Chased by Darkness: A Reverse Harem Academy Romance: (Four Kings Academy Book 1)

by Taylor Spratt

  Oh no!

  They swarmed me like wasps, laughing, taking me in with fiendish delight as I squirmed on the floor. None looked more pleased than Bane. I was caught and there was no escape.

  Before I could get up, the lackeys rushed to hold down my arms and legs and Bane knelt right at my side, pointing a long threatening wand dead center between my eyes.

  “What do you say now, Void User? Ready to give in?” Bane sang, twirling his wand.

  “Eat shit, asshole,” I snapped, and the smile drained from his face.

  With an aggressive flick of his wand the air froze in my chest and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t inhale.

  I gasped for breath, my head whipping desperately from side to side, my lungs burning for air.

  It was a suffocation spell; he really was going to kill me!

  The color drained from my cheeks, and I looked over at him, wanting desperately to dig my nails into his face and rip his skin off.

  But then I saw it.

  Was that hesitation in Bane’s eyes? It was as if something was warring, almost wrestling within him. As if some part of him hated what he was doing to me, yet still he persisted, the rage in him stronger than any apprehension he may have.

  Just as I was seconds from blacking out, air rushed into my lungs, filling them to maximum capacity and I coughed till my chest burned.

  “You sick bastard!” I snarled, jerking my head up as far as I could. My words seemed to bounce right off him.

  Every one of his lackeys was laughing, delighted at the sight of their king in action, but Bane himself looked emotionless now, like a robot, fulfilling his programed task.

  With a flat monotone voice, he calmly said, “Have you changed your mind yet?”

  “No.” I replied, the tears welling up in my eyes. He gave a deep exhale, his expression hardening, and his wand whipped back to my face.

  His lifeless eyes fixed on mine and with one ruthless flick there was a pop! And right at the tip of the wand a small black portal opened in midair, directly over my head.

  What the hell is that?

  Bane looked away and all his lackeys started cheering wildly, their hands bucking over mine from sheer excitement. They knew what was coming, and it thrilled them. Not Bane, though.

  He seemed to pity me for what was coming.

  I heard crunching sounds, as if chips were crushing together in a bowl coming from the hole and I swallowed, my heart pounding in my chest.

  Something was moving in there; whatever it was, it was worse than suffocation, much worse.

  “Oh my God, Bane! Stop this!” I bellowed, stretching my face as far away as I could from whatever the hell was in that hole.

  “Stop it, Bane! Please let me-” and before I could finish my sentence a giant black, skin-crawlingly hairy spider plopped right onto my chest. It was the size of a baseball with one hundred beady little eyes, shiny and deep as infinity.

  I screamed, struggling for release, and still Bane wouldn’t look at me. The lackeys held me tighter to the ground, giggling with glee.

  It started scurrying toward my face, inching closer to my chin, and just when I thought it couldn’t possibly get any worse... Splat! A heavy heap of spiders came pouring out of the hole like a broken damn.

  I screamed, thrashing as they covered my head and face like an itchy blanket from hell. I whipped my head from side to side trying to force them off to no avail as a thousand scratchy legs stifled my screams. They tickled, squirmed and danced, taking over my face, chest and arms.

  It was all so disgusting. So sick. I just wanted to leave my own body and be anywhere, anywhere in the world but here. My thrashing was useless, all fighting was useless. I was completely powerless to stop the terrible squirming.

  Stop this, please!

  My tense muscles relaxed, my mind going foggy with grief. I was inches from a blackout and just as I was about to give in and allow them to take me whole; they were all gone with a poof of smoke. All that remained now was me, Bane, and his smiling lackeys.

  My face was soaked in tears, my uniform a filthy mess and my hair looked like I’d been ravaged by wolves.

  Bane’s eyes were back on mine, his face ragged and worn. He gestured for his men to leave and they released my arms and legs, prancing back down the hall.

  For a few precious seconds, Bane and I just looked at one another, my tear-soaked eyes on his icy cold ones, and for a long moment neither of us said a single word.

  He straightened his back and stood, gazing down at me still flat on the floor.

  “You’ve got three days to change your mind. If you don’t, then next time I won’t use something as harmless as spiders,” he said, before turning away and disappearing down the hall.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Aria

  It took me four hours, four grueling hours to wash the unholy reek and spider hair from my uniform. I only had two and they other was already dirty. If I’d had more, trust me, I would have burned this one. But nope, there would be no burning of any uniforms in my future. At least the soap worked though. Just like the label said, my uniform smelled, ‘spring fresh.’

  I sat on my bed for the rest of the night thinking about Bane, what he’d done to me and what he was about to do if I didn’t decide to be his queen. I should be livid right now, just about ready to rip someone’s head off, but I was just so tired, exhausted by the drama, the hate and the fighting.

  I felt hollow inside, almost unable to feel anymore. Unable to worry, or to even think all that much.

  I glanced out the window from where I sat on the edge of my bed.

  The sun’s rising already, huh? All these hours had gone by and I still hadn’t gone to Cas to warn her about Rebecca. News gets around like crazy at this school. No doubt Rebecca had already heard what happened to me. She must be jumping for joy. Happy as a fucking lark that I’d been attacked. No doubt happy enough to savor this victory for a while before outing Cas. Well, I sighed, at least one good thing might come from this.

  I went to the bathroom and patted water over my face. Glancing in the mirror, my bloodshot eyes screamed back at me.

  Okay, Aria. It’s time to do something for yourself. Time to forget all of this for a while. Classes don’t start for two hours. I’m going to go and get some food before the breakfast rush. If anything it’ll bring me back to the world of the living, it is good food.

  Going through the motions, I put on my uniform and grab my bag before heading out of my room.

  I approached the cafeteria nearest to the Control of Dangerous Magics class. I’d never been to this cafeteria before. I’d always gone to the one closer to my dorm because it was small and quiet. This one was a lot bigger, but it was quiet and empty. Thank God.

  Large windows lined the walls, leading to a cheerfully green garden outside. The floors were a shining ivory marble with square black tables lining the floors in pretty little groupings shaped like stars.

  The air was light and sweet and... Yes! Just look at all the food! My mouth watered and my eyes bulged at the sumptuous sight. There were stacks of sunny side up eggs piled a mile high, a truckload of the crispiest bacon in existence and, wait, what was that? The next thing along the line looked like deep-fried crickets. Yuck. Maybe when I was feeling more adventurous.

  The thing after it looked good though, it was a thick and bright purple porridge with green leaves mixed into it, and to the end of the buffet were pretty pieces of bread in every color ranging from orange to green to blue.

  I grabbed some eggs, a few slices of pink toast, and filled a bowl with the porridge, crammed it all onto a tray and went to sit at an empty table.

  The porridge was smooth, subtly sweet, with a toe-curling fragrant nutty aftertaste. It was incredible, and I hungrily downed the entire bowl without caring if anyone was watching.

  Next, I devoured the eggs and buttery bread with fervor, savoring each delicious bite. With every swallow my cells recharged, and I felt the life race back into
my body like a train.

  There was only one piece of toast left, all alone on the plate. It had not a single friend and yet looked so happy. Even about to be eaten whole, it was still cheerfully pink.

  I picked it up scanning it from top to bottom, admiring every perfect edge then I put it back down in the plate.

  Man. I really was an idiot, wasn’t I. I’d spent so much time huddled in my room feeling sorry for myself, cowering in fear of the enforcers, everyone at the school, the four kings, and my own fucking anxieties that I’d forgotten who I was.

  I wasn’t one to let people walk all over me. I didn’t let people dictate how I was supposed to live my life, how I was supposed to be.

  I straightened my spine. Not only will I never give in to their demands, but the next king to try and threaten me, tell me what the hell I needed to do to be safe, to survive, was going to get a hopping mad Void User foot right up the ass, and that was a promise!

  I left the cafeteria and made in the direction of Control of Dangerous Magics class. It wouldn’t start for another half an hour, but I had a plan. I would go in early, crawl into the back row, and go incognito for the entire lesson.

  Then when Bane sat, wherever he sat, I would sneak over to him in the dark, while everyone was distracted by the lesson. I’d creep up to his leg from under the table, grab his ankle, and cover it in painful blisteringly black cursed boils.

  That’ll show the asshole! He’ll be in agony after that, I thought, a devilish smile popping up on my face. Yes, and if he screamed, everyone would laugh at him. Perfect! Then he’d know that Aria Kolgrim’s no pushover, and then he’d leave me the hell alone!

  “King Asshole is mine!” My voice echoed through the empty passage.

  “King what?” A deep voice said from behind me.

  I spun around to see a pair of silver eyes piercing into me like a knife. His black hair mirroring his dark expression. His lips reminding me of an unforgettable kiss. Alexander.

  Wait, was I blushing? My brows furrowed at the sight of him. Last time we met he threatened me with violence if I didn’t agree to be his Queen.

  “What did you say, Aria?” he asked, stalking closer to me till he stopped, towering over me, his chest inches from mine.

  “It was nothing,” I said looking at him sideways. “Shouldn’t you be busy, causing wars and bringing destruction to the world?” I mocked, flashing my hands in the air and he scowled, the veins on his head popping.

  Ignoring my comment, he said, “Have you reconsidered my offer?”

  “No, and I’m not going to,” I insisted.

  That’s right, Aria! You tell him! Now kick his ass! I gave him the once over. Man, he really is big, massive even. Yikes! Maybe now isn’t the right time to strike.

  “You are playing a dangerous game, Aria,” he warned.

  “By doing what? Refusing to be your slave?” I said, and his eyes flew wide and his head jerked back in shock.

  “Being my Queen is a far cry from being a slave!” he boomed. “You’d live in the lap of luxury! Your every need met a thousand times over!”

  Clearly, I’d offended him.

  I planted my feet to stare him down. “A queen is an equal and you don’t see me that way,” I said pointing at him, my finger jabbing his chest hard. “An equal is allowed to choose. Allowed rights!”

  He considered me for a moment. “This is my kingdom. In here, my word is law. Now, accept my offer,” he insisted, placing an arm around my waist, yanking me into him anything but gently.

  My face slammed into the broad expanse of his chest and the smell of warm spices and sugar filled my body. I trembled, almost too afraid to look up. Just one look into those eyes of his and I knew I’d be trapped all over again.

  The air was warm and wet, rushing over my skin and coaxing my head to rise and meet his gaze.

  Oh man. All frown lines had vanished from his face. Now all that remained was a perfect canvas of manly beauty. His eyes calmly looking down to mine.

  Handsome, strong, feral, oh man…

  My hands lightly trailed over to his muscular shoulders, irresistibly drawn by some unknown force. The side of his mouth curved up into a smile, happy at my response.

  The lockers almost seemed to rattle with unease, only to calm into an absolute tranquility.

  “Let me take care of you,” he whispered, and leaned in to press his lips against mine once, twice, three times and without breaking his hold around me, his tongue plunged into my mouth. It was warm, and I devoured his tongue as he did mine.

  His body locked against my smaller one, fitting perfectly like a puzzle. Like we were made to be like this. Our kiss intensified to a series of sucks and ferocious flicks of the tongue as we clung tighter to one another.

  Right now there were no enemies, no threats, no anger. Nothing but a man and a woman, lost in each other, tangled, irrevocably melded into one another.

  One of his hands fell from my waist and pressed into my belly. It slowly traced its way down, down, down my body to the valley between my legs, sending flames dancing over every inch it touched. And with every hard suck of his lips over mine, I became more and more aroused.

  I drew back an inch from him as uncertainty lurked. He heaved me back into him with a vengeance, his cock now poking at my belly. It was impatient and hungry, just like its owner.

  My lips were raw from the carnage of his kiss but he refused to stop, unable to ignore my tongue’s desperate cry for more.

  His hand now warmed my inner thigh. It trailed higher brushing up my skirt and inching closer to my panties.

  My pussy cried, ached and complained, refusing to stop till she finally met the cause of her madness.

  The cold air stormed over my skin, prompting my nipples to rise. They both wanted him, my nipples and pussy. The competition for his touch raged within me. I was a host, torn in two by the throbbing war of north and south.

  “Alexander,” I moaned, breaking our kiss. I could feel his smile, smell the joy in his breath at the word.

  “I need you,” he whispered and he brushed his two fingers over the crotch of my panties and pressed one hard finger harshly over my clit.

  I cried out, my voice echoing off the walls. Pleasure erupted from my clit under the pressure of his teasing finger, pushing me closer to the edge of insanity.

  He did it again, pressing my swollen clit with one cruel finger, teasing it, testing it, and my lips trembled, matching the floor than now seemed to quake beneath us both.

  Oh my god!

  I couldn’t form words or much thought. The only thing that existed in my mind was the single fantasy of him throwing me to the ground, ripping my panties off, letting his cock spring free and giving my pussy what it has been so desperately begging for.

  His finger hovered above my aching clit, teasingly close to it but not touching it.

  A tear streamed down my cheek as I read his eyes. A million emotions were locked inside; right now, the strongest was lust. Like a beast it consumed him every bit as much as it did me.

  “Touch me again,” I whispered, but this time he didn’t smile.

  “I’ll touch you and far more than that, once you’ve given yourself to me completely,” he said, the coldness returning to his gaze.

  If he thought it would be that easy to change my mind, he was dead wrong.

  I swallowed; my pussy’s cries turning to a deep burn. She knew she would have to go wanting, and she was pissed as hell.

  My hands fell from around his neck and he frowned, still refusing to let go of my waist. The lust drained from my eyes and with all my strength I forced out one word. “No.”

  With that single word, the floors stopped quaking, and the room went eerily silent.

  He whipped his hands away from me and looked at me with a savage contempt.

  “You’ve forced my hand. Now you’ve got no one left to blame but yourself for what ensues now, Aria!” he growled, his body shaking with frustration.

  “Do your w
orst then, Asshole!” I screamed at the top of my lungs, giving him the finger. Then I turned and ran down the hallway.

  “You cannot run from me, Aria! You will be my Queen one way or other. Just you wait!”

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  Aria

  Well, so much for operation ‘foot up the ass’. I sighed, kicking my feet toward the door of Control of Dangerous Magics class. I paused at the entranced, my hand frozen inches from the knob. Class still wouldn’t start for another half an hour or so.

  What if whatever Alexander was planning was lurking on the other side waiting to pounce on me when I opened it?

  No, I thought, it’d take more than five minutes to plan an attack, wouldn’t it? What would he do to me? I wondered.

  Would he douse me with spiders like Bane? A frosty chill shimmied down my spine just thinking about it.

  What if it was worse? And when would it come? Today, tomorrow, next week? The uncertainty was the worst part of this. It’s was what really fed my anxiety monsters.

  I glanced back at the door; just minutes ago I planned to teach that jerk Bane a lesson. Could I still go through with it? I was sure none of the students were in there yet. I could still get into position if I wanted.

  I creaked the door open and stepped inside. It was quiet as a church mouse in here. My eyes scanned the room and didn’t see a soul. Except for one. It was Mr. Whitlock sitting at his desk in the middle of the room.

  “Miss Kolgrim!” He said heartily, waving for me to come over to him and he stood to face me. I approached him and his smile sank away into one of grave concern. He looked at the ground and then back up at me, seeming somewhat ashamed.

  “Miss Sparks, I am so terribly sorry for the embarrassment I caused you; I should have known the maturity level at this Academy is woefully lacking!” He huffed, rolling his eyes.

  Wanting to ease the poor old man’s guilt, I smiled and said, “It’s all right, sir. I’m okay now. Everything’s fine.”

  Everything was a holy frickin disaster! But no need to tell him that.