She hesitated. “I don’t trust Randall.”
“Neither do I.” But unfortunately, I had no choice here. I didn’t tell her about my deal with Randall, because she might think she would have to do one with him too. Which was a possibility, of course. “But if his intentions are true, this is a good opportunity for us.”
She frowned, considering. “If I join this group, my main goal will be to take my father down and gain my freedom.”
I nodded once. “I understand.”
Vaira let out a long breath. “All right. I’ll join your fucking half-demon unit. But be warned, Rey. I better not regret this.”
“You won’t,” I told her, though I couldn’t guarantee anything.
Satisfied with my work, Vaira and I shook hands, and I gave her one of the amulets Randall had asked the half-demons to wear. After, I went back to the academy satisfied by making progress with my mission.
My mind was blissfully blank as I drove past the academy front gates and parked my car in its usual spot in the underground garage. But as I started walking toward the Snapdragon building, I thought of crossing by the Gardenia building, where Erin probably was at this time.
I halted before I left the garage and took a deep breath, forcing my fucking mind to focus on anything else.
The squeal of tires echoed through the garage, and I turned as a car zoomed toward me.
What the fuck?
The car didn’t stop. I jumped to the side to avoid being hit.
Then, the car stopped and Zachary hopped out. “You,” he snarled.
“What the fuck?” I asked, feeling my blood warming with rage. “Were you trying to run me over?”
Zachary didn’t answer. He just came at me and landed a punch on my chin.
My head barely moved with the impact, but pain spread through my jaw, my cheeks, and my neck.
The motherfucker.
He pulled his arm back to punch me again. I summoned a wall of darkfire that enveloped him, constricting his movements.
“Let me go!” he yelled.
Why didn’t he use his powers to counter my darkfire wall and get free? He had thrown darkfire at Erin when we went to visit him the first time, which meant, he knew about his powers. But perhaps he didn’t know how to use them? I thought of Erin and how she too didn’t know how to summon and control darkfire at first.
Fuck. This entire half-demon army would be untrained, and guess who Randall would put in charge of their training?
“I don’t like being hit without a reason.” I touched my chin, checking that nothing was broken. “Actually, I don’t like being hit, period.”
“It’s all because of you!” he yelled, struggling against the darkfire. “You and Erin! I’ll make you two pay!”
I frowned. Until now, I was irritated. The moment he mentioned Erin, I became murderous. “What the fuck happened?”
“What do you think? Susan found out I’m a half-demon. She said she was disgusted and scared of me, and she left me.” His shoulders dropped, as if he was tired of fighting. “She kicked me out.”
“How?”
“I was doing some work the headmaster ordered me to do,” he said, as if that made sense. “And she saw me.”
“Wait? What work?” I asked, confused. Randall had assigned him a task? When? Why? And why didn’t I know about that?
Zachary let out a scream. In his rage, he finally broke through the darkfire wall and summoned a bolt in his hand. He threw it at me.
I raised my hand and caught his bolt, as if it had been a tennis ball he had thrown my way. “I don’t want to fight with you, Zachary.” I closed my hand and the bolt disappeared. “Just tell me what Randall ordered you to do?”
He jutted his finger in my face. “I’ll make you pay. You and Erin. You’ll both pay for what you did to me.”
Blind with rage, Zachary slipped inside his car and drove away.
I shook my head, weary and wary. I was so fucking tired of fighting, arguing, scheming, lying, deceiving … I had been living like this for almost a thousand years, and sometimes I felt like it would never end, no matter what I did.
Letting out a long breath, I forced my feet to move, but not to my room in the Snapdragon building, but to the Aster building, where I would check the security on campus before heading to bed. Having a deranged half-demon loose on campus who was intent on getting revenge on Erin and me had put me on edge.
15
Erin
I was sweating cold when I woke up early in the morning from a nightmare—another one with Brianne and Cindy.
Why did I keep having these dreams? Was there a meaning to them? Maybe if I could save them in these dreams, they would leave me alone?
Sure I wouldn’t be able to fall back asleep, I got up, got dressed, and headed to the Hyacinth building over an hour earlier than usual. By the time my mother walked into the classroom, I was already dripping in sweat, but this time from training.
Martha didn’t say anything as we started the usual practice, but I noticed she wanted to.
During one of our water breaks, she stood before me. “I can see something is bothering you. What is it?”
I frowned. She was my mother. She was training me because she wanted me to be the best of the best, so I could defend myself and keep myself alive. She had sacrificed a lot for me.
And yet … I didn’t really know her, and I didn’t trust her. Well, in some way, I did, but not enough to confide in her, to tell her about my problems and my recurring nightmares.
“Nothing,” I said.
My mother’s brows curled down. “Why don’t you want to tell me?”
I shrugged. “There’s nothing to tell.”
“You’re lying.” Her frown deepened. “You don’t trust me.”
Shit, she sounded hurt. “I-it’s not—”
“You hesitated,” she said. “That means you really don’t trust me.”
“That’s not it,” I whispered, not sure what to say to her.
“You’ve been hiding things from me lately,” she pointed out. “You know I’m here to help you. All I do is to help you, to protect you. Even when it seems wrong or misguided, it’s all for you.”
“You barely know me,” I whispered.
“You’re my daughter. That’s all I need to know.”
Was there love in her words? In her actions? Or was it just because we shared the same blood? Maybe it wasn’t because she was scared for me, but scared of what I could do. After all, I was a demonic princess. If I wanted, I could probably raise my own legion of demons and become as evil as King Brikan.
“You’re doing this because you feel bad,” I said, inhaling the air deep in my lungs. “Because you feel guilty for bringing a child like me into the world.”
“Don’t be ridiculous!” she snapped, her eyes fuming. “I’m training you to protect you.”
“Protect me from whom?”
“Erin, do you hear yourself? Why did you change the subject? All I wanted was for you to trust me and tell me what’s wrong.”
Disappointed with the truth, I crossed my arms. “You’re practically a stranger. How can I trust a stranger?”
My mother’s eyes bugged, and for the first time since I met her, she genuinely seemed shocked. “Fine.” She picked up her towel. “If you don’t trust me enough to tell me what is going on, and if you think I’m training you because you’re a threat, then we’re done here.” She lifted her chin, proud. “I don’t see any point in continuing these training sessions.”
I stared at her, shocked. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“Don’t wake up early tomorrow.” She turned and started walking away.
“You said that before,” I said louder, remembering a few weeks ago when we stopped training, but she came after me and dragged me back to the gym a few days later.
“It won’t happen this time.”
She walked out the classroom and I stared at the doorway, confused. What the hell? Was s
he my mother or a fifteen-year-old? She seemed hurt by my accusation that she was training me to protect others from me, but what did she expect? My mind was wild, and when there were so many secrets around me, I could only take a guess. If I was wrong, she should have stayed and proved it to me.
Well, fine by me. If quitting our training sessions meant I could sleep for a couple more hours each morning, great.
That was if the nightmares left me alone.
With time to spare, I went back to the Gardenia building. I didn’t have time to go back to sleep, not that I could even if I wanted to, so I took a shower, put on my uniform, and checked my books and notebooks for the day.
The first class was demon history, which I really liked, but still felt overwhelming. There was so much I didn’t know and would probably never know. The demon hunters and demon history were as old as the world itself. There were too many wars and events; it would be impossible to know them all.
Curious about our next lesson, I flipped through the pages for the next chapter. It was about the legends that spurred several wars. I skimmed through the titles of the legends, until one of them caught my attention.
The Demon Kissed Queens.
I sat down on my desk and started reading the legend.
It told the story of three half-sisters, daughters of a powerful demon, whose destinies were marked in stone.
Wait.
Three half-sisters.
Daughters of a powerful demon.
This was about me, Brianne, and Cindy. It had to be.
I flipped the pages, trying to read more, but there was nothing else.
Shit, it couldn’t be.
With my book under my arm, I went to the library. It was mostly empty, as everyone was either just waking up or having breakfast before class.
I sat down in front of one of the computers by the entrance and typed “Demon Kissed Queens” in the search box. No books showed up.
Frowning, I tried “King Brikan legends” and a long list of books appeared on the screen. I read their titles and marked down the ones that seemed interesting. Then, I went around the library, grabbing many of them, and sat down at a corner table where I could research in peace.
First, I opened all the books to the index pages and tried finding the legend’s title. It took me a few books, but finally, I found a thin book with the legend.
But it wasn’t any more helpful than the demon history textbook.
All it said was that one day there would be three half-sisters, daughters of the Supreme Demon, who were destined to kill the king of the underworld, and change the supernatural world forever.
The next paragraph dismissed this legend, saying it was a rumor, considered to be more like an old wives’ tale, started by demons who supposedly were against Brikan. It was regarded as a fanciful story.
But it wasn’t. Deep in my gut, I knew it wasn’t.
Brianne, Cindy, and I were the daughters of the Supreme Demon.
Were we meant to kill him? What happened when there was only one daughter left? Was the legend just the rumor the book claimed it to be?
For months, I had thought the king wanted to take me to the underworld to have me with him, so we could rule together, like a twisted family, or something like that. But no … he probably wanted to kill me so I couldn’t kill him.
But how? He was the king of the underworld! There was no way I could kill him. Not even with my new, fancy Dawnblade.
I searched through the other books, but only found one other mention of this legend, and this entry had even less info.
I need to know more, damn it. What I needed was to find the real legend, or prophecy, and the exact wording. But where?
I glanced to the closed off section of the library. It was a simple door in the back that led to a room like this one, but with books that were forbidden to the students.
Rey had access to that room.
I could ask him …
No, I couldn’t. Didn’t I argue with him to let me go? Then I couldn’t hold on to him either. I had to figure out this stuff by myself.
“There you are,” Claire said as she walked to me. “I was looking everywhere for you.”
I frowned. “Shit, am I going to be late for class?”
She stopped in front of my table. “Erin, you already missed demon history.”
“What?” I glanced to my watch. It was already mid-morning. “Holy shit!”
She sat down beside me and turned her attention to the stack of books on my table. “What are you researching?”
I smiled, realizing that maybe I didn’t need to figure this out by myself. I had my best friend to help, and thankfully, she loved researching and studying.
I showed her the entry I had found about the Demon Kissed Queens, and how I thought it was about Brianne, Cindy, and me. “It makes sense, right?”
Slowly, she nodded. “It does.” She turned the book to herself and read the entry again. “Did you find anything else?”
I let out a long sigh. “Nope.”
Claire shot me a determined look. “Don’t worry. I’m here now and I won’t give up until I find something.”
My smile came back as my chest warmed. My best friend was really the best.
16
Rey
After searching for Zachary since last night and not finding him anywhere, I debated all morning what to do. I could simply keep an eye out and remain quiet about this.
Or I could tell Erin that Zachary had a crazy outburst and had promised to make us pay.
The best choice was to tell her, so she could prepare in case I wasn’t nearby to help, but that meant I had to find her. I had to go to her. I had to talk to her, to look at her, to be near her.
And that was all I was avoiding so fucking hard.
Knowing it was the right thing to do, I dragged my feet all over the academy, until I found her inside the library in the Iris building with Claire. They were seated at a small table stacked high with books.
I halted beside the table. “Hm, Erin, can I talk to you?”
She lifted her golden eyes from the book she was reading and immediately frowned. “What about?”
I pressed my lips tight.
“Hm …” Claire stood up. “I’m going to get more books.” She dashed between the shelves of books and I was grateful for it.
Erin returned her gaze to the book in her arms.
“Last night, Zachary threatened me,” I started. “Well, he threatened both of us.”
That got her attention and she looked at me again. “Why would he do that?”
“His wife found out he’s a half-demon,” I said, my voice lower so no one else would listen. “He blames us for that.”
“He should blame you. You’re the one who blackmailed him.”
Would she ever forget about that? “All right, I promise not to blackmail anyone anymore. Are you happy now?”
Her golden eyes burned into mine. “Not in the slightest.”
What did that fucking mean? That comment was loaded and I wasn't going to take the bait.
“Anyway, now you know.” I took a step back. “Be careful.”
I turned to leave but stopped when I saw Sandra, one of the school’s staff, coming our way, a small black envelope in her hand. Without saying a word, she handed me the envelope and left.
Frowning, I opened the envelope, pulled out the white paper, and read the note.
Come to my office. Bring Erin.
—R.
I lowered the envelope and paper and glanced at Erin. She was looking at me, a knot between her brows.
“What is it?” she asked. I handed the note to her. She read it. “Shit.”
“I had more colorful words in mind, but, yeah, that too.” I let out a heavy exhale. “Let’s go.”
Erin took her time getting up, putting her things away, and warning Claire that she had to go see Randall. I wasn’t so sure it was good for Claire to know so much about what we were doing, but I doubted Eri
n would stop telling her if I said something. In fact, I was sure it would have the opposite effect.
We walked side by side, but in silence. In my mind, I tried initiating conversations, but I always gave up. It would only make things worse.
Outside of Randall’s office, we heard shouting. Erin and I exchanged a wary look. She probably wondered the same thing I did: Should we step back so we didn’t hear it, or should we walk in before the shouting became something worse?
But three seconds later, the door burst open and Professor Crimson stomped out of the office. He sneered at Erin and me, before going on his way.
I knocked on the door once, and peeked inside. “Everything okay?”
Watching out the window overlooking the Blackthorn tree, Randall waved us in. “Just the same nonsense.” Erin and I entered the room and closed the door. Sighing, Randall turned to us. “He thinks that yelling at me and being rude will suddenly make him the headmaster.” Randall shook his head.
I frowned. Though I doubted Erin knew, it was no secret that Professor Crimson didn’t like Randall and coveted the headmaster’s seat. I never understood why since Randall was fucking immortal. The only way to have his seat was to kill him.
“Did you call?” Erin asked, her tone still stiff.
“Yes, indeed.” He sat down, then gestured to the two chairs in front of his desk. Erin and I took the seats. “I have a new assignment for you. A group of half-demons, living in a small settlement, was located a few hours from here. I want you to go there and convince them to join the Black Knight Unit.”
I understood if he asked that of me, but Erin? She wasn’t trained as I was. She wasn’t as strong as I was. She wasn’t as vicious as I was. “Isn’t that dangerous?” I asked, hoping he got my meaning.
His eyes flicked to Erin. Yup, he knew what I meant. “Yes. I actually heard the settlement doesn’t take kindly to outsiders, so it should be risky and dangerous, but I believe you two might be an exception.”
“How?” I asked, not following.
Randall shrugged. “Because I believe in your abilities.”
The Hunter Secret (Rite World: Blackthorn Hunters Academy Book 2) Page 11
