“Cross!” Ophelia bellowed and began to run toward the stairs.
“Coming.” I leapt down.
Air rushed past me, and Angel squealed on my shoulder. My feet hit the ground and I fell forward, dropping Angel. We sprawled on the floor. I hadn’t even taken a breath when I heard the first popping sound. “What is that?”
The world exploded around us. I scrambled for Ophelia and yanked her little body under mine. Dust rained down on us. Angel huddled in a little ball next to us. My arm shot out and I wrapped my hand around her ankle and pulled her toward us. I shoved her in next to Ophelia and tried to hold them both there. The ceiling dropped down, stopping just before it crushed us. A scream ripped from Angel and Ophelia slammed her hand over her mouth.
“Not helping.” Ophelia’s eyes widened at something over my shoulder. “Oh, shit!”
Ophelia threw her arms out from under me, almost as if we were hugging, one arm reaching over my shoulder and the other under my body, sticking out behind my back. Gray smoke covered us from head to toe, and she mumbled a low spell a second before a beam dropped down on us. It stopped just a foot from my head. She held my gaze as sweat coated her face. I pressed my lips into a hard line as debris caved in all around us. The house came crashing down piece by piece, yet her magic held fast, keeping the three of us in a protective bubble. Tiny shards of wood flew past her barrier, gathering in her hair and landing on my back. Dust particles coated my skin and fell into my eyes. The world came crashing down, yet it was just Ophelia and me against it all. Burgundy smoke poured from my hands, mixing with her gray power. My magic lay in my ability to fight, to war. I was the warrior house in this. I would destroy everything in our path. We would survive this. It would take a lot more than dropping a mansion on our heads to kill us.
Angel huddled on her side, tears streaking down her face. Yet my Ophelia didn’t drop a single tear. She rolled her eyes. “They’ll have to try harder to kill us.”
“Long as you don’t give them any ideas, we’ll be fine.” The house—or what was left of it—began to quiet around us, settling into piles of pieces of wood, pipe and drywall stacked all around us.
A thick beam hovered over our heads, yet she smiled at me and chuckled. “Think before I act, right?”
The destruction began to quiet, ending just as quickly as it started. I lifted my head, glancing around at what was left of the house. It still groaned, and the sound of running water filled my ears. I leaned back onto my knees away from Ophelia, and she crawled out from under me. She also sat on her knees and shoved her hair out of her face. Our eyes met and she shook her head. “What the hell happened?”
“You are all insane,” Angel whimpered and shook from head to toe. “Death around every corner of every moment. It’s not normal. None of this is normal.”
I ducked my head, searching back to where I thought the rest of the basement should be. I peeked through a hole in the wreckage, trying to spot any of the others. Instead, all I saw was water shooting across the ground from a pipe. “Maze!”
“Cross!” His voice came from the opposite direction of where I was looking.
“Over here.” I looked at the beam overhead and the debris around us. It was like we were stuck in a hut of precariously stacked shit, just shit everywhere, waiting to crush us. “Dude, we’re trapped.”
“Just stay there. We’ll come to you,” Penny called back. Her words were followed by the sound of things bending and moving once more. Metal groaned, wood split and water rushed.
A small puddle seeped beneath my knees, soaking my pants. Ophelia groaned and sighed. “All those weapons, gone.”
A deep green magic seeped through the cracks, and the debris began to lift into the shape of a hole. Penny sauntered through toward us. Her eyes widened at the beam just above our heads. “Cutting it close, aren’t you?”
Maze followed behind her with Tilly close by. Leo and Cassidy looked just as shell-shocked as Angel. Sure, they were warlocks, but this wasn’t the life they were accustomed to. This was the life of the heirs. I looked up and up and up at the levels of house on top of us. “How are we gonna get out?”
“Shhh.” Ophelia waved her hand.
“What?”
“Shhhhhhhhh.” She pointed toward the roof. “What is that?”
We all fell silent, listening for whatever it was that she heard.
“You see the destruction they’ve brought to our doorstep!” a crowd roared in answer. “The heirs would have you cow to them! Is this the life that you want?”
A resounding angry “no” rang out through the air. I turned to Cassidy. “What the hell? Is that Corvin, Beckett’s father?”
“That’s what I came here to tell you. Corvin is here, the council is here… after the school was attacked.” She shook her head. “The houses, they’re barely standing. They survived but barely. It’s the middle of the night. We weren’t ready. No one was ready.”
Barely survived? Warwick? No way, this couldn’t be happening. Warwick had been standing for centuries. There is no way it should end now. Not when we were so close to uniting the warlocks and witches. Not when the fate of the world rested in our hands.
“Attacked by who?” The words rushed from Ophelia’s mouth and her eyes went wide with worry. I felt her racing heartbeat as if it were my own.
Leo glanced to Cassidy and she gave him a nod. He licked his lips. “The witches… they’re saying the witches of Evermore did it.”
“Bullshit!” Ophelia began walking around the small space we had. “We have to get out.”
“Your heirs are gone. Look at the wreckage. There is nothing left of them. Will you let this stand?” Corvin’s voice boomed over the crowd like he had a microphone. “The youth of Warwick thought the witches could be trusted. They were wrong. WITCHES ARE NEVER TO BE TRUSTED. Look! Look what they’ve done to our legacy. This is an act of war.”
The crowd hollered and screamed their displeasure. They were fired up by his words. I could feel their magic gathering like a bomb waiting to explode. My temper rose to a fever pitch. “Corvin, you bastard! I’m gonna cut your heart out and feed it to…. to… to a cockroach!”
“All is lost for the heirs. A line has been drawn. We’ve lost our future!” His voice was so loud they wouldn’t hear me over him or over the crowd.
“Their future? How freaking convenient!” Ophelia growled. “This is a setup and they’re the only ones who come out on top.”
“And Beckett is gone.”
Maze shook his head. “And Astrid. We’re down three heirs.”
“Yes, but you also have a queen, a demon, a general in the warrior house, a charmer and the mother of freaking warlocks.” Ophelia shifted from one foot to the other. “We need out now.”
“Evermore must be made to pay for what they’ve done!” Corvin roared and the crowd cheered him on. “Blood for blood! Now is not the time to cower in the shadows like we have been. The heirs wanted us to join them! I say we show them the value of the warlocks. The strength in our magic. We may have lost our heirs, but they will be remembered this day! THE DAY THE WARLOCKS ROSE AGAINST EVERMORE ACADEMY AND CLAIMED OUR PLACE AMONG THOSE WHO RULE ALL!”
The crowd boomed with screams of support, magic fired in the air, and the house shook around us, yet the sound seemed to be receding like they were leaving, walking away. Ophelia’s heart raced so fast I could barely breathe around her worry.
“My sister is there! We have to get out now! Damn it, now!”
“I have an idea.” Maze glanced at Tilly. “Can you lift that?”
She glanced up at the beam and shrugged. Then she walked under it and placed both her hands on the beam. Without even hesitating for a second, she shoved her arms upward and the beam shot through the piles of debris, leaving a huge hole up and out from the basement. We all looked up at the hole.
Ophelia ran at Tilly. “You like throwing me so much. Do it now.”
“Think before you act, think before you act,” I chant
ed as she jumped at Tilly. The demon’s eyes widened and flickered a neon green. She grabbed Ophelia and launched her through the hole. I rolled my eyes. Of course, that’s how she’d do it. “Me next.”
Tilly grabbed me by the back of my shirt and launched me up out of the wreckage. I landed just beside Ophelia. She gazed down the walkway, looking for something in the distance. “Where are they? They should still be here.”
The rest of our band of misfits came shooting out of the house. Maze came up second to last, landing in crouch right next to the hole. He reached down his hand. “Come on, Tilly.”
A blond blur sailed past him, landing at least twenty feet away. Maze reached for her. “Come on, Tilly. Don’t do it.”
She hissed in his direction and took off for the woods, disappearing into the shadows. Not even a sound came from her direction. He took a step to follow her, and I blocked his path. “You can’t.”
“She needs me.” His eyes blazed, and he took another step toward her.
I blocked his way again. “We need you.”
He looked off in Tilly’s direction like he wanted to follow her. Maze pressed his lips into a hard line and gave me a single nod. I squeezed his shoulder. “Thanks, man.”
A loud crashing sound came from what was left of the house, drawing my attention. Ophelia crawled and scrambled over the ruins. She tossed things to the side, searching through the garbage. I ran to her side and squatted down next to her.
“Love, what are you doing?”
She was frantic, her eyes never leaving her search. Her hands shook as she picked up a vial of something here, a scrap of powder there, and handful of dirt. She crawled over the sharp pieces of wood and jagged glass. “They’re going to attack Evermore. You heard them. We have to get there.”
“Send a message to your sister. Tell her they’re coming,” I placed my hand on her shoulder, “and we will get there.”
“Already did.” She kept frantically searching for something.
“What are you looking for?” I wanted to help her to ease this panic I felt rolling off her in waves.
“They’re going for my family, my sister. I need a portal and I need it now. I will slaughter every single one of them.” Tiny cuts marred her fingers along with her own blood. “I have to get there.”
Penny grabbed Ophelia’s arm and yanked her to her feet. She threw out her hand, and her deep sage magic formed into a doorway, glowing and bright. “There are other ways.”
“A portal! You can portal!” Ophelia’s eyes widened.
An explosion and screams came from beyond that door. Then loud and panicked came Tucker’s voice from beyond the portal, “Zinnia! Zinnia, where are you? GET DOWN!”
Ophelia pulled two knives from her sides. She gave me a sideways glance just as a ball of fire flew from the portal over our heads. We didn’t hesitate; a war had been started and now we had to go finish it. Into the portal we went.
Chapter 27
Astrid
I stepped out of the portal and was instantly overcome with oppressing heat, so hot that even my damn shoes dried instantly. A gentle ocean breeze drifted over my skin, yet it too was overwhelmingly hot. I staggered forward, pressing my body against the rocky face. Though it was the middle of the night, thin rivulets of lava glowed in slow-moving streams trickling down the mountain, or should I say volcano? Hot, so very hot. Sweat gathered on my skin and ran down my back. Nova and Ashryn stepped out behind me, and we all took a small step to the side, pressing ourselves against the steep rocky face.
“Ugh, mountain climbing again?” Nova groaned. “This is why I like to spend most of my time in the Underworld… below ground. Not so freaking high above it.”
Ashryn tip-toed around us like walking on the thin shelf was nothing new. Kylian came through next. He tipped back his head and looked up at the volcano. A sigh escaped his lips, and he shook his head. “Here I am… again.”
“Again? Do you make it a habit of hanging around volcanos?” This guy just got darker and darker.
He gave me a withering look. “Apparently.”
Beckett strolled through his portal and stopped just beside me. The blue light slowly closed behind him, and the dark of the night closed in on us once more. Our only saving grace was the glowing lava and the stars above. He gave me a slight smile. “We good?”
Before I could even answer, Kylian walked past us all. “From here on out, none of us are gonna be good.”
I arched my eyebrow at Beckett. Kylian was our only choice, and now there was no turning back. But there was dangerous darkness in him that I felt deep in my stomach. Was he worse than a warlock? I wasn’t sure. Did I trust him? Oh, hell no. Would I follow him for Logan? To hell and back. According to him, that’s where we were going anyway. In silence we crept along the side of the volcano. The smell of sulfur hung heavy in the air along with scents of smoke and burning.
Down below, lights from a kingdom glowed and flickered. Firelight illuminated the whole area along with rivers of lava. I pointed down toward the dark stone castle that looked like it was made of cooling lava. “Where are we exactly?”
Beckett chuckled. “We’re on a hidden island that’s close to the Hawaiian Islands. That’s the kingdom of Cindelore.”
“Where the phoenixes are from?” I’d read about them in one of the books I’d taken from the library a few days ago. It was the kingdom of the phoenix shifters. They were known to be noble and proud shifters, with strong ties to the Fallen and always aligning themselves with the witches against evil.
“Yes, and Tucker. He’s a prince of Cindelore. Not the heir to the throne, though. That goes to his eldest brother, Judd.” Beckett pressed his hand to the small of my back. “Royalty is never easy. Mix that with family and it’s a shit show.”
Kylian gazed over his shoulder down toward the town. “It really is.” His eyes looked haunted by something I couldn’t put my finger on but felt in my bones I knew.
When I followed the direction of his gaze, my eyes locked onto two glowing orbs a few feet down the trail. They were moving slowly toward us and my body tensed. When they came close to one of those creeping lava rivers, it became perfectly clear what they were. I swallowed my panic and tried to make my voice as calm as it could possibly be. “Are… um… lions native to Hawaii?”
“What?” Beckett’s brows furrowed in confusion. “No, whyyyyyyy?”
I lowered my voice. “Don’t move.”
The lion was huge, the hulking size of a rhino. Its mane was thick with a multitude of colors that all seemed to glow red next to the lava. His lips rolled back from his teeth and a loud roar came from deep within its belly sending chills down my spine. I let my power gather in the palm of my hand. The golden glow filled the area around me. I raised my hand over my head ready to send that lion back to wherever the hell it came from. A tight grip wrapped around my wrist and yanked me back.
Kylian stood just behind me. “Leave him.”
“Leave him? Do I look like kitty kibble to you?” The lion stopped moving. It sat there watching us.
“We won’t have any trouble from him.” He dropped my hand. “Keep walking.”
He turned away from me, and when I looked back, the lion was completely gone with not even a sound. Just gone. Beckett leaned in close to my ear. “We don’t have to like him, but I trust Ashryn and the Fallen. They said we need him.”
I gave a single nod and began following behind him. Nova moved to walk just in front of me, slowing me down and letting Beckett catch up to Kylian. She gave me a sly smile. “Sorry for cutting in front of you, but I’m liking the view.”
She motioned to Kylian, and I wrinkled my nose and shook my head. “Not my style.” I pointed to Beckett. “That is my style.”
“We all know warlock is your style, of the Dustwick variety. And more than half the girls and a good portion of the guys at Evermore Academy would agree with you.” She wagged her eyebrows at me then pointed toward Kylian. “But that is a fine specimen of ma
n. I mean, the height, the build, the attitude, and what is up with the glowing hands? I wonder what else they can do?”
“I’m going to pretend like I can’t hear you sizing up my brother like a piece of meat.” Ashryn chuckled and shook her head.
“If he’s the meat, consider me the carnivore because he is delicious.” Nova smiled and chuckled under her breath. “I’m happy I’m the only real single girl on this trip. No offense, but I already lost one guy to you… I’m not into competing for another.”
“He’s all yours. I have zero interest in that level of messed up.”
Ashryn shrugged. “She’s not wrong.”
Nova began to walk a little quicker to catch up. “I’m the queen of the death cast. Messed up is my specialty.”
I chuckled and rolled my eyes. When I first met Nova, we were in competition with each other for Beckett, and deep down I thought she was stronger, faster and more beautiful with her dark gothic ways. Turns out we weren’t all that different, and now that Beckett and I had some kind of understanding, I liked Nova and her dark sense of man-meat humor.
“He’s all yours.” I waved a dismissive hand toward Kylian.
Were Beckett and I perfect yet? No. Only one-half of our soulmate bond was complete, and deep down I knew it bothered him. I wanted to give him that moment for us to forever be tied together but not under the penalty of death or some kind of emergency. I wanted that for us at the right time and in the right place. As long as we came back from Unseelie alive.
The volcano curved to the side. The guys followed that curve and moved out of sight. For a second, my heart sped at Beckett being alone with Kylian, then I remembered who the baddest warlock of them all was. I may have died, just the one time, but Beckett had lived in this world his whole life and survived it, ruled it and fought for it. If Kylian was going to do anything, Beckett could handle it.
Wicked Curse (The Royals: Warlock Court Book 4) Page 16
