Darkblood Academy: Book Three: Demons

by G. K. DeRosa

  Pulling from Drake’s cord, I summoned a portal. It didn’t have all the flashy lights or powerful winds like normal, but it would suffice to get me across campus.

  After a few seconds of wading through the gelatinous darkness, I re-emerged at the foot of the Administration staircase. Darby would totally squeal on me if I appeared through a portal, and I was already in enough trouble with Cillian.

  Running my fingers through my hair in a futile attempt to wrangle it as I climbed the stairs, I totally regretted not taking a quick shower first. It looked like I’d been cleaned and my demon-gooed clothes had been replaced, but I still felt pretty gross. Oh, well. I crept into the foyer of the headmaster’s office, and Darby’s gray eyes widened when they landed on me.

  He wagged a wrinkled, crooked finger at me. “Ms. Hallows, aren’t you supposed to be in the infirmary recovering?”

  “I’m all recovered,” I said, plastering on what I hoped was a convincing smile. “I need to see Cillian.”

  Darby shook his head, scowling. “He knew you’d be coming; he just didn’t think it would be so soon.” He picked up the phone on his desk and muttered, “She’s here.”

  The door to Cillian’s office swung open a second later, and the daunting angel filled the entryway, his radiant wings illuminating his formidable outline. I gulped as he stalked closer. “What are you doing out of bed?” he growled.

  “I needed to talk to you.”

  “Well, you should have waited. You’ve been unconscious for two whole days so you’re probably unaware that I’ve visited you multiple times daily. I would’ve been by later to check on you.”

  A wave of guilt splashed over me as the angel’s intense blue eyes lanced into me. “I’m sorry. For everything, Cillian.”

  He huffed out a frustrated breath and turned back to his office. “Come on, come inside.” He slumped onto one of the chairs in front of the fireplace, and I folded into the couch beside him. Dark shadows circled his eyes, and it was only the second time since meeting the angel headmaster that he seemed truly exhausted.

  “Are you okay?” I asked, when the silence lengthened to an uncomfortable point.

  He dragged a hand over his face and through his wild blonde locks. “No, Luna. Everything is the opposite of okay.” He pierced me with those heavenly baby blues, gutting me. “Twenty-seven students are dead, Luxora and an entire legion of demons broke through the wards and launched an assault on the academy, one of my faculty was in on it, my other instructor is being held by the SIA and the Fae king wants me removed as headmaster as a result of this debacle.”

  I tried not to focus on the Ryder part for a second. “King Elrian wants to fire you?”

  He nodded, scowling. “I can hardly blame him. Someone has to be held responsible for what happened.”

  “Blame me. It was my fault.”

  “I’m responsible for you, Luna!” His eyes widened, a flash of anger rolling through the sky blue. He inhaled deeply and lowered his voice. “I’m responsible for every student at the academy, and I failed them. I should’ve seen this coming. I should’ve realized Vena Mikalson was playing both sides all along.”

  Another pang of guilt stabbed me in the gut. I should have realized. I’d been inside her body, and I’d felt something dark. Something that wasn’t right. But instead of listening to my instincts, I’d been so focused on seducing Ryder I’d completely ignored it.

  No, Cillian wouldn’t take the fall for this. I’d figure out a way to fix this. “I’ll talk to Drake,” I said. “He can speak to his brother, make him understand that this was all my plan. The students at the academy need you, Cillian. I’ll force King Elrian to understand if I have to go to the Winter Court palace myself.”

  He frowned, the deep groove between his brows intensifying. “While you’re there, you may as well start pleading for Ryder’s case too.”

  “What?” I jumped to the edge of the couch.

  “Elrian wants Ryder to spend the rest of his life behind bars. The Fae were the most to suffer from his recent soul-sucking spree. He’s pressing for the maximum punishment the Tribunal will allow, which is life imprisonment.”

  “No,” I hissed, all the air squeezing from my lungs.

  “I’ve tried speaking to him, to the director of the SIA, but it’s no use. Regardless of the good Ryder’s done in the past two years, I haven’t been able to sway them.”

  “There has to be a way.”

  Cillian’s phone buzzed, and he stared down at the screen, the scowl etched on his face only deepening. “I have to get this. I’m coordinating a meeting with the heads of the houses and the entire Coven Council to erect new, stronger wards for the academy. What happened the other day can never happen again.”

  I stood, my entire body slumping. “I’m so sorry, Cillian. I promise I’ll do whatever I can to fix this.”

  He nodded, bringing the phone to his ear and motioned me toward the door. I trudged out, the crushing weight of a massive elephant on my shoulders. How was I going to get us out of this mess?

  I was so distracted I forgot to portal back to the infirmary, instead taking the long route. When I returned to my room, Cinder was pacing the space with her phone glued to her ear.

  “There you are!” For a second I thought she was going to throw the take-out box at me. “Where did you go?”

  “I’m sorry, I had to see Cillian.” I slowly walked toward her with my hands raised. “Don’t be mad. I already feel bad enough after talking to our headmaster.” Grabbing the box from her hands, I set it down on the bedside table. “Did you know King Elrian is trying to fire him?”

  She shook her head, some of the fire in her eyes dissipating. “That’s terrible.”

  “I know, and it’s all my fault. I need to talk to Drake, and he has to speak to his brother. Cillian doesn’t deserve to be fired because of us.” I slumped down onto the bed and picked at my nails. “And Ryder… King Elrian wants him locked up in supe jail for the rest of his life.”

  Cinder sucked in a breath and folded down beside me, wrapping her arm around my shoulder. “Oh gods, Luna. I’m sorry.”

  “I can’t let that happen. I can’t let any of those things happen.” I picked my phone up from the bedside table where I’d left it and shot off a quick text to Drake.

  “What are you going to do?”

  “I’m going to the palace at Winter Court if I have to. I need to speak to King Elrian myself.”

  Chapter 13

  “Absolutely not.” Drake glared at me from across his monster bed.

  I thought convincing Cillian to let me out of the infirmary would be tough, but he seemed too tired to fight me on it. He probably knew I’d sneak out anyway. Drake, on the other hand, was not so easy to persuade regarding the trip to the Winter Court.

  “But why not?” I whined.

  “For someone who was so obsessed with Hitched, you apparently learned nothing from your half-sister’s visit to the royal castle.”

  “That was different. Your father was king then, not Elrian.”

  Drake grunted. “Elrian and my father are not quite as different as you’d like to believe, Luna.”

  My heart sank, all the hope shattering into tiny slivers. “You don’t think he’d listen to you, or me?”

  He stood and began pacing the length of his bed. “Maybe about Cillian and that’s a big maybe. But Ryder? No way. He’s the king and he has to protect his people. Ryder killed dozens of Fae in the past few months.”

  “But they were bad Fae.”

  “It doesn’t matter. It wasn’t up to him to decide. It was for my brother, the king, to decide their fates.”

  “Drake, please.” I jumped to my feet and squeezed his hands, fixing my eyes on his icy ones. “If we don’t at least try, Cillian’s going to be fired and Ryder’s going to spend the rest of his life in jail.”

  “Maybe that’s what they deserve,” he muttered, his gaze dipping to the floor.

  I released his hands and glared up at h
im. “You can’t mean that.”

  His jaw clenched, a dark shadow lining his sharp cheekbones. “Ryder killed scores of people, Luna. He needs to pay for what he did.”

  “And what about Cillian? He didn’t do anything wrong. He doesn’t deserve to be punished for something we did.”

  His jaw softened, and he loosed a frustrated breath. “You’re right; he doesn’t. But that still doesn’t mean I’m on board with you going to Winter Court.” He placed his hands on my shoulders and locked me in his intense lilac gaze. “You’re so concerned about helping everyone else that you’re not thinking about your own safety. I grew up at Wintersbee Castle, and I can tell you that the Fae will turn on you in the blink of an eye. If Luxora was able to get to you here, at the academy, there’s no telling what could happen there.”

  The genuine worry in Drake’s mesmerizing irises made my breath hitch. It was completely unexpected from the typically aloof prince. “I appreciate your concern, Drake, but I can’t give up without at least trying.” I squirmed free of his hold and marched to the door. “I’m going with or without you, and I think we’d both agree which way I’d be safer.”

  I willed my feet forward when he didn’t respond, my heartbeats quickening. I wrapped my hand around the door handle and pulled.

  “Wait…”

  I spun back so fast I nearly gave myself whiplash. “Yes?”

  “Fine. I’ll speak to Elrian, and we’ll arrange a trip. So help me, Luna, when we’re there you will do exactly as I say.”

  “Okay.” I smiled. “Thanks, Drake.”

  “Whatever you say, human. If you get yourself killed, just remember I warned you.”

  “You’d never let me die under your watch, ice prince.” I winked and walked out the door, a flicker of hope once again igniting in my chest.

  A few days later, the meeting with Elrian had been set up and Cillian had approved our two-day pass off campus. He wasn’t happy about it, but he agreed, which worried me. Things must have been pretty bad.

  With the help of my father, the new and improved wards had been erected across campus and the memorial for the lost students had been held. The mood around the academy was somber to say the least.

  Tomorrow, Drake and I were off to plead our case to the King of Winter Court. A part of me was thrilled to see the ice palace in person. It had looked like something straight out of a fairy tale when I’d seen it on Hitched. The other part of me was terrified. It wasn’t that I didn’t believe what Drake had said about the Fae lords and ladies. I had no doubt they’d sell me out to Luxora without any qualms. I only hoped word wouldn’t spread of our arrival, and we could get in and out before anyone in the Underworld was the wiser.

  There was only one thing I had to do before our departure to Wintersbee Castle. It was the one thing I’d wanted to do since the moment I woke up after the battle.

  And now here I was, standing outside the SIA detention center with sweat pooling on my brow. I rubbed my clammy palms against my jeans and strode toward the main entrance. A camera followed my every move, the blinking red light a reminder my visit would be traceable. For now.

  Two beefy guards were on duty, one inside the little white gatehouse and the other standing by the imposing sky-high gate. Both pairs of eyes skimmed over me, settling on my rather short uniform skirt. Bleh. The bald one standing outside cocked his head and lifted a furry brow. His citrine eyes marked him a shifter of some sort. “How can I help you, miss?”

  “I’m here to visit my dad,” I said as sweetly as possible. “My name’s Calina Tempest.”

  The dark-haired one sitting inside the gatehouse poked his head further out the window and scanned a tablet. “And what’s your daddy’s name, little half-blood?” His pointy fangs peeked out from his upper lip when he grinned.

  “Reginald Tempest.” I’d done a bit of research before coming with the help of my new roomie. It had only taken Scarlett a few minutes to hack into the SIA’s database to get the names of the prisoners at the detention center, along with their cell numbers as well as the guards and their schedules.

  “Hmm. I’m not seeing a visitor scheduled for today.” The guard scratched at his chin, his long nails scraping the stubbly surface and sending goose bumps across my skin.

  “Let me take a look at that.” The bald one stepped closer to the gatehouse to scrutinize the list.

  I glanced up at the camera, and the blinking light was off. Yes!

  With the security system disabled and both guards’ eyes focused on the tablet, I pulled out the small vial from my jacket pocket. “Maybe this will help.” As they turned around, I uncorked the glass ampule and a shimmery haze swept over the hulking guards.

  Before the vamp guard could press the alarm, his eyelids drooped and both towering men slumped down to the ground.

  “Sleeping like babies,” said Scarlett, appearing from beneath the invisible cloak I’d conjured for her. She eyed the two security supes, arching a brow. “So which one are you going to jump into?”

  “We’re sticking with the plan, Scarlett. I get the shifter so you can influence the vamp when he wakes up. He’s gotta act like nothing happened until I get back here.”

  “Got it, boss.” She saluted me with a grin. “Now hurry. I’m not sure how much longer until that camera comes back up.” We disappeared into the gatehouse and hauled the big shifter’s body into a storage closet.

  “Thanks for your help, Scarlett.”

  “No problem.” Her dark eyes sparkled. “I can’t wait to see you in that big guy’s body.”

  I laughed, closing the door behind me as I snuck back into the closet. Sitting beside the shifter’s hefty frame, my skin began to prickle. A second later, the tether holding my essence to my body snapped. I floated above both our motionless forms for a moment before diving into the guard’s.

  Poking my new head out of the closet, Scarlett’s dark eyes widened. “All clear?” I asked, the deep timbre of my voice startling me.

  “Yup. I’m about to mojo this guy, and then I’ll turn the cameras back on.”

  “Okay.” I filled my new body, encompassing every crevice of the big guard.

  “You know where you’re going?” she asked as I headed to the door.

  “Block A, cell number one forty-two.”

  She glanced at the golden nameplate across my black uniform shirt. “Good luck, Rufus.”

  “Thanks,” I said over my massive shoulder, still trying to get used to my gruff tone. I rushed by the gate and down the long chain-link fenced walkway that led to the main building. Luckily, Ryder was in cellblock A so I wouldn’t have to go into the darkest depths of the detention center.

  As I walked the quiet corridors, stern faces nodded as I passed. White walls, neon lights and an eerie silence made up the main prison building. I passed the first security checkpoint with no problem, and my racing heart began to normalize. A smile pulled at my lips as I visualized the map of the prison Scarlett had found. Just a few more turns and I’d be at block A.

  I picked up the pace, unable to keep my feet from moving faster the closer I got. Finally, I turned the last corner and big block letters were stamped over a thick metal door. Cellblock A.

  A strapping guard was stationed on either side. One gave me a half-smile as I approached. “What are you doing in our neck of the woods, Rufus?”

  “I’ve got a message for one of the prisoners.” I held out the cream parchment with the Fae king’s official emblem.

  Both guards’ eyes widened. “Has this been approved by the warden?” asked the one that hadn’t smiled.

  “Yes, sir. You can call him on the radio and confirm, but I wouldn’t bother him today. He’s on the rampage. I nearly got my head chewed off for questioning the letter myself.”

  The big guy grunted. “Those Fae are all the same.”

  I nodded. “A letter from the warden’s king is not to be questioned apparently.”

  The smiley one pressed a buzzer, and the sleek metal door behind t
hem slid open. “You know which cell you’re looking for?”

  I glanced at the letter in my hand pretending to confirm. “Yup, number one forty-two.”

  “Good luck to you then, prisoner number one forty-two has been insufferable since he arrived. Damn demons.”

  “Thanks,” I muttered as I marched past. The door slid closed behind me with a loud whoosh. I hurried by the glass cells, refusing to glance inside. I’d seen some pretty nasty looking demons pop out of the portal from the Underworld the other day, and I had zero desire to see the really gnarly ones that ended up in prison.

  My heartbeat accelerated with each step, my pulse keeping time with each slap of my shoes on the cement floor. One forty… one forty-one…

  I stopped before reaching the edge of the next enclosure. Inhaling a deep breath, I ran my hand over my head, my fingers searching for hair that didn’t exist on this body. You can do this, Luna.

  I took another step, and a dark figure coalesced in the far corner of the cell. Ryder’s back was to me, his wide shoulders hunched over as he stared at the wall, his gaze unmoving.

  Steeling my nerves, I jerked my hand up and pressed my fingers to the scanner on the door. “Rufus Blankenhauser,” the automated voice spat back, and I nearly jumped out of my skin—or the shifter’s anyway. “Identity confirmed.”

  The glass door slid open, and my pulse skyrocketed.

  Chapter 14

  Balling my fingers into tight little fists, I forced my feet to move forward. Once I was inside the glass enclosure, the door slid closed behind me.

  “Ryder?” My gruff voice surprised me again.

  He didn’t even flinch. Not that I’d expected him to recognize me in this body, but the fact that he hadn’t even moved when someone entered his cell worried me. Walking closer, I murmured the words to summon my cloaking bubble and a cloud of warmth enclosed us.