“I will be interviewing students, one by one, over the next couple of weeks, and in alphabetical order,” Lady Cardinal announced. “Even those of you who are half fae will be compelled to offer me the truth.” She grinned, and I knew she’d use her blood crystal, a magical device that enhanced the mind control powers of vamps.
I shifted in my chair, knowing from experience that I would not pass the test. She might even take the chance to ask me about the shutter incident, too.
Headmistress Cardinal turned her eyes into slits as she paced before us. “So, if you have knowledge of why Preston has vanished, causing Petra to kill Ms. Rutherford, you can go to sleep every night dwelling on the punishment that awaits you.”
7
Onyx
As I dipped my uniform in the washbasin down in the laundry room, I ran the calculations in my head. It would take Lady Cardinal two weeks to interview everyone.
She’d go from A to Z, probably by last name. As an L, I was roughly in the middle. That meant I had about a week before I’d be at her desk, where she’d force the whole horrible truth out of me.
And shortly after that, I’d be lucky to die.
“Onyx?” Lily asked at the basin beside me. “Are you all right?”
“No.” A tremor came over my body, and the walls of the dim, humid laundry room seemed to close in. There was only one shot at surviving the interrogation, and that meant going to Thorsten and possibly putting us both at risk.
The day dragged on forever. The guards made us hand wash our uniforms and the vamps’ dirty clothes, which included a lot of stained underwear that I tried not to examine too closely. After we were done, we had to mop, vacuum, and scrub the floors, a task that seemed impossible given how hard it was to clean off the tar and feathers.
By the end of the day, my back was aching all over, and I was shaking from hunger pains. But like the other fae, I didn’t dare to sneak into the kitchen. If the vamps had decided not to feed us for a day, it was best to comply, rather than risk a lashing or the dungeons. I could do a day without food, even if it was incredibly uncomfortable.
My legs shook, my vision swam, and dizziness wrapped itself around me like a second skin. Yet, I couldn’t go to bed after we had finally been dismissed at nine P.M, putting in over thirteen hours of unpaid labor. The only good thing about the day was that the other fae had been too exhausted from the work and hunger to even glare at me.
As much as I wanted to collapse into bed, I had to find Thorsten and get him to help me avoid Headmistress Cardinal’s blood crystal. I didn’t exactly know how I would convince him or what he could do, only that I had to try.
I waited in the main corridor, pretending to pick dirt and soap from under my nails, hoping for a sighting. Guards often patrolled around the center of the castle.
When I saw a blond guard emerge from the darkness of the History corridor and then walk around the corner toward Home Décor, I waited a minute, then followed him into the shadows. I wasn’t even sure if it was Thorsten. Given the strange dots dancing in front of my eyes, I might’ve imagined him completely. Still, despite this, I allowed my legs to carry me toward Home Décor, removing my shoes to avoid making too much noise. The last thing I needed was to alert other guards of my presence. Or this guard, if he turned out not to be Thorsten.
The classroom door was open an inch. I was about to push through it when a voice from the inside rang out.
“I could make your time here much more enjoyable.”
I groaned. The high-pitched voice belonged to Peony. What was she doing in Home Decor? Would I ever get rid of this bitch?
“I’m not interested,” Thorsten growled and I perked up, relief washing over me that I had found him. And better yet, he was rebuking Peony’s advances.
A giggle from Peony followed. “Trust me, I’m not like the other girls you had. I’m special, and I’ll even let you drink my blood. Imagine how high you could get off my magic.”
Holding back a gag, I peered through the door. Thorsten was standing behind the teacher’s desk and Peony was on the other side, leaning forward, probably pushing her breasts up and together, and sticking out her ass. And she called me a slut. This was the first time I’d seen her trying to come on to a staff member this hard. What had the dungeons done to her? Peony had come back, multiplied by ten.
Thorsten held up a hand. “No, thank you. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve come here to grade some papers.” He sat down at the table and opened a thick folder, showing Peony that this conversation was over.
“Thorsten,” Peony purred, and waited.
Should I go in? Ask Thorsten about an assignment? Helping him get rid of Peony might score me some extra points, but it would also make her hate me even more. But perhaps I could get her out without her knowing I was here. Peony was wearing only her skimpy shirt and her legs were naked. Clearly, she had no worries that the twins would have their way with her. Perhaps they’d already had her in all the ways they could without diminishing the price of her contract. Or maybe they simply didn’t want someone who was that desperate. Either way, I could work with her half nakedness.
“Peony, leave. I need to focus on these papers,” Thorsten growled.
I gathered the ice into my fingertips, ignoring the fresh wave of dizziness that swept through me at the tiny effort. I pointed into the room, half expecting a blade to form in front of my fingers, but a cold gust formed instead. Wind whistled into the room, nearly shoving Peony off her feet. She wobbled and gasped. “This stupid blizzard outside. Would you mind lending me your jacket?” She circled the table to Thorsten’s side.
He shook his head, his face marred with disgust. Gathering his papers, he rose. “For the last time, I’m not interested.” He strode toward the door, and I pushed myself into an alcove, still holding my shoes.
Thorsten didn’t notice me as he walked past me. I thought about giving him a few minutes to cool down before following him, but then my attention was drawn back to the Home Décor room and the two voices whispering inside. Peony wasn’t alone. I hadn’t seen Kristen. Perhaps Kristen had been hiding in there ahead of time. Thorsten hadn’t given any indication of having seen her.
“Mei won’t be happy.” Kristen sighed heavily. “Seduce him, already.”
“I did my best,” Peony hissed back. “But this was just my first try. I can try again.”
Kristen snorted. “I don’t think so. I’ve seen plenty of horny vamps. He isn’t interested in the least.” Kristen’s shoes clicked as she neared the door, and I flattened myself into the wall.
Peony ran after Kristen. “Please. Ask Mei to give me another chance. I’m worth it. So what if he doesn’t sleep with me? We can find another way to get him indebted. Fae contracts are binding if made with a pureblood.”
Interesting. Mei needed Thorsten, and she was using Peony to get to him while Kristen was her spy. Sure seemed like Mei was going through a lot of trouble. What could a Hong Kong vampire heiress want from the Steinbergs?
“We’ll see,” Kristen said haughtily as she walked down the corridor, Peony running to catch up. Clearly, Kristen was enjoying being Queen B for once. Their little exchange also explained why the twins hadn’t picked on Peony during the Wild Hunt. Mei had vouched for her. Mei was protecting both fae’s hides.
I decided to wait for a few more minutes in case anyone else was involved. My upper body was too heavy to hold up, so I slid down the stone wall.
I must have dozed off because I awoke to a hand on my shoulder, shaking me. My back and legs were cold. The blizzard outside was invading the whole building.
“Onyx.” There was urgency in Thorsten’s voice.
I blinked my eyes open as he shone an oil lamp into my face. “What are you doing here?” The light fell on his face, making him look like a dream. My stomach rumbled and a headache started between my ears from the lack of food.
So he had noticed me when he left the room. Or perhaps he had smelled me.
“Onyx?�
��
Right, he had asked me a question. I blinked again, trying to remember. “I had to talk to you, but you weren’t alone. Kristen was spying while Peony was throwing herself at you.”
He sighed. “I can’t say I’m surprised.” He glanced around. “We can’t be seen together. You need to go back to your dorm.”
I grabbed his hand, remembering the rest I had overheard. “Mei wants to bring you down. She wants to catch you with Peony.”
His jaw tightened, but there was no surprise in his blue eyes.
“Why does she care so much about you?”
Thorsten shook his head. “That’s a story for another day. You need to go to bed.” He took my hands and pulled me gently up to my feet.
I brushed a hand through my disheveled hair, wondering how he always managed to look so put together when I was constantly a mess. “There’s something else.”
Thorsten glared at me impatiently.
I hoped he didn’t think that I too was trying to come on to him. No, I was much worse. I didn’t have anything to offer for the favor I was about to ask of him. I wrung my hands. “Headmistress Cardinal will use her blood crystal to question every fae about Preston’s disappearance.”
Thorsten’s throat bobbed up and down as his pupils dilated. He knew what that meant. He had helped me dispose of Preston’s body.
“And you’re telling me this because?” His sharp voice sent shivers through me.
I swallowed hard. His patience and generosity had finally run out. “I don’t know what I can offer you in return. I promise to do everything to find out what Mei, Kristen, and Peony are up to and why they’re so obsessed with you. I know it’s not anywhere near enough—”
“No, it’s not.” He cut me off.
My stomach dropped. Was he telling me he wouldn’t help me?
“But I’ll see what I can do.”
“Thank you.” I’m in your debt forever, I added silently, unable to speak the words even though they were the truth.
“Keep your head low. Go about your days as usual. Don’t seek me out. I’ll find you if I have to.”
“Right.” He wanted to keep our contact to a minimum, wanted to see me as little as he had to. Why did that hurt so damn much? I didn’t want to think about it. Didn’t want to consider how helpless, inadequate, and foolish I was in his eyes. I needed to distract myself. “You must at least have a clue about why Mei is so interested in you.”
His shoulders tensed. “The Wus have an issue with the Steinbergs.” Before he could continue, faint footsteps sounded from the end of the corridor, and Thorsten gave me a nudge. “Go.” He wouldn’t tell me more. Not tonight. Maybe not ever.
As he disappeared into the Home Décor room, I had to admit that Thorsten Steinberg was a mystery to me while he knew everything about me. He was the one who had the upper hand in this relationship. We’d never be equals. He’d never see me as an individual. I was that fae he was helping, and nothing more.
8
Onyx
How on earth was Thorsten going to help me if he planned to stay away? Was he going to sneak into Headmistress Cardinal’s office and exchange her blood crystal for another, identical-looking one? That was a difficult task that seemed impossible after the twins’ blood crystal had vanished. Lady Cardinal would no doubt be looking after hers like a hawk.
Thorsten seemed to already be on shaky ground. Why help me and put himself into an even more dangerous position? Me keeping an eye on Kristen, Mei, and Peony wasn’t going to solve whatever problems he had. Once again, I wasn’t providing anywhere near the value he was giving me.
I hated always being a step behind, hated being weak. Was that what the rest of my life would be—subterfuge, if I were lucky?
I didn’t see Thorsten at all on Sunday, but at least we got fed again. Fae stuffed their faces with pancakes and scrambled eggs, and I was grateful to be wearing a clean and complete uniform. For once, even Lily didn’t talk during breakfast, too busy munching to comment on Virgie sitting with Peony and Kristen again.
“When do you think Headmistress Cardinal will interrogate us?” Lily finally asked, mouth full of bacon. A day of no food had led to all of us losing our manners.
I took a sip of my coffee, trying not to choke as the tsunami of panic swept over me. “Starting tomorrow, probably.” I rarely saw Lady Cardinal over the weekends. She must have gone off campus and mingled with the other rich vamps during most of that time. Maybe she even jetted off to a posh city like Paris to ingest some culture before returning to our isolated Colorado fortress. “She’ll question us Monday through Friday. It should take two weeks.” Headmistress Cardinal would probably have her prime suspects narrowed after one week. I didn’t say that out loud, not wanting to make it real.
I spent the rest of Sunday wandering around the castle, through its halls, pretending that I wasn’t looking for anyone. The twins seemed to be gone along with many of the other vamps, which made me feel better for Virgie’s sake. But Virgie herself had gone to hide, probably with Peony in their dorm.
I didn’t find Thorsten, but after hours and hours, I spotted Virgie coming out of the bathrooms that afternoon.
“Hey,” I said, leaving it at that.
“Onyx.” Her voice was too high, like I had scared her, but her face quickly morphed into a blank expression. “I’m sorry, but my place isn’t with you.” She glanced both ways, as if making sure no one could see us interact. “People are talking, saying you’re trying to be like the vamps.”
Her voice was neutral, and I couldn’t tell if she still held my botched attempt at rescuing her during the Wild Hunt against me. I had helped her in the end, but I knew that she was also living in fear of her future because of my damn suggestion that the twins should find her an awful master. Virgie didn’t seem angry, but rather scared, the way her hands trembled, which she tried to hide by pressing them together.
“Is Peony behind this? Is she forcing you to stay away from Lily and me?”
Virgie gave a quick jerk of her head. “I’m sorry. We can’t be friends. You have to understand how it all works here.” She eyed the corridor behind me. The once confident girl had melted away in one night. The Wild Hunt scar that she bore wouldn’t go away for a long time, maybe ever. The twins had crushed her. They’d chosen her because she didn’t want to be a sheep. The realization should’ve scared me, but instead, it made icy rage fill my veins. I was done cowering.
“I get how it works. Peony didn’t lift a finger to protect you,” I said tersely, struggling to keep my anger back. “She just watched. They all just watched.”
“Because they didn’t want to die,” Virgie snapped. “Leave me alone, Onyx. I'll figure out what to do. There are some things you can’t change.” With that, she stalked away, shoes slapping the floor.
I stood there, watching her go as my ice died. For the first time, I wondered if saving her had even been worth it, for her or for me. No matter what I did, I destroyed everything I touched.
I was right about interrogations starting on Monday. Thorsten remained absent. Lord Sullivan’s History class was first that day. As soon as he started to speak, the gong went off, reverberating through the castle, and Lady Cardinal announced, “Douglas Abshire. To my office, immediately.”
The fae got up and left the room. I tried and failed to sit still, my body a jumble of nervous energy. Lady Cardinal would continue with this all day. Without Thorsten, all I had was the other faes’ faces to go by when they returned for indication of whether the blood crystal was still on the headmistress’ desk. Having a blood crystal used on you was an invasion of privacy you didn’t forget. If Douglas Abshire came back and muttered to his friends about that magical crystal that made him blurt out whatever Lady Cardinal wanted, I’d know that Thorsten hadn’t come through yet.
“Students,” Lord Sullivan said. “Before we begin our lessons on the Renaissance today, I have an announcement to make. On Wednesday night, Nocturnal Academy will have its first
outing for its fae students this year.” He let that information hang. I glanced around, trying to see if anyone knew what exactly that meant. Given the wide eyes and raised eyebrows, the other fae were as clueless as I.
The twins rocked back in their chairs while the other vamp students picked at their fingernails and looked bored.
An outing? Was that a good or a bad thing? I didn’t dare to ask Lily, whose jaw had dropped open, but I spotted Mei leaning close to Peony and whispering in her ear.
“We will attend a party held by one of the Elites and mingle with high vampire society,” Lord Sullivan continued. “Fae students, this event will be crucial for you. The party will be attended by many of your future masters. Those who will buy your contracts will likely be present.”
Oh. A bad thing, then. This would be a chance for the rich vamps to check out the goods before they wrote their checks to the school. We were to be on display. Any thrill at going off campus dissolved like a puddle in a scorching desert. My stomach turned over and threatened to give up my breakfast.
“Your roles will be as follows,” Lord Sullivan continued, pacing the front of the room. “Magic users will join the entertainers and display their skills. Servants, you will help in the kitchen and anywhere else you are needed. And courtesans, you will mingle with society.”
Lily shifted. She raised her hand at ear level, her fingers trembling.
“Yes?” Lord Sullivan asked.
“What do those in Independent Study do?” she squeaked.
He sneered at her. “Independent Study is also to mingle with the partygoers. Be prepared to answer business questions and present a plan on how you can benefit our society.” He spoke with a smug grin as if he expected Lily to fail.
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