Fate Hollow Academy: Term 2, page 1
Fate Hollow Academy Term 2 © 2022 by Lyra Winters. All Rights Reserved.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
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Printed in the United States of Ame
LYRA WINTERS LLC
First Printing: May 2022
Author's Note
Fate Hollow Academy is a Fantasy/Paranormal Reverse Harem series based in a fantasy world of magic called Kalista. This story is a why choose romance, which means the main character will not have to choose between her love interests. There is no MM in this series. The romance focuses solely on the heroine of the story.
Be aware of your triggers, lovely readers. This series contains strong language, violence, torture, mention of parental loss, drama and verbal bullying outside of the harem, discrimination based on species of supernatural, death, and explicit sexual content.
Reader’s discretion is advised.
Academy Map
Welcome to your Second Term of Fate Hollow Academy. Don’t forget your campus map!
Keep in mind that the supernatural hierarchy is not in effect on campus. Rank doesn’t always determine strength. Keep the fights on the training grounds.
Discrimination will not be tolerated.
Have a magical term!
World Map
Fall into the world of Kalista!
Kalista is a fantasy world full of supernaturals where anything is possible.
Blezen: Dragons, Drakes
Apex Capital: Basilisks, Phoenixes
Demon Capital: Demons
Blue magic emblem: Fae portals
Cursinia: Warlocks/Witches, Vampires, Sirens, Werewolves
Briesia: Shifters
The Bizarre: Kelpies, Griffins, Sphinxes, Banshees/Phantoms, Harpies, Gargoyles, Centaurs, Trolls, Imp
Fate Hollow: All supernatural types
Human Territory: Humans
Contents
1. ONE Wren
2. TWO Rhett
3. THREE Wren
4. FOUR Lachlan
5. FIVE Thorn
6. SIX Rowan
7. SEVEN Wren
8. EIGHT Wren
9. NINE Kian
10. TEN Alister
11. ELEVEN Wren
12. TWELVE Wren
13. THIRTEEN Rhett
14. FOURTEEN Wren
15. FIFTEEN Alister
16. SIXTEEN Wren
17. SEVENTEEN Rhett
18. EIGHTEEN Wren
19. NINETEEN Rhett
20. TWENTY Damien
21. TWENTY-ONE Wren
22. TWENTY-TWO Wren
23. TWENTY-THREE Wren
24. TWENTY-FOUR Wren
25. TWENTY-FIVE Wren
26. TWENTY-SIX Wren
27. TWENTY-SEVEN Kian
28. TWENTY-EIGHT Wren
29. TWENTY-NINE Wren
30. THIRTY Wren
31. THIRTY-ONE Lachlan
32. THIRTY-TWO Kian
33. THIRTY-THREE Wren
34. THIRTY-FOUR Alister
35. THIRTY-FIVE Wren
36. THIRTY-SIX Wren
37. THIRTY-SEVEN Damien
38. THIRTY-EIGHT Alister
39. THIRTY-NINE Wren
40. FORTY Wren
41. FORTY-ONE Wren
42. FORTY-TWO Wren
43. FORTY-THREE Rhett
44. FORTY-FOUR Wren
45. FORTY-FIVE Rowan
46. FORTY-SIX Kian
47. FORTY-SEVEN Rhett
48. FORTY-EIGHT Wren
49. FORTY-NINE Rowan
50. FIFTY Wren
Appreciation
Also By Lyra Winters
Fate Hollow Academy Term 3
ONE
Wren
The frost of a particularly stubborn winter hung in the air, and the arctic shifter in me chirped wildly as the refreshing cold seeped into my bones.
“I have no clue how you’re wearing the summer uniform, babe.” Trixie shivered, rubbing her hands over her long-sleeved navy blazer.
“I don’t understand it either,” Callie agreed, blowing out a visible breath as we ambled off the snow-dusted stone path and cut through the center of campus. “It’s freezing outside, and you’re only in a skirt and short sleeves. I know you’re an arctic shifter, but the siren in me is crying a bit.”
“I thought sirens could live in arctic waters?” Trixie flipped her hair over her shoulder.
“Just because we can, doesn’t mean we want to.” She patted her thighs that were clad in the uniform pants.
Callie had fallen seamlessly into our friend group over the last couple of weeks, and I was grateful for it.
Uneasiness wedged its way into my gut as we passed by the Natatorium. I willed my gaze to focus on Arcane Hall in the distance. Anything Trixie and Callie said faded as static buzzed through my brain.
I shut my eyes tight, but my attempt at staying calm dissipated. My knees locked as fear spiked my heart.
My mates, both bonded and potential, had kept me locked away for the remainder of last term, but today was the start of a new term. They had to let me out from under their watchful gazes for me to attend class.
I’d underestimated how it would feel to pass this part of campus. The encounter with the human experiment, or whatever was called Specimen 452, burrowed deep in my memories. It happened right here, in broad daylight.
I’d been shot—just like my parents. Bile inched up my throat, but I forced it down. Taking a deep breath, I peered between my lids to find Trixie and Callie standing in front of me with concern etched on their features.
“Babe, you okay?” Trixie landed a hand on my shoulder.
“Do you need to go lay down?” Callie’s bright blue eyes scanned my face. “I’m sure the professor would understand.”
I shook my head, adjusting the strap of the bag Thorn had gifted me on my shoulder. “No. I’m fine. It’s just that this is where… This is where the human… thing… attacked me.”
Trixie’s lips curved into a deep frown. “Shit. I’m sorry. We should’ve taken the stone path instead.”
“I’m okay, really. Let’s just keep going.” I wrapped my arms around my center and kept walking.
They hesitated before falling into step beside me.
“Rowan killed him. He crushed him, but someone brought him back,” I whispered, watching the way my breath danced into the air as wisps.
“The human that attacked you?” Callie gasped. “I knew there was a zombie on campus, but I didn’t know it was the human…”
“That’s the thing.” I breathed out a stuttered gasp. “The man wasn’t fully human. It was something else to start with.”
“But how did someone bring him back if he was crushed?” Her eyes widened with horror.
I smoothed down the hem of my skirt as an icy breeze blew through campus. “Kian said reanimation can take place if the brain isn’t completely destroyed, and from what I understand, his brain was mostly intact. Norman was studying it before it happened.”
“A lot of people have been talking about it. The zombie, I mean.” Trixie frowned. “Nate told me that the zombie’s incredibly strong. Necromancy has a way of bringing the dead to life, but in a very… dead kind of way. He said it wasn’t like a normal reanimated corpse.”
“How would Nate know?” Callie fumbled with her bracelet as goosebumps graced her arms.
A knot formed in my belly as I furrowed my brows. “The zombie is locked away in the basement of Dragon’s Reach Library and kept within a magic circle. Nate couldn’t have seen it.”
Trixie’s gaze flicked to the left as she sighed. “He said he was there when they trapped it in Mr. Vespertine’s classroom.”
The mention of Alister made my heart flutter, but my suspicion of Nate didn’t disappear. I made a low hum in reply.
“Tabitha was the one who cast the magic circle,” Trixie explained. “She told me something was wrong with the zombie. Apparently, Norman is studying it. That’s another reason I know it’s not a normal reanimation.”
I swatted a piece of my hair out of my face before heaving a sigh. “Kian traced the necromancy magic to an unknown source with traces of familiar magic. To be completely honest, that thing was terrifying before it was undead. He was emotionless, ruthless, and so strong. I felt useless against him.”
Cherry blossoms floated down with the heavy flakes of snow. I sucked in a crisp breath as they swirled with each other.
Shadows cast from the tree formed in front of us to block our path. They formed a dark blob as Damien stepped out.
My lips tugged into a smile. He never strayed far from me.
“Little bird,” he sang, stepping into my space and leaning down until his breath mingled with mine. “What’s this I hear about you feeling useless?”
Heat blossomed on m
“But now that we’ve mated…” He reached toward my top and let his fingers dip under the tie and down my shirt until they brushed against his mark adorning my chest. Love rippled through my skin, coursing through the bond. “You have a way to protect yourself with the shadow I gave you.”
His fingers made my skin dance with a burning need, and my eyelids fluttered closed.
Damien was everything I never knew I needed. And I needed every part of him. Constantly.
“Did you know that she pierces me with her shadow every fucking time I make her come?” he bragged, as he used his other hand to tug my bottom lip free from my teeth.
“Damien.”
His lips descended on mine. I nipped at one of his piercings and tugged, eliciting a moan from his throat. My desire for him filled every crevice in my mind. His mark, the shadow embedded in my chest, erupted. The buttons from my top popped off as the shadow tendril pierced through Damien’s shoulder.
Again. I winced as he rested his forehead against mine and pulled in a ragged breath. “I’m sorry!”
“Why would you be sorry for giving me what I desire?” He breathed out a chuckle as I willed the shadow to remove itself. I swear it had a mind of its own.
It jerked out of his flesh and slithered back into my chest, splattering Damien’s blood all over the front of me. His blood seeped slowly out of his wound, and he pressed his palm into it with a wide grin.
“Messy demon.” Trixie snorted and snapped her fingers, and his blood dissipated from me. Trixie’s powers were always so useful. I envied the magic she possessed.
Damien pouted his lip at her. “She looked fucking divine coated in my blood.”
Callie’s eyes widened as she glanced down at her feet with a red face.
“She’s going to class, you psycho,” Trixie scolded him. “She can’t wear your blood as an accessory.”
“I can’t seem to control this thing,” I muttered, letting my fingers glide over the spot where the buttons had been on my top. “It does what it wants, and every time you’re around, it always hurts you.”
He grabbed my chin between his index finger and thumb before smirking. “I like the way you hurt me, little bird.”
My entire body lit on fire. It always happened when he was around. Ever since we’d bonded, I couldn’t get enough of him. “Damien.”
“I love it when you say my name,” he purred.
Trixie clapped her hands. “Okay, lover demon, off you go. It’s our time with her now. You all hogged her last term.”
I swallowed hard before nodding. “We do need to get to class.”
He huffed and rolled his eyes before reaching toward my tie and moving it around until it covered the broken buttons. “I’ll be in the shadows.”
“That’s stalking!” Trixie shook her head while Callie looked like she was about to pass out.
“She loves it when I stalk her.” He winked at me before pressing another kiss to my lips. “I love you, little bird.”
“I love you too,” I mumbled against his lips before he faded back into the shadows cast by the cherry blossom tree.
“He’s intense.” Callie glanced up with her face completely reddened. “But you are very sweet together.”
Trixie shrugged as we started walking again. “I’m not the most fond of him, because he’s threatened Nate and all, but you two are like a fucking power couple.”
“Does he ever go to class?” Callie murmured.
“Rarely. He blackmails the professors to get away with not attending.” A ribbon of amusement twirled inside me. “Rowan doesn’t really care, since Damien proved to him he knew all the material anyway.”
“Wow. So he’s still spying on people to get dirt on them?” Trixie rolled her eyes.
“Um, do you think our studies will be sped up since war was declared?” Callie reached up and adjusted her long braid, that had come slightly undone by the bitter winter breeze.
“I think so.” Trixie opened the door to Arcane Hall and waited for us to walk through before following behind us. “Mr. Vespertine mentioned something about it last term.”
Anxiety filled me at the thought of war, especially war with humans. Humans may have been weak compared to us on their own, but when technology was thrown into the mix, they were capable of large-scale atrocities.
We walked the rest of the way to room thirteen in silence, with the looming reality of war hanging over our heads.
The scent of chalk choked me as we stepped inside the classroom. The rows of desks were separated by a walkway that led down to the front, where a blackboard was on display. The classroom was just like the rest of the rooms in the building, minus the birthstones adorning the rows of desks in Alister’s room. My heart fluttered at the thought of him. I loved how he personalized his classes.
Alister had been so busy helping Rowan with the zombie issue that I’d barely seen them aside from a few minutes a day. Longing swirled through the bond to Rowan, and I felt him send it right back.
A few students were already there, but my gaze zeroed in on Kian, who sat in the front row next to a guy I didn’t remember seeing before. Kian had a small smile on his face as he spoke to him.
“See you later,” Trixie murmured before blowing us kisses and heading toward the back row to sit with Nate.
I gave her a wave, and Callie let out a sigh.
“What’s wrong?” I turned toward her.
She frowned. “Nothing. It’s just… Trixie is a sweetheart. Nate’s… not.”
“Yeah.” I swallowed hard before we walked toward Kian and the new guy. “I know.”
Nate didn’t seem that bad at first. But just like Thorn had warned me, I’d found that Nate wasn’t a good guy. He was rude, demanding, and just a negative person. He was the opposite of Trixie. I didn’t know what she saw in him.
Kian’s cheeks flushed as he moved a bag that occupied the seat next to him. “I saved you a seat. I put my bag there so no one else would try to take it, because you know, you haven’t been around the dorm lately with everything, which is fine. I just... well—”
I sat down and smiled at him as Callie took the seat on my other side. “Thank you, Kian. I’m glad you saved it for me.”
“You’re welcome.” His dimples showed, and he turned to introduce the brooding man sitting next to him. He had dark hair and brown eyes that seemed to be trained on Callie. “This is Samson. He’s Thorn and Lachlan’s new roommate, well, more like Lachlan’s, since Thorn is mostly moved in with you in Rowan’s room. Lachlan has somewhat too. Well, really all of us, but you know what I mean.” Kian’s face reddened more by his rambling.
I loved Kian’s rambling. Covering my smile with one hand, I held out the other toward Samson. “I’ve heard about you from Thorn. I’m Wren.”
