Fiendish Magic

by L. A. Sable

  Establishing a claim? That wasn’t what happened, I told myself. Everyone has drawn a little blood during sex, at least once. It didn’t mean anything more than that. But it was hard to ignore the searching look on Cynth’s face, as confusion and surprise momentarily overcame his disdain.

  “Hello, kink shaming,” I commented, deliberately keeping my voice light. I had to distract him from any questions that I didn’t even want to answer to myself. “You almost sound jealous.”

  “You flatter yourself,” he responded coldly.

  “Do I?” I pulled on the collar of my shirt so that it fell away from the wound that still oozed blood. It would be a bit longer before it even began to scab over. I forced myself not to think about how badly it would scar. Touching the deepest part of the wound, I then held up blood-soaked fingers for him to see. “You wouldn’t want even the smallest taste. I hate to see all this blood go to waste.”

  Cynth watched me like he’d never seen me before. The mark on my neck burned with heat, but his gaze licked over my skin like cold fire. I told myself that I didn’t want him, taunting him like this was simply a means of survival. And I needed him to stay off balance.

  I brought my fingers to my lips, intending to lick them clean even if the thought squicked me out just a little bit. Then I blinked, and Cynth was standing directly in front of me with his hand gripping my wrist and arrested the movement. He had crossed the distance separating us too quickly for my mind to process it.

  Before I could make a move to stop him, Cynth brought my hand to his own mouth and licked at my finger with his tongue. I let out an involuntary gasp as he lathed the digits with the tip of his tongue, closing his eyes for a moment as if the taste overwhelmed him.

  “You taste like sunshine,” he murmured against the skin. His fangs had fully descended and the sharp points pressed into the spongy flesh at the top of my palm, not quite hard enough to break the skin. “How is that possible?”

  I don’t have an answer or the air left in my lungs to provide one, even if I did. A gasp escaped my throat as he sucked a second finger into his mouth and licked it clean. A thrill of pleasure tightened my lower belly, my body responding as if it didn’t care at all that this vampire was my enemy. Cynth seemed as surprised as I was that something existed between us aside from violence and his thumb stroked my palm in a tickling movement.

  My fingers slipped from his mouth with a small popping sound as he continued to stare at me. I held no illusions that he would sink his teeth into my neck and suck me dry given the opportunity, but it certainly seemed that there was something more there.

  And I didn’t want to think about what that might be.

  A crashing sound came from behind me, moments before West burst through the trees. His wild gaze passed over us, lips turning up in a snarl when he saw that Cynth still gripped my wrist. “What the hell is going on?”

  “I could ask you the same thing.” Cynth released me, as quickly as if I had burned him. “You aren’t supposed to leave the castle walls.”

  West shrugged, but the expression in his eyes was guarded. I immediately had the impression that he didn’t want Cynth to know any gory details of what we had been up to. “We needed the extra space for a training exercise.”

  “Training?” Cynth’s lips quirked as his gaze passed over the larger man. “Is that supposed to explain why she is drenched in your scent?”

  “You don’t need an explanation,” West snapped. “Nothing I do with her is any concern of yours.”

  “It is if it will get me killed.” Cynth tilted his head back and gently sniffed at the air. “Fucking her won’t do anything to help us against Valentine.”

  The two men glared at each other across the clearing, just this side of openly hostile.

  West crossed burly arms over his chest, the fabric of his shirt wrinkled from where it had been left crumpled on the ground. “What are you doing out here, anyway?”

  “The headmaster wants to see us,” Cynth said finally, narrow gaze swinging between us. “He sent me out here to find you both.”

  “And you couldn’t have led with that?” West snapped the question as he came up to stand behind me. “Is it about Valentine?”

  “I’m sure that I have no idea.” Cynth turned on his heel and stalked away toward the castle, giving us no choice but to follow him.

  I stumbled as I started forward and West gripped my elbow, steadying me. Wrenching my arm away, I stomped away and resolved to ignore him. I couldn’t look West in the face without remembering how he had felt inside me. It was a distraction that I didn’t need.

  With Cynth ahead of me and West behind, I had no choice but to head back to the castle. I was going to have to face Darius, no closer to learning how to control my power and smelling of sex and blood.

  I should have felt more badly about that than I actually did.

  I was very careful not to make eye contact with either Cynth or West as we entered the castle, mostly because I didn’t need the reminder of how far I’d fallen. A few weeks ago I’d been on the run but independent, able to forget just how much this world messed with my head. I wasn’t the witch who chased after other supernaturals like she was practically gagging for it. But all it had taken was a shifter with determination to make me into something totally different. I had let him mark me, which didn’t have to mean anything but also could have meant everything.

  And Cynth licking the blood from my finger had been way hotter than it should have been, considering how badly he wanted me dead. I don’t know what to make of it, but I assume it had to be part of a bigger trick.

  Darius waited for us in a large anteroom decorated to look like a hunter’s fantasy. Heads of different animals, some mundane and others more fantastical, decorated the walls. At the center of the far wall was a fully grown and stuffed unicorn with its horn still attached and glowing faintly in the dim light.

  “I thought those had gone extinct,” I said to myself, not realizing I had spoken aloud until Darius’s gaze flashed to me.

  “They are now,” he replied with a smirk. “That’s a recent acquisition, so it may actually be the last.”

  “That’s disgusting.” I couldn’t stop myself from staring in horror at the dead unicorn. Hunting like a human was one thing, but these were rare and mystical creatures. I noticed a manticore head on the wall with its mouth bared in a silent scream. It disgusted me that these creatures had been killed just to have their parts mounted. “None of these animals had to die.”

  “Death is the only inevitability that exists.” Darius sounded almost bored. “But let’s talk instead about how disappointing you’ve turned out to be.”

  He didn’t look particularly murderous, but I had to remind myself that the only person on Earth more dangerous than Valentine was glaring at me. Cynth and West had backed away to the far sides of the room as soon as we entered so I faced Darius alone.

  “Disappointment? You’re the one who forced me to come here and you haven’t even made it clear what you want from me.” I knew that getting upset was the wrong track to take with him, I’d seen him do enough damage in the past that it should have held my tongue. But I’d already kissed Bastian, screwed West and let Cynth lick blood from my fingers, all against my better judgment. I’d officially had enough of all this shit. “If I’m not living up to your expectations, then feel free to let me walk out of here.”

  Darius’s frown deepened as a dangerous light entered his eyes. “I want a display, like the one that attracted Valentine to you in the first place. I expected you to immolate your classmates, not screw them in the training rooms.”

  My face burned as I realized that Darius was well aware of my extracurricular activities. Clearly, he had been standing there when he caught me with Bastian for longer than a second. My hand drifted to my neck and the gaping wound that wasn’t completely covered by the blood-stained collar of my dress. Darius followed the path of my nervous twitch with his gaze and his lips thinned even further in ob
vious displeasure.

  “I summoned a demon without being torn apart,” I pointed out, sounding defensive even to my own ears. “That has to count for something.”

  “I doubt an imp will be enough to subdue the most powerful magic worker in the universe. But by all means, throw the thing at Valentine’s face and let me know how that works for you.” Darius stepped close enough to loom over me as I fought the urge to back away. “If that’s the best you’re capable of, then a quick death is the best you can hope for with Valentine.”

  “Okay, I thought you’d be a little more impressed with the demon summoning thing.” None of them so much as cracked a smile, not that I’d expected them to. “And I warned you when you brought me here that I never had control over my magic. You can only expect so much.”

  “I expect something worth your life, or have you forgotten that’s what is on the line. Fail to hold up your end of the bargain, and your blood debt payment is forfeited. If Valentine doesn’t kill you first, someone else certainly will.”

  Cynth shifted slightly behind me. I didn’t need to see his face to know I’d find a look of anticipation there. He had already tried to kill me once, there was no reason to believe that he wouldn’t try it again.

  A slice of fear moved through me at the realization that I was surrounded by hostile forces. If they all turned on me, there would be no escape unless I figured out how to swim the hundreds of miles back to shore.

  “I’ve never had any control.” I hate that I have to make the admission because it made me sound weak. “You’re asking for something that might not be possible.”

  West surprised me by speaking up. “Not even with Valentine? I thought the two of you were like some power couple.”

  Our gazes met briefly, but I forced myself to look away because the heat in his eyes was more than I could handle. He almost sounded jealous.

  “Valentine wanted a prop and little else. That’s what he always wants.” Darius cast a mocking look over me, expression full of disdain. “I saw it for myself, but here I was hoping you were worth something more. Pity.”

  I didn’t like the sound of that, as if he’d already made a decision about what would happen next. The last thing I wanted was to be on my own with Valentine on his way. “I’ve made some progress, you can’t blame for not working miracles in just a few days. I thought I was just supposed to be bait.”

  “Bait that has to survive long enough to be useful,” Darius snapped, lips thinning as he glared at all of us. “Not one of you stand a chance against Valentine. If you want to have any hope of riding through the ranks of the Blooded, then Valentine must die.”

  The guys bristled at that. Clearly they were accustomed to being treated like the big fish in a small pond. But Valentine was the shark large enough to eat the entire world. Even Darius didn’t stand a chance against him unless Valentine had been substantially weakened first.

  “Aren’t you being a little unfair?” It wasn’t until Bastian spoke that I realized he had been standing in the shadows behind Darius. Or more likely, he had simply materialized from the darkness as it suited him. “Jinx’s magic appears to manifest most powerfully in close quarters, through touch and high emotion. Intimacy is key.” His gaze cut to me as a smile played at the corner of his lips. It was impossible not to get the impression that he found this whole exchange endlessly amusing. “Valentine just has to let her get close. Very close.”

  Darius seemed to bristle at that. “And I don’t have to ask if you’ve discovered this information firsthand.”

  Bastian stepped into the light, body lithe like a cat’s as he sidled around Darius to stand with us. “I do always leave them satisfied.”

  “And what the hell is that supposed to mean?” West demanded, looking from one of us to another with growing anger in his voice.

  Darius answered before I could, seeming to relish in my obvious discomfort. “You can’t have thought you were the only one she’s been fooling with. Spreading their legs is one of the few things an untrained witch is good for.”

  “Oh, fuck off,” I told him, thoroughly sick of the whole witches are all whores thing. “You’re the one who brought me here to be your damn black widow.”

  “You fucked him?” West asked as he turned toward me, face very carefully blank.

  “I don’t see how any of this matters,” I countered, more than a little concerned by the faraway look on his face, as if he was preparing himself for something. West continued to stare at me silently until I felt compelled to finally answer. “It was barely third base.”

  West seemed to consider that for a long moment as he stared at me, gaze lingering on the still aching wound on my shoulder. Then he seemed to come to some sort of decision.

  And before any of us could react, West let out a low growl and launched himself across the room at Bastian. I let out a surprised shout, but Bastian was quicker than I gave him credit for. He dodged away from the fist that West aimed at his face and made a low sweeping kick that sent the shifter crashing to the ground.

  They rolled around on the floor as the rest of us stumbled back to avoid the melee. Cynth had a wide smile on his face that turned into a grimace when he caught me looking at him. Darius watched the fight with a disgusted look on his face.

  “Are you going to do anything about this?” I asked Darius, gesturing to where Bastian had wrapped his hands around West’s throat and started squeezing as the shifter gasped for air.

  Darius pursed his lips, expression almost petulant. “This is all your fault, you know. We never had this much chaos before you arrived.”

  “I’m not going to feel badly about ruining your fun after you forced me to come here. Now, will you please stop them from killing each other?”

  But Darius didn’t seem particularly predisposed to help, instead watching the two guys hammer each other as if he was at a show. “No.”

  “You do need them both,” Cynth murmured, glaring back when I mouthed a thank you. “You’ll stand no chance against Valentine if you’re down by two acolytes. And there are no other viable candidates within their houses.”

  “Fine.”

  A sound like a thunderclap shook the walls as Darius slapped his hands together. West and Bastian flew apart as if an invisible force had slammed into them. West hit the far wall with a loud crack and sank to the floor, still awake but clearly dazed. Bastian skidded on his feet across the room and landed on his knees next to the stuffed unicorn.

  “Clearly, the two of you cannot be trusted to maintain clear heads.” Darius looked down at them both with obvious disdain. “Cynth will take over Jinx’s training from this point forward. I trust that he can keep his hands to himself.

  “Absolutely not.” Cynth glared around the room at all of us, his anger looking for a target. “I don’t care if the girl dies.”

  “You’ll care when Valentine comes for the rest of us,” Darius snapped. “Honor your brother’s memory by taking the path he paved for you. He wouldn’t have hesitated to do whatever was necessary.” He then turned to me, lip curling as he took in my mussed uniform and kiss-swollen lips. “Prove yourself valuable to me if you hope to survive.”

  Without waiting for a response, Darius turned on his heel and swept from the room. I could have sworn that temperature rose by several degrees the moment that he was gone.

  “Don’t mind him,” Bastian said with an airy wave of his hand. “Darius is mad because I won’t screw him anymore. Blue balls make him difficult to deal with.”

  Well, that confirmed my suspicions about Bastian’s relationship with the headmaster. I didn’t want to ask, but I couldn’t stop myself. “Why?”

  The look in his eyes was mercurial. “I think you know why.”

  “You won’t fucking touch her.” West pushed painfully to his feet, the force of his body hitting the wall would have broken bones in anything but a shifter. “Neither of you will or I’ll make sure you regret it.”

  “Down, boy,” Bastian replied with a smug g
rin. “We all get that you’ve pissed on her leg or whatever you shifters do to mark your territory.”

  West’s lips thinned as he glared. “I’ll do a lot more than piss if I catch you anywhere near her.”

  “Well, that will certainly be an interesting thing to see.” Bastian lifted onto the balls of his feet and did a little back-and-forth dance like he was a prize fighter who had just entered the ring. “I hate to break it to you, but I touch who I please and I always leave them wanting more.”

  My attention pinged from one of them to another while I tried to think of a way to extricate myself from this excruciating situation. Their attention didn’t even seem to be on me at all as West and Bastian squared off with each other. My gaze briefly met Cynth’s as he glared back at me, making it clear that he blamed me for whatever happened next. The obvious disgust on his face was almost a relief to see. Things had been a lot easier when they all hated me.

  West cracked his knuckles, the pops of the joints loud enough to make me wince. “Listen to me, you Fae bastard. I will tear you limb from limb and eat the bigger pieces for breakfast.”

  Bastian fluttered his fingers in a come hither gesture. “I’d love to see you try, doggo. Bring it on.”

  The growl that emerged from West’s throat was all threat as he looked ready to launch himself across the room at Bastian. Without Darius there to intervene, there was a good chance that one, or both, of them would end up getting hurt. West really had no right to be stomping around like he owned me because of one fuck and Bastian seemed to be enjoying riling the shifter in any way he could just for the fun of it. When West crouched low and bared his teeth, obviously moments from attacking, I was compelled to intervene.

  “Okay, enough,” I shouted, screaming it again until they both turned to look at me. I glared around the room at these boys pretending to be men that were supposed to represent the best that their species had to offer. And all of them were acting like children. Valentine would probably laugh us all into a grave, no magic even necessary. “This is stupid and I’ve officially had enough of the tough guy posturing. Both of you can put your dicks away because no one is whipping out a measuring tape.”