by Maya Daniels
“He suspects something is wrong.” Mumbling to himself, Fenrir surveys our surroundings warily. “I should’ve taken it into consideration that you’d get his attention given…” Cutting himself abruptly, he flicks his eyes to my face.
“Given what? That I’m a freak?”
A guy carrying a pile of books that look hilarious in his beefy arms walks too close for comfort, his eyes widening when he spots us huddled under the stairway. Fenrir reaches to cup my face in his large hand, his thumb running over my cheekbone like we are lovers, and I stiffen. The Fae’s emotions slam into me now that we have skin-to-skin contact, something my jacket prevented when he dragged me here. Anxiety, excitement, and most of all, crippling fear turn me into a statue unable to push him away. Good thing, too, since a knowing look glints in the book guy’s eyes and he smiles like he knows a secret right before he walks away. Fenrir’s quick reaction saved us a lot of trouble in the long run, but that’s the least of my worries right now.
“You are afraid.” My words are so soft they are almost just a breath passing through my lips. “For me, or for yourself?”
His perfect face turns entirely towards me, his gaze searching as if debating if he should tell me the truth. Or maybe if my question is sincere and not just another jab at him. I can’t say I blame him; I’m not very friendly on the best of days.
“For both of us, Francesca.” My feet shuffle uneasily at the intent look he keeps on me. “Thing happened here, things behind closed doors, that only a handful were privy of from the start of the academy. But not like this. Never like this.” Taking a deep breath, his nostrils flare. “Something is happening, and I have a feeling if we don’t stop it, it’ll be the end of us all. That is why I agreed to stick my own neck out and bring you here.”
“You’ve been helping Roberti long before this.” Numbness spreads from what he is saying, but I know that’s not all of it. He is hiding something, and when his hand drops from my face, my suspicions are confirmed. He knows I can feel his emotions through touch.
“Not like this.” Taking a step away from me, he rolls his neck. “I just want you to know that if I had any other choice, I would’ve never brought you here.”
“You didn’t bring me anywhere. I walked up on my own two feet.” Which is not entirely true. Instead, it’s more like I face-planted here on my own. Chewing on the inside of my mouth, I try to read between the lines of what he is not saying, but I come up empty. “I agreed to be here. And just so we are clear, I might be centuries younger than you, but I’m not a child. I’m a grown ass woman, and you have no need to feel responsible for me or my actions. This is my job, it’s what I do. I knew the consequences and the danger that came with it the day I agreed to work for Roberti. Being here is no different.”
“Oh, but that’s where you are wrong.” His shoulders curve in, his body language aggressive enough to spark up the energy inside me to life. “This is different. So much that I’m no longer sure that any of us will live long enough to see it through.”
“Then stop wasting time, Fae.” Clenching my teeth and my fists, I have to force myself not to punch his perfect face. “Instead of yapping here, show me where the damn archive is so that I can do my job. The sooner I get what I need, the faster I’ll be out of here.”
“If only that were true.” Taken aback by the comment, I’m sure he doesn’t realize he speaks out loud, and I can’t understand the sadness that flashes through his eyes. “Let us go to the dining hall. It’s time for breakfast, and you’ll be able to observe those that attend this prestigious place like a good mate should do when visiting the workplace of her lover.”
“What do you do here, anyway?” Ignoring the comments on mates and lovers, mind spinning from the weird conversation, I don’t protest when he leads me out from under our hiding place.
“I teach Energy Manipulation and Phantasmagoria.” The pride is unmistakable in his voice.
“Phanta-what?” That was definitely a mouthful.
“Phantasmagoria.” Grinning at me, he winks. “Illusion Crafting.”
“Of course you do.” Fenrir laughs at the grimace on my face.
Fucking Fae.
Chapter 14
I stay quiet as we walk across the vast, open entrance of the academy. It looks like everyone starts here before splitting up and heading towards whichever classroom or auditorium they need to attend. While we were under that stairway, it seems like the place came to life. My body clock is telling me it’s time for bed, which means it’s morning. Sienna functions on a night schedule. I should’ve known since we are at Daywalker academy, they’d be doing the exact opposite.
Reaching the other side, the hallway splits in two directions. On our right, people rush, and the chatter is a constant buzz bouncing off the walls. A total opposite of the hallway leading to our left. Silence is thick there, but the plush runaway rug and golden accents gets my attention immediately. Pulling me in like a siren call, my feet answer it instantly, moving on their own because they are eager to be there.
“This way.” Fenrir’s voice is strained when he grabs my elbow, dragging me none too gently to our right. “Snap out of it, Drake.” The venomous hiss clears my head of the fog, and my eyes snap to look at the Fae.
“What the fuck was that?” Keeping my voice as low as I can, I give a strained smile to those around us.
“Later,” is all he says, weaving in and out of clustered groups of students.
They are all in different age groups and from different species. It’s so strange to see them like this. In Sienna, they live among each other, but they never mix. Each breed sticks to their own, coexisting with the rest by ignoring their presence. Here, all supernaturals are mixed in different groups, chatting heatedly or cheerfully, even slapping each other’s backs like best friends. My eyes are blinking fast, as if that will change what I’m seeing. This place might host a murderer, but I must say it has done some fantastic things for all the others.
Enjoying the good that I see in front of me dies a sudden death when the demon I came across during the night points an accusing finger at me from all the way across the long hallway. Next to him stands Azgor, my not so big of a fan. Groaning, I rub a hand over my face. It’s too much to ask for an hour or two without drama around here. My brain is shutting down thinking it’s time to sleep, and I really can’t deal with this right now.
“Want to tell me why Azgor looks like he is about to burst a blood vessel?” Fenrir mumbles, his fingers digging into my elbow.
“I might’ve met the demon last night when I was wandering the hallways.”
“Might?”
“I don’t know his name; he didn’t give it before running away like a little bitch. Plausible deniability.”
“That’s not how things work here.” Digging his fingers harder into my elbow, he drags me faster at the oncoming tornado that is Azgor.
“Watch and learn, Fenrir.” Taking a deep breath, I grin at a pissed off Azgor. “Watch and learn.”
“Miss Drake!” Azgor shouts, even before he is close enough to be heard—that is unless your sense of hearing is enhanced. It’s too loud in the hallway. “This is unacceptable behavior.”
Pretending I’m deaf, I smile at him wider and even add a little shy wave of my fingers. Azgor’s face gets even redder, and he barrels through people, pushing them out of his way like bowling pins. Next to me, Fenrir looks like he is about to either turn around, bolt, or get aneurism.
“The two of you will be placed in a cell.” Stopping in front of us, Azgor seems to grow in size. “Fenrir, you will answer for your plotting against this institution, and she”—A thick finger pointed directly at my nose trembles in anger. My eyes cross to look at it—“will die for daring to step foot here.”
“Be careful who you threaten, Azgor.” Fenrir’s voice is so soft and calm, it sounds more terrifying than the idea of dying here by Azgor’s hand. “Unless you can back your claims, I would choose my next words wisely.”
/> “You tricked the Board into allowing two outsiders in our land. The punishment for that is death, as you well know it.” Either the energy around Azgor is glittering, or the horror of the situation is making me see things while I stare mutely at the two men.
The demon glares at me with arms crossed on his chest. At least he is wearing clothes that fit him now. The pleasures of small blessings are marvelous.
“I have done no such thing, and I can prove it.” Releasing my elbow, Fenrir positions himself slightly in front of me in a protective stance. At this very moment, I don’t mind that at all, even if it hurts my pride. “If the Board is looking for someone to blame their incompetence on, they are knocking on the wrong door. A wrong door that can cost them greatly for their threats.”
“We have the requests, Fenrir. No need to keep up with the lies.”
“Let us see them, Azgor.” The smile on Fenrir’s face is the most dangerous one I’ve ever seen as his eyes start glowing slightly.
Oh shit…holy shit…
Panic almost makes me start running in place and flapping my hands like a crazy person. The Fae is about to explode, and all of us will be the collateral damage if he unleashes his power in the closed-up space. I know because I might only be half blood, but when the energy uncontrollably explodes out of my body, I destroy half of my apartment. And it is always just a small surge up in my sleep. This is bad. Like really, really bad.
“I signed my request in blood, Azgor.” Fenrir takes a menacing, measured step forward. “Let us see the requests, I say.”
Azgor deflates slightly at those words, confusion clouding his face. A frown pulls his eyebrows low over his eyes, scrunching up his features. My own fingers are tingling, the tension in the air and the power coming of off Fenrir triggering my own into a circular current coursing through my veins. The air is so thick it’s difficult to take a full breath. Ignoring the stares from those around us, a slight movement pulls my attention to the demon that was standing to the side until now.
Two black horns push out through the halo of blond curls around his head. His features sharpen, the bones on his face extending in sharp angles and long claws burst from his fingertips. What is only a split second seems like long moments to my eyes, and the frantic beat of my heart slows to barely perceivable thumps. The demon springs into action, his body heading straight for the Fae with claws extended for the jugular. My own body reacts, that weird feeling like something else is controlling it overtaking my mind.
Thump.
Shoving Fenrir by his shoulder, I send him stumbling a few steps like he weighs nothing. Turning to face the demon at the same time, my knees bend, lowering me in a crouch, and my right hand pulls back before pushing my hand forward with my fingertips pointed at him. At the last moment, my palm turns, connecting to the center of the demon’s chest with such force that the energy churning in my middle bursts from it and I feel his ribs break into pieces under my hand. His body folds inward, flying back so fast it hits the wall and goes through it, sending brick and plaster all over the place.
Thump.
From the corner of my eye, I see Azgor’s body flicker, grow, and his human shape disappears like it never existed in reaction to the power that is still swirling around me with a mind of its own. Well, I’ll be damned. Azgor is a ghoul. Of course he won’t be something easily defeated, especially given his attitude from the moment I laid eyes on him. Long arms that end in bony fingers with sharp nails stretch way past his knees . Springy hair falls over his thin shoulders from a few places on his otherwise bald skull. A too-wide mouth gapes open with a few rows of razor-sharp teeth, and his soulless eyes focus entirely on me. He transforms from one second to the next, and I don’t slow my momentum. Pivoting in my crouch, placing one hand flat on the cold floor, my leg shoots out and connects with Azgor’s caved in stomach, sending him barreling back the way he came.
Thump.
Everyone around us is frozen in various degrees of chatter, laughter, or wide-eyed looks, kind of like time has stopped. Fenrir is standing where I pushed him, eyes closed and palms facing me, murmuring under his breath while his platinum hair is floating with a mind of its own around his face. Azgor bounds up in my direction, recovering too quickly for my taste. His long arms stretch out, grabbing for me. Jumping up, I take hold of one arm and twist it around, dislocating his shoulder, and my head rings from the piercing screech coming from his mouth.
Thump.
He reaches his other hand for Fenrir. the Fae is with his eyes closed, unaware of the danger he is in. Yanking harder on Azgor’s bent arm, I fling him like a rag doll and send him through the hole in the wall I made with the demon. As his body sails through the air, one of the sharp nails catch me on the side of my face, the razor like hooks parting my skin like butter. Releasing the arm I’m clutching, I send Azgor away from us, my eyes watering from the sting just beneath my eye. Fenrir’s eyes snap open, the glow making him so otherworldly even to my own eyes.
Thump.
My body tenses, preparing to fight the Fae. If that look is anything to go by, he is ready for some blood, and I’m his target. My own energy blasts under my skin as it itches to be unleashed. I know Fenrir is much older and, by default, much stronger than me. I also know somewhere deep in my soul that I can take him and come out of this alive. Daywalker or not, the Fae does not stand a chance in this fight.
“Enough!” Zoltan’s voice brings everything snapping back to normal like a broken rubber band.
Jolted out of the trance-like state, I stumble back a step and look around in confusion. What the hell just happened? Fenrir is not murmuring anymore, yet everyone around us is still suspended in time and space.
“Thank you,” Fenrir tells a pissed-off Zoltan, who is walking right at me like he wants to rip my head off. The Fae’s face twists in a grimace, like it’s too painful to show gratitude to the vampire.
“What were you thinking!” Snapping, Zoltan glares daggers at me, but I know his question is for Fenrir.
Azgor’s bony fingers grip the sides of the broken wall, dragging his body through it like some creepy crawler. Without missing a step, Zoltan’s hand lifts at the ghoul flicking his wrist. Azgor’s human form appears, and he flops on his ass, leaning on the wall and breathing hard.
“How…” My words cut off when Zoltan stops, again too close for my liking, and his hand cups my face. His thumb glides over the cut under my eye, the feeling of my skin closing up and healing stunning me into silence.
“No!” Fenrir’s protest is too late. “Don’t taste her blood.” The last part is dragged out slowly, as an afterthought.
Lifting his thumb, Zoltan pushes it between his lips, cleaning off my blood from it as the Fae finishes his sentence. His too-blue eyes flash for just a second with some inner power that rakes tremors in my body. Closing my eyes, I wish someone will just kill me and get it over with. If things keep going at this rate, I don’t doubt that Fenrir’s warning, that something worse than death is coming for me, will come true.
“What were the two of you thinking?” Finally, Zoltan turns his attention away from me. I don’t need to open my eyes to know it because I physically feel it every time he is looking at me.
“You should ask Azgor.” Fenrir’s words are sharp and choppy. “Threatening me in the middle of a hallway? I thought you had more brain than that. If not, go eat some. It’ll do you good.”
Ghouls feed on souls and bodies. Disgusting for sure, but it’s not like they chose to be what they are. Just like me, they are stuck being what the fates decided. I’ve seen some of them, but fortunately, I haven’t had too many encounters like this one before. The demon is nowhere to be found, but the ghoul kept coming. I’m not sure it would’ve been easy to get rid of Azgor if Zoltan didn’t show up. Not that I’ll ever admit that to the arrogant vampire.
“He already knew.” My words are flat when I answer Fenrir’s unspoken question. Zoltan was aware I’m a half blood long before tasting my blood from his fi
ngers. The wariness in the glances he keeps sending my way is enough of a hint to what the Fae is thinking. “Don’t ask me how.”
The bow-shaped lips flatten in a thin white line of Fenrir’s face, but he only gives me a sharp nod. Unwilling to dwell on it since there is nothing I can do to change it, I look around us at the frozen people again.
“How are you still doing this?” Watching Fenrir with suspicion, I see Zoltan turning his head my way from the corner of my eye. My whole body becomes alert at that.
“He is not.” Zoltan’s deep voice thrums through me.
“Zoltan teaches Mind Control and Physical Power Control,” Azgor supplies in a shaky voice as he lifts himself off the floor. “That’s how he forced me to change back…thank the fates.”
“Of course, he does.” My voice sounds just as flat as when the Fae told me his specialty. “I mean, why wouldn’t I get all the weirdos here following me around like a bad smell I can’t shake off? You couldn’t possibly be a History or Science professor; I’m not lucky enough to be surrounded by nerds instead of brutes.”
“I teach Supernatural History.” Azgor offers a strained smile, his lips firmly pressed together. Maybe those razor teeth are not gone yet? A shiver makes me twitch.
“You and I are best buddies from now on, Azgor.” To my embarrassment, my hand still trembles when I point the finger at him. “But no sharp teeth and trying to bite anymore, okay? I’m not that kinky with my friends.”
All three of them laugh, albeit they all sound a little forced. Zoltan flicks his wrist again, assaulting my ears with the sudden noise of everyone coming back to life. They all look around confused, gaping at the massive hole in the wall across from where the four of us are standing. Fenrir must’ve noticed that I’m glued to the spot and unable to move because he walks up to me, grabbing my elbow again.
“Let us eat breakfast, shall we?” Fenrir leads me away.
My feet move woodenly along the hallway. Acid churns in my stomach at the mention of food, but I will rather be anywhere else than be stared at here. Two sets of eyes drill holes into the back of my head as Zoltan and Azgor follow behind us.
