by Tasha Black
He began to stalk around the circle. He paused in front of one girl, and her voice began to quiver as she chanted.
He kept moving. He had begun on the other side of the crowd, but he was slowly coming closer to me.
I focused on my breathing, wishing I could scream or run. But something held me fast to him, like an invisible wire was pulling taut between us.
He stopped in front of another girl, who was blinking back tears, but he moved on faster this time.
His gait was graceful, like an animal’s. He was close enough now that I swore I could smell him - woodsy and complicated, like the forest itself.
He was closer now. Close enough that I could no longer bear to look at him.
I stared down at my hands, which were clenched into tight fists. I felt him move to me, sensed him stopping directly behind me.
Electricity filled the air between us. The tiny hairs on my arms lifted. I could almost feel his breath on my neck. I held my own breath as my heart crashed in my chest.
He put his hand on my neck, signaling me to face him.
I felt myself obey instantly.
His blue eyes were so bright it almost hurt to look at them. He touched my cheek, his rough hand surprisingly gentle.
I fought the urge to close my eyes and lean into that hand.
“You,” he said.
7
Luke
She trembled at my touch, her whole body weak with need as I drank in her delicious scent. It was like a soft rain falling on my parched senses.
But her eyes were frightened.
I would take away her fear. Take away everything but the pulse of her need and the hum of her pleasure.
She was the only thing I could think of from the moment I ended my hunt. I had paced away the hours until the ceremony.
The moment I emerged from the labyrinth I saw her energy pulsing for mine.
But they were expecting a show - these silly witches and their ceremonies. Besides, I didn’t want to throw myself at her like a desperate pup. So I made my way around the circle, feigning interest here and there until I reached her.
She stilled under my hand, though I could feel the heat of her blush.
She was ready.
She was mine.
“Are you coming with me now?” I growled. “Or are we playing out the whole silly charade?”
She blinked at me, her eyes were darkest blue, like the depths of the ocean.
“Lord Protector,” the headmistress’s voice invaded the private bubble that had encircled the girl and me. “Bella is new to us.”
“All women at the school are subject to the law,” I snarled.
“She only arrived at the school today,” Hart continued, infuriating me with her calm, unspoken plea.
New.
That made perfect sense. It was why I had not picked up her intoxicating scent until today.
“Can you choose another?” Hart asked hopefully. “This one does not even know the law yet.”
“No,” I growled. “But we’ll do this by the books.”
I gazed down sorrowfully at the object of my desire.
She blinked back at me in terrified wonder and my heart wrenched in my chest. I did not want to leave her, even for an instant.
“Be sure she knows the rules by the time I come back for her,” I said, wrenching my gaze from Bella’s to fix the headmistress with my most ferocious stare.
To her credit, Winifred Hart didn’t even blink.
“We know the rules, Lord Protector,” she said calmly.
I nodded to her, drank in one last glance at the trembling girl, and walked back into the maze, my mind pulling to pieces as if I were leaving part of it behind in the courtyard.
The beast howled in my chest.
Soon, I promised. Soon.
8
Bella
The beast, the Lord Protector, disappeared into the darkness and I strained my eyes trying to memorize every detail of him.
My heart was being crushed in a vice.
I feared him. But somehow, I needed him, too. His absence made me feel like I was drowning…
“Bella, are you okay?” Cori’s voice came from far away.
I blinked my eyes and tried to focus on her.
The world slammed back into my consciousness and I looked around.
Every single woman at the whole school was staring at me.
I wished I could disappear into the stones of the courtyard.
“Come, Bella,” Headmistress Hart said quietly. “Cori, Anya, you can come too. Help me get her inside.”
“Circle up, ladies,” Eve’s familiar voice called out. “Everyone focus on me. We’re finishing the chants and then you’re all going back to your rooms.”
The headmistress had me by one arm and Cori by the other as the groans of protest drifted up from the other students.
“She’s in the upper west wing, right?” Headmistress Hart asked. “Bellwether?”
“Yes, headmistress,” Cori said as Anya dashed forward to open the doors. “With me.”
“I-I’m okay,” I managed, even though that was the last thing I was. “You don’t have to hold onto me.”
“You’ve had a shock,” the headmistress replied.
“I’m fine,” I lied.
She gave me a look, then let go.
Cori slid her hand from my arm down to my hand and squeezed. I squeezed back and let her keep her hold on me.
Our group continued in and up the stairs, the plush carpet cold under my feet after the heat of the stones.
At last we reached the room I would be sharing with Cori.
“I’ll go back for your stuff,” Anya offered.
“I’ll send it up with another student,” the headmistress said dismissively. “What Bella needs now, more than clothing, is the companionship of friends. Are the two of you ready to be that for her?”
“Yes, headmistress,” Cori said quickly.
“Of course,” Anya added.
I swallowed loudly.
“Bella, please sit,” Headmistress Hart said.
I complied automatically, dropping heavily onto the edge of my bed, grateful for the chance to get off my feet before they betrayed me.
Cori and Anya seated themselves on either side of me.
“Our ceremony must have seemed most unusual to you, Bella,” Headmistress Hart said.
I nodded. Uh, yeah, it had been unusual in a lot of ways.
“First you must have noticed the way we spoke about the library, the school and the women who study and teach here,” she said, setting a very deliberate pace for a conversation she clearly didn’t want to be having.
“We protect the library,” I said.
“Indeed,” she replied with a warm smile. “The school is home to a very special library, Miss Hawthorne. It’s not just a collection of lifeless books. We have artwork, magical artifacts, and even the texts themselves are alive with magic. Studying here is a privilege.”
I agreed. That was why I was here. Library or no, I wanted to learn to heal, to help my brother. She was looking at me like she expected something, so I nodded.
She buttoned her lip and began to pace.
“Our relationship with the library is symbiotic,” she continued. “It shares its magic with us, and in turn, we protect it from any who might breach the castle walls.”
I wondered if that was a likely threat. I didn’t remember seeing anyone around for miles on the way in.
“But who will protect the castle?” she asked out loud.
I assumed it was some kind of rhetorical question that she was about to answer herself. I had no clue who would protect the castle.
“The castle is located on this very mountaintop in a very precise spot, and for a very important reason,” Headmistress Hart went on. “A portal deep in the forest means the veil is thin here.”
“The veil?” I echoed.
“The barrier between our world and the other,” she said. “The library can thrive here, b
ut so can other, darker things. We provide protection within the castle. The guardians provide protection from the things outside these walls.”
The other?
I blinked at her. I had seen a bit of magic - a something occupying a suit of clothing, a few vines growing fast and branches reaching out.
But what she was talking about was beyond anything my mind could grasp.
Another world? Things in the woods?
“The guardians protect the castle, but there are no females in their number,” she said crisply. “In exchange for their protection, they choose mates from among our students.”
Mates?
I blinked at her, unbelieving.
I wasn’t sure what I thought was going to happen to me, but I would have been less surprised to hear that the man in the courtyard planned to hunt me for sport.
“They have not come forth in many years to choose,” Headmistress Hart went on. “The ritual has become empty ceremony for most of us. I am sorry that this happened on your first day here. But the law is the law.”
“What law?” I asked.
We were still in Pennsylvania. There could be no actual law on the books for something like this. Although once you got about an hour outside of the city, there was no telling what you’d find.
“You will go to him tomorrow night,” Headmistress Hart went on as if I hadn’t spoken. “For three nights, you will share his bed. By day you will return to the school. After three days, you will choose.”
“Choose what?” I asked.
“Whether to stay with him, or come back to us,” she said carefully.
“So I can just come back?” I asked.
Beside me, Cori gave my hand a reassuring squeeze.
“You can,” the Headmistress said quietly. “But no one ever has.”
9
Bella
I awoke to a gentle voice.
“Bella, it’s time for class,” Cori was saying as she lightly touched my shoulder.
I sat up, trying to remember how I’d even gotten to bed.
Then Headmistress Hart’s words came back to me and I sank down again, unable to believe that it was real.
You will go to him tomorrow night. For three nights, you will share his bed.
I shivered.
“It’s going to be okay,” Cori said softly.
“I came here to learn,” I said. “I left college for this. I had a scholarship and a job and an apartment.”
To her credit, Cori just listened.
“Why does no one ever come back?” I asked. “And why don’t I remember going to bed?”
“I can’t answer the first question, but it’s probably the mate bond,” Cori said. “I read about them in the library for Mythical Creatures. Mate bonds are strong, and very hard to break. And you don’t remember going to bed because you were so panicked that Headmistress Hart had the nurse bring you some special tea.”
“She knocked me out?” I asked.
“She wanted you to get some rest,” Cori said. “And she was right, you were falling apart.”
That much was true. But I was still furious that I had been acted upon without my consent. It was my perfect right to be up all night freaking out.
“She does have your best interests at heart,” Cori said. “I know she seems tough, but she’s responsible for a lot here.”
Before I could formulate a response that articulated just how much of a damn I didn’t give about Headmistress Hart’s responsibilities, the door banged open and Kendall barged in with Anya at her heels. It occurred to me that the two must be roommates.
“Ready, Cori?” Kendall asked, ignoring me completely.
“Bella just woke up, so we’ll need a few more minutes,” Cori said. “You guys go on.”
Anya came over and sat on the edge of my bed, her wide eyes sympathetic.
“How are you doing?” she asked. “Did the tea work? Were you able to get some rest?”
“Did literally everyone know I was being drugged besides me?” I demanded, sitting up again.
Kendall rolled her eyes and walked out of the room, muttering something under her breath.
“What did she say?” I asked.
Cori and Anya exchanged a look.
“She said breeders,” Anya said carefully.
“What is that supposed to mean?” I asked.
“Nothing,” Cori said. “Let’s get you dressed.”
“No,” I said. “I want to know.”
Cori sighed. “Go ahead, Anya.”
“Some of the upper year girls think the witches who get chosen are inferior,” Anya explained. “Like they’re only good for mating and having babies - breeders.”
“Sounds about right,” I said.
I’d been here less than twenty-four hours and I was already being given up as a sacrifice in the name of the school. How fantastic that the other students would mock me for it while they were the ones who got to stay and reap the benefits.
“Not everyone feels that way,” Cori said quickly. “And some of us think the upper girls are only saying it because they’re jealous.”
“Why would they be jealous?” I asked, repressing a shudder.
Anya giggled and Cori grinned at her.
“What?” I demanded.
“Well, I mean, obviously you have a lot on your mind,” Cori whispered. “But did you see how gorgeous he was?”
I blushed in spite of myself.
I would have to have been blind not to see how sexy he was. Every inch of him was solid muscle, and those eyes…
“She saw,” Anya teased. “Come on, let’s not be late for your first day of class.”
I tried not to think about how it might also be one of my last as I crawled out of bed and grabbed my stuff.
“Bathroom’s through there,” Cori said, pointing to a door in the corner. “And here’s your uniform.”
“We have our own bathroom?” I asked. “I thought this was a dorm.”
At least I wouldn’t have to repeat the very un-private process of the communal shower.
“It’s also a castle,” she said, shrugging.
I didn’t waste any time, speeding through a shower and quickly getting into the green dress Cori had given me without taking the time to fully dry my hair.
It didn’t look like a school uniform. It was modest and comfortable, with large hidden pockets. I decided I liked it.
Don’t get used to it. You’re only wearing it for three days.
I tried to quiet the voice in my head and concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other. When I got out of the bathroom, the other two were still waiting for me. We headed out of the bedroom and down the corridor in relative silence.
The halls were empty enough that I realized we must be late.
“Are you guys going to be in trouble for waiting for me?” I asked.
“Not at all,” Cori replied. “But we won’t have much time for breakfast.”
We headed down the stairs and turned left, as if we were going back to the group showers. But just after the kitchen, I could see the double doors were propped open.
Dozens of women sat at tables in identical green dresses, chatting and eating.
“Grab a tray,” Cori said, as she snagged one for herself.
We didn’t have to wait in line, since the rest of the school seemed to have started already. A beaming woman stood behind the counter, wearing an apron that matched the green of our dresses.
“What’ll it be today, girls?” she asked.
It was an incredible spread with pancakes, waffles, muffins, bacon, sausage, and mountains of fruit and yogurt.
If this was part of the free-for-me package at the school, I was even more devastated than before about having to leave after three days.
We all pointed to what we wanted and turned around to head to a table.
That was when I realized the whole room had gone quiet.
Everyone was staring at me.
“Come on,” Co
ri said, taking my elbow and dragging me to a table in the corner. “Don’t let it get to you.”
We passed a couple of tables of women who eyed me sympathetically.
Kendall was sitting with a group of women by the big window.
“Breeder,” someone whispered. This time, I had no trouble hearing it.
The others snickered.
“Sorry about that,” Anya said.
“It’s the least of my worries,” I told her honestly.
By this time tomorrow, I would be bonded to a lord protector.
10
Bella
In my first class, I sat beside Anya in the back row of the sunny lecture hall.
Cori was in a different lecture this morning.
After a quick breakfast, Anya and I had made it to the classroom a few minutes early, and even had our pick of seats, which was a relief after all the stares in the dining hall.
There was no bell, but once everyone else filed in and found a seat, Professor Sora began speaking at length about a section of the library called Forfeiture.
She was a tiny old white lady, who reminded me of the little old woman who owned Tweetie Bird in the old Bugs Bunny cartoons.
She spoke softly and pushed her misbehaving glasses up her nose after each sentence, as if she were chatting about the weather with her bridge club, rather than sharing magical knowledge.
Of course the other students had the advantage of actually having been to the library itself, and it seemed like a continuation of yesterday’s lesson, so it was a little hard for me to follow.
But from the beginning of the lecture, it sounded to me like the Forfeiture section must involve magical punishments.
Most of the class was studiously taking notes, except for the black girl with the puffy ponytail who sat right in front of me. She had her notebook open, but hadn’t bothered to jot down a single term.
I decided it was better to be safe, so I wrote as much as I could, even though it all looked like gibberish to me. After almost three hours, my hand was starting to cramp, and even the professor was starting to slow down a bit.
