“Can’t. Got my orders.” Kristen let the arrow fly. It turned to a blur, and this time, pain flashed across my arm, hot and angry. The arrow moved on, thunking into the wall.
“Ouch!” I glanced at the ripped fabric and the blood trickling from my arm as Kristen lowered the bow. “What the hell is wrong with you? Do you always follow orders blindly? Don’t you have any brain in that head of yours?”
Kristen’s eyes narrowed to slits. “Don’t talk to me like this.”
Now, she was pissed. Not a good thing, considering her aim was getting better and my attempts to evade were getting worse. But instead of sprinting as fast as I could, my legs locked into place, and pressure gathered in my forehead as I considered my options. Dodging wasn’t working. Charging Kristen would also fail as she would shoot me long before I reached her. I couldn’t win this fight physically, but I might if I tried to access my mental powers.
Kristen lifted her bow again, eyes still narrowed. She drew back the arrow, lining it up with my chest.
“Look at me!” Her eyes met mine, and I felt a smile tugging at my lips. “Aim left!”
Her brown eyes glazed over, and she turned the bow a bit and fired. The arrow sailed at least two feet past me. It struck the wall before clattering to the floor. Kristen blinked, and her eyes returned to normal. “How did you do that?” Awe filled her voice as her anger melted.
“I’m not sure.” Why would I tell a girl who had just shot at me that I might be a mentalist? I let out a breath, relieved I’d gained some control over this situation. With Kristen in a talkative mood, I decided it was time to get some answers. “Kristen, what kind of place is this? I mean not just Vasara, but the Summer Court.”
Kristen swallowed. She had never been good at keeping her mouth shut. “Well, I haven’t seen King Peter, but I’ve heard that he was furious that Caleb freed a bunch of earthbound fae.” She dropped her voice and glanced around as if searching for spies. “Caleb is his bastard son.”
I nodded. With Caleb volunteering this information freely, it wasn’t a secret.
“I think the king hates us,” Kristen continued, stepping closer so I could hear her better. “He sees us as a problem.” She shrugged. “I don’t know how or why he decided to allow us into the Summer Court, but we’d better do as he tells us.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Who are us?”
“All of the former students of Nocturnal Academy.” Kristen bit her fingernail. “And the prisoners at Nocturnal Reformatory. I was there, in the secret prison under the school, for what happened with the Wus.”
I swallowed hard. So the rumors were true. At Steinberg’s, I had overheard that fae who displeased their masters landed in a dungeon underneath the academy. That was also where Peony must’ve landed after a plant had been stolen from the museum where she’d been working.
“We should get back to training,” Kristen said, but I still had questions.
“Is this school just for us?”
She shook her head. “There’s Summer Court fae here, but we don’t study with them. They teach us to become warriors.” She chewed more on her fingernail, which began to bleed. “I guess the king decided that it’s better to have us here than to let us grow weaker on Earth. Or he’s worried that we’d draw attention after Nocturnal was bombed, and the humans or vampires would try to go to the faeland.”
“Then why did he let Caleb blow up the academy?”
Kristen shrugged. “I don’t think the king was fully on board with Caleb’s plan.”
The pieces were all coming together now. “Vasara is damage control, then.” I motioned at her bow. “And if we refuse—?”
Kristen moved to work on another fingernail, also making it bleed. “They might sell us to vampires or put us down.”
Like animals. This was another version of Nocturnal Academy. Instead of being trained to become courtesans and servants, we were to be molded into expendable, low level soldiers. The first wave to be sent into battle. The dead bodies the more valued fae would trample over in war. A war against whom? The vampires? Or the Winter Court?
Goosebumps exploded on my skin. “But this place is beautiful. The quarters are good. I bet the food is good, too.” My stomach chose that moment to rumble, protesting at missing breakfast.
Kristen finally stopped destroying her nail bed. “Yes, I guess King Peter doesn’t want us unhappy right now. He wants us to be cooperative.” She tilted her head, dropping her hand. “Virgie, what did you just do to me?”
I couldn’t bear to tell her. Because learning how to fight with weapons or even use the elements in combat was one thing, but having mind control was nuts. It would make me a persona non grata. It would isolate me, and worse, it would make me a target. If I was going to take the reins of my life, it needed to stay a secret. “I don’t know.”
Kristen nodded slowly, accepting my answer. She had never been good at spotting lies. “At least I don’t have to kill you, and you’ll be alive for when the High Commander wants to see you later. Maybe I’m just being negative and suspicious and the Summer Court will turn out to be the best thing that has ever happened to us. Come on. I need to empty this quiver at least once.” She notched another arrow into the bow, and the sight made anger and pressure explode in my forehead.
“Aim at the ceiling!” I shouted, and Kristen obeyed. “Aim at the ground!”
On it went until Kristen only had one arrow left. Anger built, hot and thick, in my chest. My legs ached from dodging earlier and now from tensing. I was hungry. I was tired. Why did she have so many arrows?
My gaze drilled into her as she pulled the string back. A headache bloomed between my temples. I’d had enough and couldn’t hold back anymore.
“Remove the arrow and nick yourself.”
Eyes glazed, Kristen dropped the bow, still holding the arrow. My breath caught as she turned the arrow against her collarbone. I gasped, adrenaline pumping through my veins. Kristen was actually going to hurt herself. This power I had was insane, dangerous, and addictive. “Stop!” I yelled as a trickle of blood ran down her shirt.
6
Kristen lowered the arrow, now marked with her blood, but the glazed look remained in her eyes as did the pressure in my forehead. Kristen looked at me and dropped the arrow as the double doors of the gym came open.
The creaking sound of the wooden doors ended her trance and also broke through my horror. My anger dissolved and turned to ice. Why had I ordered her to hurt herself?
“Is the training progressing as planned?” a deep male voice rang out.
I had no time to think about my actions. The golden glow in the doorway told me that Nathan Bitterbay had arrived. Kristen blinked, then slapped her hand to her bleeding collarbone. She eyed the blood now coating her hand, then glared at me. But in the presence of this golden god, she did not speak. Her expression, however, said everything I needed to know. I was despicable. I had discovered my powers less than a day ago and already I was testing their limits on another person. I had to get myself under control. Fast.
“Have you both lost your tongue?” the low voice rang out behind me, much closer this time.
I whirled to face the newcomer. “Yes, the training has been going well.” A rush of tingles washed over me, and my jaw nearly hit the ground at the sight of the High Commander. He had golden, translucent wings that bathed the space surrounding him in a bright light, forcing me to squint. His pale, nearly white hair reached past his shoulders and had a hint of green, as if the essence of nature lived in it. Nathan’s suit was white. His shoulders and the sides of his trousers were adorned with golden material, and a sword with a white crystal blade hung off his belt.
“I’m glad to hear that your training went well.” His voice was deep honey. He studied Kristen and I, features stern, but warm.
“What can Virgie do?” Kristen stared at the blood on her fingers. “She...she…”
My legs twitched, and I wanted to run past Nathan Bitterbay and into the corridor. I ha
dn’t wanted to hurt Kristen, and I wasn’t ready for answers I might not like.
Nathan motioned at me. “Vergeat, follow me, please.” An invisible shield of magic hovered around Nathan, telling me that my mind skills would not work on him, just like they hadn’t worked on Caleb.
I followed Nathan, shooting Kristen one last glance. Her pupils were wide. Whether because she was scared of me or for me, I didn’t know. My heart thudded as I left the gym. Nathan Bitterbay must’ve interrupted our training session, because it couldn’t be noon yet. Kristen and I had trained for less than an hour. Were there cameras in the gym or some magical way to monitor us? Had he seen what I had done and would now punish me?
The Commander’s boots clicked against the light wooden floor as he walked in silence into the center of the main hall, past the living tree staircase and the fountain. I stayed several feet behind him, even though I knew that there would be no escaping my punishment. Through the open windows, sounds of arrows and colliding swords reached me.
At the end of the hall, Nathan opened a door, which I presumed led into his office and was opposite from his sister’s and the admission’s office. “Please come inside,” he said in his low voice that slid deeply through me, coiling low in my belly.
As I entered Nathan’s office, the sight in front of me dispelled my fears for a moment. Four small trees formed the corners of the room. Lush green leaves spread overhead and a few small birds flitted around, chattering and darting in and out of a row of open windows. Sunlight poured into the office and fresh air blew in from the training grounds outside. His desk appeared to have grown out of the floor from the combined tree roots and spread over a dirt bed. Nathan sat down in a wooden chair—also made of tree roots—on the opposite end of the desk. He motioned at an identical chair opposite him, silently inviting me to sit as well. This was good, right? If he wanted to throw me out or do something worse, he wouldn’t be civilized about it.
I sank into my chair, searching for the right words to start the conversation. If I let Nathan speak first, I’d be giving him the power, something I wasn’t keen to do. “High Commander, it wasn’t my intention to hurt Kristen.”
Nathan tilted his head. “And yet you did.”
I nodded, unable to deny that. Even if he hadn’t monitored me from afar, he must’ve seen Kristen’s blood when he entered the gym. “I was testing the limits of my power.”
“All fae have mentalist abilities, but in most, they are latent and never awaken.” Nathan folded his hands on his desk. “The plague has negatively impacted a lot of mentalists.” He paused, then gave me a half smile. “By the way, there’s no need to call me High Commander. Nathan will do.”
My breath hitched. Nathan? He was too elegant and majestic for a first name basis, especially with an earthbound fae like me. Was he buttering me up? He didn’t seem worried about my powers, which meant that he and the Summer Court wanted to utilize them. “Why was I brought to Vasara?” I asked, even though I already knew the answer.
“To keep the new soldiers in line, Vergeat. Or do you prefer another name?” His silver eyes drilled into me, hypnotizing me, and my body flooded with heat. Was this stern man flirting with me? Why? To get close to me and control my powers?
“I prefer Virgie.” My voice came out much huskier than I’d intended.
“Virgie it is.” Nathan slid aside a pile of parchment papers. “Mentalist abilities like yours are very valued. You can help your earthborn brethren gain forgiveness before King Peter, among other things. Your role is a vital one, Virgie.”
“Forgiveness? Do you mean forgiveness for their ancestors fleeing the faeland so many generations ago because they didn’t want to die in the war or the plague? From what I understand, we earthbound fae are more important to the Summer Court than ever since we never got infected with the infertility plague the Winter Court spread.” I was treading on thin ice, but if they were planning to use me or someone else for breeding, I needed to know. Knowledge would allow me to prepare myself and develop a strategy.
“You are an intelligent, young woman. I can see why King Peter and my sister have high expectations for you,” Nathan said calmly, not going for my bait. He folded his hands on his desk. “The Summer Court is merciful, unlike our Winter cousins. King Peter has suffered many sacrifices recently, but he is willing to give the earthbound fae a second chance. You can guide them all in the right direction and help them earn salvation.”
My fists balled with anger. Nathan had completely ignored my breeding question and spoke of the Summer Court as if it could do no wrong. His eyes were veiled by the fantasy he wanted to see. How could he be oblivious to how evil King Peter’s two children had been and how his court had turned their heads away from the slavery taking place on Earth? The burning injustice of us being punished for our ancestors fleeing a war rose in my throat, but I managed to relax my facial muscles and sit still. No need to show Nathan my cards.
“So, I’m supposed to control the other fae,” I said calmly. “Then what? Am I to lead them into battles?” Kristen had pretty much made peace with marching into death but that didn’t make it right. A lump rose in my throat. Was my role in the Summer Court that much different from my original goal to run a brothel back in the vampire society?
But at least with a brothel, I would be making the decisions. Here, it would be the royal family pulling the strings.
“That shall be seen. Currently, we are in a cold war with the Winter Court and are not dispatching soldiers anywhere. First and foremost, our goal is to teach former earthbound fae loyalty. When they swear loyalty to the Summer Court, they shall find redemption. Part of the vow is to agree to fight the king’s enemies. With you, Virgie, the disgraced can learn to take their rightful place in the faeland. You can help heal their hearts and minds and elevate them.” Nathan’s deep voice carried authority. He was 100 percent sold on what he was spewing.
As alluring as his voice and conviction were I, however, knew his vision was unrealistic. But for now, I had to play along. “I see. Is there anything else I need to know?” The Commander might be hypnotized by King Peter’s propaganda, but I would keep up my walls. The vampires had never managed to brainwash me and neither would the fae. I leaned in closer, allowing my voice to become seductive. “Is the King worried about something happening? The vampires attacking the faeland in retaliation for the fae blowing up the school?”
Nathan’s expression darkened, and he broke eye contact with me, then tapped his fingers on the desk. He knew exactly what I was doing, and I had to fight hard to keep my face relaxed as to not betray my disappointment, surprise, and annoyance. Because even with my new power, it seemed that I was not in charge. It might work on fae like Kristen, but when it really mattered, my power was useless.
When Nathan looked at me again, his gaze burned with determination. “Virgie, there have been rumblings of the Winter Court planning for war.”
I blinked. Despite being immune to my mental abilities, Nathan had just revealed a lot of information. Why? To gain my trust? To make me feel like we were on the same team?
“You’re going to send the earthbound fae into battle first.”
“Nothing has been decided. But our numbers were decimated by the Barren Plague and we must do whatever it takes to protect our land and citizens.” In addition to fierceness, something else entered Nathan’s voice. Nostalgia and maybe hope? What did it mean? Who was the man behind the shield of authority?
“I understand.” I thought back to Onyx at Nocturnal Academy. With her being a Winter fae and the daughter of King Olwen Vinter himself, I’d be fighting her and her troops. She had helped me during the Wild Hunt and I’d repay her by preparing earthbound fae to destroy her. And I had always thought Peony was the bitch.
“One more thing.” Nathan leaned in closer, and an enthralling, earthy scent hit me. “The fae love gossip and rumors. We need cooperation and peace among our kind and quickly. Whoever you talk to, you must always think about your role
.”
I blinked. “I am to be the face of the newcomers?”
Nathan nodded, then cleared his throat. “Of course, we’ll also have to deal with the press to maintain an image.”
I didn’t know what he meant by that, but as he rose from his chair, I knew the conversation was over. Nathan was at least ten steps ahead of me. Would I ever manage to influence this man who was King Peter’s right hand? I sure hoped so, because a war was the last thing we needed.
7
When I returned to my quarters, I discovered that Nathan had immensely underplayed the extent of what would be expected of me. A piece of parchment rested on my dresser and as I picked it up, I realized it was my schedule, probably written with a quill. Maybe even by Peony.
My timetable was from Monday through Saturday and had countless daily training sessions, all of the mental type, with names like Developing Intuition, An Introduction to Prophecy, and Developing a Mind Shield. While, unlike the other fae, I had no combat classes, my schedule sounded grueling. Before all these sessions started next week, I had to complete Prep and press conferences with The Fae Press and The Summer Court Newspaper, which might include photo shoots and interviews.
What the hell? Why would I hold a press conference? Clearly, there was much more going on here than Nathan had let on.
Not wanting to make a fuss, but in desperate need for answers, I left my apartment and stepped onto the tree stump staircase, which delivered me to the ground floor. I rushed past the huge tree and fountain, barely paying attention to its beauty and knocked at the door of Nerissa’s office. Would she be in? I hoped so since she was my best chance at getting answers. Nathan was vague. Caleb was aloof. And my relationship with Peony was too complicated for me to trust her.
Relief coursed through me when after a few seconds Nerissa’s soothing voice sounded. “Come in.”
The Nocturnal and Fae Prison Academy Boxset [A Complete Paranormal and Fantasy Series Boxset] Page 73
