A fleeting look of worry chased across Laurel's face, then she nodded. "So, you only need to shrug into your coat, help me on with my dress, and turn up to the ball, sexy wings."
I grinned. "I can't wait to show you the most magical night of my world. The veils will break. I remember the excitement of never knowing what’d happen. It's dangerous, but I've dreamed of worshiping this way again. If Radley and Felix set up the rituals, then this night will be special to us. Whatever you see, you'll be safe.'" When she paled, I circled her hip with my thumb. "Don't be frightened."
"You don't get it. I'm not scared for me." Laurel’s fingers tightened in my feathers, as if I might vanish. "I can't go to the dance with you, until I know what's really up with you."
I winced, avoiding her gaze. My lungs burned on every intake of breath. When I slid my hand up her side, it shook.
Laurel had a right to know. Yet I'd hoped not to have to say the words out loud because then they’d become real.
I only wanted to experience love without death overshadowing it. Why couldn't I have that?
"The magical illness hasn't got a name. At least, not one that anyone has told me." I closed my eyes because it was easier to speak to the darkness than Laurel. "Unless you simply call it..." I wet my dry lips. "I'm dying."
Laurel's fingers bit into my wings hard enough to hurt. "Open your eyes. Don't tell me something like that and..."
I forced myself to open my eyes and study Laurel's face, which was ashen and determined.
"You won't die," she insisted.
"I'm your subject in all else, princess, but I can't obey that command. I've been dying my whole life, even though the other fae merely think that I'm ill." I looked down. "I was the Hostage Lord and youngest son. It never mattered that I wasn't strong."
"You're the strongest fae I know." Surprised, my gaze snapped up to Laurel’s. Suddenly, she looked younger than me. "When...?"
"I've never known, only that my magic is attacking itself and can't last much longer." When a tear chased down Laurel's cheek, I wiped it away. "It could be today, tomorrow, or six months. But I will die. I've fought this hard against reforming because I didn't want my last memories to be a forced bond to a woman who's done nothing but try to change me. She wanted to break Radley, Felix, and me. I swore a promise to my mates that I'd never bond, but strictly speaking, what we longed for was love."
"On my tail, you have it." Laurel curled closer to me; her eyes gleamed. "Just don't leave me."
"It's the will of the forest." Why couldn't I stay with Laurel forever? Why did the forest demand my sacrifice? "On the Day of the Wicked, I'll get to be a leader like my brother, Quinn. I’ve craved to experience that, even if it’s only once. Because no matter what happens, I'm not one of the survivors. I've always known that."
"Quincey," Laurel's voice was raspy with tears, as she rested her forehead against mine.
Her use of my first name slashed me as sharply as a blade. I blinked back my own tears. Yet she looked more hurt than me.
"I'm okay with that," I murmured.
"I'm not." Laurel’s lips were hot against mine. Her scent of fiery ginger wound around me like she could protect me from my own words. "I'll never be okay with it." Then she kissed me, and when I'd expected passion, there was loving gentleness. Finally, she drew back. "Do you feel alive now?"
My wings folded around Laurel; I held her tight to me, until I could feel the thud of her heart against mine. "Your psychoanalysis of me was brilliantly wrong, by the way. I don't want to die. I've just always known that I was going to… That's why I've been trying to live every day."
"Then live for me." Laurel kissed along my jawline, before sucking down my neck.
I arched, as her hands palmed the fabric of my pants over my prick and then slipped open the buttons, sliding inside. In turn, I traced my own hand down her stomach. Her eyes dilated, and she quivered. I teased up her inner thigh with my other hand.
When we smiled at each other it was once again with the relaxed joy of two lovers free and alive in the moment.
I'd feed Laurel with pleasure and then I'd take her to the Beltane Dance that’d sing with magic. That was why my prom would be the best either the Wicked Reform School or this princess had ever seen.
Competitive, Laurel upped the ante by running her finger up my prick and circling the ridge. When I gasped, her gaze became predatory.
Prick, for the honor of the Forest Fae, you won’t come first...
When Laurel blew in my ear and wrapped her soft tail around my balls, I almost lost that honor straight away.
Sneaky succubus.
But then I could be sneaky too...
When I slid my hand to Laurel’s clit, circling it with two fingers to match her rhythm on my cock, her mouth fell open on an 'o.' When she sped up, so did I. Her breath gusted across my cheeks. I panted in time with her own moans.
Then Laurel’s gaze burned with a steely determination, and I swallowed.
Uh-oh...
Laurel fondled my balls with her tail at the same time as she tugged on my prick. My balls tightened, aching.
Let me come, let me come, let me...
I wouldn't lose this game.
When I flicked the finger of my other hand around Laurel’s clit, she moaned. In that moment, I knew what I wanted more than to win.
I wanted us to come together.
I stroked the soft feathers of my wing between Laurel’s legs and across her clit at the same time as her tail squeezed my balls and just like that, we were both coming.
Laurel glowed as she fed on both our pleasure; her eyes sparkled ruby. Her back bowed, and she screamed.
My wings outstretched, and I shuddered.
It was heaven. There was nothing but Laurel, and the blinding-white of our love.
Okay, and the stickiness in my pants. Perhaps, I'd have to get cleaned up before the Beltane Dance.
And just like that I was laughing. Laurel laughed too, falling on her side next to me, curled on my wing.
"Now I feel alive." I kissed Laurel's shoulder, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Take me to the dance."
"I don't know." Laurel's grin was more malevolent than my best effort. "That was an experiment. I reckon we need to try at least once more to be certain."
My limp prick twitched in interest.
"I really can't wait to do that because experiments must be repeated to confirm results. But won't we be late?"
"Only fashionably." Laurel wiggled her ass. “What’s your fantasy, sexy wings?”
My eyes lit up. “The Night of the Beltane is officially the best night of my life…even if I die.”
WHEN I WANDERED towards what should've been the Training Grounds behind the dining hall and in front of the House of Demons, I slowed. Only Laurel's hand in mine pulled me on. The night was warm, and the moon shone from the velvet of the sky. Phoenixes flew like shadows, swooping with the bats; the phoenixes’ cries were eerie but heartbreakingly joyful.
Ancient magic thinned the air, winding through my own. My skin prickled with the sense that I'd fallen into a wonderland. The Training Ground looked like a Beltane woodland re-imagined for the twenty-first century with gold trees, strobe lighting, and bowers of yellow roses, where the roses had been magically spelled to bloom at night (had even Tom helped out?).
This was a true Beltane Night, and not prisoners playing at it.
The bleak modern buildings and barren grounds had been decorated and brought to life. This was no longer a school but a ball complete with a dance floor where elves danced with mermaids.
I'd expected the cold elves to be more the hang moodily around the bar type. It just showed that I’d never truly known any of the other Houses.
This many students had never gathered together before, however, without guards and killings. Strictly speaking, the guards were here, but the ogres were bogeying right in the center of the dance floor. I didn't imagine that the Dean had intended them to join in the festivities w
hen he'd ordered them to attend tonight.
Oscar's Dance Committee deserved their night of freedom because they'd done us proud. I knew that I was smiling like an idiot with no patented sneer in sight but for once, I didn't care.
Let the Fae Lords be loved, rather than feared.
Yet most of all, I cared that I was loved by the princess on my arm. Laurel was beautiful in an evening dress that swept the floor like white flames. I still tingled at the thought that she’d needed me to help her into it in a secret moment, which had been shared only between us.
Later, I'd dance with her because this was our night.
Laurel pulled me towards a table, which was draped in gold silk. It groaned underneath burgers, chips, and cakes. For this school, it was a feast.
Just like in the Beltane Rituals.
A large bowl of...suspicious...punch simmered in the middle.
Radley and Felix leaned against the table. Beau clasped Apollo and watched the dance with amazement. I didn’t imagine that a haughty Court Fae had ever seen anything like it before or witnessed anyone showing so much emotion, let alone been surrounded by a bunch of locked up young people suddenly offered one night to let down their hair.
If their species had hair, of course.
Felix didn't wait for me to reach him, however, but bounced towards me.
He gripped me by the shoulders, dragging me away from Laurel. "Isn't it incredible?"
"Awe-inspiring. You guys are incredible. I don't tell you enough."
Felix grinned. "Oh, you don't. But we forgive you."
When I reached the table at Felix's side, my stomach growled.
How long had it been since I’d eaten?
I stuffed a cream cake into my mouth and sighed at the explosions of tastes. The warlocks must've baked these; they tasted hot, spicy, and magic.
When I reached for another one, Radley slapped away my hand. "You're late."
I shot him an aggrieved look, before nabbing a second cake anyway and munching it.
Ah, there was the goodness. "Only fashionably.”
Radley grunted.
Felix selected a chocolate cake and then held it up to Laurel's lips like an offering. She nibbled on the cake, making sure to nibble on Felix's fingers as she sucked the cake between her lips.
Felix sighed happily.
Beau stepped closer; his eyes gleamed. "You're breath-taking." Then he flushed. "She is."
I studied Laurel. “I’m not disagreeing here.”
"Aye, but she's as beautiful inside as she is out. I never knew that anyone could love My Lord as much as I do. I did wonder whether I'd have to peck out her pretty eyes." When Laurel paled, Beau tutted, tightening his hold on Apollo. "But you love him with the same fierceness that I do. I thought this fated business was only so much fuss but I believe in it now. I believe in you, princess."
Laurel slunk closer to Apollo, allowing him to rub his head underneath her chin. "I love you too, sweet swan."
Apollo ruffled his feathers in mock outrage. "I'm beautiful and sacred. I'm not sweet."
Laurel's lips curled mischievously. "Sweet."
Radley only tapped his chin. "I bet my wings that you weren't wearing that hot dress when you became late."
I masked my laugh with a cough.
Laurel scanned the dance. "So, what's the signal? What are we waiting for?"
"The wild-fire." Felix's eyes were wide with excitement. "It'll light and then it'll lead us to where the secret ceremony of Belenus will take place. At that magical time, we'll be truly hidden from the rest of the school."
My breath caught. This was it.
"As I'm a gentleman, let me get you a drink." I reached for the ladle that stuck tantalizingly out of the punch, which looked more like a hissing witches' brew.
Radley grabbed my arm. "I wouldn't."
Beau's lips thinned. "We saw the witches spike it. We're doing our best to guard it and stop...accidents. Unfortunately, we were too late to stop a pack of wolf shifters drinking."
"What does it do?" Why did I want to drink it now more than I did before?
Oh yes, wicked Rebel fae...
"We believe that it lowers inhibitions." Beau pointed out onto the dance floor.
A pack of naked wolf shifters were bopping to a Justin Bieber song and singing along at the top of their tone-deaf voices. A ring of snickering witches surrounded them.
Okay, that was something that you didn't see every day...or at all...or would ever be able to forget.
I ran my hand along the table. It was decorated with shells and ribbons. All of a sudden, the memory of helping Quinn sort through shimmering shells for the festival, as I played with fluttering ribbons, before I was old enough even to walk, shot through me.
When I raised my head, Felix caught my gaze.
"You r-remember t-too?" Felix bit his lip. "It's l-like returning to the f-forest and our l-lives before."
"Really, thank you for this." Even though I was gesturing at the decorations, I knew they understood that I meant everything. "And I've just been lying around all day."
"Enough of that. Only you could describe being unconscious like you were being lazy." Apollo flapped from Beau's arms into mine.
I caught Apollo, and he snuggled closer.
"All the Houses helped. The Dean's astonished face was the funniest thing I've seen.” Radley smirked. “Even the dwarfs pitched in.”
For once, I didn't mentally tag on the dicks.
Then I noticed that white bats were flying between the dancers. Except, they weren't bats, they were skvadars. They swooped and spun, lost in the music. I'd never thought to see that. But then, I'd never believed that Natalia and the golems would attend a dance either. They looked more nervous than the other students like they hadn't truly been invited and any moment would be kicked out as gatecrashers.
Come on, start dancing...make the choice...you can do it...
Finally, Natalia grasped one of the golem’s hands, spinning him onto the dance floor.
My heart soared at the sight. Natalia didn't belong to the Dean because no one could belong to someone like property. Felix whooped, when the rest of the golems dived into the sweaty fray.
As I watched the Houses united in dancing the Macarena, I allowed myself to believe that they could be united in rebellion on the Day of the Wicked.
But first, I had a Wicket Bucket List to complete. My final dance with the woman I loved.
"May I have the honor of this dance?" I turned to Laurel.
Apollo preened. "I thought you'd never ask, My Lord."
Felix snickered. "Come on, we'll dance."
When Apollo swooped to Felix, I held out my hand to Laurel. Then I pulled her close. She smelled fiery. When she pressed her cheek against mine, her skin was hot.
At last, we'd dance together.
Then a sudden roaring filled my ears, the scent of charcoal flooded the night air, and ghostly flames swung in an arc above me.
There was no time for dancing. The wild-fire had arrived to lead me into the dawn.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Wicked Reform School, Main Campus, The Beach
Friday 30th April
The wild-fire hung above the ocean waves. I breathed in its scent, which was like the ancient bonfires of my ancestors. I thrilled, holding out my wings to catch the eddies of air. At my side, Felix and Radley gloried in the night just the same as me. Apollo flew above our heads; he circled, as if he never wanted to land.
Beau and Laurel held hands, watching with wide eyes. They'd never felt such wildness clawing their throats. Yet they were walking this Beltane journey with the Forest Fae. They were safe by our wing.
At least, I'd thought that they were, but the wild-fire had led us weaving to the back of the school and towards the coast. This was the furthest edge of the grounds from the House of Fae. Yet the Beltane ritual demanded the combining of the elements: we had fire, earth, and wind. I should've known that it'd also need water, and our dramatic go
d would desire something more primal than the pond.
I'd followed the ghostly flame away from the Training Grounds, past the House of Elves, and through a thicket. The music from the prom had faded the further that I'd walked.
Now, I was standing on the edge of a sheer cliff. My heart thudded against my ribcage. I stared in shock, as the flame quivered over the ocean below.
I peered down at the jagged rocks that stuck like fangs out of the waves.
The flame wiggled its ass like it was tempting us to jump.
I blinked. "Knock the gold from my wings, first I don't get to dance with Laurel, and now my own god wants me to jump to my watery death."
Laurel patted me on the shoulder. "Hey, we’ll dance tonight, I promise."
"And what about the watery death part?"
"Don't be so dramatic," Apollo called. Since when was I the dramatic one? "He's asking us to trust him, My Lord. Like I've always trusted you."
"Easy for you to say. You can fly...and swim. Wait, most of you can."
"That's not the point. Perhaps, you can tonight." Felix cocked his head. "This is Belenus. We have one night to worship him. We've all worked to grant you this, remember?"
I knew what Felix was saying.
Radley and he had spent their lives as my protectors. Yet they'd also been trying to grant me as good a life as they could because I'd die before them.
"The veils are down between the worlds." Beau let go of Laurel's hand, staggering to the edge of the cliff. For one heart stopping moment, I thought that he was going to throw himself off then and there. When he held his hand up to study it, it was shaking. "I can sense it. The magic's rushing through me like..."
"True magic." Radley's grin was dark.
When Radley held out his hand to Felix, and Felix took it, I knew what he meant to do. He'd never let me fall, and he wouldn't now.
"Everything's transformed for fae tonight." Felix waved his other hand at me.
I grasped Felix’s fingers between mine, before hooking my hand in Laurel's. She was breathing too fast, and when she laughed, it was high and excited.
Beau turned to study us. His expression was torn. Then his shoulders relaxed, and his wings spread out with a beautiful elegance. I'd never seen this side to him; he brimmed with a newfound confidence as he strolled to Radley and snatched his hand.
Rebel: House of Fae: A Dark Fae Paranormal Romance Page 23
