Blooming Black: Rosewood Academy of Witches and Mages (Darkly Sweet Book 4)

by Juliann Whicker

  His voice was cool, matter-of-fact. “It would take a week to get back by boat. A week being vulnerable to attack by Creagh or whatever else. I doubt Revere would advise that. You should call him.”

  I glared at him. “I don’t have my phone. Do you have his number? I have exactly what I’m wearing.”

  He smiled demurely. “You don’t have his number memorized? Poor Penny. At the mercy of the merciless. It’s a good thing Zach considers you something of a curiosity. He’s warned me that I must not seduce you however tempted I am.”

  I gasped and the scent of black cherries grew stronger. “Why would you want to seduce me?”

  He rolled his eyes and walked languidly over the sand. “I’m going to have so much sand in my shoes. I hate sand in my shoes. We’re in a tropical paradise. Can’t you taste seduction in the air? Luckily for both of you, I’ll be so busy trying not to kill my father that I won’t have the slightest extra energy for anything else.”

  Meeting his father would be fun. So much fun. Macaroons and bonbons, what had I been thinking? You don’t climb into a jet and think that the ride won’t last long, even if you distinctly hear Drake talking to the pilot about taking a ‘test drive’. Drake was used to flying, though. He had a dragon. “What’s it like riding a dragon?”

  He gave me a sharp glance. “Where did that come from? I’ve been keeping Jello under my tophat for a long time.”

  “Jello?”

  He almost gave me a real smile as he nodded. “My dragon’s name is Jello. He likes you.”

  I chewed on my bottom lip. “He’s beautiful. And soft. I wish I’d gotten to see him longer.”

  Drake shrugged. “He sort of wants to eat you. It’s probably for the best if you keep your distance.”

  I turned away from him, looking at the view instead of him. It was breathtaking, so why did I keep want to look at him? “This whole place is beautiful,” I admitted, gesturing to the ocean, the sand, and him accidentally.

  “It’s called an island paradise. That’s the thing about paradise, people without souls find it less enchanting. Who wants to go to heaven when you’re always burning?”

  Did he have pain in his soul? Yes, he did, but he was closed to me completely. Maybe he always had been. Maybe it had just been a very well-performed play for him. It had been a very good game. I walked slower and slower the closer we got to the house that overhung the cliff so it was directly over the ocean. The beach grew narrow until we reached the steps.

  “I didn’t think this through,” I muttered.

  “Sleeping in my car or stalking me onto the jet?”

  “I can’t stay in a house with you. It hurts to look at you. I can’t stay here for a whole day waiting for Zach. I’ll go back to the airplane. I’ll sleep on the beach or in a palm tree or something.”

  That’s when another mage spoke. “You’re just in time for lunch.”

  I turned towards the mage who seemed to be Revere’s age, but he wasn’t wearing a shirt. He was so tan and strong, with a dark red mustache that matched his auburn hair. It glinted in the sun like black cherry jelly.

  Drake pulled off his jacket, peeled off his shirt and threw it at the other mage. “Tract. It’s customary to wear clothing in front of guests.”

  I stared at Drake, his pale skin smooth and perfect, strong and lean. He needed sunscreen or he’d burn to a crisp beneath that bright, hot sun. I took a step closer to Drake in spite of myself. That’s when Drake stepped between me and the mage, crossing his arms like he was protecting me from the stranger.

  The other mage seemed amused, but it was hard to tell the way Drake kept moving, muscles in his back and arms flexing as though he were ready for a tourney fight. Was he always so aggressive? So beautiful.

  The other mage spoke again. “Is it? Apparently, I’ve been away from civilization for too long. Too much of my current socialization is al fresco. The dolphins and the guppies aren’t very accommodating when I try to dress them up.”

  “Do you do that?” I asked, moving to the side of me to stare at the stranger. “I imagine it would be difficult with most sea life, but dolphins are so sweet. I don’t imagine they’d mind a top hat and a bowtie any more than a rat or a robin.”

  He narrowed his eyes at me. Oh, he’d been joking. Sometimes it was so hard to tell. I should just keep my mouth shut.

  Drake spoke, his voice hard. “Penny Lane, meet my father. He’s completely debauched so he’ll probably try to seduce you out of your robe. Not that your robe isn’t always trying to fall off. It’s a good thing that you’re so obsessed with me that you can’t possibly look at any other mage. She’s my most persistent stalker,” he informed his father as he started up the steps.

  That mage was Drake’s father? I suppose that explained the dark red hair and the green eyes. And now he knew that I shamelessly stalked Drake. Wonderful. Maybe no one could tell I was blushing because it would look like a sunburn. I followed Drake, his bare back singing to me while the scent of black cherry and ashes drifted all around.

  At the top of the steps was a wide patio with red bougainvillea climbing over the stone wall guarding the drop to the beach. It was so ridiculously beautiful, I was starting to get irritated. It made Rosewood look like a tacky McMansion.

  I hesitated on that deck, glancing from Drake and his bare chest to his father.

  Drake sighed and rolled his eyes before turning to face his father with a stiff smile. “I should have been more clear. Penny was working on the jet that I stole. When I say working, I mean sleeping on the job in cargo. She’s not stalking me, she’s actually Zachary Stoneburrow’s girlfriend and ally. She’s very smart. I know she doesn’t look like it, but she can really do things to an electrical box. I promised her that I’d find some of my dear aunt’s clothing for her to wear. We still have some of her things in the second guest room, right?” He turned to speak to me. “It overlooks the island instead of the beach. Do you mind not having an ocean view? Zach’s coming tomorrow. He can have the room next to you, unless you’d rather share. My father doesn’t care.”

  I glanced from Drake to his dad then back at him. I couldn’t tell whether or not the auburn-haired mage with a mustache cared or not. For some reason my chest ached in a strange way when I looked at the older mage. “Didn’t you say that there was a hotel? I’d love to borrow your aunt’s clothes, but I don’t need to stay here.”

  His father clapped me on the shoulder and gave me a welcoming smile that didn’t touch his eyes. “Stoneburrow is like family. If Drake stole a jet, giving you a bed is the least he can do.” He took his hand off before I ripped it out of his wrist. He glanced at Drake. “Why don’t you show this lovely girl to her room before we have our ritualistic greeting.”

  Drake smiled mockingly and walked inside the house, shadowed and cool after the bright warmth of the deck. The blinds of the floor length glass windows and doors were all closed, making the house feel like a sepulcher.

  “Kitchen, living room through there, and then up this staircase is your room. The door is turquoise. Every door is a different color, so you shouldn’t get lost.” He pointed up the staircase that was like the curve of a shell. It was of pale stone with pale pink in the shadows.

  “And bathrooms?” I didn’t meet his eye, instead looking around at the ridiculously luxurious beach house that had apparently been abandoned.

  “Every room has its own toilet. We also have extra toothbrushes. You’d think you’d never been to an island paradise before. I’d say you should take your time, but you’re probably starving. Come to the kitchen after you find something a little less comfortable to wear.”

  I frowned at him but went up the curving stairs two at a time.

  I was halfway up when I realized why seeing Drake’s father made my heart hurt. In twenty years Drake would look like that, but I wouldn’t get to watch him grow older, live a life with him so I knew where every wrinkle came from and could place every scar. I’d seen Drake’s future, but I wouldn’t be in
it.

  Chapter 33

  Mage

  My father was already in the kitchen when I went in.

  “First of all, when you’re about to lie, make certain the object that you claim belongs to someone else isn’t visibly wearing your initials. Secondly, your laptop and bag are in your room. Bernie or Henri, someone from the airport brought them over when you decided to walk. Thirdly, she’s lovely. You shouldn’t play with a witch like that.”

  I had his throat in my claws, the world growing greener every moment as I crushed him, bowing him back against the counter while I struggled against the rage. I closed my eyes and counted to fifty three times before I could retract my claws and step away from my father. I should have known the first time I didn’t physically assault him that Sooth wasn’t my father.

  “As uncontrolled as always,” he said, fingering his throat until the blood disappeared and the skin smoothed over. I shrugged and went to the fridge and started taking out ingredients, mindlessly chopping and sautéing while my father worked beside me. We didn’t talk. Talking never helped. He was right, though. She was lovely and I needed to be careful, so careful so that I didn’t bring her down in a burning flame with me.

  “Shouldn’t she be down by now?”

  I glared at my knife and turned, throwing it into the knife holder. I only used a tiny bit of magic to get it in the slot before I turned and went to the stairs. What was I doing? She could take her time if she wanted, but I needed to see her.

  I stared at the girl laying on the bed in a towel, curled up on her side, little pink toes, nails painted pale gold. The polish was badly chipped. She must have painted them for the wedding. She slept, her face relaxed, soft, sweet. I stared at her for a long time before I went back downstairs. My father had laid out lunch on the patio.

  I took her setting back inside before I came back out and sat, staring at the ocean as we ate in silence.

  My father cleared his throat. “What is she doing?”

  “Sleeping. She had a difficult trip.”

  “You look a bit ragged yourself.”

  Did I? I wonder if Penny noticed. I shrugged. “I spend nights dealing with Darkside, days dealing with Huntsman inc. You could say I’m burning the candle at both ends.”

  He smoothed his moustache. No one had mustaches anymore. Didn’t he know that? “Dealing with Darkside? I thought you enjoyed your forays into the darkness.”

  I smiled pleasantly. “You can think what you like. How has the weather been? Any sudden gales?”

  “I was caught in a hurricane not a week ago. My ship is down at the dock. I floated in the ocean for four days.”

  “Why?”

  He shrugged and stretched his hands above his head, my shirt tugging at his shoulders. He had more muscle than I did. My mother had always been tall and slender. “While I was there, just me and the ocean, stars above, I heard the strangest thing.”

  “An emu?”

  He gave me a sharp glance. “An oath. In Darksider. Swearing fealty to Huntsman.”

  I wrinkled my nose. “That was a mistake. We had to redo that one. So much blood.”

  He leaned over the table, eyes dark and hard. “You’re swearing Huntsman mercenaries to you?”

  I shrugged. “Do you know, I liked him better. I hate him, but I like him better. I must have known he wasn’t you. I wouldn’t have talked to you like that.”

  “A deception sorcerer took my place?” He glanced back out over the ocean. “That shouldn’t be possible. I’m sure you’re dealing with it. You have Jasper.”

  I laughed. “Oh, I do. I mean, I don’t, but I did, which is why we have this mess. Thank you for giving me Jasper. I adore the mage, but you could have done a background check on him.”

  “Jasper was the chink? Of course. Brilliant.”

  “He is. The deception sorcerer is absolutely brilliant. I have his pinkie on my coffee table.”

  “You didn’t kill him when you had the chance? Odd. You used to enjoy ripping mages apart.”

  “I still enjoy it, but I’ve learned a little more control. I’ve only destroyed one, two, oh there was the tourney, well, less than most years.” The tourney didn’t count. Teddy kissed Penny. I had to inflict pain on the world. Also, I’d betrayed Penny. And now I’d done it again. Because my father was off playing on a boat. Spending my nights taking oaths of fealty from Darksiders wasn’t quite as good stress relief as killing things.

  “And the girl?”

  “What girl? Oh, Penny. She’s got excellent legs, don’t you think?”

  “I didn’t notice. I did notice her shoulder.”

  I fiddled with my fork, not stabbing my father with it. “So?”

  “So, usually you don’t write into someone like that unless you intend to keep them.”

  “That was my intention.” I stared at the sea, the waves cresting and falling, the distant roar a constant that helped keep me from ripping the world apart.

  He sighed. “You gave the bond to Zachary? Let fear control you?”

  I turned and smiled at him. He was so tan. Would I tan so well if I spent years on a boat or just burn over and over like Sooth? “It’s called responsibility. You could give it a try sometime. I don’t recommend it. There’s nothing pleasant about it, but someone needs to do it.” I stood and gathered up my dishes. “If you have anything relevant to tell me about Huntsman’s protection shields, I’d try not to kill you while you shared. If Penny asks, I’ll be on the beach getting tan. Also, if you touch her again, I’ll rip you apart.”

  “Again?”

  “You grabbed her shoulder. I don’t care what you were trying to gauge.”

  “I have no intention of touching anyone’s witch, particularly one belonging to an ally like Stoneburrow. Are you certain she belongs to him and not you?”

  I growled, low, deep, smoke curling from my nostrils. I could feel fangs shifting in my mouth, aching to rip off his head. I licked my lips and turned. “I have officially relinquished claim of her. All the same, you should be very careful how you refer to her.”

  “I understand. As lovely as she is, how could you watch her descent into madness?”

  I stiffened. Penny wouldn’t ever go insane, wouldn’t ever rip anything apart without her whole soul. “I would happily watch her descend into anything, but I’m not what she needs right now.”

  I left him there, my heart heavy with aching.

  Zach came, dropping out of the sky in a spray of sand when he hit the beach. He walked towards me, his metal suit folding up until it was all in a backpack that hung from his shoulders, straps across his chest. He unstrapped it and dropped it down in the sand beside me then collapsed into the extra lounge chair that I’d brought for Penny. She was still sleeping. Probably.

  “You made good time.” I saluted him with my margarita. It had an umbrella. Penny would like little umbrellas.

  He ran a hand through his hair, mussing it. He was wearing swim shorts. Was it a glamour or had he actually tucked that beneath his metal suit. “It was a long flight. I flew towards where the jet had last been spotted then caught a ride until we got here.” He nodded up at the distant speck of a jet.

  “Saves fuel not to have to land.”

  He nodded and took the drink I’d made for Penny. “I’ll need to borrow your clothes.”

  “Feel free.”

  He reached over and almost touched the jacket that hung from the back of my chair looking like a towel.

  I swiped him with a clawed hand and he retracted it shaking his head.

  “Claws. You have authentic claws growing out of the end of your arms. She probably thinks it’s adorable. So, this is the famously mysterious Huntsman Island. It’s not as nice as my private island.”

  I smacked his chest. “If you like golf courses, horse tracks, and casinos.”

  He smirked, eyes bright and wild. “Which you do. After I marry Penny, I’ll take her there. Dress her in something velvet or silk, have her blow on my dice for me.”
<
br />   I laughed. “She’d end up talking your horses into a revolution, a tea party revolution involving top hats. Something disastrous would happen completely destroying every possibility of breaking even much less making a profit. She’d single-handedly demolish every deal done in that swanky spot.”

  He shrugged. “That’s what I want. Sometimes it’s terrifying how much she fulfills all of my highest ideals.”

  “Ideals? I’m speechless. Coming from an arms dealer, it’s quite priceless. I can’t imagine her liking your company logo in her hip. I personally find it brilliantly ironic. You really made excellent time. You must have stepped throughside somewhere in the middle of the ocean, flew to the jet using your fancy magic mech suit, had the jet turn around in the air then come back here. Did you notice anything else? Anything unusual?”

  He frowned at his drink. “This tastes like fruit. You made me a fruity drink? No, nothing unusual, but the jet turning around and falling off sensors then back on them might cause some alarms if someone’s paying attention. Everyone at school should still think that Penny’s locked in her room.”

  I nodded, but I stared at the sky.

  “Zach, how did you get here so fast?” Penny’s voice was anxious, partly out of breath as she came over, sitting on the end of Zach’s sun chair like she really was his girlfriend. Pitch was, and she was Pitch. She didn’t look like Pitch in the enormous hot pink sun hat, her bright yellow bikini far more revealing than her night clothing had been. She hid her eyes beneath big sunglasses that I had a vague recollection of my aunt wearing.

  Zach nodded at the mech suit piled up in the sand like it wasn’t a multi-million dollar piece of equipment. “Nice hat. I didn’t know they came that big. Here have my drink. It’s too girly.”

  She took the drink and hesitantly put her mouth on the straw where his lips had been. I kicked Zach, startling Penny and spilling the drink. I grabbed the drink away from her.

  “What are you doing?” she asked, head cocked.

  I blinked at her, not looking at the miles of legs beneath her incredibly small bikini. “Zach stole your chair. Sit in mine. I’ll get another one.”