by Marisa Mills
“What’s the matter, Argent? I heard Alexander got more than that from you in the woods.” His voice carried as the other couples stopped spinning to watch, and I heard laughter behind me. The room was still spinning, the light growing too bright, and an energy was rushing up through my feet. I thought it might carry me away. Before I knew what I was doing, I flung my arms forward, twisting my wrists and fingers into one of the positions Conrad had shown us earlier. Suddenly, it was like someone had turned on a light switch. All the static charge in the room, the ambient magic, rushed through me. The folds of my dress whipped around my ankles as the energy surged forward, striking Brett squarely in the chest. He flew backward, knocking over three other couples. One of them bumped into the center table, and I watched as the vase seemed to fall in slow motion, before shattering on the ground in a flower of rainbow-colored rose petals.
Conrad was looking at me in confusion, but there was a hint of something else in his eyes. He picked up one of the petals, with interest, and held it up to the light. It turned brown, then black in his fingers before falling away into ash.
***
I stormed out of the ballroom, lifting the hem of my dress as I ran down the stairs towards the school entrance. I needed air. I crossed my arms and walked quickly across campus, shooting glares at anyone in my way. I could feel them watching me, whispering about me as I passed.
Viviane had wanted to start rumors. I wondered suddenly if she’d set me up for this, maybe even put Brett up to accosting me. It wasn’t the first time I’d been man-handled, but somehow I hadn’t expected it up here. It wasn’t unusual in a dark alley in the Scraps, but easy to dissuade with a knife to the groin.
These mage-children are really terrible, Lucian said.
“At least they’ll stop blaming Alexander for saving us both. Isn’t that what you wanted?”
Lucian sighed. Do you know how frustrating it is to do something good and return to a place where everyone thinks you’re the embodiment of all evil? To come here, having saved two of them, and knowing that—even though you’ve done that—these mages would lock you up without hesitation?
But I couldn’t blame her… she knew there was something off about me, that I was capable of more than I was supposed to be. It was my fault. I hadn’t been able to control my anger, or my magic. I stopped walking suddenly, my feet glued to the large stones of the pavement.
My magic.
“Did you do that?” I asked suddenly. “In the ballroom, with the roses. With Brett.”
That was all you, mage.
“But that’s impossible,” I whispered. I was no mage. Lucian had told me once magic was mostly about confidence and belief, and that mages were trained to know what they were capable, while those from the Lower Realms weren’t. But it had to be more complicated than that. Otherwise, why the nobility at all? I realized, this was the main difference between mages; nobles were assumed to come from powerful magic families, while the Council allowed competent mages to join, after proving themselves. I wasn’t sure which was better. Unearned prestige based on assumption, or diligence and hard work to earn a position based on merit.
I’d reached the end of the campus, and stood under the large, iron gates, but I didn’t know where to go. It was chilly, and I shivered, rubbing my shoulders. I’d left my cloak behind, and I’d feel stupid wearing this flame orange dress out into the actual town. But I also wasn’t ready to go back and face my classmates after what had happened in dance class. I was supposed to lay low, not draw attention to myself, and gather information for Dorian. Instead, I’d made myself the center of attention, again.
A heard a cough behind me and found Alexander leaning against the fence. He was wearing a dark suit with a blue tie, his blonde hair pulled back away from his face. A large, fur-lined coat fell to his knees, nearly concealing the sword he wore from his belt.
I wiped away the tears I knew were hanging from my eyelids.
“You stood me up at the library,” he said.
“Dance class was a bit too exciting,” I said, brushing the hair off my cheek.
“Well, you look stunning,” he said, letting his eyes linger over the tight bodice of the dress. I frowned, but did a little spin to show off the frills of my dress. It did look pretty when it twirled.
“Your friend Brett seemed to think so,” I said.
Alexander’s face hardened instantly.
“Did he do something?” he growled, clenching his fists.
“I can take care of myself,” I said, turning away.
“You shouldn’t have to,” he said. He came up behind me and reached a hand towards my arm, stroking it gently with the back of his fingers. Then his cheeks reddened and he pulled away.
“I just needed to get away for a while,” I said.
Alexander nodded, silently.
“I know a place, follow me.”
Eleven
ALEXANDER GRABBED MY HAND AND led me around the side of the campus, through a garden of bushes and underneath a canopy of thick branches. I hadn’t been to this part of the campus before. I always figured the school grounds ended at the treeline, but behind the trees was a small lake. The shore was dotted with benches and picnic tables, and even a pair of rope swings.
We passed a thick bramble of blackberry bushes and Alexander picked a handful. They weren’t quite ripe so they were tart and sour. It was evening, and a cool breeze swept through the air. My stomach tied itself in knots, thinking about what to tell Alexander when we were alone.
Alexander took off his coat and draped it across my shoulders. It was still warm. The gesture seemed gentlemanly, and although it made my insides flutter, something about the gesture didn’t suit him. We settled into the swings, and sat together in silence, watching the still surface of the lake catch the colors of the evening sky like a mirror. It was quiet, the silence broken only by the faint sounds of birds and the whispering of the wind in the trees. I wondered if Alexander was waiting for me to speak first, and what he expected me to say. He knew I was keeping secrets, and Viviane told him I’d been stealing for Dorian, but he didn’t know the exact details.
“I suppose I should ask if Wynter is even your real name,” Alexander said finally
“It is,” I replied. “My uncle gave it to me because I was born in the wintertime.”
“So the part about your parents is true,” Alexander said slowly.
“I never knew them. Gabriel raised me, with my brother Briar. In the Scraps.” I added. Alexander already knew this but it felt better saying it out loud. “I grew up digging through mage trash in the Dregs.”
Alexander looked like he’d tasted something unpleasant.
“You really don’t belong here,” he muttered.
I winced. “Do you want me to leave?”
“I don’t know. So what happened, then?”
“I had a…” I searched for a tactful way to talk about Dorian without revealing his involvement “…there was this gentleman who wanted me for a job. So Gabriel sold me to him, like an indentured servant.”
I glanced at Alexander to see if he had any reaction to that, to see if he realized just how much that must’ve hurt. But he didn’t. Of course, he didn’t. Alexander was still a prince. He probably had a castle full of indentured servants, who only worked for his family because they had to survive.
“I didn’t want to do the job,” I said carefully, “So I ran away.”
Technically, true.
“But my uncle found me again and hurt Briar.” I said. “Then, when I got to Reverie, Dorian wanted me to attend the Academy, so I could look for a journal in the forbidden archives.
“The one by Nicholas Armenia,” Alexander nodded. “But we only found the letters.”
I bit my lip before continuing.
“Actually, I found the journal later,” I said. “Gareth had it.”
“What was inside?” Alexander asked.
“I don’t know. I
gave it to Dorian before I had a chance to read it, and he won’t tell me anything.”
“And the demons?” Alexander asked. “How can you hear them?”
“It was just hisses at first, but then I started hearing voices. I didn’t realize what they were at first. But I heard them. And if I asked nicely, sometimes, they would do things for me.”
I was thinking about the device Dorian had bought, the one that could make flames. The thing I’d used to fake my way into the Academy. I realized, Viviane and Alexander only knew I wasn’t a lady from Argent, and that I was stealing for Dorian. But they didn’t know I was a complete fraud or that I’d cheated on the entrance exam. I decided not to share that piece of information yet if I didn’t have to.
“When I picked out my sword, Lucian told me he’d go with me. He saved me, a few times. Remember that first attack, in the village? He did that, the fire on my sword. He asked me to let him go, and I refused, at first.”
“Until we fell,” Alexander said.
“Until we fell,” I nodded. “After that, what difference did it make? But I swear, I don’t know who is controlling the demons or letting them out. Most of the time I have no idea what’s going on.”
He furrowed his brow, thinking for a minute. The sky was much darker now and we could see a few stars shining from the purple sky. The full moon had risen.
“I see,” he said. “Is there anything else?”
Don’t tell him! Lucian said.
Alexander wasn’t always nice to me, but he was much better connected, and he knew things I didn’t. He was right, maybe we could solve this thing together and stop people from getting hurt, but only if we trusted each other.
“Do you remember that necklace Viviane had? The one at the gala?”
Alexander furrowed his brow. “Yes,” he said. “The one that shattered.”
“Dorian wanted me to steal it, I don’t know why. Then he said it was fake, and someone must have stolen it already.”
“But who would do that?”
“I think Guinevere had a charm of some kind,” I said slowly. “Or rather, the Council believes she did. It allowed her to do something powerful, but I don’t know what.”
“And you think it was in the necklace?”
“I don’t know. I think it’s in the Rosewood jewelry somewhere,” I said. “But that’s just speculation. I think Dorian is looking for it, maybe Du Lac as well, but I don’t know why.”
Alexander hummed. “And how is that connected to the demon attacks?” he asked.
I hesitated and thought of Guinevere and Nick in the clearing.
Don’t, Lucian said. You’ve told him enough. Leave this out.
“In the meadow, I saw Guinevere and Nick destroying magical artifacts, and freeing the demons inside them. I think they’d stolen them from the Rosewood vaults.”
I bit my lip, wondering if I’d said too much. I knew Dorian’s family had been entrusted with a portion of the kingdom’s treasury for safekeeping. What if the king asked for it back, and Dorian had to tell him his family had lost it?
Alexander’s eyes went wide at this news and he stood up suddenly.
“And Viviane would be Guinevere’s niece,” Alexander said. “So maybe the attacks have something to do with her family. She has been present at most of the attacks, except for that one time with Tatiana. Is this why you were so interested in those forests?”
I nodded. “I didn’t know anything for certain, I just wasn’t ready to come back to Reverie empty-handed. After all, someone tried to kill us.”
“Or Viviane, or Delacroix… or Kris? We don’t know who they were really after. Maybe they just wanted to cause chaos in the Academy, scare everyone. Did you tell Dorian about this?”
“No, not yet. You’re the only one I’ve told.”
“Good,” Alexander said, staring out at the lake. “According to Viviane, Dorian never accepted that Gwen’s death was a suicide. He thought Nick killed her, and spent years chasing him. But maybe he was really just after the stolen treasure. Everyone knows he’s in debt, after some poor speculation.”
I frowned, but didn’t disagree. When Dorian first brought me to Reverie, I thought he was just trying to recoup his gambling losses. Now I knew it was something more. It couldn’t just be about the money. I was still valuable to him somehow, but he hadn’t asked me to steal anything else.
“There’s one more thing,” I said, “but promise you won’t laugh.”
He nodded, gazing at me intently.
“It’s probably nothing, but a few weeks ago I overheard someone talking about another demon attack. Someone was talking about Reverie is falling, and he was killed. It could have been a coincidence, or…”
“Or Tatiana,” Alexander said. “She was talking about that stuff in Gareth’s class. But that was after the attack.”
“Right. It probably doesn’t mean anything, but, I mean why else attack then? It was just me and you, and I’m nobody.”
“You’re not nobody,” he said, suddenly serious. He grabbed the rope of my swing and pulled me closer.
“Captive demons generate power, energy that can be channeled, but a freed demon is much more powerful. The problem is, they’re dangerous and can’t usually be controlled. What you’ve done with Lucian… you freed him and he’s still here. You don’t know how special that is, Wynter. How special you are. I don’t understand how it’s possible or how you managed it, but I know you’re not cheating. What you have, it’s real. I’m trying to not to be jealous, but it’s a power I covet greatly. My older brothers, there are so many secrets. My father always knows what’s going on, like he can see everywhere. He’s very powerful, each of my brothers are. I guess that’s why I want to earn a place on the Council, far away from the shadow of the palace.”
There was a spark in his eyes, and the intensity of it took my breath away. Alexander faced me and tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear. He leaned close, his breath warm on my cheek. My heart raced. Silently, I begged Lucian not to spoil the moment, like he’d done the last time Alexander moved this close to me.
“I wish you’d told me sooner,” he said. “If I’d known, I could’ve helped you sooner. We might actually be able to solve this mystery, Wynter. It could be good for me… good for both of us.”
He’s just trying to secure his political ambitions, Lucian said bitterly.
But as long as he didn’t betray me, did it really matter?
“You can’t tell anyone, Alexander,” I said. “Please. I like it here, and if I have to leave, I’ll have to go back to Plumba. And—”
“I’m not going to let them send you back to Plumba,” Alexander murmured. His fingertips traced the line of my jaw, sending a warm tingling shooting down my spine. Then he tilted his head and closed the space between us, pressing his lips against mine. I swallowed, torn between wanting him to kiss me, and wanting to push him away.
Push him away! Lucian snarled. He’s obnoxious, selfish, egocentric—
I unhooked my sword and tossed it in the grass to the side. Lucian’s dark form stood over us with his arms crossed, as Alexander’s arms wrapped around me.
You can’t get rid of me that easily, he said. I ignored him. After a minute he sighed and raised his hands. Fine, I’m going to take a stroll. I can’t watch this.
A roar split the air, and Alexander jerked his head back.
“Lucian!” I snapped.
That wasn’t me.
***
Hisses filled the air like a screaming teapot. I jumped off the swing and grabbed my rapier. Beside me, Alexander took out his pen to draw defensive sigils. The unearthly roar we’d heard was gone, and the lake rippled calmly, but I could still hear faint hisses at the edge of my awareness.
“We need to get back to the Academy,” I said. “There’s a demon somewhere.”
In a single, swift motion, Alexander grabbed my arm, and we headed back, practically running. The hissing
continued, but thus far, no demon had appeared. Maybe it wouldn’t until Alexander and I were safely back at the Academy with our classmates.
We were halfway around the lake when ripples burst from its center. I took a step back, tripping over Alexander. Something long whipped the shore, sending up a splash of cold water, soaking through my dress. I gasped as a massive beast emerged from the lake, water running down its black scales. It had the head of three ravens, long tentacles as thick as tree branches, and a barbed tail. Lucian’s fire burst along the edge of my blade, and I stabbed the sweeping tentacle as it came towards me again. I heard sizzling and smelled burning flesh. The creature shrieked in pain and dove beneath the water.
Alexander grabbed my hand and pulled me alongside the lake, but before we could get more than a few feet, the demon emerged again. I slashed at it, unleashing an arch of blue fire, but the flame was quenched long before it could hit its mark. One of the demon’s heads popped up and doused me with a stream of water so powerful it would have knocked me off my feet if Alexander hadn’t held me up. My sword was dripping wet. Lucian’s fire wasn’t going to work, and without it my sword was little more than a toothpick.
Can you remember the sigil for lightning? Lucian asked.
“The sigil I drew by mistake!”
Alexander held his arm out before me, in some chivalric but clearly ineffective effort to protect me. The demon roared and lunged forward, sweeping a long arm straight down between us. I dove to the side as its sharp beak hacked through the hedges and grass like a scythe. Alexander was thrown back against a tree on the other side, and we were separated. The long, slimy arm of the demon wrapped around my torso and brought me up towards its jagged mouth.
I drew Lucian’s fire again, feeling a rush of exhaustion rush over me. My head was pounding, and I tasted blood as it dripped from my nose and pooled at the corners of my mouth. Keeping the fire lit through the water took much more energy, and I’d already used too much magic. I thrust the blade forward, aiming for the demon’s eye, but it snapped its head back away from the flame and screamed. It flung me towards the shore and I rolled to a stop, scraping my side along the stones of the path. Fire burst up my ribs. I couldn’t breathe and my lungs ached. Finally I dragged in a long, gasping breath. I tightened my grip on my sword and stumbled to my feet, using the blade for support. Blood dripped down my side and I swayed in place, trying to get my bearings.
