King Of Bad [Super Villian Academy Book 1] by Kai Strand

instead like a shot of whiskey. Sharp,
quick and burning.
    “A defense doesn’t stem from one
place. A defense is a tightly woven net that surrounds your psyche. The weave
is so tight as to be almost solid, yet it is interwoven for extra support.
There is no beginning and no end. Weave the defense now. Imagine a string of
titanium knitting together, building longer and taller. Fitting
into the crevices just outside your skull. Imagine it extending down and
around your jaw line, over your cheekbones and nose. Let the miniscule knit go
until you are completely protected from outside interference.”
    “…lost my mental
virginity when I was just eleven.”
    Jeff blinked at the change of
voice. The mix of whiskey and rum tones was enough to make him gag.
    “Now I have to make you believe
it,” Mystic said.
    “Based on this morning, it should
be a piece of cake,” Jeff said.
    Mystic pursed her lips. “We’ll
see.”
    After the initial adjustment of
his head, she hadn’t touched him during the conversation. Now she reached up
and rested her palm alongside his jaw. Her fingers pressed lightly against his
pulse. She stared into his eyes. Then she grabbed his waist with her free hand
and yanked him toward her. The startle effect made his eyes pop wider and he
felt their connection deepen.
    “There we go.” The sharp burning
voice spoke directly to his mind. Outwardly Mystic only smiled. “Now, you’re listening.
Polar, you now have a complete defense ability. You
will be able to develop it further through training, but you will be equal to,
maybe even slightly ahead of, those at your training level.
    “But there is another thing.
You’ve got another ability that you haven’t even discovered yet that I want to
keep hidden from you for a while longer. This isn’t really fair of me to do,
but if you discover it too soon, it’ll ruin everything.”
    Jeff’s mind grew fuzzy as she
spoke. He couldn’t make sense of what she told him. His vision fogged over; it
sounded like someone had slapped earmuffs over his ears. The feeling of air
around him faded and disappeared as if he floated in a vacuum. He lost track of
time and place. But then his extremities tingled as if defrosting. Mystic’s
fuzzy features loomed in front of him.
    He rubbed his eyes and blinked,
trying to bring the world into focus. Crystal earrings, in the shape of Mickey
Mouse’s head, glinted and sparked on her ears. They shook as she tilted her
head back to laugh. He could see, but he couldn’t hear. He grabbed her arms and
shook her.
    “I can’t hear.” His throat
strained with the effort of yelling even though Jeff couldn’t hear his own
voice.
    Mystic’s brow knit in
consternation and then her mouth moved, but Jeff couldn’t tell what she said.
    “What did you do to me?” Jeff
said. Other S.V.’s turned toward him.
    Mystic pressed her fingers to
Jeff’s lips and her mouth puckered to form a shush . He
understood that and shut up. Mystic held up a finger to indicate it would be
another moment. Jeff glowered at her while he waited. The fast tattoo of his
tapping foot annoyed him, interrupting his concentration. Then he realized he’d
heard it.
    “What exactly did you do to him?”
Source asked Mystic.
    “It’s like restarting a computer
after loading a new program. He’s coming back now,” she said.
    “Everything okay here?” Oceanus
scowled up at Mystic. Arms crossed, flint sparking from her turquoise eyes, Oceanus
looked twice as big as her petite stature actually measured up to. Yet, Mystic
still towered over her.
    With a smirk, Mystic said, “Polar,
call off your watchdog.”
    Jeff shook his head, thinking
maybe he was still in some sort of strange Mystic suave. Oceanus wouldn’t come
to his defense otherwise. Maybe Mystic was able to see the intense crush he had
on Oceanus when she was in his head and she was taunting him with this bizarre
scene. Fine, he’d play along. Maybe he’d get some mind sex with Oceanus out