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FORBIDDEN ANGEL: ACADEMY
OF SIN

7 HUNTSMEN - BOOK 3
CHANTAL CROSS

HTTPS://CHANTALCROSS.COM
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales,
and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a
fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual
events is purely coincidental.
Text copyright © 2019 by Chantal Cross
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or
mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without
written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a
book review.
Published in the United States
Cover design by Sekhmetrics
Chantal’s Website: https://chantalcross.com
 CONTENTS

1. The Order of Unitas

2. Seth
3. Ebony
4. Gabriel
5. Ebony
6. Ebony
7. Gabriel
8. Leo
9. Arrius
10. Ebony
11. Ebony
12. Dorian
13. Seth
14. Gabriel
15. Wrath
16. Ebony
17. Ebony
18. Leo
19. Seth
20. Gabriel
21. Leo
22. Ebony
23. Ebony
24. Arrius
25. Seth
26. Ebony
27. Ebony
28. Seth
29. Darius
30. Ebony
31. Ebony
32. The Assassin

Chantal Cross
7 Huntsmen Series
 1

THE ORDER OF UNITAS

ACADEMY STUDENTS CRISSCROSS the green in scores aware of

nothing but the movements of their feet and their final destination.
They barely notice the world beyond the academy. The rising spires
of the castle are simply part of the scenery. The mountains encasing
the valley don’t merit a second glance. Not even the dark mountain
whose peaks tower over anything else. Its stones are naturally black
as obsidian, jagged and slicing the sky.
The students never look at the dark mountain. Even if they did,
they’d never see the watchtower carefully carved into the stone.
From the watchtower, a man in a black robe looks down on the
valley. His eyes, enhanced by a permanent spell, can see great
distances. He can make out the pattern of a dress worn by a fairy in
the Academy’s greenhouse. He can see a young man on horseback
swinging a sword with expertise beyond his years.
Most importantly, he can see the face of a girl in the dormitory
windows. She’s so beautiful, her dark beauty alone would arrest him.
Midnight hair surrounds her face in a dark halo. She looks out the
window, but her gaze cuts through everything. Her mind is in
another world.
The watchman’s been watching this girl since she arrived at the
Academy. Already she’s caused quite a stir. Her name is Ebony Black.
She shouldn’t be alive.
With a heavy sigh, the watchman leaves his post and moves into
the belly of the mountain. Many great rooms are carved into the
obsidian stone. The watchman makes his way to the great hall in the
heart of the mountain. Sconces lit with green and blue faelight
illuminate the spacious room.
At the head of the great hall are twenty bare stone thrones.
These thrones are the seats of the Order of Unitas, an ancient
and powerful order, old as time itself. The founding of the Order is
shrouded in mystery. The watchman has been part of the order
longer than most, and even he doesn’t know every secret.
The Order of Unitas has but one goal, to keep the realm in
perfect balance. They secretly influence every faction of life. They
monitor the distribution of wealth, power, and magic. Time itself will
obey their decree when pressed.
When Rhiannon the Demon Queen rose to power, she disrupted
the balance. The Order worked non-stop to restore balance to the
realms she shattered. It was a slow, laborious process that claimed
many lives of the Order. Rhiannon’s disruption was nothing
compared to what emerged to defeat her.
Snow White appeared like a fallen star crashing down on this
mortal plane. Her power was unimaginably great. She rallied seven
princes to fight by her side. Together, they were strong enough to
take down Rhiannon.
At first, the Order of Unitas was content to allow Snow White to
restore balance on their behalf though she knew nothing of them.
During the final battle, the Order was confident everything would
go the way it needed to. Snow White would defeat Rhiannon then
the Order would step in to remove Snow White. Just like Rhiannon,
Snow White’s power was too great to go unchecked. With nothing to
rival it, she would have to be removed from the realm.
However, the battle took a turn that not even the Unitas Oracle
could foresee. Snow White claimed her own life so that Rhiannon
wouldn’t steal her powers. To the Order of Unitas, that was a minor
problem. Then, the seven princes called upon ancient and terrible
magic to bind Rhiannon between realms.
This was not the outcome the Order wanted. Even though
Rhiannon was sealed away, she could always come back. She was
drawn to Snow White’s power like a mayfly to honey wine.
 The princes vowed to Snow White that they would kill her
whenever she was reincarnated. This was a messy solution but a
solution nonetheless.
At the time, the Order decided to leave the matter be. Rhiannon
wasn’t an immediate threat. Snow White was trapped in a tragic
cycle of death and reincarnation. Neither could disrupt the balance.
Until now.
Rhiannon has been released back into the world, though her
strength is limited. Snow White, reincarnated as Ebony Black, lives.
For reasons unknown, the seven princes now known as the
Huntsmen have been unable to kill her. Some refuse to do it. Others
have been pushed back by Ebony Black's growing power.
It’s become a tangled web of lies, deception, and mystery. The
Order of Unitas can’t watch from the shadows any longer. For the
sake of balance, they have to act.
The watchman approaches his seat. Each seat has a symbol
carved into the back of the chair, positioned so that it sits above the
head of the Order member. His symbol is an eye with a star for a
pupil. All but three of the other chairs are empty.
He joins the three, all wear identical black robes to the
watchman’s.
“Any news?” Asks a man with a thick grey beard raises his
eyebrow. His chair has the symbol of a raven etched above his head.
“No change. She’s still alive. The Huntsmen are doing nothing to
remedy that fact,” the watchman replies.
“And Rhiannon?”
“No sign of her.”
“I feel her energy mingling in the air, smelling like something
rotten on a spring breeze.” A robed man with his hood pulled up
speaks. A perfect circle is carved above his head.
“She has not gained the strength to fully rise,” the bearded one
nods.
“What of Wrath?” The third man asks. His hood is down,
revealing a face that’s younger than the others. He has newly
inherited his chair with its carving of two crossed daggers. His dark,
glittering eyes take in every detail, missing nothing.
 “No sign,” the watchman replies.
“What good are you, then?” the younger man sneers.
“Erabis.” The bearded man doesn’t raise his voice, but his tone
sends a clear warning. “When you have served as long as the
watchman, only then will you be allowed to make such observations.
You have many centuries of catching up to do.”
“Apologies,” Erabis mutters.
“Accepted,” the watchman replies.
“Diaval, what do you sense?” The bearded man looks to the man
beneath the perfect circle. Diaval pulls back his hood to reveal milky
white eyes with no iris or pupil. He extends a hand out in front of
him and goes still.
“Snow White’s power grows. Wrath is nearby, but I cannot sense
his exact location. He wields powerful magic he’s never had access
to before.”
Diaval lowers his hand and pulls his cloak back up.
The bearded man draws a heavy sigh.
“Time is short. We have to act now.”
“Should we not wait for the others to return? Such decisions
require discussion,” Diaval says. Many members of the Order prefer
to be out in the world, their identities hidden. They dutifully report
back to the dark mountain with valuable information concerning the
state of the realm.
“We cannot wait for the others.”
“At least, allow me to summon them, Raseamun,” the watchman
says.
“Very well,” Raseamun nods and closes his hooded eyes. “Before
you do, I must make a request.”
“Yes?”
“I require the three of you to help me summon our best agent,”
Raseamun says.
“You can’t be serious,” Erabis scoffs.
“He is deadly serious,” Diaval replies, unblinking.
“We need a swift solution before our world suffers more,”
Raseamun says.
 The watchman stares at the raven carved above Raseamun’s
head. A symbol of wisdom and clarity. The watchman has trusted
Raseamun’s leadership for nearly two-hundred years. He will not
question him now.
The four members stand in the center of the room, arms raised
to the stained-glass circle letting in the natural light from the peak of
the mountain. Raseamun casts the summoning spell.
Brilliant, golden light shines down from the skylight. It grows
brighter and brighter until the watchman has to look away. All except
Raseamus shield their eyes from the light.
If an Academy student were to look at the dark mountain at that
moment, they would have seen rays of light shining out from every
cranny and tunnel.
Slowly, the light fades away. The watchman can finally open his
eyes once more. When he does, a man stands in the center of their
circle.
His skin looks like it was brushed over with a light coating of
golden dust. He towers over the others by a head. His shoulder-
length hair shines white in the darkness. His eyes are the color of
molten amber. Pure power radiates from him.
“Arrius,” Raseamun beams. “Thank you for answering our
summons.”
“I am duty-bound to answer your call,” Arrius replies curtly. At his
hip is a gleaming sword. It shines as if a fire is burning from within
the metal blade. White stones adorn the hilt. Drops of purity
harvested from the heavens. The watchman has never seen
anything like it.
Erabis regards the newcomer with a cold gaze.
“An Archangel?” He sneers. “Surely, we don’t need to call upon
the heavenly warriors to solve our issues.”
“You do not know your place in the order,” Arrius replies. Quick
as lightning, Arrius unsheathes his sword and swings it at Erabis.
The edge of his blade stops mere centimeters from Erabis’s neck.
Erabis goes still as stone, his eyes widen with fear.
“You’ve made your point, Arrius.” Raseamun steps closer to the
Archangel. “Erabis has only recently acquired his position within the
order. He has much to learn.”
“Clearly.” Arrius sheaths his sword and steps away from Erabis.
Once the Archangel’s back is turned, Erabis steps back into the
shadows.
“Why have I been summoned?” The Archangel demands.
“Snow White and Rhiannon have returned to the realm,” Diaval
explains. “They threaten everything.”
“They need to be dealt with before chaos ensues,” Raseamun
instructs.
“It will be done.” With a flash of heavenly light, the Archangel
vanishes.
 2

SETH

NO MATTER how hard I try, I can’t keep my eyes off her.

It seems as if every aspect of nature turns to her and lends her
its grace. The sunlight that slants down from the high windows
caresses her hair, and makes her vibrant skin glow. Her deep red lips
shame every rose that ever bloomed. Her midnight hair always seem
to be in motion, as if the very air cannot stop from touching her.
It’s maddening. My frustration feels like a living thing, a snake
that whips through my blood and makes my bones crackle. Even
though I’m sitting perfectly still and an onlooker might assume me to
be relaxed, I’m full of tension.
I want to walk up and talk to her. Have her look upon me with
that same soft, eager look she always had in the past. When I
remember our easy intimacy, the way she would crawl into my arms
for comfort whenever she was upset—I feel a kind of pain I’ve never
known, not from any wound.
We have barely spoken since our step-mother, Cordelia’s, death.
That split our little foster family scene wide apart, not that it was
ever stable before that. It just seems to me that for most of our
lives, running from Cordelia was what drew Ebony to me. Now our
link feels broken.
I shift in my seat, trying to ease my muscles. I can appear
casual, but it doesn’t stop my muscles fighting against each other,
wringing tension through my joints.
 Today, I’m not trying to pretend I’m on guard—watching for all
the evils that might befall my love. Nope, I’m owning this pure and
simple.
I just want to look at her. I want to sit in this quiet space, the
silence somehow more reverent here than in a church—as if
knowledge has a greater respect than religion—and allow that
atmosphere to soothe me. How it enhances her beauty, this
atmosphere of peace and learning.
She lifts her pen from the paper and touches the end to her
mouth. My eyes focus upon the small dent it makes on her full lower
lip. She frowns, squinting at the page and her pink tongue explores
the tip of the pen.
I feel like my knees are shaking. I look up, closing my eyes for a
second. I shift the book lying open in front of me. I don’t even know
what it’s about, I haven’t looked at it.
All I’ve looked at is Ebony.
Everyone has been shaken by the recent events, Cordelia’s death
being so sudden and unexpected it left us all reeling. I’m not even
sure how Ebony feels about it all. She was pretty broken after the
whole apple cobbler incident. It caused her to examine everyone in
her life and re-evaluate trust itself.
Still, I think she would have felt terrible loss at losing Cordelia for
good. Ebony is just that kind of girl.
I look down at the book I’m pretending to read, seeing ancient
monsters tearing each other to shreds on the page. What the hell
am I reading here? I can’t even remember which section I grabbed
the book from. The pages are yellowed and smudged. Well-worn
then.
Before I can flip the cover to remind myself of the title, I glance
up at Ebony again. When I realize she’s looking at me, dark eyes
crawling all over me, it’s like a blow to the chest. I sit bolt upright,
staring, eager as a faithful puppy.
When she notices my attention, she looks back at her books. Her
eyes slip away from me without an expression, a blank gaze that
doesn’t change as it moves from my face back to her work.
 She taps the pen on her lip once, then makes a few notes. For a
moment, my eyes can’t seem to stop looking at her hands. Long,
graceful, slender, they grip the pen with ease and flow across the
page, dancing like lights in the night.
I feel like I need to go and dunk myself in ice water. Being
separated from her is affecting me deeply. I thought the aching
within me couldn’t get any worse when I actually had access to her
—when we were close, emotionally and physically. I thought having
her with me, the immediacy of her body wafting up into my nostrils
several times a day, was the worst hell I could endure.
But at least then, I had contact. I could hear her voice running
over me as her eyes looked into mine. I could take her hand and feel
her trust. I could put my arms around her and dream for just a few
seconds, we were somewhere else, anywhere else.
I now understand the jealousy of the others much better. They
were all ‘at least you get to touch her’ and I was like ‘oh it isn’t all
it’s cracked up to be’ and now I get it. I totally get it.
In fact, I think I have it far worse. Because I did have her touch
and her trust. The physical intimacy was freely given and equally
shared.
Now it has been torn away. And in all the battles I’ve ever
fought, I could not have imagined a moment this painful.
Sitting in a quiet, safe spot. My beloved close enough to touch,
glowing with power and beauty.
But completely out of my reach.
I could have talked to her. I know it’s useless to sit here and
blame the recent events for our break when I could have spoken to
her at any time. Until I do that, I can’t be sure what she’s thinking.
I’m afraid to.
I’m ashamed of myself.
I let rage consume me. I let myself fall. I didn’t fight as hard as I
could have. I surrendered to the power.
Ebony sweeps her hair back off her shoulders, tossing it behind
her. She chews the pen again briefly, flipping pages and making
notes. The sunlight shimmers, answering her beauty. I’m struck for a
few seconds and can’t even think.
 I wanted to hurt her. I wanted to make her suffer. It wasn’t even
the simple paradox of killing her to keep her soul safe. This was
about blind, rage-induced torture. To destroy, certainly, but
destruction comes in many forms.
The worst of it is to wear the victim down to nothing before they
are killed.
In the darkest parts of my mind, I see horrible, violent images. I
see my hands wrapped around her slender forearms, gripping them
tight enough to bruise. So tight I can hear the bones straining under
my grip. I see her flesh marked by horrible wounds from blunt-
edged weapons. I can hear her crying out for me to stop. Begging,
please.
I grip my head tightly with my hands, digging my fingers in as if I
could pull the ugly thoughts out by force. I didn’t do it. I didn’t. But
the worst possible scenarios still lurk there. The power was insidious.
It worked within my natural will, made me believe I was in charge.
Lucien helped me. I couldn’t help myself. I was sure I was on the
right path. Without him, we could all be in ruins right now, none
more than my dear Ebony.
I look at her again, the black hair sweeping down her back, the
red lips far too bright for someone that has never needed lipstick.
She blinks slowly, the long black lashes sweeping against her
cheeks. She seems completely focused on her work, ambivalent
towards me.
It hurts, but it’s also how it has to be. No matter how I feel, I
must stay away.
What if it happens again?
What if that magical rage sneaks into me and I don’t notice, and
Lucien isn't around to intercede?
I don’t know what the plan was. If this was specifically designed
to kill Ebony or if it was just to break her trust with me. Maybe it
was all about getting me away from her, so she’s more vulnerable.
Let’s be honest. Even the bad guys don’t want to leave her as a
corpse.
Everyone seems to be trying to trigger her deeper magic. Let her
get infected so the queen can step in. I could have done it—I could
have pushed her over the edge.
I flip the book in front of me, still not bothering to know what I'm
looking at. My eyes lock on to her again, and this time I really can’t
look away.
The turmoil in my chest is swirling so hard I can feel it in my
throat.
I must stay near her. I can’t let anything happen to her.
I must keep my distance. I have to stay back far enough that if I
should become possessed again, she has time to flee—or the others
have time to stop me.
At the same time, I can’t keep looking at her and not touching
her. The agony is tearing me apart, the heat in my body starting to
burn with a white-hot flame.
My Ebony, my love, my darling.
Who is not mine at all. Maybe never was and never will be.
 3

EBONY

I KEEP STARING into the lines of text, begging them to make

sense. I make notes, trying to connect the key points with the
information I’m supposed to be absorbing.
It’s impossible. I don’t even know what I’m writing. The words
slip away from me, and the meaning is more elusive than the
imagery.
Seth’s gaze feels like burning hot needles. It sweeps across my
skin, making my shoulders shudder. The midpoint of my spine
spreads shocks across my lower back. I keep pausing, chewing on
my pen, flipping pages. I can’t see the words; I can’t focus on the
page.
He really never gives up. Even after everything that’s happened,
he sits there staring at me like I belong in his arms.
Maybe I do.
The pressure is immense.
The library is so quiet. Something unique about a deep silence
only shuffled by the occasional flicker of a page or scratch of a pen.
The air feels thick, as if I’m underwater, too deep. As if my every
movement is measured, slow, and inexorable.
My entire life is starting to feel that way. I keep running and
running, and all I get for my effort is more disaster. I never find
release. I never feel happy or contented.
I never feel like I’ve won.
 I miss Seth. Even against my better judgment and most of my
will. While my mind and good sense council me that I’m doing the
right thing, the good thing, the only thing possible, there’s another
part of me that is traitor to all the rest.
As convincing as my intellectual mind is, I know my emotion
won’t stay quiet forever. It’s not like its quiet now, just held in check.
The pressure keeps rising. Sometimes I feel like I’m on a little
boat, tossing back and forth on the sea. When the tide rises, the
boat rocks, and I feel that disaster would be better than nothing.
Nothing being the usual result—the sea turns quiet again, there is no
capsizing of my tiny boat, no catharsis, ultimately, no change.
And I miss Seth. How long have I turned to him for comfort?
Those sweet, natural moves I made most of my life that seem so
innocent at the time now seem laden with hidden meanings. My
mind rolls over and over every touch.
His hand pulling my head close against his side, fingers stroking
my cheek. His long fingers taking my hand and squeezing it. The
hard press of his body when we hug.
I stare at the page. It’s like I’m lost in a trance. The sunlight
makes the motes dance and the white of the pages glares at me. I
can hardly discern the words at all. They look like meaningless
symbols arranged at random.
The only thing I can feel is my body, slowly smoldering and ready
to flare into flame. It’s as if his eyes can touch, the weight of his
gaze as palpable as his big hands.
The innocent touches we have always shared grow and develop
in my mind. Instead of just cupping my cheek, the delicate touch
runs down my neck and over my collar bone. When he grips my
waist to hug me, I feel his hands reaching higher, lower, all over me.
I can’t believe what's going on in my head right now.
After everything that’s happened, I should be thinking about
kicking Seth in the butt, not daydreaming about sleeping with him.
But that, in itself, is a ridiculous thought.
Look at everything Gabriel has done. He still stirs me, even when
he’s scaring me. Lucien teases my thoughts constantly. Even before
all the recent crap went down, this situation was far too messy.
 Now it looks like one of those messes that you don’t clean up.
You bomb the place and build over it.
And I’m not even letting myself think about Leo.
There it is. Too late.
I’ve been devoting way too much attention to Leo. Not just daily
in our lessons but in my dreams and fantasies.
He comes close, then he drifts away. Some days, while we spar,
the air is charged. Every touch thrills like electric sparks. He pulls me
against him as I flex my muscles to the limit to throw him over my
shoulder. When he flips and jumps up, grabbing me around the waist
and tugging me against him, I can’t breathe, I can’t think.
Other days he keeps his distance, not letting our bodies touch.
He’ll use a weapon with a long reach, staff or sword. With these
exercises, he makes sure our skin never meets, only our weapons.
Even when I make every effort to touch him, by stumbling into
him to feel his heat and hard muscle, letting it flare my skin to life.
Dangerous. So very dangerous to have these thoughts, to leave
myself longing. When I’m with them, any of them, I feel a heady
sense of duality.
I’m in control, I’m in power. I rule them, and they do as I say just
to beg for a touch of my skin.
I’m a rabbit, a tiny, soft prey creature. I’m crouching in the grass,
and the wolves have seen me. They’re stalking slowly, letting me
know they smell me and there is nowhere for me to run.
Like at any moment, one will pounce. Maybe all of them.
Shivers run up my belly, fire, and tension running across my
breasts. My nipples ache sharply, and I blink hard, begging my body
to obey me.
My body only acts as a conduit for my thoughts. When my
thoughts are this darkly sensual, I can’t blame my body for reacting.
A perpetual loop. My body stirs, my thoughts run wild. My mind
strays, my body follows.
Could I be anything else than confused and angry right now? I
don’t even know if the boys really want me—or what they actually
want. My memories of how we were before don’t match our new
reality. There is no trust. I don’t feel safe.
 Why does that make the entire situation even hotter?
My emotions don’t go away, even though I coach myself to be
disciplined and chaste every day. I know, using my energy, giving in
to it, will carry me into a destiny I never asked for.
Not following my heart will lead me to living a half-life.
Why can’t I have some satisfaction, just one chance to quench
this thirst in me? It grows stronger by the day. I know, ultimately, I
can’t fight it.
Even if I wanted to.
I don’t know if I even want to fight it.
Part of my soul is so very reckless. Confident enough to handle
anything. It whispers like a siren, like it can tip me over and catch
me at the same time.
The heat of my body is starting to run up my neck and into my
face. When I glance at Seth, he’s still staring at me.
I put my palms down on the tabletop, just barely stopping myself
from smacking it. Enough is enough. I need to talk to Seth about
this. It’s severely uncool, and he knows it. I’m going to go and speak
to him and hope to hell I can control my emotions well enough that
I don’t end up disturbing the whole library.
Just as I press my hands to the table, ready to stand up, Leo
appears in the doorway. My knees weaken immediately, and I don’t
have the strength to stand. Like any guilty kid in front of the
principle, I pick up my pen and pretend to be hard at work.
That’s when another man steps up beside Leo.
They both carry themselves the same—tall and straight backed
with their shoulders broad and wide. Eyes greedily taking in
everything they see as if they are the masters of the entire world.
This stance makes them seem alike, but on closer examination,
they don’t really look alike.
And wow, am I ever taking a close examination.
I can see the bulges of muscle that his well-cut suit does nothing
to hide. His features are sharp and dramatic yet thickly sensual at
the same time. He moves with grace and confidence, as if he never
takes a misstep.
 He and Leo exchange a few words. As they look up and around
the room, I rush my eyes back to my papers, but my neck and face
flare with heat.
I can feel the intensity of his gaze. It’s even more keen than
Seth’s eyes earlier. It’s like a cloak that wraps us together, warm and
soft and cutting off everything in the world.
Just us, only us.
I look up shyly and see the unknown man staring at me. A smile
starts at the edges of his lips, and he nods slightly, his eyes sparkling
with a welcome he cannot voice.
My body, the traitorous thing, comes alive all over again. For the
few seconds, we look into each other’s eyes, and it seems an
endless stream of communication flows between us.
He looks at me like he knows me. He looks at me like I’m naked,
twisted, sweaty and bare before him. Like he knows all my secrets.
It doesn’t matter if he knows them or not. I’ll whisper them in his
ear. In the dark, where we should be. Where we belong. Together.
I really have to get a handle on this. Is there any cure in the
world for the hormones of a newly blooming woman?
Maybe a guy. The right guy.
Or several.
 4

GABRIEL

NO ONE HAS NOTICED me standing between the shelves.

I peer across the library through a small gap between books. I
can see Seth making a damn fool of himself, staring at Ebony like he
doesn’t care if everyone sees. Maybe he doesn’t care, but he damn
well should.
I can see her reacting to him, just his gaze, even from across the
room.
Then I see her look away from Seth. By the blank look that wipes
her face clean of expression I know she’s looking at something
entrancing.
I shift sideways a little, following her gaze.
In the doorway, I see Leo. And another man.
They don’t seem to be doing anything important. They speak a
few low words. Leo gestures around a little, not disturbing the
silence of the library. They take a few steps forward, nodding and
whispering to each other.
It looks like Leo has brought this person in just to parade him in
front of Ebony. For the new guy's benefit, or hers?
She’s affected, that’s obvious. I notice the rise and fall of her
chest becoming more rapid as she looks at him. Her eyes go wide,
pupils dilating, making her seem even more delicious and willing.
She tosses her hair, an unconscious movement that shows off her
graceful neck. The waves of dark hair reach down her back, curling
towards the floor. She runs a delicate hand through it, letting her
eyes slide around the room… To rest coyly on the newcomer.
Watching her in a silent, emotional tug of war with Seth was bad
enough. With the history they have between them, I find it
maddening. It’s no secret, either, that I hate how close they always
were, and can’t help but revel in the rift opening between them.
It makes her looks of attraction and his eyes full of lust and
longing that much harder to take. She won’t let him near her, but
she desires him.
Now, there's the new guy.
Leo sure looks self-satisfied. Even more than usual. He sweeps
his gaze around the room, eyes resting on Seth and giving him a
truly condescending smirk. Seth stares back, face hard.
He’s noticed Ebony’s attention moving too. All of us are looking at
the new guy like we want to throw him in a pit and lynch him.
My eyes narrow as I stare through the stacks, shifting into a
better position. Leo swivels around and looks right at me.
I know he can’t see me. He probably doesn’t even know it’s me.
Perhaps he just has a feeling of being watched.
The bastard's smirk widens, and he turns back to the door,
talking softly again with his new best friend. They both laugh.
The metal of the shelf trembles in my hand as I grip it tightly. I
didn’t even realize I was hanging on to it. My emotions are getting
the better of me—but truly, when don’t they?
It’s slow, painful torture, watching Ebony practically salivating
over this guy. She never looks at me like that. Even after everything
we’ve been through together.
I know, I’ve done some wrong. I’ve lost control. I’ve been a fool.
She doesn’t have to forgive me for any of that. I wouldn’t ask her to.
But doesn’t she owe me some kind of loyalty? I’ve tried to be
there for her. After Cordelia’s death, I was pretty broken. We shared
that loss, not just the grief itself but all the mixed emotions that
went with it.
When someone you love tries to kill you, then they die, how the
hell are you supposed to react?
 My heart hurts for Ebony. It really does. I just want to be there
for her.
Upon slight self-examination I have to admit my ulterior motive.
Yes, I want to be there for her. I want to support her. I want her to
look on me with trust, to come to me with all her problems.
But my main reason for wanting this is to have her look at me
with love… I want to feel accepted by her, I’ve never been allowed
close to her the way Seth has, or Lucien.
Now a stranger. A complete stranger she has seen for literally
two minutes has her panting like a wild beast.
I have to turn away. I sense both Leo and his friend follow my
movement, waiting to see who comes out from the shadows of the
reference section. I don’t come out though, just move further into
the library.
I don’t want to see her like this, even if looking at her is all I
want to do.
My brain feels like it's tearing itself apart inside my skull, filling it
up with broken pieces that make it impossible to think.
She likes me. I know she does. I’ve felt that heat between us,
I’ve seen the look in her eye right before she blinks those long
lashes. I’ve seen her lips curve in a secret smile like she’s thinking of
running that sweet mouth over my neck.
But she does all of this with at least a foot of space between us.
She holds herself back. She won’t even give me the satisfaction of
being honest about her attraction. She just keeps hiding it.
It’s like having the devil riding your roaring blood. Tearing his
pitchfork through every cell. Wanting a woman, you can’t have.
Looking into her eyes, feeling her soften, then seeing her pull away.
If she wants me, why does she keep backing off?
I know she fights her urges with all of us. She holds her body
back, trying to control her emotions, her instincts.
But she gives them sweet looks. She draws close. She keeps
herself physically apart while she comforts them with her attention.
They know, she gets closer and closer to letting herself fall.
She shares none of this with me. All I get is cold, steady looks.
When I step forward, she steps back.
 Is she protecting her emotions? Is she afraid of getting hurt by
me? This is ridiculous. I’ve lived close to her for so long, I know
what she needs better than anyone else. Maybe even better than
she does.
I would never, ever hurt her. Not if she looked at me like that…
Not if she showed me the barest hint of the emotions that just raged
through her for this newcomer—Leo’s new best friend.
I step over to the next shelf of books and look through the stacks
again. Seth is staring at the men by the door with obvious hostility.
He looks hard and controlled but at the same time, a furnace.
Glowing and just waiting to be unleashed into an inferno.
When I look at Ebony, I get a similar impression. She’s teasing
the edge of her mouth with her pen again, making me ache through
my stomach and into my far deeper parts, just thinking about that
tongue. She keeps devouring the new guy with her eyes, looking
away with a shocked look, like she can’t believe her own thoughts.
Then she looks right back again. As if she can’t stop herself.
Leo and his friend discuss a few more points, nodding and
looking around as if they have important business. I scowl at them
from afar, hoping they can feel my heat from a distance just like they
can feel Ebony.
Every now and then, new guy lets his eyes slide over to Ebony.
Every single time, their eyes meet. Every single time, Ebony grins,
pure pleasure spreading across her red lips. Her eyes sparkle. Her
breathing quickens. It’s like I can smell her lust, getting stronger
every time their eyes connect.
To my great relief, Leo gestures towards the door. They are
leaving.
Leo meets Ebony’s eyes briefly. They share a nod, the look
companionable and fairly innocent. A look any student could share
with the principal.
Then her eyes meet those of the other man. He lets his eyes
penetrate deeper this time, his expression intense and focused as he
stares her down. Her face goes blank and her lips part. She’s like a
rabbit in a trap. Sweet tender flesh begging to be rent apart by the
hunter.
 Just when I think Ebony will run across the room and launch
herself at him—hell, probably at Leo too—they turn and walk away.
As they pass through the doorway, Ebony blinks a few times, looking
down at her page. Then she scowls at Seth, who is still staring at
her.
How can she so willingly show her arousal for all of them? She’s
offering herself up like a sacrifice. She can’t trust any of them.
She can trust me. How come she doesn’t know that? Why does
her lust for the others obliterate her good sense but her feelings for
me remain completely in check?
I start to move out of the library slowly. I don’t want either of
them to see me and suspect I saw the exchange. I just want to get
away from her and think.
I know it’s only a matter of time before I’m drawn back to her
again. I need to have a plan; I need to figure this out.
I’m not going to stop until I get what I want. I want Ebony to
notice me, love me, give me the appreciation I deserve. The
attention she’s wasting on useless jerks.
I want Ebony.
And I can’t rest until she’s mine.
 5

EBONY

NO MATTER how hard I try, I can’t keep my focus on the book in

front of me. There’s something about the stranger with Leo that’s
just so…magnetic. Even when I’m not looking at him, my body is
hypersensitive to his presence.
He’s most certainly very powerful. I feel the hum of his magic all
the way across the room. That’s likely why Leo’s taking a personal
interest in him. He’s the first new student to arrive mid-session.
Despite that fact, I don’t believe its standard practice for the
headmaster to personally escort a new student around the Academy.
I briefly consider using a hearing enhancement spell to
eavesdrop on their conversation. I’d never get away with it. Leo
would know what I’m up to the moment I cast the spell.
Seth’s still staring at me, though he’s trying to hide it. Gabriel
watches me too. I suck in a breath and try to keep calm. For some
reason, I don’t want to behave badly in front of the stranger.
After a few moments of staring at the same three lines of text in
my book, I glance across the room. I try to look bored like my eye is
wandering while I ponder some new and fascinating thing I just
read. My gaze lands on the table where Leo and the stranger sat.
Leo has his back to me, which I decide is a good thing. The stranger
is looking right at me. His gaze sends a jolt of hot electricity through
my body. The hair on my arms stands on end.
I’m so startled that I quickly look back to my book. Heat rises in
my cheeks. I hope Seth can’t see my arousal from here.
 “Hello, all!” A familiar voice trills from the doorway. Ivora flits in
on glittering wings. Her slippered feet hover half a foot off the
ground. The other students glare at her for disrupting their silence.
Ivora pays them no mind.
She lands next to my table and places one small hand on the
seat across from me.
“Can I sit here?” She bits her lip and hugs her books closer to her
chest. I soften my gaze.
“Of course.”
Relief washes over her as she plops into the chair and loudly sets
her books on the table.
“Shh!” A student, another fairy with foxlike features and green
wings hisses. Ivora rolls her eyes.
“Thanks for letting me sit,” she says.
“No problem. I was getting bored anyway.”
We stifle a laugh. The knot of tension in my chest loosens. I
haven’t been a good friend to Ivora lately. Dealing with magical
training, school, and the constant threat of death from either Wrath
or Rhiannon got the best of me. I pushed everyone away, including
Ivora though she’d done nothing to deserve it.
Before her death, Cordelia taught me never to apologize for
doing what’s best for me. I realize now that lesson shouldn’t apply to
friends. I mistreated Ivora even though I desperately needed space.
I owe her an apology, or at least a chance to let things go back to
normal between us.
It takes less than a minute for Ivora to notice the stranger sitting
with Leo. The second her eyes land on him, her wings perk up and
start fluttering with excitement.
She leans closer to me.
“Who is that?” This time, she takes all the care in the world to be
quiet.
“I don’t know,” I whisper back. “Leo- The Headmaster didn’t
introduce him to anyone.”
I hope Ivora doesn’t notice my blunder. I don’t want anyone to
know how familiar I’ve become with Leo, that I think about him
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 CHAPTER XVIII.

THE FISHES OF THE BRACKISH WATER.

On such parts of a coast at which there is a mixture of fresh and

salt water, either in consequence of some river emptying its water
into the sea or from an accumulation of land surface water forming
lagunes, which are in uninterrupted or temporary communication
with the sea, there flourishes a peculiar brackish water fauna which
is characterised by the presence of fishes found sometimes in sea-,
sometimes in pure freshwater.
This fauna can be rather sharply defined if a limited district only is
taken into consideration; thus, the species of the brackish water
fauna of Great Britain, the Pacific coast of Central America, of the
larger East India Islands, etc., can be enumerated without much
hesitation. But difficulties arise when we attempt to generalise in the
enumeration of the forms referable to the brackish water fauna;
because the genera and families enumerated include certain species
and genera which have habituated themselves exclusively either to a
freshwater or marine existence; and, besides, because a species of
fish may be at one locality an inhabitant of brackish water, at another
of the sea, and at a third of fresh water. The circumstance that these
fishes can live in sea and fresh water has enabled them to spread
readily over the globe, a few only being limited to particular regions;
therefore, for the purposes of dividing the earth’s surface into natural
zoological regions the brackish water forms are useless. The
following fishes may be referred to this Fauna:—
1. Species of Rajidæ (Raja, Trygon) prefer the mouths of rivers,
probably because the muddy or sandy bottom offers the most
suitable conditions for fishes which can feed on the bottom only;
such brackish water species belong chiefly to the Equatorial Zone,
some having taken up their abode entirely in fresh water (South
American Trygons).
2. Ambassis, a Percoid genus, consisting of numerous small
species, inhabiting the shores of the tropical parts of the Indian
Ocean and the coasts of Tropical Australia. Many species enter, and
all seek the neighbourhood of, fresh water; hence they disappear in
the islands of the Pacific, and are scarce in the Red Sea.
3. Therapon, with the same distribution as the former.
4. Numerous Sciænidæ of the Equatorial Zone.
5. The Polynemidæ, chiefly inhabitants of brackish water of the
Equatorial Zone, most developed in the Indian region, and scarce in
the Tropical Pacific.
6. Numerous species of Caranx (or Horse Mackerels) of the
Equatorial Zone.
7. Nearly all species of Gastrosteus enter brackish water, G.
spinachia being almost exclusively confined to it: Northern Zone.
8. The most important genera of the Gobies (Gobiina): Gobius
(nearly cosmopolitan), Sicydium, Boleophthalmus, Periophthalmus,
Eleotris (equatorial). Many of the species are entirely confined to
fresh water.
9. The Amblyopina, similar to the Gobies, but with more
elongated body: Tropical Indo-Pacific.
10. The Trypauchenina: Coasts of the Indian region.
11. Many species of Blennius, of which several are found far
inland in fresh waters—for instance in North Italy, in the Lake of
Galilee, in the eastern parts of Asia Minor.
12. The majority of Atherinidæ, and
13. The Mugilidæ: both families being most numerous and
abundant in brackish water, and almost cosmopolitan.
14. Many Pleuronectidæ prefer the mouths of rivers for the same
reason as the Rays; some ascend rivers, as the Flounder,
Cynoglossus, etc.
15. Several Siluridæ, as especially the genera Plotosus,
Cnidoglanis, Arius, which attain their greatest development in
brackish water.
16. The Cyprinodontidæ are frequently found in brackish water.
 17. Species of Clupea, some of which ascend rivers, and become
acclimatized in fresh water, as Clupea finta, which has established
itself in the lakes of northern Italy.
18. Chatoessus, a genus of Clupeoid fishes of the Equatorial
Zone, of which some species have spread into the Northern Zone.
19. Megalops: Equatorial Zone.
20. Anguilla. The distribution, no less than the mode of
propagation, and the habits generally, of the so-called Freshwater-
eels still present us with many difficult problems. As far as we know
at present their birthplace seems to be the coast in the immediate
neighbourhood of the mouths of rivers. They are much more
frequently found in fresh water than in brackish water, but the
distribution of some species proves that they at times migrate by sea
as well as by land and river. Thus Anguilla mauritiana is found in
almost all the fresh and brackish waters of the islands of the Tropical
Indian Ocean and Western Pacific, from the Comoros to the South
Sea; Anguilla vulgaris is spread over temperate Europe (exclusive of
the system of the Danube, the Black and Caspian Seas), in the
Mediterranean district (including the Nile and rivers of Syria), and on
the Atlantic coast of North America; Anguilla bostoniensis, in Eastern
North America, China, and Japan; Anguilla latirostris, in Temperate
Europe, the whole Mediterranean district, the West Indies, China,
and New Zealand. The other more local species are found, in
addition to localities already mentioned, on the East Coast of Africa,
South Africa, on the continent of India, various East Indian Islands,
Australia, Tasmania, Auckland Islands; but none have ever been
found in South America, the West Coast of North America, and the
West Coast of Africa: surely one of the most striking instances of
irregular geographical distribution.
21. Numerous Syngnathidæ have established themselves in the
Northern Zone as well as in the Equatorial, in the vegetation which
flourishes in brackish water.
This list could be considerably increased if an enumeration of
species, especially of certain localities, were attempted; but this is
more a subject of local interest, and would carry us beyond the
scope of a general account of the distribution of Fishes.

Fig. 105.—Mugil octo-radiatus.

Fig. 106.—Mugil auratus.

Fig. 107.—Mugil septentrionalis.

Heads of Grey Mullets, fishes of
Brackish water.
 CHAPTER XIX.

THE DISTRIBUTION OF MARINE FISHES.

Marine fishes fall, with regard to their mode of life and

distribution, into three distinct categories:—
1. Shore Fishes—That is, fishes which inhabit chiefly parts of the
sea in the immediate neighbourhood of land either actually raised
above, or at least but little submerged below, the surface of the
water. They do not descend to any great depth,—very few to 300
fathoms, and the majority live close to the surface. The distribution of
these fishes is determined not only by the temperature of the surface
water but also by the nature of the adjacent land, and its animal and
vegetable products; some of these fishes being confined to flat
coasts with soft or sandy bottoms, others to rocky and fissured
coasts, others to living coral formations. If it were not for the frequent
mechanical and involuntary removals to which these fishes are
exposed, their distribution within certain limits, as it no doubt
originally existed, would resemble still more that of freshwater fishes
than we find it actually does at the present period.
2. Pelagic Fishes—that is, fishes which inhabit the surface and
uppermost strata of the open ocean, which approach the shores only
accidentally, or occasionally (in search of prey), or periodically (for
the purpose of spawning). The majority spawn in the open sea, their
ova and young being always found at great distance from the shore.
With regard to their distribution, they are still subject to the influences
of light and the temperature of the surface water; but they are
independent of the variable local conditions which tie the shore fish
to its original home, and therefore roam freely over a space which
would take a freshwater or shore fish thousands of years to cover in
its gradual dispersal. Such as are devoid of rapidity of motion are
dispersed over similarly large areas by the oceanic currents, more
slowly than, but as surely as, the strong swimmers. Therefore, an
accurate definition of their distribution within certain areas equivalent
to the terrestrial regions is much less feasible than in the case of
shore fishes.
 3. Deep-sea Fishes—that is, fishes which inhabit such depths of
the ocean as to be but little or not influenced by light or the surface
temperature; and which, by their organisation are prevented from
reaching the surface stratum in a healthy condition. Living almost
under identical tellurian conditions, the same type, the same species,
may inhabit an abyssal depth under the equator as well as one near
the arctic or antarctic circle; and all we know of these fishes points to
the conclusion that no separate horizontal regions can be
distinguished in the abyssal fauna, and that no division into
bathymetrical strata can be attempted on the base of generic much
less of family characters.
It must not be imagined that these three categories are more
sharply defined than Freshwater and Marine Fishes. They gradually
pass into each other, and there are numerous fishes about which
uncertainty exists whether they should be placed in the Shore or
Pelagic series, or in the Pelagic or Deep-sea series; nay, many facts
favour the view that changes in the mode of life and distribution of
fishes are still in progress.
The change in habitat of numerous fishes is regulated by the
distribution of their favourite food. At certain seasons the surface of
the sea in the vicinity of land swarms with mollusks, larval
Crustaceans, Medusæ, attracting shoals of fishes from the open
ocean to the shores; and these are again pursued by fishes of larger
size and predacious habits, so that all these fishes might be
included, with equal propriety, in the littoral or pelagic series.
However, species which are known to normally spawn in the open
ocean must be always referred to the latter division.
Chondropterygii, Acanthopterygii, Anacanths, Myxinoids, and
Pharyngobranchii furnish the principal contingents to the Marine
Fauna; whilst the majority of Malacopterygians, the Ganoids, and
Cyclostomes are Freshwater Fishes.

I.—Distribution of Shore Fishes.

The principal types of Shore-fishes are the following:—
CHONDROPTERYGII—
 Holocephala 4 species
Plagiostomata—
Carchariidæ (part.) 12 „
Scylliidæ 30 „
Cestraciontidæ 4 „
Spinacidæ (part.) 8 „
Rhinidæ 1 „
Pristiophoridæ 4 „
Pristidæ 5 „
Rhinobatidæ 14 „
Torpedinidæ 15 „
Rajidæ 34 „
Trygonidæ 47 „

ACANTHOPTERYGII—
Percidæ (part. incl. Pristipomatidæ) 625 „
Mullidæ 35 „
Sparidæ 130 „
Squamipinnes 130 „
Cirrhitidæ 40 „
Heterolepidina 12 „
Scorpænidæ 120 „
Cottiæ (part.) 100 „
Cataphracti (part.) 20 „
Trachinidæ 100 „
Sciænidæ 100 „
Sphyrænidæ 15 „
Trichiuridæ 17 „
Elacate 1 „
Nomeidæ (part.) 5 „
Cyttidæ 8 „
Stromateus 9 „
Mene 1 „
Carangidæ (part.) 130 „
Kurtidæ 7 „
Gobiodon 7 „
Callionymina 30 „
Discoboli 11 „
Batrachidæ 14 „
Pediculati (part.) 11 „
Blenniidæ 90 „
Acanthoclinidæ 1 „
Teuthididæ 30 „
 Acronuridæ 60 „
Hoplognathidæ 3 „
Malacanthidæ 3 „
Plesiopina 4 „
Trichonotidæ 2 „
Cepolidæ 7 „
Gobiesocidæ 21 „
Psychrolutidæ 2 „
Centriscidæ 7 „
Fistulariidæ 4 „

Acanthopterygii Pharyngognathi—
Pomacentridæ 150 „
Labridæ 400 „
Embiotocidæ 17 „

Anacanthini—
Gadopsidæ 1 „
Lycodidæ 15 „
Gadidæ (part.) 50 „
Ophidiidæ (part.) 40 „
Pleuronectidæ 160 „

Physostomi—
Saurina (part.) 16 „
Salmonidæ (part.) 7 „
Clupeidæ (part.) 130 „
Chirocentridæ 1 „
Chilobranchus 1 „
Murænidæ (part.) 200 „
Pegasidæ 4 „
120 „
Lophobranchii

Plectognathi—
Sclerodermi 95 „
Gymnodontes 83 „

CYCLOSTOMATA—
Myxinidæ 5 „
2 „
LEPTOCARDII
3587 species.
 These types of Shore fishes are divided among the following
oceanic areæ:—
I. The Arctic Ocean.

II. The Northern Temperate Zone.

A. The Temperate North Atlantic.

1. The British district.
2. The Mediterranean district.
3. The North American district.

B. The Temperate North Pacific.

1. The Kamtschatkan district.
2. The Japanese district.
3. The Californian district.

III. The Equatorial Zone.

A. The Tropical Atlantic.

B. The Tropical Indo-Pacific.
C. The Pacific Coast of Tropical America.
1. The Central American district.
2. The Galapagoes district.
3. The Peruvian district.

IV. The Southern Temperate Zone.

1. The Cape of Good Hope district.
2. The South Australian district.
3. The Chilian district.
4. The Patagonian district.

V. The Antarctic Ocean.

As with freshwater fishes, the main divisions of the Shore-fish

faunæ are determined by their distance from the equator, the
equatorial zone of the Freshwater series corresponding entirely to
that of the Shore-fish series. But as Marine fishes extend farther
towards the Poles than Freshwater fishes, and as the polar types are
more specialised, a distinct Arctic and Antarctic fauna may be
separated from the faunæ of the temperate zones. The two
subdivisions of the Northern temperate zone in the Freshwater
series are quite analogous to the corresponding divisions in the
Coast series. In the Southern Hemisphere the Shore-fishes of the
extremity of Africa form a separate district of the temperate zone,
whilst the Freshwater fishes of South Africa were found to be tropical
types. The Marine series of the Southern temperate zone is also
much more diversified than the Freshwater series, and admits of
further subdivision, which, although in some degree indicated in the
Freshwater series, does not entirely correspond to that proposed for
the latter.

I. Shore Fishes of the Arctic Ocean.

The Shore fishes clearly prove a continuity of the Arctic
circumpolar fauna, as the southern limit of which we may indicate the
southern extremity of Greenland and the Aleutian Archipelago, or
60° of lat. N.
Towards the North, fishes become less in variety of species and
fewer in number of individuals, and only very few genera are
restricted to this fauna.
The highest latitude at which Shore fishes have been observed is
83° N. lat. The late Arctic Expedition collected at and near that
latitude specimens of Cottus quadricornis, Icelus hamatus,
Cyclopterus spinosus, Liparis fabricii, Gymnelis viridis, and Gadus
fabricii. This number probably would have been larger if the
difficulties of collecting fishes in those high latitudes were not almost
insuperable for the greater part of the year.
As far as we know, the fishes north and south of Behring’s Straits
belong to the same generic or family types as those of the
corresponding latitudes of the Eastern Hemisphere, though the
majority are specifically distinct. But the information we possess of
the fishes of the northernmost extremity of the Pacific is extremely
scanty and vague. Farther south, whence now and then a collection
reaches Europe, we meet with some European species, as the
Herring, Halibut, Hake.
The Chondropterygians are very scarce, and it is doubtful
whether another Chondropterygian, beside the pelagic Læmargus or
Greenland Shark, crosses the Arctic circle. In the more temperate
latitudes of South Greenland, Iceland, and Northern Scandinavia,
Acanthias, Centroscyllium, and a species of Raja, also Chimæra, are
met with.
Of Acanthopterygians the families of Cottidæ, Cataphracti,
Discoboli, and Blenniidæ are well represented, and several of the
genera are characteristic of the Arctic fauna: marine species of
Cottus; Centridermichthys, Icelus, Triglops; Agonus,
Aspidophoroides; Anarrhichas, Centronotus, Stichæus; Cyclopterus
and Liparis. Two species of Sebastes are rather common.
Characteristic is also the development of Gadoid fishes, of which
some thirteen species, belonging to Gadus, Merluccius, and Molva,
form one of the principal articles of food to the inhabitants of the
coasts of the Arctic Ocean. The Blennioid Anacanthini or Lycodidæ,
are limited to the Arctic and Antarctic coasts. Ammodytes and a few
Flat-fishes (Hippoglossoides and Pleuronectes) are common in the
more temperate parts.
Labroids only exceptionally penetrate so far towards the north.
Physostomes are very scarce, and represented only by a few
species of Clupea and by Mallotus; the latter is an ancient inhabitant
of the Greenland coasts, fossil remains, indistinguishable from the
species of the present day, being frequently found in nodules of clay
of comparatively recent formation.
The Arctic climate is still less favourable to the existence of
Lophobranchs, only a few Syngnathus and Nerophis being present
in the more southern latitudes, to which they have been carried by
oceanic currents from their more congenial home in the south.
Scleroderms and Plectognaths are entirely absent.
The Gadoids are accompanied by Myxine, which parasitically
thrives in them.

II. The Northern Temperate Zone.

A. Shore Fishes of the Temperate North Atlantic.

This part of the fauna may be subdivided into three districts:—
 1. The fishes of the north-eastern shores, viz. of the British
islands, of Scandinavia so far as it is not included in the Arctic fauna,
and of the continent of Europe southwards to about 40° of lat. N.—
British district.
2. The fishes of the Mediterranean shores and of the adjoining
shores of the Atlantic, including the Azores, Madeira, and the Canary
Islands—Mediterranean district.
3. The fishes of the western shores, from 60° lat. N. to about 30°
lat. N.—the North American district.

1. The British district shows scarcely any marked distinctive

features; the character of its fauna is simply intermediate between
that of the Arctic Ocean and the Mediterranean district; truly Arctic
forms disappear, while such as are also found in the Mediterranean
make their appearance. Also with regard to the abundance of
individuals and variety of fishes this district forms a transition from
the north towards the south.
Besides the few Arctic Chondropterygians, all of which extend
into this district, the small shore Dog-fishes are well represented
(Mustelus, Galeus, Scyllium, Pristiurus); the ubiquitous Rhina or
Monk-fish is common; of Rays, Raja predominates in a variety of
species over Torpedo and Trygon, which are still scarce.
Of Acanthopterygians, Centridermichthys, Icelus, Triglops, and
Aspidophoroides, do not extend from the north into this district; and
Cottus, Anarrhichas, Centronotus, Stichæus, the Discoboli disappear
within its limits. Nearly all the remainder are genera which are also
found in the Mediterranean districts. The following are the principal
forms, and known to propagate on these shores: Labrax; Serranus,
Polyprion, Dentex; Mullus; Cantharus, Pagrus, Pagellus; Sebastes;
Cottus, Trigla, Agonus; Trachinus; Sciæna (?); Zeus; Trachurus,
Capros; Callionymus; Discoboli; Lophius; Anarrhichas, Centronotus,
Stichæus; Blenniops, Zoarces (not in Mediterranean); Cepola;
Lepadogaster.
Of the Anacanthini the Gadoids are as numerous as in the Arctic
Ocean, most being common to both districts; they are represented
by Gadus, Gadiculus, Merluccius, Phycis, Molva, Motella, Raniceps,
and Brosmius; but, whilst the majority show their northern origin by
not extending into the Mediterranean, Ammodytes and most
Pleuronectidæ prove themselves to be the more southern
representatives of this order. In the British district we find
Hippoglossus, Hippoglossoides, Rhombus, Phrynorhombus,
Pleuronectes, Solea, and only the two first are not met with in the
Mediterranean.
Labroids are common; with the exception of the North American
Tautoga, all the other genera are met with.
Physostomes are not well represented, viz. by one species of
Osmerus, one of Engraulis, one of Conger, and about five of Clupea.
Syngnathus and Nerophis become more common as we proceed
southwards; but the existence of Scleroderms and Plectognaths is
indicated by single individuals only, stragglers from their southern
home, and unable to establish themselves in a climate ungenial to
them.
The Gadoids are accompanied by Myxine; and Branchiostoma
may be found in all suitable localities.

2. The Mediterranean district is distinguished by a great variety of

forms; yet, with the exception of a few genera established for single
species, none of the forms can be considered peculiar to it; and even
that small number of peculiar genera is more and more diminished
as our knowledge of the distribution of fishes advances. Some
genera are identical with those found on the western coasts of the
Atlantic and in the West Indies; but a most remarkable and
unexpected affinity obtains with another very distant fauna, viz. that
of Japan. The number of genera common to the Mediterranean
district and the Japanese coasts is larger than that of the genera
common to the Mediterranean and the opposite American coasts.
The Chondropterygians found in the British district continue in the
Mediterranean, their number being increased by Centrina, Spinax,
Pteroplatea, and some species of Rhinobatus, a genus more
numerously represented in the Tropics. Torpedo and Trygon are
common.
The greatest variety belong to the Acanthopterygians, as will be
seen from the following list:—Labrax; Anthias, Serranus, Polyprion,
Apogon, Pomatomus, Pristipoma, Diagramma (an Indian genus with
two Mediterranean species, and otherwise not represented in the
Atlantic), Dentex, Mæna, Smaris; Mullus; Cantharus, Box,
Scatharxs, Oblata, Sargus, Pagrus, Pagellus, Chrysophrys;
Sebastes, Scorpæna; Hoplostethus, Beryx, Polymixia; Trigla,
Lepidotrigla, Agonus, Peristethus; Trachinus, Uranoscopus;
Umbrina, Sciæna; Sphyræna; Aphanopus, Lepidopus, Nesiarchus,
Trichiurus, Thyrsites; Cubiceps; Zeus, Cyttus; Stromateus;
Trachurus, Caranx, Capros, Diretmus, Antigonia; Callionymus;
Batrachus; Lophius; Cristiceps, Tripterygium; Cepola; Lepadogaster;
Centriscus; Notacanthus.
The Labridæ are as common as, or even more so than, in the
British district, and represented by the same genera. But, besides,
some other Pharyngognaths, properly belonging to the Tropical
Atlantic, have fully established themselves, though only by a few
species, viz. Glyphidodon and Heliastes; Cossyphus, Novacula,
Julis, Coris, and Scarus.
The Gadoids show a marked decrease of development; and the
species of Gadus, Gadiculus, Mora, Strinsia, Phycis, and Molva,
which are peculiar to the Mediterranean, seem to inhabit rather the
colder water of moderate depths, than the surface near the shore.
Motella, however, proves to be a true Shore fish also in the
Mediterranean, at least in its adult state. Ophidium and Fierasfer
appear now besides Ammodytes. As the Gadoids decrease, so the
Pleuronectidæ increase, the genera of the Mediterranean district
being Rhombus, Phrynorhombus, Arnoglossus, Citharus,
Rhomboidichthys, Pleuronectes (a northern genus not extending
farther southwards), Solea, Synaptura, and Ammopleurops.
The variety of Physostomes is small; the following only being
superadded to those of the British district:—Saurus (a tropical
genus), Aulopus; Congromuræna, Heteroconger, Myrus, Ophichthys,
Muræna.
The Lophobranchs are more numerous in species and individuals
than in the British district; and, besides Syngnathus and Nerophis,
several species of Hippocampus are common. Also a few species of
Balistes occur.
Myxine is lost in this district; whilst Branchiostoma is abundant.

3. The shore fishes of the North American district consist, as on

the eastern coasts of the North Atlantic, of northern and southern
elements; but they are still more mixed with each other than on the
European coasts, so that a boundary line cannot be drawn between
them. The affinity to the fauna of the eastern shores is great, but
almost entirely limited to the genera composing the fauna of the
British district. British genera not found on the American coasts are
—Galeus, Scyllium, Chimæra, Mullus, Pagellus, Trigla, Trachinus,
Zeus, Callionymus. The southern elements of North America are
rather derived from the West Indies, and have no special affinity to
Mediterranean forms; very few of the non-British Mediterranean
forms extend across the Atlantic; instead of a Mediterranean we find
a West Indian element. Many of the British species range across the
Atlantic, and inhabit in an unchanged condition the northern parts of
this district; and from the frequent occurrence of isolated specimens
of other British species on the North American coast, we may
presume that many more occasionally cross the Atlantic, but without
being able to obtain a permanent footing.
The genera peculiar to this district are few in number, and
composed of very few species, viz. Hemitripterus, Pammelas,
Chasmodes, Cryptacanthodes, and Tautoga.
The close resemblance of what must be considered northern
forms to those of Europe will be evident from the following list:—
Mustelus, Rhina, Torpedo, Raja, Trygon.
Labrax, Centropristis, Serranus; Pagrus, Chrysophrys; Sebastes,
Hemitripterus; Cottus, Aspidophoroides; Uranoscopus; Micropogon,
Pogonias, Sciæna; Trachurus, Pammelas; Cyclopterus, Liparis;
Lophius; Anarrhichas, Chasmodes, Stichcæus, Centronotus,
Cryptacanthodes, Zoarces.
Tautoga, Ctenolabrus.
Gadus, Merluccius, Phycis, Molva, Motella, Brosmius; Ophidium
(one species, perhaps identical with a Mediterranean species);
Ammodytes; Hippoglossus, Hippoglossoides, Rhombus,
Pleuronectes.
Osmerus, Mallotus; Engraulis, Clupea; Conger.
Syngnathus—Myxine—Branchiostoma.
West Indian genera, or at least genera which are more developed
within the tropics, and which extend more or less northwards in the
North American district, are:—
Pteroplatea (also in the Mediterranean).
Gerres, Dules (auriga), Lobotes, Ephippus; Sargus; Prionotus;
Umbrina, Otolithus, Larimus; Sphyræna (Mediterr.); Trichiurus
(Mediterr.); Elacate; Cybium, Trachynotus; Stromateus (Mediterr.);
Caranx; Batrachus (Mediterr.); Malthe.
Pseudorhombus, Solea (Mediterr.)
Saurus (Mediterr.); Etrumeus, Albula, Elops, Megalops.
Hippocampus (Mediterr.)
Balistes, Monacanthus.

B. Shore Fishes of the Temperate North Pacific.

This fauna shows a great affinity to that of the temperate North
Atlantic, not only in including a considerable proportion of identical
genera, and even of species, but also in having its constituent parts
similarly distributed. However, our knowledge of the ichthyology of
this fauna is by no means complete. Very few collections have been
made in Northern Japan, and on the coasts farther north of it; and,
again, the ichthyology of the coasts of Southern California is but little
known. Southern Japan has been well searched, but very little
attention has been paid to the extent of the northward range of the
species. In collections made by Mr. Swinhoe at Chefoo, in lat. 37° N.,
the proportions of temperate and tropical fishes were found to be
about equal. Thus, the details of the distribution of the fishes of these
shores have still to be worked out; nevertheless, three divisions may
be recognised which, for the present, may be defined as follows:—
1. The fishes of the north-western shores, to about 37° lat. N.,
including the corresponding northern parts of Japan—Kamtschatkan
district; this corresponds to the British district of the Atlantic.
2. The fishes of Southern Japan and the corresponding shores of
the continent of Asia, between 37° and 30° lat. N.—Japanese
district, which corresponds to the Mediterranean.
3. The fishes of the eastern shores southwards to the latitude of
San Francisco—Californian district; this corresponds to the North
American district of the Atlantic.
Too little is known of the shore fishes of the coasts between San
Francisco and the tropic to enable us to treat of it as a separate
division.
The Shore fishes of the North Pacific generally are composed of
the following elements:—
a. Arctic forms which extend into the Arctic Ocean, and the
majority of which are also found in the British district.
b. Peculiar forms limited to the North Pacific, like the
Heterolepidina, Embiotocidæ, and certain Cottoid and Blennioid
genera.
c. Forms identical with fishes of the Mediterranean.
d. Peculiar forms limited to the southern parts of Japan.
e. Tropical forms which have entered the North Pacific from the
south.
 1. The small list of fishes which we can assign to the
Kamtschatkan district is due rather to the imperfect manner in which
its fauna has been explored than to its actual poverty of fishes; thus,
although we may be sure that sooner or later the small kinds of Dog-
fishes of the British district will be found there also, at present we
have positive knowledge of the occurrence of only two
Chondropterygians, viz. Chimæra and Raja. The species of the latter
genus seem to be much less numerous than in the Atlantic.
Of Acanthopterygians the following are known:—Sebastes;
Chirus, Agrammus; Podabrus, Blepsias, Cottus, Centridermichthys,
Hemilepidotus, Agonus; Trichodon; Callionymus; Liparis;
Dictyosoma, Stichæus, Centronotus.
Labroids are absent; they are clearly a type unable to endure
great cold; of the Embiotocoids which represent them in the Pacific,
one species only (a species of Ditrema) is known from this district.
The Gadoids are, so far as we know at present, sparsely
represented, viz. by isolated species of Gadus, Motella, and Lotella,
the latter being an inhabitant of moderate depths rather than of the
surface. Hippoglossus, Pleuronectes, and Parophrys, seem to occur
everywhere at suitable localities.
The Physostomes are nearly the same as in the British district,
viz. a Smelt (Hypomesus), probably also the Arctic Mallotus, an
Anchovy, several species of Clupea, and the Conger-eel. A very
singular Salmonoid fish, Salanx, which is limited to the north-western
Pacific, occurs in great abundance.
Also, the Lophobranchs correspond in their development to those
of the British district, Nerophis being replaced by Urocampus.
Neither Myxinoids nor Branchiostoma have as yet been found.

2. The Japanese district is, like the Mediterranean, distinguished

by a great variety of forms; some of them are peculiar to it (marked
J. in the following list); others occur in the Mediterranean, though
also in other districts (M.) The resemblance to the Mediterranean is
even greater than would appear from the following list of genera,
inasmuch as a considerable number of species are identical in both
districts. Three of the Berycoid genera have hitherto been found in
the Japanese and Mediterranean districts only, and nowhere else.
Another very singular fact is that some of the most characteristic
genera, like Mullus, Zeus, Callionymus, Centriscus, inhabit the
Mediterranean and Japanese districts, but have never reached the
opposite American coasts, either in the Atlantic or Pacific; although,
at least in the latter, the oceanic currents would rather favour than
obstruct their dispersal in the direction towards America. Bold as the
hypothesis may appear, we can only account for the singular
distribution of these shore fishes by assuming that the
Mediterranean and Japanese seas were in direct and open
communication with each other within the period of the existence of
the present Teleosteous Fauna.
Gadoids have disappeared, or are represented by forms
inhabiting moderate depths. Neither Myxine nor Branchiostoma are
known to have as yet been found.
List of Japanese Shore Fishes.
Chimæra (M.)
Galeus (M.), Mustelus (M.), Triacis, Scyllium (M.), Crossorhinus,
Pristiophorus, Cestracion; Rhina (M.); Rhinobatus (M.), Narcine,
Raja (M.), Trygon (M.), Pteroplatea (M.)
Percalabrax (J.), Niphon (J.), Centropristis, Anthias (M.),
Serranus (M.), Apogon (M.), Scombrops (J.), Acropoma, Anoplus
(J.), Pristipoma (M.), Hapalogenys (J.), Histiopterus, Velifer (J.),
Dentex (M.), Erythrichthys—Mullidæ (M.)—Girella, Pagrus (M.),
Chrysophrys (M.)—Chilodactylus—Sebastes (M.), Scorpæna (M.),
Aploactis, Trichopleura, Pelor—Monocentris (J.), Hoplostethus (M.),
Beryx (M.), Polymixia (M.)—Platycephalus, Hoplichthys (J.),
Bembras (J.), Prionotus, Lepidotrigla (M.), Trigla (M.), Peristethus
(M.)—Uranoscopus (M.), Percis, Sillago, Latilus.—Sciæna (M.),
Otolithus—Sphyræna (M.)—Lepidopus (M.), Trichiurus (M.)—Zeus
(M.)—Caranx, Trachurus (M.)—Callionymus (M.)—Lophius (M.),
Halieuthæa (J.)—Hoplognathus—Cepola (M.)—Centriscus (M.),
Fistularia.