Sentinels of Oz: A Reverse Harem Academy Romance (Emerald City Academy Book 1)

by JB Trepagnier

  “So, what do we do? Why did you ask me to your bedroom instead of your office? I won’t have sex with you just yet.”

  “Ah, Francesca, I have no desire to have sex with you just yet. Things are still too new. I wanted to show you something, but you’ll have to totally trust me to do it. Remember your safe words. If you don’t want to do it, just tell me.”

  “What did you have planned, Daxar?”

  “I won’t ask you to take off your clothes just yet. I want to tie your hands behind your back and blindfold you. You won’t see me. You won’t know what I’m doing. I may caress you. I may spank you. You won’t know until it happens. Does that excite you, Francesca?”

  Did it? Daxar could do whatever he wanted to me, and I couldn’t fight him. There was something about Daxar that said he wouldn’t hurt me. I was trusting him, but he was also trusting me. I could have been a judgey little shit like the Munchkins and told the entire school what he wanted to do to me when he first brought it up.

  “I trust you. You’ll stop if I use the safe words, right?”

  “Of course. Let me show you something.”

  Daxar pulled out these leather restraints and showed them to me. “These will circle your wrists, but do you see this chain here? You can slip it off at any time. If you use your safe word, I can get them off you in seconds.”

  “Do you not want to see me naked?”

  Daxar kissed the tip of my nose. “More than anything. But you aren’t ready for that yet. I believe Idris and your friend Oprix need to do that first. Now, kneel on the bed.”

  Daxar’s bed was just as soft and plush as mine was. He gently wrapped the restraints around my wrists and locked the chain. They were loose. I could still move my wrists comfortably. I nearly hesitated when he went to tie the blindfold over my eyes. He noticed.

  “Do you want to stop, Francesca?”

  My heart was beating in my ears. It was both excitement and nervousness. I could do this. I could let Daxar blindfold me. I trusted him, even though I hadn’t known him long. I nodded, and he tied the blindfold around my eyes. I was enveloped in darkness. I heard a flint and realized he was lighting candles. The same scent of strawberries from the torte Emari and Emarus made filled the air.

  Daxar pressed himself against my back. His breath tickled my ear. “Do you know how beautiful you are like this? Mine,” he growled.

  That’s what I was. I was all Daxar’s right at that minute. I sighed as his fingers trailed down my arm. His lips found my neck, and I dropped my head back on his shoulder. He nipped and kissed my neck before sinking his teeth in hard. I groaned and ground myself against him. I could feel his erection against my back.

  When he felt me moving against him, he moved away, and I was stuck just kneeling on the bed, not knowing what was going to happen. I was right at the edge of the bed, but I knew I wasn’t going to fall off. I felt something smooth, brushing against my neck. A group of feathers? I shuddered as it tickled my skin.

  The next contact with my back shocked me. It was heavy and thudded. It stung a little, but it wasn’t unpleasant. It sent heat right between my legs as he crisscrossed it down my back and thighs. Just as soon as it started, it was over.

  Was I allowed to talk? “What was that? I liked it.”

  “That was the flogger. Everyone likes the flogger.”

  I felt his fingers massaging my shoulders and neck. I groaned. Daxar had masterful fingers. I don’t know how long he kept me tied up and blindfolded. Time had no meaning. There seemed to be moments where his hands were all over me. There were moments where I was kneeling on his bed on edge with no idea what he was doing, and it seemed like ages had passed before he touched me again.

  By the time he untied me, my body was on fire, and I half wanted to go back to my bedroom and beg Idris and Oprix to fuck me. The only reason I wasn’t was because I couldn’t begin to pick which one of them would go first.

  Daxar helped me off the bed. “How do you feel?”

  “Like I’m flying. Just like last time.”

  “Good. Go to the garden and focus on emptying your mind of everything but you and your sword. Work on your training for an hour, then go to bed.”

  Daxar gave me a passionate kiss that made my knees wobbly, then swatted my ass on the way out the door. I wondered if Galen was going to be in the gardens when I got there.

  Chapter 29

  Frankie

  G

  alen didn’t show his face right away. I could sense he was there, but I worked on my training first. I wasn’t about to let my training slip for a man. I continued my motions with the sword, and it was just like my previous night with Daxar. I felt centered, grounded. I felt like I was dancing with my blade. I raised my sword to the moon and let the moonlight hit it before I put it back in its sheath.

  Galen peeped out from behind another bush. “It’s quite lovely to watch you train. Did my information prove good?”

  “Yes. The Fisher King was the great evil I was taught about that started the Sentinels. I would have learned about him when I was eighteen, but my mother was murdered. You need to look out. Glinda is looking for you.”

  “Yes, I know. She has your Flying Monkey friend out searching for me.”

  “Then why are you fucking stupid enough to be hanging around this school where they can both catch you?”

  Galen just winked at me. “I told you, I’m here to help you. Glinda is not your enemy. She’s not my enemy either. I’m just not ready to talk to her yet.”

  “Then who is my enemy, Galen. You say you want to help me fight, who is my enemy?”

  “The Fisher King is trying to rise again, but he has help. Like you know, the spell of forgetting requires more than one person skilled in magic. Glinda didn’t cast it. You’ve made friends in the South. It’s the North that is your enemy.”

  “Tattypoo?” I scoffed. “Locasta isn’t that strong in magic, and she’s like everyone’s grandmother.”

  “Haven’t you asked yourself why she never removed the curse that made her appear like an old lady, or had the other Sentinels remove it? It’s kind of like a glamour spell. It makes her look and feel old. Why do you think she puts up with it instead of trying to remove it?”

  “How would you remove her curse if it’s forbidden magic? Saffron said all magic can be undone if you can figure out the counterspell.”

  “Locasta’s curse isn’t forbidden magic. It’s an altered glamour spell. You just need to unglamour her.”

  Tattypoo? This whole time, it was Tattypoo? It did make sense. She was the one who was in the East when Dorothy arrived and told her to take the silver shoes. She told Dorothy to go to the Wizard, knowing he’d tell her to kill my mother. This whole time, I’d been looking at Glinda, but Glinda was trying to clean up Locasta’s mess.

  “How do we stop her?”

  Galen shrugged. “Don’t underestimate her because she looks like a sweet old lady. She has ties to the Fisher King. It was her aunt that stayed behind to guard his prison.”

  I narrowed my eyes at Galen. Everything about him screamed I could trust him and he wasn’t lying to me. Something wasn’t right.

  “How do you know all this, Galen? As far as I know, this is all Sentinel's knowledge. You shouldn’t know this. Who are your parents and why do you have green hair?”

  “Please don’t ask me about my parents. I hate them. I ran away from home as soon as I was able to. My father was abusive, and my mother just let him. I’ll eventually be ready to tell you about my parents, but I’m not there yet.”

  “If Glinda is not the enemy and Locasta has been the entire time, then why aren’t you a student here, and why are you avoiding her?”

  Galen ran his fingers through his long green hair and gave me a sheepish grin. “She knows about my hair. Glinda would have the same questions you do about my parents. Right now, my parents don’t know where I am, and I’d like to keep it that way.”

  “How do you intend to hide from Idris? He always find
s what he’s looking for.”

  “I’m the master at not being found until I want to be. Your Idris will find me when I decide I want to talk to Glinda.”

  So, Galen had a bit of an ego. I thought he was underestimating Idris and the Flying Monkeys. I might have felt the need to protect Galen, but he was insulting my boyfriend, and I didn’t like it.

  “Idris is good. I grew up with Idris and the Flying Monkeys. You’d be stupid to think he’s not going to catch your trail. If you put so much as a scratch on Idris, I’ll kill you.”

  My protection only went so far. I’d help him hide from Glinda until he was ready to talk to her since he had his reasons, but I wasn’t about to let him hurt Idris. Idris could handle himself in a fight, but there were curses I was sure Galen knew that he could fling at Idris that I might not be able to undo.

  Galen twirled his staff. “I’d never dream of hurting him. My chosen weapon is the staff, but mine is also enchanted so I can fly on it. I know I’m no match in the air for a Flying Money, and I watched the two of you spar with the staff. If Idris finds me, I’ll go with him without a fight. That’s if he finds me.”

  “You’re an arrogant shit. You know that?”

  Galen just shrugged. “From what I’ve seen, you’re good with the sword, and you’re picking up centering your emotions pretty quickly. You got a Flying Monkey on his back with the staff. I watched you and your cousin save that Munchkin and put the Gale girl in her place. I’m sure you know what you’re good at too. I told you my father was abusive. I’m good at hiding. I’m not ashamed to admit it.”

  “You can admit it without insulting Idris.”

  “Idris is good at finding things, and I’m good at hiding. Eventually, he will find me—either because I let him or because he’s better at finding things than I am at hiding. No matter what happens, Idris wins, and I’d never admit I let him catch me if it happens that way.”

  I didn’t want to talk about this anymore. I wanted more information about Locasta, but apparently, Galen was done talking.

  “You should go to bed, Frankie. You’re still working on your training, and you need to be alert. What I’ve managed to gather is that Glinda thinks she had a lead on the missing heir. I’d bet money the heir is in the North close to Locasta. You may be asked to help. The Oz army is pretty worthless. I’ve watched them. They like polishing their Captain’s badges, but they don’t actually know how to fight.”

  “You’re the only person who knows what is going on who either can tell me or will actually talk to me. The staff has a geas, and Glinda doesn’t want anyone to know. If you want me to trust you and keep Idris off your trail, I hope you’ll tell me everything you know. I want more information about Locasta going bad.”

  “In time. Go to bed, Frankie. I’ll be watching.”

  Galen pulled his cloak over his head and hopped on his staff. He pulled a vial of invisibility potion from his pocket and sprinkled it over his head. I watched him disappear, and then I guess he flew off because I couldn’t sense him anymore.

  I already knew this missing heir had been found in the North, but according to Idris, it had been Mombi who had them and not Locasta. Everyone knew Mombi and Locasta were mortal enemies. If there was anyone who fit the definition of Wicked Witch in Oz, it wasn’t my mother and Adora. It was old Mombi.

  I made my way back to my rooms, so confused. Old Tattypoo had been the bad guy this entire time? Maybe I needed to try to talk to Glinda and see if she would actually tell me anything about her plans. She’d been trying to talk to me for five years. She hadn’t even tried since I got to her school.

  Glinda was finally getting that conversation, but we were having it on my terms.

  Chapter 30

  Frankie

  O

  prix and Idris were waiting when I got back to bed. Saffron was gone. I didn’t sense her in our room at all. I placed my hands on my hips and demanded to know where the fuck my cousin was this late. Oprix and Idris just grinned at me. Idris lounged back on the sofa with no shirt on.

  “She’s on a date with Emarus. He wanted to take her out. We’ve been debating going to fetch her, but she’d probably hex us,” Idris said.

  “Does no one tell me anything? Saffron has a date, and I don’t know about it?”

  Oprix just shrugged. “When we got back up here, he had flowers sent up with a note asking her out. I don’t think she knew until she got the flowers. We had to watch her parade around in endless dresses until she decided on the right one.”

  “I should have been here for that,” I moaned, flopping on the sofa.

  My cousin was on her first date, and I wasn’t there for it. Had I had my first date? Oprix and Idris took me out all the time, but they weren’t technically my boyfriends yet. Did that even count? Was I twenty-one and never been on a date? Idris whirled around so that his head was in my lap. He wore his black hair in long braids like I did. I started playing with his braids.

  “Did you want to wait for her or have some fun?”

  “What kind of fun? It’s kind of late.”

  Oprix pressed himself into my arm. My body was already on fire from Daxar, but with these two all over me, it felt like I was melting. Oprix got right into my ear. His lips brushed my earlobe.

  “The kissing kind.”

  “But Saffron—”

  Thankfully, I didn’t have to finish that sentence. I didn’t want to. I wanted to yank both of them back to my bedroom and see what kind of kissing games they wanted to play. Saffron walked in right then. She shut the door, leaned against it, and sighed.

  Saffron loved colorful clothes. I normally wore all black, but Saffron liked colorful stockings and bright dresses. She had gone all out tonight. She was wearing a blue dress that matched her hair exactly and blue and green striped stockings. The only thing that would have totally completed her outfit was her mother’s silver shoes.

  “Did you have fun, Saffron?”

  “He’s so amazing. He wants to come to the East with me after school if we fix all this. I think I’m going to take a bath. Why don’t you talk to Oprix and Idris? You’ve been gone a lot lately.”

  I knew she didn’t mean that as a dig. I had been gone a lot lately, but she didn’t mean I hadn’t been there for her. She meant I needed to get things moving with Oprix and Idris. She was with Emarus. I was going to have to pick her brain later about her date. Saffron floated off to her bedroom, and I grabbed Idris and Oprix’s hands and dragged them off to my bedroom.

  Idris just lounged on my bed with hooded eyes. He was so sexy with his coffee-colored skin and long braids. Oprix was standing by the side of the bed smiling at me.

  “We don’t have to have sex. We just want to touch you,” Oprix said.

  “Why don’t you get that sexy green ass of yours over here, Francesca?” Idris growled.

  I stayed where I was. Was this the right time to have the sex talk? How did we do that? There were two of them and one of me. One of them would have to go first. How did I even pick without hurting one of them?

  Idris was on his feet in a flash. He scooped me up and darted back over to the bed with me. Oprix dove in and started nuzzling my neck.

  “Don’t worry about sex just yet, Frankie. We haven’t had it either and don’t want to rush into it.”

  “How do we—”

  “No sex talk, Francesca,” Idris warned, claiming my mouth.

  Oh, this was nice. Idris was passionately kissing me while Oprix was behind me, kissing my neck. I moaned and pulled Idris’ braids. Oprix’s hand came around me to cup my breast. I gasped when he gave my nipple a hard squeeze.

  We didn’t have sex. I never took my clothes off that night, but they kissed every inch of my skin that was bare. Oprix kissed and caressed, and Idris nibbled and bit. We touched, caressed, and I became insanely curious about what was hiding underneath Oprix’s trousers. I’d already seen Idris naked plenty of times and knew he was a beautiful specimen of man when he wasn’t in his monkey form.r />
  I wanted to get totally naked with both of them. I wanted to have hot sex with both of them. I wanted to touch every inch of them with all of us naked. I wanted to experiment with my mouth on them. I wanted to do everything.

  So, how did I pick who went first?

  Chapter 31

  Frankie

  S

  affron agreed with me. After breakfast, we were going to talk to Glinda. I shared everything Galen told me without telling them how I knew it. My friends were suspicious of me. I knew they wanted to demand I tell them how I knew all of this, but they never would. They would wait for me to tell them because that was just how Idris and Oprix were. Saffron would have called me out. She always did, but Emarus had her distracted.

  We decided to eat in the dining hall instead of our rooms. We had a lot more friends now. The Quadlings had been so nice to us since the incident on the roof. It wasn’t just the twins anymore. It was all of the Quadling students. Even the ones that didn’t stay to hear us out were friendly now that Glinda confirmed our story.

  Something wasn’t right when we got to the dining hall. Emotions were all over the place. I noticed Dorothy wasn’t sitting with the Munchkins anymore. She was sitting by herself with her little dog, and she was sobbing into her porridge. The Munchkins all took seats around her and were taunting her. Some of them were throwing food at her. How quickly they forgot their queen.

  I didn’t like Dorothy. She killed my mother and my aunt, and she tried to make my life and my cousin’s life miserable here. That stunt on the roof was flat out ignorant. I might not like her, but I wasn’t going to stand for this. If anyone was going to make Dorothy Gale cry like that, it was going to be me.

  I saw a Munchkin rear back to throw an apple at her head. I summoned my sword and was between them in a second. I sliced the apple in half before it could make contact with the back of her head. I glared at the Munchkin who threw it until he looked away. It was the same fucking Munchkin Saffron and I fetched from over the roof. I needed to learn his name because I had a feeling he was going to be trouble.