He shook his head. “That’s just an illusion.” He lifted the strands, and they turned a shade of vibrant teal as they fell from his fingers. “See?”
“How about my right cross?”
“It is rather memorable,” he said with a laugh, “but I was thinking more about your empath ability. That’s some of the most powerful magic in the fey realm. Some of the most feared.” His gaze fell to the painting. “Now I understand better why that is.”
“Too bad that power didn’t help me save you when you were lying in my lap, dying,” I said softly.
“But it did, Cece—even though I told you not to.” He cast me a sharp sideward glance. “You’re still not off the hook for that, by the way…”
I looked over at him, tears brimming in my eyes. “I thought I’d lose you.”
His expression tightened. “You might have if it hadn’t been for Sarah’s actions and Kimbra’s realization.”
“Yeah,” I said, choking on a morbid laugh, “they both came up big when it counted most, especially Sarah.” I laughed a little under my breath. “Maybe miracles really do exist.”
“Don’t let Sarah hear you say that. She’ll be insufferable.”
“You mean like you used to be?”
His smile returned. “Worse, I’ll bet.”
I shook my head. “Not sure that’s possible.”
His laughter rang out around us in the early morning’s fading darkness, and I felt myself drawn to him. We’d almost died—more than once—in the past twenty-four hours, and I was exhausted. But I couldn’t sleep. Something between us felt so unfinished. So unresolved.
Good or bad, I needed to know the truth.
“So…” I said, hedging slightly, “the marking…”
“It’s gone for good,” he said, finishing my thought. “The connection has been severed.” That smile I loved so much fell slowly. “And it can’t be recreated.”
“Oh.”
“But it doesn’t change anything.”
“Doesn’t it?” I asked, the nervousness I felt seeping into my tone. “I mean…I’m pretty sure you were a lot nicer to me after I owned part of your soul or whatever.”
“I was nicer to you for a very, very different reason.” He leaned closer and lowered his lips to my ear. “I thought I made that point clear when I was dying.”
“Technically, I still owned a piece of you then, so…”
“Ah,” he said, the deep rumble of his voice sending shivers up my spine, “then let me show you where I stand, just to be certain there’s no more confusion moving forward.”
Before I could respond, his teeth scraped the lobe of my ear softly, and I nearly jumped right out of my skin. His hand cupped the opposite side of my face and gently held me still as his lips worked their way around my ear and down to my neck.
“Are my feelings getting any clearer, little witch?”
“No,” I breathed, “I think more clarification is needed…”
More rumbling laughter. More goosebumps erupted on my skin.
His face came into view, and I stared into those crystal blues eyes like nothing else in the world existed.
“I’ve never cared about anyone the way I care about you,” he said before his lips crashed against mine and swallowed me whole. I got lost in that kiss, drowning in the feeling of rightness it brought with it. Our bond really hadn’t had anything to do with our connection, and that became more and more apparent as his arms wrapped around me and drew me closer. My breath hitched and I wove my fingers into his hair, wanting to pull him in even more, though that wasn’t possible. His energy melded with mine, forming a single aura that throbbed and raced around us, creating a frenetic bubble.
He pulled me into his lap so I was straddling him, and I gasped as his cold hands sneaked up my sides through the rips in my dress.
“Evil bastard,” I breathed against his mouth.
“I am what I am,” he replied.
“And you have better shit to be doing than making out in a motel parking lot,” Sarah said, startling the two of us. I jumped out of his lap and straightened my shorn dress. Aidan, however, just smiled.
Rhys and Maddy came flying around the corner, looks of concern on both of their faces, and I realized that maybe our early morning heart-to-heart might have ended better if we’d left a note.
“Jesus, Cece!” Maddy sighed as she rushed over and threw her arms around me. “I went to wake you up and you weren’t there!”
“I’m sorry,” I replied. “I needed some air. Aidan came with me, and I brought my reptilian friends, so I figured we’d be all right.” She let out a breath and pulled away. “I just needed a sec to decompress, you know?”
She forced a smile and nodded. “I do—”
“Well, that’s great and all,” Sarah said, folding her arms across her chest, “but since we’re all up, maybe we should come up with an actual plan because I, for one, have zero intention of hiding out in rented-by-the-hour motels like this for the rest of my life.”
“You could just go back to Faerie,” Maddy countered. Her irritation with the tagalong fey was apparent in her tone. “If you don’t want to be here, that is.”
Sarah’s expression steeled. “No, I can’t. Ever again, in fact.” She cast me a sideward glance, then looked back to Maddy. “I gave up that option when I helped Aidan and your idiot sister. But thanks for reminding me. I really appreciate it—”
“What?” Aidan asked, shooting to his feet.
“Oh, don’t act so surprised,” she intoned. “I acted against your parents—killed the queen of Faerie. Do you think I can ever return now? That your brothers will forgive their mother’s murder? Your witch girlfriend might be dumb enough to think that, but we both know you’re not.”
“Sarah...I’m sorry...”
“Save it,” she snapped. But it wasn’t anger driving her reaction. Hurt ebbed off of her, wafting through the air until it wrapped around me. She’d sacrificed her life in her home realm—her family—all to help a boy who would never love her and a witch she hated. Yes, she’d gotten revenge for what the royals had done to her, but I’d still have some complicated feelings about it all too, if I were her. “I don’t want an apology. I want to know I didn't give up my entire future for nothing. So...” She scanned the group, taking us each in one by one. “What’s the fucking plan?”
After a moment’s silence, the crafting of Operation “Get the Wolfling, Kill the Bad Guy” began.
“We can’t just stroll back into the building, even if we use a secret entrance. The building—Hagan—will know,” Rhys said, pointing out a rather large hurdle.
“Maddy’s dragon was pretty effective at getting us out,” Sarah said. “Maybe we should turn that fleet of dragons Cece stole from Faerie on it and reduce the whole place to ash.”
“With Wolfy in there?” Maddy countered, her tone incredulous. “I don’t think so. We get him out before we do anything to that building.”
“Which we can’t do if we can’t get in,” Rhys said.
“He’s right.” Maddy’s brow furrowed as she contemplated the options.
“Even if we do get in,” Sarah said, “what then? Grab the wolfling and run? We barely escaped the first time, and I don't want to be inside that place if Cece unleashes the dragons on it.”
“Assuming I even can.” That sobering sentiment fell upon the group like a brick. “I haven’t exactly mastered that trick yet.”
“Then I’ll smash through the wall like last time,” Maddy said, sounding more confident than she looked.
“Hagan will expect that this time,” Aidan cautioned. “Assuming that will work again would be foolish.”
“Then what?” Maddy asked. “We just leave Wolfy in there? Ask Hagan nicely to give him back? He was taken hostage for a reason; to leverage us back there. Hagan wants us for something, and Wolfy is his insurance policy—”
“Which is exactly why we can't run in there half-cocked with no exit plan.”
&n
bsp; Aidan’s comment did little to assuage Maddy’s anger.
“Then what’s your suggestion?”
“Can we not fight about this?” I asked, stepping between the two. “We know the Council is after us, so we don’t have the luxury of taking the time to formulate a flawless plan. They, and their minions, are hunting us. We need to do the one thing they wouldn’t expect,” I said, pausing to take a breath and steady my nerves. “We need to go back to Wadsworth. Right now.”
Aidan and Maddy stared at me like I'd lost my damn mind.
“She’s right,” Rhys agreed, drawing some of their heat away from me.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I agree,” Sarah added. “The last thing we should do is screw around and let the Council regroup so they can take us out before we even get a chance to try to get the wolfling. How tragic would that be? We’d go down in history for all the wrong reasons—”
“This is reckless,” Aidan said, the resignation as plain in his tone as it was in his expression.
I stepped closer to him and smiled. “You know that’s my middle name, right?” He resisted my charms until I wrapped my arms around his waist. Then his steely features softened and he smiled back. “Besides, chaos has worked pretty well for us up to this point—sort of. Maybe we can keep that trend going.”
His smile fell. “Or maybe we can’t—but we’re past the point of no return now.”
“Then it’s settled,” Maddy said, heading through the parking lot back to the motel rooms. “We’re going to get Wolfy.”
Rhys fell in behind her and Sarah followed, leaving Aidan and me behind.
“I wish there was another way,” I said softly. “If there is one, I just don’t see it.”
Before Aidan could reply, I gasped at the feel of something smooth and cool in my palm: a familiar marble-sized piece of glass. I opened my fist to find the crystal ball staring back at me.
“Well, this can’t be good…”
“What?” Aidan asked, staring at what would have appeared to him to be my bare hand.
“Looks like Wadsworth has the same plan as we do,” I said, placing the marble into his hand. It quickly came into view and grew to its normal soccer-ball size.
“Shit—”
“Cece!” Maddy called from the doorway of our room. “What’s the hold-up?”
I stepped aside so she could see the ball in Aidan’s hands—and the nervous expression he wore while in contact with it. Seconds later, she, Rhys, and Sarah were huddled around us.
“We can’t trust that,” Sarah said with wide eyes. “I told you, it answers to one master only.”
“We should have destroyed it,” Rhys growled.
“I’m not sure that’s even possible,” I argued, eyeing the innocuous-looking orb. “It’s too bad it doesn’t work for me.” I drew my fingertip along the smooth, clear glass and silently lamented the fact that I couldn't use it to help find our way into Wadsworth.
A strange sensation came over me, and in a blink, the five of us were standing shoulder-to-shoulder not far from the front steps of Wadsworth.
At the top of the steps stood what remained of the Council, along with a small legion of supernaturals. Apparently, we had been wrong. They had absolutely expected that we would return.
Then a voice called from behind us, and we turned in unison to find Kimbra standing there, smiling.
“You ready to get what you came for?” she asked, striding toward us. “Let’s take these bastards out.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Maddy
“Destroy them!” Kimbra cried.
Rhys rushed forward with the chair leg lifted. Power blasted from his free hand, and the remaining councilmen dove to the side to avoid a direct hit.
As one, the Council and its army of supernaturals lifted their arms, and magical cords snapped toward us. The eyes of a minion near the left flank turned red, and a gleaming net dropped down from above. We all dove to the side to avoid being trapped.
I hit the ground hard, rolled, and came to my feet in a crouch, shooting magic their way. They deflected it with too much ease.
Intensity filled Sarah’s face as she deployed her strangulation ability, while Aidan wove power in the air and flicked it toward those attacking us.
Then my sister screamed so loud it shook my bones.
She lifted the painting we’d taken from the attic, and images wavered on the surface. If this worked …shaking my head, I directed my attention at the councilmen. I didn’t have time to watch and see if it would. But I could provide a distraction.
We needed to get inside, but there were still too many barring our way. Their goal was either to keep us outside or to eliminate us. I was banking on the latter, though the nets dropping from the sky suggested capture. I didn’t want to think about what they’d do to us if they succeeded. My heart slammed against my ribcage. Could we take out the threat?
I’m coming, Wolfy! I cried in my mind, hoping he’d hear me. I could feel my claws elongating and my body changing, and I wondered if I could hold it off long enough to confirm he was alive. Maddy?
You’re alive. Relief poured through me, and my steps faltered.
Don’t —
We don’t have long—I don’t think we can talk when I’m a dragon!
What are you —
I’ll see you soon.
My rapid change blocked him out as my head shifted and grew larger. My body elongated and I rose above everyone, almost as tall as the building. A burning in my gums was followed by my fangs popping through, turning me into the beast I’d once feared but now loved.
A few guys took one look at me and fled. Good! Keep running.
Tipping my head back, I roared, shooting flames into the sky.
While Aidan shot magic at the minions on the right side of the group and Sarah choked others, Kimbra and Rhys engaged those in the middle. This left the group on the left for me. Let me at ‘em .
Our power arced through the air, met with blasts from the Council and their hired supes. The ground smoldered and dry grass caught fire around us, sending smoke billowing into the air.
I roared again and stomped closer. Fire blasted from my throat, and sorcerers bailed to the side. The flames hit the building and arced upward. A few others stood strong, parting my flames to avoid being hit. They sent bolts of magic at me, but the energy deflected off my scales. Some of the group scattered. I rushed toward them, shooting more flames. Some were caught in the blast and ran, shrieking. Others raised shields and shot magic my way.
I ached to smash and burn everything around me.
“Get them,” Cece screamed, drawing my attention. Blue smoke poured from the painting, coalescing into…I shook my head. It was amazing. A spark lit inside me, and I couldn’t look away.
Dragons. Dozens of huge, glorious dragons poured out of the portrait. They flew up over my sister and expanded to their full, glorious size. They hovered, their wings flapping. Smoke curled from their nostrils as they stared raptly at my sister, awaiting her command.
She’d told me about them, but seeing it happen in real life blew me away. How was this even possible?
The largest dragon of them all, one with dark blue scales glistening in the light, stared in my direction.
Come , a voice called deep inside me. My dragon huffed, and its longing almost overwhelmed me. I ached to respond, to go wherever that voice demanded and to do whatever it asked, but I couldn’t. Wolfy ! I had to help him.
Cece lifted her arms and shouted. “Attack!” Her hands dropped, and the dragons surged forward, a lethal mass of teeth, claws, and fire. She looked at me. “Like I said…I made a few friends in Faerie. Join the fun if you want.”
As the dragons attacked, I unfurled my wings and roared.
The remaining councilmen scattered, Cece’s dragons giving chase.
Rhys’s arms dropped to his sides, and the chair leg flopped against his knee. “Inside,” he yelled over the piercing shrieks of Aidan�
��s magic. The few remaining minions fled at his attack, following the Council.
“Go,” Kimbra shouted, running across the field, chasing the fleeing supes and councilmen. “I’ll deal with them.” Aidan rushed after her, but she whirled around to face him. “I said I can handle this.” Her gaze fell on Cece, who watched raptly as the dragons shot fire at the running group. “But I could use your scaly friends?”
Cece nodded and closed her eyes. When she opened them, a grim smile rose on her face. “They seem happy to assist.” She nodded to me. “Change, Maddy! We’ve got to get inside.”
I shifted, and she rushed forward and snagged my hand. “Let’s get Wolfy and get the hell out of here.”
My dragon bellowed, eager to join the others, and heat coiled up my throat. It snarled and snapped, but slunk back inside me at my command. Retreating, but remaining ready.
The five of us ran to the door, and Aidan wrenched it open. We stumbled inside, stopping in the big entry and looking around. Eerie silence met us. Shadows flitted across the dark hall ahead, but without any working lights, I couldn’t make out if they were anything to be worried about. The zombie horde came to mind immediately. While we’d left no one living behind when we’d fled Wadsworth—as far as we knew—Janie and her physical ether of dead students remained. I hadn’t seen any staff, but I assumed they were dead, too. Or they’d fled Wadsworth when the fight had broken out during the dance.
“Where to?” Cece asked, her attention on me. “Where is he?”
Wolfy? I called out in my mind.
You shouldn’t be here. Go. Run!
Nope. Not without you. His voice had come from… “This way,” I yelled, darting down the hall. We passed the induction room, empty of keepers, and continued past the cafeteria. Wires and hunks of tile hung from the ceiling, the room still in the same disarray as when we’d left.
I took them to the death room. The room that had almost killed my sister. The room where we’d found the crystal ball. It seemed like years had passed since then; so much had happened. I tried the knob. When it wouldn’t open, I slammed my shoulder against it. Fear gnawed on my bones, and my throat closed off with fear for Wolfy.
Rogue Reformatory: Breakout (Supernatural Misfits Academy Book 3) Page 17
