by Lan Chan
The aftermath of what I’d said hung in the air. After a few moments, Basil huffed. “Well, if you’re going to get all high and mighty about it,” he said. Sophie stifled a laugh.
“Exactly how bad is the prophecy stuff?” I asked.
“Bad!” Basil said. “You spoke another Angelical word!”
I scrubbed at my face. “Yeah, that did happen, didn’t it?”
“Lex,” it was a scraped-out warning. “Even the Nephilim Council wouldn’t dare do that. The last person to have tried it went insane. And here you are spitting them out willy-nilly.”
“I am not! It just happens! It’s not like I’m trying to do it on purpose.”
“Okay,” Nanna said. “This isn’t helping.”
“No, it’s not,” Basil said. He was pacing the floor behind where she sat. The calculating expression on his face was scary. Nanna swatted at him to try and get him to stop.
“They can’t expel you,” Sophie said. “You haven’t done anything wrong!”
“I think me being alive is wrong enough in some of their eyes.”
But it turned out Sophie was right. Jacqueline called me into her office three days later to tell me that I was not expelled.
I hoped that might be the end of it. But then she cleared her throat. “Unfortunately, I don’t have any authority over the other Academies. Their heads have decided you’re too much of a liability. I’m afraid they’re no longer extending the open-elective policy to you.”
It hit me harder than I thought it would. All I could think of was that mural. “Even Nightblood?” I squeaked.
“Especially Nightblood. They operate on such tentative ground as it is. They’re concerned that you’ll expose them to greater levels of demonic energy.”
“I thought they were supposed to be more badass than this.”
“You of all people should know that your abilities have nothing to do with the person you are.”
I slumped onto her desk. “So, what does this mean for me?”
“You can pick up some other classes at Bloodline,” she said. “Although at this point, it might be a bit late for you to catch up. The other alternative is for you to do independent study.”
I decided on the latter. It meant that I would have much less contact with other students which might be a good thing for them at the moment.
I was feeling decidedly sorry for myself. Since gaining access to Nightblood Academy’s library, the limited selection at Bloodline was very noticeable. I had to find another way to do my research.
The one thing that hadn’t been cancelled was my training sessions with Giselle. Like me, she’d taken to watching the previous Unity Games. “You can avoid all of this just by phasing,” she said. The trial was a maze challenge with a real Minotaur. Recently she’d changed tactics. Since I had proven a terrible offensive fighter, she now concentrated on defence. Otherwise known as hauling ass out of any given situation. I practiced phasing for hours on end until my magic was depleted.
A week later, I returned to Exorcism class. Thanks to this being a Bloodline elective, both professors had agreed for me to continue the subject.
Understandably, half the students were missing from the class. When I got to my desk, Andrei was still in his seat and there was a stack of books on my desk.
“What’s this?”
He rested his chin on his crossed arms. “Call it a consolation prize,” he said. “Or maybe a trade.”
I snatched my hand back from where I was about to flip open the first book. It was one about forced summonings. “A trade for what?”
“You said you could raise the spirits of my family,” he said. “Was that just talk?”
With some practice, I was confident I could do it. But I also wasn’t in the business of doing favours for psychopaths either. “No thanks.”
“It’s a consolation prize then,” he said.
I didn’t know what he meant by that. But by the end of class, I had read the spine of those books and knew that I wanted them.
“See you around, squirt.”
I wasn’t sure, but I thought I had just come to a truce with Andrei.
27
Thanks to the looming meeting date with the Human League, Sophie and I were given special permission to leave the Academy to go shopping. That Saturday morning, she cracked open her ingredients chest where we kept our stash of manna.
“I don’t know why I’m even bothering to count this,” I said. I knew exactly how much, or in this case how little, I had. Sophie’s pile was decidedly bigger than mine. That’s what happened when you managed to get steady work. I was starting to become annoyed at the idea of being broke. It had never bugged me before. But even Nanna was being paid more than I was. When she’d offered to buy me a dress, I had declined. With the rapid plummet in my popularity, who knew how long it would be before we were kicked out of supernatural society? We needed savings.
Being broke didn’t dampen the spirits of the Evil Three. We trudged to the portal field. I hung back with Astrid. She was escorting us because Kai was busy. Because Kai and Max wouldn’t let Sophie and me off the grounds without protection. But most importantly, because Kai despised shopping and didn’t want to go.
I found myself rubbing my arms as we got closer.
“What’s the matter?” Astrid asked.
I pointed to the portal that was being manned by Bran today. “I really don’t want a repeat of last time.”
“Fancy seeing you here,” Andrei’s voice called out as we approached. I thought he was speaking to me but when I looked up, he was watching Astrid.
“Hello, Andrei,” she said, like it was the most natural thing in the world. Up ahead, the girls had stopped to watch the exchange.
“Shopping?”
Astrid just nodded. She didn’t seem all that keen to ask him where he was going. So I did. He smirked at me before stepping through his own portal.
I let out a breath. “Don’t tell me you know him socially,” I asked Astrid. She was still watching the spot where he’d been.
“I used to know him,” she said. “Before all of this happened with his family.”
I took that to mean they might have been friends before he went cuckoo. Astrid touched my arm. “Ready?”
No. But I nodded anyway. The last thing I saw on this side of the portal was Bran with his jaw locked, making sure we crossed through to the other side safely. I held my breath until my feet hit the paved streets of Rivia.
The magical town was bustling as usual. The Evil Three wanted to see everything. We had time so we agreed to indulge them. I was waiting outside the candy store with Astrid when I noticed I was being watched. It wasn’t the first time that had happened this morning.
“Is it just me or are there a lot more guards here than usual?” I asked Astrid.
“With everything that’s been happening, I’m not surprised,” she said.
Now that they were on my radar, it wasn’t hard to spot other Nephilim guards as well as the Fae of the Iron Court. I swore they were following us. It was precisely the reason why I was scowling when we walked into Madame Familiar.
“What’s that sour puss for?” the Madame herself said. She walked out from behind the counter wearing a vertical-striped cotton dress over black leggings and kitten heels. Her blonde hair was artfully hand-scrunched and kept out of her face with bobby pins.
“Oh nothing,” I said. “My life is just a complete mess at the moment.”
For some unspeakable reason, she smiled widely. “I have something that might cheer you up.”
I didn’t think so, but she disappeared into the back room before I could comment. There was only one other person in the store. It was gratifying to see the looks of utter amazement on the faces of the Evil Three.
“There’s a black rose growing out the front of the store,” Winnie said absently as she traced her fingers along the skirt of a stunning blue dress hanging suspended in the middle of the store. Her eyes lifted to the ceiling
to see whether there was some kind of wire holding the dress in place. The answer was a resounding no. It was all magic. As was the way the hem of the dress fluttered in the non-existent breeze.
“I don’t know how I feel about this,” Diana said. “On the one hand, I’m so jealous I’m not buying a dress. On the other, I’d be paying this off till the day I graduate.”
“How much are they?” Harlow asked.
“Not everything is about price, my dear,” Celine said. She came out of the back with a piece of black material draped over her arm. It looked like tulle but was so delicate I wasn’t sure how it would hold its shape. Wisps of fabric fell like a waterfall over her arm. I should have been able to see her skin through the ephemeral material, but it seemed to shift before my very eyes.
“Umm...did you forget the rest of it?”
Her eyes crinkled. “I’m glad you haven’t lost your sense of humour,” she said. My attention was too transfixed to the dress to really take in what she was saying. “Why don’t you try it on?”
“Try what on? It’s barely a dress.”
“Trust me.”
“There’s no way I’m going to be able to pay for this.”
She pushed me into the change room.
We’d only come in here to show the Evil Three. It was unfortunate then that I fell in love with the dress before the magic even happened. The bodice had a plunging V neckline that stayed in place no matter how far I bent over to test it. The straps were the thinnest pieces of string, but they managed to hold everything in place. It was perfectly fitted and fell just below the flats of my feet. With heels on, it would be perfect. The material was softer than a cloud, and if I wanted to, I could do a workout in it without tearing anything. The best part was that it was delicate but it hid everything all at the same.
“Time to come out,” Celine called.
I pushed open the door and walked out into the soft lighting. Everyone turned to look at me. That was when I felt the sweep of magic cascading over me. Sophie inhaled sharply as a thread of shimmering gold appeared over each of my shoulders. They burst forth like seedlings. The thread knitted through the bodice and down over the swaying skirt in a pattern of beautiful golden vines that tapered off close to the hem.
Celine looked on with interest. “Interesting,” she said. “Gold rather than blue or green.”
“It’s incredible,” I breathed. I felt like I was wearing a cloud.
I could only stand there trying to take it all in. She clapped her hands and moved on. “Now,” she said, turning to Sophie. Her face turned dour. “I don’t even want to repeat what Maximus said to me about your dress. These shifters don’t seem to understand that other species aren’t as comfortable as they are in their skin.”
My apathetic state was shattered by the mortified look on Sophie’s face. Diana and I were still giggling when Sophie came out of the change room in a silken gown that looked like pink champagne brought to life. The material hugged her and gave off a feeling of sensuousness without actually revealing anything.
Harlow wolf-whistled as a blush crept over Sophie’s cheeks. We tried to hand over the sum of our money. Celine waved it away. Sophie took it more gracefully than I did. Though that seemed to be the case with everything.
“I need to make some slight adjustments to your dress,” Celine said to me. “Stand here, please.” She pointed to a spinning dais beside the register.
“Go and sightsee,” I told the girls. “I’ll catch up to you.”
When we were alone, Celine crouched down. I thought she was hemming the dress. I stood there staring out the window. Occasionally I’d brush my palm over the skirt, and no joke, I felt the golden vines move beneath my fingers. I was so enamoured by the magic that I hadn’t taken note of what she was actually doing. When my attention snapped back to her, I realised she was measuring my torso and not anything to do with the dress at all. Worse, she was humming a tune that sounded suspiciously like the wedding march.
I narrowed my eyes at her. “What are you doing?”
“Oh nothing in particular.” She winked at me. “But it doesn’t hurt to get a jump on things. In case I’m lucky enough to get the job.”
Suddenly I couldn’t breathe. “I need to leave now.”
Why did she think that was funny? I was practically hyperventilating by the time I left Madam Familiar. The girls were nowhere to be seen. I pivoted and entered the amulet store. At this time of day, the store was teeming with patrons. Every single one of them stopped what they were going to stare at me.
One of the shopgirls stepped up to me straight away. “Hi,” she said. “What can I do for you?” I wasn’t imaging the way she was actually body-blocking me from stepping farther inside.
“Ahh...I need a shield amulet.”
She frowned. “You need an amulet to stop a supernatural from affecting human technology?”
“Yes.” Why was she quoting the definition of a shield amulet to me? Wasn’t this about when she should be trying to take my money?
“May I ask what it’s for?”
“No, you may not.”
She scratched at her head. “Hmm.”
It wasn’t that difficult a question.
“Lex?” I head Astrid say. “Something wrong?”
She came up beside me. The shopgirl brightened. “Oh, right. A shield amulet. Coming right up.”
“That was weird, right?” I asked Astrid when we left the store with my amulet. The girls were waiting outside.
“Weird in general, yes,” she said. “Weird for your situation, no.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
There was a moment of silence. “You spoke Angelical without dying.”
That was all she needed to say. Suddenly it hit me that Jacqueline had said half the supernatural community wanted me out. It stood to reason that they were now watching everything I did. My mood deflated quickly after that.
I was relieved when we finally arrived back at the Academy. “Are you okay?” Sophie asked me.
“Sure. Why wouldn’t I be?”
The dress box crumpled under my grip. Sophie took it away. Something dawned on me. I put a mirror call through to Basil.
“Lex,” he said when he answered. “What’s wrong?”
“Can I speak to Nanna?”
He got her on the line. She was holding Yolanda and Durin’s new cub in her arms. I felt a weight lifting off my chest. At least the shifters weren’t shunning us. “Hello, love,” Nanna said. “Are you alright?”
“The question is, are you?” I asked her. “I just had a weird interaction with the mages at Rivia. When was the last time you went to Morgana?”
She did that thing where she pretended to be busy with her hands so she could avoid speaking to me. “Nanna?”
When she finally made eye contact, her expression was grim. “I didn’t want to say anything in case it upset you, love. But I’m not allowed in Morgana anymore.”
“Since when?”
“Just after you returned from that demon shack.” Right after I’d spoken the first Angelical word.
I felt my throat closing. “It’s okay, Lex. I’m too busy right now to go sightseeing anyway.”
Too busy or kept busy so she wouldn’t be a problem? I was being unfair. The shifters had never been anything but supportive. But how long was that going to be the case?
I didn’t realise Nanna was calling my name until Sophie walked by and gently shook my shoulder. She pointed to the mirror before making her way to her bed.
“Alessia,” Nanna said. “Don’t go dark on me, big girl. I know it’s what we’ve always done, but I think it’s time to stop running.”
Sophie sat up like a shot. She gave me an alarmed look.
“Okay, Nan. I’ll talk to you later.”
I shut off the connection. “Run where?” Sophie asked me.
“It’s nothing, Soph,” I said. “Don’t worry about it.”
She spent the rest of the night eyeing me
suspiciously while I pored over some of my textbooks. While I was supposed to be learning about ways to disarm a Fae glamour, all I kept thinking was exactly what Sophie had asked me. Run where? For the first time since I’d come here, I suddenly felt like I was rapidly losing options.
28
I knocked on Kai’s bedroom door at dawn on his birthday. Though I’d tried to be quiet, it was still enough noise to elicit a disapproving growl from his cellmate. “You better be dying, Alessia,” I heard Max say. Eep! He never called me by my full name.
“Why am I awake at this unspeakable hour?” Kai grated when he opened the door. My throat locked at the sight of him freshly rolled out of bed. He leaned against the doorjamb, rubbing at his eye with the ball of his hand. The motion caused his top to ride up, reveal just the barest hint of his stomach muscles. It was an intoxicating mix of sexy and grumpy at the same time. If there was danger, he would be alert in a second. I felt slightly guilty for ruining his sleep-in. I grinned at him in an effort to pretend it wasn’t going to be a day of pushing shit uphill.
“I’m stealing you before anyone else can,” I said.
He blinked at me. “I have a Council meeting at noon. And a shift at the Reserve.”
I shrugged. “Who cares?”
He looked at me like I was speaking another language. “I have duties. I can’t just –”
“Yes, you can. Let’s put up a sign. Gone fishing. Taking a personal day. Or just plain bugger off.”
“Blue.”
“Malachi. It’s your birthday. They don’t own you. Today of all days, you should get a break from being Captain Nephilim.”
His eye twitched. I winced. Bloody Andrei. Ever since he’d come up with that title my mind had latched on to it because it was kind of perfect. Those exact tendencies that made Kai the perfect Nephilim soldier were playing over his darkened features. I had to pull out the big guns.
“Alright,” I said. “I guess you’re going to have to ask yourself who you want to piss off more. Me or the Council.”
