The Nocturnal and Fae Prison Academy Boxset [A Complete Paranormal and Fantasy Series Boxset]

by Margo Ryerkerk

  Onyx blanched. Clearly, she had expected King Peter to ask for something else, like favorable trading conditions, maybe even a part of her lands, but going after Petra was insanity.

  “The wastelands are difficult to reach without great magic,” King Peter said slowly. “They are oriented sideways to the Summer and Winter realms. You should be able reach them after your coronation.”

  “You cannot reach the wastelands?” Curiosity filled Onyx’s voice.

  “For the good of the Summer Court, I cannot risk the wastelands trapping me and draining my magic. Venturing there will risk corrupting the entire Summer Realm,” King Peter continued. He spoke with a scary calm that sent a chill down my spine. The conditions were clear. Onyx was to go there herself and risk ruining the Winter realm. If she didn’t, there would be war. What had I done?

  “Return my daughter and bring me the killer of my son, then we’ll have a truce.” King Peter smiled cruelly.

  Onyx’s gaze blazed, and I held my breath, terrified she’d challenge him, but she merely nodded. “I understand.”

  King Peter smiled. “Then we have a deal.”

  She backed out of the room with her guards. Whether she wasn’t turning her back to the king out of respect or because she didn’t want to be vulnerable, I didn’t know, but I was glad. As she left, the trees on either side of the room leaned forward, as if ready to strangle Onyx.

  Nathan took my arm and gave me a gentle tug. We left, the Summer guards marching behind us.

  “See Princess Winter out,” Nathan said tightly to the guards before turning to me. “You’re coming with me.” From the tone of his voice, I knew he hadn’t bought my act.

  “I’m not supposed to see the guests out?” I asked as Onyx and her guards disappeared. I needed to catch up with her, tell her that I hadn’t been trying to get her killed.

  Nathan didn’t speak until we had crossed past the media waiting in the main courtyard and entered a dark corridor that was away from everyone. “Your loyalty must be to the Summer Court,” he hissed.

  “I am loyal to the Summer Court,” I hissed back, praying that Nathan had only picked up that I was on friendly terms with Onyx and not on my lack of mind manipulation.

  Nathan crossed his arms and stared me down. “You are lucky that King Peter didn’t notice. But I did.” Nathan might not be able to read my mind, but he must’ve taken several courses on intuition and how to read others’ intentions. “King Peter severely punishes those he doesn’t believe to be loyal.”

  I gulped. “I didn’t do anything wrong. I couldn’t throw Onyx to the wolves. She helped me once. Such bargains have to go both ways.”

  “Whatever happened in the past doesn’t matter as it was before you came to the Summer Court to serve King Peter. Your loyalty is toward him, and him alone.”

  “So this is how it’s going to be.” I squared my shoulders at Nathan as a stab of pain formed in my chest. Seriously? I had hoped Nathan would at least be a good friend and someone by my side. Until now, he had almost been.

  Nathan swallowed as his eyes shone with emotion he couldn’t quite hide. “I do not want that, but if you are caught being on friendly terms with any of the wrong people, it won’t be good. I want to help you, but I have a kingdom to defend and a king to serve. When people are not loyal to their king, bad things happen. Very bad things. You saw the throne room.”

  I sure had. The king could execute any of us at a moment’s notice, but that didn’t mean we should be cowards. “Thanks for letting me know where you stand.” I stormed past Nathan and back toward the entrance balcony, but by the time I had reached the balcony, it was empty. Onyx and her guards had already left.

  I tried telling myself that with the Winter Court and Thorsten behind her, she’d be fine, but that made me feel only worse as it reminded me that even though we both were in horrible positions, she at least had a man who truly supported her. I had no one.

  16

  I left the Summer palace alone, ignoring the press who tried asking questions. Let them think whatever they wanted. They were stupid, vapid, selfish creatures. They didn’t care about the things that truly mattered. They’d probably welcome a war if it meant higher readership.

  When I reached the Vasara Center and stepped out of the carriage, I didn’t go immediately inside the open gates, but asked the stableman, who waited beside those gates, if I could groom the Pegasi.

  “But that’s not your job,” the brown-winged fae replied, his expression puzzled.

  I eyed the winged horse closest to me. “Please. You’d be doing me a favor.” He didn’t look convinced, so I added, “It makes me feel closer to nature.”

  He nodded. That was one thing the Summer fae understood: the need to be outside and connect to plants and animals. I let the stableman show me where the food and water was kept for the animals, which was in a hidden side building on the side of the stockade fence. After he left me alone and stated he’d leave the gates open for me, since most of the other students were already in bed, I refilled the Pegasi’s food and water. While the Pegasi gobbled up the carrots and hay, I started in on their manes, brushing slowly, calming down with each stroke. I lost myself in the activity so much, I didn’t hear the approaching footsteps and jerked when a voice behind me said, “There you are.”

  I turned around to Peony, not hiding my emotions. Her brows drew together at the expression on my face. “Onyx’s meeting didn’t go too well, I take it.”

  I continued brushing the horse. “No. The king wants her to retrieve Petra from the wastelands and bring him Preston’s killer.”

  “But—” Peony shook her head. “The first part is impossible and the second will doom her.”

  I nodded. “And this was the proposal he made after I calmed him. King Peter is unstable.”

  Peony bit her lip. “You worked your magic on him, not her.”

  My hands shook, making me nearly drop the brush I was holding. “Nathan noticed, and he was furious. He worships the king.”

  “Oh, Virgie.” Peony pulled me into a hug and began rubbing my back in a circular motion. I relaxed into her, allowing myself to be vulnerable, something I never thought I’d dare to be around Peony. But this was not the girl I had met at Nocturnal Academy, and I had a feeling that I had Caleb to partially thank for this transformation from head bitch to caring being.

  I stepped out of the embrace, practicality taking over. “Peony, have they trained you in combat and sword fighting?”

  She nodded. “Most of my training was focused on my plant skills, but yes, a little bit.”

  “Will you show me how to fight?” I had mental powers, but the more of an advantage I had, the better.

  Peony sighed. “I’d be happy to, but with your daily timetable, it will be hard to squeeze something in.”

  Yes. Whenever he was around, Nathan and I met for Telepathy at the end of the day which was emotionally and physically exhausting. The very end of the day wouldn’t be a good plan, especially now that Nathan had his eye close on me. “Half an hour here and there is better than nothing.” She nodded, and I smiled. “Thank you. How’s everything going with you?”

  She sighed. “Caleb has sent out his fae soldiers to find Mrs. Wu and the fertility plant we made for her.” At my raised eyebrow, Peony brought me up to speed on how the rich Hong Kong vampire had commissioned her to create a fertility plant that was a powerful aphrodisiac, zapping the willpower of Mrs. Wu fae servants and making them jump each other like animals in heat.

  “That’s awful.” I swallowed hard.

  Peony avoided my gaze. “It was a horrible of me to agree to do it. I was afraid she’d kill me if I didn’t.”

  I shifted in my seat. “She would have. You didn’t have a choice.” None of us did when working for the vampires.

  There was a long silence before Peony continued. “Mrs. Wu is lying low. There’s no trace of her. Caleb stole her first plant, but she still has the one we were forced to make at Nocturnal Reformator
y.” Peony chewed on her lip. “Originally, I was supposed to use my plant magic to try and create a fertility plant that would help Summer fae wanting to conceive, but now my whole focus has gone on training the new fae and ensuring that the king is happy with us so that he doesn’t kick us out.” Tiredness entered her eyes. “Nothing is going the way I hoped it would.”

  “I’m sorry.” Peony’s situation wasn’t much better than mine. The Pegasus neighed, and an idea came to me. Sword fighting seemed alien to me, but being around these magnificent beings, I felt strong and capable. “Let’s take the Pegasi for a ride,” I said before I could think through what I was proposing.

  Peony blinked and looked around for the stableman, but he had left me alone. “Are you insane? We can’t.”

  “Why not? Is there a rule against it?”

  “No,” Peony said slowly, “but we could fall and die. Besides, we’re supposed to stay inside the walls. The public...they were promised that until we assimilate.”

  I crossed my arms and gave her a hard look. “And that doesn’t bother you?”

  Peony twirled a blonde curl slowly, deep in thought. “You think they teach us only certain skills on purpose, to keep us weak overall. It’s why you’re only learning mentalist abilities and why none of us have been taught to fly. And I’ve tried, trust me.”

  I nodded. I had tried using my wings several times but without any success. Nathan made it look easy, but without any training, I was a flightless bird.

  Peony’s catlike eyes narrowed, and the queen B was back. “If this war breaks out, we’ll be the first ones to be sacrificed. They care about us as much as the vampires did.”

  A smile cracked across my lips. “So, are you in?”

  She grinned wickedly. “Yes.”

  I convinced Peony not to saddle the Pegasi. It felt disrespectful to such beautiful mounts. Also, if I needed to make a quick escape in the future, I highly doubted I’d have the luxury of getting my ride ready, and finally, I had a feeling that the Pegasi would not throw us off. Those dark, soulful eyes were soothing. Could I sense the emotions of animals? Perhaps. It was definitely something to explore.

  I helped Peony use a stool to swing her leg over the Pegasus and climb on his back, then I did the same. The Pegasus offered a low, contented whinny as he exited the small barn. Outside, night had fallen, which was good for us, as no one would see us take to the skies. I patted the creature on the neck, and we trotted for a few minutes. Both Pegasi seemed to glow in the moonlight.

  “I’ve never done any horseback riding,” Peony said. “The Pegasi are amazing. It’s like they know what you want them to do without us using any tools.”

  “They’re intelligent.” My gaze drifted past the open field of flowers and up to the sky and the stars. “Fly,” I whispered into my Pegasus’ ear.

  The creature extended its massive, gorgeous, white wings, and my stomach rose into my throat as my Pegasus took a giant leap. With a whoosh, wings flapped. Air blasted my face and threw my hair back. The flowers and fireflies shrunk first into small shapes, and then clouds of blinking light. Next to me, Peony rose into the air on her Pegasus, holding on for dear life. A scream caught in the back of my throat. But it wasn’t fear, it was exhilaration. For the first time since arriving in the faeland, I was doing something of my own accord. For the first time in my life, I was thinking and acting outside the mold.

  I turned to Peony, just twenty feet away, who giggled hysterically, a sound I never thought I’d hear from her. “Oh my god, we did it!” she screamed into the wind. “We are flying! We are free! I can’t wait to tell Caleb.”

  My chest contracted with pain and unease. “Are you sure we can trust him?”

  Peony nodded once we were level with each other and gliding. “It was his idea to free the earthbound fae, and he was the one to agree to work with Onyx. He’s on our side.”

  “That’s good.” I was glad, and yet my heart was heavy.

  Peony pulled her Pegasus closer to mine. She flicked her hair from her face as we drifted over the field and then over the forest. Tiny houses and lanterns shone below. “Nathan is not a bad guy.”

  No, he wasn’t. He also wasn’t a coward, but… “He won’t use his brains if it means going against authority!” I had to shout over the sudden flapping on my Pegasus’s wings. Then the creature glided, offering silence except for the air rushing past.

  Peony sighed. “Give him some time. Be patient. If I changed, anyone can.”

  I chuckled. “Yeah, you sure made a one-eighty.” But would Nathan want to change? After all, Peony had been forced to when the vampires turned on her. Nathan and his sister were treated well by the king, and it would stay that way as long as they did whatever King Peter told them to, no questions asked. Deciding that worrying wouldn’t get me anywhere, I pushed Nathan and the king out of my head and focused on my ride. Up here, the stars were clearer. I could make out faint blues and oranges. A ribbon of faint dust spread across the sky.

  The fresh air did me good, and after Peony and I returned the Pegasi to their stables, offered them sugar cubes, and parted ways at the still-open gate, I fell into a peaceful sleep, hope nestled in my stomach. I wasn’t completely on my own. I had Peony and Caleb, and I was much more resourceful than I had previously believed.

  For the next few days, I avoided Nathan, afraid he’d pick up on my little rebellion or worse, my true thoughts. No notes came for him, inviting me to his office for Telepathy, which bought me time.

  I threw myself into my studies and during the in-between times, let Peony explain the basics of close combat as I’d never be allowed to wear a sword or bow given my high status. She showed me how to hold a dagger and where the most vulnerable spots on a fae body were. A small blade was better than nothing, and it was also easy to hide daggers on my body, underneath my dresses or inside a small purse. Daggers were the weapons of assassins, after all. Sneaky. Unexpected.

  I just hoped I’d never have to use the crystal dagger now tied to my ankle.

  Peony and I also met by the Pegasi stalls, flying on our mounts daily. She had let Caleb in on our secret, and he ensured that no one got to the stalls while we were gone and discovered the Pegasi were missing. By the end of the week, I was feeling much better.

  All was going well, until Nathan rushed into our classroom, in the midst of Developing a Mind Shield. We had been working on how to put up magic barriers around ourselves, as Nathan and the royals did, but I’d been struggling with the act and Nerissa had been frowning at me all through class as if worried.

  “Nerissa,” he nodded curtly. “I must borrow Virgie.”

  Nerissa gave him a peaceful smile. From the few times I had tried talking to her about a potential war, I knew she too had drunk the Kool-Aid and believed that King Peter only had the Summer Court’s best interests in mind. “Of course, brother.” She faced me. “We will work on your shield more next week.”

  I stood from my position in the circle and didn’t meet Peony’s gaze, even though I could feel her worry drilling into me. Next to her, Kristen chewed on her fingernail.

  Don’t worry. It’s going to be fine, I said in my mind. Telepathy hadn’t worked so far between Peony and me, but I continued to try. Plus, I knew that I could influence her mood, and right now, I couldn’t let Nathan see how much I had confided in her. Thus, I sent a wave of calm over her, feeling her relax in response. At least I was getting better at focusing my power on people without staring directly into their eyes.

  I stepped out of the classroom with Nathan, and the tree stump staircase delivered us to the ground floor. I didn’t ask why Nathan was here, but waited patiently for him to enlighten me. He seemed uneasy, his fingers twitching. But that wasn’t my problem.

  He finally spoke when we reached the empty ground floor. “King Peter is sending us on a mission. It’s time for you to prove yourself.”

  I inhaled sharply and snapped my gaze to him. What would the king have me do? Would I have to hurt someone? �
�Didn’t I already prove myself?”

  “Not yet. We need to retrieve something from the Border Territory.” At my raised eyebrow, Nathan added. “The Border Territory separates us from the Winter Court. It is a transition zone between our courts and mostly uninhabited.”

  Of course. I had heard Blythe mention it in passing but she hadn’t elaborated much in History. Apparently, the Border Territory was just a travel area that got more winter-like, the closer you got to the Winter lands. Elemental fae often traveled there between courts.

  “He wants us to retrieve snowdrops,” Nathan said. I blinked. I had expected jewelry or perhaps a sword, not flowers. “It doesn’t grow here because it’s always summer.”

  “I know what a snowdrop is,” I snapped. While there were still a lot of plants in the fae realm I couldn’t name, we had snowdrops back on earth. It was the first flower that came out in February or March when the snow thawed. Small and white-petaled, it had the shape of a downturned bell. “Why does the king need it?” Was this a meaningless task to prove my loyalty, or the first step in accelerating the war against the Winter Court? Did King Peter suspect I had calmed him during his interrogation of Onyx? Or did he simply withhold trust until his subjects couldn’t think for themselves anymore?

  Nathan hesitated, but then he must’ve seen in my gaze that I needed more information before I risked my life.

  “The king wants Peony and other plant fae to work with it. It might make us better at fighting in winter conditions. Right now, the cold weakens us.”

  I gritted my teeth as ice raced down my spine. So King Peter was preparing to invade the Winter Court. His talks about a truce would never happen because he knew Onyx could never deliver what he asked of her.

  “What if I refuse?” I asked coolly.

  Nathan closed the space between us and gripped my shoulders, quicksilver eyes boring into me. “You can’t. Why would you? He’ll have to send you to the dungeons. Then, if you refuse again—”

  “He’ll execute me.”