The Mage’s Revenge (Crescent Moon Academy Book 2)

  The Mage’s Revenge

  Crescent Moon Academy

  CY Jones

  Copyright © 2021 CY Jones

  Published by CY Jones

  All rights reserved.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced/transmitted/distributed in any form. No part of this publication shall be shared by any means including photocopying, recording, or any electronic/mechanical method, or the Internet, without prior written consent of the authors. Cases of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law are the exception. The unauthorized reproduction/transmitting of this work is illegal.

  Published in the United States of America.

  Cover By: EVE Graphic Design LLC

  Edited By: Dani Black

  Proofreader: MW Editing

  Formatting: Purrfectlty Haunting Formatting

  Anime is Life

  Contents

  Prologue

  1. Angelica

  2. Zion

  3. Angelica

  4. Angelica

  5. Angelica

  6. Angelica

  7. Angelica

  8. Angelica

  9. Angelica

  10. Angelica

  11. Zion

  12. Angelica

  13. Kirito

  14. Angelica

  15. Ruelle

  16. Angelica

  17. Angelica

  18. Angelica

  19. Angelica

  20. Kirito

  21. Angelica

  22. Angelica

  23. Angelica

  24. Angelica

  25. Ruelle

  26. Zion

  27. Angelica

  28. Angelica

  Epilogue

  Note From The Author

  Find CY Jones Here

  Books by CY Jones

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  Books by the Grim Sister

  About CY Jones

  Prologue

  Victor Morganstein

  In the shadows, I watch as Hawthorne berates the pretty young mage with violet eyes. Curling my lip in disdain, I watch as she pleads with him for forgiveness. What a useless pawn she was. If it were me, I would have killed her as soon as she showed up here with her petty excuses, admitting defeat. What a disgrace. I told Hawthorne beforehand, the Bishops were worthless. Weak minded mages without a bit of talent, but he insisted on using the girl to carry out the job. I admit, she has a pretty face and her promiscuous ways did help some, but she failed to learn anything the least bit important from his son nor was she able to get close to him.

  The only useful thing she did manage to do was use those so-called charms of hers and implant the special charm I made on my daughter’s pathetic brother, Quinn, that I used to control him. Oh, the amusement I got from him fighting my daughter brought actual tears to my eyes. It was a glorious thing to see, which is the only reason why I’m allowing the pretty failure to live. My eyes flicker down to the pendant around my neck containing the boy’s soul, and I smile. I never thought my daughter would have the guts to kill her own brother. Hiding with a bunch of harlequins, I thought she’d be too sheltered, timid and weak. I’m glad I was wrong. It shows me she has promise and proves that despite her upbringing, she’s deserving to be my heir.

  “The next time you fail me, I will destroy your mind and leave you a beautiful vegetable. Now, go to my chambers and wait for me to punish you accordingly,” Hawthorne tells the girl, tracing her body with a lustful gaze. He’s such a lurch. I know exactly how he plans on punishing her, but I say nothing. Who he sticks his cock in is none of my business.

  As soon as she scurries off, I step out of the shadows. “Does your son know you’re fucking his fiance?” I snicker.

  “He’s my son. Why should he know about anything I do?” he sneers.

  “How’s this for a reason? As of right now, he’s more powerful than the both of us combined while he has a Champion in his possession. If I were you, I wouldn’t piss him off just yet. At least be smart and wait for the Mage War to be over.”

  His eyes flash with flames, and he grinds his teeth annoyed, not at all liking my words. I’m only telling him the facts, but I find myself greatly amused over his reaction. I wonder what he’d do if I told him that I believe even without a Champion, his son is more powerful than him.

  “That boy will never be more powerful than me,” he snarls.

  “Really?” I raise my brow, goading him. “Didn’t you attempt to kill him once already and fail? And to think, it wasn’t even your son that got in your way but your wife.” My smile is vicious as I’m thoroughly amused. Oh what fun I’m having. I’m starting to think I only keep Hawthorne around for entertainment.

  “That was an unfortunate mistake. One she’ll never make again once I get my hands on her. Which reminds me. I’ve come through with my side of the bargain. It's time for you to hold up your end. Despite her recent failure, Violet was able to give you access to take complete control over that boy’s body. Now, it’s time for you to call your favor in with the Council and have them look the other way when I kill my wife.”

  “I’m a mage of my word, but before I do that, I need you to do something else for me.”

  “What now?” he growls, not happy. He should be careful. I’m more powerful than him and don’t tolerate disrespect, no matter who you are. The only person I care about is myself and what benefits me. Just look at what I did to my own wife and daughter.

  “I need you to put a damper on those high ambitions of yours. You’re free to kill your wife all you want, but your son is useful to me, so I want you to back off him.”

  “What?” he shouts, outraged. “I want that brat dead. Him and his sister were nothing but failures. With a new wife, from a more powerful bloodline, I’ll be able to start over and produce an heir worthy of my name.”

  “Bollocks, Arina came from top stock, which is the only reason why you married her in the first place. It’s your own damn fault you couldn’t control your children. You allowed one to fall in love with a harlequin and the other you’re just pissy you can’t control him. Unlike you, I can make him and my daughter yield. Even without a Champion, he’s very powerful, and together with my daughter, they’ll produce a strong heir worthy to carry on my legacy. I’ll call my favor in with the Council, and while I’m there, I’ll be informing them of my daughter’s engagement to your son. Once they produce an heir that child will bear my name, continuing on the Morganstein line.”

  He grinds his teeth, annoyed. I know how much he hates being told what to do. He thinks he’s all powerful because of all the knowledge he hoards. He knows practically everything about everyone, but he’s proven he’s not infallible and can make mistakes. One being the Bishops.

  “What about Bishop?” I can feel him probing at my shield wrapped securely around my mind, but it’s an useless effort. Because of his powers, I keep myself guarded around him.”

  “What about him?” I question, bored.

  “He expects his daughter to marry Zion.”

  “Don’t worry about that, or what he has on you. I’ll take care of it,” I say, waving his concerns off.

  “Are you sure? He could ruin me, you know? I’m not sure I’m willing to take that chance,” he spouts.

  “I said I’ll take care of it,” I growl.

  Bloody hell, he’s pissing me off. I wish it were someone else who learned my late wife’s secret and not him. I’ve always suspected my daughter was alive, but I never learned where the bitch stashed her. Even as I tortured her, Kassandra still wouldn’t tell me. She d
ied taking the secret to her grave. I should have known she left the baby with her old flame, but after hearing his wife had twins, I didn’t put any further thought into it. I should have. I should have investigated the matter myself instead of sending someone else to do it for me. No matter. Angelica has been found, and my plans for her can continue. Ensuring she has the proper mate is just a start.

  Not that he has a choice, but he finally relents. “Fine, I’ll let him live.”

  “Thank you. Now, if you’ll excuse me,” I say, walking away.

  Chapter 1

  Angelica

  The next time I wake, I’m able to pry my eyes open completely. Using what strength I can gather, I pull up my weak, fragile body until I’m leaning against the headboard of an unfamiliar bed in an unfamiliar room. The layout kinda resembles my dorm room, but it’s a whole lot bigger. Some of my things are even here, I note as my gaze moves around spotting familiar pieces here and there. I’m not worried over my safety though, even if I’m somewhere unknown. The wards surrounding me may feel foreign, but they’re very fucking powerful. I wonder who put them up, and where the hell am I?

  “Ahh, you’re up,” the headmaster’s chirpy voice says as he walks in. “Do you feel okay? You don’t have any nasty side effects like a headache or nausea, do you?”

  “No, although my throat is a little dry,” I answer, and with a flick of his wrist, a glass of ice water appears in front of me. Used to his telekinesis, I reach for the glass and quickly gulp down its continents, moaning as the cool liquid goes down my throat, cooling the soreness.

  “Your vocal cords were badly damaged and swollen. A healer was called in, but it took longer for your throat to heal properly, especially with you screaming in your sleep. I’m sorry about your brother,” he adds softer.

  “Where are we?” I ask instead of touching the subject. I rather not rehash Quinn’s death with him right now.

  “One of my personal cabins. It’s still on school grounds, but well enough away from the academy for privacy.”

  “Why am I here? Did I get expelled? Is this where you wait in shame until your guardian comes to collect you? If so, then you might as well kick me off the property yourself because Leslie is not going to take the time out of her self-absorbed schedule to come for me. If she did happen to come, she’d more than likely kill me before we left the school’s grounds.”

  Chuckling, he says, “No, dear, you haven’t been expelled.”

  “Then why am I here?” I’m seriously confused right now. If I’m not in trouble, then why go through with the effort of putting me in his personal space until I heal... unless. Does he think I’m a danger? Well... aren’t I? Hell, I don’t even know the answer to that question. I still feel… off. Like I’m here. Functioning, but not on all cylinders. It’s a ‘the lights are on, but nobody’s home’ kind of situation.

  As he watches me, his normally jolly face turns somber, and I brace myself for what he’s about to tell me. I seriously don’t know what else could have happened that would bring me anymore grief. I mean, what’s worse than losing Quinn? Nothing trivial going on in this academy could compare. So why am I afraid?

  “I have so much to tell you, and now, since you’re finally awake, I guess this is as good a time as any.”

  “Please, don’t tell me you’re claiming to be my father too?” I moan. The headmaster is a nice person and all, but I’ve already reached my max of people claiming to sire me. “What?” I say at the surprised look on his face. “It’s a valid question. I already have one too many as it is.”

  “Not quite, poppet.” He takes a deep breath, and internally I’m freaking out. Not quite? What the hell does that mean? Maybe if my ears weren’t ringing and my mind wasn’t all over the place, I would have heard his answer.

  “What’s that?” I say once I realize he’s gone quiet again, watching me with a searching gaze.

  “I said, I’m your grandfather. My daughter, Kassandra, was your mother.”

  I blink once, twice, before I open my mouth and mutter, “Holy shit.” Talk about mouth vomit. It seems I have more people claiming to be related to me than my whole nineteen years of being alive. It’s definitely something I’m not used to. Usually, it’s the opposite with people being embarrassed to know me, not openly claiming me.

  “So... Wait. Hold up. Did you know I was your granddaughter this whole time?” I ask, still shocked over what he just told me.

  “I did,” he admits calmly. “You’re the spitting image of my daughter; how could I not? Plus, your aura is familiar to me.”

  “If you knew this whole time, why didn’t you say anything? Heck, where have you been all this time? Why was I put in a household of harlequins when I had a perfectly healthy relative right here?” With each question that pops up in my head, I get stabbed with the familiar ache of not being wanted.

  “Your aura is changing colors. You’re hurt,” he observes.

  “No shit,” I mumble. “How would you feel if you were in my shoes?”

  “Poppet,” he sighs. “I didn’t know where you were until I saw you and your brother making trouble out in the front hall of the school. As soon as your aura hit me and I saw your face, I knew you were Kassandra’s daughter. I could have told you the truth then or when I first invited you to my office, but in truth, I didn’t know what to say. I knew you’d have questions, and the truth is, I don’t have many answers. When Kassandra fled with you, she did it in secret and did not tell me where she was going. I guess she felt like she couldn’t leave you with me because I would have been the first place Morganstein would have looked for you, and she was right. Shortly after her disappearance, he had the Council call me in, and I was interrogated. One of the Council members has a very powerful gift of reading minds. I would not have been able to lie to them.”

  “Why leave me with my dad then? He was already mated with kids of his own. You don’t know the grief my existence put him through, or the trouble I caused, all because his family thought I was his love child.”

  “It was the last place anyone would have thought to look for you. Your father and Kassandra used to be romantically involved when they were younger and were very much in love, but because of the rules of light and dark mages not allowed to have any kind of involvement with one another, they could not be together and were eventually mated to other people. Even I, her father, never knew they kept in touch after going on with their separate lives. I’m glad I didn’t because if I had, the Council would have been able to extract that information from my head and find you. Ansel is a far better father than Morganstein could ever be. My daughter died to protect you, and as much as I would have loved to get to know my granddaughter when you first arrived and tell you everything, I had to put away such selfish desires so that I could keep her secret and not allow her death to be in vain. Even though I didn’t tell you the truth, I still looked out for you as much as I could and watched your progress from afar.”

  “Yeah, I remember,” I grumble. All the office visits and the dodgy way he’d avoid my questions when I asked about himself. Every time our conversations got too deep, he’d always have somewhere to rush off to. He wouldn’t even tell me his name, which is just silly if you ask me. “Well, since the cat is out of the bag, are you going to tell me your name now?”

  He must think it’s a silly question because he chuckles and lights dance in his eyes, wiping all traces of the serious look on his face away. “After all I’ve told you, that’s what you want to know?”

  “Well, it’s a start. I could call you grandpa or gramps, but I really would like to know your name,” I shrug.

  “It’s Ambrose Dreamstorm, but I’d love it if you called me Grandpa. I am your guardian now after all.”

  That’s not really a surprise. After hearing I have a living relative, I’m sure Leslie jumped at the chance to be rid of me. This is all a dream come true for her, but what about that evil fuck of a father? Custody of me should have fallen on him. “What about Morganstein?
” I ask bitterly. “Wouldn’t he be my guardian now, since the truth is out?”

  “Ansel produced a document signed in Kassandra’s blood containing her last wishes. Despite the way she was disgraced and killed, surprisingly, the Council abided by them. I suspect their decision came out of fear rather than anything. To deny a voodoo priestess her last wish is a bad omen. She wrote if you were ever found that guardianship should be handed over to me until you’re properly mated. She also wrote that Ansel should not be punished for his part in hiding you. She never wanted him to suffer and made it clear she forced him to go along with hiding and raising you.”

  “That’s just crazy. She knew all along she was going to die and had all these contingency plans.”

  “I’m afraid so,” he replies in a sad voice.

  “And me? What am I supposed to do now that I know the truth? No way in hell am I just going to go on with my life after what he did to Quinn. I’m not my mother. I’m not just going to give in because he’s more powerful than me. He has Quinn’s soul, and I want it back.”

  “Morganstein is a powerful enemy to have, and if that’s not enough, he has a lot of influence over the Council. I know you want your revenge, but you have to think this out intelligently and not just go running in with a hothead. He’s a lot more powerful than you, even with your Champion. With that said, the war won’t last forever. Soon, you won’t have your Champion to protect you anymore. Also, Morganstein is your father. As much as you don’t want that to be true, it’s still the truth. I may be your guardian, but he still has some say over your life.”