Academy Obscura: The Searing Trials by Cassia Briar

Author:Cassia Briar [Briar, Cassia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Vampires
Amazon: B08275WHV8
Goodreads: 54935752
Publisher: Wednesday Ink, LLC
Published: 2020-06-16T00:00:00+00:00

Friday at lunch, I met Montrell in his office again, this time carrying his lunch on a tray like I was his goddamn servant. I set it on the desk. He snapped shut the hardback he was reading: David Copperfield , then inhaled his lunch while I dusted the piles of books in his office. Cleaning had become yet another of my never ending list of tasks to do without complaint.

“I’d like to try a different approach,” he said, wiping his mouth with the cloth napkin. “Something a little more direct.” He checked the time on his wristwatch, standing as he did so. He moved toward me. “In the Trial Chamber, I’ll be with you the entire time. The Tromara at least allow that for every student. Now we’re going to have a bit of a go at it.”

I gazed up at him, confused. “What, here? Now?”

The door clicked open, swinging silently inward. Filling the frame was King Sebastian.

I recoiled into Montrell who stood behind me. Sebastian was here for me. The sound of my pulse filled my ears. It throbbed in my head. Montrell had betrayed me. He was giving me over to the Tromara. I shifted to dragon form.

“This is a test, Caprice,” Montrell snapped.

Those words made me pause. I reined in my fear. A test? It took all my effort to shift down, but I did it, feeling more vulnerable than ever.

I watched the figure in the doorway who looked like Sebastian. He held very still, only his eyes moved over me. I reached out with my dragon senses and they instantly told me this figure was not the king. The only energy I read was faintly fae. An illusion then? But it looked so real.

The illusion stepped over the threshold. “Kneel before me,” he said, sounding exactly like Sebastian.

I drew in a shuddering breath and dropped to my knees. Anger welled in the pit of my stomach. I balled my hands into fists to control the overwhelming need to shift up, to set this monster on fire. This wasn’t really Sebastian, I reminded myself, only an illusion.

“Crawl to me,” it said.

I fell forward onto my palms and crawled. Tears of rage stung my eyes. My dragon demanded to be let out, but I wouldn’t give in. I was doing this for my survival. For Jaxon and Angel. For all of us.

When I was at the illusion’s feet, I halted, staring at the stone floor. My body shook with my effort to submit. The figure’s hand reached down and brushed the hair back from my face. It lifted my chin to peer into my face. I almost cracked then, gazing into the king’s dark eyes. For a second, panic overtook me again. The illusion was so real. This had to be the monster himself.

I blinked, and he vanished in glimmering smoke. My trembling body collapsed to the floor. Strong arms pulled me to my feet, wrapped around me, and hauled me into a warm chest. Montrell’s fresh dew scent filled my nose, soothing my inner beast.

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