by Brenda Trim
Maurelle considered Ryker’s words. He was right. And that only highlighted the fact that she had no idea who she could trust. “Why do you want me to go with you? Can’t you do this on your own?”
Fire blazed in his eyes and he pulled his shoulders back. His height and large stature were intimidating as hell, and nearly made her pee her pants. Instead of showing any weakness, Maurelle held firm and stood there staring back at him.
“I need a lookout, and I don’t trust anyone else to have my back. I know you suspect the same things,” he told her, his expression saying he wouldn’t take no for an answer.
If they were caught, authorities might go after her father next. Was that a risk she should take? If she did nothing there was no way she could protect her sisters once they got to the academy.
When she considered her options and the situation she was in, there was really no choice. “If you get me killed, I will haunt you.”
Ryker turned back to the ocean and chuckled. “Think of it as an adventure, Mari.”
“It’d be safer to stick my head in a boghart’s mouth,” she grumbled.
Without looking at her again, he said, “Meet me here at midnight.”
“I’ll be here,” she promised. With her muffin clutched in her hand, she trotted off to her room before she embarrassed herself anymore with Ryker. She had no idea why he wanted her to go along with him, but it couldn’t possibly be because he found her attractive.
She might regret this, but she wanted to know why the pain of her mother’s death didn’t affect her as much. No way would she back out when she could possibly get an answer to that question.
Chapter Six
Ryker’s heart hammered as sweat beaded on his brow and ran down his spine. This was a colossally stupid idea. There were more guards patrolling the grounds than he anticipated. Was it even possible to slip by unnoticed and head into the Edge?
“Hey.” Ryker jumped and turned at the whispered greeting from Maurelle. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to startle you.”
“I should have been paying better attention. I thought you were a guard,” he admitted.
Maurelle’s brow furrowed as she watched the military force patrol not far from where they were currently hiding in the shadows of the massive stone dormitory. “How are we going to get past them? And, why are soldiers watching the school? Are they protecting us or keeping us inside?”
“I’m not sure,” Ryker murmured. “We are allowed to go home during breaks. No one told me I was forbidden from leaving school grounds.”
“Neither was I, but I was told there was a curfew and that we needed to stay inside our rooms at night,” Maurelle added.
“You don’t have to come with me. I can take the sample to the Peridun,” he offered, surprising himself. The sight of her standing there shaking touched something deep inside that he refused to look at too closely.
Shaking her head, she lifted one corner of her mouth as she met his gaze. Her grey eyes looked stormy as the moonlight glinted off them, but it didn’t detract from her beauty. She was unusual for a female Fae, but that made her more appealing. “I’m going. C’mon. The guards passed us. If we move fast, we can skirt by before they come back.”
“Head to the brambles. We can enter the Edge where they end. It seems to be monitored less often,” he informed her then started walking across the lawn. For a split second, Ryker paused and nearly went back to the dorms. With the moon highlighting their position, he thought they would be spotted right away.
Their steps were quick with Maurelle keeping pace with him. His heart pounded hard the entire way. They’d nearly made it to the dark path by the brambles when they heard shouting.
“Fuck,” he cursed when a guard shouted for them to stop. Ryker didn’t think twice as he grabbed Maurelle’s arm and hauled her behind him. “Hurry,” he hissed.
“Where do we go?” she asked. It was clear by the way her voice warbled that she was frightened. The second they reached the dirty streets of the Edge, Ryker was on familiar ground and was able to navigate much easier.
“Let’s duck into the bar on twentieth street. I know the owner,” he informed Maurelle.
“We’re going into a bar?” she countered, unable to hide the incredulity she felt from seeping through.
“You’ve never been inside a bar before?” Devil’s Bane was more than a bar. It became a second home to Ryker over the past few years. Many saw the dregs of the Fae spending time there, but he knew differently. Brigsby, the owner had taken Ryker under his wing and given him food and ale on many nights when his mother was working late.
“No. I haven’t left home for a couple years now.”
Understanding dawned on Ryker a second later. “You came into your powers early. How have you managed to remain hidden so long?”
Maurelle grimaced and kept looking over their shoulder. The sound of heated voices made Ryker grab her roughly and tug her down an alley, so that they weren’t as exposed. The stench of urine and rotting food had his stomach churning. He swore he heard her gag more than once.
“They might be following us,” he whispered as he pressed his mouth to her ear. The noise didn’t necessarily mean it was the guards, but he wasn’t going to take that chance.
There was a door halfway down the alley and Ryker jumped up the steps pulling Maurelle with him. Because her wings were brighter colors than his, he pressed her back against the closed panel behind her to ensure they remained in the shadows. While her closeness caused all sorts of reactions, the one he focused on was her sweet scent to block out the way the alley reeked.
“I swear I saw them come down this way,” a male voice asserted.
“How do we know they’re students? It could be someone else sneaking onto Academy property,” another male voice countered.
Ryker’s heart raced faster, and he pressed his body into Maurelle’s wishing more than anything at that moment he could make them invisible. Steps continued toward their hiding spot.
Ryker was suddenly torn between the arousal rising at Maurelle’s closeness and his need to ensure they weren’t caught. He hadn’t been at the school long enough to know what would happen if they discovered them off campus, but he had no desire to find out.
“Wait. Is that them over there?”
Ryker pressed his mouth to Maurelle’s to stifle her gasp and prayed the shadows were enough to keep them concealed. The next few seconds ticked by slower than they ever had in his life, but all he could think was his lips were pressed to her lush mouth.
As his cock hardened, he scolded himself to think of something else. He wasn’t kissing her. It was only to hide their presence. It was ridiculous that he was technically an adult and yet he hid like he’d committed some horrible crime. Life for the Fae wasn’t fair or right, and there was nothing he could do at the moment except be prepared to fight their way out of this predicament while still reveling in the feel of Maurelle’s full lips pressing against his own.
She tasted sweet like ripe berries and her body melted into his. The feel of her trusting him and giving into an attraction he now had no doubt she shared with him nearly made him lose his concentration. Now was not the moment to allow himself to fully engage in his desire for the female before him.
‘You’re never going to indulge in this female.’ he reminded himself.
Still, his hands couldn’t stop from roaming up and down the curve of her hip. The feel of lush breasts pressing into his chest was so different from the few females he’d been with. Fae females tended to be so slender that there was not much pressing into his body in return. He found he preferred being able to feel her all along his torso.
“What? Where?”
The question brought Ryker’s head up. ‘Why can’t they see us?’ It wasn’t until he glanced down that he realized what was happening. A couple of his friends were Shadow Melders, but he’d never had the ability. Yet, at that moment his body blended seamlessly with the shadows of the doorway masking their presence. Th
ank the Gods he was big enough to hide Maurelle completely.
Her wide eyes traveled up and down his body then over his shoulder. He hoped she couldn’t see how close the males were. It wouldn’t take much for them to discover their location.
If he knew how he was wielding his power, it would be so much easier for him to keep them hidden. Instead, he held himself still and prayed for the males to move on.
“There’s nothing here. Let’s go,” one male said to the other.
“I could have sworn they went down here,” the other male replied. The echo of their retreating footsteps didn’t drown out their discussion.
“It had to be someone trying to find a family member at the academy. It wouldn’t be the first time that happened.”
Ryker didn’t talk or move until the sound of the guards disappeared completely. “Holy crap that was close,” Maurelle whispered as soon as the coast was clear, and he stepped back into the alley.
“Way too fucking close for my comfort,” Ryker agreed.
Maurelle’s heart couldn’t handle much more. It fluctuated between racing so fast it was a shock it didn’t stop to actually pausing for several beats. Since the time she was collected for attendance at the academy to now she kept making mistake after mistake.
Sure, the worst was the one that cost her mother her life but sneaking out with Ryker wasn’t much better. She thought for sure the guards would discover them. She was about to lose her shit when Ryker pressed his mouth to hers.
Never before had a kiss felt like a party in her mouth. One press of Ryker’s lips and the world fell away completely. She hated to admit it, but she indulged in the moment and would fantasize about it for weeks to come. Especially when he went back to treating her like a pariah. The unwelcome side effect of the moment was that the attraction she felt toward Ryker exploded and blotted everything else out. For a second, she even believed Ryker found her as gorgeous as she found him.
The aroused stupor lasted a hot minute after he broke away from her mouth. The moment she noticed he blended with the shadows that ended and reality came back. “When did you become a shadow melder?”
“I have no idea. I haven’t done that before. I was praying for some way to hide us. Perhaps it was a fluke,” Ryker offered as he turned left at the end of the alley.
Maurelle took a deep breath to clear the smell from her nose. Not that the Edge smelled all that much better than the alley, but the ammonia that had burned her eyes a moment ago was cut out completely.
The crumbling stone buildings offered a sense of familiarity that comforted Maurelle. She rarely came to this section of the Edge because she grew up on the westside, closer to the human settlement. It was odd that being out there walking around the slums didn’t terrify her as much as the academy.
Lights were on in many of the apartments above the dark stores and restaurants. The Edge was far more alive throughout the evening hours than she noticed from the human neighborhood close to her house.
“We aren’t going to the bar right now, are we?”
Ryker turned and scanned the street behind them. “No. I think we escaped them. We can head to the Peridun on Crispin.”
“Have you ever visited one before?” Maurelle’s parents never took her to one of the magic users before. She always wondered why they kept her away from them. All Fae wielded magic to some extent, but a Peridun possessed special skills. They were always female, and their magic was darker.
“I went with my mother once when I was little, but I don’t remember much. You?”
“No. I’ve never been. But I’ve heard things. Which reminds me. How are we going to pay for her services?”
Ryker ran his hand over the top of his head. When she first saw him do that, she assumed he was pushing the hair out of his eyes, but she now realized it was a nervous habit of his.
“I’m hoping we can barter for services. Or appeal to her giving nature,” Ryker replied as he loped down the street.
“They have a giving nature?” she wondered as she tried to rein in her jumpiness. Her wings flared and she lifted several feet off the ground when a door banged open a second later.
“It’s okay,” he reassured her with a pat on the shoulder. Her wings settled on her back after she took a deep calming breath. “That’s Ned. Looks like he’s had a few too many at the bar tonight, but he’s harmless. And, from what I hear a Peridun used to be the cornerstone of neighborhoods. I’m not sure what happened since the humans took over, but according to my mom many aren’t the same anymore.”
“It’s like with anything I suppose,” she added. “From what my parents say nothing in Mag Mell is the same now. Let’s hope she is willing to help.”
“Are you saying my charm won’t be enough?”
Maurelle smiled at the way he teased her. The combative tension building between them from the moment they met changed after his kiss. Now it wasn’t all unpleasant. “Oh, your charm is more than enough. In fact, it should earn us credit for future visits, too.”
Ryker laughed at that and sauntered down the street. The muffin was in her other hand and now smashed to bits. Maurelle was just glad she didn’t drop it along the way. Apparently, she rambled in her mind when she was nervous, as well.
The fact that he laughed at her made her as giddy as Nyx got when she liked a male. Maurelle wasn’t a virgin, but she hadn’t dated much, and had never had a serious relationship. Not that they were dating, but the fact that he hadn’t scowled at her at all that night was promising.
As nice as it was to be off campus with Ryker, she couldn’t stop fear from trying to take over every thought running through her head. “Do you think they’ll check our rooms and find us gone?”
Ryker pursed his lips and shook his head. She couldn’t tell if he was saying no they wouldn’t, or what. “Honestly, I have no idea. In the time I’ve been there no one has ever entered the dorms, and I’ve heard several talking about sneaking out at night. Usually it was to rendezvous with their girlfriend or someone they were hooking up with.”
“That’s about as reassuring as having a wolf at my throat,” she countered.
They turned down another street and she were surprised to see a number of Fae out and about still this late at night. There were Hobs, Coblynau, Merrows, Banshees, and more. And, not one of them looked their way.
“I’ll protect you from the big bad wolf,” Ryker assured her. “Shineah is just down here.”
Maurelle followed him, lost in the rich environment in this area. From the state of disrepair and grime, Maurelle guessed they were entering ‘The Slums’ of Brambles Edge. She’d never actually been in this part of town but fell in love with it immediately.
The energy was lively and infectious despite the low-income status of its inhabitants. The brothel on the corner only added to the appeal in her opinion. Fae were a proud people, and it was clear they might have been relegated to the poorest, most run-down section of their realm, but they refused to be cowed or diminished.
Her heart started racing when Ryker headed down a set of stairs and toward a black door. The runes on the door glowed blue, casting the only light under the balconies of the apartments above.
When he opened the door, a slightly smoky, woody scent tinged with that of pine needles wafted from the interior. It sparked something in her chest that she couldn’t identify.
Her breath hitched when she entered behind Ryker and caught sight of the Peridun. The female had black hair, and olive toned skin with pale blue eyes. She was captivating and beautiful despite the tattoos on her face.
The hat on her head jingled when she turned and looked at them. The floppy hat was snug around her forehead but billowed up on top. Silver charms dangled from the sides, and what looked like bones hung near her left temple.
“What brings you here at this time of night?”
Ryker dipped his head in respect and put on a thousand-watt smile. “We are here for some assistance, Shineah. We’ve recently been collected and taken
to the Academy.”
“Ah,” Shineah murmured as she came around the edge of a counter that was covered in various bottles of colored liquids. Maurelle took a second to look around them to ensure they were alone in the shop. What she saw on the shelves was as eye opening as the female approaching them.
There were candles lit everywhere that illuminated more bottles filled with liquids, dried herbs, and a large metal table that was empty. When she turned back, the female stood in front of them with a long wool dress that flowed around her frame and went to the floor.
“You’re taking a risk coming here when you should be in bed in the dorms. What do you think I can help with? I’m not able to make you disappear once you’ve been collected. They now have what they need to track you anywhere.”
Ryker thrust his hand toward Maurelle, palm up. She placed the napkin on his palm, hoping she could do some tests. “It’s nothing like that. I’ve noticed concerning behavioral changes and want to know if the food at the academy is safe to eat.”
Shineah cocked her head and picked up the food. On her way to the empty table, she picked up several smaller vials. Maurelle couldn’t help but notice the way she glided over the floor, but she wasn’t flying. Her white wings lay dormant along her back. Graceful was all that came to mind.
“You think they are poisoning you?”
Ryker scowled as he took a few steps closer to the table. “It crossed my mind. There’s no way the humans are bringing Fae to the academy and not doing something to them along the way. They have too much power over us, for there not to be a threat against us.”
“You’re right about that, but it’s not what you are thinking. The humans use Fae for their benefit and recruit anyone and everyone they can in that endeavor. Even without power their manipulations are far more devious than anything the most powerful Fae would perpetrate on their own.”
Maurelle’s mind whirred a million miles an hour as she processed what was said. “You mean the staff. Fae like you and me are helping humans control Fae powers. But, how?”
