by G. Bailey
"You just want Madi to introduce you to the brothers," Tavvy says, and Ella grins, her dark red lipstick making the look seem more sinister than you would expect her smile to be.
"Whatever her reason is, let's go," I say, shaking my head at her and then suddenly remembering why I wanted to go to this party in the first place. I run back to my bed, using my body to hide the phone as I pull it out of the pillow and stuff it into my bra, the only place I can quickly think of.
"Seems new girl might be more interesting than I first thought," Ella muses, glancing at the little part of the phone that is sticking out. I quickly push it down, watching Ella to see what she will say next.
"Don't make me put you to sleep," I warn her. Not that I have a clue how to do that again.
"You have control over it already? I doubt it. But don’t worry, I won’t say a word," Ella says, walking down the corridor. Tavvy and I look at each other, knowing neither of us trusts her, but there really isn't much we can do about it right now. I shut the door behind us before walking down the corridor next to Tavvy.
We get to the end of the corridor and, instead of walking anywhere, Ella pulls open a random door which reveals a set of stairs. Tavvy follows Ella in first, and I go in behind her, pulling the door shut behind me before following them up the stairs. There are four flights of creaky, dark stairs before we get to the top where it opens up into a big empty attic room that looks like it stretches for ages. Ella doesn’t step off the top step, she instead pulls a key out of her bra and holds it in the air. There is a flash of yellow light, and then Ella is gone.
"Creepy magic," Tavvy mutters and steps up to where Ella was just stood. "Hold my hand so we both go in together."
"Go in where?" I ask her slowly, still moving closer.
"The party," Tavvy says with a laugh, holding out a hand to me. I slide my hand into hers and step onto the top step next to her as Tavvy pulls out our white key from her bra and holds it in the air. There is a bright yellow flash again, and then we are no longer stood on a step looking at an empty room, we are on the same step looking into a massive party. There are flashing lights, loud beating music and dozens of students dancing, drinking and laughing. Ella stands tapping her foot near us, clearly bored of waiting for more than a moment. I let go of Tavvy's hand and step into the room, enjoying the warmth of the room and the feeling of just being someone normal. No one looks my way, too lost in themselves.
“Dammit, the brothers aren’t here yet,” Ella shouts over the music, and I roll my eyes at her, ignoring the stab of disappointment I feel that they’re not here. I spot a table of drinks, dozens of bottles lining it, and I head straight for it. Now this is a party. I could use a drink, or a few, to loosen up and have a good night. Everything has been stressful since I got here, so heartbreaking, and I just want to do what normal teenagers do. So, drinking and then dancing until I forget who I am is the plan.
"Shots?" Tavvy loudly asks me, getting to the table at the same time as me and grinning. I pick up the tequila bottle off the table as Tavvy gets three little shot glasses from the back that don’t look used. I look to my left as Ella comes to my side, her arms crossed in annoyance, and I smile at her. "Joining in, Ella?" Tavvy asks her in a daring tone.
"Go on then, fairy. Seems like I don’t have anything better to do," Ella replies, and Tavvy just glares at her as she pours the shots before handing them out.
"One, two, three," I count and then down the shot with Tavvy and Ella at the same time. We do three more shots that burn my throat and make the room seem even warmer, before I pick up a bottle of beer, and Tavvy helps me undo the lid as we all chuckle.
"Dance time!" I shout, loving the warm buzz and how Ella and Tavvy cheer with me. We all head to the dance floor a few moments later. I’ve never had girls as friends, but I like these girls for some reason. I laugh as I dance around, losing myself to the music and eventually losing Tavvy and Ella in the crowd as I dance away, avoiding other students. I drink my beer, hating the taste as I move my hips and slowly put my hands above my head, swaying to the music that seems to speak to me. I put the beer on a table somewhere before swaying my hips to a slower song in the middle of a big bunch of dancing people.
"Hey, party girl," a guy whispers into my ear before roughly pulling me back to him, his hands tightening around my waist before I can move away.
"Let go," I demand, trying to push him away from me, but it doesn’t work, and he just holds me tighter. I try to wriggle out of his grip as he presses his head next to mine and kisses my ear. I start to feel my power in my fingertips just before his arms are ripped away from me, and I stumble a little as I try to stand up straight. I turn to see Knox holding a wiry young man in the air by the back of his jacket, but Knox’s angry eyes are on me. Knox is silent as he lifts a beefy fist and punches the guy hard in the face. The jerk falls to the floor with a smack, and he doesn’t get up. It should scare me, but the whole alpha thing just seems to do the opposite. I like this side to Knox. He is definitely the darkest one of the brothers now. The music is suddenly cut off as Knox walks to me in big strides and swiftly picks me up, throwing me over his shoulder before I can protest about it.
"Let me make this clear while you are all listening. Madilynn Dormiens belongs to the Tale brothers. Anyone touches her, and they deal with us." Knox's words seem to make everyone burst into whispers as Knox carries me out of the room.
"Put me down, Knox," I grumble, smacking my fists onto his back and trying to wriggle. His arm is like a vice grip on my thighs though, and I don’t move anywhere.
"Nope. You are drunk, and I don't trust you not to fall over or throw up," he says, walking down the stairs which actually does make me feel sick with every movement as my head bounces against his back. We get out to the corridor and instead of going towards my room, he turns and walks to the other stairs in the corridor, banging my head more against his back as we go up it.
"My room is back there," I tell him, my fuzzy head making everything a bit uncertain. Do I have a room upstairs? Who knows?
"I know. I said I don’t trust you not to be sick, so I am watching you for the night in our room," he informs me.
"Our room? Won’t your roommate mind you are having a girl over for a sleepover?" I say and then giggle to myself. “Well, not girl-girl over for the night. We don’t do that. Do we?”
"Dear god, stop talking, Sleepy. My brothers and I share a room like we always have done," he tells me, and I nod my head, even though I’m slightly aware he can’t see me do it.
"Where are the others?" I ask him. "In the room?"
"No. They are out for the night doing something important. We take turns making sure you are okay, but I didn’t expect you to be the party animal like I found tonight," he says, his words gruff. “Also, where the hell did you learn to dance like that!?”
"You should lighten up, Knox, and join the party! We could have danced together!" I say, and he chuckles.
"You are drunk as hell, Sleepy," he says, and I hear him opening a door and walking us into a room. Knox gently places me on the floor, and I grin at the four different versions of him I can just see before the world blacks out.
Chapter 16
I groan as I wake up, rolling into the musky, chocolate-smelling pillow and stretching my legs out, feeling the silky sheets wrapped around me. It’s not until I blink my eyes open, hating the bright light from a window that is shining into my eyes, that I realise I am not in my bed. I sit up sharply to see where I am, immediately holding a hand to my head to stop it from pounding so loudly from the movement. A wave of dizziness overtakes me as I try to make my mouth less dry. I clear my throat a few times until the dizziness stops and I feel sure I’m not going to throw up. I haven’t felt this shitty in a long time. What the hell happened last night? I’m sure I didn’t drink that much, though I only really remember the shots with the girls…then everything else is a blur. I likely don’t want to remember, considering I’m in someone else’s bed. Another wave
of dizziness hits me as I try to move again, and I squeeze my eyes shut.
“Oh god, I’m dying,” I groan and hear a set of very familiar chuckles. I blink one eye open to see Noah and Knox in the room with me. Knox is lying on the floor with a pillow and blanket, whereas Noah is in the bed opposite me in the room. Both of them have messy sleep hair, and they are shirtless. Why is Knox on the floor? This must be their room. There are two sets of bunkbeds, two wardrobes, a chest of drawers, and their room is massive. There is even another door open in the room, and it leads to a bathroom.
“No, you are hungover. Sin went to get you something to help,” Noah tells me, sitting up, and the blanket seems to slowly fall down, revealing his naked chest. I gape at the tight muscles on show, the z tattoo on his ribs, and all the way back up to his very amused face. I shake my head, only regretting doing so straightaway as I put my head into my hands.
“What happened last night?” I ask quietly. “And when the hell did you get a tattoo?”
“Drunk Madi can dance way too fucking hot. I’m never letting her go to a party alone again,” Knox fills me in, though he speaks like I’m not actually here, and it all comes rushing back to me like a smack to the face. I peep through my hands to see Knox has sat up, and he smiles at me in a playful way.
“I just wanted some fun,” I groan, wanting to hide my face as it burns red at Knox’s statement.
“I get that. Next time, invite us,” Noah suggests. “We wouldn’t have said yes to our job if—” Noah stops mid-sentence as a pillow goes flying at him from above my bed. What the hell kinda jobs are teenagers doing on a Saturday night? I go to ask not only where the pillow came from but what work they are doing, as someone shouts.
“Shut it, will you, before I make you keep your mouth shut. It’s like six in the morning on a fucking Sunday,” Tobias’s grumbly voice comes from above me, and then I hear him rolling over as I chuckle low with Knox and Noah.
“I see he still isn’t a morning person,” I whisper as Noah puts his pillow behind him, resting back on it and making no move to pull the blanket up, so I’m stuck staring at his naked chest.
“You aren’t usually either,” Knox states, and he has a point. “I thought I’d have to wake you up at some point.”
“Nope, I’m up and sort of alive. I’m going to use your bathroom,” I state, not really waiting for their replies as I get up. I slide out of bed, looking down at the red shirt someone has put on over my clothes from last night, and when I stand up, the shirt goes to my knees. “Which is unfair that you guys have your own bathroom and we girls don’t get that.”
“Boys rule, and you know it,” Noah teases.
“I think you’ll find ‘girls rule and boys drool’ was the song,” I reply just before stepping into the bathroom.
“The song was right about boys drooling over hot girls like you, Madi.” I roll my eyes at his flirting and shut the door. After using the toilet, I wash my face with some water and smooth down my messy hair. I rub my teeth with some of their toothpaste, and when I straighten my top under one of the guys’ shirts, I feel the phone in my bra still. I can’t believe I forgot last night. I suddenly think back to the real reason I went to the party, one I seem to have completely forgotten last night. I need to call Quinton.
“I have to go. Thanks for, well, being there for me last night,” I say as I open the bathroom door.
“Where are you off to?” Noah asks, sitting up at my words, and I look around for my shoes, not seeing them straightaway.
“I’m going to the roof after getting my book and asking Lane to tell me where to go,” I explain, and Noah looks at Knox before back to me.
“Why the roof?” he asks, and he looks worried. Part of me doesn’t want to admit that I’m going to call Quinton.
“Why the million questions suddenly?” I counter in avoidance, and he flashes me an annoyed glance as I look away from him to Knox. “Thank you for looking after me last night. Whatever I drank was stronger than I thought.”
“There was magic in the drinks, making them three times stronger than usual,” Knox replies. “And it was nothing. I’m always here, that hasn’t changed.”
“Right, just everything else has changed. Well, thank you anyway,” I reply, feeling a bit awkward as I look around the room for my shoes again and finally spot them by the door. I go to them, feeling all the guys’ eyes on me the whole time. I start to say goodbye when the door opens, and Oisin walks in, holding a carry out mug with something sweet-smelling in it.
“Morning, Sleepy. Here you go,” Oisin says, looking proud to hand me whatever the drink is. I accept it and grab the door he is about to close, holding it open.
“Thank you for this, and I will see you later,” I tell him, going to step out, but he places a hand on the door, his arm blocking me from leaving. I meet his playful silver eyes that have that seductive swirling way about them like his brother’s do. I never knew silver eyes could be attractive, but damn, his are.
“Where are you off to so quickly?” he asks me. I groan, knowing I’m not going to escape as easily as I had hoped.
“I have things to do, Sin. Out of the way,” I say, using my hand to attempt to push his arm out of the way, but it is like an arm of steel or something. I drop my hand and just glare at him until he drops his arm.
“Not without me, you don’t. I wanted to hang out with you today,” he says.
“Oisin knows his way to the roof, so that’s a good idea for him to go with you,” Knox interrupts, and Sin gives me a curious look.
“Why the roof?” Sin asks me.
“I want to see the sun rise,” I lie to him, and I know not one of them believes me in here because of the way they are all smirking as I look between them. The only one that isn’t listening in is Tobias as I can hear his light snoring.
“Alright. I’m down to join you. Let’s go,” Sin says, and I was hoping he would change his mind. I don’t know how well the guys are going to take me talking to Quinton. Either way, my heart beats a little faster at the idea that I will be able to speak to him. It feels like it has been years, when it has only been days since I got here. I open the lid to the drink Sin gave me, as he shuts the door behind us, and take a long sip. The drink is warm with a minty flavour that somehow makes me feel so much better with only a few sips.
“What is this stuff?” I ask as he gets to my side and wraps an arm around my shoulders. The academy is pretty cold this early, and I’m happy to snuggle into his side.
“We like to have parties in our room, mainly the guys only though, so we have this stuff to fight the hangover off. It’s a mix of the healing gel and herbal tea. Pretty good shit, right?” he replies, and I grin around my cup lid.
“You’re right, it’s pretty good shit. Thanks,” I tell him, and he kisses the side of my head.
“Anything for you, my sleepy Madi.”
Chapter 17
“It’s a pretty view,” Sin comments once he helps me up the final steps of the ladder to the roof. The roof is mainly flat, with tiny walls around the perimeter and several chimney tops dotted around the stone roof. I glance around at the pink, orange and spots of red sky as the sun rises over the forest that surrounds the academy. It is stunning. “Now tell me why we are really up here, Sleepy.” I glance over at Sin, seeing his arms crossed tightly against his chest. The tight expression he has on his face makes me think he already knows. I pull the phone out of my bra, and he sighs, shaking his head.
“Knew it,” he says. “You want to call Quinton.”
“Yes,” I reply, avoiding his gaze. I don’t know why I feel guilty about it, but some part of me does. Maybe it was just the way Sin asked. Maybe it was something more.
“Go on then. Call him,” he suggests, even when he doesn’t seem happy about it. I nod and walk over to the middle of the roof, sitting down with my back resting against the brick chimney. Sin comes and sits next to me as I turn the phone on, reading the dozens of messages from Quinton first. Each one
breaks my heart, each one is worse than the last until the final message which only confuses me:
Sleepy, just call me when you can. Or I will come for you. Don’t trust anyone and remember I love you.
“What do you think he means by that? He sent it on the day I left, and there hasn’t been a message since,” I ask Sin, knowing he read the message with me.
“Neither of us will know until you call him,” he replies, nudging my shoulder. “Just remember you can’t tell Quin anything about this world. I know it will be hard, because there were so many times I just wanted to pick up a phone and call you, tell you everything. But I wouldn’t risk someone’s life that I care about more than my own.”
“You can be super sweet at times, Sin,” I say, sadly smiling as my heart beats loudly.
“Don’t go telling that to anyone else. It might ruin my reputation,” he says, and then his lips tighten as he looks at the phone in my hand. “Call him.” I don’t say anything else to Sin as I press call on my phone and put it to my ear as it rings. On the fourth ring, Quin picks the phone up.
“I didn’t expect to ever hear from you again,” he says, his voice gruff like I just woke him up, but I can hear a longing in his voice that matches how much I wanted to hear his voice too.
“I’m sorry. I wish I could explain,” I start off, but then I just pause because I can’t explain, and I don’t even know what I want to say.
“I know you can’t,” he tells me. “I know everything.”
“I highly doubt that, Quin,” I reply, because he couldn’t know everything. That wouldn’t make any sense.
“Don’t call me again, Madi. Never. Do you understand me?” he asks, not sounding one bit like my Quinton. My heart breaks at his cold words with their tone of finality.
“I didn’t leave to hurt you. Don’t hurt me like this. I only wanted to speak to you for a moment. Check that you are okay,” I explain to him, my voice is more desperate than I expected to sound.
