by G. K. DeRosa
“It’s not that easy,” said Raf, rubbing her shoulder. “Going down to the Underworld to find her would be too risky, and she hasn’t shown her face in Azar since the dance last semester when she came for Luna.”
“Why hasn’t she come for her again?” Raine arched a brow.
“Raine…” Drake hissed.
“What? I’m not saying I want her to, I’m just wondering why she hasn’t.”
“She has a point,” I interjected. “I’ve been questioning the same thing.”
“So maybe we find a way to draw her out.” Zephyr sat forward, running a hand through his shaved blonde head.
Raine’s mossy green eyes settled on me. “Well, we know what—or who she wants.”
“We can’t use Luna as bait,” said Drake.
“Why not?” Raine and I shot back in unison. I never thought we’d agree on anything, but things had been getting a little better between us.
“Because it’s too risky.”
Aeria rolled her eyes. “Now you’re starting to sound like Ryder. Everything’s too risky when it comes to the precious half-blood.”
“Hey!” I snapped.
She shrugged. “I’m sorry, but it’s true. We all want Luxora dead, right? Maybe it’s time we took things into our own hands.”
“I’m game.” I scanned the eight pairs of eyes around the table. “I’ve been saying we go after her from day one. Is everyone else in?”
The whole team nodded except for Drake. His trademark unreadable mask was on, and there was no deciphering it. “Cillian will never agree to it,” he finally huffed.
“So maybe we don’t tell him.”
“How would we lure her out?” asked Triston.
A brilliant idea flickered in my mind. “Ms. Mikalson said she still has connections in the Underworld, maybe we can use them to start our own rumors. Perhaps it’s time for me to plan a solo visit to the human world and somehow Luxora finds out about it.”
“I don’t know,” Drake mumbled.
“I’m with Drake,” said Cinder. “As much as I want you guys to end this crazy lady, using Luna as bait sounds pretty dangerous.”
“Which is why you’re not actually part of the team,” Raine snapped.
Raf shot her a glare I didn’t think the mild-mannered nephilim had in him, and she settled down in her seat.
I wrapped my arm around my best friend and squeezed. “I appreciate your concern, but these are the kinds of things we need to do. It’s part of being on the squad.”
“I don’t like the idea of doing this without Cillian, Calliope or Logan,” Drake continued.
“Since when did you turn into such a boy scout?” asked Scarlett, who’d been typically quiet throughout the conversation.
“Drake’s right,” said Triston. “At least one of them should know what we’re up to.”
“I can talk to Logan,” I volunteered. Of the three, he’d be most likely to go along with the crazy scheme. Plus, I hoped I could use his friendship with Ryder as an extra selling point. Somehow I knew if we found Luxora, we’d find the MIA demon nearby.
“Fine,” muttered Drake. “Let’s spend a few days figuring this out before we go off half-cocked.”
Everyone agreed, and a twinge of hope bubbled in my chest. Just because I’d started L.A.R. didn’t mean I couldn’t help him. After everything he’d told me about fighting to rein in his demon, I knew he wouldn’t have wanted it to remain in control. If anything, I owed him this much. Ryder and I may not have a future anymore, but that didn’t mean I could abandon him to the darkness.
Chapter 10
“You’re sure you want to do this?” Drake’s eyes locked on mine from across the bed.
“Absolutely.” I closed the textbook stretched across my lap and placed it on my nightstand. Stretching, a series of pops ran down my neck and back. We’d been studying for hours. I’d spent pretty much every evening with Drake for the past five days preparing for our big encounter with Luxora.
He let out a breath and ran his hand through his platinum hair. He’d let it grow longer this semester, and the loose wisps framed his sculpted cheekbones. “And Ms. Mikalson already got word to her friends about your little trip to the human world?”
“Yup. Some of her acquaintances seem like the seedy sort. She assured me they’d spread the news to Luxora.”
“Okay. Tomorrow morning we’ll meet with the team and go over all the details one last time before we head to your friend’s place in Brooklyn.”
“Right.” Though I hadn’t seen Jay since the demon incident in the Lower East Side last semester, we still texted on occasion. He’d gotten an apartment in Brooklyn and was attending the local community college. We figured me going to visit him would be the most likely scenario. I made sure he was going to be far away from his apartment tomorrow afternoon, completing our plan.
Drake unfolded his long legs, his bare feet brushing my thigh and I squirmed. They were like tiny icicles nipping at my flesh. “Sorry.” He smirked as he stretched them out to the side. “I keep meaning to ask how you convinced Logan to get in on this unsanctioned mission?”
I grabbed the lukewarm latte from my nightstand and took a sip. “I can be very convincing when I want to be.”
His light brows pulled together, and I avoided his questioning look. “What did you say exactly? Whenever we’d spoken about going after Luxora he’d shot me down without hesitation. Maybe I can learn something from you for once.” He shot me that smug Fae smile.
“Now, I’m definitely not telling you.” I jumped off the bed, but Drake caught hold of my arm before I got far.
“Come on…” He stood up, his full height unfolding over me so I was forced to look up at him. “If you don’t tell me, I’ll just pester you all night.”
“Fine,” I huffed. “I told Logan I had a feeling Ryder would be with Luxora. He wants to get him back as badly as I do.”
He released my arm and grunted. “Geez, Luna. I should’ve known this was about him. It’s always going to be about him, isn’t it?”
My head whipped back as if he’d slapped me. Where was this hostility coming from? “We can’t just abandon him, Drake! He never would’ve let that happen to any one of us. Ryder would’ve turned the Underworld upside down if the roles had been reversed.”
“Maybe for you.”
I shook my head. “That’s not fair, Drake. He cared about all of us, and you know it.”
“Why are you so convinced he wants to be helped? Maybe he’s happy doing his demon thing.”
“I know he’s not.” All of our late night conversations, or more like confessions, sprang to mind. He’d fought so hard to control himself, and I’d pushed him over the edge. It was the demon darkness in me that had set his evil side loose. Even if he didn’t want me anymore, I owed him this. “You didn’t see him,” I finally said. “He’s not happy. He never wanted this.”
Drake huffed. “Listen to me, Luna. Saving Ryder is not the mission tomorrow, you got that? Luxora is the number one priority.”
“I know.” I wrapped my arms around my torso to try and contain the turmoil inside.
Shoving the massive textbook in his backpack, he turned toward the door.
“You’re leaving already?”
He glanced up at the clock on the wall. “It’s nearly midnight. I don’t think we can cram much more magic in your head at this point.”
My brain was buzzing, and I doubted I’d get any sleep tonight. Not to mention the gallons of coffee I’d consumed. “Yeah, you’re right. We should get some rest.” I walked him to the door, but he stopped before reaching it.
“Scarlett’s not coming back tonight?”
“Nope. She’s out hunting with the vamps to be fully charged for tomorrow.”
He glanced around the room then back at me. I must’ve been giving him my lost puppy dog eyes. “If you want I can keep you company for a little while longer, but I can’t look at another spell or I’ll go cross-eyed.”
The shadow of a smile crossed my face as he dropped his backpack down on the ground and headed for the couch. He grabbed the remote and began flipping through some channels.
I hopped over the back of the sofa and settled in beside him. “What do you want to watch?”
He grunted. “I doubt there’s anything but mindless drivel at this hour.”
I snatched the remote from his hand and pulled up the DVR. “Have you ever watched Hitched?”
He rolled his eyes so far I was scared they’d disappear into his head. “You’re kidding me, right? Not only are you going to deprive me of sleep, but you’re going to torture me with human reality TV?”
I elbowed him in the gut. “Come on… just a couple of episodes and then I’ll let you get your beauty rest.”
He folded his arms over his chest and leaned back, letting his head loll to the side. “Only for you, human.”
Switching it on to episode one, I weaved my hand in between his stiff arm and snuggled beside him. After a few minutes, his taut body finally relaxed against mine. “I love this episode,” I whispered as the unipeg-riding bachelors filled the screen.
He shook his head, frowning, but I caught the glimmer of a smile on his lips from the corner of my eye.
My warm pillow jerked from beneath my head, waking me from one of the best nights of sleep I’d had in forever. My eyes fluttered open, and intense lilac orbs pierced into me.
I jolted upright, leaping off the couch. Drake was stretched across the sofa, a small wet stain on his light blue shirt.
His eyes went from me, to the dark spot, and back, and his lip curled in disgust. “You drool.”
I wiped my chin and ran my hand through my tangle of blonde hair. “Sorry,” I muttered. “What happened?”
“The mind-numbingly boring show you forced me to watch knocked me right out—both of us apparently.” He sat up and inspected his shirt, grimacing.
A few shreds of light streamed into the room, and I scanned the dorm for Scarlett. She was curled up in her bed, a smile on her pale face. I hadn’t even heard her come in.
Heat climbed up my neck at the idea of what she must have thought when she found Drake and me with our limbs entwined on the couch. I groaned and slumped back down against the cushion. Just when things were getting better between Raine and me.
“What’s wrong now?” he asked.
“Shh!” I pointed at my sleeping roommate. “Now Scarlett’s going to think… you know.”
He scowled. “You’re going to give me a complex, human,” he whispered. “Most women would give their first-born child to bed the prince. And you’re embarrassed to be seen with me?”
“You know it’s not like that, Drake. I don’t want Raine hating me again. Especially not today.”
“Relax. I’ll be sure to tell Scarlett it was all perfectly innocent.” He smirked. “Or maybe I should sneak out now before she wakes.”
“Don’t you dare!” I smacked the prince in the chest, frowning.
“Will you two lovebirds keep it down over there?” Scarlett’s raspy voice sent me leaping off the couch.
“Nothing happened,” I spluttered as I raced for her bed.
“Yeah, yeah. Whatever.” She dragged a pillow over her head and rolled over. “I’ve got another half hour of sleep, and I plan on taking advantage of it.”
“Right. Sorry.” I crept away and shoved Drake off the couch. “You heard her, let the poor girl get some rest.”
Picking up his backpack, he sauntered to the door with a mischievous grin. “See you ladies soon.”
Chapter 11
Logan sat across from me, his silvery brows furrowed and his sharp jaw tense.
“Everything’s going to be fine,” I assured him, a lame attempt at reassuring myself too. Cillian was at Torrem Angelus, the angel headquarters in Celestia meeting with the Archangel Amanadiel. He’d be gone all day, and today was Logan’s day to train us so Calliope was hopefully enjoying her day off and too busy to notice when we went missing.
He nodded, almost imperceptibly.
“We’re doing the right thing, Logan. Ryder would do it for any of us.”
“I know.” He glanced up, his eyes glowing a molten silver. “I also know he’d string me up in my sleep if anything happened to you. And that was before his demon was out.”
I diverted my gaze to the floor and shoved my hands in my pockets. That was the old Ryder that cared, not this one.
“Everyone ready?” Drake stood in the center of his room where we’d all gathered for the pre-mission brief. Ms. Mikalson had confirmed that word of my travels had gotten to Luxora. The trap was set, and now we just had to set it in motion.
“Let’s get this over with.” Raine stood and the others followed, each armed to the teeth.
The nine of us marched through the quiet corridor, our weapons clinking like wind chimes as the rest of the Fae residents were still asleep in their beds. The charged silence weighed down my shoulders as we reached the spiral staircase. My heart thrashed against my chest by the time we made it outside.
We’d have to trudge deep into the Fae forest not to set off the wards when I opened the portal—or at least, hopefully opened the portal. As far as I’d come with my abilities, my emotions seemed to reign supreme over them and sometimes my power was a fickle bastard.
Scarlett sidled up next to me and shot me a sidelong glance.
“What?” I barked, more sharply than intended.
She slowed her pace so we were slightly behind the others. “What was that little sleepover with the prince about?” she whispered.
Despite the cold, a flood of heat burned my cheeks. “Nothing,” I hissed. “We were up late practicing spells, and then we just fell asleep.” I grabbed her arm and spun her toward me. “Please don’t tell anyone. Things have finally started to get better with Raine, and I don’t want her thinking something that’s not true.”
“That you two have feelings for each other?”
“Right.”
“Because you don’t?” She eyed me skeptically.
“No!”
Scarlett snorted as we continued our trudge through the deep snow.
“What?” I asked.
“Have you ever wondered why none of us feel anything from Drake’s cord? With the rest of us, it’s easy to sense each other’s emotions, right?”
“Yeah.” Some were definitely harder to read than others, but it was true, Drake’s was as blank as the expressionless mask he usually wore. “That’s just Drake; he’s the ice prince.”
“Or maybe he’s blocking us all out on purpose because there are things he doesn’t want us to know.”
I shrugged. “Maybe. But I’m sure it’s not because of me.”
She shook her head, a wry grin on her crimson lips. “Keep telling yourself that, Luna.”
Glancing up ahead, Logan and Drake had stopped and the rest of the team filed in around them. “We should be far enough now,” Drake said. “Luna, you ready?”
I sprinted the last few steps to catch up to the others. Standing beside Drake, I squeezed my eyes shut and focused on my power. I visualized the bright, swirling portal opening up in the middle of the snowy white forest.
A blast of wind blew hair across my face, and I opened my eyes. The massive vortex whipped the air, the deep blues painting the alabaster landscape.
“After you guys.” I motioned to the team, and one by one they jumped into the brilliant whirling gateway.
“Ready?” Drake cocked his head, worry flashing across his light irises.
“See you on the other side, ice prince.”
With one final glance over his shoulder, the swirling winds enveloped my friend and he vanished.
“Luna!” A familiar, high-pitched female voice stopped me mid-stride.
I spun toward the tree line to see Ms. Mikalson running toward me. What the heck?
“Luna, wait!” she shouted as she approached, her dark hair streaking across her face.
&n
bsp; The tiny hairs on the back of my neck prickled, an ominous feeling gathering in the pit of my stomach the closer she got. I inched toward the portal as the winds began to recede. My magic waning, I wouldn’t be able to hold it open much longer.
“Thank goodness,” Ms. Mikalson panted when she finally reached me. A dark energy coiled around the succubus. One that I’d never sensed from her before.
I took another step back, eyeing the shrinking vortex from the corner of my eye. “What’s going on?”
Her hand snaked out, wrapping around my wrist and a shadowy figure coalesced beside her.
“What are you doing?” I screeched as I struggled to pull free from her grasp, but she was crazy strong. The dark shadow fused into the form of an old man.
Before I could open my mouth to utter the words of the protection spell, he splayed his fingertips and a murky cloud enveloped me. Impenetrable translucent walls closed around me. I reached for my magic, but it was gone. Leaving nothing but an empty void.
“Let me out of here!” I cried, banging at the semitransparent enclosure.
“I’m afraid I can’t do that,” said the man, who I now pegged as a sorcerer of some sort. He took Ms. Mikalson’s hand and spread his other one over my translucent prison cell, and the forest faded around us.
A second later, we popped back into the middle of the main hall of the academy. A few students roamed the halls, heading to the first classes of the day. Their eyes widened at the sight of us.
“Help!” I shouted. “Go get help!”
A vampire I recognized from one of my classes darted across the hall in a blur, heading toward the administration wing. Before he cleared the corridor, the old sorcerer muttered a few words, and the vampire halted mid-stride.
The man swept his hand over the corridor, and every supe froze where they stood. “We can’t have them alerting everyone of our arrival yet. Not until the rest of the party arrives.”
Ms. Mikalson nervously glanced at her watch. “Where are they, Nicodemus?”
