Winter Term

by J. J. Krzemien

  “I know. Poor Jaxon is probably on his way to Estacada right now,” I said.

  The wood and iron door to the tower swung open, admitting two students who were already absorbed in their phones. I turned into the wall for privacy.

  “Poor Jaxon, indeed,” Isabella said. “One of these days that boy will pull his head out of his ass.”

  “Grandma!” I’d never heard her use that kind of language.

  “Well, it’s true. It’s far past time that he took his seat back from his aunt. If he lets it go any longer, those cousins of his will think they’re the rightful heirs.”

  “But I don’t think he wants it.”

  Isabella let out a very unlady-like snort. “I don’t care if he wants it or not. I’m his Queen and I want him in his rightful place.”

  I had nothing to say to that. Isabella and Jaxon both had strong wills, but I’d put my money on Isabella. “You are the queen,” I said. “Does that really make me a princess, or are the guys messing with me?”

  “The guys?”

  A blush heated my face. “Jaxon and his friends.”

  “Angel and Liam. No, they’re not messing with you. Although, we haven’t had a princess in a long time. For many years it was just me and your father, then after his death, only me. I’m grateful every day that I found you.”

  “Me too, even though…things are not looking up for me at the moment.”

  “Well, don’t worry too much about your future Council position right now. You have years—many years, until you take the crown. I can take care of the Tromara. We need to get you out of the Culling.” Isabella paused. “Do you have a plan?”

  I chewed on the inside of my cheek. “I’d be climbing out of it, if it weren’t for Montrell taking away points every single day. I’m doing good in my other classes. And I plan to do all the extra credit that I can.”

  “Okay, I’ll speak with Demarcus about his son. I should get going. Love you.”

  “Love you, too.” I tapped the end button. I needed Montrell on my side if I was going to survive the rest of this year. Maybe I should go talk to him, confront him directly. He was, unfortunately, my new academic advisor, which meant he had full control over my studies and points. I made a disgusted face.

  Several texts from Elena were waiting. I scrolled through them, not being able to talk was really annoying at times. With the time difference, and my nocturnal schedule, and lack of cell coverage, it was nearly impossible to talk. Though I could call her right now, it was only midnight on the east coast. What would I say to her? Most of what was going on in my life I couldn’t talk about. She was a human and had no idea any of this existed.

  I decided keeping a distance was best for both of us, and read her text.

  Hey, will I see you for spring break? You’re coming back to Baltimore to visit, right? Tyler doesn’t want to go to Oregon, but I want you to meet him. We actually had a huge fight about it. I told him about the weird Academy you’re going to and he got all freaky. He said he forbid me to visit you! Can you imagine how that went over with me? Anyway, he said he had some bad experience in Oregon and can’t go back because of PTSD. So, please tell me you’ll come out here to visit and meet him. Please, please, please!

  Oh, God, I hated disappointing Elena, but there was no way they’d let me leave the Academy. During winter break we were locked up in here. Spring break would probably be the same. I texted her back:

  Sorry, but I can’t.

  I hated lying to Elena, but I couldn’t tell her the truth—at least, not all of it.

  The Academy doesn’t have a long enough break for me to travel. It’s a hard-core school and the breaks between terms are short. I’ll see you this summer.

  I bit my lip, hitting the send button. At least I hoped I’d see her in the summer. That all depended on how well the next two terms went.

  After handing my phone to the Dean’s secretary for lockup, I headed toward Academy Hall. Montrell Freeman had some explaining to do. The wide corridor was quiet, it was still early. I didn’t know which office was his, so I spent a good twenty minutes roaming the halls and reading plaques. Finally, on the south side, I happened upon his door.

  My pulse quickened. What if he would’t talk to me? He could take away my points for just knocking on his door—I had no doubt he’d do it.

  I balled my hands into fists, bringing one up to knock on the solid oak door. I waited several seconds. A cool sweat broke out across my skin. No answer.

  Summoning up my courage, I knocked again, harder. Still no answer. With a sigh of both frustration and relief, I backed away from his office. I should just wait to hear back from Isabella. Confronting Montrell directly would probably stir up unnecessary shit.

  I headed to my dorm, letting all thought of Montrell Freeman go. I had a date with a hot fae tonight.

  3

  Jaxon

  I stepped into the meeting room at the old church in Estacada. It had long ago been converted to the Supernatural Council’s headquarters and heavily warded. Not even the Tromara dared to step through its doors.

  High windows would have let in the moonlight, except for the dense cloud cover. The stone walls in the cavernous room made the place feel cold—unwelcome—or maybe it was the open glares I received from the assembled Council members.

  “Good evening,” I said, joining the others.

  Demarcus Freeman dipped his chin in a curt nod. The other five either ignored me or deepened their glares.

  “Welcome, Jaxon,” Isabella smiled. “I’m so glad you could join us.” She turned her attention to the others. “Let’s get started. We have a lot to cover tonight.”

  Richard Aimes cleared his throat.

  Isabella’s smile tightened. “Yes, Councilor Aimes, you may go first.”

  I bristled at the sight of him. He had the same wide build, reddish-brown hair, and pale green eyes as his son. In the only elected position on the Council, Aimes still had three years or so until his term ended.

  He cleared his throat again. “I have been notified that my son, Kyle, has been stripped of his points and placed in the Culling Club. I demand a hearing. Surely he is innocent of whatever crime he’s been accused of.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him. “Attempted rape and assault. That’s what he’s accused of. And what he did.”

  Several heads turned toward me, gasps escaping from their mouths. Although the supernatural community had few laws, rape was one of our worst crimes. Supernaturals were powerful, both physically and magically, abusing those powers would land you in the end of year Culling, whether you were a student or not.

  “I’m sure it was a misunderstanding,” Aimes said. “My boy would never try to rape someone, he doesn’t need to. He has a promising future, and I want a hearing to end this ridiculousness.”

  I opened my mouth to speak, but Isabella interrupted me. “Very well,” she said, “it will be held over spring break.”

  Not knowing what the rules were around hearings, I held my tongue. Isabella didn’t look particularly happy to be granting the request either. After what Kyle Aimes did to Caprice, he deserved to be sacrificed.

  Aimes wasn’t done yet. “I’ve heard that his accuser is some kind of dragon beast. We don’t know anything about her, besides her being a liar of course.”

  Anger heated my face, while dread filled my gut. Everyone at the Academy knew what Caprice was, it was only a matter of time before the Council and the rest of supernatural society knew as well.

  “That dragon beast,” Isabella said, “is my heir and granddaughter Caprice Sorrentino.”

  Aimes frowned, glancing at the other Councilors. “I thought your heir was a witch.”

  Isabella shook her head. “So did I, but I was wrong. Caprice is a dragon-shifter. I found out only recently.”

  “How dare you keep that information from the Council!” Aimes raged.

  Isabella pinned him with a glare. “Since she is not yet on this Council, I consider this information
to be a family matter, not a political one.”

  Aimes huffed. “She’s the princess, which makes everything about her a political matter.”

  Chang and Stewart nodded their agreement.

  “You have a point,” Isabella conceded, “and I should have told you all about her as soon as I knew. But, I was trying to keep this new discovery from the Tromara. Which is now a moot point.”

  “Are you accusing us of—?” Aimes began.

  “No. But the fewer people who know, the fewer tongues there are to wag. It doesn’t matter now. The Tromara know, and that is why King Sebastian has claimed Caprice.”

  I noticed that Isabella had not said that she trusts the Council. Who did she think would let this get out if she’d told them sooner? Who didn’t she trust?

  She continued, “However, we can’t let Sebastian have her. It’s true that we don’t know what she’s capable of, but I don’t want her powers in the wrong hands. If any of you have ideas about what to offer Sebastian in exchange for Caprice, I’m all ears.”

  The other members exchanged glances, but no one spoke up. What could we offer the Tromara King that would be more appealing than the only dragon-shifter known to exist?

  Isabella sighed. “Let’s move on.”

  Demarcus Freeman’s deep voice filled the room. “We’ve had more disturbing reports from my territory, regarding several murdered supernaturals from Maryland up to New York.”

  “More?” I asked, but the councilors ignored me.

  “The Tromara’s work, no doubt,” Mia Chang said, her fangs clearly visible when she spoke.

  Demarcus shook his silver-haired head. “I don’t think so. One, it goes against the Truce to take lives outside of the Culling. Two, these are not the Tromara’s style.” He grimaced. “They are horrifically brutal.”

  I raised a brow. Killings that were more brutal than the Tromara’s? Who was capable of that?

  Isabella frowned. “We’ll need to investigate.”

  “We’ve already begun,” Demarcus said.

  Linus Stewart huffed. “Who said you should lead this investigation?”

  Demarcus stared down the lanky fae. “The northeast is my territory.”

  “Since our territories share a border, I think I should help,” Linus said.

  “You should tend to your own, and keep to the south.” Demarcus folded his arms over an enormous chest.

  “I think—”Linus began.

  “Demarcus is taking care of it,” Isabella said, her tone indicating the discussion was over. “Let’s move on.”

  Linus slouched in his chair, a sour expression twisting his features.

  I hadn’t been to a Council meeting in years, far too long really. The infighting had worsened in that time. Councilors Freeman and Stewart had always seemed at odds with each other. Their territories were divided several states south of the Mason Dixon line. The Freemans had New England, while the Stewarts were guardians of the South. Chang oversaw everything between Missouri, Minnesota, and Michigan. The werewolves and Cortez family ran the whole length of the Rocky Mountains. My own territory was a large chunk of the West, from Washington to Arizona.

  All of these positions were inherited, passed down through the same family bloodlines, except for the Councilor at Large. That was an elected office that any supernatural type could run for every four years.

  I glanced around the table, realizing that I knew very little about the leaders of our community and each supernatural type. Diego Cortez was Angel’s father, and I heard snippets about him on occasion. He didn’t like me, even though he’d once been good friends with my father.

  Isabella on occasion talked about both Diego and Demarcus, the three of them were close. I was pretty sure Mia had a daughter who was a second year at the Academy. Liam’s family hated Linus Stewart and his son Edwin. According to Liam, his father was waiting, impatiently, for the Stewart line to end and open up the position for himself—supposedly his right by blood anyway.

  Richard Aimes was a bastard, but that was just my personal opinion.

  I studied Demarcus as Isabella talked about the next fiscal quarter. Why would his son be picking on Caprice? There wasn’t a good way to ask him directly. Damn.

  But if he was close with Isabella, why was he indirectly trying to sacrifice her granddaughter and get her out of the way? Isabella couldn’t know what was going on, she’d flip out. And, she seemed perfectly calm this evening.

  The next two hours dragged on with Council business. Most of which I had no idea about, or the importance of it. I shifted in my seat, uncomfortably. By birthright, I was one of the leaders, yet I knew nothing.

  My frown deepened. Aunt Gladys had talked for years about tutoring me to prepare me for this position. Somehow, that tutoring never happened, and I felt like the biggest fool in the room. No wonder the other members barely tolerated me. I didn’t belong here.

  But, I should belong. One day Caprice would be Council Queen, and she needed to be surrounded by those she could trust. If I gave my seat up for Gladys and her brood, I’d be failing Caprice in the worst possible way.

  I despised having to prove myself. Not only was I ignorant, but the son of a traitor. Both of those labels had to be overcome if I was to step into my birthright. But how? How could I dissolve the sins of my father? How could I redeem myself in the eyes of the Council?

  “That’s all for this meeting,” Isabella’s voice broke through my pondering. “Demarcus, stay a while, I’d like to speak with you privately.”

  Maybe she did know about the Montrell and Caprice situation, after all.

  I strode over to where she sat. “Sorry to interrupt, but I need to speak with you,” I glanced at Demarcus, wondering how much to say in front of him, “about the Tromara and Caprice. What are we going to do to keep her from him?”

  “I’m not completely without ideas of a counter offer,” Isabella said in a low voice. “I’ll let you know when I know more.”

  “Oh, okay.” I should have known Isabella would be on top of securing her granddaughter’s safety. I imitated the others in bowing my head to Isabella before leaving the room.

  I climbed the stairs. Goddamn, I’d been so stupid and blind to not see what Gladys had been up to all these years. I was so completely out of the loop. She’d let me lead my carefree life, while slowly capturing the McIver Council seat. That ended today. If she recovered from her illness, I wasn’t going to let her back in my seat.

  Purposefully, I strode across the large, mostly empty parking lot to my car. With each step my bravado dwindled. Just because I was born a McIver didn’t mean I would be a good leader. What if they were all right, and I was a bad seed? I’d had enough treasonous thoughts lately. Thank God my mother had passed on when I was too little to remember her. I had a feeling she’d be appalled at both me and my father.

  I didn’t want this position, but after seeing the power plays, and how they spoke about Caprice, my wants were irrelevant. One day she’d need me in that seat. Need my power and influence. The sooner I got a handle on the politics the better.

  I turned the key in the ignition, tightening my grip on the steering wheel. I had been such a dumb-fuck, and a coward. Drawing in a deep breath, I released the wheel. It didn’t matter what I had to do, this wasn’t about me anymore, it was about Caprice. I’d do anything for her, it took me a while to realize that, but it was true.

  Looking back, I couldn’t believe some of the things I’d said to her. I didn’t deserve her, that was for sure. Yet, somehow, she liked me enough to stick around when she could have any guy she wanted.

  The Tromara King thought he was going to take Caprice either at the end of this year or next year, but he had another think coming. Claiming my role on the Council was the most powerful position I could hope for. I needed to know what was happening.

  It was time for me to confront my weaknesses. I turned off the car and got out. Isabella would teach me what I needed to know about being on the Council, at least
that was my hope. I’d beg if I had to.

  I turned toward the church and took two steps, when a deafening boom sounded behind me. Instinctively, I cast a shielding spell and crouched down. The force of the blast shoved me to the wall of the church.

  A fireball engulfed the area. Shrapnel ripped through the air, bouncing off my glowing blue shield. When the explosion died down to roaring flames and a pillar of black smoke, I stared out at the parking lot—at my car. Or at least, what as left of it.

  The column of fire shone in stark contrast to the night sky. A light drizzle did nothing to quell the flames.

  The church’s back door banged open. Demarcus charged out, followed by Isabella.

  Isabella’s wide brown eyes flooded with relief when she found me. I stood, taking out my wand and casting a larger shield to encompass the three of us, just in case.

  Demarcus’ gaze latched onto my car. “That’s not good.” The man had a knack for understatement.

  “What happened?” Isabella asked. “Is that your car, Jaxon?”

  I nodded, unable to find the words. Glittering orange and purple sparks caught my attention. Magical residue in the flame meant this wasn’t an accident. Someone wanted me dead.

  4

  Caprice

  I strode down the corridor to Liam’s apartment on the second floor of Academy Hall. Nerves made my chest clench. I smoothed the knee length skirt, hoping that the blouse and heels weren’t overdoing it, not to mention the ruby hanging around my neck. This was the first real date of my life.

  His door opened as soon as I arrived at it, startling me. I gave Liam a curious glance. He blushed, looking bashful.

  “I—uh, could feel you coming down the hall,” he said. Liam took my arm, leading me inside. He leaned in. “You don’t need to be so nervous. I won’t bite.”

  It was my turn to blush. Him knowing my feelings all the time still made me uncomfortable. Sometimes it was sweet, and at other times it felt like an invasion of privacy.