Let's get up and moving then. We're wasting daylight.
Gods, you're a morning person, aren't you?
His laughter rang through my head as I roll out of bed and pull on my lightweight training gear. The bathroom mirror reveals my fitful night of sleep. Despite Lucian being at my back I still had nightmares of killing that male from yesterday. And now my head is pounding as a result. I thought I had gotten over it, but I suspect it will hang over my head for much longer than expected.
Grief has no clock.
Thank you, Aristotle.
Who?
Don't worry about it.
After putting my hair up into a messy bun I force two pieces of peanut butter toast down my throat followed by a glass of milk. Then I'm out the door and walking toward the tree line that leads to mine and Rowan’s clearing. I'm thinking that it might be best to just go through easy motions today due to my fatigue. When we get there Rowan materializes in front of me, holding a sword made of glowing magic.
Picking up on his plan, I summon a matching fire sword and crouch down into a ready position, leaving my feet light. He circles around me, and I match him, never losing sight of my opponent. When he thrusts forward I parry it easily, knocking his sword away. We go a few rounds like that, attack, parry, attack, parry. I'm breathing hard and sweating when we back off from one another again. He smirks at me.
Too tired to continue? Maybe we should go on a run to work on your endurance.
Fuck you, I snarl.
Then I'm on him again. We fight in earnest now, really attempting to disarm each other. I thrust forward, but he meets me halfway, holding his sword against mine. A grinding sound whines off both swords, and we break away in a shower of magic. He circles me quickly, coming at me from behind. I parry before swinging the flat end of my sword into his shoulder. He stumbles back, grinning.
That's good, you're a quick learner.
Damn straight.
We got at it like that for another thirty minutes until I signal that I need a break. As soon as he steps back, and we dematerialize our swords, a deep inky blackness descends over the clearing. I cry out Rowans name, but I can't even see the glow of his magical form through the dark. He was only feet away from me when the darkness fell, but my stumbling and reaching has given up nothing. And I don't feel or hear him within my head.
A voice slithers across the clearing, "Such little protection for our future queen." I spin toward the direction of the voice, feeling the hair stand up on the back of my neck. Cold dread fills my stomach.
"Who's there?"
The clearing goes silent again and I stood stalk still, trying to keep my hands from shaking. I try to create another fire sword, but it's dull and breakable at best. Rowan was conjured for so long, and I was pumping a lot of my magical ability into my attacks. My magical well is weak from both yesterday’s all-out attack and our training today.
Another laughs hoarsely, "So little regard so something so precious," The voice pauses, then speaks again, sounding closer, "Or perhaps from arrogance."
I tighten my grip on the sword, "Back off, or I swear I'll use this."
Laughter echoes around me from all sides and I have the urge to cover my ears. The total darkness is so disorienting that I'm not even sure whether we're in the clearing anymore. I call out to Rowan again, once again getting no response. Something brushes my arm and I jump, slicing my sword in that direction. It whooshes through the empty air, cutting nothing.
"Rowan isn't here anymore, Tiana. He should have known better than to conjure himself like that. It leaves both of you vulnerable."
Rowan never told me that. I spin toward the original speaker who sounds like he hasn't moved. Stumbling forward, I try to brighten my fire, but fail. I'm feeling weaker and weaker for some reason. As if Rowan's absence is affecting me drastically. All of a sudden some of his first words to me echo across my mind.
We will be connected until death do us part.
My blood runs cold. What happens to us if we're separated? Are these people trying to kill me in the only way they can? By taking the easy way out? My already dark vision swims in front of me and I stumble to one knee.
The second voice caresses my neck, making me cringe, "That's right my queen, lose consciousness, so we may take you back to where you belong."
I whisper tiredly, "Whe-where I belong?"
I fall to my side as my body becomes so numb that I can't move my limbs. The darkness is lifted then, enough for me to see a male crouching in front of me. It's Lucian, but not. His skin looks wrong, too blue, too dark. Other males are standing behind him as well. Why do they all look so familiar? My vision swims again, making me blink my eyes to clear it.
The Lucian that's not Lucian scoops me up, and the same feeling of calm protection seeps into my skin. Maybe this is him and the others, and they came to save me. But something went wonky with my vision and now nothing looks right.
He whispers, "Sleep now, you will be okay soon."
***
When I wake up my head is pounding even worse than it was yesterday. At least what I think was yesterday. What in the hell happened in the clearing? It looks like I'm in my dorm bedroom, but none of my stuff is here. There's no dirty uniform on the floor, or cosmetics on the dresser. Everything is clean and untouched. Did Lucian clean up my stuff? I swing my legs out of bed and sit up.
A sharp pain goes through my head and I rub my hands across my face. When I look up again Lucian is standing there, but again, he looks not quite right. Something about him is off. Like his skin is pale with a bluish tint to it. He smiles at me and walks further into the room. And that smile is so much like the one I'm used to that it throws me off guard. Maybe I'm just out of it. Maybe.
Rowan? What happened yesterday?
Lucian stops about a foot away, "How are you feeling? You took a nasty hit yesterday."
"Nasty hit?" I ask, confused.
Rowan still hasn't answered. In fact, it doesn't feel like he's there at all. The only thing I can really sense is a slight tug on my soul where we're still tethered. As if he's far away but not quite gone.
"Yes, when you went to the clearing to practice like I told you. You hit your head pretty hard on a rock. You've been passed out for almost twenty-four hours." I rub my eyes again as Lucian hands me a glass of water. Taking a long drink, I study him again. There's still this nagging feeling that something isn't quite right.
"Then what happened with that blackness? Those men? Did you save me?"
His smile doesn't change as he takes the empty glass from my hand before walking into the bathroom. I hear the bath water turn on as he moves around the room with familiarity. This must be Lucian. It must be.
He says from the other room, "Yes, we saved you. It was the dark fae. They attempted to kidnap you."
As he continues to get the bathroom set up for me I roam the room. My uniforms are packed neatly into the dresser, the missing bag of cosmetics is in the desk drawer, and my familiar suitcase sits in the closet. He must have cleaned up for me while I was unconscious. And his explanation makes perfect sense, so why does my heart keeps telling me that something's wrong?
I'm about to look out the window when Lucian walks back into the bedroom, "I've drawn up a bath for you," He pauses to look from me to the window, "Is something wrong?"
I rub my forehead again, "No, I'm just not feeling great is all. I'm a bit confused. I'm hoping it will wear off."
He walks up to me and runs two fingers down my face, sending warm spirit energy through me. It's so familiar that I sigh, craving more. He takes me into his arms and gives me the energy I'm craving. I give him mine in return, and he gasps audibly. He pulls back and looks down at me with wide eyes.
"What? What's wrong?"
He shakes his head, "Nothing, I don't know why that took me by surprise," He steps closer to my bedroom door, "I'll leave you to your bath. The others are waiting in the dining room. Then we can have lunch together, sound good?"
; His eyes are still wild looking, and it furthers my suspicions. Lucian wouldn't react like this, he knows my energy. When I looked more closely at him as he turns to leave, I see a glint of blue shine off of his perfect skin. But then his appearance is back to normal.
I shake my head, "Yeah, okay. I'll see you in a bit."
He shuts the door quietly behind him, and I rush over to click the lock into place. Something about this situation isn't right. Rowan being gone isn't right, my room being clean isn't right, and Lucian gasping isn't right. I sprint to the window and pull back the curtain. What I see makes me swallow hard. The sprawling academy is a world that looks identical to the one I was in, but gloomy. As if the sun is covered by a massive inky cloud. This is a high fae academy, just not my high fae academy. And that may be Lucian, but he's not my Lucian. Yet he wants me to believe that he is. This is a place where everyone has second half, a similar model. A place where I don't belong.
I'm in the realm of the dark fae.
The End
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High Fae Academy - Year One: Fae Paranormal Romance Page 15
