Tales & Time (Lost Time Academy Book 1) Read online

  Contents

  Join Bailey’s Pack

  Description

  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

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Epilogue

  Author Note

  More Books by G. Bailey…

  Stay in Touch

  About the Author

  A Name Like Karma

  Join Bailey’s Pack on Facebook to stay in touch with the author, find out what is coming out next and any news!

  www.gbaileyauthor.com

  Tales & Time © 2019 G. Bailey.

  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.

  This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient.

  Edits by Helayna Trask

  Part one was previously published in the Once Upon A Rebel Fairytale Anthology.

  Created with Vellum

  Description

  What if all the fairy tales are real? What if you were one of them?

  When Madilynn turned seventeen, her parents dropped a big, ancient-looking book in her lap and said to open it by herself. Madilynn almost wishes she hadn't when it reveals she is a descendant of a fairy tale, and her parents tell her it's time for her to attend Lost Time Academy.

  Being thrown into a world that is literally full of fairy tales, the last thing she expects is to see the four guys she grew up with.

  Four guys who have grown from boys to now geeky, dark, passionate men who rule the Academy…and they never forgot Madilynn.

  Time makes all tales come true, including the dark ones.

  Reverse harem & 17+

  Dedication

  To sleep. I really think you are my soulmate, and that we should spend more time together.

  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 his 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. Knox is silent as he 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 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 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, wit
h 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 on the screen before answering the call.

  “Hey, Madi. Happy birthday!” Quinton, my boyfriend, says down the line in a cheery voice. He is one of those morning people too.

  “Morning, Quin, and thank you,” I reply, hearing his laugh.

  “Are you eating chocolate cake yet?” he asks. Quinton has been my friend since we were little, and then we started dating a year ago when our friendship just turned into something more. I knew I loved him as more than a friend when he climbed through my window, like he did every weekend, but seeing him soaking wet from the rain he must have walked an hour in to get to my house, and the look I remember him giving me, changed things. That night changed everything between us, and neither of us would change a thing about it now. I love him.

  “Nope, no cake today. I’m not happy,” I say, making him chuckle.

  “Aw, I will bring you cake later and your present,” he replies.

  “You didn’t have to get me anything,” I gently say.

  “You’re my girlfriend, so yeah I did,” he tells me. To be honest, I would be happy with the cake as he really didn’t need to get me anything. Quinton works part-time to afford food for himself, his sister, and his mum, as she can’t work. Not by choice, but her love of alcohol gets her fired from every job she has ever had, and the moment Quinton could work to help them, she didn’t stop him.

  “Meet you at school in an hour, yeah?” he asks. I look at the box on my bed, knowing I might as well open it and then escape to school to see Quin.

  “Sure,” I reply to him, yawning loudly. Maybe I could take a nap today as well.

  “Oh, and Sleepy?” he says, using that damn nickname that he and only four other people made up once and it stuck.

  “Yes, Quin?” I reply, trying not to yawn to prove the nickname’s point as I’m still tired.

  “Actually, it doesn’t matter. I’ll tell you later. Bye, Sleepy,” he says, his tone a little off. I frown as the line cuts off before I can reply to him. I wonder why he is being weird? I shake my head, sliding my phone into my back pocket as I walk back over to the box. I pick it up and sit on the bed before undoing the ribbon. I lift the lid off the box, and inside is an old gold book. That is certainly not a car. The book has a symbol on the front that is a half-moon in a circle with flowers and swirls inside the moon. There’s a cat drawn sitting on the moon, its head looking up at the top of the moon. Why the hell would they give me an old book with a cat on it, when I’m allergic to cats? Actually, I’m more than just allergic. Cats have a habit of going crazy when I’m near them and trying to bite or chase me. Cats are my enemies…and my parents know this.

  I reach my hands in and pick the book up, surprised by how heavy it is as I place it on my lap after pushing the box onto the bed. I open the cover slowly; the pages are made of thick, soft material that I don’t really recognize. The moment I look down at the first page, it starts to glow a soft gold colour, and my hands suddenly feel locked onto the book as the gold glow starts travelling over my hands. I scream in a panic, trying to let the damn book go, but it doesn’t work; my hands feel tied to the book no matter what I do. I stand up, trying to shake the book away, but that doesn’t work. I hear a strange, sweet noise as I run to the door then look down at the open book as I realise the book is making the sound. The book starts to get blurry only seconds before I feel myself falling back while hearing a deep voice shouting words so fast I can just barely catch them:

  Two hundred years since the last descendant rose, and a beauty that only sleeps is found. For sleep makes beauty possible, and sleep is needed to break the curse. Only her heart can save us from the curse. Only a Sleeping Beauty descendant can stop what is to come.

  I snap my eyes open and drop the book, moving back until I fall onto my bed and stare down at the book on the floor. What the hell is wrong with it?

  When I move my arm to wrap it around myself, I realise it hurts slightly. Looking down, I see the half-moon in a circle tattooed in the middle of my wrist, the one off the cover of that book—and the damn cat on it. I have a cat tattoo when cats hate me…flipping brilliant. Quin is going to laugh his head off or think I’m crazy when I explain how I got it. I’ve always wanted a tattoo, but not this way…or of a bloody cat of all things. I get off the bed, keeping my eyes on the creepy book until I get to the door, and I only look away to open it. When I glance back at the book, it disappears into gold dust. I try not to scream as I run out the door like the book itself is chasing me. I jog down the stairs as fast as I can and into the kitchen where my mum is cutting a big chocolate cake on the counter.

  “Oh my god, she is a descendant!” my mum exclaims as her eyes lock on me, and she runs over, pulling me into her arms. I look over at dad sat on the stool, reading his newspaper like he does every morning. Like nothing just happened. What the flipping hell is a descendant?

  “What is going on, mum? What is that possessed book that gave me a tattoo and disappeared into dust?” I ask, pulling away from her. “Wait, that makes me sound crazy…but that book is not right!” My mum lets me go a little, squeezing my shoulders, and she looks over to my dad, clearly giving him a look that suggests he answer.

  “It’s our family book, and it is not possessed. The book is just full of ancient magic from the first of our kind. It appears on the birthday of every descendant in our line and disappears when they have opened it,” he says and then turns the page in his newspaper like he is explaining an everyday event.

  “That makes a lot of sense,” I say drily, and he laughs loudly, finally putting the paper down.

  “So, what is the damn cat and moon tattoo on my wrist? Is someone going to explain the tattoo with another crazy story?” I ask, holding out my wrist, and my parents look at each other with a small smile.

  “Yes, we will,” my mum states, sounding proud and glancing at my wrist. “Your grandmother is going to be so happy, she thought that you might get the powers one day,” mum says with a massive smile.

  “No, we will never hear the end of how your mother was right again, you mean,” Dad groans.

  “What powers? Can someone just explain what the hell is going on?” I snap, placing my hands on my hips, and mum puts an arm around my shoulders in comfort. Even with how freaked out I am, my parents just instantly calm me somehow.

  “Let’s go and sit down. It’s a long story and one I have waited so long to tell you, Madi,” she says gently. I have a feeling whatever this story is might change everything.

  Chapter 2

  “Fairy tales are real,” my dad states first before my mum can speak as he sits on the sofa opposite me. My mum hands me a glass of water as I gape at dad’s words, before she goes to sit next to him. I almost nervously laugh until I spot my dad’s serious expression.

  “You must be joking,” I suggest, and he shakes his head with a huff. But my dad jokes about a lot of things, so clearly this must be one of them. Fairy tales aren’t real. There is no wolf in the woods that eats girls with red cloaks on their way to grandma’s house. There is no prince looking for a cleaner who lost her slipper at midnight at his ball.

  “Not at all, sweetheart. I’m going to tell you our family history, and then you can ask me questions,” he tells me, and I nod, not knowing what to say anyway. I don’t want to believe him, but then I keep thinking about the glowing book and the words I heard, not that they made much sense. I’
ve also never known my dad to lie to me. Mum was the one who told me the stories about the tooth fairy and Santa, and Dad was the one who told me they weren’t real when I asked. My dad doesn’t lie to me, and that makes this whole situation so much more serious. I glance down at my wrist which still slightly stings from the damn cat tattoo, and I know I can’t just pretend this isn’t happening. That this isn’t real.

  “There once were three goddesses, all sisters and very powerful. The oldest sister made the humans and gave life to earth and every living thing in it. The second sister became jealous of the first and her love for the humans, so she created humans with powers, dark powers, and they started killing the humans in jealousy of their simple lives with no curses. The first goddess died trying to protect her humans, but it was no use. Over time, the dark humans had children who hunted the remaining humans for sport, forcing them into hiding. The third sister, who was the quiet one, never chose a side between her sisters. However, when she heard the oldest sister died, she knew something had to be done to stop the whole of earth being destroyed. So she created the originals, the fairy tales, as humans came to know them. They said she blessed three hundred of the hiding human families with powers, and they fought back against the dark ones and kept the peace on earth after. The dark ones are marked with a circle with an eye in the middle, and a wolf sitting on the eye. The originals have the moon and cat tattoo which you now have,” he tells me this tale of goddesses, fairy tales and things I never believed in as I rub a finger over my own tattoo. I’m a descendant of this goddess. That is what my dad is telling me.