Angel of Ashes (Neverbound Academy #1)

1. Ivy

IVY

T he clang of metal on metal rings through the air, heightening the tension as frustration gets the better of me.

The sun peeking through the long, arched windows does nothing to ease my irritation.

If anything, it somehow manages to cast my opponent in an angelic glow.

Like a gift sent from the heavens only to lure me to Hell.

I’m going to kill him.

“Come on, Ivy. You can do better than that,” he goads, getting under my skin, just as he intended.

I glower at him. Not that he can see, my sabre mask conceals my face, but that doesn’t matter. Even with his own mask firmly in place, I know there’s a smug grin across his lips right now, and I’m hellbent on removing it. I just need him to stop blocking my every move.

Wordlessly, I take a backward step, finding my positioning once more with my sabre at the ready. He follows suit, and the dance ensues. The echoes of our swords vibrate through the room, each one louder than the last as we get lost in the rhythm.

Sweat beads at my temples and my hair clings to the back of my neck, but it’s the heat running through my veins that serves as a distraction. Every attempt to lunge is met with a parry, which only worsens when he lurches forward with a counterattack, and I feel it… my mistake.

He halts as I sigh in frustration, peering at my feet to find my right foot off the piste. The waxed hardwood floor beneath my shoe lives to infuriate me more.

The wheels of today are set to drive me insane.

I won’t allow it.

Gathering myself, I step back inside the boundary, but instead of preparing to continue, he slips his helmet off and ruffles his hair.

With a huff, I do the same, letting him see my glare in full voltage in an attempt to wipe that smug grin from his face, but it’s futile.

“Again, Hewy. Let’s go,” I insist, but my brother doesn’t waver under my frustration.

Offering me his back, he returns his sword to its stand before peering over his shoulder at me. “You’re distracted, and don’t call me that,” he states, and I scoff.

“I’m not distracted, and it’s your name. What do you want me to call you?” My insistence is a lie, and we both know it.

His eyes glance round the space, noting the new members of staff lingering around the edge of the room. “It’s Hugo right now.”

I roll my eyes. Hewy is what I called him when I was small and couldn’t say Hugo.

It stuck, not just for me, but our immediate family too.

But it’s something that brother dearest likes to keep under lock and key.

Either way, he’s distracting me with facts that don’t matter, and it only serves to drive me even madder.

“What’s the problem, Brother? Too scared to find out that I can take you?” I goad, and he shakes his head as he starts to lose his kit.

“I see through your bullshit even when you don’t, Sister ,” he retorts, killing my chances of us pushing through there and then.

The servants, who were silently lining the wall moments ago, jump into action, aiding my brother. A few of them step toward me, but my hand tightens around the hilt in my palm, turning my knuckles white, and they take the hint that I need some space right now.

“Hugo,” I start, and his smile softens.

“Ivy, it’s okay,” he insists. “Today is a big day. We were foolish to think otherwise.” He’s attempting to soothe me, but the jittery rhythm of my heart doesn’t relent.

“We’ve got time. I just… as excited as I am, everything is going to change today, and I want this last moment with you before that happens,” I admit as my brother comes to a stop before me.

Silently, he takes the sword from my grasp, and I let him.

He hands it off immediately and the thick energy in the room dissolves as I exhale slowly.

My head dips as I take a deep breath while my brother plants his hands on my arms supportively.

“Change is a good thing, remember? Besides, we both know I’m going to be beating your ass at this forever. There will be more time in the future. Hell, I’ll even come to campus when I can, or we can coordinate your breaks so I’m here at the same time.”

“You better do that anyway,” I reply, eyes wide with panic. “You know I hate it here without you.”

His smile remains, easing the knot of tension in my gut as he rubs my arms soothingly. He doesn’t say a word. He doesn’t have to.

Hugo is my big brother. Most of his friends hate their siblings, but he has never been anything other than my best friend.

He’s five years older, but he’s always treated me as his equal.

I’m sure I get on his nerves most of the time, but his patience is a gift from The Fates that I have to thank them for every day.

Without him, I wouldn’t survive this place. He left for the Academy five years ago, and it’s a stroke of terrible luck that we were birthed five years apart since he’s now graduating, and I’ll be finally enrolling.

A ripple of excitement runs down my spine, but I tamp it, saving the hope and yearning that fuels me for later.

Our visits have been few and far between over the past five years, but he’s always made time for me. The next five years are going to be just as insane, but they won’t involve me being caged in this damn fortress.

No.

Freedom is within arm’s reach and I’m claiming it tonight.

He’s right.

Change is a good thing. Even if fear threatens to taint it.

Finally, I let my helmet drop from my grasp, but it doesn’t hit the floor as a servant claims it before it makes a sound.

I grimace. “Sorry, Hatti, I?—”

“Don’t apologize, Ma’am. It’s my job, remember?” she muses with a wink, and my jaw softens as I smile back at her.

She tilts her head and I nod, setting everyone into motion as they work seamlessly as one, unraveling me from my kit with precision until I’m standing in my bright-blue athletic shorts, knee-high socks, and my favorite baby-pink compression t-shirt.

Their footsteps are soundless as they disperse, leaving me in only my brother’s company. Amidst the commotion, he took up position by the middle window. I eliminate the few steps between us to join him.

Neither of us speak as we take in the view. It’s the best in this house, which some would call a mansion. I prefer a mausoleum.

The perfectly kept lawn sits two stories below us, framed by both the east and west wings of the house, while the wrought-iron gates topped with dazzling gold spears separate us from the rest of the town.

Passersby stop and marvel, whispering and giggling to themselves before they carry on.

Once, I was so fascinated by what made them react that way that I snuck out through the staff entrance and plastered myself against the wall. Shielded by a baseball cap, I kept my head dipped as their words fluttered around me.

“I wish this was our home.”

“I wonder what it’s like to be so lucky.”

“I want a dress like The Angel one day.”

“Hugo is so handsome.”

Barf.

I shake my head, returning my focus to the present before I let distant memories completely sweep me up.

What I learned that day has stayed with me ever since, and not because of the two-hour lecture I received from my father for sneaking out.

No.

I learned that day that nothing is as it seems.

The wonder people whispered about didn’t truly exist.

I wish this wasn’t my home.

I wish I was so lucky to not know this place existed.

I wish I could dress however I pleased.

Hugo is definitely not handsome.

“How are you feeling?” my brother asks, and I sigh.

My mind swirls with an array of thoughts, but one simple word is the best I have. “Ready.”

He plants his hand on my shoulder, understanding in his eyes as he parts his lips, but before he can breathe a single word, the atmosphere shifts and a chill runs down my spine.

“There you are. I’ve been searching everywhere for you, Ivy. Come. We have much to do.”

My brother rolls his eyes as I rub my lips together, tilting my face toward the door where our mother waits expectantly.

Her golden hair falls around her shoulders in perfect curls, yet the smile on her face is strained.

Her eyes are wide, but it’s with panic, not excitement, and her shoulders are stiff, almost reaching her ears as she blinks at me expectantly.

She’s wearing a floor-length dress with intricate lace layered across the skirt, while the bodice is fitted to her like a second skin.

I’d like to imagine she’s wearing all of this for tonight’s ceremony, but this is the attire we’ve come to expect from her. Yet, as expectations go, I fall short every day when I don’t succumb to the same desires from life as hers. Fashion being one of them.

“Coming, Mother,” I mutter, running my hands over my shorts, and she gives me a disapproving look.

“Well, come quicker. Is that sweat? Are you panting? This is no state in which the people can see The Angel of Heaven’s Ridge, Ivy,” she insists, making my back stiffen with frustration as I take a step toward her.

“Mother,” Hugo mumbles with a gentle warning, but she continues as if she doesn’t hear him.

“Don’t let your father see you like this,” she hisses as I draw closer, and I roll my eyes, coming to a stop before her.

“It doesn’t matter. Once the ceremony is over, I’m out of here,” I remind her, and her face scrunches with distaste.

“Don’t be so excited to leave me behind,” she mumbles, sadness clinging to the corners of her eyes, when a shadow casts over me from my left.

His hand on my shoulder calms me before he speaks. “Don’t be so manipulative, Mother,” Hugo grumbles, defending me, and I silently thank him for always having my back.

“Don’t encourage her, Hugo,” she continues, and he shrugs, grinning at her, and she softens like always.

“Someone has to.”

She pouts this time, folding her arms over her chest as she sniffs. “You both act like you haven’t had a good life.”

My gaze snaps to my brother as our mother pats away invisible tears from her cheeks. Neither of us say a word. There’s no need to. The knowing look that passes between us is enough.