Undeniable: Under Realm Academy, #5

By Rye Brewer

Fierce witches. Necromancers. Soul reapers. Mysterious dragons. Secret councils. Forbidden alliances. The Under Realm Academy awaits.

Moira's secret is out and now she has to deal with the fall out! Don't miss the stunning conclusion of the Under Realm Academy series!

Caution: Cliffhangers, violence can be found in this series of action-packed fantasy including necromancers, hot dragons, and fierce witches.

• Language: English
• Publisher: RBP
• Release date: Apr 17, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201620806

Book preview

1

Bloodworth Heiress Reveals Herself as Dragon-Witch Hybrid.

I stared down at the headline with my lips pursed.

It’s hardly accurate, I sighed. First of all, I’m not an heiress.

I mean, your dad is king of the dragons, commented Aidan.

In title alone, remarked Damien. Not in practice.

Ignoring the boys, I tossed the newspaper aside. The next publication underneath it was a glossy magazine, one of the magical fashion issues that Aunt Inez subscribed to. Though it had a pretty necromancer model on the cover, there was no missing the headline off to the side.

The Inside Scoop on Moira Bloodworth’s Hidden Past.

With narrowed eyes, I practically chucked the magazine onto the floor. Anyone who thought they had all of the details about my past was kidding themselves. Even I didn’t know the truth about my heritage until a year ago.

Moira, maybe it might be a good idea to just ignore the news for a day? Kendra suggested.

Good idea, I grumbled, crossing my arms. Maybe I can read all of my hate mail instead.

I gestured grandly to the pile of envelopes that perched on the coffee table in front of Kendra and Luca on the sofa. They’d been arriving by the dozens via witch mail for days.

Hey, it’s not all hate mail, Luca replied. Actually, some of them seem like they could be letters of support.

I merely harrumphed.

Aidan wrapped his arms around my waist from behind, but I wasn’t in the mood for affection, so I merely stood there and glared out the windows of my aunt’s cottage toward the churning gray sea.

Damien caught my eye after a moment as he set down another newsletter. The front cover of the publication looked disturbingly familiar, causing me to shoot a glare at him.

What the hell is that? I snapped.

Damien raised his eyebrows. Nothing.

"Are you seriously reading The Brayton Weekly? After everything?"

That newsletter in particular was on my bad list. For months they published propagandic articles about how terrible animal shifters and shifter hybrids were. They touted lies about how we were a danger to the magical public and supported politicians who wanted to see shifter representatives banished from the Dark Government. Not only that, but they applauded protests organized by the Campus Crusade Against Animal Shifters—CCAAS—on Brayton University’s campus in order to noisily advertise their inaccurate, hateful viewpoints.

I— Damien tried to defend himself.

Hand it over, I growled. Let me see what they have to say about this whole situation.

I don’t think—

Damien, I said, my voice low and threatening. I could feel my skin growing hotter.

Aidan subtly loosened his grip on me and stepped back slightly.

Damien sighed and handed the copy of The Brayton Weekly to me. Everyone else in the room grew silent as I stared down at the main article on the first page.

Influential Bloodworth Coven Torn Regarding News of Youngest Fire Witch’s Recent Coming Out, read the headline.

Bit of a mouthful, if you asked me.

I continued reading, knowing deep down that I would regret it, but unable to stop myself.

At this point, we’ve all heard the news about Moira Bloodworth. Daughter of the late Charlotte Bloodworth. The fire witch recently revealed that her father is none other than Marius Alexi Draco, the powerful European dragon shifter diplomat. Upon discovering that a young ingenue of one of the most elite covens in the magical world has been lying about her true nature, the reaction has been torn.

However, no one has been more torn than the leaders of the Bloodworth coven, particularly those who hold positions in the Dark Government. Their reactions have been mixed, according to our sources. Some Bloodworths claim to timidly support Moira despite her betrayal, claiming that it is against witch nature to abandon one of their own. They blame Charlotte Bloodworth, a water witch who passed away tragically in a human-caused car accident ten years ago, for keeping her daughter’s hybrid nature under wraps for so long.

Other Bloodworths are not so forgiving. Our sources indicate that it is likely the young witch-dragon might be banished from her coven for her lies.

Not only that, but Moira Bloodworth is known to be a first-year student at Brayton University, which means that she lied on her application form when she claimed to not be of shifter ancestry. Will this result in expulsion?

What do you think, readers? Does Moira Bloodworth deserve forgiveness or does she belong with the rest of the shifters on the fringes of society? Write a letter to the editor and you just might see your comments published in next week’s issue.

My first instinct, upon finishing reading the article, was to set the entire cottage on fire with a scream of rage. My second instinct was to transform into a dragon and rip apart everything in sight, sparing only my friends.

Knowing that neither of those reactions was particularly healthy or productive, I chose option number three. With a measured inhale and exhale, I crumpled The Brayton Weekly in my fists and then set it on fire. It crumbled to ash that drifted down to the carpet lazily.

Then I collapsed down onto the nearest kitchen chair and rested my forehead on top of the table. I was vaguely aware of Aidan quickly coming to sit down beside me and rub slow circles on my back, right where my dragon wings would explode from if I decided to shift at any given moment. My boyfriend wasn’t afraid of me, though. No one in that room was; not even Luca, who was the most recent one of our small group to learn the truth about me.

Two weeks ago, I went to the Dark Government headquarters at the invitation of a dragon shifter official named Mr. Markov to give a speech that would shock the magical world enough to delay voting on a law that would ban all animal shifters and hybrids from being elected to representative positions. Essentially, the law—created by Luca’s horrible aunt, funnily enough—would deny anyone other than witches, necromancers, demons, and soul reapers from having a voice in the governing of the magical world.

It would strip them of their personhood.

Us. Me. It would strip me of my right to have a voice.

According to a recent letter from Mr. Markov, the speech was successful. Dark Government officials were suddenly uncomfortable with the idea of banning someone like me, the daughter of the most powerful coven, from society. He wrote that many officials, as uncomfortable as they were around animal shifters, were even more uncomfortable with how dramatic the law seemed.

While the Bloodworth coven was busy trying to decide if I still deserved to call myself a Bloodworth witch, the rest of the government was still too afraid of stepping on the toes of the Bloodworths by including me in the banished crowd.

So the law was tabled and the government moved on to other matters until the holidays put their session on hiatus. But that didn’t mean that the law couldn’t resurface again or be repackaged into something less recognizable, but just as evil.

Even though I was happy that the speech was a success and proud of myself for finally coming out to the entire world about my true hybrid nature, the aftermath hadn’t been totally positive. The media was ruthless, making ridiculous assumptions and bold claims that were disturbingly far from the truth. The worst of the articles deduced that my mother was assaulted by my father and that I was an unwanted tragedy from the beginning.

Luca did have a point, though. It wasn’t all bad. I was receiving quite a few letters from people just like me, kids and teens and adults alike who were also hybrids and felt more supported now that someone of my status revealed that I was like them. It was nice to know that my speech empowered people like that, but being a leader in any way still caused me significant anxiety. After all, I was only eighteen years old. I was hardly fit to be the voice of the people.

So, in order to deal with the onslaught of attention from the entire magical world, I decided to hide away at Aunt Inez’s cottage for the past two weeks. My friends, being as kind as they were, kept me company while I dealt with my self-imposed exile. It was a little cramped in the cottage with me, Aidan, Damien, Kendra, and Luca hanging around, but I had a sense that my aunt actually enjoyed the company.

Moira, do you want to go for a walk? Aidan murmured in my ear. At that point, I’d been sitting there for a solid ten minutes in silence. Kendra and Luca were sifting through the letters on the coffee table and Damien was skimming the rest of the newspapers.

Mhm, I mumbled in affirmative. Some fresh air sounded nice. Strolling hand in hand with the boy I loved along the foggy, peaceful beach sounded even nicer.

Slowly, I lifted my head and tried not to pout. I was trying not to feel sorry for myself. It was my decision to come out as a hybrid and it was a decision that I refused to regret. All I could do was simply hold my head high and move forward toward whatever the future held.

Aidan smiled softly and tucked a strand of my dark hair behind my ear. He stood up and gathered our jackets, but before we could head out the back door toward the cold December dunes, Aunt Inez walked back through the front entrance.

She wasn’t alone.

Moira, she said right away in lieu of hello, eyes wide with concern. Her arms were full of canvas bags; she’d just been at the market to buy ingredients for dinner that night. Damien and Luca hurried forward to relieve her of the groceries.

I was frozen to the spot, staring at the person beside my aunt.

It was President Guerra. As in, the President of Brayton University. He was the person in charge of the college, the one who got to decide who was admitted and who was denied.

I was pretty sure I already knew why he was here.

His stern black eyes observed the others, lingering on Kendra and Luca, whom he knew were two of his students as well. He was an earth witch, though his cool and intellectual aura would make one assume he actually had an air affinity.

Miss Bloodworth, he said after a moment, hovering in the entryway of the cottage. I must apologize for arriving unannounced, but I assumed that you’ve been receiving quite a lot of mail recently, so I didn’t want my letter to get lost. I teleported here just as Inez was coming back from the market. Might I have a word with you? In private?

I swallowed. It wasn’t that I was afraid of President Guerra. I wasn’t afraid of much nowadays.

It was just that it was a little awkward for me lately to interact with people who previously thought I was nothing more than a fire witch. I’d grown so used to hiding half of myself from everyone that it was strange to know that the entire world knew the truth now.

Um, yes, I replied to the president. Of course.

Aidan touched my arm. Do you want me to come with you?

I glanced back at him and shook my head.

It’s okay, I whispered to him.

I thought we could walk through these beautiful gardens that Inez has grown out front, offered President Guerra as I approached him. I nodded and followed after him as he left the entryway.

I caught Kendra’s gaze one last time before I left the cottage. We shared a glance of understanding, one that communicated we both knew what was about to happen. She looked devastated, like she wanted to do something to stop it, but I merely shook my head at her and carried on.

Outside, I awkwardly caught up to President Guerra. He was a tall man, slightly crooked from age. Using a thick cane, he ambled along through the paths of vegetables and herbs that Aunt Inez grew in front of the cottage. Most of the plants were for me to use in my experimental potions.

The gardens weren’t particularly expansive so we didn’t have far to walk. I figured it was going to be a fairly short conversation anyway.

I imagine you have been going through quite a stressful time recently, Miss Bloodworth, began President Guerra. I should apologize ahead of time and admit that I fear our conversation might add to that stress.

I’m pretty sure I already know what you’re going to say, I said.

The president pursed his lips, but he didn’t look at me. In fact, it seemed like he was trying to avoid my eyes as much as possible since the moment he arrived.

I was quite fond of your mother when she was a student at Brayton, he said, surprising me with the sudden change in topic. Your aunt too, of course, but Charlotte was particularly endearing. She was a very talented witch.

Yes, I’m aware, I responded, not bothering to keep the iciness out of my tone. I was completely out of patience when it came to people talking about my mother as if I never knew her.

Of course, murmured the president. Miss Bloodworth, I am sure you understand why I have to do what I am about to do. Brayton University has educated talented young witches and necromancers for centuries. Over the years, we have been known to nurture young demons and soul reapers, and even a scattering of vampires. However, we have never welcomed animal shifters or hybrids into our school… and we do not intend to do so anytime soon.

I remained silent. I’d expected the words. When I first found out that I was half dragon, I kept it a secret because I knew that it would instantly get me expelled from Under Realm Academy. I knew that Brayton University would likely be no different, though I did have some small hope that they might be willing to change. It could’ve been a really great opportunity for them to squash CCAAS and the haters behind The Brayton Weekly and change directions, becoming the forefront of positive progress.

It was just wishful thinking on my part, though. I knew how strong tradition ran in the magical world, especially when it came to the old institutions and families.

President Guerra seemed to understand that I had nothing to say and opened his mouth to continue speaking. He paused by a winterberry bush and I stopped walking, standing a few feet away from him.

A handful of students have chosen to depart from Brayton following your announcement, presumably because they share your… affliction. His fingertips ghosted along the glossy green leaves of the berry bush.

I flinched at having my existence being referred to as some kind of illness, but kept my expression blank.

Miss Bloodworth, I have come here today to deliver the unfortunate news that you have been expelled from Brayton University, effective immediately.

I sighed. How disappointing.

For the