Charmed

  Charmed

  (Guardian Academy, #6)

  Jessica Sorensen

  Charmed

  Jessica Sorensen

  All rights reserved.

  Copyright © 2019 by Jessica Sorensen

  This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of characters to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. The author holds exclusive rights to this work. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited.

  No part of this book can be reproduced in any form or by electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without the permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer who may quote short excerpts in a review.

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  For information: jessicasorensen.com

  * * *

  Cover design by MaeIDeisgn

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Alana

  Alana

  Alana

  Jax

  Jax

  Alana

  Alana

  About the Author

  Also by Jessica Sorensen

  Alana

  “Oh my God,” I groan, trying not to lose my mind. But I feel like banging my head against the window. Jax is driving me absolutely crazy. “You’re crazy. You really are.”

  He throws me a dirty look as he steers down the highway. “I’m the crazy one?” He picks up a bottle of soda. “You’re the one who thinks a vampire is stronger than a werewolf.”

  “I never said stronger,” I correct. “I just said deadlier, but not necessarily to a werewolf. Just other creatures in general.”

  He twists the cap off the bottle of soda. "Werewolves are way deadlier than vampires. Trust me.”

  “No way. Vampires have fangs, blood lust, mind compulsion, super speed, crazy hearing.” I jot off a list.

  “Werewolves are strong, have less weaknesses, can bond someone to them.” He briefly pauses, an edgy look flashing across his face.

  He’s done that a lot over the last handful of hours, ever since we fled the academy, and set out on our own. We haven’t told anyone why we left or even that we took off. We simply snuck into the school, packed as much stuff as we could, hopped in Jax’s car, and sped off.

  Our plan is to stay clear of the school, and anyone connected to it, until we can figure out what in the crazy faeries is going on with… Well, a lot of things. Finding out who the real leader of the Electi is, which so far, we know is a shapeshifter who took my grandfather’s identity. We also need to figure out what Vivianne is up to, if she for sure is the fey princess and why I saw her hanging out in the woods in the middle of the night with the queen of the water fey. Another problem we’re trying to solve is if Dash is alive. I left a message on Thad’s voicemail to see what he knows about that, but he hasn’t called me back yet. And then there’s the problem of figuring out what kind of creature I am, and that has become our top priority at the moment. We sent Ollie out to find the answer, but we haven’t heard from him since we parted ways. It has both of us very worried, since he was searching for the Scrawl of Secrets in Hushing Forest, a place that only pixies know the location to.

  “I don’t know about the bonding part,” I tell Jax and then pop a couple of chips into my mouth. “Seeing as how you weren’t able to bond to me.”

  He takes a sip of the soda. “That’s only because you’re an anomaly.”

  Which basically means I’m a freak, but Jax is refusing to say that. I don’t know why. The Jax I first met totally would’ve. But ever since the whole biting incident, he’s been acting like a straight-up weirdo. My bet is spending hours possessed messed with his mind. I just hope he returns to his normal self soon, because this nice guy vibe he’s giving off is making me feel off balance.

  “You say anomaly. I say freak.” I quip, slipping off my sandals and putting my feet onto the dashboard.

  It's late in the evening, but warm. Since the air-conditioning doesn't work well, I have my window down, and the cool autumn breeze is gusting into the cab and blowing strands of my long brown hair into my violet eyes.

  “You should stop calling yourself that.” He slips on a pair of sunglasses, covering up his silver eyes. His light brown hair is a mess due to the wind blowing through it for the last several hours, and yet somehow, it looks intentionally styled that way.

  “What? Freak?” I give him a funny look. “Why? It doesn’t bother me.”

  “Yeah, but…” He stares ahead at the road we’re cruising down that’s located in the middle of nowhere; only trees, fields, and shallow hills are nearby. I’m not even sure where we are. And I haven’t seen anything but trees and land for hours. “Just because you’re different, doesn’t mean you’re a freak. And it’s not like we even know what you are.”

  “Yeah, so what? Being an unknown, different, rare creature kind of makes me a freak.” I tuck a strand of my hair behind my ear. “But like I said, I’m totally cool with that.”

  “Oh, Alana.” He quietly sighs underneath his breath.

  “Oh, Jax.” I mimic his sigh, then narrow my eyes at him. “Why are you acting like this?"

  “Like what?” He feigns dumb, but I detect a slight twitch in his jaw.

  I observe him, trying to see through this weird nice guy act he’s putting on. “You’re being nice to me. Well, at least nice for you, and it’s weird. You’ve never been nice to me.”

  “I’ve never been nice to you?” he questions, his brow meticulously arching. “Seriously?”

  “Yes, seriously,” I say. When he continues to stare at me unconvinced, I add. “Okay, I guess there’s been a couple of times where you’ve been decent to me, but those moments are rare." I dazzle him with a cheeky smile. "Not that I care. I kind of prefer the moody Jax over this weird, nice one."

  He rolls his eyes. “Only you’d prefer me to be an asshole.”

  “I don’t want you to be an asshole,” I clarify. “I just…” You just what, Alana? Miss bantering with him? Miss him making you feel challenged?

  Miss him?

  For the love of all magic, what is wrong with me?

  “You just what?” he taunts with a challenge in his eyes.

  I hate how my mind and body react to that challenge, hate that spark I feel buzzing underneath my skin.

  “Nothing.” I change the subject. “How much longer until we get there?” And by there, I mean to a place Jax insists pixies navigate to.

  Although he didn’t give me any specifics as to what this place is, it's location, or how he’s even aware that it exists.

  “Probably another fifteen minutes or so,” he replies, his gaze burrowing into me.

  The longer he stares at me, the more I want to squirm. But I tell my body to hold the freakin’ faeries still, that we are so not going there with Jax, the brooding version or the nice one.

  “You know, it’s unsafe not to look at the road while you’re driving.” I glance at him. “And if you crash, not everyone in this car has super healing powers.”

  He searches my eyes, for what, who the crazy trolls knows. “Maybe you do.”

  “Have super healing powers?” I snort a laugh. “I know I don't. Trust me; I've got scars all over my body to prove that."

  “Maybe your powers were just delayed, and now they’re finally manifesting. Delayed powers sometimes happen in certain creatures. Like for instance, certain types of fey. Some of them don’t have any powers until they reach puberty.”

  “I’m well past puberty, though,” I point out while grabbing another handful of chips. "But maybe you're right. Maybe my powe
rs were delayed until I got my guardian mark since both of them coincided with each other. Well, that and my grandpa’s death, but…” I bite down on my lip as images of seeing my grandpa dead flood my thoughts. “But anyway,” I clear my throat, “All of that stuff happened around the same time."

  Jax’s brows knit as he looks at the road. At first, I think he's trying to figure out where we are, but then his gaze welds with mine.

  “It’s kind of strange all of that happened at the same time,” he says. “And you got your guardian mark later than most guardians.”

  “What’re you getting at? Because it seems like you’re getting at something.”

  “I’m not necessarily getting at anything.” He shifts to a lower gear, slowing down the car. “I’m just wondering something.”

  “What?” I lower my feet from the dash and glance around at the fields, searching for a reason as to why he’s slowing down.

  All I can see is a narrow, bumpy dirt road that winds into the trees. Is that where we’re going? Into the woods? Because the last time we wandered into the woods, he bit me.

  The car comes to almost a complete stop as he turns onto the dirt road.

  So yep, we're going into the woods. And nothing good has ever happened in the freakin’ woods.

  “Well, I don’t know for certain,” he says as he steers down the dirt road. “But I’m wondering if maybe someone was making your powers dormant.”

  My eyes widen. “You think someone was intentionally hiding my powers?”

  His gaze sweeps across the trees and the branches canopying the road.

  “I’m not sure,” he mumbles. “It’s just a thought I had.”

  My mind is spinning over the idea. “Who would do that, though? My parents?”

  No, there’s no way they’d keep something like that from me.

  He shrugs, wariness creeping across his expression. “Honestly, and I could be wrong about all of this, but my best guess is that if someone was keeping your powers hidden, it was probably your grandfather.”

  I want to protest. Want to say there's no way that could be true. But over the last month or two, I've learned that my grandpa wasn't necessarily the man I thought he was, that he lived a secret life.

  I sink back into the seat. “Why would he do that, though? What’s the point of keeping my powers hidden?”

  “Maybe to protect you from the …” He lowers his voice. “Electi.” He gives a short pause before quickly adding, “But again, I’m not sure. This is all just a guess. However, your grandpa worked hard to keep a lot of things hidden, and I’m wondering if somehow he knew about your powers, and maybe he knew the leader of the Electi would want you because of them, so he found a way to keep them dormant. But then he died and…” He offers me an apologetic look.

  Agony sears inside me, but I stifle the feeling, focusing on what Jax said, unsure how I feel about his theory. There could be a ton of reasons why my powers have remained dormant until recently. But it is kind of coincidental that they made a grand appearance shortly after my grandpa died.

  “Do you think my grandpa did some sort of connection spell to keep my powers hidden?” I ask, but it’s not really a question. I’m just thinking aloud. “And then when he died, that connection broke?” I can’t help thinking about all the times I’ve heard my grandpa’s voice inside my head, giving me vague warnings about the future.

  I had believed he was doing it because he is—was a foreseer—and saw an impending doom waiting in the future. But maybe he was also trying to warn me about my powers manifesting, about what I could do, and what I could potentially do if the wrong creature got ahold of my powers. Not that I'm even sure what my powers are. All that’s happened so far is I’ve seen the death of others and seen visions of blood painting the land.

  “That’s one of my theories.” Jax grips the wheel as we drive over a bump in the road, his gaze darting back to the trees. He visibly stiffens, his muscles raveling into knots, and making me wonder where in the heck we’re going, and why he seems so tense about it. “But that’s just one of them. There are a few other possibilities.”

  “Like what?” When I notice him stiffen even more, I decide it’s time for him to fess up as to where we’re going. “Dude, where the crap are we? Because you look super tense, even for you.” I grin at my clever remark, but my lips tip downward as Jax’s knuckles turn white from gripping the steering wheel so tightly. “Okay, for reals, where are we?”

  He hesitates. “We’re in pixie territory.”

  Right as he says it, the trees open up and the road flattens out, giving me a view of a gated entryway that arches toward the glittering purple sky.

  Wait… glittering purple sky?

  “Um… why’s the sky purple?” I slant forward and tilt my head to get a better view.

  “Well…” He parks in front of the entryway, shoves the shifter into park, and shuts off the engine. A frown forms on his lips as he assesses the gate. Then with a sigh, he twists to face me. “So, a handful of days after Ollie left, I received a message from him. He’d found a pixie that was going to lead him into Hushing Forest, but, like all pixies, he said she was a little bit sketchy. So we both agreed that if I didn’t hear from him within a week or so, that I was to come here, go to a bar called The Wandering Glitter Seekers, and find a pixie named Jessa. That she’d know where Ollie is.”

  “Okay.” Confusion tap dances through me. “Why haven’t you told me about this until now? And where is this place even?” I gesture at the glittery purple sky.

  “I didn’t tell you because I was worried that if something happened to me…” He lets out an exhale.

  "That I'd go here by myself?" I ask, and he shrugs, avoiding my gaze. I shake my head, irritation biting under my skin. “Okay, wolf boy, let's get something straight right now." I square my shoulders. "In no way, shape, or crazy vampire am I ever going to be the kind of person that needs to be protected. I need to make my own decisions based on all the facts. So you need to give me all the facts. I mean it, Jax.” I narrow my eyes at him so he knows I mean business. “Don’t keep shit from me to try to protect me.” I stick out my pinkie. “In fact, pinkie swear you won’t. And when we have the time, we can turn the pinkie promise into a blood promise.”

  The corners of his lips twitch as he glances at my pinkie. Then he meets my gaze and hitches his pinkie with mine. “All right, violet eyes, you have yourself a deal.”

  Again, I’m thrown off balance by how easily he agrees. But I’ll worry about that later. Right now, I need to figure out where this place is, because the fact that he's been avoiding telling me has me questioning just how dangerous it is.

  “Good.” I unhitch my pinkie from his. “Now tell me where we are.”

  He gives a short pause before reluctantly saying, “We’re at the entrance to the pixie realm.”

  Alana

  At first, I think I’ve heard him wrong. Because the entrance to the pixie realm…

  I shake my head. “That’s not possible. The only way into another realm is through a portal.”

  He arches a brow. “Who says we didn’t go through a portal?”

  I cock my brow right back at him. "I've seen my fair share of portals opened, so I know we didn't."

  “I didn’t say we opened one,” he clarifies. “I just said we went through one.”

  Okay… “So you’re saying that there’s just some random portal in the forest back there,” I point behind us. “And that basically anyone can just walk into the pixie realm?”

  While I don’t think Jax is much of a liar, I’m not sure if I believe him.

  If there were a portal to the pixie realm in a place that anyone could walk into, wouldn’t I have heard about it, seeing as how my parents are keepers and usually know those sorts of things?

  He unfastens his seatbelt. “You have to have paranormal blood in your veins to go through it.”

  “Oh.” I guess that makes sense. But what doesn’t is… “How did you know it e
xists?”

  “I’ve made a lot of connections while working cases—it’s part of the job. And some of those connections happen to be pixies, who can get really chatty when they’ve had a glass or two of wine.”

  “Have you ever dated a pixie?” I ask, then mentally bitch slap myself.

  Why in the heck did I just ask that?

  A smirk curls across his lips. “Would you be jealous if I had?"

  I roll my eyes. “No. I was just curious.”

  “Sure you were.” He grins. “And for the record, I haven’t dated a pixie.” He chews on his bottom lip, looking at me way too intently. “Have you?”

  I snort a laugh. “Hell no.”

  His brow lifts. “Are you prejudice against pixies or something?”

  “No. I’ve just never dated anyone.”

  “Ever?”

  “Nope.”

  Curiosity flickers across his face. “Have you ever kissed anyone before?”

  I roll my eyes. “Not that it’s any of your business, but yeah, I have. I just haven’t dated anyone.”

  Surprise flickers in his eyes and my jaw ticks.

  Why does he seem so surprised by this?

  “Stop acting surprised. I know I annoy the hell out of you, but some guys like my sparkling personality.” I smile haughtily. “And it’s not like I haven’t had the opportunity to date. I’ve just spent a lot of my life caught up in the keeper's world and didn’t even try to date.” I move to get out of the car. “And FYI, I don’t know why you’re acting like you’re a player. Dash told me you rarely date.” As soon as I mention Dash, I regret my words. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought him up.”

  He presses his lips together, pausing for a second. “You’re fine. Besides, he’s technically still sort of alive. Well, at least I’m going to assume so until proven otherwise." He looks away from me as he scoots to the edge of the seat to get out. But then he pauses and glances over his shoulder at me. “I’m not annoyed by your personality, Alana. That’s not why I acted surprised that you've never dated anyone. It’s just that… It’s kind of hard to believe that you never have.”