by M Guida
My shoulders slumped. “You think it’s black magic?”
Hades nuzzled my leg, as if trying to comfort me.
“I’m afraid so. Unseelie magic, to be precise.” Anton’s words made me break out in goosebumps all over my arms and legs.
He gestured with his arm. “You need to come with me.”
I reluctantly followed him out of the classroom with Hades right on my heels. My heart was beating so fast I thought I’d pass out.
Anton was silent as we walked toward Dr. Greenwood’s medical office, across the courtyard from the classrooms. I couldn’t see Anton’s face but I knew it wasn’t good.
The lush green courtyard was empty since all the students were in classes. I kept hoping Gunnar would come, but so far, I was on my own.
Well, not quite. As if reading my mind, Hades nudged my leg and I stroked the top of his head, his soft mane sending reassurance through me.
Anton opened the door. “Dr. Greenwood, we need to talk with you immediately.”
The infirmary at Legacy was completely different from any in the human world. Instead of an antiseptic smell, I inhaled the scent of jasmine, eucalyptus, and lavender, incredibly soothing. Twin beds lined each wall, with green comforters on them. Nightstands had vases filled with lavender and jasmine. It reminded me more of a spa than a medical ward.
Dressed in a long green robe and with his long blond hair falling over his shoulders, Dr. Greenwood hurried out of his office, concern filling his eyes. “Anton, what’s wrong?”
Anton put his hand on my shoulder. “I fear, Dr. Greenwood, that young Ms. Ebony here may have been cursed, and I believe it is Unseelie magic.”
Dr. Greenwood cast his gaze over me. “That isn’t good. Why do you suspect this?”
“Because she can’t call upon her dragon and shift.”
Hades sniffed the air and let out a low growl.
I looked down. “Hades, what’s wrong?”
He bared his teeth and headed toward Dr. Greenwood. For a minute, I thought I saw fear in the doctor’s eyes.
“Hades, if you can’t behave, you’ll have to wait outside.” Anton’s sharp voice stopped Hades in his tracks.
Hades whined and immediately stood in front of me, as if protecting me.
Dr. Greenwood approached me, but Hades released another low, menacing growl, refusing to let the doctor get near me.
“Anton, I can’t examine her with this beast blocking my every move.” He sounded angry but I detected a hint of trepidation. Was he afraid of Hades?
Anton opened the door. “Hades, you must wait outside.”
Hades whined again.
“Headmaster, wait. Maybe Hades can smell if I have Unseelie magic or whatever. Do think maybe he could get it out?”
Anton and Dr. Greenwood looked at each other for a minute.
“Hades,” Anton said. “Do you smell anything inside of Ebony? Heal her if you do, please.”
Hades nodded his head as if he understood and then faced me. I sat down at his level, hoping and praying he could heal me like I’d seen him do back during the Dark Demon and Unseelie war. It was an amazing thing to behold. Hades would open his mouth and inhale the dead demon blood straight out of the wounded. Dead demon blood was deadly to supernaturals, and I hoped I wasn’t infected, but I didn’t feel sick, and the poison was supposedly fast acting.
The little dragon sniffed and I opened my mouth, hoping he could get whatever was inside me out. Hades tilted his head back and forth and then licked my cheek.
I clasped his soft cheek gently. “Hades. No. Do you sense anything? Am I sick?”
Hades purred and licked my face again.
“This isn’t working,” Dr. Greenwood said. He reached out to touch me and Hades whirled around so fast he was a yellow blur. He gnashed his teeth and released another menacing growl.
Dr. Greenwood jerked his hand back. “Anton, I do not want this creature in my healing ward.”
The little dragon went into a lunge as if ready to attack.
Anton stepped in between Dr. Greenwood and Hades. He snapped his fingers. “No. Now, Hades. Go.”
My shoulders slumped. I didn’t want him to leave.
This was bad, really bad, you’re-gonna-die bad.
My fear climbed up the terror thermostat until it hit scream-bloody-murder-and-run-for-your-life-degrees, but I managed to clench my jaw and get a hold of myself.
Hades lowered his head, but when he got to the doorway, he gave on last snarl. Anton immediately shut the door on him. “Sorry about that, Dr. Greenwood.”
Dr. Greenwood bowed slightly. “Thank you, Anton. I can now proceed without distractions.”
I frowned. “I don’t know why he did that. He’s usually only hostile toward Dark Demons or the Unseelie.”
Dr. Greenwood cast me a deep scowl. “As you can see, I’m neither of those.”
“We realize that, Dr. Greenwood,” Anton said smoothly. “I will talk to Gunnar about Hades.”
Dr. Greenwood led me to a chair. “Please, sit. I have to figure out what kind of curse this is.” He put his palm on my forehead and his eyes widened instantly.
“Do you know you what it is?” Anton’s tone was full of dread that made my stomach drop.
Dr. Greenwood dropped his hand. “Yes, I believe so.”
Shitshitshitshitshit
God, did this mean I was going to die?
He returned to his office and I heard the sounds of clanking of glass and metal. With each noise, my panic grew bigger and bigger, like a water balloon ready to burst. I heard scratches on the other side of the door, and I was tempted to run over and let Hades back in. But Anton gave me a look that stopped me.
Suddenly, the scratches turned to a soft knock. “May we come in?”
My heart leapt at the same time as I exhaled a sigh of relief to hear the hesitant voice. Gunnar.
I cast Anton a pleading look. He shook his head and muttered something under his breath that I couldn’t hear, but then he opened the door. Hades was gone, so I guessed he had retreated to Gunnar’s chest again as a tattoo.
Anton blocked his entrance. “Gunnar and Jaxon, what are you two here for?”
Jaxon was here, too? Maybe I wasn’t as alone as I thought.
“To make sure that Ebony is okay,” Jaxon answered. “May we please come in?”
Anton stepped aside and both Jaxon and Gunnar rushed in, nearly bumping into each other in their hurry to get to me. Jaxon made it over to me before Gunnar.
He clasped my shoulders. “Ebony, are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Well, I guess I am. I don’t really know.”
Gunnar came up behind him and I noticed he had a slight bruise on his cheek.
I frowned in alarm. “Gunnar, what happened?”
“Nothing.” He looked down at his feet. “I…fell.” His voice was barely a low hum.
“Really?” I flashed him a sarcastic smile that turned his ears bright red. “You fell?”
He shrugged and turned away. Yeah, I’d just caught him in a lie.
Dr. Greenwood came out of his office with a bubbling brown concoction that smelled like rotting garbage. I wrinkled my nose. No way in hell was I going to drink that stuff.
Anton put his hand over his nose. “Dr. Greenwood, what is that? I have never smelled anything that vile before.”
Jaxon coughed and retched. “Neither have I. You’re not going to make Ebony take that, are you?”
Saynosaynosaynosayno
A scowl spread across Gunnar’s face, but he didn’t say anything.
Dr. Greenwood narrowed his eyes. “She has been cursed by Unseelie magic. Do you want her to be able to call forth her dragon or not?”
Anton lowered his hand and cleared his throat. “Of course, we want Ebony to be healed.”
Dr. Greenwood stood in front of me with his foul drink. “This is Pestorgio Enormortus. I know. I know. It looks and smells terrible, but the Canyon Scrub Ragweed is from the Starlight Ki
ngdom and we have found it to combat Unseelie Magic.”
“I haven’t heard of such a weed growing in the Starlight Kingdom.” Anton rubbed his chin.
“It grows in the mountain near the kingdom. King Finbar only recently discovered its properties after the war.”
“Ah, I see,” Anton said. He gave me a sympathetic look. “Ebony, please drink Dr. Greenwood’s potion.”
I reluctantly took the glass from Dr. Greenwood. My fingers brushed over his when I did so and I shivered. I wasn’t sure what that was about.
The stuff even smelled worse up close and my stomach swooshed uneasily, sending bile burning up my throat. I looked between Anton and Dr. Greenwood nervously. “You seriously want me to drink this?”
Dr. Greenwood folded his arms and glared. Anton gave me a hard stare while Jaxon looked down as if his shoes had suddenly become the most fascinating thing in the room. Gunnar wasn’t looking at me—he was eyeballing Greenwood as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
I opened my mouth to say something, but he shook his head as if to warn me to be quiet. Or maybe it was not to drink it. I couldn’t tell.
But what if this was the only way to break the curse? Plugging my nose, I drank it. The bitter taste was even worse than I thought it would be. God, I couldn’t do this.
Sharp pain stabbed my gut and I doubled over.
Someone nudged my arm, hard. I lost my grip. My glass shattered on the wooden floor, splashing brown goo everywhere. I spit up and someone grabbed me, holding me close.
“Gunnar, what did you do?” Dr. Greenwood’s icy voice made my rocking and rolling stomach clench even more.
My hair hung in my face and I could barely breathe. “I can’t…I can’t…drink anymore.”
“If anything happens to her,” Dr. Greenwood warned, “it’s your fault, Gunnar.”
“I’m sorry. It was an accident,” Gunnar mumbled.
I lifted my head and I realized he was the one holding me tight. Anton brought over a towel and Gunnar wiped the sweat from my face. I couldn’t stop looking at the brown goo. It slowly turned black, and for a minute, I swear I thought I saw it move. I trembled so badly my teeth chattered.
Someone picked me up and laid me on a bed.
“I can heal her.” Gunnar’s soft voice was like thunder in my ears. I wanted him to heal me. I knew about both his and Hades’ powers.
“I think you’ve done enough,” Dr. Greenwood snapped.
“Look at me, Ebony.” Gunnar clasped my hand gently.
Panting hard, I stared into his clear blue eyes, trying to focus. He squeezed my hand. Tingles rolled over me like calming waves on my arm. The tension in my muscles lessened and the pain in my gut melted away.
Excited, angry voices burst around me, but I couldn’t understand what they were saying. All I saw was a sea of blue and I felt like was floating on air. What was happening?
Chapter 8
My muscles turned limp and my head fell backward. My eyelids fell closed, too heavy to keep open. The excited and angry voices were still all around me, but I drifted off, wanting to float in the calm blue sky again…
“Ebony, Ebony, can you hear me? Wake up, my daughter.”
My mind swirled around in a deep fog, but I recognized that commanding male voice.
“You need to come back to us.”
I opened my eyes slowly to see my dad, sitting on the edge of my bed and holding my hand. “Dad?”
Warmth filled me to see his concerned face. I didn’t realize how much I had missed him.
He kissed my knuckles and he had tears in his eyes. “Joanne, look. She’s awake.”
I turned my head and Mom got off the bunk next to my bed. Her black hair was tousled and her dark eyes were glistening. “Oh, Ebony, we thought we’d lost you.”
Tears of my own threatened to fall and I blinked to keep them away. I hadn’t known my mom as long as my dad, because they had separated Raven and I at birth to keep Ryker from finding us. Raven had been with Mom and I’d lived with Dad, but since we’d been back together as a family, I’d grown to love and cherish her. I put my palm on my slick forehead. “How long have I been asleep?” My voice sounded thick and scratchy.
Mom knelt next down to my bed and brushed my hair with her shaking hand. “You’ve been out for a week.”
I frowned, still not able to put all the pieces together. “A week? What happened?”
“Gunnar tried to heal you, but it didn’t work. You slipped into a coma.”
I looked around the room. “Where is he?” All I could remember was his beautiful eyes and the way I got lost in them.
She glanced wearily over at Dad. “I’m afraid he’s had a rough time of it.”
Anger flashed in Dad’s eyes and he gritted his teeth.
I dropped my arm and cleared my dry throat. “What? I don’t understand.”
Mom gave me a sympathetic look. “Some of the other students are blaming him for what happened to you.”
Jaxon must have been running his mouth. Damn him. “Seriously? That’s so stupid. It wasn’t his fault.”
“We don’t know that,” Dad said stubbornly. He had already convicted Gunnar without a fair trial.
I glared like a defense attorney going up against the prosecution. “Dad, you weren’t there.”
“I spoke to Jaxon and—”
I blurted. “Never mind Jaxon. Is that what Anton is saying?”
Dad clamped his mouth shut again and avoided both Mom’s and my gaze.
“No, it’s not.” Dr. Greenwood approached my bed. He stared down at me and I couldn’t figure out whether he was relieved that I was awake. He almost looked disappointed, but then he flashed me a smile. “I’m glad you’re a wake. Dear Anton can get confused at times. Sometimes he lets his emotions get in the way.”
Mom looked at Dr. Greenwood skeptically. “That doesn’t sound like the Anton I know and love.”
Dr. Greenwood shrugged.
“I think Dr. Greenwood is right,” Dad said. “Gunnar needs to stay away from you. According to Dr. Greenwood, him ‘helping’ you, only made things worse.” His voice shook with rage.
“If she only had finished all of my potion, she might be doing so much better, but alas, Gunnar clumsily knocked it out of her hand. I fear she is still cursed.” I was growing tired of Dr. Greenwood’s theory, and I refused to believe Gunnar had me worse.
Something wasn’t right. I had to talk to him. I didn’t care what my dad said. Right now, though, I was too damn tired to fight.
Dad rubbed the top of my hand. “Do you have any more of the Pestorgio Enormortus potion?”
“I’m afraid not. The ragweed is difficult to come by right now. It’s not in season. We will have to wait until spring.”
I closed my eyes, trying to call upon my dragon.
Please, I need you. Please come forth.
Nothing.
Crap, all that and I was still cursed.
“Are you still trying to conjure your dragon?” Mom asked gently.
I sighed heavily and opened my eyes. “Yes,” I said miserably. “I just did, but she refused to appear. Again.”
"She’ll come, sweetheart.” Mom kissed the top of my forehead. “I promise. You’ll find each other soon.”
I gave her a small smile, but what if she was wrong? What if I could never shift?
Three days later, I woke up again and groaned. It was Ground Hog Day all over again.
I sat up on my bed and leaned back against my headboard and folded my arms. My mom was asleep on the cot next to me, as always.
The door to the hospital room opened and Dad came in carrying a breakfast tray laden with pancakes, eggs, sausage, bacon, and a steaming cup of coffee loaded with cream. “Good morning, Ebony, I’m so glad you’re awake.” He put it on the nightstand next to my bed.
“Thank you, Dad. It all looks delicious, but I could have walked to get breakfast. I’m not an invalid.”
He picked up a napkin and spread
it on my lap. “You’re not ready yet.”
“That’s not what Mom or Dr. Greenwood said.” I rolled my eyes and gritted my teeth to keep from arguing with him. This was one battle I always seemed to lose.
He avoided my gaze and picked up the tray. “Are you ready to eat?”
I wanted to say no, but if I did, he’d raise the alarm that I needed to remain chained to this bed.
“Sure,” I mumbled.
Mom stretched out her arms and yawned. “Vincent? You brought breakfast?”
“Yes, honey. I brought you the same breakfast that I brought Ebony.”
Mom got up and got her cup of coffee. “Thank you, sweetheart. Ebony’s right, Vincent. You can’t keep her locked up in this hospital ward all year.”
I silently mouthed, “Thank you.”
Dad put my plate on a tray. “We still don’t know what’s wrong with her, though.”
Dr. Greenwood came out of his office. “Vincent, Ebony hasn’t shown any other signs of being cursed. I agree. I think it’s time to release her.”
Dad glared at Greenwood. “She ‘hasn’t shown signs.’ Can you guarantee that she’s not?”
Dr. Greenwood sighed and put his hands behind his back. “No, I can’t.”
The door opened.
Dad whirled around. “I said no one—”
“Your daughter is not a prisoner, Vincent.”
Anton strode into the room. I didn’t even see the door open, but as a five-hundred vampire, if he didn’t want to be seen, he could easily make himself disappear.
Dad lifted his chin. “She’s not your daughter.”
“True, but you must make a decision. She either must leave with you or remain here as a student attending classes. I cannot have my entire hospital ward taken up by just one student.”
Dad clenched his teeth. “She’s my daughter,” he repeated. His low voice held a violent warning note and his eyes darkened.
Anton wasn’t the slightest bit intimidated. He glanced over at me and smiled. “What would you like to do, Ebony?”
Dad crossed his arms. “Ebony doesn’t get a choice.”
A tide of anger surged through me and I could feel my horns emerging from my head. “I’m not a child, Dad. I can make my own decisions.”
