Katrina

“You guys look miserable. Is not sleeping with me really that terrible?” I ask as I take in the rough state of my mates. They look drained.

“I slept just fine.” Beckett replies, “ I just feel weak like my muscles hurt, and I couldn’t command the water for the shower. I had to get up and physically turn the water on.”

“Oh, poor baby.” I teased, even though I was a little concerned.

“Weird,” Miles states, rubbing the back of his head. “I was rearranging my room; that way, there’s more room for extracurricular activities,” he states, staring directly at me, before turning his attention back to Beckett, “But I didn’t even have the strength to move my bed.”

Now that’s unbelievable. Miles is the strongest of my mates; his muscles are nearly double the size of Aphelion’s, whose biceps are slightly larger than average.

“Yeah. Samael and I were discussing how weak we felt this morning. It took everything out of me to roll out of bed. I don’t know how I’m going to make it through an entire day of teaching.

How strange. While my mates felt weak, I felt stronger than normal. I could feel my magic thrumming through my body, itching to be released. Could their state have anything to do with me? No, there’s no way little old me could’ve taken down four, nearly five full-fledged Gods. Maybe our time together has taken more out of them than they thought.

“I’m sure we will be back to normal after breakfast,” Aphelion states, “If we don’t hurry, we will be late. And I know how a display is of normalcy between us is needed.”

My four other mates let out a heavy sigh, and it’s like it takes everything for them just to haul their bodies out of their seats. We walk to the cafeteria at a snail's pace, but as I look around, I notice that our fellow peers seem to be in a similar state as my mates. Even the headmaster, who barely makes an appearance at breakfast, seems worn out. Could it be something to do with the placing of the moon or some shit like that? Maybe whatever this was didn’t affect me since I was raised human.

Worried about drawing attention to myself, I watch my mates closely and mimic their behavior. When we walk through the doors, heads barely look up. Even Hilda was too worn out to make a snide comment. What the hell was going on here?

“Everyone seems worse for wear today,” Luka mumbles quietly, his eyes roaming over me as if he’s trying to determine something before he shakes his head. “I have to go now.” He states, pulling himself away from our little group, “I’ll see you in class.” He mutters quietly, his hand slightly grazing mine as he walks out of the cafeteria with only an apple in hand. I smile at how cliche his choice of breakfast is.

“Something’s off here.” Miles states as we take our seat at the table. “The entire school shouldn’t be feeling like this.”

“Do you think we’re under a witch’s spell?” Beckett asks.

Wait a minute; witches exist too! Does that mean vampires, werewolves, and all other creatures from our imagination exist too? And if so, do the vampires sparkle, and are the werewolves really as handsome as Twilight depicts them to be? Could the witches be as sexy as Sabrina or even Bonnie? Or were they more like the monsters depicted in the horror novels?

“No, we would be able to smell a witch’s Magic. And there isn’t a witch strong enough to take us down. This is something else entirely.”

“It’s what I would imagine a succubus’ kiss would feel like if the ancient texts are to be trusted,” Samael states. “But we don’t know a succubus strong enough to affect the entire school. Even Lilith herself could only drain a hundred humans herself. Whoever this was drained an entire school of demigods and the four of us. I’ve never heard of something like this.”

“‘Do you think it could be a succubus the master blessed?” Beckett asks, referring to the person behind the Itir.

“I don’t know,” Samael states, causing a chill to run down my body, “But the fact everyone is still alive means one thing. The succubus still hasn’t finished feeding.”

“How do succubus feed?” I ask, feeling worried as I try to keep my hands from shaking.

“There are two ways that I know of.” Miles speaks up, surprising me; I was expecting Samael to have the answer, “one of them is through sex, which we experienced last night from you. The other way is more intrusive. They can feed by dream-walking. Dreamwalking was Lilith’s and her sisters’ favorite way to feed. It’s said that Lilith would visit Aphrodite’s dreams at night to sate her hunger.”

“Do you know what dream walking is like?” I ask, thinking about my dream last night. Could I have been dream walking?

“I couldn’t say. Only a succubus would know, and none have cared to speak about it.” Miles furrows his brows and looks at me, concern lining his face, “Why do you ask?”

“Well, if it’s something my mother did, then maybe I have the same ability,” I whisper quietly, leaning in close so no one can hear.

“It’s a possibility, but the chances are slim.” Samael states, curling his fingers around mine, “I plan on talking with Lilith’s sisters. I’ll see if one of them feels like opening up to me.”

“Okay,” I mumble, still worried that my dream set this entire thing into motion.

The longer we sat at the table, the more revived my mates started to look; by the time the morning bell chimed, it looked like they’d regained most of their strength.

“Maybe it was something in the soup we ate last night,” Beckett mumbles before scarfing down a cup of coffee and heading to claw. “I’ll see you in Luka’s class.” He hollers just before the door shuts behind him.

“He seems to be in a hurry,” I state as Samael wraps his arms around my shoulder and walks beside me as we make our way to class.

“Senior Midterms start today.”

“Oh really. How long until they're over?”

“The last two weeks. So by the time we finish our midterms, Miles, and Beckett will have finished theirs.”

“And they’ll be one step closer to graduation,” I mutter to myself.

As we enter our classroom, I glance up at the chalkboard and internally groan; at least, I thought it was internal until the professor looks up at me and asks if anything’s wrong.

“Not at all, professor,” I reply. “I’m just a little exhausted still.”

“Ah yes,” he replies, “Being fed upon by a succubus can be very tiring.”

“And how do you know it was a succubus who put us in this state?” Samael asks, narrowing his eyes at the professor.

“Not just one succubus, Prince Samael, but an entire group of succubi, unless the damned Queen Lilith herself has come to haunt us once more.”

“And how do you know this?” Samael asks his question, sounding more like a demand.

“Before I was a teacher at this academy, I was a succubi hunter. I only retired from that job when the council told me all of the succubi had either been captured or killed.”

“If the succubi have been captured or killed, what makes you think this was an attack from them?” Samael questions.

“The council isn’t always right, young prince.” The professor clears his throat before continuing, “Now if you and your mate can take your seats, I’d like to begin my lesson.”

Samael looks as if he wants to continue interrogating the professor, but I grab his hand and pull him toward his seat.

“Succubi again, Professor.” One of the students in the back whines, “I thought we were supposed to learn about other demons and angels, but for the last month, we’ve studied succubi and their habits. How are we supposed to pass our midterms if we don’t learn about the others?”

“What if I were to tell you there’s a succubus among us right now? Would you still complain about your lessons?” The professor asks, his question shocking the entire class into silence.

“There can’t be a succubus here.” Astrid states, “The school has wards to keep demons and angels from entering this campus.”

“And yet Brahma’s agents with the BOUA entered the school just two weeks ago.” The professor states, effectively shutting down Astrid’s statement.

“I told you she was a succubus.” One of Hilda’s cronies whispers to the girl beside her, “It’s the only way she could have won over the princes and become so powerful.”

The hair on the back of my neck stands straight up as I hear other students start to murmur amongst themselves, dropping my name and the word succubus in their discussions. I can feel the fury radiating off of Samael the longer our peers talk amongst themselves.

Samael abruptly stands up, his blue fire swirling around him, scaring the others into silence.

“If anyone dares speak illy of my mate, I will personally see to your banishment. Katrina is my fated mate. Destined to be mine by the stars themselves. She will be your future Queen.” He states, his voice surprisingly calm, before he turns his attention back to our professor, “And I’ll have you sacked if you ever insinuate that a student who attends this academy is anything but someone who shares blood with the Gods.”

“I n…Nah…never meant for your….”

“That’s enough, professor,” Samael silences the professor. “Now I think the next subject on the agenda is vampires and faeries. Would you like to lead this subject, or shall I.”