by S. L. Morgan
“That’s insane.” Her cheeks flushed red while Kat nearly choked on her salad. “I’m over that silly crush.”
“And now she lies?” I looked at Lusa. “But you trust her in all of this.”
Dom took my hand, bringing me to stand with him. “Lusa,” he let out a breath, “you always have good intentions, but if we’re going to bring Eileen in on the war that’s headed our way, I need to know if she knows everything this school is up against.”
“I was hoping we could fill her in, and so was she.” Lusa looked at Eileen as if to tell her that if she said one more word out of line, the vamp would smoke her ass, “Will all of you help, or have we concluded that fairies aren’t needed in this war we know nothing about?”
“Fine. We’ll fill her in tonight,” Dom said as he looked over to Eileen. “How many of your fairy friends will follow you and trust you with the most insane information we’re about to dump on you?”
“You want me to bring all of them too?” she asked in confusion.
“This isn’t about protecting you alone,” Finley said as she stood. “Is that why you’re here? To protect yourself?”
“I don’t want this stuff coming after me, and I don’t want my powers taken away either.”
“You’re a selfish bitch,” I said. “What the hell do you think is going to happen, you delusional idiot?”
“I know it’s not good,” her voice cracked under the dark gazes of everyone at the table. “I don’t want to die. I heard someone died.”
“You heard someone died?” I asked, then sucked in a calming breath and forced myself into the fairy’s mind.
Without fail, I instantly saw that this weirdo was still after Dominic—surprise, surprise—and she was still using Lusa to get her way. More than that, she took advantage of Lusa’s loyalty toward their friendship and fished out as much information as she could about me, the deaths at IA, and the magic being fed to the evil waiting to kill us. In true fairy fashion, after she found out how bad it was, she decided to save her own ass.
She sat there embarrassed, confused, and hoping everyone would trust her and accept her. Her mind was distracted by having Dominic in her presence, and I had to stop reading this demented fairy before I got lost in the drama that was oozing from her brain.
“You need a little one-on-one session with me, just like Melanie had.”
“I’m not letting some mutant supernatural mess with my brain,” she snapped.
Her anger and this annoying confrontation were bubbling up inside me, and it wasn’t good. The energy was negative, and I could feel the desire to switch her dark fairy brain cells into good ones. The sensation to pull this fairy’s brain and force it to think positive thoughts was so overwhelming that I couldn’t stop it if I wanted to.
I planted my hands on the table, seeing the vibrant purple and magenta hues surrounding my hands. This whole thing was about to expose me for what I really was, and it was all because I slightly let my magic side have its way. Now, here I was controlled by it again all because the fairy pissed me off.
“Jen,” I heard Dom’s alpha voice as he planted his hand on my back. “Don’t,” he ordered.
“I can’t help it,” I said, glaring at Eileen, who was frozen under the magic that wanted its way with her. With the magic forcing me, and my wolf spurring it on, I replicated the thoughts I had about Melanie when the leprechaun revealed her true self, and I hit Eileen with the same enchantment.
I felt weak, lightheaded, and I almost passed out when the force of energy left me hard, fast, and unexpectedly. I was in Dom’s arms and gently being guided to sit down at our table.
“Did you guys cover that?” I heard Dom bark.
“I don’t think anyone saw the light show Jenna hit the fairy with,” Finley said, walking over to where Eileen was staring at all of us like she had no idea who we were, who she was, and what the hell was going on.
“Eileen?” Lusa said, turning toward her friend while Kat looked at me as if I were the freak who stole all of the magic from the witches the night before. “Eileen, answer me, are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” She smiled, breathing softly. “What just happened?”
“Jenna did some crazy magic move on you,” Kat snarled, looking at where I sat, gripping my forehead.
“Jenna didn’t do anything but shield you from death,” Dom responded. “I swear, Kat—”
“Why don’t you get Jenna out of here and make sure she’s okay,” Lusa advised. “We’ll all make sure Kat doesn’t do anything she regrets.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
I stood up and walked with Dom, who was inspecting everyone who was watching us exit the dining hall. I glanced back, seeing the master shifters, Vannah, and the rest of our friends, trying to stabilize the room after they saw the truth of who I really was.
“Jen, talk to me,” Dom said as he brought his arm around me. “What happened back there. That wasn’t you—or maybe it was?”
“It’s the same thing that happened with Melanie, except this time I couldn’t control it. It was like my wolf and the magic were both begging to fix her mind and bring her to our side.”
Dom turned me to face him when we got outside, “Is this the magic that we need to use to defeat that creature?”
“No,” I said. “It’s weird how I see it. The magic that we need is locked behind a door, and my wolf is guarding it. Even when she isn’t there, pacing in front of it when I try and access it, I still can’t draw that magic out. Then there are other doors, but they open, and I have access to those ones. It’s like those areas hold my magic, and it’s all separated.”
“Sounds like an insane mind trip.” Dom half-smiled at me. “You see the magic inside you like we see our inner animals?”
“Yes, but it’s all locked behind doors. It only comes when I try to draw it out.”
“And the magic we need, you can’t access at all?”
I looked up into his concerned eyes, “It’s like it knows it needs you or something?”
“Maybe it’s so powerful that you can’t handle that alone?”
We were both questioning everything about how I saw and used my inner magic, but we both knew exactly why the potent stuff was locked up.
“That might be the answer. Who knows?”
“About your mother,” Dominic said, changing the topic with a grave expression. “I thought that if someone was possessed like we were told she was, that she could be cleansed of all of that.” He pressed his lips together, “I’m sorry, Jen, I don’t think we can help her. Whoever your mother was, she’s gone. Sadly, I feel like she’s spelled with some dark and evil force, and ever since she was killed, her spirit has been driving all of this.”
“Well, it sounds similar to that mythical creature Ethan was talking about.”
“Yes, I was close enough a few times to attack her, and that’s when I felt she’s not alive. This is her spirit, and it’s been altered and damned by some curse.” He sighed. “I know you didn’t know her, but this has to be the worst thing to hear. A spirit that’s cursed and attacked, forced to feed off whatever this darkness is that drives it?”
I felt sick to my stomach. No, I didn’t know my mother, but since I was a kid, I longed to find out who my parents were. I had no idea why the pull was so hard to find out who my parents were, but the information Dominic was sharing was hitting on every emotion I had. I knew Dom replaced that void of having no one, but this was different. I was finally getting the answers that the young child I once was had longed for.
“Jen,” Dom said, bringing my eyes up to him. “Babe, I can see it in your eyes. You need to talk to me.”
“I can’t explain it, but I’m feeling emotions that I don’t know how to interpret. I know that my mother loved me, and I feel that she was somehow attacked and ended up sacrificing herself for me—but all of that only to turn into this?”
Dom pressed his lips against my forehead. “Maybe we can free her spirit after we de
feat this enemy. This goes beyond physical fighting, but either way, if it possesses students, then we will be combating our own friends if they’re vulnerable.”
“This is too much,” I said.
“We’re going to get through this. We need to work on you controlling that power, though.”
“I agree. Hitting Eileen like I did took more out of me than when I did that to Melanie.”
“You can’t go around changing these fairies like you’ve done with those two. We have no idea how that affects you in the end. It could drain you of everything or even kill you.”
“I know,” I said in frustration. “What other option do we have, though? I need help understanding this, Ethan’s still not back, and I have no idea how to deal with any of it.”
“I do, sweetheart,” I heard our fairy professor say from out of nowhere.
Dom and I turned to find the beautiful and petite young woman approaching us.
“What are you talking about?” I asked, scared as hell that the professor of House Fae had listened in on us.
“I know who you are, Jenna. I knew your mother. I know of House Silvers,” she said, leaving Dom and me both standing there like frozen statues with this new revelation.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Dom gripped my hand as we both stared in confusion at the professor of House Fae.
“Listen,” she said in her naturally high-pitched voice, looking around at the students who were flooding out of the dining hall. “I’ll speak to you after classes. For now, just know that I may be able to help.”
“How do you know about Jenna, and why are you revealing this now?” Dominic questioned with his alpha voice.
Professor Constance didn’t flinch. “Because I finally sensed the power that I grew up around.” She looked at me, then back to Dominic. “House Braeclaw’s next heir,” she smiled at him. “Very interesting that you both found each other after every measure was taken to keep you apart.”
“Listen, sprite,” Dominic growled, forgetting all sense of order at this school by not respecting her position as Professor Constance, “you need to tell us everything right now.”
“You have the same temper as Mark,” she glared at Dominic. “If you are wise, you will follow my advice and wait. Your father wasn’t so wise, and now we are dealing with a catastrophic threat that he had a hand in creating.”
I gripped Dom’s hand when I felt his wolf surface. Dom always kept that wolf locked down, so feeling the wolf’s presence let me know that Professor Constance felt it as well.
“I see your wolf disagrees with facts you aren’t aware of?” she eyed Dominic. “I’ll see you both in class in a few hours.”
“When do you plan on revealing everything you apparently know about our history?” Dominic questioned while I tried my hardest to read into her, but I couldn’t breach her mind.
She looked at me. “If I picked up on your powers, don’t fool yourself into thinking that no one else has done the same. Those powers were hidden from you for your safety. You must stop using them this instant, or you’re going to be the next target.”
“I’ve already been under attack this morning,” I said.
“I’m not surprised,” she answered. “You’ve opened your magic up, and it’s potent. There was a reason it was hidden. Do you understand?”
“I understand that going through this day at school like nothing ever happened is most likely going to screw all of us. Something’s taking the magic from the students. The next thing we know, it will start turning them or killing them.”
“We have no other option, Jenna,” she said. “Both of you must do something that goes against everything you are and mostly against what you’re feeling.”
“Trust you, right? A damn fairy,” I said dryly.
She smirked, “Last I recall, you are quite the little fairy yourself. Listen, I’m not asking you to trust a fairy, I’m asking you to trust your instincts.”
“You’re all filled with trickery and deceit,” Dom seethed.
“And your wolf is having trouble figuring out whether I’m lying or I’m trying to help Jenna?”
“I don’t know what to think,” Dom said. “I’ve seen some dark crap out there, and it’s coming for us. We’re its next target. That creature needs to feed off us to continue its plans for the human world. How should I know whether you’re another pawn in its game or not?”
“This is where you have to trust your instincts. After classes tonight, meet me in my office. I will have it enchanted, so no one will know we are there,” she said and turned to leave.
“What do we do?” I asked Dom as he watched Professor Constance walk gracefully toward House Fae.
“We need all the help we can get, Jen,” he said, finally bringing his eyes back to me. “How strong are your powers?”
“I’m still a little weak from blasting Eileen,” I said.
“When you did what you did to Melanie, how long until you regained your strength?”
“It was almost instant, but my magic wasn’t forcing itself out of me to change her. I was willing it out and forcing it on her myself. Whatever I did to Eileen started with my irritation toward her, and then the magic took over.”
“Well, we can use all the help we can get.” He glanced over at House Fae, “I don’t trust Professor Constance, but she seems to have information we need.” He tilted his head to look down at me, “She knows about your powers and who you are. We have to take the chance. The way I see it, we’re dead either way.”
“At least there’s hope,” I half-laughed.
“The only hope I have is making sure we at least have a fighting chance against that creature that’s being used to take us all out.”
“How long?”
“I couldn’t get a read on that,” he said. “I do know that it gained more power by taking the magic from the witches.”
“Let’s get to class. God only knows what Marguerite has to say about what happened last night.”
Once we were all seated in House Draugar’s auditorium, the room was oddly silent as we waited for the crazy, vamp professor to walk out to her podium. I leaned into Dominic, feeling like taking a nap with the coolness of the room and the comfort of the cushioned seating. Dom reached his arm around me, letting me nestle into his side.
“You doing okay?” he asked.
“I’m so tired. I can hardly keep my eyes open.”
“Your shifter side isn’t taking over to help you recover from earlier?”
I could sense the frustration in his voice, but he was keeping himself in check. The last thing I needed was a lecture from him or anyone else.
“Is she really a fairy?” someone questioned from behind us.
“Don’t worry about it,” Dominic said while my eyelids slipped shut. “Worry about the fact that you lost your magic last night and didn’t even detect it being taken from you while you slept.” Dom’s harsh voice snapped my eyes back open.
“Take it easy, Master Dominic,” the girl responded. “I was just asking.”
“Now isn’t the time to ask stupid questions,” he whispered back. “Like I said, turn the questions to yourself. Something stole your magic last night, breached this academy, and now we have witches who can’t practice their spells. Shouldn’t that concern you more than my girlfriend’s talents?”
“It would if your girlfriend didn’t suddenly get talents the morning after we all lost our magic,” she growled.
Dom stood and turned around. “Listen, witch,” he snarled, “if you want to suspect Jenna is the reason you idiots lost your magic last night, I will personally take advantage of your weakness, and it will be the last thing you idiotic creatures think before I end you.”
“Take it easy with the threats,” I heard Kat say from two rows back. “She’s not the only one who thinks it’s weird that Jenna is suddenly magical. We all thought she was a shifter, but it turns out, she’s probably doing some inside work for someone.”
“Dom, sit
down,” I said in defeat, tugging at his shirt. “This is my fault. I’ll handle them if they try anything on me.”
“Really?” Dom’s voice rose in irritation. “What are you going to do, Jen? Hit them with another round of energy that you’re barely hanging onto?”
“Let’s talk about it later,” I snapped back at his pissed-off mood.
“That’s enough whispers coming from all of you darklings!” Professor Marguerite’s diabolical growl announced her late arrival to class. “Don’t think for a second I’m questioning why the witches lost their powers last night.” She raised her hands up and started humming some chant, causing me to question if she was born a witch and turned into a vampire. “You took the darkling’s powers. There’s more to take, though,” she said, cackling up to the ceiling.
Dom looked back at the questioning witch from earlier. “I think all of your accusations about Jenna are being confirmed right about now, darkling,” he taunted with some humor.
“Shut up,” she said in a childish tone.
“Your professor seems to have called upon the ceiling of this room, and by the looks of it,” he looked back to where Professor Marguerite was singing, dancing, and hopping in circles, “it’s answered her vampy prayers.”
“She’s a freak, and we all know that.”
“Your first mistake,” Dom stated. “Maybe she really did conjure up some dark creature to take all of your magic.”
“Yeah, and what makes you so sure about that?”
“Everyone else is disturbed at IA about the breach, but Professor Marguerite is acting like her dreams have come true,” he said.
“Silence!” she pointed out toward Dom who’d settled down after watching her act like the crazed vamp she was. “Master Shifter, Dominic,” she said his name as if she were conjuring up his spirit from the grave. “Stand, shifter, stand in my presence.”
“Looks like you’re up for the assault,” the witch behind us sneered.
Dom slipped his hands in his pockets and stared down at the lower floor of the room. “Yes?”
