Avalon Academy : A Paranormal Academy Romance Read online

  Avalon Academy | Book Three

  A Paranormal Academy Romance

  Bailey Dark

  Copyright © 2020 by Bailey Dark

  All rights reserved.

  This book is intended for readers 18+. 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 written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  For all of you who dream of magic, romance,

  adventure, and happily-ever-afters!

  Avalon Academy III

  I might’ve taken out half the council, but not before they got in their revenge.

  Tristan and Lance’s lives hang in the balance and I only have the antidote to save one. An impossible decision and one I’m not willing to make.

  Determined to save them both I go against the council once more which leads to the final battle. Winner takes everything.

  They might have the numbers, but I have enough rage to take them all out. Will my need for vengeance be enough to stop the council once and for all or will I lose everything trying?

  Book Three in the Avalon Academy Series: A Paranormal AcademyRomance

  Get ready for a breathtaking, sexy adventure you won't want to miss! This book contains adult themes/situations and is intended for readers 18+

  Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Epilogue

  Thank You For Reading!

  About the Author

  Series by Bailey Dark

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  Prologue

  There’s no time to allow the dark to creep in. To allow it to take over and decay the strength I’ve worked so hard to build. My spirit has been crushed repeatedly since the beginning of the Trial of Crowns, but I’ve rebuilt after every blow, and this time won’t be any different. I have to be strong. I have to be prepared to fight. A war has been brewing with the council and it’s finally at my door. Losing isn’t an option.

  The council has taken too much from me and our kind. They’ve robbed me of the childhood I deserved, along with countless others. They continue to spew lies and prey on the weak and someone has to stop them. I have to stop them.

  The time to cry is over. Now, I must act. The lives of two men I love hang in the balance and it’s my quest to save them. I’ll have help from the Dowager witches and my two friends, Mallory and Holly, but in the end, this is something I must do, with help or without it. Afterward, we’ll work together to defeat the council. I need them.

  Lance took a bullet for me, something he’s metaphorically done numerous times over the years, but now it’s real, and it’s threatening to take his life. The bullet wasn’t any old bullet, it was spelled by the Souveign Coven for the council, in exchange for information on where their book was being hidden. In other words, it was the council’s way of pushing me to find their book against my will, because they knew I’d do anything to save Lance. A poison is currently spreading throughout his body and within a fortnight, he’ll be dead. The antidote is out there, and I have to find it. He’s been my best friend since childhood. The one person who’s stood beside me throughout the years. He’s family and I won’t allow him to die because of me.

  Tristan was cursed by a fright of ghosts who were trapped in Olengally Hall after being tortured. The Dowager witches believe that over the years, a demonic presence settled within the walls, giving the ghosts the ability to inflict deadly curses, and harm, to any physical being who stepped foot within the hall. Tristan was cursed to rot from the inside out. I have until the full moon to find some goblet that belongs to the Souveign coven. They’ve agreed to allow me to use it to save one life.

  That’s the problem. If I can’t find another remedy, I’ll be forced to choose between my best friend—whom I love dearly—and the man I’m in love with. It’s an impossible choice. One I’m not prepared to make. And I’m running out of time. I need to act. I have to swipe away the worry, put on my warrior face, and finish this madness the council has brought down on us. And once that’s complete and my guys are safe? War. The council should fear me. My wrath is great.

  Chapter One

  “Gwen. Gwen,” Holly snipped, finally drawing my attention. “Did you hear a word I said?”

  I shook my head slowly back-and-forth, not able to help the yawn that escaped my lips. Sleep had alluded me for the past two days and the never-ending talk about what to do next was only making my eyes heavy.

  Too much time had already been wasted, and I didn’t feel like the coven and I were any closer to agreeing on our course of action. So, why was I being forced to sit through yet another meaningless meeting? What I should be doing was sleeping and preparing to take on the council.

  The reality was, Lance could die at any moment. The poison was slowly infecting his blood, and none of us could really know how much his body could withstand before his organs started to shut down. Every time I saw him, he was worse. I’ve never been so scared.

  And Tristan only had four days. The full moon was coming and with it would be his end. That we knew for sure. With Lance, it was a guessing game, but Tristan didn’t have a day over four. We had to act and fast.

  “No. I didn’t. I’m sorry,” I said, wiping sleep from my eyes. “What did you say?”

  Holly huffed, obviously annoyed with my lack of attention. “Gwen, this is serious,” she scolded, immediately setting my anger ablaze. “You’ve got to listen.”

  I shot to my feet; fist clenched at my sides. “Do you think I don’t know that?” I spit.

  Holly had been acting like her attachment to Lance and Tristan somehow rivaled mine and it pissed me off. Maybe I was being juvenile and territorial, but these were my guys. I’d been saying it was time to act for two fucking days and she’s acting like I’m not taking this seriously?

  “You’ve known them for like two seconds. I’ve known them my whole life, Holly. They both mean everything to me. It’s killing me I’m sitting here, still trying to decide what to do,” I said through gritted teeth. “I should’ve had my ass on the road two days ago.”

  “You’re right, you should’ve,” she bit back. “But you’d only have gotten yourself killed. Plans have to be put in place if we want any chance of surviving. And you’re right, you need sleep.”

  “I’ve tried, Holly. God,” I said, running my hair roughly through my tangled hair. “Every time I close my eyes, I see Tristan or Lance slipping away,” my words cut off in a sob. “I-I can’t do it.”

  Holly’s scowl softened. “I’m sorry. I know this is hard and I know you want to go now, but you can’t just go off with a half-cocked plan. This is the council we’re talking about,” her voice pitched. “They’ve had years to build a compound. This i
sn’t going to be like waltzing into the asylum.”

  I shivered at the reminder of that place. The council might not have been present, but the evil spirits lurking in the shadows of that place were just as awful. They are part of the reason we’re in this predicament. It was them who actually cursed Tristan.

  “They’re not going to let it unguarded,” Holly went on, while I shook off the remaining thoughts of the spirits.

  As much as I wanted to argue, I couldn’t. I was still here because we all knew if I would’ve left two days ago, I would’ve just gotten myself killed. We were ill prepared to break into the council. The only person who disagreed was Evie. She expected me to march right to my death if it meant saving her son. She’d do anything for him, but so would I.

  As if hearing my thoughts, Holly pushed on. “Your death doesn’t help the boys, Gwen. Neither would want to live if you weren’t.”

  The sadness I saw in Holly had nothing to do with the words she spoke. I knew she was falling for Lance. I knew it killed her that it was me he wanted. In this moment, I felt pity for her. Unrequited love was something I knew too much about—even if it had been a farce. When Tristan left me, I thought I’d die. But, if she gave Lance time, I thought things might be different for them. He just needed time.

  “So, what are you proposing?” I asked, wanting to get a plan in place and get her mind on something else. Having this conversation in front of everyone was becoming awkward.

  And besides, it would take a days’ worth of traveling to make it to the council headquarters and back, not including however long I needed to infiltrate and retrieve the goblet. A plan and quick was what we needed.

  “I think we need to split up,” she said looking anywhere but at me. “You go after the chalice and I’ll work with my mom to find the antidote for the poison.”

  “What?” I cried out. “I can’t just turn my back on Lance. I have to help,” I explained in near hysterics. The thought of abandoning him in his time of need made me physically ill. “Besides, if we find the chalice, we can save them both.”

  Clara stood, “that’s not how the chalice works, Gwen. Only those gifted by the coven are able to use from the chalice in that way,” she walked toward me, placing a hand on my shoulder. “The coven only granted you that ability. For one life,” she reminded. “There’s a limit to the power of the chalice, and they are not going to use up another of its uses for our benefit. No,” she shook her head. “Only one and it has to be Tristan, according to their reading of the curse. Your true love.”

  It was a slap to the face. “I love them both,” I whispered.

  She smiled weakly. “That may be true, but the way in which you love them is different. The chalice is meant for Tristan.”

  I swiped roughly at a stray tear. The thought of leaving Lance’s life in someone else’s hands felt wrong. It felt like I was deserting him. What if he died?

  “I can’t agree to that,” I said in a small, weak voice. “There has to be another way.”

  Clara shook her head. “No, Gwen. There isn’t time. If there was, we’d never split up. This is the way it has to be.”

  “Maybe you should go for the goblet. It’s a witch’s item.”

  “You’re the strongest sorcerer in this room,” Holly said. “They can’t track you, Gwen. But, the other’s with powers that they’ll have standing guard will sense us coming. They can feel other magic, not their own kind. You can sneak in undetected if done right. We could never.”

  “So, while you’re taking on the council and searching for the chalice, we’ll be finding an option for Lance, and we already have a plan,” Holly explained, beaming in Clara’s direction.

  My eyes bounced back and forth between them, wanting desperately for someone to tell me something positive for a damn change. “And?” I pressed.

  “We found something in our Book of Spells, that should work.”

  I smiled the first real smile in weeks. Finally, a silver lining. It was about time things looked up. With a plan in place for Lance, I could pull myself together and concentrate on the chalice without distractions.

  “The problem is,” she said, dashing my joy. “Two of the ingredients we need are not easy to come by.”

  “What are they?” I demanded, hoping like hell it wasn’t as dire as Holly was making it out to be.

  “Two plants that are thought to no longer exist. Clemenroot and Jasperbane.”

  I deflated entirely at that news. If a witch coven wasn’t in possession of such plants, it wasn’t looking likely that we’d ever find them. I slumped down into my chair, breathing in deeply, trying to pull myself together. What the hell kind of plan was this?

  “You said you had a plan,” I snapped. “Since when is extinct plants a good fucking plan?”

  Clara raised her hand in supplication. “All is not lost,” she said, sounding semi-optimistic. “There is a forest, close to the border of Washington and Canada, where rare plants grow. It’s been a mythical forest for some time, but my mother has always sworn it truly exists. We’ll find it and we’ll save Lance.”

  My jaw dropped open and my temper flared once more. “Mythical? As in nobody you know has ever been there?” I questioned. How could Clara sound so confident when it was a Hail Mary she was suggesting? I believed in a lot of things, but I didn’t put much stock in mythical forests.

  “My mother said it exists. It exists,” she said with finality.

  All sense of hope was officially gone for me. I couldn’t very well embark on my quest without knowing there was a safe plan in place for Lance and right now, it seemed he was doomed if left in the hands of these witches.

  “Gwen, I know this is hard for you, but you can’t do this alone. There isn’t enough time. You need to go get that damn goblet. If you’re able to get it quick enough, maybe we can plead with Souveign to let us use it a second time for Lance,” Holly interjected.

  “But you said—”

  “I know what I said, but right now, our only hope is that my mother was correct and the forest exists, or Souveign plays nice. We’ll never know unless you get that cup.”

  I marinated on her words. Lance’s outlook seemed bleak at the moment, but I had to have faith. It was all that was left. My eyes found the window to see nothing but darkness. I couldn’t take on the council tonight, but I wasn’t prepared to waste another day either. It had become clear that nobody here could formulate a solid plan for me in the past two days. The likelihood of something grand coming in the next twelve hours was wishful thinking.

  “Where’s Evie?” I questioned, searching the room for her. She had stormed out yesterday when Clara had said we needed another day for planning.

  “I haven’t seen her since yesterday,” Clara admitted. “Olive told me that she had spent most of the night in Tristan’s room. She hasn’t been seen at all today.”

  I sighed. We really needed her guidance right now, but she was nowhere to be found.

  “I’m going to find Evie.”

  “What do you hope to get from her? She’s out of her mind right now,” Clara said, sympathetically.

  “She’s the only person who knows that place intricately. We should’ve been pressing her for information hours ago. I could’ve been out of here by now.”

  Clara sighed. “Do you think I didn’t try, Gwen? The only person she has left is dying. Her head isn’t on straight.”

  “And mine is?” I said raising my voice. “I love him, Clara. I’d do anything to save him. If she loves him, she should be doing everything she can to help him too. Including getting me into that fucking building and out alive.”

  “Go. Find her. Maybe you can talk her down enough to get something of substance out of her. The past day it’s been nothing but gibberish talk.”

  Without a word, I stalked out of the room toward Evie’s room. Clara wasn’t lying, the last time I saw Evie, she was going on about her life ending if his did. She was hysterical and half of what she said didn’t make a lick of sense.
It was almost a relief when she finally left. But now, I needed her information and she would cooperate.

  “Evie,” I yelled, throwing open the door to her room. “We need to talk. Now.”

  Silence.

  I moved swiftly to the large four poster bed, throwing off the covers. But she wasn’t under them. As I moved around the room it became clear she wasn’t here at all. Her clothes were thrown about the room and the tray of food from breakfast sat untouched. When I needed her most, she had all but vanished.

  Typical Evie.

  There wasn’t a choice, I needed to consult someone else. Someone who had intimate details of the council and their fortress. Someone who was a council member themselves. And I didn’t have time to wait around here for Evie to materialize. I made my way back to the room where Clara and Holly stood huddled together discussing something I couldn’t hear and didn’t really give a shit about.

  “I’m going to go see the guys and then I’m headed out. I have a stop to make on the way,” I said, striding toward the door.

  Holly’s eyebrows rose in question as I approached her.

  “I’m going home to see my dad.”

  Chapter Two

  When I entered Lance’s room, the silence unnerved me. It was cold and dark—much like death itself. Lance laid covered by layers of blankets and he didn’t move. He was so still, I feared what I’d find as I approached his side.