Deadly Truth

by Laney Powell

“I’m all ears, but first, what did you say?”

  “I said, you are mine. But it also means, I am yours,” he said, grinning a little sheepishly.

  I kissed him. “You’re right. Now tell me a story.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Caspian

  How do I explain this to her, to the woman who has haunted my dreams since I saw her? But even before that, she haunted me. She just didn’t have a face until I saw Olivia Washington.

  “Most fae don’t come to your schools,” I began. “But some of us must, because to ignore the rest of the supernatural world is the thing that ends up with many fae dead and injured.”

  “That’s horrible,” Olivia said, her hand tracing designs on my chest.

  I could feel my cock stirring once more, but I shoved those thoughts aside. This was important. I’d hoped to have more time before I shared this with her, but I’d been ready to share it once I realized who she was.

  “My family are not the main leader of the fae, but my father and his brothers lead our clan, and they are part of the Council of Light, the ruling council of the light fae.”

  “Is there one for dark fae?” Olivia asked.

  “Yes, and the two councils meet regularly together, in order to make sure that balance is maintained. They’re not the focus here. It was maybe a year ago?” I had to think about it. “It was before I came to Nobledark. I was at a moon fair and walking with Selyria.”

  “Who is Selyria?” Olivia asked.

  “She was the girl I’d grown up with, the girl my family expected me to marry.”

  “You’re engaged?” Olivia sat up.

  “No, I am not. If I were, I would not be here with you,” I said, kissing her. “I promise you that, Olivia.”

  She glared at me for a moment and then relaxed. I continued stroking her hair. The fae tend to prefer long hair, in both males and females, and hers came down to her waist. It was dark, with bluish highlights. I’d studied her hair for ages, since I couldn’t look at her. Her hair was glorious.

  “Okay. Continue,” she said.

  I took a moment, remembering that day.

  “As we walked among the stalls, a hand reached out and grabbed me. It was an older woman, one of our seers, and she pulled me close to her,” I said, remembering.

  “Beware the one who holds your heart,” the woman said in a clear, high voice. “For true love is costly.”

  “I beg your pardon?” I looked down at her, wondering who this woman was.

  Next to me, Selyria stopped and smiled. I couldn’t tell if she’d heard.

  “When you allow true love in, it gives freely, but it comes at a cost,” the woman continued. She looked at me, but her eyes were seeing far beyond me. “It is a rare gift to have that sort of love without giving up all else.”

  I knew Selyria had heard the last bit. She moved closer to me, her fingers tightening on my arm.

  “True love forces us to look within, to see what is valuable, and what is not. To cast aside that which holds no real value. To fight for the things that are worth it,” the seer continued.

  I could feel a thread of sweat between my shoulder blades.

  Selyria giggled. “How sweet,” she said. “Don’t you think, Caspian?”

  “Of course,” I said.

  We stood next to the seer for a few moments more, but she let go of my arm and closed her eyes, turning her face away.

  Seeing was not easy. It took a toll on those with the gift. She was done.

  Selyria and I were ready to move on, Selyria’s color heightened and her eyes bright. I knew that she thought the seer referred to us.

  “He won’t have to choose a thing,” Selyria said, directing her words toward the seer. “Caspian has it all. Everything he could want.” She hugged my arm.

  The woman glanced over at Selyria, petite and beautiful, her blond hair gleaming in the early moon’s light. “There is always a choice, boy. A choice between light and dark, easy and challenging.”

  “Caspian has chosen the light,” Selyria said, smiling broadly. “Come, Caspian, there’s more to see.”

  I also knew that there was no love for Selyria from me. So why had the seer sought me out? I had to go back to her, alone. We had a seer within our clan, but this seer was the one who’d stopped me and shared her vision.

  Later in the day, when the crowds had thinned, I was able to return. She looked up as I approached.

  “The seeker of true love,” she said as I came closer.

  “I don’t know that,” I said. “What did you mean?”

  “You are both blessed and cursed, young man,” she replied. “You will come to a crossroads. One offers true love, but as I cautioned you, nothing is ever free. There is a cost for all that we choose.”

  “Who is this person?” I asked. There was no one I knew that brought out such feelings in me.

  “You will know. You will know what it is to love truly, madly, deeply. And it comes at a price. You can choose to accept it when offered. Or you can let it go and continue with the life you have made. You always have the choice,” she said, her voice softening for the first time. “But it will not be easy. That worth having is a double-edged sword. You will have everything, all that you dream of,” she peered at me then.

  I took a step back. It was as though she could see within my soul, see my longings.

  “The light and dark roads may not be what you think,” she said suddenly.

  “How can I know?” I asked, feeling like I might be going mad. “How can I know the right path when I don’t know all the facts!”

  “I do not control the sight,” the woman said. “The oracle speaks through me as it chooses. All I will tell you is that you must keep your eyes open, and when the choice is before you, you will know.” She patted my hand like that answered anything, and got up, moving to the back of her tent.

  “I looked at everything for the next year,” I said, turning to kiss Olivia’s dark, shining head. “But nothing presented itself. Then I came here, and I continued to look. After the first term, I saw you. Your hair was gleaming under a soft light, and you were like the beauty of the night come to life.” I closed my eyes, remembering. “I knew, then, what the seer had told me was true.”

  “How?” Olivia asked.

  “Selyria has golden blond hair. She is like a summer’s day, light and airy. You are dark, with shadows and secrets, a creature of the night.”

  She laughed softly. “That’s how I think of you. It’s what you smell like.”

  “What?” I asked, not understanding.

  “If moonlight, or silver, if they had a smell, it would be like you. Cool, smelling of the forest after the rain.”

  It was the sort of thing a fae would say. And I knew, right then, that I’d taken the dark path, and it was the right one.

  Now I only had to pay the cost.

  I would pay whatever was asked of me.

  Chapter Twenty

  Olivia

  Over the next week, we worked on the spell in every spare moment. Or should I say, the spells? Figuring out how to call up the hellway was as much of a pain in the ass as trying to get rid of it.

  Two nights after Caspian and I were together, Marbys came to me in a dream. He sat in the reddish room where I’d first seen him, when he first demanded that I find the Persephone’s Blood stone for him.

  “Why do you fight, daughter?” he asked, leaning his chin on his hand. “You are smart, I will allow. It makes sense as you are my kin. But I am stronger, and I will always be stronger.” He looked calm, but one finger on his other hand tapped lightly against his leg.

  “I will never stop fighting you,” I said.

  “What would you be without your men?” he sneered the last word. “You are nothing without them.”

  “I guess the being nice part of this is over?” I asked.

  “You will not defeat me,” he said.

  “How about we just wait and see?” I replied.

  The dream ended,
and I woke up with a raging headache that morning.

  “He’s scared,” I told the guys when I went to the secret lair book room before dinner.

  “Why would you say that?” Jake asked.

  “Because he is. I can tell.”

  “I’ll take your word for it, but I’ll continue to plan like we’re going to get our asses kicked,” Silas said.

  “Okay, but don’t forget we’re scaring him. That’s a weapon,” I said.

  I’d kept Iliana up to date, and she wanted to be here, but Madame Karathos and I were worried about the members of the Concilium who were still here. No one had disappeared in the last two weeks. I wished they would just go home.

  Worse, Councilor Tennyson seemed to be a permanent fixture. After we started working on the spell in earnest, I saw her with Wendi at odd times. I kept my word to Madame Karathos and stayed clear of both of them. The last thing I needed was someone like either of them to get in the way.

  “I think we have it,” Matty said one evening.

  “What?” I looked up from what I was reading.

  “This,” he pushed the paper he was writing on toward the middle of the table. “I think this is it.”

  Silas and Caspian both reached for it. Caspian got it first. He looked it over, then handed it to Silas. After Silas read it, he passed it to Jake. Jake nodded and gave it to me.

  “It’s one spell,” I said, reading through it.

  “Yes. We’ve been looking at this with two spells. I keep coming up against the idea that we have to cast and sustain two extremely demanding spells. Last night, I was thinking about, and wondered if we could do it with one.”

  “I’m not sure this is any less demanding,” I said.

  “No, but it’s a more focused spell. It’s one spell, versus two.” Matty said.

  “It’s a good idea,” I said. “Can I run this by Madame Karathos? She’s better than the rest of us.”

  “You’re the one who freed the girl,” Jake said.

  “Demon,” I rolled my eyes. “She didn’t have the necessary demon element.”

  “I’d feel better if we had someone else look at it,” Caspian said. “We’ve all been up to our ears in this for days. I don’t want to miss anything.”

  “We’ll only get one chance,” I agreed with him.

  I copied down the spell and hurried from the room in search of Madame Karathos. I knocked on her office door, having made it in record time across the school.

  “Enter,” I heard her call out.

  I burst in. “Madame Karathos, I think—” I stopped.

  The room was full of Councilors, including Councilor Tennyson.

  “Yes?” Councilor Dandros said. “How can we help you?”

  “Actually, I wanted to check my work with Madame Karathos,” I said.

  “You tutor students?” Councilor Tennyson asked. Her question sounded innocent, but I knew it was anything but. The blackness, the anger, that I’d seen on her before was still there. Right now, it was flaring up like a dark halo around her. I really didn’t like that both the Tennyson women had colored halos when I looked at them. That was something I’d have to look into. Later, when my to do list wasn’t overflowing with demon problems.

  “I do,” Madame Karathos said easily, as though there weren’t threats flying all over the place. “However, this is not the best time for schoolwork,” she directed that at me.

  “What are you working on?” Councilor Dandros asked, taking a step toward me.

  “A repelling spell using my water element,” I said, making it up on the fly. “I only recently came into water as my strength. I’ve had to use all the elements for quite a while, so the transition has been… challenging,” I said. I tried to look helpless.

  Councilor Dandros clapped his hands together, laughing a little. “That is challenging,” he said. “And you are fortunate that Madame Karathos is willing to give you her time,” he looked around at the other Councilors.

  Councilor Tennyson crossed her arms as she rolled her eyes, not even bothering to hide her disdain. The rest smiled or nodded to some degree.

  “I’ll come back when you’re not busy,” I said to Madame Karathos.

  “That would be for the best,” Councilor Dandros said.

  I wondered if he was going to pat me on the head. He seemed like that kind of guy.

  “Okay, well, sorry for interrupting,” I said, trying to keep up the awkward student thing. I escaped out of the large wooden door, and when it was closed, collapsed against the wall next to it for a moment.

  Goddess above, that was close. I shoved the piece of paper in my pocket. I didn’t know what to do. We needed her to look at it.

  But I was on the radar with the Councilors here, and the danger in that room was clear.

  “Damn it,” I muttered. I walked toward the dining hall. I needed to act normal. Be normal.

  As I entered, I could see Jade and Thalia with Levi and Marcus. They were all laughing, and they all looked happy.

  “Where’s your little group?” I heard behind me.

  Oh, for fuck’s sake. I turned to see Wendi damn Tennyson behind me.

  “Nothing about me is your business,” I said calmly.

  “I haven’t seen them around,” she continued as though I hadn’t spoken. “Have they all finally wised up to the fact that you’re playing them? Using one to make the other work harder?”

  “Is that what you think?” I asked.

  “I don’t understand why none of them see through your crap,” she said. She gazed off at something only she could see, and then her attention snapped back to me. “But they will see it. Everyone will see it. And you’ll be back with the trash where you belong.”

  “Okay,” I said. I was starting to wonder if Wendi had lost the plot a bit. Because this was crazy talk.

  “You’re warned,” she said.

  “Consider me warned,” I said. I could see an orangish glow to her thoughts, and I had no idea what that meant. There was no trace of the sickly green fear I’d seen before, and that made me really nervous.

  Wendi nodded like we’d solved something and walked away. I watched her for a moment and then hurried to eat with my friends.

  While I sat with them, I tried to act like nothing was happening, but I could barely sit still. Something was wrong, off. I wanted to go right back to the library, but I felt like too many eyes were on me. I couldn’t risk it.

  This level of helplessness made me crazy.

  I walked back to the pod with Jade and Thalia, deciding that I’d wait for darkness before going back to the library.

  Thalia invited me to hang out with her, but I declined. I closed my door and tossed myself on the bed, pulling out the spell from my back pocket. It still looked good, looked legit, but this twitchy, uneasy feeling that wouldn’t go away made me nervous as hell.

  Despite everything weighing on me, I fell asleep. My dreams were full of dark red smoke, and when I woke, it was as though someone had screamed ‘danger’ right in my ear.

  What was it? Was this why I’d been twitchy all night? I listened, but the quiet was absolute. All I could hear was my own breathing.

  But something was wrong. What was it?

  Before I knew it, I was on my feet, putting on my shoes. I’d already opened my door and walked out into the hallway.

  The silence in my head burst into yelling.

  Holy shit. It was happening.

  He was here.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Olivia

  I hauled ass toward the library. Even before I got there, I could feel the pull of the hellway. They’d opened it. Why had they done it now? We’d agreed to wait.

  Something wasn’t right. As I got closer, I could feel the pull strengthen, like in a major way. The hellway was growing, getting stronger.

  What in the name of all the hells?

  I crouched down, carefully opening the door and easing in. The woman at the desk didn’t look up. In fact, she didn’t mov
e at all. She was frozen, her hand paused in the act of turning a page in a book.

  What was going on?

  I moved further into the library, toward where I could feel the hellway. I could hear something, a drone of noise, and I walked carefully, looking left and right.

  Please, goddess, don’t let the Concilium members catch me.

  The hellway was as I remembered. Dark with reddish undertones, a glow rising up from the floor. Marbys really needed a new decorating scheme. This was getting boring.

  I rounded a row of bookshelves and found what I was looking for.

  Marbys.

  His back was to me, and when he turned around, his arms were crossed and his expression pleasant. “Daughter, I’m pleased you heard my call.”

  “That was you?” I asked.

  “You are my blood. You will always hear me,” he said, turning back to whatever he was watching.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I told you, if you don’t come to me, I will keep taking others until you do. I think I might have finally found what it takes to persuade you,” he nodded.

  Stepping next to him, I saw them. All four of them—Caspian, Jake, Silas, and Matty. They were standing side by side, hands clasped and all four of them were chanting. A reddish light, bright and thin, surrounded them.

  “What are you doing?” I whirled on him.

  “I’m not doing a thing,” Marbys shrugged. “I slowed down time, so that we can conclude our business uninterrupted. These humans are tiresome with their meddling. But your human men—they found a way to open the hellway, bring it here. I just,” he smiled, “Expanded on the spell.”

  “What have you done?” I asked.

  “You will come with me, no matter how many of the rest of these,” he gestured dismissively at my guys, “I have to bring along. They’ll die soon enough,” he shrugged.

  “You can’t do this,” I whispered.

  “I can, and I will,” he looked at me, smiling like he wasn’t talking about the death of the four most important people in my world. “Unless you choose to save them.”