilted under Jess’s onslaught of profanities.
Some of my Virtues were here, too, and Orion noticed me first while Hendrik leaned against one of the tunnels and glared at the Demonspawn.
The demigod’s golden form stood out like a sore thumb against the sea of red and black. This layer of Hell swarmed with activity and the tunnels expanded into massive caverns that glittered with a city cut into the stone. Slick, black walls boasted gothic architecture that reminded me of some of the buildings back at Fortune Academy. The Demonspawn in front of us wore protective armor over toned bodies, bodies that weren’t as stringy and inhuman like the creatures that I had summoned before. They still had long, black talons and glowing red eyes, as well as horns and tails, but they all had a distinct human appearance to them. They slowly began splintering off as Jess waved them away, finally seeming to get somewhere with the underlings. A few stared at me, showing teeth and hissing, but they kept their distance.
Orion waved and smiled, oblivious of the angry Demonspawn looking as if they were debating on eating me. “About time, little star. I was starting to wonder what was keeping you.” He messed up Logan’s scruff with a rough scratch, making my shifter growl. All of my Virtues were connected now and they definitely would have felt Logan’s claim on me.
“We were, uh, getting through the tunnels,” I said truthfully, only to be rewarded by a panty-melting grin that said he had wicked things planned for me when he got me alone. “Okay, so I spent some time with Dante and Logan, but Dante almost died! And Logan…” I glanced down at the wolf whose blue eyes glittered with pride. “Well, he’s one of my Virtues.” I sighed and rested a hand on Orion’s hard chest. “Just like you are.”
Orion pinched my chin. “Is that so?” When I blushed, he scooped me up, ignoring the warning coming from my wolf as he grabbed my ass. “Then you won’t mind if I do this.” He pulled me to him and gave me a long, toe-curling kiss.
The taste of him intoxicated me and I wanted nothing more than to indulge in a reunion with all of my Virtues. I wrapped my arms around his neck and loved how his hard body flexed against mine.
Jess cleared her throat, reminding me that we had other things to worry about. “You done eating each other’s faces?” she asked us before turning on Hendrik. “You going to let them waste our time like this?”
“Hmm,” was his only reply. The Dark Mage glowered at us while he leaned against the rocky tunnels, arms crossed and expression pensive.
I wondered if he was thinking about Olivia. The distant worry in his eyes surprised me. Maybe I had underestimated his empathy for my best friend. He’d used her as a pawn against me, but what if that had all been for show?
“Well I for one am tired of hanging out by the tunnels,” Jess said, crossing her arms as she sauntered to us. She tapped long black talons over her forearms and her horns cast an ominous shadow at my feet. “Are you done screwing your mates, or can we get on with the reason we’re here?”
“Where is… here?” I asked as Orion set me on my feet. Logan whined and wound around my ankles, making it clear that he wasn’t going to let me out of his sight.
“You mean you don’t know?” Jess asked with wide eyes. “You’re the one who brought us to the Demonspawn city.”
“The Blood Stone brought us here,” Dante clarified as he glared at the Demonspawn guards who finally splintered off, leaving us alone. The Hunter kept one hand on his dagger anyway. “And you were the one who was supposed to give Lily an anchor to work with. I’d say you did a poor job of that.”
Jess scoffed as her pointed tail flicked around her feet. “I’m not a lower-level demon, you know. I’m just a student at Monster Academy so this is the deepest level I could reach on my own.” She jerked her head, indicating the tunnels. “The Academy is just beyond the Demonspawn city. It acts as a protective barrier for anyone trying to get on campus.” She narrowed her eyes at Dante. “It was probably the Hunter that sent us off course.