by Tiegan Clyne
Alice, who wisely stayed sober during the feast, links arms with me and Sirena. She guides us to the doors, where Lockwood and Cassim are watching everyone leave. His fucking Excellency curls a finger in my direction, beckoning me to go to him. He probably wants to talk in private. Well, not today Satan!
In my drunken state, I ignore his demand and step through the doors with my head held reasonably high. Sure, I’ll pay for my defiance later. But this is my school—not his.
He can fuck the fuck off and shove his punishment up his ass for all I care.
With Alice shepherding the way, we somehow manage to stumble up the stairs without causing any injuries. The walls are spinning around me and I can’t stop giggling.
“Ya—ya know somethin’?” Sirena says, resting her head on Alice’s shoulder. “I really love you girls.”
“We love you, too,” Alice assures her. “Let’s get you up to bed.”
Sirena wavers on the spot. “And you’ll—you’ll always be here for me?”
“Yuppers,” I confirm, reaching behind Alice to pat Sirena’s arm. “Stuck with us.”
“Even if—” She sways to the side again, but Alice catches her, “—I don’t become queen? I stay just as I am?”
For some reason, that last sentence sounds funny to my ears.
Alice squeezes our arms. “Of course we’re not going anywhere. That jerk will never define your worth, Sirena.”
Amongst my jumbled thoughts, I try to make sense of the discussion. It’s not until Sirena’s hair turns red and she starts crying does anything begin to make sense.
Erik.
He’s always the root of her tears.
My blood boils in my veins. Wait until I get my sober hands on him!
“Shh, shh. It’s all right,” Alice soothes her, gently steering all of us toward the common room. “Let’s go to our room and talk there.”
Sirena shakes her head, wrangling her arm away from Alice. “But he’s sleeping with that slut!”
Now my blood runs cold. What sonuvabitch do I need to kill? Cuntzi? Aurora? Cinder? It’s got to be one of those cretins he hangs around with. My money’s on Aurora, the leader of the pack of useless mutts.
Students making their way to the common room stop to see what the commotion is about. Glowering at them, I take hold of Sirena’s hand and stumble inside. But the person in question is sitting in a group by the fire, his arms sprawled on the back of the sofa like he’s already king. I let go of Sirena’s hand and take a step forward. Alice tugs at my arm.
“Can’t we just go upstairs?” she asks quietly, her eyes darting around the room.
I shake my head, clenching my hands into tight fists. I’ve had enough of this cheating bastard’s bullshit. It’s time to give him a taste of his own medicine the old fashioned way. A good sucker-punch to the throat.
“You,” I shout, pointing at him.
The smile vanishes from his face. Looks like he still has some brain cells left in that thick skull of his. I sloppily march my way over to him, ready to unleash all the rage I’ve been bottling up, but Prince Biff rises from his chair and forms a barrier between us.
“I think you should retire to your bedroom,” he suggests in that stupid, smug, self-centred tone of his.
“And I think” —stabbing my finger into his chest—“you shhh-should get outta my way, Piglet.”
The nickname makes me laugh.
“P-P-Piglet!” I lean over, clenching my stomach as tears fall from my eyes. “Piglet!”
Erik stands from the sofa, though the coward uses Gideon as a shield. “What do you want, Darkblood?” His eyes tumble over my head, probably finding Sirena with her blood-shot eyes and tear-stained cheeks. “Oh.”
“Oh? I’ll fuckin’ ‘oh’ you… Y-yura a peessa shit, ya know that?”
“A pizza what?”
“I think she’s ordering an Italian,” his little bitch of a friend, Aurora, says over his shoulder. “Mortal cuisine. Ghastly.”
“N-n-no… No! yer both… yer all a piece of—”
The floor sways underneath me, hindering my balance.
Damn you, world. Why won’t you let me stand?
Gideon moves behind me, grabbing hold of my waist before I topple over. I try to shrug him away, but something horrible gathers into the back of my throat, causing my eyes to water. I lean forward to dispel whatever’s clawing to get out. It helps a little, much to Erik’s horror, and the projectile vomit explodes into his face.
Wiping my mouth with the back of my hand, I smirk at him. “T-there. All better now.”
Actually, more than better.
I’m even able to shove Gideon off without swaying or stumbling.
Then I remember what I came here for, so I turn back around and slowly lift my arm, stating calmly, “Sorry, I forgots something.”
I take aim and throw myself at Erik, but I deliberately miss his disgusting face and hit Aurora instead, right in the eye.
She lets out a dramatic scream and covers her face with her hands, bellowing at the top of her lungs, “You vile, disgusting creature you!”
Gideon is quick to restrain her, though she thrashes in his arms in an attempt to get at me. What a spoil sport. I say let the beast loose.
I have plenty more in my stomach to purge over her, and another fist to knock her out with.
Shaking my hand, I smile at them. “Now if you’ll ‘scuse me.”
And with that, I join my friends and we clamber our way up the stairs. Sirena is quiet but she’s smiling instead of crying, and her hair is purple again, so I take those as good signs. I just hope she’ll understand that Drunk Ravyn—err, Redera—is still the same as Sober Redera. I’d do anything to protect her and Alice. Even if that means barfing all over their betrotheds.
Alice is grinning like a Cheshire cat. “Can I just say how awesomely gross that all was?”
“Thanks.” I wink at her, tossing a strand of hair over my shoulder. “Now has anyone got a mint?”
I wake up with a terrible hangover. It’s like vultures are pecking away at my skull and the pain is only exacerbated by the sunlight flooding through my window. Who asked the sun to come out, anyway? And who in the Great Forest opened my damn window? Ugh. This is painful.
This is also why I don’t ever drink.
Half-opening my eyes, I straighten up and look around. Broin must have flown out the window while I slept. It’s a beautiful day outside, not a single cloud present in the clear blue sky.
Horrible. Just horrible.
It’s All Hallows’ Eve. I’d much prefer a thunderstorm right about now.
“Good-morning, sleepy head!”
Sirena is already up and dressed, her skin glowing and not a single hair out of place. She proffers a tray holding a single paper cup.
“I figured you’d have a hangover since you don’t drink often. This will help. Trust me.”
Cautiously taking the drink, I sniff the contents through a small gap in the lid, which is made of a material I don’t recognize. It smells like cinnamon, regret, and overly sweetened milk. Such a Basic White Witch thing to drink.
Under the tight scrutiny of Sirena, I take a small sip anyway. The frothy liquid doesn’t burn my tongue and actually tastes pretty amazing.
“What kind of sorcery is this?” I tilt the cup to the side, checking underneath.
Sirena giggles. “It’s not sorcery. It’s coffee. Haven’t you ever… No. Way. You’ve never had coffee before?”
“Never ever,” I say over a yawn, taking that as a cue to drink more of the strange liquid. “I like it, though. It tastes slightly like guilt and too many calories.”
The door opens and Alice steps in with Jasper in her arms.
“You better stop that or it will be off with your head,” she warns him, then she boops him on the nose so she can’t be all that mad. “Oh, good morning everyone.” Looking at me, she says, “You missed breakfast. And lunch. I grabbed you some bagels, though. How’s the head?”<
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She walks over and sits beside me, dropping Jasper and a paper bag onto the bed. My stomach rumbles and I reach over to grab a bagel. Mmm. Chocolate and cheese. My favorite.
Alice watches me wolf down the bagel, her expression wavering between awe and disgust. If only she knew the things we eat at the Church of Shadows. My stomach flips, causing me to nearly lose my appetite. Last night, with Cassim… Oh, sweet unholy fuck… I disobeyed him. He obviously wanted to talk to me for a reason and I just strutted on by him, the High Priest of my coven, like he was a vagabond. That’s not going to go down well.
Cassim one, Ravyn zero.
More images from last night run through my mind. Instead of filling me with cold dread, they make me laugh, especially when I recall a certain Prince Erik and the Fountain of Vomit.
“Are you remembering what you did last night?” Alice ponders, squinting her eyes at me. Her expression lightens and she also bursts out giggling. “It. Was. Wonderful! Revenge isn’t a dish best served cold. It’s best served from Redera Hemlock’s gut.”
Tears well in my eyes and I wipe them away, still laughing. “The aftertaste was a little sucky but it was totally worth it. Did you see his stupid face? And that bitch, Aurora’s?”
Sirena joins us on the bed, crossing her legs. “Yeah, it was pretty glorious. Serves them right.”
A dark shadow flits over her face. She looks physically diminished, as if seeing Erik last night with Aurora has made her shrink.
I move over to sit right beside her and gently take her hand in mine. “How long has he been cheating on you?”
She takes a moment to answer. I don’t like to pry but I also don’t want her to keep everything bottled up. Alice shimmies closer while gathering Jasper into her arms and hugging him.
“I don’t know. I’ve known about it for about a year.” Sirena blinks tears away, shrugging. “He knows I can’t leave him or break off the engagement because of the state of things between our kingdoms. We’re both trapped in this betrothal, and will be trapped in the marriage, too. I wanted to try to make the best of it, but he’s determined to make me miserable because he doesn’t want to marry ‘a fish.’” She sniffs and wipes at her eyes. “He says fish are for eating, not for marrying, and he keeps…”
I want to kill him. I want to take him to the altar on the full moon, stake him out and slice all of his veins open until his blood fills the grooves in the altar stone and spills all over the ground. Being sacrificed to my Dark Lord that way is an honor though, and he doesn’t deserve it. I should’ve done more to him last night than vomit over his conniving, slimy, two-timing face.
I will do more than that.
Terrible things come to those who piss me off.
“When is the wedding?” I inquire instead, forcing my tone to remain calm.
Sirena shakes her head. “I don’t know. After graduation, I think. We’re supposed to be taking this time to get to know each other better, but I think I know everything about him that I want to.”
I reach over and put my hands on her shoulders. She looks at me, her eyes bloodshot. It kills me to see how much she’s hurting. “Listen, graduation is a long time from now. Maybe we can find a way to get you out of it by then.”
“I hope so.” Sirena takes a deep steadying breath, and little Augustus reaches out a leg and strokes her skin with it, reminding her that he’s there. She cups him in her hand, holding him close. “Anyway, we need to get ready for tonight.”
I feel horrible for her. Honestly, now. Where is all this sympathy for others coming from? It’s so unnerving.
Changing the subject, I take another sip of coffee, saying to Alice, “Coffee. The new sorcery.”
Alice exchanges a confused look with Sirena, then the two of them burst into a fit of giggles.
“And, might I add,” Sirena breathes between gasps, “this is Red’s first ever cup of coffee. I popped her coffee cherry,” she adds rather proudly.
Even Alice appears astonished by the statement. “You’ve gone this long without drinking coffee? Wow. I’m pretty sure I would have committed murder long before now if I hadn’t known about drinking coffee.”
I tilt my head away from her warily. “Before now? You mean to say you’ve recently killed someone?”
Alice averts her gaze. “Oh, is that the time, Jasper? Yes, you’re right. We had better get going!”
She clambers from my bed, leaving Sirena and me frowning at the back of her head. Then more giggles erupt between us, and the tears in Sirena’s eyes are replaced with tears of mirth.
“Where are you going?” I ask Alice, watching as she places Jasper in his cage.
Locking the cage, she turns around with a mischievous grin on her face. “Sirena and I have a surprise for you.”
I’m not really fond of surprises. The last surprise I got was the death of my grandmother and sister. Still, I put on a smile, keeping those depressing thoughts to myself. Sirena climbs off my bed and follows Alice out of the room.
While I’m alone, I gaze out the window in the hopes I’ll catch sight of Broin, but through our bond, I can feel that he’s not close by. He must be somewhere in the forest. He hasn’t mentioned anything about hunting. Since the day the Nevermorians arrived, he’s been distant. Even when he spanked me he was…off, and I haven’t seen or heard from him since.
—Daddy, if you’re listening, I need to speak with you. Please.—
After several moments of silence, his voice whispers through my mind.
—Tonight, babygirl. I have something to talk about, too.—
While it’s a relief to hear his voice, those words chill me to the bone and my stomach twists into knots. He’s too far for me to step into his thoughts, not that I like to invade his privacy like that, and I can’t feel any of his emotions through our bond.
I’m tempted to probe him a little when the door opens. The girls rush in, holding a large garment bag.
“Are you ready?” they both shout at the same time, grinning from ear to ear.
Excitement blooms inside of me, erasing the feelings of dread. These are my friends, and I know they’d never do anything to hurt me.
“Okay…” I start, creeping off my bed. “What’s in the bag?”
“It’s a gift. We wanted to give you something that was, well—”
“Uniquely you,” Alice finishes for her. “And let’s just say this was custom made.”
My cheeks heat up at the words. They’ve already done so much for me. I’ll never be able to repay them at this rate.
Sirena hangs the bag up on the top of her closet door and opens it up. Inside, I see a flash of scarlet, and I hold my breath as she pulls out a gorgeous gown.
It’s blood red, with black feathers along the hem that swirl up the skirt like birds in flight. The bell sleeves have feathers along the edges, too, and the neckline plunges in the back. It’ll be open all the way to the small of my back. There’s a small train, just a little one, but it’s covered in black feathers, too. It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.
“Try it on,” Alice urges.
It’s not very often I’m lost for words. My mouth falls open, but it just hangs there as I take in every detail about the dress, every feather, stitch, and embroidered crystal.
“This…is for me?” My voice comes out as a whisper.
“Yes!” they shout in unison.
“Now try it on.” Alice hands me the dress and ushers me into the bathroom. “And don’t forget your shoes.”
“Shoes?”
I look over at my shoulder at them. Sirena is handing me a pair of black high-heeled boots. The leather is polished and the laces are scarlet like the dress. Now this is more my style. I can’t believe they got this made for me.
Fortunately, I’m able to slip into the dress with no problem. It fits like a dream, and even the material is like feathers against my skin. It’s as if I went to Poseida and had fittings with a seamstress. It fits that well. I imagine it’s probably
waterproof, too. Not that I plan on swimming in it, but you never know.
I feel a little bashful as I step out of the bathroom. The girls are waiting for me, their eyes wide, arms linked together in anticipation. When they see me, they erupt into happy applause.
“You look beautiful!” Sirena beams, clapping her hands excitedly.
Alice is quietly assessing me, tapping her fingers against her cheek. “No. There’s something missing.”
I watch her rush over to her own wardrobe, throw open the doors, and fumble in one of the drawers. When she comes back, she’s holding a mask out to me. It’s black, but there’s a spray of feathers on one side that are blood red.
“It’s perfect,” I say, my voice crackling. “I really don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t have to say anything,” Sirena counters, taking my hand and steering me to the oblong mirror hanging on the back of the door. “We did this for you. Look at how beautiful you look, Redera!”
Beautiful? I can scarcely recognize myself in this dress. Maybe that’s a good thing. I don’t look like the girl who caused her loved ones’ deaths. I look like my mother when she was my age. I always thought she was like a lost princess—not the pathetic kind like Aurora, but a woman who was truly noble as well as feared for her cunning and strength.
I lift my head high and tilt my mouth into a lopsided smirk.
Now I look like someone worth fearing.
“You’re going to knock everybody’s socks off,” Sirena predicts. “And that’s not all we got from back home.” She wiggles her eyebrows, clutching her familiar’s shell. “Augustus managed to sneak out some of my father’s Pearlbombs.”
I shake my head at her, though I’m still mesmerized by this gift. “Pearl what now?”
“Pearlbombs! It’s an enchantment they use in Poseida to create temporary illusions on people instead of objects,” Alice explains as Sirena digs into her pocket. “They can do things like, umm, give you an extra pair of feet if you wanted. Or even gills.”
“You sound like you’ve used one before.”
“Oh, I have. The gills. I use it when I visit Sirena since most of Poseida is underwater.”
“And since it’s the Samhain Masque Ball, we figured we could use the pearlbombs as part of our outfits.”
