by G. K. DeRosa
As we rounded the second lap, the crowd went wild. The Fae were chanting Drake’s name and to my shock, a good amount of the students and other spectators called out mine.
Wow, I actually had fans!
The whoosh of flapping wings quickly approaching from behind sent my head whipping back. Zephyr and his unipeg, Flame, were closing in on us. Where’d they come from? Drake must have noticed too because a surge of power tugged at his lilac cord, and a moment later Apollo lurched forward.
I’d only ever siphoned power from my team the day Luxora attacked the academy. It had been a necessity since my magic had been blocked by Nicodemus’s magical handcuffs. Something about it felt wrong though.
Dark tendrils of magic curled around my heart, wrapping around the other cords. It was there—mine for the taking. I could feel their power pulsating. Each of the individual binds calling out to me. Except for Ryder’s. His had long since grown cold.
The thought of my instructor cleared my mind, snapping my conscience into action and I shoved the dark magic down. I didn’t want anything to do with that tiny portion of demon blood inside me. It was powerful and much too tempting.
Shaking my head out to loosen the dark thoughts, I focused back on the race. The finish line was half a lap away, the bright red timer counting down the seconds. Zephyr and Flame were hot on my tail, and Drake and Apollo were only half a length ahead.
Zeus tugged at the reins, his head surging forward. As we approached the finish line, we were head to head once again. Drake didn’t even spare me a glance, his intense gaze fixed on the glowing red line ahead.
I ducked down, lowering my body to lessen the wind resistance and urged Zeus on. “Come on, buddy! We’re almost there.”
The buzzer rang out as Apollo and Zeus crossed the finish line nose to nose again. The crowd exploded into applause as everyone jumped out of their seats, their eyes intent on the floating screen that had appeared over the finish line. I sucked in a breath as I trotted Zeus in a circle at the end of the track as all my classmates finished the race.
Drake was on the opposite side of the small cool down field, his expression an icy mask. He thinks he lost. It was too close to tell in my opinion, but then again I didn’t have super supe senses.
I stared expectantly at the hovering display along with my entire class and the hundreds of spectators. Finally, the screen flickered to life with a close up of two unipeg noses. The dapple gray one snuck over the red line a millisecond before the black.
The Fae contingency exploded into wild clapping and chanting. “Prince Drake, Prince Drake!”
My heart plummeted. I lost. Like a marionette whose strings were clipped, my whole body sagged forward. Until my eyes landed on Drake’s.
Apollo trotted forward, and I swore the animal was smiling, but it was nowhere near the brilliance of the prince’s. His entire face had lit up, his lilac irises twinkling like a million stars in the sky.
I couldn’t help but smile too. Because I was happy for my friend. As much as I liked to give the ice prince grief, he was one of my best friends and he deserved this. So when he trotted by, I grabbed his arm and pulled him close, planting a big kiss on his cheek. “Nicely done, ice prince.”
His smile grew broader, which I didn’t think was physically possible. I released him, and he disappeared among the masses as hundreds of adoring Fae closed in around him.
Zephyr, Raf and Cinder appeared beside me, each sweaty and windblown, much like what I must’ve looked like.
“Nice one, Zephyr. You almost caught up to me,” I teased.
He rolled his eyes. “Next time, Luna. You better watch your back.”
“I’m sorry you didn’t win again,” said Cinder. “And I already had your victory party all planned out.”
“It’s okay. We can move it to Drake’s instead.”
My best friend cocked her head. “I can’t believe what I’m hearing. You’re actually admitting defeat gracefully?”
I laughed. “What can I say? I’ve grown up a lot in the past year. Drake won fair and square, and he deserved it. As much as I like to deny it, he has taught me a lot and I never would’ve made it this far without him.”
Cinder smiled and waggled her eyebrows at me. “Maybe you should tell him that.”
“Maybe one day.”
As my friends got in line to congratulate Drake, I zipped Zeus back down to the ground. I didn’t think I could watch one more young Fae lady fawning over the prince without getting physically ill.
After I stripped my huffing beast down and bathed him, I stayed in his stall and fed him his favorite elaria fruit. He munched away happily as I undid the tight braids in his mane.
The slight scuff of shoes on cement sent my head whirling toward the stall door. The ice prince blocked the entrance, a sly grin playing on his lips.
My hand flew to my chest, and I slurped in a breath. “Geez, Drake. I’m going to have to put a bell on you.”
He closed the distance between us, moving faster than I’d ever seen the Fae move. Pinning me against the wall, his lips captured mine before I could utter a word of shock. They were soft and hesitant, nothing like they’d been the day I’d skinwalked inside of his Fae groupie, Electra.
His tongue slipped between my lips, and I let it. Encouraged it even. We kissed for a few moments longer before I came back to my senses and pulled back.
His lips released mine, and he regarded me with an indecipherable expression. Or maybe I didn’t want to read what was right in front of me.
“Thank you,” he muttered.
I cocked a brow. “Thank you?” That was so not what I’d been expecting.
“For today, for the race…”
I slapped my hands on my hips and glared up at him. “I didn’t let you win, Drake. I would never throw a race.”
“You didn’t?”
“No!”
He licked his lips, rubbing his chin.
“That’s why you kissed me?” I hissed.
He shrugged, a coy smile crossing his lips. “Maybe a little.”
I huffed and shook my head at the insufferable prince. “So that was just a thank you kiss? Nothing more?”
His brows drew together as he regarded me. “Do you want it to be more?”
“No.” I paused and chewed on my lower lip. “I don’t know.” I sank down onto the crackly hay that lined the stall and buried my face in my hands.
Drake folded down beside me, his shoulder brushing mine. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. I know you’re going to see Ryder tomorrow… I just got caught up in the moment. And I thought—”
I glanced up at him and his eyes locked onto mine, his lilac irises pulsating with ethereal light. “Don’t be sorry. I’m confused, and in a weird place right now. I’m not sure what’s going on between us, but something has changed. Maybe after I see Ryder, the tangle of emotions will unravel. Maybe then…” I let my words fall away because I didn’t really know what to say next.
He nodded, dropping my gaze, and clasped his hands together on his knees.
I knew how hard it was for the ice prince to let his walls down, and I didn’t want to be the reason he built them back up again. Guilt swirled in my chest at my fickle emotions. After a few beats of silence, I nudged him in the shoulder. “Anyway, you should be out there celebrating. You deserved this win.”
He smirked. “I guess I did.”
“Party at your place tonight?” I asked as he pushed himself off the floor.
“Only if you’re going to be there.”
“Only if you give me some of your faery wine,” I countered.
He laughed as he sauntered out the stall. “Don’t push your luck, human.”
Chapter 22
As much as I tried to avoid it all night, whenever I looked up I’d lock eyes with the ice prince from across the room. Though we’d left things on a friendly note after the heated stall kiss, I couldn’t deny the feelings trickling from Drake’s cord. Or my own.
<
br /> He sat surrounded by half a dozen Fae girls, who giggled and blushed at every word he said. And yet, every time I lifted my gaze, I met his.
“Earth to Luna, come in, Luna.” Scarlett waved her hand in front of my face, and I blinked away the haze.
“What’s up?” I asked nonchalantly and took a sip from the fancy goblet of faery wine. I’d been pacing myself all evening. The last thing I needed was to get wasted the night before going to see Ryder. Who knew what I’d say then.
“Maybe you should just go back to the dorm and get some rest,” said my roommate. “You’re not really here anyway.”
Cinder and Raf both nodded from the opposite couch. Drake’s celebratory party was much more low key than the last one had been. It was mostly Fae plus the seven of us, and Cinder of course.
Aeria and Raine had spent most of the evening on the opposite side of the room, which was just fine by me. With everything going on in my head, the last thing I needed was to risk a confrontation with the queen witch. I may have turned her into a toad.
“See what I mean?”
I shook my head and focused on my friend. “Sorry. Lots going on up here.” I pointed at my temple.
“You’re not upset because Drake won the race, are you?” asked Raf.
“Nah. He deserved the win.”
Cinder hadn’t said much to me all evening, but my bestie had shot me more than my fair share of curious gazes. Not much got past her. She waggled her brows at me every time Drake’s eyes met mine.
“I think you’re right though, Scarlett. I have a long day tomorrow, and I am pretty beat.” I stood up and stretched, and a yawn tried to slip past my lips.
Cinder shot up, placing her drink on the table. “I’ll walk you back to your room. There’s…um… something I wanted to talk to you about.”
Uh, oh. Here it comes.
I waved at the others, purposely avoiding Drake and hightailed it out of there. The kiss had happened so quickly I hadn’t had a second to process it. Until now. As nonchalant as Drake had been acting—and me too for that matter—I couldn’t deny that something had changed between us. It had been changing for some time now, but I’d refused to acknowledge it.
Cinder wrapped her arm through mine and escorted me down the hall to the girls’ dorms. “So are you going to tell me what happened with Drake, or am I going to have to drag it out of you?”
“Let the dragging begin…”
She quirked her brow, stopping midway down the corridor. “Oh my gods, something did happen!”
I rolled my eyes and huffed as I backed into the wall and slumped against it. I’d had no intentions of telling my bestie, but now that I was cornered, my tongue couldn’t contain itself. “He kissed me after the race,” I whispered, glancing back at the party to make sure we were out of supernatural earshot.
“What? How?”
I shook my head as my fingertips brushed my lips. Echoes of his soft touch ghosted over mine. “I don’t know. He thought I’d thrown the race on purpose—to let him win. I guess he was trying to thank me or something?”
“That’s weird.”
“I know. Then when I told him I didn’t, he totally played it off like it was nothing.”
She seared me with her knowing golden gaze. “And was it nothing?”
“I don’t know.” I dug my fingers through my hair, pushing it out of my face. “I’m going to see Ryder tomorrow for the first time in months. I know he wants me to move on; he made it perfectly clear last time I saw him, but…”
“But you still love him.”
I nodded, my teeth latching onto my lower lip as tears pricked my eyes.
Cinder pulled me into a hug, her slender arms wrapping me in her familiar, warm dragon scent. “Oh, Luna. You know I love you, right?”
I nodded against her shoulder.
“And I know how much you love Ryder, but maybe after tomorrow, if things don’t turn out the way you hope, you should let him go.”
“I know,” I muttered against her arm before she released me.
“You forget that it’s different for me, being around you guys but not really being one of you. I have a lot of time to observe. I think Drake really cares about you, and I’m not the only one who sees it. There’s a reason why Raine’s jealous of you.”
I groaned. “I always thought she just hated me because she’s a bi—witch.”
Cinder laughed, almost drowning out the smack of approaching footsteps. Both of our heads spun toward the sound, and her lips twisted into a mischievous smile. “Speaking of the notorious prince...”
I punched her in the arm and shot her a narrowed glare as she continued to giggle.
“I’m going back to the party to find Raf. Good luck tomorrow and come visit me as soon as you get back.”
“Okay,” I muttered, secretly cursing her for leaving me.
Drake sauntered up and settled into the spot on the wall beside me. “You were leaving without saying goodbye?”
“I didn’t want to intrude on your little Fae harem.”
He let out an uncharacteristically boisterous chuckle. “Since when? You’ve pretty much invaded my life since the day you arrived at Darkhen.”
I cocked my head, glancing up at him. “Is that really how you feel?”
He crossed his arms over his chest and sighed. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I spend a rather inordinate amount of time with you. I’m not a very selfless person by nature.”
“So why do you do it then? Especially in the beginning when you didn’t even know me?”
“I was curious. You were the only human to ever be accepted to the academy. I figured there had to be something special about you.”
Heat zipped up my neck, warming my ears. I was thankful for the curtain of blonde hair covering them. “Well, I appreciate everything you’ve done for me, and maybe I don’t say that often enough.”
A warm, fuzzy wave of emotion filled my chest, and it wasn’t mine. For once, the ice prince had dropped the wall blocking me. He leaned in closer, and my tongue darted out to wet my lips.
The click-clack of approaching heels sent me reeling backward. Apparently, I hadn’t been the only one to feel Drake’s emotions. Raine marched toward us like a lion stalking its prey.
“Hey,” I said, taking a few steps away from Drake and forcing a blank expression on my face.
She stopped in front of us and threw her hand up. I winced, half expecting to open my eyes to my new life as a toad. Instead, I only met her open palm. “I’m over this,” she stated. “I couldn’t care less about whatever is or isn’t going on between the two of you. So you can quit skulking around empty hallways and acting weird.”
I was sure my eyes were as wide as some crazy cartoon character. Drake’s expression mirrored mine.
“There’s nothing—” Drake began.
She threw her hand up again, this time placing it only a few inches from his nose. “I already said I don’t care. In the end, it doesn’t really matter, does it? Drake will marry the princess of Spring Court, and both of us will simply be academy flings.” She turned to me with a smirk. “Enjoy it while it lasts, human.” Spinning away, she sashayed down the hall, the clatter of her heels resonating across the quiet corridor.
“Well, that was unexpected,” I muttered as soon as she vanished from view.
“Very.” His gaze was still intent on the corner Raine had disappeared around. “And yet, I think she was trying to be sincere.”
“Me too.”
The two of us stood there in silence for a long while. It wasn’t strained or awkward. We both had things on our minds. When my knees began to stiffen, I pushed myself off the wall and turned to Drake. “I’m going to bed. I have to get up early tomorrow for—”
“Right,” he said, cutting me off.
“Goodnight.” I trudged back to my room, his gaze boring into the back of my head the whole time. When I shut the door behind me, I leaned against the dark timber and exhaled a breath.
>
What was I doing?
I barely slept a wink that night. When the first rays of sunlight seeped into our room, I shot up out of bed. There was no point pretending to sleep anymore. I quickly took a shower and threw on some clothes. Just because I couldn’t sleep didn’t mean I should wake up my roomie. From the sounds of it, Scarlett had gotten in late last night.
After eating breakfast and sucking down a gallon of coffee, I paced the quiet school corridors. It was still early for a Saturday, and most of the students were fast asleep. I glanced up at the clock on the wall; I still wasn’t due at the supe rehab center for over an hour.
Maybe they’d let me see Ryder early?
Doubtful.
Instead of portalling over as I’d originally planned, I decided to travel the old-fashioned way. A thirty-minute train ride to the edge of the winter realm where the rehab center was located would kill some time and maybe calm the anxious stirrings.
Twenty minutes later, I sat by the window of the express train to the Autumn Court. The SIA center was only a few miles from the border of the two courts, and I could portal from there. The wintry landscape was beautiful, and I soon found myself lost in the blanket of snow covering the countryside. But even an entire day spent on the train wouldn’t have been enough to quell the rising panic in my gut.
I hadn’t seen Ryder in over a month. My heart constricted as images of our last encounter flooded my mind. There’s no hope for us—there is no you and me, and there never will be again. His words played on a loop in my nightmares and plagued my waking thoughts. No matter how much I tried to embrace L.A.R., a piece of my heart was permanently bound to his. I feared it always would be.
The screech of the train’s brakes as it pulled into the station ripped me from my musings. Inhaling a deep breath, I grabbed my purse and forced my legs to the exit.
There was no turning back now.
Chapter 23
No wonder Ryder wasn’t getting better. If I’d been admitted into this plush rehab center, I wasn’t sure I’d want to leave either. It was like the Ritz Carlton of rehabilitation, complete with a spa, pool and the best part—warm temperatures.
