Spirit of Fae Academy

by Kendal Davis

  “You’re the only one who didn’t like it,” Alder said with equanimity. “Maybe it’s because you never asked your mount’s name.”

  “What are you talking about?” I narrowed my eyes at him. “Is that some sort of trick? A magical avenue to make riding easier?”

  He raised a hand in a false apology. “Ciara, not everything in the fae world is about magic. Sometimes you just need to get to know somebody better.”

  “Ha,” I muttered. “You’re one to talk. If you were any more closed off from the rest of us, you’d be encased in concrete.”

  “What’s concrete?” He was amiable as he inspected my horse’s wings and courteously directed the animal to the meadow where its stablemates were already grazing. “Never mind, you can tell me later. Your horse is called Incantus. He is the calmest animal in the stable, but he would do better if you allowed your mind to touch his. Call him by his name.”

  “That’s ridiculous,” I said. “Now tell me where we are, and what we are supposed to be doing.” I rubbed my hands together, ready to get started on whatever we needed to do to make this mission a success.

  “Do you imagine that you are the leader of this party?” He lifted a mocking eyebrow. “I am here as the faculty representative of the school, and I will reveal my plans only as it is necessary. You’ll see that the foothills look safe now, but that will not last.” His broad gesture included the rolling hills beyond our meadow, and whatever lay beyond them.

  Evana joined us, her practical boots sloshing through a section of high grass. “We’ll want to make camp a little further up,” she said. “This land is too wet.”

  “We can’t go any closer,” Alder said sternly. “When the sun is fully set, the mists will rise and take our fae gifts away from us.”

  I held my hand out to take Rook’s hand as he walked up behind me. “You don’t need to keep up that fairy tale stuff now,” he said with a smirk. “We left Professor Thorn behind, and anybody else that you thought you could manipulate with that crap. No need for it now.” He glared at Alder with a dislike that now lacked even the faintest of veiling.

  “That’s enough,” I pulled him with me as I moved away, trying to digest what Alder had just said. Our bond had some problems, sure, but I knew he was telling the truth. “Will we really lose our fae magic? How can we even go there, if that’s what will happen?”

  “We must,” Owain answered, draping a strong arm across my back. “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking as we rode this far. I believe Alder is right. The elemental imbalances in the castle are because there is something missing. At one time in our history, the Academy was filled with earth magic. We know that because the old gardens were already there. The return of the earth magic is not what caused the problems.”

  I nodded, leaning against his chest. “So Alder thinks that the spirit of the castle has gone somewhere? And we’re on this wild goose chase to find it.”

  Owain pulled me closer. “My other idea about why the elemental bonds are failing is that something has been added to the equation.” He did not look down at me.

  “Me, you mean. I’m the something new. And if I were causing the school to break apart, even without knowing it, I’d have to…”

  Rook finished the sentence for me, his eyes beginning to glow with fire. “You’d have to leave the Academy. It looks like someone has cooked up just the plan to hedge against all bets.” He flicked a spark from his fingertips as he watched Alder setting up camp. I could see plainly that he hated him. How was I going to salve that animosity when I claimed the huge forest man as my mate?

  Although Alder cautioned us all not to rely too much on our magic so close to the mists, we still used it, furtively at first, when it came to establishing camp. The marshy pools that somehow kept reappearing under our tents were easily dispersed with a water spell that Owain and I wove without needing to speak aloud. Earth and air combined to make networks of vines that hovered above the mud, as Alder and Evana paced the land together, chuckling as if at some private joke. The guys might not be crazy about him, but she was. I couldn’t decide whether that meant he was truly trustworthy, or just too sexy for any woman to refuse.

  Lily and Rook took it upon themselves to light the dusk around us with floating fire, creating a perimeter that seemed to soothe the horses. Our mounts were tethered near our tents, but they kept trying to sidle even closer. Just as the three of us were establishing a vertical perimeter as well, we heard a voice cry out in the low light.

  “What in the world?” Lily lifted her chin even higher than usual to see what was happening up there. “No, it can’t be. Rook, you’ll have to see this to believe it.” The easy familiarity that was always between them had been a source of concern for me at one time. Now I understood that there was nothing that would keep him from my side; she was just an old acquaintance.

  “No way,” he answered. “I know that voice from a hundred family reunions. That’s impossible.”

  I held my breath as the horse above us caught a wing against one of our higher fireballs and began to plummet towards us. Without even thinking about it, I wove a platform of soft greenery and used air magic to levitate it upward to catch the man and his mount. Maneuvering them both through the wards we’d set was taxing work, so I added some gentle snow over the fires to put them out. When the horse was safely on the grass with us, I relit the fireballs without even looking.

  I could hear Alder calling over to me. He didn’t sound pleased.

  Ignoring that, I turned to the man who had joined us. The horse was obviously one of the Academy mounts. I was sure I’d also seen the fae before. He was slim and nervous-looking, with a wrinkled quality to all his clothes. His brown hair fell into his eyes, which were surprisingly charming once I could see them.

  Obviously summoning his courage, he dismounted and stood before me. “I’m Finley. I’m an air fae; that’s why I was able to follow your trail so well. I heard Professor Thorn telling the Headmaster when you’d gone, and I ran to the stables to find you.”

  Alder reached us, his face dark with anger. “Stop using your magic, Ciara,” he clipped out.

  “Look, we have a new traveling companion,” I said, pretending not to have heard the earth fae. “He’s...Finley. Where have I heard that name before?”

  Rook made a face of annoyance. “He’s my cousin. That’s where.”

  Before I even finished smiling at the awkward, disheveled man, I felt a chill rise in the air. A scent like musky wildflowers filled my nose. I rubbed my arms as if I could make them warmer that way.

  “No more magic,” said Alder sharply. “You used all four elements at once, didn’t you? Foolhardy girl. Now the mists are aware of us, for they know no true fae can do that.”

  From the foothills that lay across the meadow, white tendrils of air were winding toward us. They were ancient magic that would destroy any powers we had.

  And the mist was reaching for us.

  10

  Alder

  We’d come so far already. I had to keep remembering that. I was pushing these young people beyond what they were used to doing. If I wanted them to continue on this path, I’d have to soften my approach.

  I drew a long breath, then expelled it slowly, seeking more self-control. “Ciara. I’m sorry I spoke harshly to you just now. It’s just that I’m worried.”

  She widened her eyes. “Oh. It makes more sense when you say it that way, instead of just yelling at me all the time.” Her sarcasm was obvious.

  I nodded, ignoring her sass. I did not apologize any further. I still needed her to listen better than she did.

  Finley appeared to be the most afraid of the mist tendrils that were approaching, but he was not paralyzed by his fear. He was the first to make a suggestion of a course of action. “What if we used air magic to push it away?”

  Evana took a step toward him, tilting her head in thought. “We could do it, I think. There’s both of us, and then Ciara’s gift.”

  “No,”
I shook my head firmly. “Ciara must keep her magic silent right now. The mist is attracted to her.”

  Rook broke in with his usual hotheadedness. “This is just silly. It’s mist, that’s all. Sure, it might have magical qualities, but only in the same way that a plant does if you use it for a potion. It isn’t sentient.”

  My voice was bitter. “Do you think a plant has no awareness of you or what you plan to do? These magical constructs are ancient. You young fae have no idea what is at stake.”

  Owain was listening closely, as he always did. Abruptly, he asked, “Alder, how old are you, anyway?”

  Ignoring the question, I jerked my chin toward Finley and Evana. “You two may attempt to create a gentle breeze that will redirect the mists. Give it a try now.” I settled my eyes on Ciara, who met my gaze without any sign of nerves. “Sometimes redirection is all that is required, rather than attempting to vanquish another entity.”

  Her lips twisted in irritation. She was unquestionably beautiful, but that didn’t mean it was in our best interests to claim our bond. I knew just as well as any fae that a mating bond could not be denied. But I could delay it as long as possible, if it would allow us to complete this mission together. She did not need to know yet that I was dangerously forsworn.

  And the anticipation of bedding her was the best thing I’d ever felt.

  I could only imagine what it would be like to pull her against me and run my hands over her body, sliding against her bare skin and making her most private places mine. I found that I imagined it all the time, and her proximity while we traveled was only going to add to that.

  As we watched Finley and Evana stand together, softly misdirecting the white magic away from us, Ciara looked peevish. “So what is it, then?” she said. “If it is ancient magic, is it good or evil?”

  “There is not usually such a clear line between the two, not in nature,” I answered. “Are you so sure that you even know which you are?”

  “We do,” Owain spoke softly, reaching for Ciara’s hand as she began to glow with anger. “We just don’t know which you are.”

  The dampening pressure that had developed over my magic gradually dissipated as the mists did. Evana’s concentration and Finley’s surprisingly strong raw talent managed to stealthily send the mists away from us. Like a child looking for a lost toy, the tendrils waved aimlessly for a few minutes, then moved on to a new activity. As the magic that would take our own moved back into the hills, we all began to breathe easier.

  Lily smirked. “So this force that overlays all of the forest up there is sensitive to the unnatural nature of Ciara’s magic? Finally, somebody in charge who doesn’t think she’s the best thing to ever happen to fae powers.”

  I couldn’t help but chuckle at her. She was so transparent. She was beautiful, yes, but so young and so self-serving. “Let us focus more on the meaning of truth than on who is the strongest.”

  Ciara sighed ostentatiously. “Maybe we could have dinner instead, or at least while we discuss these grand philosophical notions, Professor Alder.”

  “Let us do that,” I agreed. Our camp was complete, and it was just as easy to use our magic to rustle up a meal for seven as it was for six. Finley had not been invited, but he had proved to be useful. We made our way to the platform of vines that held our campsite, and we dined in the luxury to which all fae were accustomed. Finley was merely a first-year at the Academy, but the others were all well-trained enough in their magic to prepare a delectable meal for us all.

  As we ate around a warm fire, the winged horses managed to move as close as possible to our camp, then they dozed. Ciara watched them, then turned to me. “That’s a positive sign, right? If they fall asleep, it means they aren’t aware of any danger.”

  “Good,” I said approvingly. She was a fast learner.

  She blinked away my praise, refusing to take it as a sign that we were friends. I felt a hardness stirring against my trousers, making me wish I could bring her to my bed tonight. If I had my way, we would soon be far closer than mere friendship. It was simply not the time yet.

  I took the opportunity to turn this all into a lesson for my charges. “So, do you all understand why Ciara’s magic is not welcome here?” I couldn’t help it; it was fun to watch her grow pink with indignation.

  Lily jumped at the chance to answer. “Because she’s unnatural,” she said promptly.

  “Perhaps,” I inclined my head. “But what I wanted to point out was that this forest has been untouched for eons now. It was the site of a battle, long ago, between the good and evil sides of the fae. The truth, though, is somewhere in between. No person is truly one or the other.”

  “That’s an excuse that people use when they cut moral corners,” Rook complained.

  “That’s a good point,” I allowed. “But what if a person made an oath to one master, and then to another as well? Which would be the one to choose to honor?”

  “The first, of course,” Evana said practically, downing her wine and filling her glass with more. Her eyes lingered on Finley for reasons that we could all guess.

  “Let me put it to you this way,” I said. I spoke gingerly, for it was crucial that I ask them this without revealing too much about myself. “You are aware that I was born an air fae, right? Then when Ciara awakened the earth magic that had lain dormant in our land for so long, I became an earth fae. Which do you think is my true nature?”

  “Sounds like you’re a little...um...unnatural,” Ciara’s eyes were bright with cutting humor.

  “That I am,” I agreed. “It is a thing that has never happened to a fae before. When I awoke in those very treetops with earth magic, I made my way to the Academy to find out why. And of course they had no choice but to appoint me as professor when I requested it.”

  “So you could get to us and lead us into a magical trap?” Rook glowered.

  “Not at all. So I could get close to Ciara and try to help her,” I said. “But think. Which element do you think is my master now?”

  “Earth, obviously,” Owain said thoughtfully. “That does not make you forsworn, simply changed.” He paused, as if wondering if he should ask a question. I knew what it would be. I’d given them all enough clues. “Here’s the thing, though. How do you know so much about these enchanted woods? You just said that you awakened with your new powers here. Why would anybody be out here when it is so dangerous?”

  Good man. I appreciated the way these younger fae were so easily led. I waited a beat, hoping that Ciara would speak again. Her voice was like music, like the very sustenance I needed.

  “You were out here for some sort of penance?” She was guessing, but she was not far from the mark. “You’d been exiled? I did hear somebody say that none of the other professors had ever heard of you.”

  “I am merely discreet,” I smiled at her. “But I will tell you some of what happened. I am far older than any of you. That much is true. I have seen much, both here and in the mortal world.”

  “You’ve been there?” Ciara looked surprised at first, then shrugged her shoulders. “I mean, I know that Rook and Owain were there, along with the other fae in my class at the Academy. But I didn’t think it was all that common, otherwise.”

  “You’re right. And certainly not as long ago as I made my first journey there.”

  “Were you working on the dust storms, as we were?” Owain was cautious, not wanting to appear to endorse me as a colleague.

  “No,” I answered firmly. “I was on Queen Hellebore’s business.”

  Ciara narrowed her eyes at me. She hated the Queen. None of us could fault her for that, as the Queen wanted desperately to steal her life essence. I had not been present at the battle between them last year, as most of the others had, but I knew the story even before it happened.

  I’d seen it before.

  My beautiful, pink-haired mate absently picked at the riding trousers she’d changed into at the stables. I watched as her perfect, tapered fingers fidgeted as she thought. Finall
y, she burst out with it.

  “Alder, you need to just tell us the truth. You said that was the most important thing. So do it.” Her face was set in determination. “What were you doing out here? Are you evil, if you feel so comfortable in the mists?”

  “No. Or rather, I might be, but that has nothing to do with being out here.” I’d meant it as a joke, but nobody smiled. Fine. “I was trapped out here. For reasons I can’t yet explain, I was...sleeping. And then when I acquired my new elemental affinity, the mists tangled around me and prevented me from leaving.”

  “And I’m sure you’re about to tell us about your heroic escape,” said Rook, drily.

  Ciara raised the hand she’d been using to pill the plaid fabric of her Academy riding pants. “Wait. I think I see it now.” None of the others responded, perhaps not wanting to admit that they did not. Her voice was clear as a bell, having shed the uncertainty that I’d felt in her since we began our trip. “You were rescued.”

  I wasn’t sure how much of her information came to her from my subtle suggestions along our bond, or how much she had simply figured out. Her power was not only in her magic, but in her sharp mind. I waited.

  “You were rescued by the very same thing that is now missing from the castle. I’m right, aren’t I? The spirit of the Academy somehow came all the way out here to break you out of your trap. And when she did, she became caught in it herself. That’s why you know where she is.”

  Her expression hardened, as she looked around at all our traveling companions to see if they understood. “Alder is the reason the spirit left Fae Academy. That’s why he has to fix the problem and save our school. Because he caused it.”

  11

  Ciara

  It didn’t feel nearly as great as I thought it would to accuse Alder in front of the others. For some reason, I’d thought it would be a triumphant moment when I put together all the pieces of information that had been floating around in my mind. Somehow, I’d expected that I’d confront him with my knowledge of what he’d done, and he would become tamer.