I swallowed the hard lump in my throat. “So is Riordan. She’s putting me in the sentinel program.”
He pulled me into a hug. “That’s great. Really.”
Gabriel had never hugged me before, and every second of it was sheer bliss, introducing me to the familiar aroma of deep woods I associated with shifters. With him. I buried my face against his throat and savored the moment, breathing in the spicy sweet scent of cologne and soap and raven. Suddenly, none of those bruises hurt anymore.
“Congrats, Sky.”
Without considering the consequences of my actions, I tilted my face up and gazed into his brown eyes. A couple inches between our heights forced me to rise to tiptoe, but Gabriel met me halfway, dragging me closer by a fistful of my shirt.
His lips slanted over mine, parted but soft and welcoming, inviting my stroking tongue. I licked my way inside his mouth and claimed him with growing fervor, months of desire pooling in my stomach until I threw caution to the wind.
The kiss was everything I fantasized about since the first time I saw him walk across the auditorium stage.
“Wow,” escaped my lips as the understatement of the year when I finally tilted my head aside. I needed a bucket of water.
Gabriel’s mouth traced down my throat. His laugh huffed warm breath against my neck, and then his unshaven jaw tickled me. “Only wow? I’ve been waiting months to do that, and all I get is a wow?”
“Holy shit.”
“Better.”
I kissed him again, taking my sweet time. Gabriel didn’t seem to be in a rush either. He backed me up against the wall and explored my mouth until I was absolute putty in his hands.
A quiet cough split us apart. Liadan peered around the corner from the hallway with an apologetic smile.
“Sorry, but my ride to the airport is here and I wanted to say goodbye.”
And she also had to pass us to get out the door.
With Gabriel holding me so tightly, I didn’t have the chance to break apart from him and hug her goodbye.
“Um…”
Liadan grinned back at me, dimpling her rosy cheeks. “It’s okay. Uh, don’t let me interrupt.”
“I promise to keep in touch, Lia. Have a safe flight.”
“Thanks. I’ll call when I get in.” She wheeled her luggage into the hallway and shut the door, leaving Gabriel and me alone in complete privacy.
“So…” I looked up at him. “Months, huh?”
“Don’t get too excited. There were times I wanted to throttle you as well.” Humor gleamed in his eyes. “Speaking of which, I should probably get you downstairs before your dad comes up here and throttles me.”
Damn, I wished they had let me fly home.
“You’re right, although I think Dad would give you a pass since you helped me out. I couldn’t have done it all without you.”
“For real? I felt like I let you down at first,” Gabriel said. “I should have done more, gotten to you sooner.”
“Done more?” I blinked up at him. “Excuse me? You and Rodrigo held off a horde of thirsty vampires while I went up against one spoiled brat.”
Gabriel cracked a smile, easing the tension on his handsome face. “You halted the rise of a blood goddess while we swatted a cloud of mosquitoes.”
It felt so good to laugh after all we’d been through, but the most important part was that we went through it together. He’d hung out with me to the bitter end. Could a girl ask for a better sentinel than my faithful and loyal raven? I doubted it.
“We both did it. Together like a real team.”
And he hadn’t let me go yet.
My parents waited for me outside in the car, and while I knew Dad was probably glancing at the clock, wondering what the hell was taking so long, I didn’t want to go and leave PNRU behind.
All my friends had become a second family to me. And somehow, the raven in my dormitory living room was now my best friend.
He finally released me and stepped back. It took every shred of willpower in my body not to pull him back.
“If I’m going to be a sentinel, do you think they’ll keep us assigned together next year as partners?”
Gabriel shrugged. “Why not? Didn’t Riordan say we get to stick together until graduation?”
“Yeah, I guess she did.”
“You’re stuck with me. You got anymore bags?” He gestured to the two suitcases by the white sofa. We’d already removed all the glamour.
“Nope. The rest are already in the car.”
He plucked my luggage from the floor and oofed in surprise. “Damn. Did you pack your entire room in these?”
“Well… kind of… Half of it.”
“Figured. You fae and your magical tricks.”
I jogged ahead to summon the elevator to our floor. We stepped on together, and when we exited the building, my parents had gathered near the steps like they were debating whether to come get me.
Mom gave me an exasperated look and put her hands on her hips. “There you are. It’s about time… who’s this?” She and Dad hung back a step, appraising him without condemnation. All my life, I’d known them to be cool about shifters, but maybe that was where I’d inherited my tolerance of the other races.
“Um, this is Gabriel. My sentinel. Gabriel, meet my parents.”
Mom didn’t waste any time. She stepped right up and hugged him. “We’ve heard so much about you, Gabriel. Thank you for keeping an eye on our girl.”
“I barely did anything, Mrs. Corazzi.”
Dad shook his hand when Mom released him. “You did enough, Gabriel. Thank you.”
Either our body language was super obvious or my parents had out-of-this-world perception, but they got into the car again while Gabriel and I stood behind the open trunk of the car. He placed my suitcases with the rest of my belongings then glanced at me.
“I’ll wait for you,” he said in a quiet voice.
“What about… you know?”
He shook his head. “I’m done with her. I thought ditching her on the highway made that pretty clear.”
“Pretty sure she’s plotting to get you back.”
“Good thing I’m already taken then.” He only kissed my cheek in public, and when he stepped back, my stomach did a disappointed flip-flop. “Check your phone.”
“You, Rodrigo, and Ama have a safe drive.”
I climbed in the back seat and sighed. Mom twisted around and smiled at me. “What a nice young man.”
“Yeah, he’s a great guy. I couldn’t ask for a better sentinel.”
While Dad cruised to the university gates, I checked my phone to find a new friend request from Gabriel Fujimoto, accompanied by a message.
Keep in touch, Sky. See you this fall. Text me if you get bored on the way home.
I smiled and wondered how long it would take for him to regret making the offer. I had a very long drive and parents to ignore. No texting and driving.
Trust me, I won’t. Rodrigo is coming back with me this time. Besides, you’d make as many stops as I do too if you were going home to what what’s waiting for me.
Good luck.
Only the fates knew what my next year at PNRU would bring, but with new friends and my raven, I had nothing to fear.
Did you enjoy this tale? Don’t forget to pop over and let us know how you felt about Skylar’s first year. Turn the next page for a sneak preview of The Scary Godmother.
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Book 2: The Scary Godmother
Chapter 1 Excerpt
I celebrated the start of my sophomore year at college by flying on my own from Virginia to Chicago without worried parents lurking over my shoulder. In one short year, Padraig N. Riordan University, or PNRU as we liked to call it, had become my second home.
Pilar took over as the decorator for the second year in a row, transforming our four-bedroom townhouse with faerie magic into a sophisticated masterpiece. It was her idea, after all, to
approach us in a group Facebook message over the summer about splitting the rent for a place on campus.
When I’d arrived yesterday, I signed my name across the bottom of the lease and paid her back my share of the deposit. Now we were waiting for Liadan, the third fae in our group, to make it in from Ireland and for Holly to check into the university. As a Chicago native, our sorceress buddy didn’t have to travel far.
Just as I was drowsing on the sofa, the bell buzzed. Pilar and I raced to answer it, but she beat me to the door knob and tugged it open.
“Buenas tardes, Holly.”
“Hey.” Holly lingered on the stoop, gripping the rail in a white-knuckled grip. Her luggage was piled behind her. Although it was still summer and the scorching heat lingered in the late afternoon air, she wore her full length mage robe with the hood up over her blonde hair. The sun was a tiny gold sliver on the horizon behind her.
“Hey, girl.” I stepped down onto our tiny porch and pulled her into a hug. She tensed at first, and then she relaxed and squeezed me back.
We hadn’t known it at the end of last year, but maybe I should have guessed after everything that had happened. Carmilla had done more than kidnap my friend and try to replace her soul with a dead lover—she’d made her a vampire.
“I’m so glad you agreed to room with us, Holly.”
“Me too. Now I won’t be the only night student here.”
“Ugh. Don’t remind me.”.
Laughter dissolved the awkward tension. Pilar hugged Holly next and then tugged her inside to check out our sweet new digs.
I dragged my wand out of the Neverspace where fae stored things we didn’t want to hold in the physical realm, then used a short range Translocation glamour Dad taught me over the summer. All three of her bags reappeared in the living room behind the couch.
“Lia flies in tomorrow,” I said. “You have two rooms to pick from, but the room without eastward facing windows is free for you.”
Our townhome had special UV protected windows for vampire students who still enjoyed natural light and secure shutters to make it pitch black at any time. PNRU took the safety of its students seriously.
Sometimes.
“Thanks. I’m not picky so that’ll be fine.” Holly smiled. “What about Gabriel? Have you seen him yet?”
“He and Rodrigo should be driving in sometime soon. He texted about an hour ago.” And I couldn’t wait. We’d been in constant contact over the summer months, whether via text or video calls. So much that my mother walked up behind me during a Facetime chat and asked if Gabriel wanted to stay with our family over the summer, too. Ugh.
“Soooo? What’s happening there? Come on, give me the dirt while I pick a room.”
“Not much, really. I mean, I haven’t seen him except over chat.”
“Don’t let her fool you,” Pilar said. “She’s changed three times in the past hour just in case he arrives early enough for company.”
“Well, take my advice and stick with this outfit. Guys love yoga pants, and your ass looks hot in them.”
“Er, thanks.”
It took a few minutes to unpack Holly into her new space once she settled on the bedroom facing away from the sunrise. We ordered in and invited our mutual mage friend Ben over to join us for pizza and movies.
My head lolled back around a quarter after midnight, and an hour later when my phone’s notification chirp dragged me awake, Ben was knocked out beside me and Pilar lay sprawled across the other end of the sectional. Holly remained awake, staring at the television. She’d put on a subtitled, French romance we liked.
“Gabriel and his cousin made it in,” I said after reading the text.
“You gonna go over?”
“Nah. They got stuck a few hours behind a traffic accident and they’re beat. He said he’d see me tomorrow.” I stretched my arms over my head and rose. “I’m gonna make some coffee. Want some?”
“Sure.”
To avoid disturbing our friends, we both retreated to the kitchen. I fiddled with the fancy Keurig Pilar brought with her and made some foamy and oversweet coffee with the flavored syrup in the cabinets. We settled on the bar stools in the nook.
After a while of sipping in silence, I spoke up first. “I know we talked over the summer but, uh, how are you adjusting?”
“It’s been hard. Mom was, well, she was Mom. Lots of crying. Dad took it in stride. He said it’s cool because I get to turn into a cloud of bats now, and it’s more than he can do.”
Memories of my first encounter with vampire bats dragged an involuntary shudder from me. “Cool and scary.”
“Yeah, agreed.” She grabbed a cold slice of pepperoni and bit into it. “The Sanguine Court paid to have all our windows replaced in the house.” Pureblood vampires were born with resistance to the sun, but the same wasn’t true of the ones like Holly who were infected. She’d burn faster than an Irish redhead vacationing in the tropics.
“It’s the least they could do after what was forced on you.”
“Yeah…” Holly’s expression fell, and in a quieter voice she murmured, “They staked Denise Buckland. Had you heard?”
My stomach dropped and left me feeling queasy. Last year, Denise had been at the Hidden Court meeting on campus. Gabriel had given the names of everyone there to Sebastian and Simon.
“I didn’t know,” I whispered.
“Apparently she was a part of the attack in Chicago. The sentinels handed her over for judgement.”
“The queen told you that?” Pilar asked.
“Actually, the Sanguine Court is pretty tech savvy. They send out a weekly newsletter to keep us up to date on all happenings.” Holly bit her lip and looked down. “I’m probably not supposed to tell you that so don’t say anything, okay?”
“I won’t. So, um… what are they saying about the Hidden Court?”
“Not much except for the obvious. Report any suspicious vampiric activities to the court and stay clean. There won’t be any leniency. Just stakings and sunlight for us, burnings for the purebloods.”
I shuddered.
“I wish I’d told you guys about Matt. Said who he was.”
A year ago on Halloween night, Holly had met a hot vampire senior who swept her off her feet. It turned out he had ulterior motives and had seduced her at the behest of his mistress, Countess Carmilla. If not for me, Holly would have been sacrificed by the ancient vampiress, her body used as a new sleeve for Carmilla’s long dead lover.
“Why did you keep it a secret? You know we wouldn’t have judged. Was that his idea?”
“No, it was mine. I didn’t want to jinx it, you know? I thought Matt was a good guy. He came from a good family.”
“I wish I had told you all about the Hidden Court meeting I stumbled across.”
“Considering how great it seemed at first, I probably would have dated him anyway. I can’t resist a bad boy.” She sighed. “The bites were nice. Like really nice. Better than those two hundred dollar vibes we checked out online.”
“Hey, you’ve totally opened yourself up to a whole realm of hot bad boys now. You’re not just a vampire, you’re a vampire mage. That’s totally the prime rib of vampires.”
A wry grin spread over her mouth. “Gee, thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
Vampire or not, Holly was still Holly. It didn’t matter that she’d been turned. What mattered was that she had accepted her new life and was smiling again.
* * *
***
* * *
Gabriel invited me away from the campus the next afternoon for a hike in Tir na Nog. I hadn’t noticed it before on Halloween night, but he cast a bird’s shadow after we crossed the barrier dividing the school grounds from the faerie realm.
And now that I’d Ascended, I looked different, too. So different I caught Gabriel stealing peeks at me out of the corner of his eye.
“What?” I finally asked.
He shook his head, a hint of a smile on his lips. “Noth
ing.”
“It’s something. You keep staring at me.”
“I like looking at your wings.”
I glanced over one shoulder at the spectral butterfly wings. They’d emerged the moment we crossed the divide, glowing orange and pink with strands of blue filament and glittering rainbow shimmers.
A gentle breeze rustled through the gold and scarlet leaves above us. The eternal autumn provided the perfect weather for our walk and I’d always favored the warm colors over the brightness of the Summer Glade.
“I can’t believe y’all rented a place in the Phoenix Townhomes. It’s more expensive than where I live with Rodrigo.”
“If Pilar didn’t suggest it, I probably would have stayed in our freebie dorm.”
Gabriel raised a brow. “You gonna be able to work enough hours at the campus bookstore to afford your share of the rent? Sentinel training is demanding, but you have faerie shit on top of that.”
“I’ll be fine.” I had to be fine, because quitting sentinel training wasn’t an option. “I already told Mr. Bennett I need to cut back on hours. Besides, Mom and Dad are going to pay my share of the rent. I did the deposit from my savings, but they’re really proud of me and wanted to help out.
“That’s good. Sounds like you four are all set.”
“Hope so.” I laughed. “It’s so nice to see everyone again. When Liadan arrived this morning, even Holly woke up long enough to say hi before she crawled back into her bed.”
“How’s she adjusting to the new nightlife?”
“Pretty well. She’s still down about it, I guess, but she’s thankful she got to keep her powers since most mages burn out their sorcery when they turn.”
“Carmilla picked well. But yeah, I can imagine what a double whammy that would be.” He whistled. “I bet the Sanguine Court is bending over backwards kissing her ass after what happened.”
“Dude, yes. They bought her family all new windows and sent her over this ten thousand dollar coffin. They even explored all her new capabilities this summer. Like controlled sunlight tests and stuff to see how much she can take.”
The Hidden Court Page 30
