Tales & Time (Lost Time Academy #1)
G. Bailey
Prologue
I laugh as I dance around, losing myself to the music and eventually losing Tavvy and Ella in the crowd as I move away, avoiding other students. I drink my beer, hating the taste as I move my hips and slowly put my hands above my head, swaying to the music that seems to speak to me. I put the beer on a table somewhere before swaying my hips to a slower song in the middle of a big bunch of dancing people.
"Hey, party girl," a guy whispers into my ear before roughly pulling me back to him, his hands tightening around my waist before I can move away.
"Let go," I demand, trying to push him away from me, but it doesn’t work, and he just holds me tighter. I try to wriggle out of his grip as he presses his head next to mine and kisses my ear. I start to feel my power in my fingertips just before the arms are ripped away from me, and I stumble a little as I try to stand up straight. I turn to see Knox holding a wiry young man in the air by the back of his jacket, but Knox’s angry eyes are on me. There is silence as Knox lifts a beefy fist and punches the guy hard in the face. The jerk falls to the floor with a smack, and he doesn’t get up. It should scare me, but the whole alpha thing just seems to do the opposite. I like this side to Knox. He is definitely the darkest one of the brothers now. The music is suddenly cut off as Knox walks to me in big strides and swiftly picks me up, throwing me over his shoulder before I can protest about it.
"Let me make this clear while you are all listening. Madilynn Dormiens belongs to the Tale brothers. Anyone touches her, and they deal with us."
Chapter 1
The squawking of dozens of crows makes my eyes shoot open, seeing the green grass I’m lying on as it brushes against my cheek. It’s so dark that it’s all I can think about as I lift my head. I can hear the terrible squawking above me, it’s so loud that I can’t do anything but look where it’s coming from. I search the dark sky and see the dozens of crows flying in circles around my head. They fly in a circle, so I can only just see the stars through the wings and black feathers that fall around me. The cold wind blows against the black dress I’m wearing, and I can smell fire in the distance. I reach a hand out as the feathers suddenly start catching fire around me, the wind making them swirl around me in a vortex of fire and feathers.
“Sleep and save, sleep and save,” the words seem to come from the crows, but I know that’s impossible because crows can’t talk. The words just keep getting louder, mixing with the squawking, the fire, and the feathers until everything is a blur. I hold my hands over my ears as it gets impossible to even think over the noise, and I scream.
“Happy birthday,” my parents shout in unison as they walk into my bedroom, waking me up from another weird dream that I try to forget. Again. I’ve been having dreams of crows and the same thing for over a year, and the dreams just get more and more real. Not that any of it makes sense, and I’m not about to explain the dreams to my parents; it would just freak them out.
“I can’t believe the day is finally here,” my mum says, looking excited as I sit up in bed. My mum doesn’t look her age, but it likely has something to do with how beautiful she is. Everyone says we look similar as I have her chocolate brown hair and matching brown eyes, but I don’t see it otherwise. I’m average looking compared to my mum, I think, though my boyfriend disagrees. My mum is the beauty queen who loves make-up and dresses, and I’m the tomboy who prefers messy buns and my favourite Dorito-stained hoodie. My dad has wavy blond hair and a constant playful expression, even this early in the morning. It’s clear they both just got out of bed, as they are still in their dressing gowns, and I wonder for a second how anyone can be so bouncy so damn early.
“What day is it?” I say, yawning as I try to come around to reality and the fact I’m not sleeping when I should be.
“Your birthday, of course! We need you to open this, alone, and then come to find us. We will answer everything then,” my mum cryptically states, and I just gape at her. My parents have never woken me up with presents in my room…this is weird. They usually give me chocolate cake with candles on it in bed and presents later. Yet, there is no cake.
“We should have brought her a cup of coffee. She looks like a zombie from The Walking Dead,” my dad chuckles, wrapping an arm around my mum’s waist.
“What are you guys going on about? It’s too damn early for riddles, dad,” I reply with a groan, and dad just grins before turning around and heading out the door for a second. I flash my mum a confused look as she bounces on the spot in excitement, and I look back as dad returns with a big box. It’s a present box wrapped in light blue paper.
“Just open the present and then come downstairs,” he tells me and walks out the door with my mum, shutting it behind them. I’m seventeen, and there’s no cake for breakfast like last year? That sucks. I look at the box and decide to have a shower before opening whatever is in there. I am hoping for a car, but that doesn’t seem likely somehow with a box this size. I grab some clothes before showering and spending ages drying my long hair. I need another haircut. I look in the mirror and shrug at my pale complexion and freckle-covered face. Seventeen, and I still look like a kid. I glance at my phone when I come back into my bedroom, seeing dozens of Facebook messages from friends at school wishing me a happy birthday, when it suddenly rings. I smile at the handsome face of the screen before answering the call.