by Marisa Mills
There was a burst of white light on the other side of the lake, the result of something Alexander had done, and the demon retreated beneath the water. Breathing hard, Alexander scrambled to my side. “Run!” he shouted.
I grabbed a handful of my skirts with one hand and darted up the trail. The demon roared, and its tail swept down, blocking my path. A burst of water followed, the force of it sending me sprawling to the ground. Alexander fell into me, just as the demon’s barbed tail stabbed towards us. I shoved Alexander and rolled out of the way as it chopped through a log, sending up a shower of splintered wood. The tail rose again, but before it could strike, thick vines sprang from the ground, binding it in place.
I snapped my head up and found Jessa nearby, sigils glowing from her outstretched arms, blood dripping from her nose. Her green robes flapped around her like wings.
“I can’t hold it!” she shouted.
Jessa’s vines were snapping one by one, and her eyes widened in horror as the beast turned towards her.
Lightning, Wynter! Lucian yelled.
An image flashed through my mind with perfect clarity; the sigil for fire I’d drawn in class, and the final slash that had unleashed lightning. I swiped my fingers through the blood dripping down my dress and tried to replicate the sigil on my palm.
Beside me, Alexander drew a pattern on the pathway. Ice crept down over the surface of the lake, but it was thin and the demon easily broke through it. It lashed at us with one tentacle, as another flipped out and caught Jessa around the waist, dragging her towards the water. She scrambled for a purchase, fingers digging into the sand.
Quickly, before she hits the water!
I held my hand out and steeled myself. I had to save Jessa. I had to at least try. This was probably going to hurt. I finished the sigil and slashed through it with one finger, blurring the result. A rush of energy flooded through me, then lightning, brilliant and white, burst from the clouds and channeled through my body.
I was lifted off the ground with the force, and I felt the flesh on my palm burning. It was like I was a conduit to magic. Pain burst through my skull, and my head snapped harshly back. The demon thrashed wildly, its coils creating a whirlpool. I climbed to my feet, fighting a wave of nausea and blinking against my blurred vision. Everything had gone red, and I realized I was bleeding from a cut on my forehead. I wiped my arm across my face, smearing it with blood. My palm had blistered from the heat, and it throbbed painfully.
Where was Jessa?
Then I saw her, floating in the lake, face down. Her blonde hair spread out around her like a halo. I stumbled into the water and dove towards her. Alexander yelled something, but I didn’t hear him over the blood rushing in my ears. There was frost crackling beneath my fingers, slicing my skin as I dragged myself through the water. Then suddenly, the cold was paralyzing. Ice spread across the surface of the lake, and I was trapped underneath. I clawed futilely, my lungs burning, trying to fight my way through the thick wall of ice. My hand brushed against hard scales, and I recoiled, but the demon wasn’t moving. My chest tightened painfully. I was running out of air.
Then the ice shattered and something grabbed my arm. I struggled, flailing my arms.
Don’t fight, Lucian said, but he sounded so far away.
My head broke the surface with a burst of sound. I choked on blood and water, fighting off my new assailant.
“Wynter!” a man snapped. “Wynter, stop!”
Frederick stood over me with deep scratches down his face, gripping my wrist. I looked at my fingers and realized I’d done that to him. My head rolled and I felt his arm around my back, pulling me towards the shore.
“Where’s Jessa?” I asked, panicked. “Alexander?”
Frederick didn’t answer. He only hauled me onto the bank. I sank into the dirt, the torn strips of my orange dress extending towards the water, like a goldfish gasping for breath. Alexander’s worried face swam into view. Blood glistened in his hair and down his face. What had happened to him? Why was he bleeding?
“What happened?” I asked. “I fell in, and…”
“I’m sorry,” Alexander said. “I thought I could trap the demon beneath the ice. I didn’t expect you to dive in like that.”
The light hurt. I squeezed my eyes shut.
A rough hand touched my forehead.
“Wynter. Wynter, open your eyes. Look at me.”
I reluctantly opened my eyes, wincing at the light.
“Jessa?” I asked again, panic coursing through me in waves.
Indecision flickered in Frederick’s eyes. “She’s going to be fine. She’s alive. Let’s worry about you.” Another figure stepped into the halo of light above me, little more than a blurry silhouette. I recognized his voice.
“Lucian?” I pulled my fingers up along the sides of my body, but my sword was missing. “He’s gone.” I said.
“Lie still!” Du Lac snapped. I could feel pressure on my skull as he drew sigils across my forehead and neck.
“Lucian is fine,” Alexander said, squeezing my hand.
“Who is Lucian?” Du Lac asked.
“It’s the sword’s name,” Alexander replied smoothly. “She might have lost it in the lake.”
“We’ll have someone get it,” Frederick said.
I stumbled up, my knees nearly buckling. Everything was disjointed. Pain burst through my chest. Alexander steadied my arm, as I coughed and vomited out the lake water. Then I tipped forward, and Frederick threw my arm over his shoulders.
“Now,” he said slowly, “don’t fight me.”
His voice was so lovely, so enchanting. I fell limp in his arms. Distantly, I wondered if this was some kind of magic, too.
“Did I hit Jessa?” I asked. The words didn’t sound right.
“I think you hit a little of everything,” Alexander said.
I rolled my eyes, taking in the dark sky, spotted with stars. I realized the trees were gone. Only their charred stumps remained, smoldering in a wide circle around us. It was like a bomb had gone off, and that bomb was me.
Twelve
FOR A WHILE, THERE WAS silence, then the rustling of leaves. I was still in the forest, but in some kind of glass cabin. It was warm, and I realized I was leaning back against someone else, who had their arms wrapped around me. It was Lucian. I looked up at him, and he smiled, but his eyelids closed gently.
I don’t know how long we stayed like that, but it felt like days. I felt the rhythm of light and dark against my eyelids. Finally, I woke and stretched. Lucian had prepared a small meal of bread and soup. I joined him at a long table and we ate quietly.
“Why am I here?” I said finally.
“You aren’t, really,” Lucian said. “You’re in the infirmary. But I thought I’d spare you the pain. At least here you can rest your mind, while the mages work on your body.”
“It’s that bad?” I asked, sipping my tea. It tasted like peppermint and chamomile.
“You’ll survive,” Lucian frowned, staring at the glowing coals of the iron stove.
“What are you thinking about?” I asked.
“What your prince said, about you being special, as if it’s some big mystery. The mages portal into our world, steal us as slaves, and lock us up before we know what’s happening. We’re leeched of magic, trapped in a prison of crystal, and no matter how hard we struggle and rage, it only serves to power whatever spell or duty the mage had bound us into. We lose all sense and reason until we’re barely animals. And when, centuries later, we get free… they kill us because we can’t be contained.”
Guilt ate at my stomach.
“I didn’t mean to kill him,” I said.
“Yes you did,” Lucian said. “But it’s not your fault. It’s the whole system.”
“Maybe we can change it,” I said.
“We can’t,” Lucian said glumly. “Don’t you see, you’re not just pretending any longer. For better or worse, you’re one of t
hem now. They’ll keep you here, trapped in their crystal towers, and exploit you for your power. They’ll never let you go, not now. You’re trapped, just like me.”
***
I drifted through snippets of consciousness—Celeste drawing sigils over my chest, Tatiana and Viviane whispering together, Alexander with his head lowered, Dorian with his voice raised for the first time ever—but it was like a puzzle I couldn’t put together. At one point, I thought I saw Guinevere and Amelia, even though both of them were dead and—even if they’d been alive—would have no reason to visit me. Nick had been there, too, and I’d told him he smelled nice, even though all I smelled was iron and blood.
When I woke for the hundredth time, my head was clear and it all came rushing back to me. I gasped for breath, remembering being trapped under the ice with the scaled beast, and Jessa’s limp body drifting face down in the water. My head felt like someone had struck it with a hammer. I whined and tried to bury my face in my pillow.
“Will you drink something for me?”
I jerked my head up and immediately regretted it. A wave of nausea spread over me.
“Jessa,” I rasped.
“She’s no worse than you, Miss Wilcox.” I squinted helplessly at the auburn-haired woman sitting by my bed. She was very pretty. A mage. Not a mage?
Your nobleman’s apothecary, Lucian said softly.
“Francisca,” I said slowly.
Francisca nodded. “Will you drink something for me?” she asked again.
Slowly, I rolled onto my back. The pain in my chest was so bad that I couldn’t even draw the air to scream. Francisca stood and placed a bottle to my lips. “It’s for the pain,” she said gently. “You had a cracked rib, some lacerations, and a concussion.”
“Is that all?” I asked. “I feel like I got run over by an elephant.”
I tipped my head back and let her pour the concoction down my throat. It tasted vile, and for a second I feared Dorian had sent her to poison me. She plugged my nose with her fingers, forcing me to swallow. I gagged and sputtered, but it was too late.
“Well done,” Francisca said, wiping my chin.
“Where is…?” I trailed off.
“My Lord? He’d gone to greet King Gregory, but I can feel he’ll return soon,” Francisca said. How did she know?
She has that sigil tattooed on her, remember? Lucian asked. No one sneaks up on her.
“Does he hate me?” I asked.
Francisca’s face softened. “I can assure you that my Lord doesn’t hate you.”
He’d been loud, though. I remembered that, and Dorian was never loud. Even when he was angry. My thoughts snapped back to Jessa. Why couldn’t I keep anything together?
Because you cracked your skull, Lucian said. Calm down.
I couldn’t be calm.
“Where’s Alexander?” I asked.
“He received some minor injuries—mostly lacerations—and a sprained wrist.”
“And Jessa?” I turned my head, but I couldn’t see her in the beds nearby.
“She’s in another part of the infirmary,” Francisca said, stroking my hair. “I promise she’s fine. Everyone is going to recover and be fine. Mostly thanks to you.”
“I don’t believe you,” I said. “After the lightning, I saw her in the water.”
“Her heart did stop, according to Du Lac, but they were able to get the water of her lungs and revive her in time.” I squeezed the sheets in horror, hating myself. So it was true then. I’d killed Jessa, if only for a moment.
“She also appears to have fractured a few vertebrae in her spine. She may have difficulty walking for a while,” Francisca said. “But she’s going to recover, as are you.”
I couldn’t speak past the lump in my throat. Jessa had been injured because she’d tried to save me. I needed someone to yell, and punish me for having caused this to happen. I remembered Gabriel’s knife with something akin to affection: one sharp cut, the stinging pain, but followed by the relief of immediate absolution.
You’ve been abused your entire life, Lucian said. You’re used to being blamed for things that aren’t your fault.
“Why can’t everyone just…just be angry with me?” I asked.
“Because you didn’t do anything wrong,” Dorian said, as he entered. “It’s as simple as that. The only person who’s at fault is the coward who’s sending demons to attack an adolescent girl.”
“But I’ve…” I trailed off, trying to unscramble my thoughts. “I’ve done terrible things, Dorian. Stuff you don’t even…”
“You mean about Brett Northhaven, in the ballroom? Professor Conrad was kind enough to share that detail with us. He was quite impressed, although Brett’s father is pressuring the school to expel you. Multiple witnesses swear you attacked him unprovoked.”
“He touched me,” I said, my cheeks reddening. “Inappropriately.”
“Well, in that case,” Dorian eyes hardened, “he got what he deserved. And since he’s not been seriously injured, I’m sure the professors can be persuaded to write it up as a minor offense. The other issue, however, of the demon attack… that’s much more serious. I need to know exactly what happened after dance class. You left the school with Alexander. What were you doing out there, alone?”
I remembered Alexander’s lips on mine, and felt my cheeks warm.
Dorian must have noticed, because he looked away.
“I see. Well, youth is fleeting, enjoy it while you can. But you need to be careful, Alexander is a noble, he’ll always be loyal to his family first.”
“Is that a problem?” I asked.
“It might be. Alexander isn’t really talking, at least not to us. I’m not sure what he’s told King Gregory, but he seems to think you lured Alexander out into the woods and then summoned that demon to kill him.”
Dorian stiffened, his hand casually near the hilt of his sword, as if he was afraid of what I’d say. As if he were afraid of me. He’d always been dangerous, but this was something new, like the calm before a storm.
“But that’s ridiculous!” I sputtered.
He studied my face for a moment, before nodding and relaxing his shoulders.
“Du Lac, meanwhile,” he continued, putting his fingers against his chin, “thinks Jessa was behind it. She is from Aubade after all, and how much can we ever really trust someone who doesn’t have our own kingdom at heart?”
“She’d never,” I said. “Plus, she was injured saving our lives.”
“You were all injured,” Dorian said. “But think, whoever was controlling the demons probably had to be in the immediate vicinity, and there was no one else out there. And they would have had to know where you were going. Did you tell anyone of your plans?”
“I told Kris,” I said. “In dance class, but I didn’t tell her where we were going. I didn’t even know. And it wasn’t planned.”
“Someone could have followed you,” Dorian said. “The question is, what were they after, Alexander, Jessa or you?”
“Why would anyone be after me?” I asked.
“Why indeed? We know Viviane has been dappling in black magic; and that someone possessed her during the final exams. And Eleanor has been plotting for years to snare Alexander for Viviane and bulwark the Rosewood fortune with an engagement. Then when you sneak off with his royal highness; a demon.”
My jaw dropped. “You think Eleanor tried to kill me because of Alexander? But she wasn’t even there!”
“My sister is capable of terrible things,” Dorian said with a shrug. “And just because she wasn’t seen, doesn’t mean she wasn’t there. Frederick was first on the scene, apparently he was taking a stroll and heard the shouting. Du Lac arrived next, luckily for you, I doubt Frederick could have drawn the sigils necessary to save your life.”
“Du Lac saved me?” I asked. I wasn’t sure what to do with that knowledge.
“Do you remember anything else?” Dorian asked. “Anythin
g at all?”
I swallowed hard but shook my head. How many truths was I keeping from him? Both Viviane and Alexander knew I was a fraud and stealing for Dorian.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “You told me to keep my head down, to stay out of trouble. And now today…”
“You disarmed one of the most powerful families in Argent, on your first day of dance class, and you boiled a demon with a blast of lighting. At least we don’t have to worry about keeping up appearances or fooling people into believing you’re a mage. The lightning was especially impressive. Du Lac is telling absolutely everyone that you learned how to draw that particular sigil in his class. Although that much current should have killed you.”
I snorted. “All I’ve learned from Du Lac is how to be a jerk. And the lightning… it’s my sword. It’s enchanted, apparently it’s really powerful. I think, maybe it protected me somehow.”
He nodded, as if he’d expected as much.
I hated lying to Dorian, even after all this, but it was a half-truth anyway.
“Maybe I don’t belong here,” I said. As much as I hated to admit it, I’d been safer in the Scraps, even with my abusive uncle. “People keep getting hurt around me.”
“Wynter,” Dorian said, “if someone is trying to kill you—and it looks like that might be the case—the Academy is the safest place for you. Do you think a mage of this caliber can’t follow you to the Lower Realms and attack you there? Do you think you could depend on Gabriel to help you fight off a demon?”
“But if it’s one of my professors—”
“Then, you avoid being alone with your professors. You’ve survived thus far because you haven’t been alone facing demons, and the Academy has more mages than any place in the kingdom, except for the palace,” Dorian said.
