He must’ve recognized me as well because a shadow crossed his face. “I’m sorry about your friend.”
Great, so he must’ve put two and two together and realized that I had been Blair’s escape partner. Was he planning to blackmail me later by giving me fake pity now and extract a confession? If so, he didn’t know who he was dealing with. I raised my chin. “Are you sorry? Or do you think she got what she deserved?” Vamps valued rules and order above all else.
The vamp didn’t reply. He kept a stony expression that made the blood roar in my ears.
“How do you stand working at a place like this?”
His blue eyes narrowed to arctic crystals. “Not everything is black and white.”
I shook my head. “I don’t know who you are, but—”
“That’s right. You don’t know anything about me,” he interrupted, throwing the same words at me I had flung at Virgie only yesterday. But this was different.
I shook my head. “I don’t need to know you. You’re working in a place that pumps out slaves and prostitutes. By being here, you’re condoning and contributing to it.”
His face hardened. “You’re young. One day, you might be in a position where you will remember this conversation and see things very differently.”
I wanted to yell at him that my age had nothing to do with maturity, but already he swept down the corridor and back into the darkness. I tried to forget the enigmatic stranger, but his words struck a nerve in me. Since I still had a few hours to kill before meeting Preston and pacing a hole into my dorm’s floor wouldn’t do anyone any good, I found myself going back to the library. This time, I didn’t search for a book to bring down the vamps, but picked one I had ignored earlier, titled, The Making of a Vampire.
I understood that vampires weren’t born but made by sucking all the blood out of a human and then giving him a droplet of the vampire’s blood, which led to the new vampire rising three days after. However, I hadn’t actually thought about the non-technical aspect. I had assumed that dumb and selfish people begged to be vamps, wanting speed, immortality, and beauty.
While the chapter “How Future Vampires Are Chosen” confirmed that this was indeed the process for some vamps, it also stated that sometimes vampire families stole children, waiting for them to grow up before turning them or snatching teenagers and young adults away from their families. Only rarely was somebody over the age of twenty-five chosen. Wannabe vampires had a shelf life similar to those of football players and models.
I shifted in my seat, feeling uncomfortable. From class photos, I knew that the vamps who attended the academy were about my age. How long had they been vamps? Who had changed them and had they asked for it? Or were they angry at those of us who could still bask in the sun? That could help explain why they were such assholes.
I slammed the book shut and rose. My mind was spinning a thread of nonsense. Nothing justified the twins getting Blair into trouble or sexually harassing me. And even if they or some other vamp were taken from their families and changed against their will, so what? They got a life where they ruled. A life where they were powerful. They got to play gods while we were nothing.
Compassion for the enemy would make me weak. Fae like Virgie were misguided. They could be helped to see right from wrong. For Kassius and Kayden it was too late.
The clock struck midnight with a mournful chime. Shit! I had totally lost track of time. I dashed out of the library and toward the gardens where Preston was waiting.
If I didn’t hurry, it would be too late for me too.
Chapter Sixteen
I found Preston seated near the fountain, on the bench we’d occupied when we’d shared our kiss. He kept his back to me at first, and my shoulders rose as I approached. He wasn’t looking at me. But then Preston slowly turned, the fabric of his green shirt whispering against the polished wood, and a sense of ease overcame me.
“I got the blood crystal.” I smiled, feeling proud of myself.
Silent, Preston held out his hand, and I reached to interlace my fingers with his only to realize he wanted the blood crystal. I hesitated for a beat, studying his gold-green eyes, which sparked with confidence, pulling me in.
Tonight, I’d be getting out of here. And then I could return and rescue Blair along with the other fae, with one exception. Peony could rot in hell for all I cared.
I handed Preston the blood crystal, and our fingers brushed. Electricity darted through me from his touch. He examined the crystal, his smile telling me I did good. “Are you ready?” Preston suddenly appeared much taller, and I had to swallow hard.
This was the moment I had been waiting for. I should be overjoyed, and I was, even though fear niggled at the back of mind. I was going with a guy I barely knew to a place I had never seen before. I had only his word to trust that everything would go right. I was jumping into the deep end. But beggars couldn’t be choosers. This was the way it had to be. “Yes,” I breathed.
“Good, magic is at its strongest now.” Preston looked up toward the full moon before taking my arm and gently pulling me toward the trees. I let him guide me, trying not to think too much about the rising panic in my chest.
“How does the portal open?” I needed something practical to occupy my mind before my emotions got the best of me.
Preston’s eyes narrowed as he parted a lush apple branch. “I told you, with magic.”
We stepped into the trees and past one of the lanterns seated inside a trunk. Preston stopped in a small clearing nestled within the center of the garden. Crickets chirped at first, but went quiet as we entered. Soft grass flattened under my feet, and the thick tree trunks formed a ring around us. Warmth washed over me, and I felt as if I were immersed in a protective ocean. Preston slowly let go of me, as if I were a deer he didn’t want to spook and glanced up once again at the full moon hanging bright and hopeful overhead. “We are in what humans call a fairy ring.”
“Huh?”
“Look down.” A hint of impatience crept into his voice as he held up the blood crystal. Guilt washed over me. Yes, I needed reassurance, but we also needed to get out of here. Preston didn’t have time for stupid questions.
I followed his gaze to find a perfect ring of mushrooms, about ten feet wide, surrounding a large tree trunk that had been cut off near the ground. I’d never seen this before. “Are these portals?”
“They can be.” Preston appeared at my side and pulled me to the edge of the fairy ring, just inside of it.
His grip tightened on my arm, and I slipped out of my relaxed state. “Ouch.”
Preston faced me, holding up the blood crystal again, and I let out a breath as the sensation passed. He was nervous. If we were caught, this wouldn’t end well for either of us. “Close your eyes.” His voice washed over me in a tantalizing manner, and my eyes slid shut.
Preston muttered under his breath, and the air filled with a crackling energy. A green glow exploded silently on the other side of my eyelids, but they remained heavy, and at last, Preston spoke in English again.
“It’s done. The portal will remain until the moon sets another ten degrees.”
I opened my eyes to find a circular rip in reality before me, floating a foot above the severed tree and rimmed with a forest green glow. On the other side of that rip, a cobblestone path led deeper into woods filled with glowing mushrooms, dancing fireflies, and two rows of lanterns curving away from another clearing on the other side. My jaw dropped. This was the fae realm, the light part of the world, the place I was meant to be in. Preston put away the blood crystal, and as soon as he did, nerves swept over me and my palms tingled. “What’s going to happen in there?” It looked amazing, like something out of a fairy tale, but it was still the unknown.
Preston’s stare darted side to side, and I wondered if he could hear something I couldn’t. Were the guards coming? He yanked me toward the portal, and the crackling energy made my hair stand on end. Alarm bells went off in my head. What was wrong with me? Why was
I resisting this? He lifted the blood crystal once again, and a sense of calm descended over me, but I blinked it away. Grabbing on to that last bit of fear, I averted my eyes and shook my head.
Something was wrong.
Preston wasn’t just holding the blood crystal.
He was using it like Lady Cardinal had. Every time he lifted it or played with it, I became calm. It wasn’t a coincidence. It was intentional. But why? Why did he need the blood crystal? We were on the same team. We had the same goal. Or did we?
“Onyx. Look at me,” he said in a smooth, practiced voice. “The portal won’t hurt you. You’ll get through it fine.”
Despite his reassurance, the uneasy feeling only welled up in my chest. Preston’s effort was too little too late. “What happens after that?” I asked, unable to hide the sharp edge of suspicion in my voice.
Preston hesitated. In the past, I would’ve assumed that since he couldn’t lie, his pause was due to him trying to answer my question in the clearest manner, but now, I wondered if he was trying to find a loophole in the whole “fae can’t lie” issue.
“You will serve in my court as you promised.” His jaw ticked, clearly unhappy with me not accepting his words at face value.
Virgie’s words screamed in my mind. She had told me to be careful with Preston. Wanting to see his eyes, I looked up and glimpsed the pinkish blood crystal instead. Quickly, I jerked my head sideways as another soothing wave of trust swept over me.
The fae prince tightened his grasp on my left wrist until my hand went numb. There was no hurry in his gesture. Just possession and control.
“Stop using mind control on me,” I gritted out, trying to wrench my wrist from him, but Preston was ready. He grabbed my shoulder and pulled me closer to the portal. I dug my feet into the grass, but it was no use. Preston jerked me harder, and I tumbled forward. Once again, he held the blood crystal up with his free hand, and my legs turned to mush.
I was being ridiculous. Preston knew what was best. Rising, I let him guide me over the stump and into the portal above it.
A wave of tingling and warmth washed over me as I stepped over the threshold, and warm night air enveloped me. The fae realm. I breathed in pure nature and magic and turned my head, lazily following a purplish firefly as it blinked its way through the trees. It flew over a gurgling spring nearby.
“Onyx,” Preston said, trying to call me back from distraction.
That’s when I remembered.
The blood crystal. Preston had used it to pull me into the portal. His grasp remained on my left wrist, and I tried to pull away, but he was much stronger. He had the home court advantage here. I faced him, holding up my other hand to block my view of the blood crystal. Preston had tricked me. I’d delivered a weapon right into his hands. He’d been right. It would help him get me through the portal, just not the way I had thought.
The green glow from the still-open portal made evil shadows under his eyes. I watched as transparent, golden, butterfly-like wings sprang from his back, glowing with powerful royal light. The gold in his own eyes turned more vibrant, and if it wasn’t for the wicked grin growing across the prince’s face, he would be a beautiful specimen. In this portal, so close to the fae realm, Preston unleashed his true form, no iron or vamp influence holding him back.
My back tingled. My shoulder blades became increasingly sensitive as my body struggled and failed to morph into my fae form. That should’ve made me upset, but instead, I felt relief. I didn’t want to be like the creature standing before me, holding me prisoner.
“I see you’re still struggling to bring out your true nature.” Preston gave me a sharp-toothed smile. “Don’t worry. We have time.” He backed me toward the edge of the clearing, only a few feet away from the portal. I glanced at the gardens and the stone walls of Nocturna Academy. Could I make it back? Was the evil I knew better than wherever Preston was trying to take me with force?
Yes.
I swung my arm upward, averting my eyes, and knocked the crystal from his grasp. It tumbled to the ground, and he dived after it, but I was faster, bringing my shoe down on it.
He shoved me against a trunk with one hand and pinned my shoulders against the rough bark. “It’s too late to fight this. You’re mine now.”
“Why did you bring me here?” I screamed and brought my knee up. He dodged the blow to his privates, and backhanded me, his knuckles slamming into my cheekbone. Pain exploded in my face, and a metallic taste filled my mouth. I swallowed hard. Preston was a sociopath.
“The plague unleashed by the Unseelie Court,” he said with a grin, “made many fae infertile. You may have no magic, but you have what we need to help replenish our numbers. I felt it when I tested you.” His breath blew hot against my face, and his golden wings closed around me, trapping me. He shoved both of my arms upward and held my wrists still with his one hand while his other trailed over my collarbone.
I swallowed the whimper threatening to escape my throat.
Preston’s smile grew. “I love it when you do that.” He plunged his hand down my top and into my bra, squeezing my nipple and drawing pain as he rubbed his hips against mine. I could feel him growing, getting aroused as he grasped my shirt, hungrily—
A primal growl ripped from my mouth as ice spread through my limbs. I hadn’t escaped my fate of being a sex toy to become an incubator.
Strength flowed into my limbs as the temperature plunged. Buzzing insects silenced. The grass turned stiff. Leaves all around me wilted.
Preston’s eyes widened in horror as the pressure on my shoulder blades increased and a painful ripping sensation followed. He released me, massaging his now-blue hands. He backed away on the carpet of ice that covered the grass.
I pulled away from the tree trunk, a strange new weight on my back, pain throbbing through me. I didn’t have to look back to know that I now had wings. I could feel them.
Preston’s breath spiraled in front of his face as his eyes widened, and he mouthed something. I didn’t listen to him, but bathed in the icy sensation growing within me. The ice. The frost. I had caused it with Peony, and I was causing it now.
I had magic. It wasn’t useless or ugly. It would protect me.
“Onyx!” Preston got his bearings and snapped a branch off a nearby tree, positioning him in front of the portal and my escape.
Leaves trembled as he waved the branch like a wand. The forest obeyed, and large shapes lumbered toward me, roots ripping from the ground. The trees themselves were marching to Preston’s command. A root wrapped around my foot, pulling me down, and I landed as yet another root coiled over my neck. My new wings screamed from pressure and pain, and I gasped for breath as the reek of dirt and death filled my nostrils. Preston towered over me, a golden demon. He held up one hand, motioning for the tree’s roots to hold me there. I grasped the root around my neck, reaching for that deathly power that freed me from Peony, but spots flared in my vision as Preston laughed and leaned against the trunk that now towered over my head.
“Maybe you have a bit of magic, honey,” he said in a condescending tone as I lay in the dirt. “But you’re no match for a prince.” Hatred flashed in his golden eyes. “Attacking a prince is punishable by death, but I’ll be kind to you this time and not report your crime if you’re a good girl.” He grasped the button on his jeans and undid it, then unzipped his pants, moving toward my face. He was going to force oral on to me. Bile rose in my throat and with it the black, icy rage awoke in me anew.
I dug my fingernails into the root, letting my cold grasp infect the dirt-encrusted wood, and whatever magic I had. The ice flowed out of me, and the root jerked away, freeing my windpipe as I grasped the frosty grass and plunged my hand into the spring, reaching for any rocks I could use to throw at Preston. The tree retreated, falling back into the others with a massive crash as it died. Preston dodged my stones and crashed into me, pinning me to the ground with his weight and forcing his leg between mine. His golden eyes shone with hunger.
<
br /> “I thought you were better than the vamps,” I gritted out. I wasn’t the least bit interested in what he had to say for himself, but I needed him distracted.
He chuckled. “Sorry, love. It doesn’t matter what world you’re in. There’s always a few that rule, and a majority that serves. The sooner you accept that, the easier it’ll be.”
I grasped a rock lying in the grass—the blood crystal. Using all my force, I smashed it against his temple. Preston grunted and rolled off me, allowing me to rise. He fell onto one golden wing, rubbing his head as he faced me, stunned. Another wave of ice returned, filling my body, and as I pushed myself up, ice spread through the spring with a cracking noise, creating a spike in the center as the entire body of water froze. I stuffed the blood crystal in my pocket before Preston could use it against me.
Preston recovered quickly and jumped to his feet. “Is that all you’ve got, Onyx?” Though he swayed on his feet, his fierce eyes promised pain.
The portal wavered and along with it, the gardens of Nocturna Academy.
I needed to get back. The academy was the safer choice. At least, the vamps gave you a chance. With magic, I could find a way out and rescue Blair and myself.
Preston had counted on me being weak and terrified, but he had misjudged me. I wasn’t cowered. I didn’t need him or anyone else.
Another pair of trees rose and lumbered closer, one on either side, pressing in on me.
The frozen spring cracked. I focused on Preston, determined to do anything to get him out of the way. I opened my hand, and an icicle appeared in it, forming from the moisture in the air.
With a horrendous crash, the trees closed in. Instinctively, I clasped my ice dagger harder and darted forward at Preston. I needed to incapacitate him to bring the trees to a stop, to jump out of the portal.
The prince’s mouth widened in shock, and he went to dodge it, but it was too late. I plunged the icicle into his throat, not thinking clearly, just knowing that I needed him out of the way.
Academy of Magic Collection Page 45
