by Cara E Holt
You are Joking Right?
I quietly open my dorm room door and I am met with the loud snores of my roommate. Hopefully if I could sneak in without waking her she would not realise I had been out all night.
“Gotchya!” She shouts sitting up in bed and making me scream out loud.
“Fuck Norah. You almost gave me a heart attack.” I hold my chest and try and steady my breathing.
“Thought you could sneak in hey? Where have you been all night you naughty girl?” Norah grabs me by the hand and pulls me to sit down on her bed. “Come on, out with it,”
“I don’t even know where to start.” I sigh. “Last night was..., crazy.”
Norah claps her hand excitedly. “Start at the beginning please.”
So I start with the tale of bumping into Kavan. Her eyes nearly pop out of her head when I get to the part of Drayce and I being locked together in that room.
“He spanked you with a paddle?”
I nod, blushing slightly.
“Kinky,” She grins. “Did you like it?”
I squirm under her scrutiny. “Kind of.”
Norah’s eyes almost pop out of her head. “He spanked you and you liked it! Oh wow, this is the best. Please tell me you jumped his juicy bones and had mad hot sex all night in every position possible?”
I chuckle and roll my eyes. “No, I head butted him, broke his nose and told him never to touch me again.”
Norah’s face drops. “Please tell me you are kidding me? Why didn’t you hump him?”
I shrug my shoulders. “Because, I hate him and he hates me.”
Norah throws her hands up in the air. “So hate-fuck him, who cares!”
“I think it’s best if Black and I stick to hating each other. It’s much less complicated, besides, I don’t want to be another name on Black’s long list.”
Norah looks at me disappointed. “Not even once? Just to live the Black experience?”
I shake my head with certainty. “Not once, but I really do need to get laid.”
Norah waggles her eyebrows. “Girlfriend we’ll have you sexually sated by the weekend, I’ll make it my mission.”
I’m in my first class of the afternoon when the school secretary knocks on our classroom door and asks if I can be excused from class. I hurriedly pack up my things and wonder what why I am being summoned. I start to panic wondering if there were cameras in that club. I reach the principal’s office and knock and I am told to enter. I falter in my steps when I see Drayce sat in the room alongside Coach Gray.
“Elara thanks for coming. Please take a seat.” Mistress Isolde beckons me to the chair beside Drayce before taking her own seat behind her desk. “I’m sorry for pulling you out of class but there have been some developments regarding the girl who was attacked.” She pauses and looks briefly at Drayce before continuing. “The girl is now no longer in a trance state but she has been drained of all her magic.”
I have to check that I have just heard her right. “Did you say drained of her magic?”
Mistress Isolde nods and clears her throat. “The student was able to give a description of her attacker who she says was a vampire, but the troubling part is he told the girl to give you a message.”
“A message, for me?” I look at her puzzled and then at Drayce and Coach Gray. “I don’t understand.”
Mistress Isolde clears her throat. “He told the girl to tell you that he was coming for you.”
My eyes widen in shock. “He’s coming for me?” I shake my head. “I don’t understand. Who is he and what does he want with me?”
Mistress Isolde pulls a piece of paper from her desk and offers it out to me. “We had a reconstruction of the victim’s attacker drawn up based on her description. Elara, do you recognise him?”
I take the drawing and study it. The man has a long face and dark eyes. His dark hair finishes just under his ears. I shake my head. “I’m sorry, I don’t recognise him.”
Isolde nods and offers me a sad smile. “That is unfortunate. Elara, I have spoken to your parents and made them aware of what has happened. I have assured them that your safety is paramount to us and with that in mind we have decided that until the attacker is caught you will be escorted to and from all your classes. We also think that until the culprit is caught that you need to be close to those who can protect you. With that in mind we think it would be best if you move into the senior dorms of your house.”
“The senior dorms?”
Isolde nods. “Drayce and the best of our fighters reside in house fire. In the senior dorms we will be able to know you are better protected.”
I look over at Drayce. “So, you’re okay with this?”
Drayce looks at me with concern etched in his face. “You need to be protected at all times and no one can do that better than the seniors of your own house.”
“Do you think he wants to take my magic like he did the girl?”
Isolde shrugs her shoulders. “Elara, I spoke to the High priestess of your coven before I spoke to your parents and she mentioned that throughout your schooling years she has found your magic very strong.”
I nod. “Yes, she said I was the most powerful witch she had seen in our coven in a long time.”
“Then it may be why he is targeting you. If he is draining witches magic for a purpose it would make sense that he would target those who hold a lot of power, but we cannot be sure that is the reason he wants you.”
I nod and wring my hands together. “The girl, will her magic come back?”
Mistress Isolde shakes her head. “I’m afraid not. The student now has no supernatural powers.” Mistress Isolde stands. “Drayce will accompany you to your dorms now and help you to pack and move over there. We are going to step up your defence lessons and magic defence classes which will mean extra classes I’m afraid.”
I nod my head. “I’ll do whatever I can to help protect myself from this monster.”
Drayce stands at the same time I do and he holds open the door for me. “Wait.” I pause in the doorway. “What do I tell my roommate? And for that matter are juniors allowed to live in the senior dorms?”
Mistress Isolde chews on her lip. “I’ll be honest I hadn’t considered that. Please sit back down.”
Drayce follows me back inside and he takes a seat beside me.
“I’m afraid you can’t tell your dorm mate the truth Elara. We need to contain this threat because if it gets out it could cause panic.”
“I get that,” I tell her, “but I can’t just move out without an explanation.”
Drayce nods in agreement. “No junior has ever been allowed to live in the senior house. It will raise a lot of questions.”
Isolde looks from Drayce to coach Gray. “If Elara were engaged to a senior from her house, then it would be acceptable for her to room share with her intended.”
Coach Grey nods. “It would and has happened before.”
I hold my hand up. “Wait a minute. You’re suggesting I fake an engagement?”
Mistress Isolde nods. “It would be the easiest explanation for your sudden move into the senior dorms.”
I scoff. “And who exactly do you propose I get engaged to?”
Mistress Isolde looks from me to Drayce.
“You can’t be serious?” I ask, my voice getting slightly high pitch with anxiety. “No way!”
“Drayce’s father is on the Wiccan council. He knows the events of what occurred here. He will understand the need to keep things under wraps.”
I laugh again. “No one would believe it. A Black getting engaged to a low status coven witch.”
“They would if Counsel Black made the announcement.” Isolde looks from me to Drayce. “It would mean the two of you would need to at least pretend to be a couple in public though. Could you handle that?”
I look over at Drayce trying to figure out what he must be thinking. “We can do that.” He says firmly.
Isolde nods and offers him an encouraging smile. “Thank yo
u Drayce. I knew we could count on you. I’ll request an urgent meeting with your father now.”
I follow him out of the room dazed and still unable to form coherent words.
“You okay?”
I nod and fall in step beside him. “Why would someone want me Drayce? I’m just a normal ordinary witch.”
Drayce shakes his head and frowns. “I don’t know, but we’ll make sure that he can’t get anywhere near you I promise.”
A half hour later I have all my belongings packed back in my suitcases. I look at my dorm room that now looks so bare on one side.
“Norah is going to flip when she comes back later.”
Drayce laughs. “The whole academy will go mental when this news breaks.”
I chuckle. “Two weeks ago you wanted to get shut of me, now I’m moving into your dorm room. Who’d have thought it?”
“It’ll do wonders for your reputation though.” He says with a wink. “Are you ready to go from an unknown to the most talked about girl in school?”
Drayce takes me over to his dorms while classes are still underway. The dorm house is huge and as I should have known, Drayce has the best room in the senior dorms, having the top floor attic room. He shows me in and it’s practically a mini flat. There’s a lounge area with a large grey l-shaped sofa and huge flat screen on the wall and his bedroom is just as big with a huge window that looks out over the school grounds. His room is very masculine, all greys and blacks. What surprises me though is that over by his desk there are lots of photos of who I can only presume to be his family.
“There’s only one bedroom, so I’ll take the sofa from now on.” He suggests as he places my case on the floor in his room.
I shake my head. “No, I’ll take the sofa. I’m going to be disrupting your life enough as it is.”
He grins. “Let’s discuss this later. You get unpacked.” He walks over to his closet and with a few whispered words the closet doubles inside. “That should be enough space for you, but if you need more please let me know.”
I nod and begin to unpack my case. My clothes are quickly moved into the wardrobe and the drawers. I clutch my photos in my hands unsure where to put them.
“Let’s take a look?” He makes me jump, coming up beside me and holding out his hand. I give him the first photo which is one of me with my parents.
“You have the same hair colour as your Mum.”
I nod. “Luckily though, I only inherited the colour and not the unruly curls.”
“What’s this one?” He asks taking the other photograph from me.
“That’s me when I was about eleven with our dog Lola.”
He grins. “Cute dog.” He gestures with his head into the lounge. “Why don’t you put them above the fireplace?”
Okay, thanks.” I walk into the lounge and place them over on the left side of the mantle.
Drayce’s phone rings and he answers it and steps into his bedroom to take the call. I wonder if it is his Dad he’s speaking to and if he has agreed to this elaborate hoax all in the name of my safety.
Some five minutes later he comes out of his room and offers me a false smile before he sits down opposite me on the footstool. “Okay my Dad has agreed to the plan. His helicopter is on the way to pick us up. He is giving a press conference tonight and will announce it then.”
I stare at him in horror. “A press release?”
He nods. “Yes, my father is on the council, this is big news.”
Fuck, this was spiralling way out of my control. I felt like I was on a roller coaster that was climbing to its summit and I was unable to get off.
I Think I’m Going to Puke
An hour later we are seated in a helicopter alongside Mistress Isolde and hovering up above the dark skies of Yorkshire. We land a short while later in the vast grounds of the Black family estate in Carlisle. We are greeted by a very tall lady armed with a clip-board.
“Miss Latimer. My name is Katriona. I’ll be your PR assistant through this evening. Let’s get you inside and get you ready for some PR photos.” Taking me by the elbow she steers me off away from Drayce and Mistress Isolde and I look at them helplessly from over my shoulder. I am bundled upstairs to where an army of people wait for me. I’m instructed to sit in a chair as they all stand over me and discuss how I should have my hair, what colour clothes would best suit my complexion.
An hour and a half later I have been primped and pruned within an inch of my life. My long hair has had a couple of inches cut off and some layers added. My nails have been manicured and painted a nude colour. They have dressed me in a Hobbs dress akin to something Kate Middleton would wear. It’s blue and high neck and fitted to the waist and then flares out into a full skirt.
“Now remember,” Katriona orders, “you smile, you are beyond happy to be engaged to Drayce Black.”
I nod. “Happy. Smile.” I repeat, my stomach turning over in knots.
I am taken downstairs and ushered into a large room, bookcases run the full length of the room and two elegant blue sofas are situated either side of a grand fireplace. There are several people in the room all in power suits.
“Hey.” Drayce appears at my side and guides me over to a corner in the room. “We figured we’d need a ring.” He pulls out a gorgeous diamond surrounded by pink diamonds in a princess cut. “It was my great-grandmothers.”
He slips it on my finger and I just stare at it in awe. “It’s beautiful.”
“Miss Latimer.” A man comes up behind Drayce and I recognise him straight away as Councillor Black. He is dressed in an immaculately cut suit of dark navy. His hair is black but there are hints of silver starting to come through. He has the same pale blue eyes as his son.
“Mr Black, it is a pleasure to meet you.” I hold out my hand and he takes it and leans in and kisses me on both cheeks.
“I am sorry about the threats made to you by this monster. We will use every resource to find him and then we can put an end to this whole sorry incident.”
I nod. “Yes, I imagine that the sooner you can announce our separation the better for your family.”
Mr Black looks at me like I am confused and smiles. “Miss Latimer this engagement cannot be called off once it is announced. A broken engagement would cause huge scandal for my family. I have to say it is not the match we intended for our son, but your high priestess assures me you hold powerful magic, so hopefully the two of you will breed a strong generation of future Blacks for our coven. Besides I think it will be good for my election campaign, it will win me the lower coven votes. Now if you’ll excuse me I need to go over my speech.”
He walks away and I stand there still reeling from his words. “Drayce, what does he mean the engagement won’t be called off?”
Drayce frowns and clears his throat, looking uncomfortable. “My family can’t have a broken engagement, it would be very bad publicity for the coven and for my Dad. He intends to run for High councillor next year.”
“You knew this? And you still agreed to go along with it?”
He swallows and nods, not meeting my eyes. “It is what it is raven.”
“But we hate each other?” I can feel my anxiety levels reaching freaking out point.
“I think hates a strong word.”
“I think I’m going to be sick.” I announce, right before I hurl into one of Mr Blacks potted plants. The whole room comes to a still and all you can hear is me retching into the plant pot.
Drayce pats my back and Katriona comes hurrying over with a glass of water and a mouth spray.
“She’s nervous about the press.” Drayce explains to her, as he takes the glass from her and offers it to me.
“Drayce we can’t do this. I’m sure I’ll be okay in my own dorms, maybe they can just put cameras in there and extra wards around my dorms or something?”
Drayce grabs my hand and stops my verbal typhoon. “Elara it’s done. You need to be protected and the threat to you and the school needs to be kept under control. Like it
or not, I’m now your fiancé.”
“Fuck.” I whisper under my breath. “This is fucking crazy.”
Drayce leans in. “You might want to say fuck a bit quieter.” He whispers with a smile, gesturing to the people in the room around us.
“Who even are all these people?” I ask him, looking around the room at all the strange faces.
“My Dads team. His P.A, his assistant, his advisor, his legal advisor and well Katriona, she will be handling all the engagement publicity and planning.”
My head was spinning and I wasn’t sure if I was about to hurl again.
We watch from a television in the back room as his father goes out into the press room.
“Welcome everyone and thank you for coming along this evening. Before we begin on the details of my meetings with the Alpha council, I have exciting news to deliver to you all tonight.” He smiles proudly and looks out into the expectant faces of the hungry journalists. “I am pleased tonight to announce the joining of two covens. The Black coven and the Latimer coven. My son, Drayce Black is engaged to be married to Elara Latimer the daughter of Halina and Alaric Latimer.”
There is a rush of questions, gasps and chatter from the hoards of journalists.
“Councillor Black when will the wedding take place?” One journalist shouts out.
“As with tradition, it will take place a year and a day from today. It will be a great occasion with much celebration.”
“Mr Black the match is somewhat unusual and there had been lot’s of speculation that the Black coven would make a match with the Balfour coven.”
Mr Black smiles. “As always there is much speculation, but I feel the time is ripe for covens to start aligning with less known covens. Miss Latimer comes from good parentage and is a promising young witch who will hopefully breed a generation of strong boys with my son.”
I try to hold back the flush threatening my cheeks at the mention of us breeding.
“Mistress Isolde, how do you feel about two of your pupils making a match?”