Akarnae (2 page)

“Name?” the woman asked.

“Alexandra Jennings.”

“Take a seat, Miss Jennings.”

Alex shuffled over to a line of chairs and sat down with a
squelch.
She still couldn’t believe what had transpired outside. She wondered if it was too late to try and call her parents one last time—and convince them to find a way to smuggle her away with them—but she knew it was useless. Their plane had probably already taken off; they were likely long gone. She was on her own.

“The headmaster will see you now,” the receptionist said, still not bothering to glance up. “Down the hallway, third door on the right.”

Alex rose from her seat and headed down the brightly lit corridor, soon losing sight of the reception area.

If only things could be different
, she thought sadly, knocking on the headmaster’s door. There was no answer, so she tried again, louder. When still no call came to enter, Alex shrugged and turned the handle.

It was dark inside the room. Pitch-black, in fact.

“Hello?” she called out from the doorway. “Is anyone in here?”

Just as she was about to retrace her steps and go back to the reception, the room exploded with light. Alex had to hold her hand up to shield her eyes from the sudden brightness. When she was able to lower her arm again, she stared in shock at the sight before her.

“What the…?” she whispered.

I must have hit my head when I fell into the fountain
, she reasoned. It was surely the only explanation for the view in front of her.

The doorway opened into a small forest clearing. Sunlight streamed through the canopy of evergreens and their shadows dappled the mottle-coloured forest floor. The surrounding trees continued further than her eyes could see, with no school buildings in sight.

“It must be some kind of optical illusion,” Alex muttered to herself. She glanced behind her and took in the sterile walls of the corridor before she turned to face the forest again. She couldn’t wrap her head around the different scenery, but something about the dense woodland captivated her attention.

I’ll just have a quick look around
, she thought.
No one will know. Then I can come back and meet the headmaster.

Decision made, Alex quickly stepped through the doorway before she could change her mind. She expected to hear the crunching noise of dried leaves under her feet, but instead the ground disappeared and suddenly, impossibly, she was catapulted through the air. The wind rushed past her, whooshing by her ears as she flew along at what felt like the speed of light.

Just when she thought she might throw up, everything stopped.

Alex’s heart thumped wildly in her chest. She lay spread-eagled on the ground but had no idea how she’d landed. Her eyes were shut tight, but she could feel the leafy forest floor underneath her; she could smell the woody scent of pine cones
in the air; and she could hear noises—branches creaking, birds singing, wind whistling through the trees.

Hesitantly, she opened her eyes and looked around, finding herself lying in the middle of the forest clearing she’d seen through the doorway. But the doorway itself—and the administration building—was nowhere in sight.

The good news was that her airborne journey had somehow dried out her sodden clothes and hair. She wasn’t even damp anymore. The bad news was that she had no idea where she was or how she was supposed to get back.

Alex sighed and threw her arms out to the sides, sending leaves scattering. “This new school
sucks
.”

Two

“That was quite the entrance.”

Alex jumped to her feet, but she had to wait for the resulting dizziness to pass before she was able to look up and find the owner of the unexpected voice.

“Hello,” he said when he had her attention, a slight smirk playing at the corners of his mouth.

Alex had to blink a few times before she could fully appreciate the picture in front of her. He was, without a doubt, the most staggeringly attractive man she had ever laid eyes on. Almost unnaturally so. She guessed him to be in his late twenties or early thirties, and he had honey-coloured hair and bronze skin. He wore black from head to toe, the material finer than anything Alex had ever seen before. The tailored long-sleeved shirt was open at the collar and tapered by a belt at his waist, meeting a pair of leather-like trousers. The contrast between his tanned skin and dark clothing was breathtaking. But more than anything else, it was his strange golden-coloured eyes that captivated her attention and clouded her mind.

“Forgive me for startling you,” he said formally, gesturing towards himself. “My name is Aven.”

“Aven?” she repeated, sounding as dazed as she felt. Seriously, he was practically inhuman with his Greek god-like beauty. It wasn’t her fault she was distracted. “That’s an interesting name.”

“Yes,” he agreed, his tone pensive. “I suppose it is.”

He looked at her like he was waiting for something.

Oh. Right.

“I’m Alex,” she said. “Alexandra Jennings, really, but most people just call me Alex.”

Aven moved his hand towards her and she tentatively reached her arm forward, expecting a firm shake, but he surprised her by bowing slightly and pressing a tender kiss to the back of her wrist.

“Charmed,” he said, his eyes smouldering.

That’s right,
smouldering
. It was something she’d only ever read about in books before, not actually witnessed. Alex was surprised when her legs managed to keep her upright. She desperately hoped he wouldn’t notice her blushing. Or swooning.

Alex pulled her hand back and tried to clear her foggy brain. She couldn’t figure out why she was so affected by his presence, even if he
was
on a whole new level of gorgeous.

It was only the observation that he seemed to know exactly how he was affecting her that allowed Alex to regain some of her composure. She moved a step away from him, hoping the distance would help. His brow furrowed slightly at her less than discreet movement, but his expression cleared quickly.

“Any chance you can explain what just happened to me?” she asked.

He raised one perfectly sculpted eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“Well…” Alex gestured to the forest around them. “I just walked through a doorway in the middle of the administration building and then, uh, kind of
flew
here. Where is ‘here’, by the way?”

Aven was looking at her with a curiosity that bordered on incredulity. “You walked through a doorway and ended up somewhere completely different?”

She shrugged. “I know it sounds mental, but it’s the truth.”

After a lengthy silence where he stared intently at her, Aven said, “That is… most interesting. Tell me, Alexandra, where do
you
think we are?”

She had to hold back a shiver at the sound of her name falling so gracefully from his lips. Clearing her throat, she looked around the forest again. “Honestly? I have no idea. I can’t even see the academy from here. Which is, you know, weird.”

A slow smile began to stretch across Aven’s face, transforming him from beautiful to radiant. But even as Alex struggled to maintain her slipping composure, she felt like there was something not quite right about him. Sure, he oozed charisma and charm, but it almost seemed… tainted.

She shook her head and focused on the leaves under her feet rather than his appearance, trying to clear her mind. “Look, I guess it doesn’t really matter where we are. But I need to get back to the academy and enrol, so do you mind pointing me in the right direction?”

Aven didn’t answer. Instead, he slowly moved forward and began to circle her like a lion tracking its prey.

Alex couldn’t help but think of all the horror stories she’d heard about psychopaths dragging young women into forests to murder them. There was something decidedly dangerous about this Aven guy, of that she was certain.

“Tell me, Alexandra,” he said, completing his circle and returning to face her, “do you find it at all strange that I happened upon you the moment you arrived here? In the middle of the Ezera Forest, of all places?”

Alex blinked at the unfamiliar name. “The what forest?”

Aven cocked his head slightly. “You’ve never heard of the Ezera?” At her quick negative shake, he asked, “Then tell me, Alexandra, how is it you know of Akarnae?”

“Akarnae?” Alex repeated, mimicking his pronunciation.
Ah-kar-nay
. How strange. “Never heard of it, sorry.”

“Then to which academy do you seek directions?”

She frowned. “The International Exchange Academy, of course.” Duh.

“I’m afraid the only educational institution nearby is Akarnae Academy,” Aven said. “Are you
sure
you haven’t heard of it?”

“Positive,” Alex said. “But are
you
sure that’s what it’s called? Because, despite my crazy flying experience, I can’t be that far from the building I was thrown out of. The International Exchange Academy must be around here somewhere.”

“Oh, Alexandra, you have no idea how pleased I am to have found you,” Aven said, his eyes alight.

Alex took another step away from him as her inner Creep-O-Meter spiked out a warning.

He stepped forward, and she stepped back again. But he just kept moving towards her, his golden eyes glowing from within, trapping her in his gaze.

“I found you here,” he said, “just as it was foretold I would. ‘
A chance meeting in the forest of greeting, their destinies will be bound as one…
’ Don’t you see, Alexandra?”

She was still trying in vain to put some distance between her and the beautiful yet clearly deranged man, but her retreat ended when she backed into a tree, unable to go any further.

“See what?” she said, her voice quieter than she would have liked.

He stopped directly in front of her and reached out a hand, gently tracing his fingers down the line of her cheek. “You are to be my salvation.”

Alex’s eyes widened and then narrowed at his ridiculous statement. Just as she was debating whether to laugh hysterically at his words or knee him hard enough that he’d never reproduce,
he took a step away from her and tilted his head as if hearing something in the distance.

He stood like that for a moment before he moved back towards her, even closer than before, and leaned down to whisper in her ear. “I’ll give you some time to settle in and learn how to use your power, and then I shall come for you, Alexandra. Together we will rule all of Medora.”

He flashed his disarming smile again and stepped back, casually walking away and disappearing into the dense forest.

Only when he was completely out of sight did Alex breathe a sigh of relief. What a complete whack-job!

“Hey, what are you doing out here?”

Alex spun around at the new voice, and in her haste she tripped over a bulging tree root, lost her balance, and sprawled face-first onto the forest floor. She heard the sound of suppressed laughter and groaned quietly into the leafy cushions surrounding her before pushing herself to her feet. In front of her were two guys, both around her age. Unfortunately for her humiliated self, both of them were uncommonly attractive, too.

“Maybe it’s some kind of hot-guy gene therapy,” Alex muttered, wondering where all the average-looking people were.

“What was that?” asked the guy on the right, his blond hair mussed by the wind and his bright blue eyes sparkling with mischief.

“Nothing,” Alex said. “Who are you? And where did you come from?”

“I’m Jordan Sparker,” said the blond, before pointing to his friend and saying, “and this is Bear.”

Bear grinned at her, and it was such a genuinely friendly expression that she unconsciously returned it. Just like Jordan, he also had a mischievous look about him, but his shaggy dark hair and warm brown eyes helped him seem less… devil-may-care.

“And you’re from…?” she prompted.

“The academy,” Bear said. “Where else?”

Alex almost wilted with relief. Finally, some students who could show her the way out of the forest.

“Your turn,” said Jordan. “Same questions.”

“I’m Alexandra Jennings,” she answered. “I’m supposed to be enrolling at the academy today but I was thrown through a doorway and ended up out here. Then this crazy guy came along and went all weird on me, saying that together he and I would one day rule some place called ‘Medora’. That was a fun conversation, let me tell you.”

Both boys looked at her with amusement and she abruptly stopped her rambling.

“I think we’re going to get along really well, Alexandra Jennings,” Jordan said with a grin.

“Alex,” she told him.

He shrugged. “Sure. Now tell us more about what happened with this doorway?”

She repeated the story as best as she could, watching them both for signs of understanding. If anything, they looked more and more excited, though she had no idea why.

“All I really want to do is hand in my enrolment papers, find out where I’m sleeping, and put this whole day behind me,” she concluded. “So, how do we get out of this forest?”

Jordan turned to Bear and asked, “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“No question about it,” Bear agreed. “It’ll be a shock for her, but the best way is just to show her.”

“ ‘Her’ is standing right here, you know,” Alex said pointedly.

“Right, sorry, Alex,” Bear said. “You’ve just given us a lot to think about. If we’re right, then you’re the first Freyan to come to Medora in thousands of years. If not more. This is huge.”

“Epic,” Jordan said.

Alex looked from one of them to the other and asked, “What’s a Freyan?”

Bear turned to Jordan who cleared his throat and said, “Freyan is the name we use for someone who comes from Freya, the Original Earth. Medora is our world, which is Second Earth—kind of like a parallel Earth, but different. If we’re right about what’s happened to you, then you’re from another world.”

Alex stared blankly for a beat, waiting for them to jokingly cry, ‘gotcha!’ but their earnest expressions didn’t falter.

“Right,” she deadpanned. She was
so
not in the mood for any more first-day-at-the-new-school pranks. “I’d say it’s been great chatting with you, but… well, nope. Falling into the fountain was bad enough, you don’t need to continue this ‘let’s punk the newbie’ charade. So, thanks for the welcome, but I’ll just find my own way back.”