Villainous Hearts (Academy for Villains Book 1) Read online

  Villainous Hearts:

  Academy for Villains Book 1

  Scarlett Snow

  Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  About the Author

  Other Books By Scarlett

  Shadowborn Academy Excerpt

  Villainous Hearts: Academy for Villains Book 1 © 2020 Scarlett Snow

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Editing by Niki Trento-Spencer

  Created with Vellum

  Prologue

  “The Furies have fallen, my lord. It won’t be long before Cronos charges through the gates,” Metheus declared, his tone laced with a concern that never before had been witnessed by another being; living or dead.

  Hades cursed and turned away from the window, his black robes billowing behind him. The Grey Sisters had long foreseen that this night would come. Hades was able to find a way out, and while it had been a last resort, it was still a chance. He would take any chance necessary if it meant he could save Persephone from his father’s wrath.

  “What do you wish me to do now, my lord?” Metheus glanced out the window to where the Gates of Erebus were being destroyed in the near distance.

  Hades faced his old friend and clapped him on the shoulder. “Flee while you still can.”

  The seer’s white eyebrows lifted in alarm and defiance. “I cannot leave you here.”

  “Take my chariot and flee. There is nothing more to be done here. You have served me well, my old friend. Make haste before it is too late.”

  He turned before Metheus could protest and entered his chamber. Persephone, draped in a sheer pink gown that flowed at her feet, paced on the balcony. The ground shook as Cronos finally broke through the gates.

  “It is time,” Hades softly informed her.

  Persephone paused in her tracks and looked up at him. “But…” Her hand fell to her swollen stomach. “Our children.”

  Hades took her hand in his and lifted her gaze with his other. “They will one day be reborn in the next life with us.”

  Tears slipped from her lashes. “Yes. We must do this for our future and for our children. There is no other way.”

  Indeed, there was not. This was the only way they could be together without Cronos and his followers trying to kill Hades now that he had escaped Tartarus. The Titan was determined to kill his firstborn one way or another, and none of the other gods dared help because they were too occupied with their own realms.

  “I am frightened, my love,” Persephone whispered, closing her eyes.

  “Do not fear the darkness that is to come.” Hades reached into his robe and withdrew two crystal vials. “For I will be there to guide the way through.” He opened one of the vials and ran the lid along Persephone’s bowed lips. Slowly, she opened, and he reached for the back of her neck, then poured the liquid onto her tongue. Persephone swallowed the contents while tears streamed down her cheeks. “I will love you for eternity, my ílios, in this life, and the thousands after it.”

  Persephone opened her eyes and took the second vial from him. “And I love you, my astéri, until the last breath of our last life together.” She poured the liquid into his mouth. “Nothing in all the realms will keep us apart. Not Cronos. Not Gaia. No one, no thing.” She pressed her lips to his, her heart clenching with despair.

  Hades wrapped his arms around her waist and held her close. “Do not forget me.”

  “Never, my love.”

  And then they leapt, falling to their deaths.

  Chapter One

  “Why do villains get punished for having fun?” I sit down on the beach next to my sister and glance up at the blinding sunlight. “One tiny hiccup and now we’re stuck at the Academy for Villains for three whole months. It’s so unfair.”

  “You turned a guy’s dick into stone and snapped it like a glow stick.” Murie side-eyes me with an amused grin sliding over her lips. “What did you think would happen?”

  I give a casual shrug. “He touched my butt, so I broke his dick. No touchy, no hurty.” Tossing my long pink hair over my shoulders, I follow her gaze. The sun has nearly touched the horizon. That means the ship will be here soon, and my stomach clenches at the thought. “Anyway, it was my hair that turned him into stone, not me.”

  She snorts under her breath. “Blame it on your half Gorgon side like you always do.”

  “Hey, it’s a legit excuse. I’m cursed!”

  Murie drapes her arm over my shoulders, her feet buried in the water lapping at the shore. “And I’m cursed too, Zara. This academy is the only place for people like us.”

  “Those who are fucked up and not all there in the head?”

  She laughs and playfully shoves my shoulder. “Bad-ass women who don’t need a knight in shining armour to save them.”

  “I’d probably just break his dick off anyway,” I grumble. “Maybe by accident this time. Maybe. Unless he turns out to be another jerk, in which case I will happily turn his dick into stone and snap it like a glow stick.” I stand and brush the sand off my green plaid skirt. “Unfortunately, I doubt the academy will let us use magic.”

  Murie pauses, brushing her silver hair behind her pointed ears. “Probably not but it’s worth a try.”

  “Have I taught you nothing?”

  Our mother’s voice carries on the ocean breeze. We turn to see her emerging from the sea; the waves lapping at her waist. Her purple tentacles vanish and a long, flowing gown of dark seaweed covers her now human body. Her silver hair and lilac complexion are the same as Murie’s.

  My pale skin, pink eyes and hair are the complete opposite. I’m also part Gorgon and can’t breathe underwater. It doesn’t take a genius to see that I’m the adopted one.

  “Rules are meant to be broken.” My mother dips her toes into the white sand, a smile dancing over her lips. “Be proud of who you are and show no fear.”

  I grin at her. “Fear? I laugh in the face of fear.”

  As if on cue, the sand beneath my boots trembles. The sun has touched the horizon at long last and it stains the clouds with streaks of crimson and gold. In the far distance, a shadow eclipses the setting sun. I shield my gaze from the blinding rays and watch as a monstrous dragon-shaped ship with black sails glides towards us. It should take some time for the ship to reach the shore, but it arrives only minutes later.

  My heart picks up its pace as I watch the anchor plunge into the sea. A gangway is dropped down, but at first, nobody disembarks. The dragon wings slowly curl inward and then I see it, the cloud of dark energy seeping down the ramp. A hooded man materialises from the smoke, the shadows licking around his tall frame.

  “Captain Nemo.” He inclines his head curtly and then looks between me and Murie. His eyes cut into us like sharpened sea glass, the same ocea
n-blue as the turban wrapped around his head. “Are you the Eyre sisters?”

  “Depends. You here to take us to our doom?” I ask, crossing my arms. “Also, Nemo? As in the fish?”

  Murie nudges me with her elbow. “Yes, we are the Eyre sisters.”

  Rolling my eyes, I give the ship an assessing once over. The deck looks empty from where I’m standing. Surely, we’re not the first ones to get picked up? As I push up onto my tiptoes, the captain snaps his fingers, and something sharp pricks me on the side of the neck. It’s like a mosquito bite, only sharper.

  “What’s that for?” I rub where he struck, my irritated pulse fluttering under my fingers.

  “A precaution.”

  “For what?”

  He doesn’t answer me. After doing the same to Murie, he says, “Say your farewells. It is time to set sail.”

  I salute him. “Aye aye, Cap’n.”

  Nemo pivots on his heel and makes his way back to the ship. No sense of humour, huh? Figures.

  “Remember what I said, darlings.” Mother turns us around and cups the side of our faces. “Be proud and show no fear.”

  The concern in her eyes is mirrored within my own, despite my bravado. My biggest coping mechanism in life has always been making light of serious situations. The twisted sense of humour I’ve adopted over the years has got me through some of my darkest moments. But I know, and my family knows, that deep down I’m just as worried as they are.

  “Did I ever tell you why I called you Zara Primrose?”

  Her question takes me off guard. My mother rarely ever talks about the day she found me. All I know is that my birth parents left me in a basket outside a stone temple and my mother heard my cries from under the sea. She swooped me into her arms and the rest was history.

  “You had this around your neck when I found you.” My mother reaches into her pocket and withdraws a stone primrose hanging on a long silver chain. “I couldn’t touch it without the pendant burning me. You used to wear it every day until you were about four, then you lost it while out swimming with Muriel.”

  “I remember that,” my sister says.

  “I don’t.”

  My mother nods thoughtfully. “You cried for months. I searched everywhere for it but assumed it was lost. Then it showed up at the market in Atlantis the same day you turned that hideous young man into stone.”

  My eyes widen in surprise, and I take the pendant from her. “It’s beautiful.”

  “And it’s yours. It’s enchanted, too, so you’ll be able to use it to contact me. All you need to do is sit the primrose in water and say my name three times.”

  Tears prick my eyes as I drape the chain over my neck, tucking the pendant under my shirt.

  “I just want you both to be safe,” Mother whispers, taking our hands. “By all means, break the rules whenever necessary, but pick those battles. And also don’t forget your old mama. Murie, have you got your pendant, too?”

  “Yes.” Murie taps her pocket and then hugs her. “Try not to worry, Mum. Zee and I will have each other’s backs, right?”

  “Right,” I say, joining in on the embrace

  The three of us stay like that for a long while. When the ship sounds its horn, we know it’s time and reluctantly let go before heading over to the ship. I try not to look back. It’ll just make boarding the ship that much harder.

  A nearly invisible veil has been wrapped around the ship. Humans wouldn’t be able to see it thanks to the concealment spell. As soon as we step onto the ramp, the spell lifts, and crew members buzz around the deck. Some other students have already been picked up, but I’m drawn to one in particular. Maybe it’s because he’s grinning like he’s just won the cruise of a fucking lifetime.

  He’s tall and pale with ebony hair that brushes his shoulders. His emerald tunic has gold embroidery, and his black cloak whips around him as he rushes up the stairs to grab hold of the wheel. The force field protecting the wheel sends him spiraling onto his back, much to the delight of the captain and his crew.

  I wince as he lands on the deck with a loud slap and splutters for breath.

  “Let that be a lesson to any fool wanting to take over my ship,” Captain Nemo announces, pulling out a scroll and quill, gesturing to the boy. “Loki of Asgard. What sin has brought you to the Academy for Villains?”

  Loki rises to his feet and brushes the dust off his clothes. “What do you think, old man?”

  “I see. So you tried, yet again, to take over Asgard but failed?”

  The boy’s face purples with anguish. “Yes,” he grits out.

  Captain Nemo tuts and shakes his head, scribbling something down on the scroll. “Dear, oh dear. Perhaps next time you will be successful and not get caught.” He turns to my sister. “Muriel Eyre. What is your sin?”

  Murie hesitates and looks at me for support. I open my mouth to speak on her behalf, but the captain cuts me off.

  “She has a tongue and can answer for herself.”

  After a strained moment, my sister takes a deep breath. “I let a pirate drown at sea. I could’ve saved him, but I… I choose to swim away.”

  “She was also just a kid herself, and the pirate killed our dad before trying to poach her,” I defend, narrowing my eyes on the captain. My hair bristles like a wave of static electricity as the snakes threaten to take over. “She shouldn’t even be here!”

  He just scores something off, not bothering to look up from his scroll. “And you, Zara-Primrose. What sin did you commit?”

  All eyes turn to me, including Loki.

  Right. Now it's my turn to tell the truth.

  Only, I'm not embarrassed to say it. I embrace what I did to that little pervert.

  “I turned a man’s junk into stone, then I broke it off and wore it as a necklace. That’s what he gets for pissing off a gorgon.”

  To my surprise, a lot of the crew members and students just laugh. Do they think it’s a joke? Honey, I still have that stone dick in my bedroom back home. It’s sitting on my vanity like a prized fucking trophy. These men would be wise not to get on my bad side. I'm not above adding to my collection. My mother always said I like to hoard things.

  Captain Nemo interrogates the remaining students while the crew propels the ship into motion. I stand beside Murie, watching the waves crash against the surface. The dragon wings attached to the side stretch out, then start to move, lifting us up into the clouds. Okay. So the boat can fly. Thank goodness I’m not super afraid of heights or anything, or that would be a real inconvenience right about now.

  Murie links her arm with mine. “This is it, Zee. No turning back.”

  We couldn’t even if we wanted to, I almost say, but I don’t want to worry her even more. I rest my head on her shoulder and watch the sea growing smaller beneath us. We might not have a choice when it comes to going to the Academy for Villains, but I hope, for the sake of the students and teachers there, they are ready to meet the Eyre sisters.

  We’re villains now.

  And I will not hold back anymore.

  Chapter Two

  If someone told me before setting off that the Academy for Villains was a castle sitting on top of a floating island, I would've laughed and asked to make mine a double shot. But that's exactly what the academy is. The boat drifts through the clouds and lands seamlessly on the lake surrounding the castle on the centre of the island.

  First, the anchor is dropped, then the gangway, and one by one everyone disembarks. There's already a ship docked with students gathered beside the lake. Damn, the captain of that ship is all tattooed and rugged. I'd swap him for the fish cap'n any day of the week.

  No. Enough, Zara. You are not here to date.

  With that bitter reminder, I follow Murie to where everyone's gathering around a man in long ebony robes. Everything from his cloak to his suit and cane is black, but the mask covering half of his face is pure white. We stop at the front of the crowd and I can see a scar poking out from the edge of his mask. Whatever he’s hidi
ng can’t be pretty.

  "Good-evening… students."

  The lengthy pause makes my heart jump. He might as well have just called us prisoners.

  "For those who have not attended here before, I'm Eryc Knightford, the headmaster of the Academy for Villains. I am delighted to meet you all.” His face and tone say otherwise. “I see we have some familiar faces that have decided to join us for another term. Welcome back." Knightford’s dark eyes land on Loki for a moment, then return to scanning the other students. When they find me, he seems to pale a little around the gills. He clears his throat and quickly looks away. "Let me make one thing clear: I do not tolerate rule-breaking on my island. You have each been assigned your terms prior to arriving. Some of you are here for only three months while others are here for much longer."

  "Just like a prison," someone mutters in the back of the crowd.

  Knightford’s expression doesn't even falter. "At the end of your final term, the board of directors and I will decide if you have atoned for your sin and then you will be returned to your families."

  "And what happens if you decide we haven't atoned?" I press him, crossing my arms.

  His eyes flash my way again. For an awkwardly long moment, he just stares at me. "You will be sent to the underworld until Lucifer decides to release your soul." Clearing his throat, he adds almost derisively, "Think of this academy as a second chance. Follow my rules, pass your tests with flying colors, and your time here will be swift and painless."

  "Yup," I whisper to Murie. "This is totally a prison."