I swallow hard.
Damon stares at Cosmo. “We were just having a bit of fun.”
“Fun.” Cosmo snorts. “Is that what kids call it nowadays? You finally settled on your man, huh? Have you—”
“I haven’t. Not yet. Maybe never. Not going to tell you. Thank you and bye. Let’s go, Damon.” I grab his hand.
We start to fly off, Cosmo laughing behind us.
Damon eyes me. “What was that about?”
“You don’t need to worry about that.”
“Oh, but I think I do. Your face got so red—”
“I don’t care about all that. If you want to be worried, be worried about Professor Luna.”
“Will you tell me now?”
I sigh and blink back tears. “The guards won’t say how she died, and I don’t want to alert them in case what I saw was just a dream and not the truth.”
“What did you see?”
“He clawed her chest, ripped out her heart, and ate it.”
He lets out a low whistle. “No wonder they didn’t tell everyone.”
“Yeah. But the dream infiltration, it’s not proof. Not in the eyes of the police. What do we do now?”
“Well, we can find the body, dig her up, see if the wound matches.”
“Rosemary, I would follow you to the ends of the earth, but I don’t think we should do that.”
“So you want to bring in the guards then?”
“You know,” Cosmo says, coming up behind us. “You two really need to keep your voices down.”
“Cosmo!” I shriek.
He puts a finger in his ear and wiggles it. “What part about keeping your voices down don’t you understand?” he asks dryly. “Now, what’s this about dream infiltration and seeing someone eat someone’s heart?”
I glance at Damon, who grits his teeth and nods.
“Zoth,” I mumble.
“You infiltrated a demon’s dream?” he asks, incredulous.
“And tried to use telepathy to get him to dream about the professor, so I have no idea if it was a dream or a memory, but, Cosmo…”
“It’s not quite proof, no, but if we can get a confession…”
“We?” I eye Damon. He’s busy texting on his phone, probably alerting Sage to everything. I feel terrible for not thinking about doing that myself. Poor Sage has to be beside himself wondering what’s going on.
“Yes, we,” Cosmo says firmly. “We aren’t going to let this go, and—”
“Does that mean her heart was eaten?” I whisper.
Cosmo hesitates. “Her heart was not with her body, no.”
“Fuck,” I murmur.
“You really are Bay’s sister,” he says in admiration.
“So Zoth really is the killer then.” I swallow hard. “Damon.”
“I’m here.”
“I am too.” Sage flies over.
Cosmo grits his teeth. “I don’t like the idea of so many students being involved.”
“Then call Bracken,” I beg. “What’s one more? Three students, two guards… Bay won’t want to fight me, and maybe if we put on a united front, she’ll listen. She’ll turn and help us, and then all six of us can bring down Zoth.”
“I hope your optimism is not without reason,” Cosmo mumbles.
It doesn’t take long for Cosmo to notify Bracken. Even though the sun is ready to rise yet, we make the trek back to the demon’s house. The lights are still on, and the door isn’t locked, so we stumble inside.
“Zoth?” Cosmo calls. “We would like a word with you?”
“What if I don’t want a word with you?” a voice from behind me asks.
I whirl around to be face-to-face with Zoth. Without thinking, I move away from him.
He just chuckles. “My, how you’re trembling, Rosemary! What’s wrong? Afraid of the big, bad demon?”
“More like you’re the one going to be afraid,” I spit out. “We know what you did, Zoth.”
“And just what is that?” he asks, sounding bored as he buffs his nails.
“We know you ate Professor Luna’s heart.”
He eyes me. “And just how do you know this?”
“Your dream,” I say. “You dreamt that you killed her and ate her heart.”
“Now, now.” He slowly claps for me. “You outdid yourself. Seriously. I’m impressed. You went and infiltrated my mind, but I’m afraid that’s not enough. You see, you made me think—”
“I didn’t make you do anything,” I shout.
“Where’s Bay?” Bracken cuts in.
I glower at the demon. “If you did anything to hurt her—”
“Me? You should ask your boyfriend about that drink he gave us because it sure as fuck wasn’t fae nectar.”
Damon just smirks. “You like it? I can give you the recipe. You actually look not too bad for having been three sheets to the wind.”
Zoth smirks back. “You, your boyfriend, your boy toy, and who are these other fairies?”
“Guards here to arrest you,” I say sweetly.
Right on cue, Cosmo and Bracken move forward to grab Zoth, but the demon just laughs and laughs.
“You still don’t get it, do you?” he asks me.
My stomach drops like a rock. “What are you talking about?”
Just ignore him, they say. Don’t ever listen to a demon.
But the words he’s saying cut me to the core, and all I can do is listen to his words and hope I’m hearing him wrong.
“You just don’t want to see it, so you think you’ll just have me locked up, and then you can go back to toying these two boys. Maybe what you need is a strong man.”
“Zoth, shut your mouth!” I shout.
He laughs some more. “Do you want the truth? Because, yes, a demon can tell the truth when they want to. Well, I’ll tell you anyhow.”
He pauses, and my palm itches to slap him.
Finally, he parts his lips from his insufferable pout. “You see, Bay was the mastermind behind the murder.”
Chapter 29
“You take that back!” I shriek, flying at Zoth.
Sage tries to stop me, but I duck beneath his arm and plow into Zoth. We collide with the wall.
Bay comes into the room. “What’s going on?” she asks, her words not slurring.
“He did it!” I scream. “He killed Professor—”
“Tell them the truth,” Zoth interrupts, his tone cold and impersonal. “Tell them about how you were the mastermind behind the murder.”
“I wasn’t,” Bay says with a gasp. “Don’t you dare say that!”
“She can’t lie!” I say triumphantly. “Zoth can because he’s a demon.”
“What am I?” Zoth growls.
“A demon!”
He backhands me so hard that I taste blood. He’s strong, impossibly so, even stronger than Spring had been courtesy of the drugs in her system.
The guards and my boys fly at Zoth, but I realize Bay’s flying off, and I take after her.
“Bay, where are you going?” I call, hating that she’s running, fearful for what her flight means. She can’t be guilty. She can’t be!
“I have to get out of here,” she says desperately.
“What? Why? You don’t have to worry. They’ll get Zoth and then—”
“You don’t understand.”
“You weren’t the mastermind,” I say stubbornly.
“No.”
“Then just open up to telepathy, and—”
“I wasn’t the mastermind,” she repeats glumly.
And that’s when it hits me.
She didn’t spearhead the murder.
But somehow or another, she had been involved just the same.
“Bay…”
“Just let me go.”
I hesitate, and Bay starts to fly away, but a blur zooms by me. Bracken. He tackles Bay out of the air, and I can’t stand to watch him arrest her.
Dully, through tear-laden lashes, I make my way back to the fight. Zoth is
holding his own, and when he sees me, he starts to cackle, his teeth stained with blood.
“Your sister tell you the truth yet?” he calls.
“Shut up.”
“Did she? Did she explain how she—”
My knuckles meet his mouth. It hurts, the blow, his teeth scraping my knuckles, but it also feels good too.
The others pile on him, tackling him, and Cosmo manages to place the magic-dampening cuffs on him.
“Don’t worry,” Cosmo grunts as he helps Zoth up. “We’ll find a spot for you. As for Bay…”
I close my eyes. When will this nightmare end?
Hours later, Zoth is sent away to some demon prison, and Bay’s being dealt with now. I keep asking Cosmo and Bracken for any news, but considering they’re sitting outside of the main security building with me, they don’t know anything more than I do. Damon and Sage are here too.
Finally, Pine leaves the building. To my horror, Bay’s with him, and she’s still wearing cuffs.
“Let her go,” I plead.
Pine grimaces and shakes his head. “I’m afraid I can’t.”
“Why not? Bay, please, consider telepathy!”
“Rosemary, you’re only going to make things worse,” Pine murmurs. “If you’ll excuse me…”
“Where are you taking her?” I demand, shifting to the side even though I don’t want to.
“She’s being sent to Dark Fae Penitentiary, and I am going to escort her there personally.”
“What? No!”
I dash over to Bay and hug her.
She stares at me with her purple eyes, so similar to my own. Before, it used to seem as if we were two halves of the same person, but that's no longer the case. Not personality-wise and not look-wise either.
“Don’t worry about me,” Bay murmurs. “I’ll be fine.”
I stare into her eyes. She… I think she might be lying. Fairies can’t lie!
Only the most powerful fairies can.
Bay is powerful, but is she that powerful?
Just what is she capable of?
And if she can lie, who knows what secrets she’s been hiding and for how long.
“You take good care of her, do you hear me?” Bay tells Damon.
“Always,” he says softly.
“Rosemary, tell Mom and Dad I love them.”
“Anything else?” I ask. My voice cracks.
“That’s it.”
I nod, unable to talk past a lump in my throat.
“Rosemary?” she ventures.
Again, I nod.
“I love you too.”
"I love you, Bay." I break down crying, but Pine's had enough, and they start to fly off until Bay stops suddenly, and Pine can't get her to move forward.
My tears slow, and our gazes meet.
She looks so much like her old self for a second before confusion crosses her features. "Why do I feel like we have to have a girl talk about dicks?"
I want to laugh. I really do, but I'm too devastated. The vow is forcing itself on us, but now isn't the time.
"Later," I tell her. "We can talk about that later."
Pine glances between us. "Seriously? You made a vow to—"
"Don't you judge us," Bay snaps, and I love her all the more for her defending us when she doesn't even remember why we made the vow in the first place. Despite what she's done, she's still my twin.
"I'm not judging," Pine says stiffly. "I'm just… surprised, that's all." He glances between us. "That enough for you both?"
I open my mouth to answer in the negative, but that would be a lie. After a brisk nod, Pine forces Bay to fly away.
In a word, I am utterly devastated. What am I supposed to do now?
“Don’t worry,” Sage says, flying over to me. “Everything will work out. If Bay is innocent—”
“I don’t know if she is or isn’t,” I say sadly.
Damon rubs my shoulders. “You aren’t her. Her mistakes are on her, not you.”
“I know, but I don’t want to be doomed to repeat them.”
“You won’t. You know better, and you’re stronger than that.”
I snort. “I don’t feel strong. I feel…”
A sob chokes me off, and as much as I appreciate them trying to be there for me, I need to do what I have to do, what I said I would do after we located the killer.
“Damon, why don’t you go see if there’s anything anyone needs?” I ask.
Damon tilts his head to the side, eyeing me curiously before complying.
I turn to Sage. “Hey.”
“Hi,” he says after a slight hesitation, probably because we already exchanged pleasantries earlier.
I feel so utterly drained, like I'm going to collapse into myself, or maybe I'm just freefalling in a pit of despair that is going to swallow me whole. The sensation of drowning overwhelms me, and I close my eyes, focusing on my breathing, trying desperately to ground myself.
Mom and Dad. What are they going to think? Mom will want me to stay close to home as a result, but I have to be me. I have to move forward alone. Without my twin.
It’s going to be scary, terrifying even, but I will not let this break me. I won’t let this define me. The future looks dark for Bay right now, and I hate that so very much, but she would want me to move on with my life, to move forward. I have to trust that the police will get to the bottom of what happened, the truth.
Bay’s on her own now. She’s left me behind for a place that I won’t dare to follow. She’s made her choices and has to live with the consequences, and I have to do the same.
My eyes open, and I see Orchid approaching behind Sage. All of her arguments for me to date Sage come rushing back. The two of them have a class together this year, and a few weeks ago, they worked on a project together. He had always been so kind and sweet with her.
“Sage,” I murmur.
“We already said hi.” His smile is tiny, weak.
“Thank you so much for everything you’ve done. I appreciate it. I really do.”
“But…”
“You are a great fairy. One of the best. I thought you were the fairy for me from the moment I saw you, but… You are the fairy of someone’s dreams.”
“But not yours.” He nods slowly.
“You already know that, don’t you?” I ask softly.
“I think so. I just didn’t want…” He rubs the back of his neck. “It’s hard to let the first one go.”
“I know, and I tried to hold on for longer than I should have, and I’m sorry.”
“Love isn’t easy.”
“No, it isn’t.”
“And we’re young. Who knows? Maybe in a decade or two, we’ll get back together.” He winks.
I shake my head even as I’m smiling. Somehow, I’m smiling. “I don’t think so.”
“Probably not.” He clears his throat. “I might not have physically tied your wings like Damon did. I can’t believe you jumped out of a plane as if you were a human!”
“Yeah, it’s still surreal to think about.”
“Damn. But, my point is, I guess I tried to tie them by being overly protective of you.”
I nod. It’s the biggest reason why I can’t be with him.
“I know you were just doing that because you care about me, but it felt suffocating, like you didn’t think I could take care of myself.”
I don’t bother to add that it also made it seem like he didn’t respect me, but there’s no reason to mention that too.
“I’m sorry,” he says. “I wish I could take back my words, but that wouldn’t have been enough, would it?”
I just give him a tiny smile, not certain what to say to that.
Over his shoulder, I see Orchid stopped by Cosmo. They’re talking. Well, it looks like Cosmo is trying to talk her down while Orchid is yelling.
Sage turns slightly to follow my gaze.
At that moment, I come up with a great idea.
“You know…” I start.
“Yo
u’re unreal,” Sage mutters.
“What? I said two words.”
“You want me to hook up with Orchid, don’t you?”
“For you to think that makes me wonder if you’ve thought about her in that way before.”
He opens his mouth and then shuts it.
“So you have!” I say triumphantly.
“I might’ve dreamed about her once, but I… The idea of falling for roommates… Let’s just say it was a little awkward some of those times when I came over to work on the project.”
“I can put in a good word for you.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t.”
I giggle. “If you don’t want me to, I won’t, but if you do become a couple, maybe we can double date sometime.”
“I would like that. Good. Now, if you’ll excuse me…”
He nods, and I fly off. There’s another fairy I have to talk to, another one that I care for very much.
Chapter 30
Damon’s off to the side, and he gives me a lazy smile as I approach.
“No one seems to need my help.”
“Well, I do.”
He cocks an eyebrow and tilts his head to the side, watching me with his piercing dark eyes.
“Need you. Not your help,” I babble.
His grin is lopsided and oh so sexy. “Is that your way of asking me out?”
“Yes. I can do it more formally if you would like.”
“So that’s just it. You’re picking me.”
“My heart is,” I murmur. “For so long, people have compared me to Bay. They thought I was so very light. Compared to her, yes, maybe I am, but that’s not the complete picture. You know me. You push me, challenge, not to be dark necessarily. You just want me to be me, to accept all parts of myself. I need that in my life. I need you in my life.”
“Are you sure you don’t have any questions for me?”
“Questions? If you want me to ask you out—”
“About anything I’ve done.”
I hesitate. "Your past is your past, and if you want to talk about anything, I am more than willing to listen. If you're hinting about my wanting to know if you've done anything with girls why we weren't together as a couple, it's up to you to tell me. I don't have any questions about that."
Light Fae Academy: Year Three Page 14