While Alys fluttered beside the entrance, Ashton sauntered closer to me. His lips peeled back as his gaze slid down to my toes. “I can’t even imagine what you…” Pure derision dripped from his words. “Honestly, I think you stabbed the king on purpose.”
“What?” I clenched my hands into fists, ready to pop him in his sneering mouth. “I tripped. It was an accident.”
“Outlings like you are ambitious. Wouldn’t put it past you to aim for the throne yourself. After all, Donovan is the heir. You could be…” Disgust came through in his voice. “His Consort.”
“Donovan doesn’t want the throne. And I sure don’t want to be a consort.” Let alone the fact that we were only dating. We were seventeen, for fae’s sake. No way were we talking about marriage.
“Nothing you say will convince me otherwise. From the moment you’ve arrived, you’ve been striving for something better. A way to prove you’re worthy?”
I couldn’t hold back my cringe because his dart hit true. I did worry I’d never fit in.
“Why don’t you get lost?” A lame slam on my part, but I was shaken by what had happened. And nervous that the king wouldn’t consider meeting me a second time or accept me as his brother’s girlfriend. Sure, Donovan would stand by me, but what if the king made demands?
“I’m not the one who’ll soon be lost,” Ashton said. “An attempt on the king’s life comes with a stiff penalty. Worse than what’s happening to outlings at the Academy.”
Nightlace controlled by a wizard… I shuddered.
Earlier, I’d assumed they’d been playing a joke. A stupid, mean prank was what I’d expect from Ashton. But what if he truly was involved? Eben could control objects…
I wouldn’t put it past the two of them to kill us all. Ashton had been the one to share the gory details on my first day here, intending to scare me about the original outling murders.
His smile came nowhere near his steely eyes. “I can’t wait to see them haul you away.” Turning, he stalked over to Alys and held out his arm like the king had to Lilianne.
Shooting me a snide smile, she took it.
They stepped toward the Academy.
Were they together? If so, they deserved each other.
Like Donovan had, Ashton turned before entering.
Unlike Donovan, however, Ashton couldn’t leave without a taunt. “Darkwater Academy?” He said Academy is if in quotes. “You might want to look into it. There’s a good chance the prison will soon be your new home.”
Chapter 17
“Darkwater Academy is the fae version of hell on Earth,” Patty said. “Why are you asking?”
We sat across from each other in the cafeteria, eating breakfast. She was eating, that is. I was playing with my scrambled eggs, driving the congealed yellow clumps back and forth across my plate with my fork. Even my Level Five-prepared bacon didn’t taste good, which was a sin.
Donovan had pinged me this morning and said he was dining with his brother. Dining. He’d used that exact word, making him sound—for only a second, thankfully—too much like snooty Niles. He’d assured me he was making headway with his brother, that I’d be welcome soon.
I wasn’t as sure.
Deciding to spare my eggs further torture, I gave up the idea of eating and dropped my fork beside my plate. “The king said he’d send me to Darkwater Academy.”
“No way!” Patty pressed her back against her chair. “You won’t be going there.” Some of her confidence fed into me, boosting my flagging spirits.
“I won’t. You’re right.” Was there any way to avoid it if they send the Council after me?
“You’re seventeen. Darkwater Academy is for adults only. Under eighteen-year-olds are sent to Demon’s Gate Penitentiary.”
My body almost slid off my chair, onto the floor. Awesome.
“But you won’t be going there either.” Her chin lifted though her lips trembled. She shoved her plate away half-finished. “I’ve been in touch with my sister who’s a lawyer. She promised to represent you, and she always wins.”
“I appreciate it but…this won’t go on trial, will it?” The little girl I’d been when Mom dropped me off at the Academy crept into my voice. I hadn’t felt this alone or vulnerable in years.
“Probably not.” She laid her hand on mine resting on the table, but that meant both our hands trembled, now. “I’m sure this will fade away. The king will leave and everyone will forget about it.”
Not the Second Year students—including Ashton—snickering and pointing at me from the table a few over from ours.
“I hope so.”
Donovan pinged me, and I answered, eager to hear his voice. The headmistress said I didn’t need to go to classes while my brother’s here. Will you take notes for me?
Sure. Will I…see you soon? Fortunately, my urge to cling didn’t come through in my mindspeak.
I’m trying to get away but Niles hasn’t seen me for months. He keeps grabbing my arm, saying he wants to catch up.
It’s okay. I understand. Sorta. But I couldn’t stop myself from feeling hurt.
Rather be with you on any day. I miss you already. The last was said low and husky, the tone that always sent tingles zipping up my spine.
No denying the longing in his voice. It matched the longing inside me. Miss you, too.
I’ll sneak away tomorrow. We can flit and meet up together.
Can’t wait. Hey. Day after tomorrow, on Saturday, we’re going to Grathe, remember? Our first shopping trip. You still going to be able to make it? We’d planned to spend the day together.
I don’t know if I’ll be able to. Niles—
He’s your brother. I don’t mind if you hang out with him while he’s here. I’ll…hit the stores with Patty. His brother might be a jerk, but he was Donovan’s only family. If I had family, I’d want to spend time with them.
I’ll talk to him, tell him we were going to spend the day together. He’ll understand.
Doubtful. But I wouldn’t play Niles’ game by making demands. Okay. Let me know how it goes.
I will. Oh! Gotta go. Niles wants to go rowing in the moat.
Watch out for Sirra.
She wouldn’t dare insult me or my brother.
I kicked the base of the table with my toe and winced when I hit it too hard. Nope, Sirra wouldn’t go after Donovan or the king. Just me.
“Done?” Patty asked when I mentally hung up and my gaze met hers.
At my nod, we dumped our trays and went to class.
And at the end of the day, I flitted to the Headmistress’s office and knocked on her door.
“Come in!” she called out, and I stepped inside.
While I was relieved to find Cloven’s welcoming smile waiting for me, Roark’s presence made me drag my feet over to a chair.
As I dropped down onto the wooden surface, Justine said, “Please explain what happened yesterday.” She steepled her fingers and leaned back in her chair.
Cloven sat forward, nodding kind encouragement.
Roark glowered. Nothing new, there.
I stumbled through almost everything from falling into the moat when the rail gave way to escaping the water and stabbing Sirra—leaving out the secret room I’d found underneath the Academy. If I decided to share that with anyone other than Donovan, it wouldn’t be until I’d read more of the journal and somehow unlocked the chest.
“I’ve spoken with Sirra,” Roark said with a scowl.
Had she mentioned the room?
“She confirms you fell into the water but said she only wanted to play, that you stabbed her.”
“I’m sorry.” I’d had no choice but to fight back. “She…scared me. I thought she was going to drown me.”
“She only wanted to play,” Roark repeated, making Sirra’s part in the incident sound sweet and innocent. Not my part. I was being portrayed as a villain.
“She tried to kill me,” burst past my lips.
“Not from what she said.”
&nb
sp; “Drowning isn’t playing.”
Roark’s hooves shifted on the rug. “We’ll need to take your blade if you can’t control it.”
My fingers tightened on the knife resting snug in its sheath on my waist. “My moonstone is set in the blade. You can’t have it.”
He glowered.
“Your stone can be reset, if it comes to that,” the Headmistress said with a frown directed Roark’s way. “But I don’t believe that will be necessary.”
“The Council will have the final decision,” Roark chipped out. “Or the king.”
“I’ll do all I can to prevent this from happening,” Cloven said to me.
“I’m sure this has been blown out of proportion,” Justine added with an encouraging smile.
“She drove her knife into our sovereign ruler.” Roark’s hooves ground into the rug.
“She just told us she tripped,” Cloven said. “It was an accident, Roark. Not an attempt on the king’s life.”
Roark bowed his head but his steely gaze met the Headmistress’s. “This is also for the king to decide.” He turned to me. “He hasn’t revealed yet if he’ll press charges.”
“Remember the box,” Cloven said cryptically to me.
What was he talking about?
“The king does have one request,” the Headmistress said, creases heavily lining her face.
A demand, if I knew anything about Niles.
“He’ll drop the charges if…”
There was always an if.
“If you remain away from Donovan.”
“While the king is visiting?” I didn’t like where this was going.
“Forever,” Roark said.
“Naturally, I suggested it was unwise to interfere in matters of the heart,” Justine said, completely affronted. “But he was adamant.”
“I won’t agree to anything like that.”
“He thought you might say something in this vein,” she said, her smile rewarding me for my answer.
“I…We’re going out together. I like him.” How could this be happening?
“The king then suggested that you let Donovan decide.”
“If I do it, he won’t press charges?”
“I couldn’t get him to agree to that, unfortunately, but he said he’d think about it. Consider letting this go.”
In other words, if he saw me staying away from Donovan while he worked to undermine me with his brother, he’d let me off the hook.
“Donovan won’t ditch me.” I was convinced of that.
“You agree, then?”
“Of course,” I said immediately. I didn’t doubt Donovan at all.
“Then you can go,” she said. “I’ll pass your agreement on to the king. I believe you have a class to attend?”
Always. “With Professor Grim. Magical Horticulture of the Night.”
“You wouldn’t want to be late.” She chuckled, but it came out lighthearted. “Grim can be strict but fair.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” I stood, though my knees quivered. This all felt too easy. What wasn’t I seeing?
“Thank you for being reasonable about this,” Justine said.
A nod was all I could give her. I didn’t like the odd feeling trickling through me. Too many variables and the king…What if he decided he would press charges even if I “let Donovan decide?” There were few here I trusted completely. Donovan. Patty. Bryce. Cloven. Justine. They’d support me but no one else.
“I’ll see you in class next week?” Cloven said, also standing.
My fingers gripped the back of the chair, holding me upright. “Yes.”
“Perfect.” His grin came out easy. “I’m looking forward to seeing what you can do with your magic. Do love how you think outside the square.”
Ah. So that’s what he meant. But why was he bringing that up now? I’d ridden the aldakor already.
I left, shutting the door behind me, still thinking about his words. Justine had said Cloven could read signs. What did he see about me?
A quick sync with Grathe’s sundial told me Professor Grim’s class didn’t start for twenty minutes. I should go to my room and study, but I didn’t want to. I felt restless.
I drifted outside and stood at the repaired railing, staring at the water. Nothing moved, which was just as well. If I saw Sirra, I’d yell.
Or cry. Because, I didn’t like the uncertainty growing inside me.
Turning, I leaned against the rail after ensuring it was secure. No falling in tonight. I’d had enough dips in the moat to last me a lifetime.
The sun had sunk beyond the forest, though yellow and gold bled along the horizon like a smoldering fire.
Propping my elbows on the rail, I pinged Donovan.
He didn’t respond.
Chapter 18
Hey, sorry! burst into my head the next morning.
Everyone always pinged before speaking but…Donovan! I tried pinging you last night. What I didn’t say was that I was worried. The conversation with Justine and Niles’ demands made me uneasy. I’d laid awake half the night, unable to sleep.
Sorry, he groaned. I was with Niles. Playing Crumpley.
Crumpley?
It’s like, what do outlings call that game with a king and a queen and rooks?
Chess. Flopping onto my back on my bed, I pivoted to face the wall and kicked my feet up onto the white surface. Patty, still sleeping in her bed, mumbled and rolled over.
Yes, that’s it. Crumpley is like chess. But that’s not why I pinged. Niles is clinging to me worse than a vrilla toddler with a cricket lollipop.
Ugh. They didn’t eat bug candy, did they?
He continued, the only way I could get away to ping was by… I’m actually, um…well.
My laughter snorted out. You’re in the bathroom?
Thankfully, Niles doesn’t follow me everywhere.
It’s okay. I understand. Mostly. I was practically counting the seconds until Niles’ departure.
I’m not sure when I’ll be able to ping again. Or get away, but I’m gonna try. Be ready for my ping?
Name the time and place, and we can sneak away.
Hide sounds like more fun to me.
On the roof or even in a closet, if that was the only place we could escape. Together.
Always. A long pause followed. About going to Grathe. Steel edged into his voice. I’m still going to try to go with you.
If you can’t, well, it’s okay. Not really but I wouldn’t make demands. I refused to force him to choose.
Jeez. Gotta go. Would you believe he sent someone to bang on the door?
Sending someone sounded like Niles. He wouldn’t do it himself. I’ll talk to you—
Donovan had already cut off.
My legs dropped down onto my mattress.
Without Donovan to hang out with today, I could pursue my two investigations. One of them, anyway. I’d stalled with the outling murders, but I could advance my research into the sixth family. Or, my assumptions about a connection to the sixth family.
Which could be furthered—maybe—if I could spend more time with the journal and discover if anything was hidden in the chest. But Sirra would never let me into the room again unless…
Sirra. Sigh. She hadn’t been completely honest with Justine about what happened. Could I convince her to tell the truth? Maybe, then, the king would back off about Donovan.
Persuading Sirra to be honest and then talking her into letting me back into the room without drowning me had to be my current priority.
My first thought was to go to Moira for the information I needed, but she might share my questions with nosy Alys. There was someone else who had information about Sirra, however. Time to get to it.
Leaping out of bed, I grabbed my tote and rushed into the bathroom, beating Alys by two seconds.
She poked her head into the room. “I was just going to—”
“Sorry,” I said, fiddling with the dials in the shower. “Did you say something? I was about to g
et in.” Tipping my head toward the curtain, I started lifting the hem of my PJ top.
With a growl, she yanked her head back and slammed the door closed.
Couldn’t hold back my snicker. If she wanted dibs, she was going to have to get up earlier.
Later, when I approached Nalli, Drea’s former roommate’s door, maroon lips outlined in black appeared.
“Who’re you and what do you want?” A deep male voice said.
“I’m Fleur and—”
“Fleur.” The lips pursed then the mouth shouted, “The Fleur?”
My reputation preceded me. Was that a good or bad thing? “The one and only. I wanted—”
“You tell him I’ll have none of it,” the lips burst out. “The nerve of that door, thinking he can wine and dine and smooch me and then blow me off in the morning. If he thinks he can send a student to plead his case, he can knock on a different panel and see if I care.”
Hands raised, I backed away slowly. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I was—”
“You very well know what I mean. 424.” He huffed. “Imagine. Sending you here to placate me after what he did.”
“I’m not here about that,” I said. “That is, my door didn’t send me.”
“He didn’t?” Irritation bled through in the words. “And why didn’t he send you? Am I not worth asking a student to intervene?”
This was more confusing than a conversation with Alex, but I crept closer. “If you want, I could pass on a message to him.” Leave it to me to end up running a door dating service. Was there an elemental magic app for that?
“Does he mention me?” the maroon lips gushed. “Please say he did.”
Frowning, I pinched my chin. “He did say something about—”
“Oh, yay! I knew it. Thank you.” Never thought a door could squeal, but this one did. “Tell him I’ve been…” The only way to describe the lips’ position was coy. “I’ve been thinking of him. About our passionate night together when we—”
“Ugh.”
“What?”
“Nothing.” Escape, escape! I couldn’t bear to hear another word. “I’ll, um, tell him.” I cringed, picturing myself pushing the words out. The things I’d do for a friend. “Can you tell me if—”
Crystal Wing Academy- The Complete Series Page 36