“Yes.” Blair shifted from foot to foot while beads of sweat ran down my nape.
“If you paid any attention in your classes at all, it should be a basic task for you to light a few candles.” Sullivan practically spat the last few words, making it clear he wouldn’t tolerate any protests.
Blair nodded and held out her hand, shaking. A flame exploded out of it, engulfing not just the candles but the whole table. Heat billowed off the table as tongues of fire gripped the edges, searching for food. Crackling filled the room, and I coughed from the stench of wood smoke.
Preston hurried over with a pitcher of water he had grabbed from somewhere and threw the contents on the table, extinguishing the flame with a hiss. A bit more smoke mixed with steam while Sullivan snapped his fingers at another fae boy, pointing to a mop.
Sullivan slammed his hands down on the table. “Miss Blair, you failed again. As you did last time, and the time before.” He leaned forward. “You are a disappointment. If this had been a wooden table, you would’ve ruined it. You could’ve cost your employer hundreds if not thousands of dollars. This is not a game. Do you understand?”
She cringed and lowered her head. “Yes.”
“I don’t think you do. If you did, you would learn how to control your magic and not destroy everything around you.” He pressed a button on his desk. “It’s important to learn that our actions have consequences. Bad behavior will be punished.”
All color drained out of Blair’s face, and I knew whatever was about to happen was bad. Very bad.
A moment later, a male vamp in his late thirties strolled through the door. “How may I help you, Lord Sullivan?”
Sullivan pointed at Blair as if she were an object. “One of our students insists on putting everything on fire. It’s time to teach her that such behavior won’t be tolerated.”
“Of course.” The vamp’s eyes flashed with hunger, and he took long strides to Blair.
I couldn't stand aside. “Wait!”
The vamp turned around, his full attention on me, the anger in his gaze turning to leeriness as it slid down my body. Even though my hands itched to pull down my skirt, I didn’t. Instead, I said, “It was a mistake. Blair didn’t mean to.”
In a blink of an eye, the vamp strode over to me. “And who are you?” His face lingered inches from mine.
The last thing I wanted was to give this creep my name, but I saw no way around it. “Onyx Logan.”
He grabbed my chin and tilted my head upward. “Onyx. You were missing from my class. PE is mandatory. Failure to attend the first time results in detention.”
My gag reflex came alive. So this was Mr. Chad, the notorious PE teacher. Batting his hand away, I glared at him. “I was called to the headmistress’s office during your class.”
He licked his lips. “Ah, I see. I shall pardon you this time, then, but you better not test my patience.” His gaze slid to my breasts. Ew. If he touched me again, I would vomit all over his deep V-neck shirt. For once, I was relieved at Sullivan’s impatient pen tapping, which jerked Mr. Chad away from me. That was until I realized what he was about to do. He walked behind Blair and twisted her head to one side, exposing her neck.
“Let this be a lesson to both of you, Miss Onyx and Miss Blair.” Sullivan nodded, and Mr. Chad’s fangs flashed and descended. They broke the skin on Blair’s neck, and he sucked greedily as blood spurted from her wound. She clenched her eyes shut, probably from pain and humiliation.
I was screaming on the inside and tried to step forward, but Preston’s hand came down on mine. “Don’t,” he said, staring soberly at the horrifying scene in front of us. “You’ll only make it worse.”
After what felt like an eternity, Sullivan finally raised his hand. “Enough.”
Mr. Chad let go of Blair, who stumbled, her eyes unfocused. I rushed toward her and put my arm underneath her shoulder, supporting her weight. She groaned, little more than a rag doll thrown aside. My heart raced. Every tenth fae died from bloodlust.
“Class dismissed,” Sullivan said, strolling out with Mr. Chad as if they hadn’t just shown everyone their monstrous nature. The other fae slipped out of the room, silent, not even bothering to ask Blair if she was all right. What a charming group they were, only watching out for their own hides.
"Oh," Blair said.
“It’s okay, I got you,” I said, supporting Blair’s weight. Peony walked through my periphery, but I avoided looking at her. If I saw her smile, I wouldn’t be able to hold back my fists. She and Virgie were the last students besides us to exit the room.
“Let me help you.” Preston put his arm underneath Blair’s other shoulder. Our fingers touched, and once again, electricity darted up my arm. I ignored it, focusing on Blair.
“I’m fine,” Blair said, slurred.
“No. You’re not. You need food,” I said. “And water.” She'd be dehydrated for sure. "We've got to get her to her bed."
After countless stairs, we finally made it into our dorm and dropped her on my lower bunk bed. Blair collapsed into the mattress and let out a breath, eyes closed.
“Will she be all right?” I asked Preston quietly.
He nodded. “She’ll be fine after a good night’s rest and a hearty breakfast. She's likely faint and exhausted.”
I hugged myself. “How can the vamps do this to us? How can the other fae just watch and do nothing?”
He sighed. “Both are very wrong.” His golden-green eyes sparked with fierceness. “One day, they’ll pay, that I promise you.” With a final look at Blair, he said, “Get her something from dinner,” and headed for the door.
“Wait.” He turned, and I wanted to scream, “Take me away from here,” but since I wasn’t a damsel in distress, I said, “There has to be a way out of here.”
Sadness contorted his beautiful face. “The only way out of the castle is through the underground tunnels, and I am not even allowed to pass through them without permission from Lady Cardinal.”
“Oh.” Not knowing how to respond, I did what I should’ve done a while ago. “Thanks for helping me with Blair and with Lord Sullivan.”
Preston smiled. “No problem.” He hesitated, then glanced around, as if to make sure it was still only the three of us here before dropping his voice. “I shouldn’t be telling you this, but if you’re ever in trouble and need to reach me, go to the Home Decor classroom. Below the teacher’s desk is a trapdoor. The tunnel will lead you into the staff tower. My room is the third on the left. Don’t get caught using the tunnel or this—” he pointed at Blair “—will seem nothing compared to what they’ll do to you.”
The hairs on my neck stood up, but I bit down on my fear and focused on the other part of his revelation. “Why tell me?” I mean I was grateful and all, but why was he putting his neck out on the line when he barely knew me?
Preston’s lips thinned into a rigid line. “Because you are a part of my folk. What the vamps are doing is barbarity. I would save you all if I could, but right now that is not an option. We don’t have enough information.” I opened my mouth, but he shook his head. “We can talk more another time. Right now, Lady Cardinal is expecting me."
Chapter Seven
Blair slept until the following morning. I returned to her side after detention that night. Her breathing, labored at first, turned to gentle snoring. She muttered in her sleep and tossed with nightmares. I wanted to wake her, but Preston’s assurance that she just needed a good night’s sleep hung with me, and as my bedside clock moved from two AM to three, I decided I’d better get some sleep myself. The vamps wouldn’t appreciate tiredness in their classes. Professor Sullivan would happily do to me what Mr. Chad had done to Blair. The thought of him touching me, let alone biting my neck, sent waves of ice and disgust down my spine.
Even our bodies no longer belonged to us.
Blair stirred when her siren of an alarm went off. Then her eyelids fluttered open.
I turned off her alarm, since she was still pale and had b
ags under her eyes. The bite marks on her neck had scabbed over but were still obvious, just like the ones on my wrist. “You’re awake.”
“Unfortunately.” She rubbed her head, arm trembling.
I’d never seen Blair so defeated before. “Let me get you breakfast. Stay put.” She was in no state to deal with the assholes in the cafeteria. Was I? The thought of going there alone sent my heart down to my shoes. But I had to do it, and there was a chance I could talk to Preston again. Right now, he was the only person capable and willing to help get Blair and me out of here.
“You’re awesome,” Blair said. “Thanks for doing this and helping me yesterday after--”
“You’re welcome,” I replied quickly, not wanting her to dwell on the horror.
She smiled. “You’re a really good person and a great friend, Onyx.”
“Thanks.” A pleasant warmth swept through me. Blair and I were becoming friends, and she didn’t seem to blame me for yesterday.
With less than an hour before Lord Sullivan’s class, I hurried down the staircase, trying not to think of who I’d encounter. Most of the fae from yesterday were already seated at their tables, breakfast on their trays. Peony, of course, was besides Virgie and another girl who was leaning over the table, soaking up whatever Peony was preaching. Virgie’s gaze flicked to me briefly before she refocused on Peony. At another table, a second small group of fae girls huddled close to one another, whispering.
The whispers died down as I crossed the room.
I hadn’t spent much time around other students at my old high school, but I knew enough to recognize the stench of bitchy gossip. Pretending I didn’t care, I heaped two huge spoons of scrambled eggs onto Blair’s plate along with two apples, two oranges, and two bananas, while keeping one ear and eye open to gauge what Blair and I were in for today.
“With Preston! They went up to her dorm. He must be blind,” Peony said viciously.
Virgie twirled a hair strand. “She’s spoiled goods now.”
I was glad I had reached the end of the buffet line because I wasn’t staying and taking Peony’s nasty glares as she insinuated that I had slept with Preston. Damn her!
Taking two steps at a time, I reached the dorm, adrenaline pumping.
Blair was buttoning up her shirt, holding the dresser with her other hand. “That looks great, thank you.”
In my haste, I had forgotten to grab cutlery. “Sorry we might have to eat this with our fingers and share the plate.”
“I don’t care. I’m starving.” She plopped down on my bed and stuffed her mouth with scrambled eggs. Once she swallowed, she asked, “So what happened while I was out?”
I rolled my eyes. “I needed help yesterday, carrying you back here, so Preston helped. Now, Peony’s spreading rumors that I slept with him.”
Blair crammed some more eggs into her mouth, eyes widening. “You didn’t, right?”
I pushed her shoulder gently. “No, of course not. I barely know him.”
She nodded approvingly. “Good. If you don’t have magic, your only option is being a regular servant or a courtesan. If you’re no longer a virgin, your contract will suck.”
I groaned at the messed-up world we were living in. “Yes, I got that the first time you said it.” My bravado left me as a hollow terror opened in my chest. “How can she just throw stuff around like this?” I felt like an object, a used one, like a damaged car that was no longer a good ride.
Blair swallowed and took a huge bite out of her apple. “Expect Lady Cardinal to find you today. Peony’s obviously trying to get you in trouble, but I’ll be your alibi. You’d have to be very bold to do it on the bunk above me while I slept.”
That drew a smile from me, which was an accomplishment considering the position I was in. Once Blair ate, we headed to Lord Sullivan’s class, where I’d spent the previous evening reading out of a vamp history book while Lord Sullivan went off somewhere. Stupid detention. Now, he stood behind his desk, glaring at us silently as we sat down. The whole class didn’t utter a sound, and even Peony did nothing more than flutter her eyelashes. The air was thick enough to cut.
Only five minutes into the lesson, the intercom came on, and Lady Cardinal’s voice droned through the classroom. “Onyx Logan, report to my office immediately.”
A shudder went down my spine. I'd been hoping Blair could come with me as my backup, but the vamps were taking my only bubble of safety away. Peony snickered while the rest of the class gave me a wary look. Sullivan’s mouth pressed into a thin line, and Blair mouthed, “Good luck.”
Forcing myself to put one foot in front of the other, I walked to the end of the hall and knocked on the headmistress's door.
“Come in,” she said, silk turned to ice.
“I didn’t sleep with Preston. I swear. You can ask my roommate,” I said as soon as the door swung shut behind me.
Lady Cardinal finished buffing a long fingernail and swiveled her chair to face me. “Sit.”
I obeyed Lady Cardinal’s command, trying not to squirm under her intense stare. She didn’t say anything for a whole minute. My heart rate spiked, and my hands were a sweaty mess.
“Do you know what the punishment for unsanctioned sexual relationships is?”
I had the feeling it was something very bad, but I didn’t know how bad, so I just shook my head.
“For the male, depending on his status, it can be anything from a demotion to imprisonment.” She paused, letting that sink in. I guessed that the vamps would be demoted while the male fae would be imprisoned. And possibly tortured.
“For the female who throws away her virginity, the consequences are much more severe. Your studies would be terminated immediately, and you would be sent to a vamp who takes on spoiled goods.”
Goose bumps broke out on my arms. Feeding on my fear, she added, “Spoiled goods that possess no magic are used by vamps who cannot afford to keep a courtesan. Do you understand?”
I nodded, not trusting my voice. She was pretty much saying that I would become a prostitute if I lost my virginity, that I would be like one of those girls in Amsterdam’s red-light district, my body used by several men during each night only to go through the same torment again the next day. And the next, and the next until I was declared trash. And possibly killed in bloodlust.
“Now, let’s see if your assurances regarding your innocence are correct.” Headmistress Cardinal extended her hand, and even though everything inside of me screamed to run, I gave her my wrist. Her fangs sank into my scabbed holes. Pain exploded, and I bit in a scream, determined not to look weak in front of this disgusting leech. Could she sense who I'd been with just from my blood? She sucked twice, amplifying the burn in my wrist before she let go.
I pulled my arm to my chest, holding my fingers over the oozing wound, vowing that I would find a way out of here, no matter how hard, no matter what I had to do.
Lady Cardinal smiled, her teeth stained with my blood. “Still a virgin. See that you remain one, and I might be able to sell you to someone half decent.”
Bile rose in my throat, and I wanted to spit at her, but I held it together. “Can I return to class now?” Why would she do nothing against the rumor spreaders? My innocence had been proven.
She nodded, watching me like a tiger would her prey, and I hurried back down the hall, for once looking forward to being in Sullivan’s company.
Chapter Eight
The only good thing about coming back alive from Lady Cardinal’s interrogation and returning to my studies was that the rumor mill ground to a halt. Peony kept up her glares and silent promises to make my life hell while Virgie stuck to her side, as if the two were tethered together by an invisible chain.
“We need to get out of here,” I said to Blair during lunch, relaying the threat the headmistress had made. “And you were bitten for nothing yesterday.”
She stuffed her face with macaroni and cheese. “It was my own fault. I should be able to control my fire by now.”
I sighed, frustrated that she was missing the point. “Did getting bitten help you learn how to control it?” She shook her head. “Exactly. They’re doing all of this to lord their power over us, not because they’re trying to help us.”
She motioned to our surroundings. “I’d leave too if we could, but we can’t. We still have no clue how to escape.”
“But we know someone who might.” I had to talk to Preston. The thought of sneaking up into the staff tower through the Home Decor room sent pleasant shivers up my spine. Then I remembered Lady Cardinal’s bite, and my good mood disappeared. I needed to be careful. I didn’t want to become the official blood bag or worse.
“Be careful,” Blair told me after we were done with our classes for the day, and I shared my plan with her. “I’ll make sure no one follows you, but someone might be in the Home Decor room, practicing.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll pretend that’s why I’m there as well.” Grateful I didn’t have detention tonight, I walked down the corridor, praying the room was empty and that I could follow Preston’s instructions.
The Home Decor room was vacant, and after fumbling under Preston’s desk for five minutes, I found the metal handle of the trapdoor, which slid open horizontally. A ladder led down, and I closed the door behind me, navigating in the darkness. It sure would be handy to have magic now, to be one of those fae who could create balls of light.
Once at the bottom of the ladder, I found a tunnel that first led under the floor, and then to another ladder going upwards. As I climbed toward the faint light, a chilly breeze blew down at me. At the top, I opened a second trapdoor into a storage room full of spare linens. After this room, the door opened into a lavish space—red-carpeted floors and polished wooden doors greeted me. The staff tower was mercifully empty at the moment. I prayed Preston was home.
The third door on the left. Yes. That second to last one.
Sweat gathered on my neck as I knocked, shifting leg to leg. Lingering up here meant risking my life, but so did staying in Nocturna Academy.
Academy of Magic Collection Page 40
