by Brea Viragh
I swallowed hard. Whatever shred of hope I’d been clinging to, whatever foolish optimism about this plan actually working began to shrivel.
This changed nothing, I tried to tell myself, tucking away my fear. I still needed to escape Kendrick. This was nothing but a tiny bump in the road.
Why did I have trouble believing in myself?
A pair of headlights cut through the blackness, slowing when they saw me, although I almost missed them with the overhead light on. I flipped the light off, torn once again between wanting the help and not wanting a stranger to come up and find me in a compromised position.
I didn’t want to let the wolf out. I couldn’t, or else I’d draw any nearby werewolves to me with my scent.
The vehicle ended up pulling over behind the Toyota. I stilled, hoping it was a police car of some sort. And not a serial killer looking for his next victim.
Maybe I’d overestimated my abilities to handle things on my own.
“Hey, are you okay?”
I cracked the window just enough to hear the stranger but not enough for him to stick his arm inside. I didn’t see much beyond a flash of blond hair and tanned skin. It was enough for me to know to keep my guard high. “Not really,” I told the stranger. “The car won’t start and I don’t have any cell service.”
The guy ducked down until we were at eye level. I stared at him for the longest time, willing my jaw to get back in its usual place after it dropped, my heart thudding once, twice. The guy was gorgeous. Had I somehow broken down in an alternate dimension? My luck wasn’t good enough for this kind of thing to happen. Men who looked like him only existed in fairy tales.
My suspicion rose.
He wasn’t conventionally handsome, I realized the more I stared at him, not like the kind of guys who graced magazine covers. His nose was a tiny bit too long and his face too narrow for him to fit into any box. But he had intense green eyes and shiny golden hair, ruffled around his face with the night breeze. My age or thereabouts. Some innate female instinct told me he would be a good kisser, and when he looked at me, that’s all I thought about.
The suspicion rose higher to choke me. A seductive serial killer would be just my luck.
The guy had asked me a question, and I shook my head, not hearing him. “What?”
“I asked where you’re headed,” he repeated.
I kept the window up although it offered little protection if Mr. Gorgeous wanted to punch his way through it. He had the muscle to do it. “I wanted to get to a motel. I think there’s one just down the road but the old girl decided to give out on me. She just won’t start.”
“How long have you been out here?”
Should I tell him the truth? “Long enough,” I answered vaguely.
“Well, let me give you a lift,” the guy offered. He glanced ahead at the dark road leading forward. “I’m headed there anyway. Might as well help a damsel in distress.”
“I’m no man’s damsel.” The in distress part, on the other hand…
I knew better than to get into a random person’s car. If I had to wolf out and eat him, then I could, but it was a last resort for a no-win situation. Even if he was handsome as sin. Even if part of me did draw toward him wanting to be touched.
I trusted my instincts and I didn’t get a bad feeling from him so…good thing? That in itself gave me pause.
“Look, you can wait here for someone else if you want. I doubt you’ll get a better offer than this, and I can promise you you’ll arrive at your motel in the same state I found you.” He held his hands out in front of him to show me his sincerity. “I’m not gong to hurt you. I promise.”
I debated it for approximately four seconds before agreeing. I didn’t want to sit on the side of the road any longer. “Um, sure,” I said. “Thank you. I appreciate the help.”
“Are you moving?” He pointed to the luggage in the back.
I shrugged. “Maybe. Going far enough from home I needed to pack my bags.” Yeah, sorry guy. You might be good-looking but I wasn’t going to tell you everything.
I stepped out of the car and stood next to him. He looked younger up close, his face unlined and putting him much closer to my age—or at least what I could see of his face in the darkness looked young. He stood about eight inches taller, the gap between us enough he had to look down at me.
Then his face broke into a smile. My brain turned to mush.
Hubba hubba.
“You look like you’re school-age,” he said in an echo of my inner sentiment. “Are you taking classes somewhere? An academy, perhaps?”
My head snapped up, chest tightening as alarm bells clanged. There was no way he could possibly know. “What do you mean?”
His eyes didn’t leave my face. “It was an honest question.”
At least he didn’t try to call me any pet names. Score one for the handsome stranger.
His nose, cheeks, and brow were sculpted and sharp, jaw strong and lips plump. The dark green shirt he wore was plain and tight enough to stretch across a broad chest, echoing the color of his eyes. The light gold of his hair reflected the moonlight and through the strands I saw the delicate point of his arched ears.
Oh my.
He didn’t bother to hide them from me. My heart beat so fast I thought I would lose my dinner. “You’re Fae.” Yes, it made sense. No human looked supernaturally beautiful or could draw me to him so easily.
I tried not to consider what this meant. And definitely tried not to look too hard at him.
The gold-haired boy cracked another smile, wider this time. “I wondered when you’d figure it out. You’re Fae, too. I noticed the moment you opened the window, sensing a little zip of magic when I looked at you. Which makes my question about the academy a little easier to handle, right? Makes me seem a little less like a jerk?”
I inched closer to the car, letting the metal of the door cool my suddenly overheated skin. He’d sensed the Fae in me immediately. What did it mean for me? Would he be able to sense the shifter part easily, too? I’d need to be careful going forward. But the motel was close. I could make it through a short ride.
“My name is Tavi,” I supplied, holding out a hand for him to take.
“Michael. But you can call me Mike.” He took my hand in a firm shake that thankfully did not move worlds. Although it held potential. “Let’s get your things out of the car and deliver you to the motel. It’s not safe for you out here.”
I huffed a laugh. “I like to think I can take care of myself.”
His strange green eyes pinned me in place as if he could detect every move I made, every muscle in my body tense and primed to fight. “Of course you can, but it doesn’t mean I can’t offer to help you,” he said with another flash of teeth. “Especially considering I’m heading to the academy, too.”
“You are?” I blinked at him, trying to put two and two together and coming up short. I blamed it on the lack of sleep and too many days of worry.
“It’s my first semester,” Mike stated easily as he gestured for me to follow him. “Please don’t think less of me when I admit I’m a little nervous about it. I’ve never been to a school like this before. It’s going to be a new experience.”
He was heading to the Halflings Academy as well. Which meant he was my…my competition. With spaces limited, a girl had to look out for herself.
“I’m nervous too,” I told him.
“But are you as nervous as I am?”
“Probably more so.” I watched him move to the backseat, lug my suitcase and duffel bag out of the Toyota and drag everything to his own vehicle parked several feet behind. He had more than enough room for both of our stuff.
“Oh, doubtful,” he said with a laugh. I could tell he wanted to put me at ease and appreciated the kindness. I only hoped it wouldn’t turn around to bite me in the ass.
“You don’t seem to have a lot packed,” I commented.
Mike swung around to stare at his own luggage, mouth quirked. “Well, dudes d
on’t have quite as much as girls. Plus, I travel light. I find it’s easier for me to pick up and leave if I don’t have too many things weighing me down. You know?”
He turned back to me and my cheeks heated even as I let out a tight breath. “It makes sense.” I was in the same boat, yet I’d managed to bring almost double what Mike had.
He finished adding my luggage to his own and slid behind the wheel. I took the passenger seat, noting the spotless interior, the clean dashboard, and the tiny bag of herbs hanging from the rearview mirror. I drew in a breath and caught the scent of lavender and rosemary then clicked my seatbelt into place.
It must be a Fae thing. I had a lot to learn.
“Hey, I’m not going to bite. You don’t have to worry so much.” Mike flashed me a grin with white teeth gleaming in a way that almost suggested otherwise. Or maybe it was just my imagination but my insides prickled, and not in a bad way.
“I appreciate your stopping to help me,” I said as he pulled the car away from the side of the road.
“No problem. Once we get settled in, I can help you call someone to take care of your car, although I don’t think anyone is going to bother it. It’s old enough to dissuade any would-be thief.”
I waved the comment away. “Don’t even worry about it. I’m not. There are other things for me to focus on than your old car.”
Mike had been respectful enough of me and my boundaries to lead me to believe he was a nice person. Still, I had to be careful and watch every step.
“You know, I’m thinking…you don’t need to stay at a motel. The academy will let us in tonight if you want.”
I swallowed. “Tonight?” I thought I’d have enough time to settle myself, to figure things out before getting to the school in the morning.
This put me in a tenuous mental position.
“Yup, no need to stop,” he said with a quick glance in my direction. “Besides, then you won’t have to pay for a taxi to get you there in the morning. We can get there in less than an hour, if you’re ready.”
No. I didn’t feel one bit ready. I forced a grin anyway.
“Okay, fine. Bring it on.”
10
I’d made a mistake. I’d gambled and ended up in a car with a serial killer.
My thoughts circled down a dark drain until my anxiety spiked. Binge-watching too many true crime documentaries made me leery of Mike to the point where I kept one hand on the door ready to jump for the first ten miles of our trip. Especially considering I’d just agreed to let him drive us the whole way instead of dropping me off.
An hour in the car with Mike… I glanced over at him. Please don’t kill me.
There were some handsome serial killers out there, though.
He drove the rest of the way to the campus with light conversation and banter between us. I didn’t realize how close I’d truly been to the school when my car decided to break down.
“Are you a member of one of the courts?” I asked him cautiously. I knew about the courts, at least. Faerie was divided into Seelie and Unseelie, one considered dark and the other light. Then I remembered what Elfwaite had told me about shades of gray and wondered again where Mike fit into the picture.
He shook his head until strands of gold obscured the side of his face. “No, I’m not a member of any court. My family is older than the courts, older than most of the High Lords and Ladies of Faerie. We try to stay neutral.” Then he stopped as though unwilling to say more.
I chuckled to break up the tension. “And here I thought my family was something because my uncle is a lawyer.”
It wasn’t exactly giving anything away, but it was enough to keep the conversation rolling.
“Hey, being a lawyer is a big deal,” Mike answered with gravity.
“I guess it doesn’t extend to children though, does it?” I joked. “Or any kind of niece or nephew.”
He glanced over, studying me as much as he could without taking his attention from the road. “I don’t know. You seem like something to me.”
Oh, my word, was I flirting with a murderer? I highly doubted my initial impression of Mike was accurate, but still…
Lingering mortification over what I’d said took hold of me and I pressed a hand to my chest. “Well, good,” I replied, trying to ignore my embarrassment. “Nice of you to say.”
At least Mike appeared amused. “You’d have to be something to get the invite to the academy. Never forget.”
“Gotcha. I’ll try not to.” Another glance in his direction. I couldn’t stop looking at him. “Are you looking forward to starting?”
He mumbled some noncommittal response though laughter still danced on his face.
“Ah, the truth comes out! You aren’t excited to start at all. You were right about the nerves.” I started to laugh, the habitual snort airing at the end until I slapped a hand over my mouth to stop it.
He shrugged and shot me a devilish smile. “It’s school, isn’t it? If I told you I was excited for school, you’d think me either a liar or an asshole.”
I bit the inside of my cheek and wondered at the twists and turns the night had taken. We passed the time with conversation flowing from subject to subject without delay.
At last, Mike jerked his head toward the windshield. “Here we are.”
It still didn’t hit home, not really, not even as we drove up to the ancient metal gates with the academy logo welded into the wrought iron, a swirling design I couldn’t quite understand although I saw it clearly, even in the dark.
“We have reached our final destination,” Mike stated with cheerful ease. “The Fae Academy for Halflings and our new home, if we can make it through the probationary period.”
“It doesn’t look like they’re expecting anyone to come in at this hour.” I stared at the gates and felt my insides shift. Too bad I had no clue whether it was good or bad. “Are you sure we’re allowed to be here?”
Great wide tree trunks kept the majority of the place from view. Stars were bright overhead and I thought I saw the rising turrets of the castle through the night. Fifty acres, though…plenty of room to hide the magical occupants.
“Most new students don’t generally arrive past midnight, unless you’re us. I guess we are crazy after all.” Mike pulled to a stop and flipped up the parking brake to keep the car in place. When I lifted my brow in silent inquiry, he continued with, “Don’t worry though, there should always be someone up. I’ll try the intercom. There has to be a night guard on duty who can let us inside.”
The realization hit me like a wave at the beach when my back was turned. Mike slid out of the driver’s seat and I remembered I hadn’t taken my potion yet to hide my wolf shifter nature, and here we stood at the doorstep of the campus.
Dammit.
Thank goodness he hadn’t seen me in direct light. Maybe I should be grateful the conversation kept him distracted, otherwise his magic might have sensed something off about me.
I had to hurry.
“I’m just going to grab something out of my bag,” I called out to Mike, stopping short on the other side of the car.
“Yeah, go ahead. I’m still trying to figure out how to get the gate to open. Do you think the whole campus is protected by magic? It wasn’t part of my reading. They’ve got to have wards in place. Right?”
I had no clue, and ignored this line of questioning.
The case was buried in my large case under the rest of my things. Hands shaking, I pulled at the zipper and tossed my clothes to the side, sparing a look over my shoulder to make sure Mike’s attention remained on the gate.
Hurry.
I had to move fast before he saw me.
I had the lid open, vial in hand, box locked within seconds before I popped the cork. Ducking, I chugged the entire contents in a single gulp. The potion slid down my throat like mud. It stung my tongue, stomach heaving and threatening to toss its contents, gagging.
It was absolutely disgusting. Worse than the most horrible combination of ing
redients my mind could conjure. Maybe Barbara had poisoned me.
But it worked immediately, turning my skin molten and making my eyes water. A wrench of pain jolted through my entire body. Dear God, what had I gotten myself into? My gorge rose and I swallowed hard to keep my insides where they belonged.
I am not going to lose it.
My vision went blurry.
“Hey, Tavi, you okay?”
I am not going to lose it.
I was vaguely aware of Mike circling back around the car to check on me when I didn’t answer him. Wheezing, I tried to wave and get him to walk away, my limbs no longer belonging to me. They were attached, sure, but outside of my control.
“Dizzy spell,” I managed to get out. Please don’t puke. “Go on without me. I need a minute.”
His hands were on my back too close to where my skin rippled. “I’m not going to leave you alone. Are you sure you’re all right? Try to breathe. You’re okay.”
The concern in his voice almost made me lose it for real. Of course, the guy had to be a total knight in shining armor when I needed him to just walk away and not look back.
Cool fingers moved on the back of my neck and Mike helped me to stand upright. The world swam in front of me like I viewed it through the reflection of a funhouse mirror. The back of his hand brushed my forehead.
“Not a dizzy spell,” Mike said. “You feel feverish. You’re burning up!”
“I’m fine.” The insistence came out weak. He was too close to me. Surely, he’d see the way my skin had loosened and morphed. He’d notice something was wrong and report me to the council. I was just the crazy chick he’d picked up on the side of the road.
Shrugging him off, I tried to reach in the backseat and grab my duffel bag and purse. The wheeled luggage I’d have to grab later. If later came for me. I might not survive ingesting the sludge Barbara had made for me.
I slammed the door and winced at the sound, too loud and echoing when it shouldn’t have. Stumbled until I hit the gate.
