“So we meet again, Onyx.” Her red eyes sparked with hunger. I had helped bring down her school. I had humiliated her more than once. She wanted my neck. She’d do whatever necessary to help King Peter destroy me. It was now or never.
Sela, who managed to stake her vampire, and Blair, who had burned hers, joined me as both of the vamp guards died on the ground, turning to embers and ash. Both Sela and Blair had blood running down their necks. Both were pale. Behind them, my warriors held a few more uniformed vampires in place. On the periphery of the room, the Summer guards had overpowered most of the Vasara students. More fighting sounded from outside the room. Peony still lay on the ground, Caleb hovering over her.
“Distract them,” I whispered to Blair. “We end this now.”
Blair stepped forward and crossed her arms. “Did you really think a few vampires would get us down, Cardinal?”
Cardinal sputtered, then grabbed King Peter’s arm. “Why haven’t you killed them yet?”
More Summer guards crashed into the room, attacking my remaining Winter warriors. I had to trust Sela and Blair to keep me safe for the next minute. I closed my eyes and repeated the Latin incantation I’d memorized, “Patentibus mors terras, Patentibus mors terras, Patentibus mors terras!”
Wastelands, open up.
The crown on my head grew heavier and heavier, digging into my skin as power like I’d never experienced exploded through me, making me realize I hadn’t used the full extent of my new magic yet. I had a chance despite the king having the Shield. King Peter backed away, eyes widening. The air between us shimmered as a gray-bordered, deathly portal slowly ripped open. I could feel a void of magic within, a place where power went to die.
Sela and Blair moved away from me as the Summer fae gained footing, pushing back my warriors and the Vasara students. We were outnumbered. Countless Winter fae lay on the floor, blood seeping out of the blue-and-black clothing. My warriors. They had died for me.
My wings cramped as something attacked me from behind. Darn thorns. A shot of my icy magic pulsed through me to kill the thorns and free my wings. But that one second of attention cost me. A vine wrapped around my neck, and King Peter advanced.
“How nice of you to do half of my job for me,” he hissed, and the leaves on his crown trembled. His vine lifted me up by my neck as I clawed at it to no avail.
“Onyx!” Blair screeched as the vine shoved me against the portal I had opened. I could feel the portal’s deadly magic tugging at my wings, eager to suck me in.
Remembering what I had to do, I reached with my unbound hand into my sword belt and uncorked the last veil behind my back. Then I threw it at the king’s crown where his magic was stored and sent out all of my ice, like General Alden had told me to do. If I could weaken the crown, I could weaken the king. His vine around my neck relaxed. It had worked.
Then why did his crazy smile remain? Why was he advancing toward me?
“Goodbye, Onyx Vinter,” he gritted out as the leaves wilted in his crown. He brought his hands to my chest and pushed hard. I tried to grip his lapels, but my fingers slipped. The ice I had released had turned against me. I reached out again, but now I was too far away.
“Blair! Sela!” My friends turned, their faces awash with horror as I tumbled backward into the wastelands, into the void of magic. They dashed forward but were too far away. The Summer Palace disintegrated and so did everyone else as everything around me turned into a whirling, gray mass. I fought, lashed out with my ice magic, but even the Winter crown on my head didn’t stop me from plunging into the depths of the wastelands.
Wrathful Fae
Fae Prison Academy Book 3
1
Virgie
The air between King Peter and Queen Onyx shimmered with magic. I backed into the trees that made up the edges of King Peter’s throne room. The portal was about to open to the wastelands, the dead part of the fae realm, and I could do nothing to help Onyx put King Peter where he belonged.
Nathan grasped his chest as he followed me into the shade. The color had drained from his pain-stricken face as he suffered his punishment for going against his king’s will. He bent over, and I grabbed his arm, losing focus on the battle.
“Nathan,” I breathed and sent a wave of soothing energy into his mind, trying to take away his pain. Back in the throne room, Onyx continued to speak the incantation that would open the portal.
Nathan tried to straighten. “I’m fine,” he said through clenched teeth.
He wasn’t okay. Nothing was okay. Out in the throne room, weapons were clashing as the Vasara students continued to fight with the royal guards. Despite their effort, the Vasara students were losing. The king’s guards were pushing them to the back of the room. Several Winter warriors, who had come with Onyx, lay dead and bleeding. The remaining Winter warriors fought despite their injuries beside the Vasara students. A space had opened between Onyx and King Peter, who stared each other down as the portal to the wastelands finally opened.
Rimmed in lifeless gray, it formed an oval window to an otherworldly, deadly presence beyond. A bleached sky hung above a dead, brown land. How could the wastelands be part of the faelands?
I put Nathan’s arm over my shoulders to steady him and waited for Onyx to push King Peter into the void.
The remaining Vasara students and Winter warriors huddled at the back of the room, stepping over a few dead vampires. I stumbled. A strange weakness was sweeping over me and killing the magical pressure in my head. The portal. It was sucking the magic from the room, leaving me feeling empty. The trees Blair had set on fire trembled in response even as the magical fire died. The wastelands killed everything.
Nathan groaned. This draining presence wasn’t helping him. I needed to get him away from here. Just as I was about to move, a set of vines shot from between the trunks and sailed straight at Onyx. In a flash, they wrapped around her wings, too quickly for her to react.
“That’s not good,” Nathan hissed, leaning on me.
Use the potion. I pushed the thought toward her mind. But with her mind shield up and the portal to the wastelands open, my magic was too weak to reach her. Still, I tried again. Use the potion.
Onyx did no such thing. She flapped her silver wings, from which she sent out a wave of frost that covered the vines, killing them and turning them limp. King Peter shot another vine from his palm, which wrapped around her neck. He let out a nasty laugh as he advanced on her. The deadly portal continued to float between them.
“This is bad,” Nathan seethed, clutching his chest.
“We have to help.” I lowered Nathan to the ground, my eyes on King Peter who was pulling Onyx closer to him...and the portal.
“Onyx!” Blair shouted from somewhere.
I focused until my forehead hummed with pain. The potion! I yelled into Onyx’s mind. This time, she must’ve heard me. With her still free hands, she uncorked the bottle of the deathly brown, plant-killing liquid and threw it at King Peter’s crown. The leaves curled, dying. The magic he gave off weakened, but he wasn’t done. He advanced on Onyx as she clawed at the vine noose, eyes wide. Terror rose in my chest.
“Goodbye, Onyx Vinter.” The king put both his hands on her chest and shoved her into the portal as the vine around her neck loosened.
A scream tore from my throat, which was joined by other screams as Onyx tumbled into the portal of nothingness. Blair screamed again, and Caleb looked up from where Peony lay, unconscious.
Onyx had vanished. Only the sight of the dead lands spread out beyond the portal. The fighting in the room slowed and everyone, even the king’s guards, stopped to watch the horror. Onyx’s icy magic, a cool, crackling sensation, faded from the throne plaza.
This wasn’t supposed to happen. Onyx was supposed to banish King Peter, not the other way around. Now, Onyx was as good as dead. No one who went into the fae wastelands came back out. The Winter Court was damned. So was the Summer Court with King Peter on the throne.
I took a
sharp breath and pulled Nathan back into an upright position. We couldn’t cower on the ground, waiting for King Peter to banish us next, or do something worse. With both of us standing, I took a step forward, but Nathan, still shaking from pain, pulled me back.
King Peter turned around triumphantly and stared down everyone. Silence fell. Weapons lowered. Tears ran down Blair’s face as the trees slowly stopped burning. Sela’s chest heaved up and down with each breath. A Winter warrior bled and groaned on the cobblestone, grasping his side. Lady Cardinal stepped forward to stand beside King Peter, still protected from the sun thanks to the Shield.
“The battle is over. We won.” King Peter’s crown recovered and the leaves straightened out again. Slowly, he turned to take everyone in. I said a silent prayer to the trees that were hiding Nathan and me.
King Peter’s stare rested on Caleb, who still leaned over Peony. “I must thank Queen Onyx for doing me a favor. She has revealed all enemies of the Summer Court today. If only I could thank her for her service.” He glanced at the still open portal to the wastelands, apparently in no hurry to close the lethal gateway.
Caleb shifted to stand in front of Peony, whose chest was barely falling and rising. She was alive, but still knocked out from using one too many strength potions. She had temporarily broken free from the draconian oath King Peter had made her swear, and now, she was suffering the consequences.
What would King Peter do to her when she became conscious again? His fury would have no bounds, after she’d changed Thorsten back into a vampire for a second time and helped him escape to the Winter realm with General Alden who would be in charge with Onyx gone.
A sob worked its way up my throat, but I held it down. Nathan still trembled beside me and clutched his chest. How long would the pain of disobedience last?
King Peter advanced on Caleb, hand raised, and I thought he was going to backhand his bastard son. Instead, he shoved Caleb aside. A fresh wave of vines rose from between the cobblestones, binding Cable’s ankles and wrists.
“Father,” Caleb gasped, pulling against his binds.
King Peter picked up Peony and slung her over his shoulder.
What was he doing? I pulled against Nathan, but he held me in place as horror filled my chest.
King Peter doesn’t know you fought against him, Nathan said into my mind. You’re our last hope, Virgie. You must pretend to be loyal…and get out of here now. He released my arm, but I didn’t move. Did he really think that I would abandon him and the others?
King Peter carried Peony to the still-open portal. Panic shot through me as I realized what he was about to do.
“Father!” Caleb shouted, voice stretching with agony. He pulled against the binds, but they only tightened, drawing blood from his wrists.
“My own son has worked against the Summer Court once again. He must be cleansed of this bad influence.” King Peter threw Caleb a hate-filled look as the leaves on his crown curled again, then he tossed Peony’s body into the portal, where she vanished, obscured by a gray puff of dust.
My knees quaked as I gripped the wall. I wanted to use my influence on King Peter, but I didn’t. It was too late, and Nathan was right. With Peony and Onyx trapped in the wastelands, Caleb bound, and Nathan seized by pain, I was our last hope. I had to stay hidden and figure out a plan. Facing King Peter directly now would be suicide and would doom us all.
“I hate you!” Caleb roared. “You’re not my father! You’re a monster!”
The guards and everyone else watched in petrified silence while the king ignored his son and whispered low words that made the portal close. The air stilled, and King Peter’s crackling, prickly magic filled the room, warning us that it would strike at the smallest sign of insubordination.
Nathan gripped my hand. Get out of here. His desperate words rang through my mind like an alarm bell.
I’m not leaving you. The king would make Nathan take the ultimate vow or throw him to Lady Cardinal. I had started all of this. I would get Nathan out of here. I grabbed Nathan’s shirt and pulled him back, saying a silent apology toward Caleb and the Vasara students who remained in the throne room. Some of our allies, including Kristen and Nerissa weren’t in the room, which gave me hope that they might be safe.
King Peter motioned at his men. “Guards, arrest the Winter warriors. They will be placed in the dungeons indefinitely. I will not kill them, but will allow them to think about their failure to protect their queen.”
Royal guards seized Sela and the few Winter warriors that weren’t bleeding out on the ground. Sela remained stony as vines bound her wrists behind her back. As a general, she was a bargaining chip that King Peter could hold over the Winter Court. She’d get to live. For now.
“As for you, Vasara students, I’ll take into account that perhaps you simply need a bit more education. There are ways that you can be put to use for the Summer Court. We do have a plague that decimated our numbers.” King Peter motioned to the Vasara students who huddled together. “Guards, escort them back to Vasara. They are to remain until further notice. I would hate to waste valuable bodies. I’ll be removing Nerissa from her post and installing Blythe Tree as the head of admissions.”
I wanted to vomit. King Peter wanted to use the students for breeding to replenish his army. Lady Cardinal smiled at her former Nocturnal Academy students and prisoners. I could only imagine what she had in store for them.
“As for my High Commander, he’ll take an updated vow.” King Peter’s cold gaze swept over the room. “Nathan, show yourself. You and the others will be given a chance to take a pure loyalty vow in exchange for your lives.” King Peter snapped his fingers like Nathan was a dog.
Nathan tensed. I gripped his hand harder and pulled him back toward the corridor, but he resisted. When I met his gaze, there was pain and pleading in his silver eyes. If he resisted again, the pain just might end him. I had to let him go.
No, bullshit. I would not give up. I’d use every ounce of magic I had left to get him out of here.
I focused and sent out as much of my mental power at him as I could. An ache spread through my forehead and my whole body felt as if it was on fire, but I ignored it and pushed harder.
Nathan’s eyes glassed over as the other fae stepped toward King Peter, distracting him for now.
You must serve the greater good of Summer Court. That means leaving now, I whispered into Nathan’s mind. He nodded. Good. I’d bought us some time.
With the king busy attending to his rebellious fae, I pulled Nathan back through the doorway that led to the narrow corridor. Nathan’s mind was at ease now, calmed with my magic, and he offered no resistance as I led him into the next corridor over, navigating slowly through the huge Summer Palace.
“Where is my High Commander?” King Peter boomed a minute later, growing impatient.
Nathan flinched, and I sent my influence over him in a second wave.
We must leave! If you stay, you’ll doom the Summer Court. I checked that the corridor was empty, then nodded at Nathan.
We broke into a run past the corridor’s waterfalls and toward the main courtyard.
The king’s allied with the vampires, Nathan mindspoke, sounding dazed.
He did. They’ll turn on King Peter eventually and then the rest of the fae, I replied. There’s nothing for us to do here right now. To save them all, we have to get out of here.
“I agree,” Nathan croaked. He was doing better. Good.
We slowed down as the main courtyard came into view. It was empty, drinks and food abandoned. Footfalls sounded from behind, and I whirled around, ready to unleash my mentalist power, but stopped as I realized the three figures hurrying toward us were Caleb, Blair, and Sela.
I narrowed my eyes at them, but Caleb held up his hands. “We didn’t take any loyalty vow.”
“It’s the truth,” Blair confirmed, and Sela nodded as blood dripped from a new gouge on her arm.
“Why did the king let you go?” I asked and pushed agains
t their minds. I couldn’t sense any ill intentions against us.
Sela smirked. “The king is too cocky. He was too busy enslaving his fae to notice us slip away. Only two of the guards paid us any attention, and I took care of them.”
Blair smirked. “The guards forgot that regular vine bindings can be destroyed with frost and fire.”
I turned to Caleb. “And you?”
Caleb shrugged. “My father always underestimated me. He probably thought that with Peony gone, I’d crumble and give up.” Caleb’s jaw tightened. “We’re on borrowed time. Father will notice our disappearance soon. We have to disappear before he destroys all of us.”
Nathan wheezed, his face contorting. We had to be more careful about what we said around him as not to trigger his vow.
“We have to trust Caleb,” I said gently. “He’ll help us save the Summer Court and the king from the vampires.”
Nathan nodded weakly. Our foursome followed Caleb, who led us to a wall of the courtyard where he pushed a stone panel to the side, revealing a dark tunnel. We crammed in, and he closed it behind us, shutting out the daylight.
Shouts rang out from the outside. The guards had arrived.
“We need to hurry,” Caleb said.
“I’m not leaving without Nerissa,” Nathan hissed.
Caleb clucked his tongue. “Unlike Peony and Onyx, she’s safe. I told her where to go before all of this started.”
Nathan went rigid. “And where’s that?”
“This tunnel leads down the mountain and to a secret stable the royal family hasn’t used in ages. Nerissa should be waiting for us there with the Pegasi.”
2
Virgie
We hurried through the damp tunnel. Caleb led the way, holding a glowing, golden orb in front of him for light. Sela and Blair walked quickly behind him, with Nathan and I making up the rear.
The Nocturnal and Fae Prison Academy Boxset [A Complete Paranormal and Fantasy Series Boxset] Page 102
