The banner. For the very uncreative Fall Dance. We'd just be drawing leaves and pumpkins. When there was a freaking messenger in the school.
"You want to work on the banner?" Carmen asked. "We should take a vote. Who wants to do that?"
Randy, of course, thrust his hand up and nodded. "What is the deal? It's just a guy." He spread his arms again, holding both sides of the door frame.
"Now what?" I asked.
Carmen eyed the other girls, a gleam in her eye. Her gaze shifted over to the display of peacock feathers Mrs. Piero kept on her desk.
"Girls," she said. "We know what to do."
Uh, oh.
"You're not serious," Randy said as everyone except me ran over to the display, ripped out the feathers, and commenced a tickle attack. "Hey! Cut it out! I swear!"
But it worked. Randy stepped over to me as the other girls dropped their feathers and bolted into the hall, exchanging hushed whispers. My feet tingled and I peeled them from the floor to follow, but Randy blocked the way.
"Giselle. I can't believe you."
I stopped. It was just us in the art room now. Don't tell me he's jealous.
"Come on. This is a once in a lifetime thing. Don't you want to see who the chosen is?"
But Randy gripped my upper arm, gentle at first, and then he slowly tightened his grasp.
“Let go,” I said.
“You don't need to be spying on that weirdo out there,” he said. "You're a lot more level than Carmen."
I considered grabbing one of those feathers but all were out of my reach. So I went to blabbing instead. “Look, if you're worried someone will get sent to Cursed Academy, just say it. But you'd be contradicting yourself. So what's the deal?"
“That white tunic is an Olympian Academy getup. Most of them are god descendants. We don't want to cross them." His serious gaze bore into me.
“Some are descended from nymphs or other creatures.” I pulled against Randy, but he held my arm up over my head, shaking his.
I'd had enough. My limbs tensed and my pulse quickened. Why was he treating me like his child?
Randy scanned the room, which remained empty. Silence dragged out.
“Giselle, we've been friends for a long time and maybe more. I never got the chance to say this before. I'm always so busy mowing lawns that we never had the chance to be, you know, together.”
"We have?" Randy and I hung out sometimes, but usually with the group, and with the exception of those two not-so-serious dances--the kiss was a new years eve experiment--we hadn't gone beyond that. Now wasn't the time to have this super awkward conversation. Especially since he was holding me here.
“We went out like, twice, but.” I paused there, trying to find the right words. “Stop distracting me. Let go of my hand. There's this thing called consent.” I yanked, but he maintained his grasp.
“You go a little crazy sometimes, Giselle,” he said.
I tried to say something, anything, but my throat locked up. Really? This wasn't real. We stood there, facing each other. Fear pooled in my chest, making my heart race. This wasn't Randy. The one I knew wrote stupid stories in that orange spiral notebook. He drew comics about our horrible teachers. And he laughed with us.
“Randy,” I tried, but my voice came out muffled.
“What do you say?” He lowered his voice to a purr as if this could turn me on. Then he pulled me close to his body, uncomfortably close, and rocked his hips against mine.
Something dark and angry burst to life in my chest, pushing aside all the fear. A roar from deepest pits of time filled my ears and a dark strength flowed into my limbs, electrified and icy. I gasped as I pulled my free hand back. What was happening?
A sucking sound followed. Randy's hair blew to the side. Then his gaze turned and his pupils widened. Loosening his grasp, he backpedaled into the art table and left me alone.
And then I saw why.
A rip had opened across the room, hanging in thin air like an opening to pure darkness, a space outside the universe. Five feet from tip to tip, the jagged opening held a swirling space darker than black. With a loud, horrific whine, it sucked in air, peacock feathers, and a few papers. As each object struck the surface, it flashed purple before snapping out of existence.
"What is happening?" Randy shouted, gripping the table with both arms. He leaned over it, fighting the wind that tried to pull him into the maw.
"What?" The whole room fluttered around me as I stood there. Pencils rolled towards the deadly opening. A bin of markers tipped off a shelf, sending its contents into violet annihilation.
But the wind did not push me.
In fact, I couldn't feel it.
I held my breath as sheer terror coursed through me and panic won, paralyzing me.
Randy.
He slipped further and further off the table, fingers grasping the surface, shirt whipping against his skin.
"No!" I shouted as my terror shoved away the icy darkness within. "I don't know what's--"
"Help!" Randy glared at me, digging grass-stained fingernails into the table's edge.
I begged myself to move, to grab him before the darkness consumed him. The cold, dark sensation vanished. I leapt at Randy, seizing his wrist.
And then the portal snapped shut. The whining and the wind died. Randy let out a breath as a few rogue markers rolled across the floor, settling in a floor crack.
"Giselle, what did you do?" Randy asked, lifting his head off the table. The deadly seriousness in his eyes made him look like he'd been joking a few minutes ago.
"I..." I managed. "I didn't do anything."
His jaw dropped and the reality hit me like a brick. The darkness that filled me...
Magical things only happened to god descendants.
Or the descendants of monsters.
The messenger was here for me.
And whatever I had just done wasn't a good omen.
Click here to read more.
About Margo Ryerkerk
Margo Ryerkerk is the author of several fantasy series and has reached multiple times bestselling status with her novels on Amazon. Her YA Paranormal and fairy retelling series focus on magic, love, and adventure.
After completing a BS in Psychology, a MS in Marketing, and a two-years stint in the fashion world, she became a full-time author and can’t believe she gets to spend her days creating stories. When she’s not writing, she loves to read, travel, and dance to pop anthems.
To hear about newest releases and receive two free short stories, please sign up to my readers group. (I will never share your personal details and will only notify you periodically about new releases, sales, freebies, giveaways, and bonus content.)
www.MargoRyerkerk.com/contact/
Books by Margo Ryerkerk
THE DARK LEGACY SERIES
Dark Legacy, Book 1
Mirror Sacrifice, Book 2
Spirit Snatcher, Book 3
Phoenix Call, Book 4
Phoenix Unleashed, Book 5
THE CURSED FAIRY TALE SERIES
The Cursed Fairy Tales Box Set (Books 1 to 3)
The Nutcracker Curse
The Bluebeard Curse
The Hansel and Gretel Curse
KINGDOM OF FAIRYTALES SERIES
After ever after - a Kingdom of Fairytales Prequel
Queen of Song: A Cinderella Retelling (Kingdom of Fairytales Cinderella Book 1)
Heiress of Melody: A Cinderella retelling (Kingdom of Fairytales Cinderella Book 2)
Throne of Symphony: A Cinderella retelling (Kingdom of Fairytales Cinderella Book 3)
Goddess of Harmony: A Cinderella Retelling (Kingdom of Fairytales Cinderella Book 4)
Click here for Margo Ryerkerk’s Amazon page.
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Goodreads: Margo Ryerkerk
Email: [email protected]
Instagram: MargoRyerkerk
About Holly Hook
Holly Hook has been writing pretty much all h
er life and also has several other series available! Titles range from paranormal romance, to fairytale, to urban fantasy and to science fiction. Find your next read below or by visiting the Holly Hook Amazon Page.
Also, don’t forget to sign up for her awesome Author Newsletter! Holly Hook will let you know when new books release, and there might even be some fun games and giveaways around once a month!
Books by Holly Hook
There are three rules in this world.
1.) Vampires rule.
2.) Humans suffer.
3.) Never challenge the elites.
The first book of the Presidential Vampire series. Kindle Unlimited. Tap here to order in the US, here for the UK, here in AU, or here for CA.
Vampires aren’t real, but I just might be one...
The first book of the Forgotten Vampires series. Kindle Unlimited. Tap here to order in the US, here for the UK, here in AU, or here for CA.
Sent to a school for the descendants of dark Greek gods and monsters, how can awkward Giselle even survive?
The first book of the Cursed Academy series. Kindle Unlimited. Tap here to order in the US, here for the UK, here in AU, or here for CA.
A young woman with a need to protect.
A young man drawn to her acceptance.
A rival pack threatening to destroy all they love.
The first book of the Alpha Legacy Series. Kindle Unlimited. Tap here to order in the US, here for the UK, here in AU, or here for CA.
Dragons are just legends from the past...
The first book of the Dragon Born Series. Kindle Unlimited. Tap here to order in the US, here for the UK, here in AU, or here for CA.
A cursed young man. An exiled young woman. And a love that could save or doom them both.
The first book of the Cursed Wolves Series. Kindle Unlimited. Tap here to order in the US, here for the UK, here in AU, or here for CA.
The Nocturnal and Fae Prison Academy Boxset [A Complete Paranormal and Fantasy Series Boxset] Page 121
