Forbidden Boys
Page 16
“Want to try some of the giggleflower punch?” She offers. “It makes it easier to smile.”
“Sure,” I agree even though I have no desire to smile, laugh, or be merry in any way.
She flitters off to the refreshment table.
I look around the room. I wonder how many people here know about Rhiannon. I wonder if any of them have succumbed to her power.
“Why are you glaring at everyone?” Lucien asks.
“I’m not glaring.” I narrow my eyes at him, which only makes him laugh.
“Lucien, need I remind you that we’re at a funeral,” Seth says.
“A traitor’s funeral,” Lucien points out.
“He was our brother once,” Seth says.
“Exactly. Once. Dorian stopped being our brother the moment he fell under Rhiannon’s spell.”
“Enough,” I say quietly. Both Seth and Lucien fall silent. “Dwelling on what’s past won’t help us defeat her.”
“You’re right,” Lucien nods. “My apologies.”
“Did I just hear Lucien apologize?” Kashton appears at my shoulder.
“You did,” Lucien nods. “You’re lucky. It only happens once a century.”
“I believe that,” Gabriel chimes in.
The four of them fall into idle chatter. I tune them out. Just being on school grounds makes me feel uneasy. This isn’t a safe place for them or for me.
I briefly consider leaving. At first glance, it seems like the logical choice. However, when I think of all the secrets held within this school, all of the magical resources I can utilize to make myself stronger, I know I have to stay here.
Besides, I’ll sleep better at night, knowing where headmaster Leo is and what he’s doing. As long as I’m nearby, watching, he likely won’t try anything too bold. If he does, the other four will be there to cut him down.
Ivora brings me a cup of giggleflower punch. Just before I take my first sip, a shockwaves ripples through the air. Some of the punch spills over the lip of my cup and splashes on the floor.
“Are you okay?” Ivora asks.
“Didn’t you feel that?”
“Feel what?”
“I felt it,” Lucien says. His whole body is tense. Kashton, Gabriel, and Seth felt it too. Ivora and the rest of the students don’t appear to have noticed anything.
My gaze flickers to headmaster Leo. He’s looking at me. Whatever I just felt, he felt it too.
“What was that?” I whisper.
“It’s one of us,” Seth replies.
“I don’t understand.”
“Remember how we said there were seven of us,” Kashton prompts. I nod slowly. Seth, Lucien, Gabriel, Kashton, Leo and Dorian make six. Who’s the seventh? I look around for anyone who could’ve caused the magical shockwave, but no one sticks out.
“Well, gentlemen,” Lucien says with a tight smile. “I believe we ought to prepare for a visit from our long-lost brother in arms.”
31
Dorian
The chamber of the Queen is dark and cold. She doesn’t feel much, and she doesn’t care for the comforts mortals crave.
She is eternal. The others are fools to resist her.
I’m sure Seth would be surprised his fierce combo didn’t actually work. The dark Queen has many gifts she graces her followers with. Loyalty is all she requires.
She scuttles about the chamber, massive orb-like body shining in the light. Her legs gleam, hard and long. The sharp angles throw shadows on the walls as the tips rattle on the stone.
She leans down from her great height, peering into my face.
“I’m very disappointed in you, Dorian.” She sighs, raising an arm to place her chin in her hand. She shakes her head, tutting a little. “I expected more from you. I’m not surprised, but it hurts me that you could not put in more of an effort.”
I give her a low bow. “I do apologize, my Queen. Seth was focused and true, not like himself at all. He took me by surprise.”
She widens her eyes, one finger on her chin as she stares at me.
“You were imbued with my power, were you not? I don’t see how he could have simply surprised you.”
I grit my teeth and keep my voice calm.
“My lady, I don’t know what to say. I gave you my best.”
Rhiannon shakes her head, turning away. Her long legs move her across the room very fast. They clatter like wooden staffs being dropped all over the hard floor. She scuttles near a wall as if she might simply crawl up it and hang upside down in front of me from the ceiling.
I suppose she could. Does she make webs? Does she plan to hang me in one? I’ve never thought about it before.
She makes a long sweep around the room, finally pausing in the corner. She reaches into the darkness and pulls forth something large and shiny.
As she gets closer, I see it’s a giant mirror with ornate wave-like design around the molding. The carvings are delicate, beautifully rendered figures writhe as if they are tormented, slowly being tortured to death. The sweeping design no longer looks like waves, but flames.
The mirror is ringed by hell.
She holds it up in front of me.
“Do not fear, Dorian. There are still ways you can serve me and prove your loyalty.” She takes one hand off the mirror and touches my cheek gently. Her touch is so soft and lovely that I smile, relaxing. Everyone’s wrong about her. She just wants to be listened to. Isn’t that what everyone wants?
“I have use for you, my warrior. Look deep into this mirror, and you will see your soul. It will help me to decide what task you shall attend to next.”
Rhiannon smiles sweetly and looks at me with an eager, hopeful expression.
I look into the mirror. I don’t see anything but darkness, swirling smoke wreathed within it. Then I have a sensation like I’m falling—is this my soul? Is this how it looks or how it feels? An empty tunnel of nothing?
I can hear her laughing, and as I raise my arms, they smack against something hard, smooth, and cold. I blink a few times and see the dark stone wall. Where did the Queen go? Why can’t I move?
The view shimmers and turns. I see Rhiannon come into focus, and I realize the scope of my vision is caught in a rectangular frame.
I start to feel sick as I guess at what has happened.
She peers at me through the strange window.
“Oh, there you are!” She laughs. “You make a lovely two-dimensional aspect, dear.”
“You were going to show me my soul! Give me a new task!”
“So, I have. You are where you belong, where you deserve to be. You are not in the mirror, not exactly. In a very true sense, you are the mirror now.”
The view trembles and lifts up and down. I see her pale arms on either side. The movement settles, and I realize she must have hung the mirror—me—on the wall.
Rhiannon pointedly stares, a finger on her chin. She has a smile of amusement playing on her lips.
“I will need you to show me Snow White, dear prince. It’s an important job that I give you. Truly, I could not think of one better suited.”
The warmth in her voice gives me hope. Maybe, if I’m good, she will let me out.
“I have the courage, the will, and the power, my Queen.” I try to step forward, but I hit the glass. “I will do as you bid.”
Her face twists but she laughs instead of yells.
“Of course, you will! I need someone with a strong connection to her. Someone who wants to find her. Someone bound by oath. You can find Ebony wherever she hides. You can show me all her ridiculous little plans.”
I don’t say anything. It’s cold in here. I wonder what magic restrains me inside.
Rhiannon sighs, turning away. She shakes her head.
“I do worry about wrath.” She looks at the floor, letting a graceful hand trail low across her spider chest. She strokes the smooth edges of her shell-like belly, as if comforting herself.
“The other huntsmen have been troublesome, but I am in no d
oubt about them. They are easy enough to manipulate. I can force them to go against Ebony Black's orders by temptation, I bind them to me through their love of power. Their love for her makes them quite confused. They are supposed to be so strong, that is why she chose them, but around her, they are weak.”
She turns back to me, almost laughing again.
“Look at you, dear Dorian. You were easy enough to tame, weren’t you?” She’s smiling, but her eyes are hard. There is no mirth inside her, only cruelty.
She scuttles close, long sharp legs rattling as she moves. The movement is quite abrupt, and it strikes discomfort into my soul. So unnatural and fascinating, since she does it with such fluid grace. I’m not sure which is more unsettling. The strangeness of her movement or how comfortable she is with it.
“Wrath is the deadliest of all.” She runs her hands across her shell again, across her belly. She presses her fingers into the soft skin under her ribs. She sighs, leaning forward, stretching her arms. I think she feels cramped by the space, full of restless energy with nowhere to spend it.
“He is the darkest. A terrible soldier who only responds to his orders. I would like him here with us, Dorian. Do you think it’s possible?”
“No one knows what wrath may do, my Queen. His rage is a wave that swallows him and frees him from thought. He rarely makes a decision for himself. I believe swaying him would be impossible.”
“Well then, the solution is clear. Wrath must be killed.”
“I don’t see how that’s possible, my Queen.” My heart is hammering. I’m already trapped in the damn mirror. I’m sure there are many more things she can do to me to punish me. Far worse things. Does she know I’m the one who summoned him?
She tilts her head, looking at me from under her lashes. Terror sweeps over me, and I think she knows. She must know.
She turns away, legs rattling. It’s drumming rhythm is not entirely unpleasant.
“If you don’t know how then I am sure I do not. A concentrated attack by all of the brothers together would do it.”
“Yes, my Queen. But organizing such a thing would be impossible. We have proved over these last years that we cannot agree. On anything. Not our actions, our path, or where our loyalties lie.”
She hisses as she races around her prison, mandibles clacking as her long teeth poke out through her lips.
“I should do it. I could do it.” Rhiannon looks at her hands, clenching them and opening them. “I could tear him apart, rip his heart from his chest. If only I had my power!” It’s a harsh scream, and I hear a high note of desperation in it. “I know he is a match for me, my victory would not be assured. But I am the only one in my ranks with power enough to touch him.”
“That cannot be, my Queen.” My voice is low like I’m talking to a scared animal. She’s very unpredictable when she’s angry.
She sways back and forth, clutching at her hair with her fists, rubbing her nails on her scalp.
“There must be a way. I must stop wrath. I must take care of all those who stand in my way. I’ve waited too long, come so far—I’ve been so close! This time I was closer than I have ever been! And I had it torn from my hands.”
She turns back to me, mouth twisting. She shakes her head.
“Above all, I must protect Ebony Black, that beautiful body of hers. The power it contains. It thrums with the light of the universe, the perfect balance of good and evil. Perfect grey. Light and dark. That flesh, that blood, that beating heart. It generates enough power for me to dominate more than this world.”
Her eyes swim out of focus as she stares into the distance.
“We must keep her body safe and whole. My vessel, my true form. Only in her can I claim my destiny and rule.” Rhiannon’s smile is a cruel and joyful reflection of all the terrible thoughts flowing through her mind.
“Pure her heart may be, she is no match for the darkness in my soul,” Rhiannon's whisper chills the air between the real world and the next.
Ebony’s story continues -Forbidden Tutor
Chantal Cross
Chantal Cross is a recent college grad who has been reading fast-paced genre fiction all her life. She is a big fan of all things paranormal and vampire. As a teenager, she began her writing “career” with angsty poetry and Twilight fanfic (and no, she’s not sharing those stories with anyone, ever!) 7 Huntsmen is her first series on her own.
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Chantal’s Website: https://chantalcross.com
7 Huntsmen Series
Seven Huntsmen. Seven Curses.
Each of them committed an unforgivable sin…
But none of their sins were as terrible as mine.
Book 1: Forbidden Boys
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Book 2: Forbidden Tutor
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Book 3: Forbidden Angel
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Book 4: Forbidden Bully
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Book 5: Forbidden Demon