Royals of Villain Academy 6: Foul Conjuring

by Eva Chase

  Foul Conjuring

  Book 6 in the Royals of Villain Academy series

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner without the express written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  First Digital Edition, 2019

  Copyright © 2019 Eva Chase

  Cover design: Christian Bentulan, Covers by Christian

  Ebook ISBN: 978-1-989096-52-9

  Paperback ISBN: 978-1-989096-53-6

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Free Book!

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Next in the Royals of Villain Academy series

  Magic Waking excerpt

  About the Author

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  Chapter One

  Rory

  My first step onto the university green held the promise of a perfect day—or near-perfect, anyway. The midday sun beamed down from the clear sky with more warmth than you could usually expect in upstate New York at the beginning of fall. A fresh leafy scent carried on the light breeze. The students ambling across the lawn between Bloodstone University’s three primary buildings chatted with each other in upbeat voices.

  I drank in all that and the presence of the guys around me: three of my fellow scions, who’d stood by me through an awful lot here at the school more accurately known as Villain Academy. Who’d become much more than colleagues or even friends. I hadn’t exactly gotten an easy time of it since I’d discovered my heritage as heir to one of dark magic society’s ruling families and been whisked away from my former home, but this day with them could be a brief respite.

  My birth mother, Baron Bloodstone, long-lost and until recently presumed dead, wouldn’t be woken from her medical treatment until tomorrow at the earliest. Then, the four of us—and the fifth scion we were heading over to the garage to meet—would find out what her return meant for our alliance against most of the current barons. Right now, I wanted to enjoy the momentary peace while we had it.

  “Do you really think Connar’s parents could have talked him into joining a tournament?” I asked. That was the official story the Stormhurst scion had offered for his absence from campus, but the other guys had seemed puzzled by it. Connar might look the part of a fighter, all chiseled features and brawn—and if anyone threatened his friends, he could act the part too—but I’d discovered how much gentleness lay beneath that front.

  A grimace crossed Malcolm’s divinely handsome face. I’d clashed with the heir of Nightwood and self-appointed king of the scions in pretty extreme ways when I’d first gotten to campus, but over the last couple months we’d moved from tentative understanding to what was becoming a deeper affection.

  “If I’d been here, I probably could have pulled some strings to get him out of it,” he said, running his hand over his cropped golden-brown curls. “That’s what I’ve usually done in the past. Easier than him trying to explain to everyone why he doesn’t want to jump into a bunch of competitive magical brawls.”

  Declan, the Ashgrave scion and the only one of us currently close to full baron, tipped his head in acknowledgment. The breeze ruffled his smooth black hair. “Especially with the tensions still lingering after your hearing, Rory, he might have figured he was better off going along with their demands this once rather than rocking the boat even more.”

  Just a few weeks ago, I’d been framed for murder and forced to pull out all the stops to prove my innocence. The other scions had spoken on my behalf at the hearing, to most of their parents’ dismay, considering the Barons Nightwood, Stormhurst, and Killbrook had been behind the plot in the first place. Connar had convinced his mother that he was playing a long game so he could get inside information from me and manipulate me, but who knew how long he could deceive the Stormhurst baron?

  “He might not have enjoyed himself, but I’ll bet any mages he went up against had a much worse time than he did,” Jude said with a cheeky grin. The supposed Killbrook scion tended to treat most things as a joke, but his careless demeanor covered up an awful family secret—one he hadn’t yet dared to reveal to anyone but me. When he caught me studying his expression, he shot a softer smile my way and clasped his slender hand around mine.

  I squeezed his fingers in return. Jude and Connar were the only two in our… unusual arrangement that I was openly dating. If Connar was feeling low after whatever he’d been drawn into, I could hope that seeing I’d made it back from my own trip across the country would lighten his spirits. I could kiss him hello right here on the green without needing to worry about who saw.

  Inspiration sparked in the back of my head. “What plans do you all have for the rest of the day? After the month I’ve been through, I can probably get away with skipping my afternoon seminar. We could get away, just the five of us, for a little bit—cheer Connar up, regroup…”

  “As always, I like the way you think,” Jude said with a glint in his dark green eyes. “I’m sure I can finagle my way out of any supposed responsibilities for the next few hours at least.”

  “Saying there’s scion business we need to attend to can excuse a lot,” Malcolm put in. “I wouldn’t mind a day off that’s actually off.” He’d joined me and the squad of blacksuits that had gone down to California to rescue my mother from her captors. Despite the fancy hotel we’d stayed in, the trip had been far from a vacation for any of us.

  “My classes are finished for the day, and anything else on my plate I can postpone.” Declan aimed his bright hazel gaze at me. “Did you have anywhere in particular in mind?”

  I paused to consider that question just before we reached Killbrook Hall, the main building at the front of the campus. I hadn’t had the opportunity to do much exploring beyond the university and the small town just down the road. My family’s nearby country property offered a certain amount of privacy, at least until my mother was up and about again, but two hours’ drive was still a bit of a hike.

  The guys had all attended the university for years longer than I had. I was about to ask what they’d suggest when the school headmistress, Ms. Grimsworth, came out of Killbrook Hall leading a group of at least a dozen students. From their wide-eyed glances at the buildings around them, these were newcomers. That would have been strange on its own, considering that the mages who attended the college usually arrived individually at random times during their fifteenth year, as soon as their magical powers first appeared. What was really odd, though, was the gold leaf-shaped pins gleaming by all of the newcomers’ shirt collars.

  They weren’t just new students—they were Nary students.
Short for “ordinary,” or as my adoptive mother had liked to say, “Nary a bit of magic,” the Naries were an expected presence at Blood U, but only in small numbers. The university invited them as scholarship students to a few special programs, partly to help the rest of us practice keeping our magic concealed in the company of non-mages and partly to give us easy targets for stirring up the emotion that powered that magic: fear.

  Because of the second factor, the Nary students didn’t tend to be treated all that well by my fellow students. I’d stepped in to protect my friend and dormmate Shelby from various sorts of bullying more than once. Seeing a whole bunch more unknowing innocents brought in for the fearmancer students’ use made my skin crawl.

  Ms. Grimsworth didn’t look all that happy about the situation either. Her thin lips were tight and her posture stiff inside her fitted dress suit as she gestured to Nightwood Tower in what I guessed was a campus tour.

  “What’s going on?” I asked the guys, keeping my voice low. “Why are they bringing in so many new Nary students all of a sudden?” The usual number had arrived at the beginning of September when the regular school term began.

  Declan frowned. “I don’t know. No one mentioned it to me—but then, I’m not on staff anymore, so I wouldn’t necessarily have expected them to.” He’d stepped down from his position as teacher’s aide a couple weeks ago.

  Malcolm shot Jude a questioning look, having been out of the loop for the last couple days just as much as I’d been. The other guy held up his hand in a gesture of bewilderment. “Beats me. I haven’t heard anyone talking about a change in policy.” His grin had faltered. “They’ve got no idea what they’re in for, do they?”

  We were distracted from any further speculation by a well-built figure coming into view around the side of the hall. Connar walked toward the green with his usual muscular stride. A smile sprang to my lips. We all moved to meet him, my eager anticipation of the reunion carrying me to the front of the pack.

  As I slipped past Malcolm and started to form a greeting, the Stormhurst scion’s gaze settled on me. He halted in his tracks, his light blue eyes so icy cold that my mouth snapped shut and my legs locked.

  The other guys stopped around me, glancing from him to me and back again, clearly picking up on the unexpected tension.

  “Conn,” Malcolm said in his usual confident tone. “What—”

  Connar cut him off. “You’re still letting her string you along.”

  His voice was even chillier than his expression. The bottom of my stomach dropped out. My lips parted, but I couldn’t summon any words that seemed adequate.

  Who else could he mean by “her” but me? But… why the hell would he talk about me like that? It jarred against everything we’d been through together, all the tenderness he’d shown me. Even the one time months ago when he’d torn into me to prove his loyalty to Malcolm, he hadn’t looked at me like that.

  Declan stepped forward, his forehead furrowing. “Connar, what’s going on? Where have you been?”

  Connar drew back a step. His whole body had gone rigid. “There’s no point in talking to you while she’s here. Can’t you see how she’s taking over everything?”

  Jude cocked his head. “I don’t know, buddy. If anyone has been taken over around here, I’m starting to think it’s you.” His usual teasing tone had taken on a nervous edge.

  Connar scoffed. “Of course you’d say that.”

  None of this made any sense. None of this was right. I forced myself to move toward him, my hands open and empty at my sides. “Connar, this isn’t you. You know me.”

  “You don’t know a fucking thing about me,” he snapped, recoiling even farther. “Stay the hell away.”

  He swerved around us to march toward the senior dorms, leaving those last words ringing in the air. They’d punched a hole straight through my heart. For a few seconds as I watched him stalk away, I couldn’t catch my breath.

  “Fuck,” Malcolm muttered, his expression dark. He looked as if he was about to say more, but then his gaze skimmed the green around us, and his jaw tensed.

  We had an audience. The gaggle of Naries hadn’t paid us much mind, not knowing we were anyone all that important anyway, but the fearmancer students who’d been out on the green had turned our way with expressions both wary and curious.

  A public dispute between scions didn’t happen very often. And after the supposed murder not everyone was convinced I’d deserved to be cleared of, any hostility toward me was going to draw extra interest.

  Declan glanced toward Ashgrave Hall, which held our private scion lounge in the basement, but considering that was the building Connar had just disappeared into, he must have decided it wasn’t the best venue for a conversation. He motioned for us to follow him between the buildings onto the wilder field between them and the forest that ringed the campus on three sides.

  We stopped in the middle of an open grassy area where we could easily see all around, not close enough to any buildings to have to worry about eavesdroppers there. Without any prompting, Malcolm intoned a casting word with a flick of his hand. A quiver of magic touched my skin. He’d cast some kind of privacy bubble around us for extra protection against being overheard.

  “He’s obviously not in his right mind,” he said the second he’d finished the spell. “I’ve never seen Conn act like that, even when he’s angry. And what the hell could he have to be angry with Rory about when she hasn’t even been here in days?”

  Jude folded his arms over his lean chest. “I suppose we’re assuming at this point that whatever his mom roped him into, it wasn’t any tournament.”

  Declan shook his head. “It can’t have been that. She’s got him in the grips of some kind of spell—persuasive, probably—and sent him back to mess with Rory. Maybe she figured out he was lying about being on his parents’ side and decided to force him into loyalty.”

  “Or she threatened him with something that made him feel he has to pretend he hates me,” I said hesitantly. There hadn’t been any magic involved when he’d turned on me before for Malcolm’s sake.

  Declan looked at me. “Do you really think he could bring himself to talk that way to you, no matter what she said? I didn’t get the sense he was conflicted about it.”

  My head drooped. The perfect day around me had dulled. It was hard to focus on anything except the ache in my chest, twice as searing as it’d been before. I’d lost my familiar during our attempts to free my mother. That had been painful enough. If I’d lost Connar too…

  I’d known I’d lose him eventually. Of all the scions, he had the least choice when it came to his future life partner. He was the only remaining heir of Stormhurst, so there was no way he could leave that role behind to become a Bloodstone, which would be required of any man I married since I was a sole heir too. But I hadn’t expected the separation to happen like this.

  “I’m not sure,” I said. “I wouldn’t have thought so, but… You’ve all known him a lot longer than I have.”

  “Connar’s capable of a lot, but he’s no master of deception,” Malcolm said. “And I’ve seen how the guy feels about you. There’s no way that was him. It’s got to be magically induced.”

  The Nightwood scion hadn’t been all that keen on the idea of sharing my affection with the other guys in the first place, so the vehemence with which he’d defended Connar reassured me. “What do we do about it, then? Can we counteract the spell?” A spell cast by a baron was going to be pretty potent, even if the Stormhursts’ primary strength wasn’t persuasion.

  Declan rubbed his mouth. “We’d need to determine exactly what the spell is and have at least some cooperation from him while we worked at unraveling it, which might not be a quick process. I’m not sure how likely he is to cooperate with anything we suggest at the moment.”

  “It can’t last forever.” Jude clapped Malcolm on the arm. “Even Mr. Persuasion here can’t make a command stick for days on end. His parents got their little revenge and shook us up,
embarrassed Rory in front of the other students, but once it’s worn off, he should be his regular self again.”

  “Unless they’ve implemented one of the various methods for extending a spell’s impact,” Declan said. “But for now, it might be best if we give him his space and see if he comes out of it on his own. Pushing some kind of immediate intervention on him could make things even worse.”

  I definitely had no desire to face Connar and his sudden frostiness all over again if I could help it. But if he needed more help than that, I wasn’t going to abandon him either. “We’ll check on him in the morning, then?”

  Malcolm’s mouth twisted as if he disliked the idea of letting Connar’s parents get away with their gambit even that long, but he nodded. “That’s a fair plan.” His tone turned softer as his gaze caught mine. “Looks like we’ll have to wait on that group getaway.”

  “Well, maybe tomorrow,” I said with as much optimism as I could dredge up, which to be honest wasn’t a lot. Worry sat heavy in my gut, and there was nothing I could do except wait to find out how much more worried I needed to be.

  Chapter Two

  Rory

  In the parking lot, I got out of my Lexus and hesitated with my hand on the door. After Lillian Ravenguard, a senior officer in the fearmancer law enforcement ranks and one of my mother’s closest friends, had called this morning, I’d driven to the blacksuits’ main building of operations as fast as I could. But something about the shape of it looming over me made the situation so much more real.