I stepped up ready to shove past Beckett and go to Tuck. “We don’t have much time left. I’m giving this to him.”
Grayson moved to stand next to Beckett. “No, you’re not. Why would Ophelia help you now? This could all be a plan to kill our leader.”
Ophelia huffed. “Right, because the smartest thing to do is make a potion that would kill Tucker and stay here in the school surrounded by his crew with no way of escaping. Yeah, that seems absolutely brilliant.”
“Maybe you don’t care if you get away or not,” Grayson shot back at her.
Ophelia rolled her eyes. “Easy there, baby vamp. I wouldn’t want you to get all fangy with me.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “And I’m not going to kill your precious leader. I have every intention of staying in this school, so him being alive is to my benefit.”
“A selfish reason if I ever heard one.” He put his hands on his hips and moved a step closer to Beckett, as though forming a wall.
Kumi, who’d been quietly watching from where she lay on the floor, growled in Grayson’s direction. Can I bite him now?
No, he’s still on our side. I shook my head.
Come on, the vamp needs to know what it feels like to get bitten. She pulled her lips back from her teeth.
“No, Kumi.” I stomped my foot. I had enough to deal with, let alone rogue giant mythological wolf-dog nine-tailed creatures.
She whimpered and put her head back on the floor. You never let me have any fun.
I turned toward Niche. “What do you have to say about this?”
Niche swallowed and pushed her glasses further up her tiny nose. “It’s a risk.” She glanced over at Tuck. “But it’s a risk I’d take.”
Tuck’s body shuddered, and he began choking. Foam dripped from the side of his mouth on to the pillow behind his head. Gasping breaths shuttered from his lips.
Ophelia shoved me in the back. “It’s now or never.”
I pushed forward trying to shove by Beckett and Grayson. They wrapped their arms around me and held me back from him. I want to unleash my magic on them, I wanted to decimate anyone who stood between Tuck and I. Panic tightened my chest and I threw my weight in to trying to get by them. My heart raced and my hands shook as I watched him struggle just to breath.
Brax moved in beside Beckett and Grayson. He placed his hand on my shoulder. “No, Zin. We can’t do this.”
I grabbed his wrist and trying to yank it from my shoulder, but trying to move a towering shifter was like trying to push a brick wall over. I shot a look at Ashryn, one of the other guardians. “Are you going to step in too?”
She leapt up onto a shelf close to the ceiling and crossed her legs. “I do not believe you are incorrect.”
With my heart racing, I noticed the other queens stepping to the side and out of the way. “I’m sorry about this, guys.”
I threw my hand out, and silver magic exploded outward like a shock wave. Brax, Beckett and Grayson were knocked off their feet and sent flying in different directions around the room. Before they could make their way back to their feet, I rushed to Tuck’s side.
Ophelia stood next to his head. With one hand she held his forehead down and with the other she forced his mouth open. “Every drop in.”
I pulled the cork from the top of the vial and held it over his open mouth. I hesitated. If I did this, I could kill him or save him.
Ophelia kicked the side of the cot. “Now, Zinnia, before he stops breathing.”
I tilted my wrist to the side and dumped the liquid down his throat. Ophelia shoved his mouth closed and held it that way until his throat bobbed as he swallowed the contents down. She shoved away from him and took a few steps back.
I dropped to my knees beside his bed, waiting. “Please wake up, please.”
His breaths quickened as dull pink light traveled through all his veins. The muscles in his body shot tight with tension, and his hands curled into fists. I wrapped my hand around his and pried his fingers open, then shoved my fingers between his. “It’s going to be okay.”
He tiled his head back and screamed so loud it pierced my ears.
I glared at Ophelia. “What’s happening?”
“The potion is working. It has to burn the hex away somehow.” She leaned up against the wall like she was watching a boring movie rather than Tuck struggling for his life. “It’s gonna sting a bit.”
Just as I thought I couldn’t take any more, his body went limp and a shuddering breath rattled his chest. A small pink sparkling ball floated out of his mouth. It burned brighter, sending a blinding light all around the room. I pressed my face into the cot at his side, waiting for it to stop. I squeezed my eyes shut and said a silent pray for him to be okay. I’d taken my only shot at saving him, I could only hope it didn’t back fire. I held his hand as tight as I could.
His fingers clutched to mine, squeezing them. “Zinnia?” His voice was weak and horse. But hearing my name on his lips sent a shot of excitement through me.
My head shot up. “Oh my god, Tuck. Are you okay?”
He swallowed and nodded his head. “What happened?” He blinked slowly and struggled to move his head to look around the room.
“Shh, don’t move around. You’ve been through a lot.” Tears of relief steamed down face and quickly swiped them away.
A cup of water appeared next to my face. “Here, give him this.” Ophelia handed me the glass with a bent straw in it. “He needs to hydrate after what he’s been through.”
I nodded up at her. “Thank you.” I wanted to leap to my feet and hug her for what she’d done.
I grabbed the cup and brought the straw down to Tuck’s lips. “You were hexed by Alataris. But you’re going to be okay now. I promise. Thanks to Ophelia.”
He pressed his hand to his head. “Did you just say Ophelia?”
“Believe it or not. She saved you.” In that moment, I was glad it was her I’d accidentally kidnapped. Hell, at that exact second I was kind of happy she was my sister.
He shook his head. “I think I might be going crazy, Zin.”
I leaned forward. Ophelia said the potion would wake him and let him live until the hex revealed itself. Was it revealing itself so soon? “I’m here. What do you mean you think you’re going crazy?”
“I could’ve sworn you said Ophelia.” He closed his eyes and sighed. “Must be losing it.”
“Well, I can see I’m so wanted here, but I really must be going to my room now.” Ophelia strode toward the double doors of the infirmary. Like the Red Sea, everyone parted for her to pass as she walked by. When she got to the doors, she paused and turned on her heels to look at Matteaus. “Where exactly is my room?”
A dark chuckle rumbled deep in his chest. “You’re rooming with Zinnia. She made this happen, so she can watch you.”
I knew something bad would come of this. I groaned and let my head fall onto the cot once more. “I knew it was too good to be true.”
“Well, consider it a lifetime of missed babysitting all rolled into one.” She pushed the doors open and called over her shoulder. “See ya later, roomie.”
Tucker reached his hand over toward me and ran his fingers through my hair. “Thank you for saving my life.”
I wanted to say I’d do anything for him, the way I knew he’d do anything for me. But I didn’t. “Anytime.” When I looked up to meet his eyes, I hesitated. Those smoldering honey colored eyes I’d grown so used to were now swirling pools of black. The mark around my wrist tightened uncomfortably. Was it the hex turning his eyes black? I didn’t want to point it out to anyone. He’d already been through so much now wasn’t the time to worry him. He needed to rest, he needed to recover. Whatever was happening to him we would figure out together.
Before I could say anything else, the doc pushed in next to Tuck with his stethoscope. He pressed it to his chest and then to his side. “You gave us quite the scare, Mr. Brand.” Then he turned to the rest of us and motioned toward the door. “Now I really must
insist you all leave and let him get his rest.”
I didn’t budge. This was Tucker and I was staying. The doc ran his hand over his bald head. “Headmaster Matteaus, please. He needs his recuperate, and having all of them in here is quite inconvenient.”
Tuck cleared his throat. “It’s okay, guys. I’m tired anyways. Go get some sleep.” He squeezed my hand one last time. “You too, Zin. You need a little R and R.”
I lumbered to my feet and dropped his hand. “Okay. I’ll be back to see you in a couple of hours.”
His eyes turned from black to honey and back again. “I’ll be waiting.”
As we all filed out the door, I was the last to leave. Kumi rose to her feet and began to trot out behind me. I need you to stay. Something isn’t right about him.
He does smell weird. It could be black magic or that he hasn’t showered for days. She chuckled in her mind.
I don’t know, but please just watch him for one more night.
Consider it done.
Chapter 18
Nova
I curled my hand into a fist, then lifted it to knock on Zinnia’s door. A whole day had passed since Tuck took the potion to help ease his hex, and Zinnia had yet to be seen. The hallway was packed full of other students rushing to get to their classes. Pixies zoomed overhead, carrying notes and gossiping with each other. Their white blond hair flew out in all different directions. On the other side of the door, I could hear her staggering around her room.
Then the door was yanked open and Zinnia clung to the door frame looking completely disheveled. Her hair was wrapped up in a messy ponytail, and she wore only a black cami and baggy pajama pants that hung off her hips. “What is it? What’s wrong? Is Tuck okay?”
Her eyes went wide with worry, and she stumbled back from the door and moved to turn on all the lights in her room. Across from her bed sat another bed where Ophelia lay groaning. “Ugh, seriously don’t you people ever sleep in?”
I stepped in from the noisy hall and closed the door behind me. “You guys have been sleeping for a whole day straight. It’s the morning after you gave Tuck the potion and Headmaster Matteaus wants you both to attend classes today.”
Zinnia froze and glanced up at me. “So, Tuck is okay?”
I nodded. “He’s great. He’s back to normal and going to class today.”
A wide smile spread across her heart-shaped face and she went to the closet. An assortment of black clothes flew through the doorway. “I can’t believe he’s okay. This is amazing!”
“Volume, people. Volume.” Ophelia slouched over in her bed and rubbed at her face. “It’s morning. Everything should be quiet in the morning.”
Zinnia stepped out of her closet in a pair of black jeans that were torn at the knees and up her thighs. She wore a black long-sleeved t-shirt to match, which also had specific holes cut into it so her white cami would show through. She topped it all off with a maroon scarf that made her pale skin and sapphire eyes pop. Her hair was still piled in a tangle mess of midnight waves with some pieces hanging down around her face. She held her arms out. “Do I look okay?”
“You look great. Ready for classes today?”
Ophelia grabbed something off the nightstand next to her and hurled it Zinnia. “Use that and lover boy will be eating out of the palm of your hand.”
Zinnia caught it, looked down at it and then turned for the bathroom. Once she closed the door behind her, I narrowed my eyes at Ophelia. “You can’t use love potions on other students.”
Ophelia slumped back on the bed and threw her arm over her face. “Good thing it’s not a potion. But a little—scratch that, a lot—of eyeliner would help make her eyes pop more.”
“Oh.” I adjusted my backpack on my shoulder. “Sorry.”
“Did that hurt? To, you know, apologize to someone like me.” Ophelia threw her legs over the side of the bed and began pulling on the same clothes she’d worn the day before. “Maybe before you judge someone you should think about the situations they’ve been put in and what they did to survive to get through it all.”
What could I say to that? Was Ophelia just truly trying to survive being in Alataris’ world, or was she playing us all? I didn’t have an answer. Instead, I pulled my backpack from my shoulder, unzipped it and jerked out a piece of paper Matteaus ordered me to give her. “Here, I’m supposed to give you this.”
Ophelia stomped over to me and grabbed the paper from my hand. “What is it?”
“Your class schedule.”
Zinnia came out of the bathroom and stopped to look Ophelia up and down. “Hey, O.”
O? Since when were they on such friendly terms? Ophelia and I turned in unison. “O?”
“Yeah, O.” Zinnia walked over to her closet and opened the door. “Feel free to pick whatever you want, okay? Maybe we’ll go out shopping and grab some stuff for you later.”
Ophelia’s jaw dropped, and she narrowed her eyes at Zinnia. “What’s the catch?”
Zinnia glanced at me then back at her. “What do you mean catch?”
“Okay, fine. What do you want in exchange for sharing your clothes?” She put her hands on her hips and began tapping her foot.
“I don’t get what you’re asking.” Zinnia began walking around their room and pulling books down from the dark wooden book shelves. She piled them on the edge of her desk and picked her backpack up off the floor. She yanked the zipper open and placed the bag on her chair.
Ophelia huffed. “Do you want like an endless supply of potions or something? Or do you want me to do your homework for you?”
Zinnia paused while shoving a book in her backpack. “Um, no. I’d prefer to do those on my own.”
“Well, you have to do them on your own if you’re going to be ready for your Magtrac exams. I mean, both of you have to get ready for them if I’m being honest.” I moved to sit on the end of Zinnia’s bed.
“Okay, first of all, O, you can borrow my clothes because I know you don’t have any other than the ones on your back. Secondly, it’s called being nice. You proved yourself to me last night, and I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt until you prove me wrong—”
“But your friends—”
“My friends don’t influence the way I think, so feel free to borrow whatever.” Zinnia turned toward me. “Now you, what the hell are you talking about Magtac exams?”
I shifted in my seat. “Oh, um, all students need to take the Magtac exams with the first year they’re here to determine which classes they’ll be assigned for the duration of school. Not everyone is made to be a queen witch, you know?”
Ophelia snickered. “That’s the damn truth.” She walked past Zinnia and straight into the closet. “Why do you have so many clothes? It doesn’t make sense.”
“There’s not that many.” Zinnia looked taken aback when she looked at me. “I swear there’s not that many.”
“You’re looking at the girl who has an extra rack in her room for more clothes. I am not one to judge.” I held my hands up as if I was surrendering to my clothing problem.
“But really, though, when are these exams? I have to be ready. I mean, what if they send me on the wrong track?” She bit her bottom lip and started grabbing more books.
“Well, there are only two exams really. It’s the practical magic exam to see how powerful you are and if you can control your magic. Then there’s the hand-to-hand exam, as in combat.” When she looked at me with wide eyes, a giggle escaped my lips. “Don’t worry. You have like two weeks to get ready.”
“Two weeks!” She raced around the room and grabbed her notebooks, then threw her backpack over her shoulder. “I feel like I’ve spent the last few weeks saving the world and battling an evil dude. Now I have to be a normal teenager and study to pass exams? What the hell?”
“Trust me, none of us are normal.” Ophelia popped out of the closet in a black and red plaid coat with white faux fur around her collar, a black glittery tank top and red leggings. She held her hands up
. “What do you think?”
Zinnia looked her up and down. “Where did you find red leggings?”
“At the bottom of all the black ones.” Ophelia beamed. “I like them.”
“Keep them.” Zinnia hiked her backpack up onto her shoulder and motioned to the door. “You ready to go? We have to get to classes. Nova, what happens if I fail these exams?”
I knew she wouldn’t fail, but I could see the doubt in her eyes. I shrugged, going for nonchalant. “Your classes will be changed to basic magic and how to blend in with the world around you. Not everyone is made to be a warrior or rule in Evermore. For the ones who aren’t, they need to learn to use their powers in very average ways.”
Ophelia grabbed an empty knitted boho bag off the floor and threw it over her shoulder. “What do they call the different tracks? I mean, there’s only two, right?”
“There’s four. You’re either on the citizen, apprentice, warrior, or advanced.” I rose from the chair and followed them out the door.
Zinnia opened the door and stepped out into the corridor. “What track are you on?”
“Advanced.”
“I’m guessing the rest of the crew is on the advanced track as well?” Zinnia looked up and down the hall at everyone rushing to their classes.
I nodded. “Yeah.”
Ophelia chuckled. “No pressure or anything.”
“Yeah, no pressure.” Zinna sighed.
Chapter 19
Zinnia
First Tuck and now my exams. Shouldn’t I get a pass from schoolwork or something? How was I going to be ready in two weeks? As we walked down the hallway toward the courtyard, Ophelia flanked me on one side and Nova on the other. It was a crisp mid-October day, and the sky was covered in gray puffy clouds. Cool gusts of wind blew across the courtyard and through my shirt. The moment my boots hit the grassy courtyard, heat hit my skin, and not the kind that came from the sun. The kind that I got whenever I sat in front of a fire pit. “What’s happening?”
Wicked Hex (The Royals: Witch Court Book 3) Page 10
