“Anything,” I repeated, my last brief hold on reality relinquishing its grip.
“Well, perhaps not anything. But a lot. It is, after all, up to you.”
I cocked my head, my earlier drooling awe turning to suspicion. “What does that mean?”
The boy was pouring a thick crimson drink from a decanter on the side table. “If you’re going to keep asking dumb questions then this is going to be a long and unproductive conversation.”
I bristled. “Dumb questions? You try being dropped into Disney’s Macabre Kingdom and tell me how you’d react. I just want to know what’s going on.”
He craned his head up, until he was looking at the ceiling, and yet I got the feeling he was seeing something else, somewhere else, outside of where we were.
Wherever we were.
“It seems you’ve finally been pushed to the brink. I only got glimpses of you at first, but at last you’ve gone far enough to fully awaken me. My guess is you’re probably about to die. But I can stop that.”
“Mind telling me who the heck you are first?” I demanded. I pointed to the ceiling where, I was starting to guess, the real world was. “I just met Countess Crazula up there—out there…wherever— and she tried to kill me. How do I know I can trust you? How do I know you won’t try to kill me too?”
Even though he was turned away, I saw his cheeks move as he smirked. “Poor, precious Skylar. Why would I kill my most gracious host?”
My insides went cold, gut clenching. “Wait…you’re…this…you’re inside me?”
His perfect teeth showed themselves when he smiled wider.
“That came out wrong,” I blustered, quickly backtracking. “But this can’t be…we can’t be…”
“Oh, but we are.” He turned fully to me then, the firelight glinting off each button on his suit, glowing like the points of a constellation. “I am known as the Dark Prince. And yes, since the concept has apparently not sunk in yet, we are inside you. I reside in that mysterious place where your heart is. Or perhaps it’s your spirit. Maybe even your soul, if you’re of the religious persuasion. Maybe not even any of those things, but rather all of them, at a crossroads in the middle of nowhere and everywhere you are. Regardless of my location inside you, you won’t be alive for too much longer if you keep blathering.”
My mind was whirling with so many thoughts that I totally ignored his jibes and sarcastic tone. I’d never heard about a magic like this. Maybe advanced curses. Maybe even displacement magic where you moved one soul to a body that didn’t have one. This didn’t seem like either of those things. Sure, what girl wouldn’t dream of having Hotty McHotPants available for them to drool over 24/7, but this was absolutely crazy…
I glanced again at this Dark Prince guy, his face twisted in a bored smirk while he waited for me to make up my mind.
Call me crazy, but I still had questions.
“Not to rain on your parade or anything, but you’re literally called the ‘Dark Prince’. For some reason that doesn’t scream ‘you can totally trust me!’”
“You don’t have to trust me, Skylar, just believe that I have your best interests at heart and accept my help.”
“What do you want?”
“The same thing you do. Power. Recognition. Things we can achieve together. Things we will achieve together. Now…”
He put down his glass and unfolded his hand toward me. “This is what I’ll offer: I will lend you some of my power. Just a little taste as my full strength would be too much for you to handle. With my power you will be able to crush your enemies. You’ll be able to save yourself and those you love, and all I ask in return is that you let me help.”
I looked at his hand. Something about this seemed off. Who was I kidding: everything about this seemed off.
“There’s nothing to lose,” the Dark Prince said, as though reading my mind. “Nothing to be afraid of but yourself, and not even that. After all, I’m part of you.”
“I…”
“You want to be the best, don’t you, Skylar? Want to free yourself from the shackles of your mother’s greatness?”
He was peering closely at me, seemingly reading my shocked face. “Oh yes, Skylar, I know you. Perhaps even better than you know yourself. With my help you can do that and more. Your name will become great. You will craft a legacy that will last through the ages, one that time will never erase!”
I kept staring at his hand. I felt a yearning inside, a deep calling that drew me to him and what he offered.
And yet…
“It wouldn’t be me, though,” I said. “Not if you’re helping.”
“Skylar, I am you, just a different part of you.” His hand moved closer. “Can you hear them?” he whispered. “They’re saying your name.”
Suddenly I could. The room’s small noises faded away, and in their place rose the faint sound of voices. They were cheering. They were congratulating me. Me, who was the best. Me, Skylar Rivest, I alone had done it! I had succeeded and become the greatest in everything I set out to do!
But at what cost?
The small voice of doubt stopped me, and suddenly I could see the problem. Feel it. This wasn’t right. I knew it, deep down in my bones. It wasn’t right, and yet…it was necessary. If what the Prince said was true—even a little bit—then his power could be the answer to making sure those I loved never got hurt ever again.
But what about—
Then the cheers swelled again, drowning out any other voices, and I was briefly lost in the grandeur.
“Just a little power?” I whispered.
“Only a little,” the Dark Prince promised. “Until you want more. All I ask is that, in your times of need, you let me help you, Skylar. Let me bring you to greatness.”
I would do it. I would use his power to save my friends. To stop Kasia from hurting anyone else. Consequences or not, I had to.
I felt his cold fingers wrapped around mine. He yanked me close to his body and the sudden movement jolted me back to reality.
“W-what are you doing?”
“Giving you my power.”
His head leaned down and his lips met mine. I wanted to pull away, but all I could feel was a new energy flowing through me. It was magic beyond my magic, like drinking deep from a bottomless well of power. His kiss deepened and the power increased, filling me to my fingertips, filling me to my core. I didn’t want it to stop.
And then he pulled away. “Until next time.”
My vision went black.
My eyes snapped open. The world came back to me in snapshots. Kasia, aiming a spell right at my chest, prepared to unleash it as I charged toward her.
My body, filled with a humming power.
And my only thought to hurt, maim, kill the woman who’d hurt my friends.
With an angry yell, I smacked her aside. Kasia went flying, managing to flip in midair and land on her feet at the last moment. I took a quick look around, drinking in my surroundings. It seemed no time had passed since I’d entered the Dark Prince’s realm.
I looked down at my arms. Smoky darkness drifted from them, from my entire body, like I was a somewhat solid shape composed of shadow. My hands felt as though they could crush stone, my legs like I could jump a mile. It was wonderful and terrifying and foreign and right.
“So it’s done,” Kasia said.
I turned on her with a snarl. My new power flared within me, shoving aside my rational mind, making me want to do only one thing: end her for good.
“Show me what you can do,” Kasia said.
I pushed off, appearing in front of her in a blink. With a flick of my hand, the ground beneath her opened up to snap shut like earthen jaws, but Kasia managed to maneuver away. I was after her in a flash. Spells I’d had trouble conjuring before sprang readily to my lips. The cavern alternated with colorful flashes of light as I hurled fire and electricity and darkness her way. A stone pillar exploded into slag as my latest spell barely missed her head.
Kasia looked ba
ck at it. I thought I saw the barest hint of concern cross her face. Then she was smiling once again, egging me on.
“You’re holding back! Let in the power completely. Give yourself over to it!”
I tried to answer but only an angry yell came out. The part of my mind that still held on to rational thought could only look on in horror. I could feel the darkness inside taking over, trying to push any reason and control I still had away for good.
She did this, the darkness whispered. We need to kill her, and stop her for good.
We can’t! We—
Don’t be weak! This strength is a gift. Use it like one!
“No! I’m in control, I’m in control, I’m—
“Fiero!”
Magic shuddered through me as a column of flame burst from my hand, consuming half the cavern in blistering heat. It was a greater spell than I’d ever used, stronger than I’d ever seen. Even stronger than my—
The spell grew more powerful. The fire spread wider. The heat blistered my skin, but I didn’t care. I felt a smile curl up my face as I watched Kasia back away, the flames closing in on her, ready to swallow her whole, ready to consume her…
What was I doing?
With massive effort, I closed my hand. The flame vanished, and with it my strength. The darkness clogging my mind drew back a little, enough for me to truly take in the destruction I’d caused.
Molten rock dripped from the ceiling into craters blasted out of the floor. The air tasted raw and charged with wild, dispelled magic. What had once been an intact cavern was now nothing more than an apocalyptic wasteland. The power in my mind tried to creep back in again and smother me, but I managed to force it back. What it had given me, what it had done…this wasn’t magic. This was monstrous.
I stumbled forward, legs weak. “I didn’t…what is this?”
I stared at my arms. The smoky darkness was there, but instead of elation I felt only disgust. I’d wanted to kill. I’d thought nothing of the destruction I was causing. This was the power I’d wanted, but I hadn’t known the price.
I gritted my teeth, shoving the darkness even further back. “Get out. Get out of me!”
It resisted, but I was coming back to myself, regaining my sanity inch by inch. It felt as though the cold grip of power had wrapped around my heart, but between its fingers were the barest hints of light. Hope. Freedom.
I lunged toward it, squeezing through before it could clamp down and seal me in, struggling through the darkness until the last of the intoxicating power leaked out. I stumbled again. My limbs felt like bricks. I had the start of what promised to be a wicked headache.
“I see.” Kasia had been watching me the entire time. “So it doesn’t have total control. How interesting.”
I was momentarily too winded to speak. I took a step back. “I didn’t want this. This wasn’t what I meant when I accepted help.”
“Of course it wasn’t,” Kasia said. “Everybody wants something, but most aren’t willing to sacrifice what it takes to get it. Don’t worry, you’ll give in eventually.”
I stood, forcing my screaming muscles to straighten. “That’s what you think.”
“That’s what I know. You and me, Skylar, we’re more connected than you think. I should know about the darkness inside you. After all…” She raised her hand, smoky black magic pouring from her fingertips, “I have it too.”
She pointed the spell at me. “Run, little girl, run.”
I ran.
Kasia’s laughing followed me as I fled, but there was no way I was stopping to check if she was following.
I sprinted down a random tunnel, casting a light ahead of me. Shadows seemed to leap out at me around every curve, my breath catching whenever I saw one. I felt like every one could be those eyes. Or the darkness I’d used. The darkness that’d almost swallowed me.
“This is what you wanted, isn’t it?” Kasia’s voice was closing in. “You wanted to know who I was, well here I am. Come face me, little girl. Call on your darkness and face me!”
A sob wrenched itself from my throat. There was no way I could get away from her. If I couldn’t figure out a way to escape, I was as good as dead.
Up ahead, my light gleamed off the smooth, domed head of a skull set in the wall. Salvation. Without worrying about the consequences, I reached out and touched it, dragging my hand across dozens more as I rushed past.
A sudden wind kicked up. Misty red magic leaked from the walls, manifesting itself into figures, their eye sockets empty and white, their mouths open in hungry snarls.
I risked a glance back in time to see the tunnel completely clogged with ghosts. Kasia wasn’t there.
But as I hit an incline and scrambled up, I heard her sharp laughter follow me.
I stumbled around for what felt like days, pausing for only a handful of seconds at a time to rest. I was pretty sure I’d lost Kasia and the rest of the Society, but I wasn’t taking any chances.
During my last break, I placed my hand on my chest. I swore I felt a stirring there, a flicker of power. It seemed I hadn’t lost the Dark Prince’s power. I really was stuck with him.
With an exhausted sigh, I picked my way forward. The tunnel had finally leveled out.
“Come on, Skylar,” I said, my voice thin and dry. “There has to be a way—”
I saw light up ahead. Daylight.
Too overjoyed to be cautious, I rushed forward until I emerged onto a busy street. I blinked until my eyes adjusted. Cars honked and rushed by. The pedestrians on the sidewalk didn’t even give a passing glance to the girl who’d stumbled out of the sewer. Thank you, New York.
I looked back to see where I’d come from, but all that was there was a small storm grate. The magic of the caverns had closed behind me.
And across the street stood the Academy of Magic.
Chapter Twelve
I might have narrowly escaped death, but I was pretty sure Lucien was going to be just as ready to kill me.
I jumped as another door slammed in the usually quiet medical wing. I’d tried planting myself in the hallway outside, looking for where Mia was, but Mrs. Rochester, the druid nurse, had bullied me into a bed to check me over.
“You look like the manticore batted you around a bit,” she’d chastised, sticking a finger into my mouth. A bit of her cherry-colored hair came unwound from her tight bun. She clucked after a moment more of poking and prodding. The magic glow surrounding her hands faded. “You’ll live. I daresay you’re lucky to hear that, from what I’ve gathered you four have been through. Maybe next time try to think about your wellbeing first before you wind up dead.”
I had thought about myself when I’d chosen to use the Dark Prince. And even though I’d gotten away, I wouldn’t exactly call it a spotless victory.
Now I’d been left in one of the numerous long wards of the medical wing. Clean, white beds lined either side, each with curtains pulled around them.
I heard hushed murmurs. I pressed my ear against my privacy curtain, but the voices were too muddled to make out. I took another calming breath. Mrs. Rochester hadn’t said anything about the curse inside me, and I hadn’t heard a peep from the Dark Prince since the caverns. But I’d been on edge ever since. This magic wasn’t like anything I’d ever dealt with; even worse, it was somehow connected to Kasia. If anyone found out…being expelled would probably be the lightest sentence I could hope for. I might even be imprisoned. The United Coalition of Paranormal Beings had strict rules against forbidden magic and those who used it, and I wasn’t holding out hope they’d believe I had no clue how I’d gotten the Dark Prince. I doubted even Lucien or my mother would be able to protect me from their decision if I was caught.
It had to be my secret.
More voices, now entering my room. Mrs. Rochester talking to someone. Multiple pairs of footsteps headed my way.
“—I took a look and there appears to be no permanent damage,” Mrs. Rochester was saying. “Just an affliction of normal teenage recklessness, Hea
dmaster.”
I straightened. Lucien. Oh, troll pi—
The privacy curtain was ripped aside and Lucien stood there. Righteous fury emanated off him, filling the small space my bed occupied. I involuntarily shrunk back. I’d never seen him angry—truly angry—but I was getting a full dose of it now.
Lucky me.
“H-hey, boss man!” I said meekly.
Lucien continued staring at me, his brow furrowing deeper.
“She’s had a long couple of days, Headmaster,” Mrs. Rochester said. “Don’t be too hard—”
“Thank you, Frankie. I’ll be with you in a moment.”
No, don’t leave me! I thought as Mrs. Rochester tutted and moved on to the next student. Lucien let the curtain fall behind him. I felt like I’d been trapped inside a shark cage. With the shark.
“Look,” I said, trying to head him off before he burst a blood vessel. “We—”
“What were you thinking?” He barely raised his voice, but the way he spoke almost felt like he had. “All of you? Do you have any idea what nearly happened? What you nearly did?”
A flare of indignation rose in me. What I’d done? What I’d done? I’d charged into danger to save my friend. I’d put my life on the line, thrown my partner into trouble without backup or anybody knowing where we were. I…
I…was starting to see why he was so mad. Even if I didn’t want to.
“I just wanted to save her,” I mumbled. “I didn’t mean to drag everybody else into it.”
I thought I saw Lucien’s face soften. He let out a long breath.
“Lucien, the others…?”
“Are alive.”
I could feel my insides again. “And are they—”
“Fine. Mostly.”
“And I’m…”
“In trouble.”
Yowch. I saw that one coming.
My eyes dropped to the floor. Now that we were back and safe, I was beginning to grasp the magnitude of what had nearly happened to us. How close we’d all been to becoming casualties on the Academy’s roster. But I still would have done it all over again to save my friends. No doubt about that.
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