“We don’t have to give her this information. We’ll both be betraying our benefactors,” Peony protested.
Virgie didn’t look at her. “This information didn’t have to come from us, you know. And, my master will be happy if Vulthus is taken down, even by a fae. The Wus are also angry at Vulthus. He accused them of moving against him when Onyx escaped. He still suspects Mei might have had something to do with it. Vulthus thinks he’s better than everyone, and one day, he’s going to move against Nilsson and you too.”
Virgie and Peony stared at each other for a long time, until finally, Peony nodded. “Very well. Do what you must, but I’m not participating.”
Yes, Peony had everything to do with Virgie turning her back on me back at Nocturnal Academy.
“Let me write down where Vulthus will be for the next week.” The fierceness in Virgie’s face told me all I needed to know. I reached into my pocket and handed her a pen and paper.
Virgie moved to the big desk and I followed, while keeping an eye on Peony, who stood with her arms crossed, disapproving, but not making a move to stop us. I doubted she’d tell anyone about this, because then she’d have to admit that she couldn’t control Virgie or the conversations that went on in her work place. Peony hated me, but she loved herself more. She’d always protect her hide first and foremost.
19
Onyx
I was walking on air as I exited the Magical Museum of the Plant Arts. Virgie had given me Vulthus’s address without demanding anything in exchange and Peony seemed satisfied to keep my appearance silent for now. Still, I didn’t trust her. We had to move quickly. I never knew with her when she’d change her mind.
With a smile, I opened the passenger door of the black sedan and got in.
“I got everything we need,” I said, but Atticus only gave me a grim nod.
“Good. Your father wants to see you immediately.” His tone was clipped as he peeled out of the parking spot. I sensed his eagerness to return to the mansion had to do with more than getting away from all the iron.
“Has something happened?” I asked carefully.
“I don’t know.” Atticus drove like a maniac, disregarding speed limits and running a few red lights. By the time we reached the mansion, every muscle had tightened and my stomach turned. With Atticus on my heels, I hurried toward Olwen’s study and knocked.
“Come in.”
I entered, and Atticus closed the door behind us, remaining a few steps behind me. Whatever this was, he would not help me.
Everything inside of me contracted as I took in Olwen’s narrowed eyes and tightly pressed together lips. He was furious. No, it was more than that. He was disgusted.
I got straight to the point. “I have Vulthus’s coordinates. He’ll be at a party tonight, but—”
“Good,” Olwen cut me off. “We’ll be expecting him after he returns. But first, we need to take care of Thorsten Steinberg.”
“Thorsten Steinberg?” I tried to suppress the rising tremor in my voice. “But the Steinberg’s are Vulthus’s enemies. He hates them. They’ll be grateful for us getting rid of him. They may be a good alliance to have in the vampire community.”
Olwen smirked, revealing his teeth. He might be no vampire, but he sure looked ready to take a bite out of me. “Allies? Is that so? Tell me, Onyx, do you go to bed with all of your allies?”
Deafening silence fell over the room, my mouth went as dry as the desert as my heart stopped beating.
“Don’t bother denying it. My guards saw him floating into your room. They heard you.” Olwen shook his head. “A daughter of mine, sleeping under my roof with the enemy.” He spit on the ground. “Despicable.” He advanced at me, and I raised my hand protectively in front of my face, terrified despite all my training. I might have magic, combat training, and some privileges in this household, but Olwen could turn me into a prisoner in less than a minute. He had all the power here.
Instead of backhanding me, Olwen simply said in lethal, low voice, “You are weak. You will be punished.”
Tears gathered in my eyes, but I didn’t dare to speak. Olwen was dangerous. Anything I’d say would only make the situation worse. If I pretended that it was just about sex, Olwen would probably call me a vampire whore who had no respect for herself. If I told him that I cared about Thorsten, he’d do whatever it took to get rid of those feelings.
Olwen snapped his fingers. The door burst open behind me, and footfalls approached. Two guards seized my wrists, and I didn’t protest. I was expecting them to drag me away, but they just kept me there.
“Atticus,” Olwen said in a calm voice that made goose bumps explode on my flesh. “Inject her.”
Atticus shot me an apologetic glance before producing a syringe and moving toward me.
“You’re going to kill me?” Like this? It didn’t make any sense.
Olwen gave me a cold smile. “I wouldn’t kill my own child. This elixir will merely ensure that you do what you need to do for us to move forward.”
I felt my eyebrows furrow at the syringe. “It’s bespelled?”
Olwen nodded as Atticus hesitated. “By my own royal herbalist.”
“Will it make me forget Thorsten?” Maybe that was for the best. Maybe if I didn’t have the memories it would be less painful.
A vein ticked in Olwen’s temple. “Warriors don’t get to forget, Onyx.”
I tried to free myself from my guards, but their grip on me was too strong.
“Now,” Olwen said, and Atticus grabbed the inside of my elbow and inserted the needle. In horror, I watched as he injected me with the see-through, clear solution. I expected to feel pain, but I didn’t feel anything.
“You may release her.” Olwen motioned at the guards. “Leave us alone. Atticus, stay. You’ll drive her when she’s ready.”
I massaged my wrists, now red from the tight grasp of the guards, still not quite understanding. “What have you done to me?”
“This is a reminder of your loyalty. This potion will activate your killer instincts. You will kill Thorsten.”
I shook my head. “Impossible.” How could a potion make me kill someone?
Olwen’s cobalt gaze drilled into me. “Your desire to execute him will grow until you finish the job.”
My heart thumped. “I won’t do it!”
“Yes, you will.” He was so calm, so sure, the opposite of what I was feeling. My blood raced through my veins, burbling, like it was boiling. Was this part of the spell? It had to be.
“Have you ever had a blood crystal used on you?”
I nodded, remembering how Preston had nearly gotten me to cross the portal and how Lady Cardinal had forced me to reveal that I was still a virgin.
“Who do you think creates those?” Olwen grinned.
I swallowed. Vampires didn’t have any magic. “Fae.”
Olwen interlaced his fingers. “I’ve sold blood crystals to the vampires and bartered with them to keep a friendly alliance. You know why?”
I didn’t reply, even though a horrible suspicion came to me. My throat dried out.
“Because a blood crystal can’t even do a tenth of what a proper fae mind manipulation spell can do. The serum you were just given is the most powerful one.”
“It won’t work! I won’t do it!” I pivoted and ran out of the room. My feet pounded the hallway. I needed to get out. I couldn’t stand still.
I had reached the front door when a strong arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me back.
“Onyx!”
I glared at Atticus. “Let go of me! How dare you?”
In response, he dragged me toward the car. Something made me stop flailing. The serum. It would force me to do as Olwen wanted. Atticus threw me into the passenger seat, then got into the driver’s one. I tried to open the door, but it was locked.
“I won’t do it,” I snarled as he started the car. He pulled out of the parking lot and raced down the road, burning rubber.
Atticus hiked his shoulder
s. He wouldn’t face me. Good, he should feel shame and guilt. I’d thought he was my ally, but he was just like everyone else.
“I’m going to use my magic on you if you don’t let me out immediately.” I didn’t want to hurt Atticus, but I would if necessary. Just like how I would hurt Thorsten if he messed with me again. No, that wasn’t right. What was I thinking? I loved Thorsten. Nonsense. There was no such thing as love. I shook my head, trying not to get side tracked. “Let me out!”
Atticus continued staring straight ahead. “You can’t use your powers on me. The spell makes sure of it.”
“You’re lying.” I tried to call upon my ice magic, but found that my veins remained free of the black cold. “What the hell?”
Atticus sighed. “Don’t fight this. You’ll only make it worse.”
I grabbed the seat so hard I might’ve left permanent marks. “There has to be a way out of this. I’m not killing Thorsten.”
“You will. The spell will compel you.” Atticus’s voice was thick with sadness.
I gripped his hand. “Please. Help me.” He didn’t respond.
Kill Thorsten.
I flinched at the haunting whisper in my head. I pressed my palms against my ears. I tried to think positive thoughts. I tried to breathe, but my teeth only gritted in response, and my hands balled into fists.
“There’s no way out of this.” Atticus shot me a side glance. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t take me to him. We can pretend I killed Thorsten. I promise I’ll never see him again.” Desperation filled me.
“I can’t. I’m sorry. I’m bound by the oath I swore to my king.”
I swallowed hard. Atticus’s hands were tied. I was on my own. I had to think. There must be a way out. I had done crazier things.
Kill Thorsten. Kill Thorsten.
I gritted my jaw hard enough to break a tooth, and dug my nails into my flesh. “Where are you taking me?”
When Atticus didn’t reply, I glanced around. We weren’t going toward the city, but high up the mountain. That was good, right? Thorsten couldn’t be here.
He will be here. And you’ll kill him.
“There’s a bridge at the top,” Atticus said quietly. “It connects two cliffs. You’ll meet Thorsten there after sundown.”
“No.” Had the guards captured him? They couldn’t. He was much too smart for that.
Atticus sighed. “Lily wrote him a note, saying you’d be waiting for him there.”
I straightened with shock. “What? Why?”
Atticus didn’t reply, but I knew the answer.
“Because she’s my friend. This is my punishment for bringing her to the mansion.” Olwen wanted to make sure that she had a part in Thorsten’s death so that I learned once and for all that my whole loyalty belonged to him alone.
Thorsten. He has to die. He is my enemy.
The more the whisper invaded my head, the more it sounded like my own voice. And the longer this went on, the more those horrible feelings of betrayal returned. I blinked, seeing Thorsten taunting me in the closet over and over again. The potion was forcing all our worst moments to the surface.
No, those were not my thoughts. I loved Thorsten. I hated him. How could I love him after everything he had done? The mental images kept hitting me from all sides.
“How does this elixir work exactly?” I tapped my feet, struggling to sit still. I needed to kill Thorsten. Needed to stake him. No, no, no. Damn it. I had to fight this.
Atticus’s throat bobbed up and down. “It binds to your memories, focusing on the negative ones, enhancing them, minimizing the good. It uses your feelings to change your intentions.”
“Until I can do nothing else but kill him,” I choked out. I wanted to deny the words, deny that I would do it, but already hatred was taking over.
Atticus pulled the car to a stop at the top of a hill, crunching gravel. Trees stood around us like giants waiting to witness the upcoming fight. The last of the day’s light was fading on the horizon, leaving only pale orange and creeping blues.
Tears filled my eyes, but I blinked them away. I would kill Thorsten before the night was through and there was no need to shed crocodile tears. “What happens after? Will I remember?” My voice broke on the last word.
Atticus gripped the steering wheel so hard his knuckles whitened, even though we were no longer driving. “Yes, and the hate you felt for him will leave you. It’s meant as a lesson.”
“A lesson that I can’t trust my feelings. That nothing belongs to me.”
He opened his mouth, but I shook my head. There was nothing he could say. I opened the door, hoping he’d think that I wanted to get this over quickly, which I did, just not in the way he was planning for me to. Fighting against the potion was pointless. Give in. No. If I told Thorsten what I was doing, warned him somehow, he could stay away or leave before I acted.
We were near the top of a mountain, one that appeared to be used by hunters or forest rangers. Yellow signs warned about mountain lions. A trail rose into the trees, winding around boulders and toward something I couldn’t see. I climbed it, the potion compelling my legs forward, and followed the path that brave hikers must take during the daytime hours.
No, no, no. Shit. I couldn’t stop.
I didn’t want to stop. Thorsten had played with my feelings for too long.
The trail curved, and I stared at the two-foot wide wooden bridge that stretched over a dark gorge below. It was empty, but he’d be here soon. I knew it in my heart.
You must kill him. He hurt you. He used you.
No!
He’s a psycho. He’s using you for sex. Everything he told you is a lie.
I exhaled, reminding myself that fighting the voice would only give it fuel.
I’m going to do it, I replied, and my pulse calmed a bit. Good, I could do this, trick the magic in the potion.
I stepped onto the wooden bridge that connected the two hills. The gurgle of a river rose from far below. The bridge swayed and creaked, and my stomach lurched. If I fell, I’d die. But I wouldn’t. Olwen would’ve never chosen this spot if there was a risk to my well-being. But what if I cut the ropes? What if I ended my sorry life before I could harm Thorsten? I called my ice, but it didn’t come. I tried to slip over the rope railing, but my body refused. Another side effect of the spell. A tear ran down my face. Of course, Olwen had made sure that I stayed alive. This was the point. He was teaching me a lesson I’d never forget.
Something flashed above me, and I knew the time had come. I looked up, feeling hope, excitement, and anger as Thorsten descended and then landed a few feet away from me.
“I got your message. What’s wrong?”
I opened my mouth to give him a warning, to tell him to get away, but all that came out was a snarl. “I’m going to kill you!” I charged, an ice dagger appearing in my hand. Thorsten dodged it and caught my wrist with his strong grasp, making me drop my weapon.
“Onyx, what are you doing?” His eyes widened in shock.
The words I shouted weren’t mine. “You are my enemy!” Another ice dagger appeared in my hand, and this time, I impaled it into Thorsten’s shoulder, the tiny bit of me that still had some self-control managing to avoid his heart, but I was quickly losing the battle.
Thorsten fell back. He glanced from the blood seeping through his shirt to me, his blue eyes wide with confusion. “Onyx, what—”
I charged him again. I wanted to scream for him to run, to save himself, but the words were stuck in my throat, unable to get out. Another ice dagger appeared in my hand. I jumped at him, knocking him down and then straddled him. The bridge squealed and screamed. With Thorsten pinned underneath me, I raised my hand, aiming straight for his heart as mine turned to stone. I brought the dagger down as he shoved me away.
I flung myself forward again and brought the dagger down. But instead of impaling flesh, I impaled wood.
Thorsten had ascended. I looked up to find him floating above me. Anger pumped th
rough me, and the next instant, several ice knives materialized around me. I shot them all at him, screaming on the inside as several met their marks. His knee. His arm. His abdomen.
Thorsten jerked. He gasped. More blood flowed down his body, and instead of going higher up into the sky, Thorsten began to fall, trying to remove the daggers that weren’t melting.
But the magic invading my body wasn’t done yet. Against my will, I conjured more icy knives. He tried to dodge, but two struck, and his body plummeted and spun into a free-fall, crashing into the water beneath the bridge.
I howled on the inside as my legs carried me to the rope railing, making me witness what I had done.
The moonlight revealed the horror. Unmoving and facedown, Thorsten floated down the stream. Fight, I urged him on silently, but he didn’t even twitch. The hatred and ice dissolved. I had killed him. Oh my god, I had killed Thorsten.
All the adrenaline and anger fled as the potion released its hold on me. I collapsed to my knees, sobbing hysterically.
Arms came around me from behind and pulled me up. I was too weak to protest or to care. What did it matter what happened next? I had killed the man I loved, and the man who loved me. Yes, I knew it didn’t make sense given the short time we had spent together, but I knew what we had was real, and I had ruined it. I had been so naïve, foolish, and weak. I had destroyed everything.
Atticus said something, but I didn’t hear him and when he gave me a vial to drink, I didn’t question what was in it. Instead, I gulped it down, hoping it was poison, yet knowing that it would be a calming draft, a sleeping one if I was lucky. As my lids grew heavy, I welcomed the darkness. I didn’t deserve the reprieve after what I had done, and yet, I lapped it up, proving once again how pathetic I was.
20
Onyx
The Nocturnal and Fae Prison Academy Boxset [A Complete Paranormal and Fantasy Series Boxset] Page 54
