by Cali Mann
“It’s just the fire aspect. It’s making her more hot-headed than usual. More rash.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Well, fuck you. We need to be supportive. We need to be by her side.” I turned toward the path, ready to stride through the woods.
“If we’re going to lose her, I’d rather spend every minute with her I can while she’s sane.” Adrian stood, dusting off his jeans. His face was drawn and worn.
“Fuck, man. I need more pep and less pessimism from you.”
“A cheerleader? You want a goddamn cheerleader?” His cheeks bulged as if he was holding in laughter.
“Yes, I do.” I chuckled.
“Fine.” He strolled toward me, arms swinging. “We can do it. Yes, we can.”
I snorted. “I think you missed your calling.”
“Ha.” He grinned.
We tromped through the woods back toward campus. I scratched my arm where an old knife wound lay. Hailey had been off lately, angry at everyone and everything. I wasn’t sure what to make of it all, but I knew I loved her, and I needed to help her find balance. Her father had said that she needed her mates, so we needed to find her air mate and get out of Thornbriar. Maybe we could go to one of those spirit shifter colonies they talked about in history class. I wasn’t sure where to find one, but there had to be some way we could.
I’d miss Sciro. He’d been a brother for a long time. Maybe he’d come with us even if he wasn’t Hailey’s mate. Or maybe he was; he just didn’t know it yet. Everything that had happened so far had seemed fated. My grandmother used to talk a lot about fate bringing people together for all the right reasons. She meant me and my victims, the criminals that my jaguar and I hunted together, but I could see it here too. Everyone who’d come into Hailey’s path had fought their attraction to her at first. Why couldn’t Sciro be one of us?
7
Hailey
I marched across campus, fire in the pit of my stomach. Nothing had gone right this whole week. The Council had been milling around. The students seemed on edge, even if they weren’t on trial, and the Oracle was coming. I didn’t know what to feel or what to think.
The cave walls closed around me as I left the pools heading to the wall where I’d visited Sciro. I pressed my hand to it. The coolness seeped into my hot skin, and I leaned my head against it. I hadn’t expected to feel like this. I’d grown up alone, with no one to help me through these periods. Now I had the support of three mates, and still I ached with loneliness. It was as if the lack of the fourth made it all worse when I should have been getting better. I didn’t understand it.
A rock fell from the dirt wall and pinged along the stones, and I started. What was I doing here? I bit my lip. Of all the guys, Sciro was the sanest, the most reasonable. Was it any wonder I wanted to turn to him when I was agitated? Maybe he could explain it.
I shook myself. He had enough problems. He was starving, and I was sure the Council would start interrogating him soon, if they hadn’t already. I just wanted to see him, to make sure for myself that he was okay.
Taking a breath, I focused on shifting into spirit form. It was a release to let go of my overheated physical body and become one with the air around me. I slipped through the wall and gazed around the barren room. They hadn’t left him so much as a book. Sciro must have been going crazy.
My eyes found him leaning against the end of his cot, his long legs splayed in front of him. He’d only been in here a few weeks, but his black hair seemed longer, and dark circles had formed under his eyes. His pale skin was stretched across his bones. I blinked back tears, and lifted my arm to rub my face, but I wasn’t corporeal so I couldn’t. But I did have a voice, so I whispered, “Sciro.”
He looked up; his eyes almost feral. His voice came out, scratchy and rough. “Hailey?”
I sat down next to him. “I’m here.”
My hand materialized, and he grabbed it, yanking it to his mouth. I gasped. The pain of the bite was soon washed away by pleasure. Heat pooled in my middle, and the rest of me dropped out of spirit form and onto the dusty floor. Intense sensations swirled through me, and I closed my lips against my moan. Was this what Brenton had felt when I fed from him? No wonder he’d reacted as he did.
I soared toward the open sky. This was even better than riding a dragon. My thoughts scattered and there was nothing more than this moment. It seemed to go on forever.
Even as pleasure blew through me, the blood loss started to make me woozy. The edges of my vision blurred, and I cried out, “Sciro!”
He didn’t stop, his hands clamped around my arm and his teeth buried in the flesh.
Forcing myself to ignore my cascading emotions was the hardest thing I’d ever done, but I concentrated on letting go of this physical form and disappeared into spirit.
Sciro looked up, his hands dropping to the floor, and his eyes crazed. Blood covered his lips and his fangs, and he looked savage. Where was the patient, scholarly man I knew? My heart squeezed.
I drifted through the wall and fell to the cave floor. I was weak and faint, and I wasn’t sure if I could stand. I hadn’t even thought when I’d offered him my wrist. I’d just wanted to help him. Lifting my head, I gazed around the dark cave. Empty. Silent. If I couldn’t get up, no one would ever find me.
Maybe I should just lay down and let go. Wouldn’t everyone be better off if I died? Hadn’t I thought that so many times since coming to Thornbriar?
I shook myself. Hailey, you idiot. You’re bound to three other people who will likely die if you do. Is that really what you want?
Of course, it wasn’t. I took a breath.
Pulling my wrist closer, I inspected the gaping wound. Blood still leaked out of it. I ripped the bottom of my tee shirt and wrapped the cloth around my injury. Then I used my good arm to push myself up, and stood, swaying, but alive. Dizziness rushed through me. I leaned against the dirt wall. How much blood had he taken?
I stumbled through the caves, forcing myself to go on when I only wanted to stop. I could do this. I’d been such an idiot coming down here all alone. I was torn between desperately wanting to encounter someone to help and hoping that the pools were empty so no one would see my stupidity. Dumb luck or not, the water caverns were vacant. I tripped up the steps, falling on to my hands and knees. The cold stone felt good against my skin. I just needed to lay my head down for a minute.
“Hailey?” a female voice squeaked. “Is that you?”
Blinking, I lifted my head and gazed into the eyes of Aileen McKinnon, Brenton’s mom. “Hey,” I said woozily.
She rushed down the stairs, her heels clicking on the stone. Crouching next to me, she asked, “What happened?”
I shoved my wrist at her, letting the wrapping fall open, and she gasped.
Leaping to her feet, she said, “I’ll get the headmaster.”
“No,” I moaned, catching her gaze. “She can’t know.”
Her lips thinned, but she yanked out her cell phone, dialing. “Brenton,” she said into it, “Come quickly. Bring bandages and your friends.”
She continued giving instructions, and I sighed, laying my head back down.
After the call ended. Aileen sat gingerly on the stairs. She rewrapped my makeshift bandage, clamped her hands over it, and held it up in the air. “How did you end up here?”
I grunted.
“How long have you been here?”
Trying to shrug while lying on stairs is hard, but I gave it my best shot. “Why are you here?”
Her hands squeezed my injury and I winced.
“Sorry,” she murmured. “I’m actually here for your mother.”
I frowned. “My mother’s dead.”
“That’s what I thought too.” She sighed. “I didn’t know that Kaiden and your mom had mated.”
I blinked. I didn’t know what to think. My mother was one of my father’s mates. “He has four . . .”
“Yes, and your mother is one of them.”
“W
hy didn’t he say anything?”
“Hailey, your father’s mates . . .” She trailed off, gazing into the distance.
“What?”
“They aren’t bonded, well, not in the same way you and Brenton are. He keeps them prisoner.”
“My mom’s alive, and she’s a captive?”
Aileen grimaced. “I came here to see if I could find some allies willing to help me rescue her.”
Wow. There was more fire in Brenton’s mom than I had imagined. “But you’re allied with Kaiden?”
“My husband is, and I’ve always just gone along with it. I believed that Kaiden mourned Abigail as much as I did.”
“We have to save her.” I tried to sit up, and Aileen pressed my shoulder down.
“No, lie still until we get you some help.”
Running feet echoed in the corridor, and her gaze swung toward them. “Brenton, good.”
Brenton, Terrin, and Adrian were instantly at my side, but Nurse Brar, Doug, pushed through them all. “Let me see the patient.”
He stitched up my wound on the spot, while the guys fed me cookies and juice.
“I don’t think you’ll need a blood transfusion,” Doug said. “But you’ll need rest, Hailey. You’re a shifter, but you’re not invincible.”
I nodded. “Thank you.” I looked around for Aileen, but she had disappeared. “Brenton, where did your mom go?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“She said—” I bit my tongue, glancing at Doug. He was my father’s minion. I’d better wait until we were alone.
Brenton met my eyes, and I mouthed, “Not now.”
After Doug finished fixing me up, the guys lifted me and carried me back to Terrin and Adrian’s suite.
My mother was alive. I didn’t know if I believed it. Not that my father didn’t have it in him to lock up his mates and force them to do his bidding. I knew he did. In fact, I had suspicions about Hastings House and his relationship with Mr. Hastings. My father could be cruel, vindictive, and outright evil. We had to rescue her. Somehow.
8
Hailey
As soon as we were alone in the suite, Nurse Brar having gone back to the infirmary, I said, “My mother’s alive.”
The guys stared at me, their brows furrowed, and their eyes concerned.
“That’s what Aileen told me,” I said, frustration echoing in my voice. “Kaiden’s been holding his mates captive.”
“What?” Brenton growled. “She’s known all this time—”
“Not about my mother,” I said. “As soon as she found out, she came here for allies to rescue her.”
“Why here?” Adrian asked, sitting at the end of the couch. “Oh, because the Council is here. And what better way to take down Kaiden than to steal his mates?”
“They’ll want to kill them,” Terrin said softly.
My gaze darted to him. “No.”
His lips twitched. “I love your ferocity. But the Council will want to eliminate the threat more than save anyone’s life.”
“Then Aileen is approaching the wrong people. Shouldn’t she know that?”
Brenton sighed. “I don’t know. She’s supported my father all these years. Maybe she doesn’t understand how nasty they are on this side of it, too.”
Adrian scowled.
“I didn’t mean your mom,” Brenton said.
“No, you’re right,” Adrian replied. “She’s just as cutthroat as the rest of them. Not that it’s easy to hear.”
“Yeah, none of our parents are perfect.” Brenton shrugged.
Terrin said, “We’ll just have to rescue her ourselves.”
“Yes,” I said. “That’s exactly what I was thinking.”
“But Sciro,” Adrian said, his face pained. “He needs us here to support him.”
Terrin frowned. “I love my brother, but this will keep Hailey safe and rescue her mother. That’s five lives saved.”
“No!” I shook my head. “It’s not about counting up lives. That’s not fair to anyone.”
Brenton said, “We’ll have to bust Sciro out and take him with us.”
“But then we’ll be on the run. That’s no way to live,” Adrian murmured, as though it made him sick to say it.
I reached out and squeezed his hand. He squeezed mine back, his eyes grateful. There were no good options. We needed Sciro’s clear thinking right now, but he wasn’t in a state to ponder anything. I took a breath. “Not everything needs to happen right now.”
“Hailey—” Terrin began and I held up my hand, shaking my head.
“No. Sciro is our priority. We need to figure out how to get him out of this mess. Then, we’ll help rescue my mother.”
The guys frowned, but then nodded in agreement.
“She’s been captive a long time,” I said. “She’ll make it a few days more. I should know.”
* * *
I had mostly recovered my strength by the next morning. The guys kept me well fed and entertained, and we racked our brains for solutions to our problems. But there wasn’t much to be done. I was just glad it was the weekend. I headed into the dining hall for breakfast and it was all abuzz. I had just reached for my plate when I heard what it was about.
“The Oracle is arriving today.”
I froze, my hand on the dish, my heart racing. The Oracle, the fucking Oracle, was arriving today. Someone jostled me from behind, and I forced myself to pick up the plate. I dished up pancakes, bacon, and orange juice just like I normally would, and took it out to sit in the courtyard.
Adrian called me over to sit with him. Dropping down onto the stone bench, I leaned into his side, taking strength from his presence.
His arm came around me. “Hailey, what’s wrong?”
“The Oracle is coming.”
He nodded, a frown creasing his forehead.
“She’s arriving today.”
“Oh, shit.”
I stared at my plate, trying to work up an appetite for the food.
He squeezed me. “She can’t tell what you are by looking.”
“I know,” I said, shaking myself. “But we don’t know what Professor Ward told her.”
“If he’d said that there was a spirit shifter on campus, we’d have been on lock down long before this. The Oracle wouldn’t have kept that a secret.”
“You’re right. I’m being ridiculous.”
“No, I get it.” He sighed. “Maybe there’s some ritual she can do to clear Sciro.”
A ghost of a smile crossed my face. “Wouldn’t that be nice? Use one problem to fight another.”
He nodded.
“Adrian, have you ever seen the Oracle?” I asked. “In person?”
“Once,” he said, looking across the courtyard. “I was a kid and she was headed into a Council meeting.”
“Oh?”
“She was young then, not much older than we are now. I remember thinking she looked sad.”
“I can imagine, if they raise them in that house like cattle, on the chance one of them is the next Oracle.” I took a bite of my cooling bacon.
“It’s not like Hastings House,” he said. “They live in luxury.”
“A cage is still a cage.” The longing to be free still burned in my veins. Part of me had jumped at the idea of fleeing Thornbriar to save my mother.
He smiled. “When this is all over. We’ll travel.”
I squeezed his arm. “That’d be nice.”
“Anywhere you want to go,” he said.
“How many Oracle potentials are there? What do they do if they don’t become Oracles?”
“I don’t know, Hailey,” he said. “I haven’t exactly made a study of the Oracle. Maybe you should go to the library.”
Nodding, I said, “I should. It’s just hard to go, without Professor Ward there.”
“I know,” he said. “We’ll save them. Sciro and your mom.”
“I hope so.”
9
Brenton
“Mother, ho
w do you know?” I asked.
She paced across the tiny room she’d been given. “I just do.”
“That’s ridiculous.” I shook my hands at her. “There’s more to it. You just aren’t telling me.”
“Honey, calm down.”
I kicked the garbage can. “How are you even here without Dad? He’s going to kill you.”
“I left your father,” she said, interlacing her fingers in her lap.
My jaw dropped, and I rounded on her. “What?”
“I know, you’ve been telling me to do it for years, but I couldn’t.” She glanced toward the window. “Until now.”
“What has changed? Is it finding out about Hailey’s mom? She was your friend, wasn’t she?”
“Abigail is and always has been my friend. She was kind to me when no one else was.” Her shoulders squared. “When I found out what that brute had done to her—”
“What has he done to her, Mom?”
“She’s locked up with his other mates. He keeps them in a secret base.” Her lips firmed. “Paid for by idiot humans who think he’s some kind of god.”
“What do you mean?” I saw the moment when she gave up. When my relentless need to know met her determination to keep me safe.
Her shoulders slumped. “Oh, Brenton. Promise me you are not going to run off all aflame.”
I dropped into the seat across from her. “I won’t.”
She smoothed her already smooth dress and let her mousy brown hair fall in front of her eyes. “I always believed Kaiden had killed her. He let me believe that.”
“But he didn’t.”
Mom sniffed. “No, he did worse. He locked her up underground. A beautiful air spirit trapped underground for eighteen years. Do you understand the damage that could cause?”
I nodded tightly. Like Sciro. We had to get him out of there.
“Kaiden didn’t find his mates in time. He was already half-mad by the time Abigail started dating him.”
“Why would she . .?” I began.
My mother’s lips twitched. “Why, for the same reason I stayed with your father all these years. Love.”