I follow him out, my legs numb, my mind spinning. He’s barking orders, his mind racing ahead, but I keep stalling out on Topher. Did the ogre come back for him? No, it couldn’t have. Darius killed it. Was there another one? Rocco said demons are super strong. What even kills demons?
When we step into the hall, Darius wraps a protective arm around me, pressing my face to his chest. “I’m sorry you had to see that,” he murmurs. “But thanks for backing me up.”
I nod, wishing I could be as together as he is right now. Darius instructs Rocco to get my other guards up here immediately to escort me home. His hushed and commanding voice conveys complete authority, and Rocco doesn’t even question the fact that I’m still hanging onto the Headmaster. My eyes squeeze shut, arms wrapping tightly around Darius’s waist while I wait for my knights in shining armor to come get me. For now, I’m satisfied in the embrace of my king.
When at last Darius nudges me, I step back, taking a deep breath and squaring my shoulders. I’m a badass priestess, not a damsel in distress.
“What about you?” I ask Darius. “Shouldn’t you have backup, too? I’m not the only important magician on this campus.”
“I appreciate your concern, but don’t worry about that right now, Jade. Go take care of yourself. I’ll have plenty of capable hands here soon enough.”
Appeased, I give him a final nod, wishing I could kiss him goodbye. But Rocco is here, and no matter what I just went through with Darius, a passionate kiss goodbye wouldn’t be appropriate for a student and the Headmaster.
We meet the others at the bottom of the stairs.
“Are you okay?” Thorn asks, rushing to me and taking my face gently between his hands. “What happened?”
I shake my head, biting my lip to hold my emotions in check. I might be a badass sorceress, but everyone has their moments of weakness.
“Easy there, Cinderella.” Rocco’s arms scoop me up bridal style, whisking me away from Thorn as he carries me toward my dorm. I start to protest, but then I just let him. Ryker strides along to our left, sword drawn and gaze swiveling in all directions. Thorn keeps ahead, checking the campus as we go. It feels like I’m floating in darkness, with only Rocco’s arms securing me to this plane of existence. When we reach the girls’ dorm, he stays ahead, checking the stairway and halls, while Ryker brings up the rear.
Thorn enters my room first, checking the bathroom, closet, and even under the bed while Rocco waits with me in the hall.
I start to pry myself free, but he holds me closer. “Just relax, okay? We’ve got your back tonight, Jade.”
“All clear,” Thorn says, stepping out of my room.
“I’ll be on the fire escape,” Ryker says. “I can watch the campus from there and alert you if anything’s coming.”
“I’ll stay with Jade,” Rocco says.
Thorn looks like he’s about to argue, but then he rakes a hand through his hair and presses his lips together. “I’ll be in the hall,” he grumbles, taking his place against the wall as the three of us enter my room.
“We’ll leave the curtain open,” Rocco says as Ryker goes to the window. “I know you like to watch me pound our princess.”
Ryker’s shoulders stiffen, but he doesn’t answer or turn. He climbs out my window to take up his position, all business as usual, pulling the window closed behind him.
Rocco carefully sets me down on my bed. “Sorry,” I mumble. “I know I’m a mess right now. You really don’t need to take care of me.”
“Shut up,” he growls, peeling off his shirt before settling on the bed with me and pulling me into his arms. “I like taking care of you. You’re so busy proving how tough you are all the time that sometimes I think you’ve forgotten how much you need me.”
“Oh, is that what it is?” I ask, unable to keep the incredulous laugh from escaping. “It’s not just that you feel like I don’t need you?”
“Oh, I know you need me,” Rocco says, nuzzling my ear. “You’re the one who feels like you don’t. But I know the truth. You need me, Jade Silva. You need all of us. And not just for mind-blowing orgasms, either.”
“Hmm, is that right?” I ask. “And you’re okay with all of you giving me those?”
“As long as mine are the best,” he says, smiling so his dimples sink into his cheeks.
“Fine, I need you,” I admit. “But you need me, too.”
“Hell yeah, I do,” he says. “Now, how about you give me one of those mind-blowing orgasms?”
“Thorn’s outside,” I protest. “He has some kind of freakishly good hearing.”
Rocco snorts, pulling back to look at my face. “You really believe that?”
“He heard me talking to Topher through a closed door,” I say. “He can definitely hear my sex noises.”
“You mean your ear-piercing shrieks of ecstasy?” Rocco asks with a smug smile.
“Yes,” I say, refusing to be embarrassed.
“We can all make spells to make our hearing better,” Rocco says. “If Thorn’s a pervert who likes to hear our sex noises when I’m pleasuring his woman because he doesn’t know how to, that’s his problem.”
“Did you just call me Thorn’s woman?”
“What? No,” he says, rolling on top of me. “You’re my woman, dammit. And don’t you forget it.”
“I won’t,” I say, opening my knees for him. Part of me feels ashamed for wanting sex right now, but I need that connection more than anything. After what I’ve seen, I need to forget. I need normal. I need simple. I need pleasure, and to know the men I love are still with me, and to remember I’m alive and still full of needs and desires and passions both physical and emotional.
So, I give in to what I need, what my body needs, what Rocco needs to give me, and what he’s so good at giving. This is his love language, and I’m fluent in it, too. Together, we make our magic until, for tonight at least, I can push away what I can’t yet process or think about, and instead, they make me safe and give me permission to just feel.
*
The longest weekend ever passes with every student on campus confined to their rooms. My own weekend includes texts to Asher and Elowen, sexy time with Rocco, snuggles and romance novel reading with Thorn, and awkward, tense silence when Ryker takes a shift.
By Monday morning, I’m dying to get out of my room. Lounging around watching trashy TV is a guilty pleasure, but one I use sparingly. Yes, I love to unwind with a Kitty Chasers marathon after a hard week, but I’m not the type to lie around for a whole weekend. I just about explode out the door when we’re finally all summoned to meet in the Great Hall for announcements on Monday.
I rush toward the building, bursting with anxiety and dread. I join the stream of students heading that way, all of them buzzing with speculation, confusion, and worry. That’s when it hits me. Elowen and Asher might not know what happened yet. Everyone was sent immediately to lockdown when Topher’s body was discovered, and I didn’t want to turn it into gossip or break the news over the phone. Now, I regret that decision as I realize they’re probably going to announce it to everyone at once.
I step into the Great Hall, my guards flanking me, and search the crowd for my friends. Darius stands at the front of the crowd, along with several other teachers. They urge us to our seats, and I just have time to spot Elowen and slip in next to her before a hush falls over the crowd and Darius starts speaking. I take Elowen’s hand, hoping I can be there for her even if it’s not the way I would have wanted her to find out.
“I’m sure you’re all confused and frightened right now,” Darius is saying. “I hope I can clear things up. There were several breaches in campus security recently, including the ogre attack last week. I want you to know first and foremost that we’ve discovered the cause of these breaches, and you’re all safe. There is no immediate danger.”
The tension in the room eases a bit.
“Many of the wards laid on the Academy of Sorcery campus were laid by our former Headmaster,” Darius con
tinues. “After the recent invasions, we discovered that he had removed the wards he laid during his time here, so the campus was not as well protected as it should have been.”
That fucker. He probably removed them last year when he was trying to take me down. Either that, or he was pissed about being hauled off to supernatural prison, and he took them off then.
Darius clear his throat, and I grip Elowen’s fingers tighter. She gives me a funny look, knowing I’m not much of a toucher, but I hold on anyway. I know what’s coming.
“It is with great sorrow and grief that we let you know the reason for sequestering you in your rooms this weekend,” Darius says, his tone somber. “Before we discovered the missing protections, the campus was breached, and we lost one of our own, a new teacher in the School of Dark Arts, Topher Stephens. We will have a memorial service for Mr. Stephens on Wednesday, and we encourage you to utilize the teachers and other resources we have on campus as you process this loss to both our students and our school.”
Elowen stills, but otherwise, she doesn’t react. She stares straight ahead, her jaw slack and her eyes unblinking.
“Elowen?” I whisper as Darius moves on to the next topic. “Are you okay?”
“I—I have to go,” she says, standing abruptly.
I stand with her, trying not to step on toes as we make our way down the row of seats, mumbling apologies all the way. When we reach the aisle, Elowen tucks her head and scurries for the door.
“Oh, look, the demon-lover’s upset,” Bella says, rolling her eyes and huddling closer to Dirk.
I don’t even bother with a response. I don’t have time to put her in her place, and she’s not worth it right now. Elowen is what’s important.
I follow her outside, where she bursts into loud, hiccupping sobs. She runs over and collapses at the base of a tree, covering her face and howling like her heart is breaking. I wish I could help her, that I could do something. But all I can do is sit beside her and let her cry. I can’t imagine losing any of my men, can’t imagine the pain she’s going through.
A minute later, I hear footsteps, and I look up to see Thorn and Asher emerging from the Great Hall. Thorn frowns when he sees us, then hurries over. Asher runs right past him and throws himself on the ground with us, wrapping his arms around Elowen.
“Oh, honey, I’m so sorry,” he says. “I’m so sorry for everything. I’ve been an unforgiveable ass, and…” He breaks off, tears welling in his eyes. He gulps and buries his face in Elowen’s hair, holding her while she sobs.
Thorn crouches beside me. “You okay?” he asks, his brow furrowing as he looks me over.
“Yeah,” I say, smiling with gratitude at the one person who would ask me that question right now. Thorn knows I’m not as put-together as I’d like everyone to believe, but he loves me, anyway. He sits down beside me and lays a hand over mine, giving me a shy smile that melts my heart all the way through.
“What now?” I ask, turning my hand over and linking my fingers through his.
“They’re giving us the day off to mourn, but now that the campus is safe, we’ll be back to classes tomorrow.”
“Does that mean I don’t need a guard anymore?”
He looks down at our hands. “If you want me here, I’ll be here.”
So, we just sit there for another thirty minutes, none of us speaking. At last, Elowen lets out a final strangled sound and lifts her teary, swollen face. “I’m sorry,” she says. “I’m such a mess. You didn’t have to come out here with me.”
“Yes, we did,” I say firmly. “Are you ready to go back to my room? We can hang out and watch TV, or talk, or just whatever you want.”
She nods, and we all climb to our feet, Thorn holding out a hand to help my friend up. She blushes and sniffles, and we start off toward my dorm.
“I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you this semester,” Asher says to her.
“I’m sorry I went behind your back,” she says. “I just… When we started hanging out, I thought he was just being nice, trying to get me to see dark magic in a better light because I was having a hard time with it. And then by the time I realized he liked me, I didn’t know how to tell you, and I was afraid you’d be mad.”
“Girl, I wouldn’t have been mad because he liked you,” Asher says. “Disappointed, maybe. I was mad because you didn’t tell me.”
“I know,” she says with a sniffle. “I’m sorry. I’m the worst friend.”
“No, I’m the worst,” he says.
“Speaking of not telling people things,” I say. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Topher earlier. I didn’t want to tell you over the phone, and I was planning to tell you as soon as they let us out of our rooms. I didn’t realize they’d call us all together and announce it first thing.”
Elowen nods. “I knew something had to be wrong when he didn’t show up for your class. I went up and knocked on his door, too, but he didn’t answer. I knew something must have happened to him. I just didn’t think it was—” She breaks off when a sob chokes her throat again.
I notice the way Thorn is frowning at Elowen. Surely he doesn’t think…
I mean, she is a jilted lover. That’s who’s responsible for most homicides.
But I know Elowen. She might make bad choices, but she’d never do something like that.
“What am I going to do?” she wails. “I’ll never find someone like that again, who accepts me even though I have dark magic and doesn’t care that I’m not pretty, and—”
“You’re forgetting that dark magic students don’t care a lick if you have dark magic,” Asher says.
“Yeah,” I say. “I’m sure plenty of guys in your classes would go out with you. And you’re pretty. You just need to work on your confidence.”
She wipes her nose on her sleeve and laughs shakily. “Thanks, you guys. Fionola is really helping.”
“Don’t tell me you went and made a friend to replace me,” Asher says.
Elowen reaches into her bag and withdraws the little bone fairy. “This is Fionola. I made her, and Jade brought her to life.”
“Holy shit,” Asher says, glancing between us. “Last semester you couldn’t even talk about necromancy, let alone make a conduit.”
“I know,” Elowen says, looking sad. “Topher really helped me accept who I am. He knew what it was like to be judged for something you can’t help being.”
Asher shakes his head. “I still can’t believe y’all been making shit come alive without me.”
“You miss out when you’re too busy being proud,” I say, nudging him with my elbow to show I’m half-kidding.
He gives me a pout as we enter the dorm and head up to my room for a day of hanging out and catching up with friends. It’s only been a few days since I’ve seen both of them, but seeing them together as friends again is something I’ve missed more than I realized. I no longer feel caught in the middle, pulled in both directions. And I know Elowen needs both of us to get through this, especially Asher, who’s been her best friend for years. I hate that it took a tragedy like this to bring them back together, but I’m still happy to see their friendship take up where it left off, as if nothing ever happened.
We spend the day pampering Elowen, eating junk food and watching movies. We talk about the Halloween party coming up in a few weeks. We paint our nails, and Thorn lets us pin him down and paint his nails after Asher tries convincing him that matte navy blue is a ‘manly color’ of polish. We even talk about Topher, remembering the good he did here. By the end of the day, things almost feel back to normal—or as normal as life at the Academy of Sorcery can be. Despite the terrible loss, we’re together and stronger than ever, and we take comfort in that fact. We can’t help Topher now. All we can do is live our own lives and remember him for the kind person he was.
Chapter Sixteen
For the next few weeks, things go back to normal… Sort of. While Darius hunts for another trustworthy teacher to replace Topher as an Intro to Dark Arts teacher,
we take that class online. The other House of Dark Magic students have their regular classes the rest of the day, while I’m back to my light magic classes only.
Elowen and Asher are thick as thieves again, and my guards stay in place. After all, whoever or whatever killed Topher is still out there. What it wanted, no one knows for sure. Ogres would love to devour Topher’s magic, since apparently demons have more dark magic than any other being. But I hear through the grapevine that Darius and the experts from the Society of Supernaturals didn’t think the gruesome scene was consistent with an ogre attack, since they usually just bite someone, kill them with poison, and suck out their magic.
In the evenings, Rocco and Thorn keep me occupied. Ryker insists on spending every single night on the fire escape outside my window. I don’t know when the guy even sleeps. Thorn’s even more overprotective and controlling than usual. Rocco gives me as much shit as always, which is actually a relief. Just because I saw something horrific doesn’t mean I want to be treated like I’m delicate. Good thing Rocco’s not the gentle type.
I continue my extra practices with Cleo each day, which is easier now that Ryker isn’t avoiding me. Not talking, but no avoiding, either.
One day he comes out of his office as I’m practicing my sword-to-whip combo. I give Cleo a little extra flourish as I swing her, showing off just a bit. Ryker clears his throat and crosses his arms. “You’re improving at this technique of yours.”
I mock gasp, hand covering my mouth as Cleo shifts back into a spork. “Did you hear that, girl? I think Ryker Steele just gave us an honest-to-God compliment.”
Ryker’s jerks his chin toward the mats on the floor. “Want to see how good you are against a man instead of a dummy?”
I swallow, not sure I’m ready to get my ass kicked again. But I’m not about to back down from Ryker, so I raise my chin and smile. “Bring it on.”
Ryker strides forward, sword shimmering to life in his hand. Cleo’s quick to shift back into a sword as Ryker’s blade clashes against her. We spar until I’m sweating and out of breath before I get my chance. He comes in for a jab, and with one fluid motion, I knock his blade off to the left and pull Cleo inward, shifting her into a barbed whip that wraps around Ryker’s blade. He growls and wrestles to get it back as I swing her over my head. I send a rush of magic into her, and she wrenches the sword from his hands sends it flying through the air. I smile as I hear the loud thunk of metal biting into mat, but I keep my eyes on Ryker.
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