The guards led me down familiar corridors and finally took me to the classroom in which we had studied Home Décor and Careers. Strength flowed back into me, the first real life I'd felt in weeks. In here, iron was limited. Magic tingled up and down my arms. My fingers itched to dance across the piano and play a classical tune, but the guards herded me toward the plant area where Caleb was already waiting among the potted trees and flower-filled vases, his face set in disgust.
I blinked as he crossed his arms and shot me a death stare.
“Get to it. Don’t dawdle!” one of the guards barked. Both guards stepped away to the threshold of the door. I silently thanked Nilsson, certain it was because of him that I had the privilege of the vampires being nearby, but not looking over my shoulder. As a researcher and introvert, Nilsson valued solitude and personal space, and while I enjoyed showing off my magic at grand displays for the vampires, I produced my best work when I was alone and focused.
“Was this your idea?” Caleb hissed.
I gritted my teeth. “No, I did not ask for you to swoop in and claim half of the credit for my work after you stole my original plant.”
He shook his head, looking as if he was ready to spit at me. He could at least tell me why he wanted the plant.
“You’re welcome,” I said. “If you do well, they might actually release you and give you a good position.”
He opened his mouth to protest, but then closed it. Yes, he didn’t want to be rehabilitated. Caleb had come from the faeland. Why, I didn’t know. If the Summer Court still wanted to avenge Preston, a prince teacher who had been killed at the academy last year, certainly they would’ve sent an army and not one thieving, useless fae.
Since Caleb didn’t look like he was ready to spill his guts, I turned my attention to the plants, the three of which I had never seen, making sure we had everything we needed to replant them. We did. Pots. Dirt. Even a cloth pack that must hold seeds. At least Sullivan hadn’t screwed me in that department. Perhaps he feared angering Mrs. Wu. That would be my key out of here. “Let’s just focus on this.”
Caleb grabbed my hand, or more correctly, he placed his big hand over mine. I stiffened, hoping to make him understand that his touch was not welcome, but instead of removing his hand, he growled in a low tone, “You don’t care, do you?”
“I care about doing a good job.” I stepped aside and read the instructions that Nilsson had left in his messy handwriting.
Peony,
As Mrs. Wu needs a more potent plant, you will not be working with one seed from the faeland, saffron, and red ginseng, but will use instead three seeds from potent plants of the faeland. They are extremely precious. You must succeed.
Lord Nilsson
Straight to the point and making it clear what was on the line without making explicit threats. Yes, that was typical Nilsson. I studied the seeds. They’d have to be planted into the soil, which Caleb and I would need to prepare.
I surveyed the full, mature plants Nilsson had delivered for me and found what I was searching for. Tiger lilies. I chopped them. They’d go into the soil first. Just because I possessed magic didn’t mean I could simply wave my hands around and create the fertility plant from nothing. The soil had to be prepped first.
“Unbelievable,” Caleb muttered.
I handed him the mortar and pestle. “Grind the dandelions.” When he stared at me blankly, I glanced meaningfully toward the guards.
He took the bowl from me, annoyingly managing to touch my fingers as he did so. “You do understand that Mrs. Wu is going to misuse your fertility plant to force fae to breed?” His gaze drilled into me. “Why else would she want it?”
I smiled at the opening he gave me. “You should know all about the fae breeding, don’t you? After all, you’re the one from the faeland. I’ve heard about the same thing happening there.” The story circulated all the time. The Winter Court had spread the plague that made most Summer fae infertile, so they often dragged in fertile fae and forced them to breed. Caleb sure had a lot of room to talk.
He nearly dropped the bowl but recovered quickly and crushed the herbs forcefully. It was too late. We both knew he’d blown his cover.
I wanted to ask why he was here, but that would only lead to him closing up. I had to catch him unaware. Attract, then trap, Mother always said. Best to rile him up so that his defenses went down. Since breeding appeared to be a sensitive topic, I’d start there.
“Preston Kallan had the same goal as Mrs. Wu.” I twirled a blonde hair strand around my finger, looking up at Caleb from underneath my eyelashes. His jaw tightened. Good. I had his full attention. “He was looking to take fertile fae or half fae from the academy and put them through the portal into the Summer Court so that they could breed there.”
I expected Caleb to deny this or to get enraged and say something about Preston, which would give me an idea what position if any Caleb held at the Summer Court, but all he said was, “Two wrongs don’t make a right.”
Interesting. He was not defending Preston, yet he also hadn’t taken the opportunity to disparage him. “It seems that the faeland has enough problems. Why come here instead of fixing the ones you have back home?”
Caleb put the bowl down. “What’s the next step?”
Sensing I wouldn’t get anything else out of him for now, I told him what other ingredients needed to be chopped and mixed together. We worked in silence, and the few attempts I made to make him open up led nowhere. Caleb didn’t take my bait even though I could see I made him angry when I talked disrespectfully about the faeland. He also didn’t respond to my flirtations, even though he had touched me several times. He was confusing the hell out of me. Was he doing that on purpose? Had he volunteered to work with me? Nonsense. Sullivan and Nilsson had chosen Caleb because they knew he hated me. Or maybe they knew he had magic and Nilsson wanted me to succeed. But why was Lady Cardinal even willing to give Caleb a second chance? Couldn’t she tell that he was dangerous, an enemy? Couldn’t she tell that he posed a real threat to everything?
I studied Caleb out of the corner of my eye. Maybe if I had been nicer to Onyx I wouldn’t be here now. She'd escaped. I could have, too. I shook my head. Lies and stupid dreams wouldn’t get me anywhere. Having friends was pointless. Power and influence mattered. I had to be strong. I needed to stamp out my weaknesses, unless I wanted to end up like Mother, sold from one master to the next, my contract becoming worse each time.
I could sell out Caleb to Lady Cardinal. Tell her what a threat he was. But Caleb was clever and had gotten out of the last jam. I’d have to ally with him, then.
I watched Caleb mash together the ingredients with finesse. “Great job,” I said, forcing out the compliment.
“Thanks.” He grudgingly continued to work.
I shuffled a bit closer to him and lowered my voice, making sure the vamp guards outside the room couldn’t hear. “Look. Maybe once we’re done with this plant, we can both get out of here. We’re on the surface level. We both might be able to escape. I know where the secret door is to the academy, and if we take some plants with us and use them, we can fight the guards.” If I could make vines attack people, Caleb could probably do much more. Then I wouldn’t have to grovel for Mrs. Wu’s forgiveness.
Caleb shook his head. “No, thanks. I’m not going to let you set me up.”
10
I couldn’t blame Caleb for distrusting me, and thus, after making a few more futile and awkward attempts to win his favor, I dropped the topic of escape. Instead, I made sure to plant the three seeds Nilsson had given me deep into the soil, hoping that with Caleb and my combined magic, the plants would be ready to combine on the third day.
Caleb and I didn’t speak much during day one and day two. We worked on growing the plants needed to supply the soil with enough magic to make the faeland vegetation grow. Apparently, growing these plants here on Earth was a challenge and we tried combination after combination to give the soil enough power. Caleb took my directi
ons without giving me much lip. The only times we left the secure Careers classroom was to use the bathroom and return downstairs to our cells at night. I’d forgotten the luxury of having actual bathroom stalls and privacy.
Caleb’s magic was impressive when he wasn't in the Reformatory and not under the direct eye of the guards. He made herbs sprout with an absent wave of his hand, while I had to focus. Were all pureblood fae born in the other world like this? And why was he using his full extent of magic if he hated the project that much? Perhaps he’d finally seen reason and decided that first and foremost he needed to protect his hide. I had no clue as we didn’t talk about anything besides the next steps for the fertility plants.
But Caleb’s designated bathroom breaks seemed to take longer than necessary, making me assume that he was surveying the academy. He might not want to break out with me, but he was planning his own escape.
Every so often, he’d wave his hand over a random plant or flower in the classroom, making it bloom, as if he were slowly rallying the troops and testing what he could do up here. Then he’d wink at me, confusing the crap out of me. Was he baiting me or finally considering my offer?
The guards didn’t seem to worry about us. Clearly, thinking the academy inescapable, the pair just hung outside the room and chatted about sports scores for the most part.
Meanwhile, Caleb and I were making good progress on Mrs. Wu’s project. The soil was in excellent condition, and finally three plants had sprouted—a red one, a white one, and a green one. If all went well, these faeland plants would grow overnight to their full size and bloom. Then they’d be ready to be combined into the hybrid plant. We just might impress Mrs. Wu and Lord Sullivan. Perhaps I’d have my freedom anyway and wouldn’t have to worry about Caleb. But even as we worked and the three main ingredients grew bigger and bigger, dread crept into my gut along with something else: guilt.
You were the product of rape. Mom’s awful words stayed with me.
This plant would produce more fae like me, only they wouldn’t have the magic. It would produce more parents like my mother. I swallowed each time the thought hit.
Also, even if I hit the deadline with Caleb’s help, what would happen after Mrs. Wu took her prize? What if she decided I still needed to be punished? The vamps might decide they were done with me and drain me. After all, thanks to me, they could make more servants. Yes, only about ten percent of earthbound fae possessed magic, but ten percent wasn’t super rare.
By the end of the second night, a headache had exploded between my temples, and Caleb had bags under his eyes. “Looks as if we’re going to be done tomorrow,” he said in a heavy voice, echoing my hopes and fears.
“Yes.” I eyed the three main ingredients on the desk. The sprouts had now gained small leaves. Tomorrow, I would come back and combine them if I could manage enough energy. The past two days had been draining even with Caleb’s help. Using my magic nonstop for ten hours wasn’t natural.
“Time’s up for today!” One of the two guards burst into the room.
Caleb seized a few grapes out of the bowl the guards had brought us and popped one into his mouth. The old grapes had been our meager dinner and my stomach was roaring. “We need more substantial food to complete this project.”
The guard smirked. “I hear breakfast tomorrow will be oatmeal and water.”
Caleb stuffed the grapes into his pocket, and the guards led us downstairs and back into the hidden reformatory. The stale air suffocated me, reminding me that I was nothing here. Where would I land after I finished the hybrid plant?
I was on a tightrope. Caleb was firmly against us finishing the project, despite the fact that he had helped me. Perhaps that was why he had argued for food. Begging was a sure way to get less from the vamps. Clever. That also meant he was probably holding off on escape. Or was he? Caleb was the most confusing fae I’d ever met.
Work Time had just ended back in Cell Block 1. The other prisoners were settling onto their cots for the night. I walked across the dirt floor of my cell and watched Caleb flop down on his cot. The lights went out, and I pulled the blanket over myself, passing out from fatigue seconds later.
I woke to the sound of guards’ feet thudding around and shouts. Opening my eyes, I sat up and blinked the pain of the flashlights from my eyes. Was it breakfast already? No. That arrived with the banging of metal on metal.
“Peony. Did you—” Kristen started next to me.
Greenery spread out from Caleb’s cell, and I gasped. “That wasn’t me,” I blurted.
He was gone. A massive cluster of grapevines had risen from the center of Caleb’s cell, right out of the dirt floor. They had grown quickly, so fast that they’d wrapped around the neck of a guard—the lumberjack guard—and pulled him against Caleb’s cell, probably choking him and preventing him from making a sound. Then Caleb must’ve relieved him of his key, because the cell door was open and Caleb himself was gone.
The grapes.
The seeds.
Shouts exploded through the cellblock. The lumberjack guard’s face was blue. His fangs protruded as two of the vamp guards tried to cut him free. They succeeded, and he fell to the floor before gasping. “That little shit,” he growled as he recovered. “He attacked me and ran up the steps! I’ll tear him apart myself!”
“What is going on here?” Lady Cardinal stormed down the steps. She stopped and surveyed the scene.
“Caleb escaped his cell.” The lumberjack guard didn’t look so confident now, but rather took a step back under the cold gaze of Lady Cardinal.
Had Caleb escaped Nocturnal Academy? Most of the fae prisoners here had gone to Nocturnal Academy. Some had seen the underground tunnels after the Bidding Ball when some of their masters didn’t bother drugging them before taking them away. Caleb must’ve asked around and pieced everything together. Still, breaking out of Nocturnal Academy was nearly impossible thanks to the steep mountain it was positioned on and the lake surrounding it.
I sat down on the bed, knees shaking. Caleb’s sudden escape should’ve shocked me, but more than that I felt disappointment. He had left me behind. My hand itched to slap myself. Of course, he had left me behind. It was each man or woman for themselves unless I could endear myself to someone. I hadn’t this time. I had been nothing but rude to Caleb.
My body broke out into a shiver as I realized that since I’d been the one to spend the most time with Caleb, I’d get blamed for him figuring out an escape. Again, I’d be paying for his crimes.
Grabbing the bars and ignoring the weakness crawling up my arms, I squared my shoulders. I had to save myself. “What happened, Lady Cardinal? I needed his assistance with the plant!”
She glowered at me. “We don’t know. Return to bed.”
“I told you he was dangerous,” I said, hating the tremor in my words.
Lady Cardinal flashed her fangs at me. “Go. To. Bed. You have a project to finish tomorrow.”
I retreated to the cot and let myself fall back onto it, hoping my display of desperation would convince the vamps I had nothing to do with Caleb’s escape. Maybe if I did an amazing job all by myself tomorrow, Nilsson would be impressed enough to demand my release.
Maybe. Too many maybes. I should’ve watched Caleb closer. I should’ve known what he was up to. If I could’ve stopped him, the vamps would know my loyalty belonged fully to them.
But did it? How could it when they treated me like dirt? Everyone treated me like dirt. My mother, her master, my teachers, my clients, and now Caleb.
I curled up under the covers and pulled them over my head. Blocking out the world outside, I tried not to wonder whether if I’d been nicer to Caleb, he might’ve unlocked my cell and invited me to run away with him.
You always mess up everything, Mother’s voice sounded, the one constant that never abandoned me.
11
Despite a restless night of sleep, I couldn’t wait to get out of bed the next day. My body was wired with nervous energy that crawled throug
h me like an army of ants. They chewed with a million pincers and made their way to my core until I thought I couldn’t stand it anymore. Today, I’d complete the plant and make a decision that would determine the rest of my life. Would I stay here and hope that Nilsson would forgive me and take me back, or would I make a break for it?
I wanted it to be the former. All morning, I looked for clues of my prison sentence coming to an end. Alas, there were none. I was treated just like the other prisoners. I got barked at to prepare breakfast, which indeed was slushy porridge and to my surprise, eggs. They were hard boiled, probably a few days old, remainders of the breakfast that had been served to the students at the academy above, but it was good to get some protein, so I put salt on the eggs and gobbled them up.
As they had the previous two days, two guards escorted me up to Careers. Thankfully, they didn’t interrogate me about Caleb’s escape. My display must’ve worked, and everyone believed that I hated Caleb. Only I didn’t. I couldn’t even be properly mad at him that he’d left me behind. Not after the way I had treated him.
My body tingled with nerves as the guards and I reached the corridor of Nocturnal Academy. In the Careers room, the three plants that would make the hybrid had grown overnight into colorful bunches and were almost ready. Each plant glowed with color. I hadn't asked what each plant was good for, but I knew that Nilsson, not wanting the wrath of Mrs. Wu, had ordered the right combination.
It was now or never. I needed to make a last plea for my case.
“Please, could I speak to Lord Sullivan?” I motioned around the plants. “I was supposed to complete this project with Caleb, not alone. Since the situation has changed, I need additional resources.”
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