by Rachel Angel
With Cici and Ashley determined to turn the Academy into a Dark Fae recruiting facility, there was barely any point keeping the Academy going at all.
Dismayed and disheartened, Harley made her way back to the dorm room she still shared with April. She had to find a way of getting out of there.
Perhaps she would even have to glamour herself a special dorm room.
As she made her way back to the dorm, she thought of her men who were all out in their respective realms. She couldn’t help but worry about them and wonder if the wars between the various kingdoms was still on.
She could only pray that they were all okay and that they would be able to come help her at the Academy before it was too late.
Entering the building she made her way to the dorm room and pulled out her keys only to find the 41
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door unlocked. With a heavy breath, she anticipated an unpleasant encounter with April as she opened the door.
“Hey,” April said, sounding strangely chipper… almost like her old self. “Where have you been? I left you some soup on the stove.”
Seated on a stool at the outer rim of the counter, she was radiant and full of light.
How could someone so filled with light and joy be so dark and soulless?
Speechless, Harley glanced at the saucepan still keeping warm on the stove. Frowning, she went to the kitchen and stirred up the soup then turned to look at April who was finishing the last of her soup.
Had she imagined the entire encounter with the dark April? Had it been a dream? Looking at her now it was as if nothing had ever happened.
“Eat it while it’s hot,” April said with a bright smile.
Harley brought the wooden spoon to her nostrils and sniffed. It smelled of good, homemade minestrone.
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“Don’t worry,” April said with a chuckle. “I didn’t poison it or anything. I like you too much for that.”
The words sounded so strange. April’s tone was still chipper and bright and yet the words themselves held a hint of the darkness that lay below it all.
Glancing at her, Harley opened her mouth to speak, but no words came.
“Come on,” April said as she patted the stool beside her. “Have lunch with me. Come and have a nice chat with me.”
Suddenly aware of the growling in her stomach, Harley poured the soup into a large mug, grabbed a small spoon and took a sip of soup. It was hot and savory. Perfect.
“It’s good,” she said, turning to face April.
But she remained on her side of the counter, refusing to sit beside her.
“So,” April said. “Where have you been?
I’ve been looking all over for you.”
“Wandering the grounds,” Harley said. “This is the last day before classes officially start. I was 43
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looking for any defects or faults in the glamouring that I did. If I have to tweak anything, I’d like to get it done before everyone comes in tomorrow.”
“That’s very thoughtful, but no,” April said with a grin. “You did a great job. I’m really impressed and I’m really proud of you. You know, many faes, even after a whole lot of training, can’t do what you did. You really are special. Don’t ever forget that.”
“Why am I beginning to think that it’s not such a good thing to be so special?”
“Ah,” April said. “You’re being too hard on yourself. You need to learn to relax.”
Relax, Harley thought. When was the last time she’d relaxed? She couldn’t even remember.
She leaned into the counter as she sipped her soup. After a long moment of silence, she looked up to meet April’s gaze. It really was as if she’d never encountered the dark April, and that chilling thought disturbed her profoundly.
Why, she wanted to ask. Why had April gone to the dark side?
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“I’ve come to realize that it may have all been a mistake,” Harley finally said. “All that hard work.
All my special powers.”
“What do you mean that, dear?”
“Glamouring the Academy,” Harley said after a spoonful of soup. “Maybe when the dean’s glamouring disappeared, it was for the best. It was meant to be that way.”
“Why would you say that?” April said suddenly concerned with Harley’s words. “You did a great job. You even did a better job than the dean and, believe me…. that’s not an easy thing to do.
She had done a remarkable job. But you… this place is gorgeous now. It’s functional. It’s young and vibrant, and it really reflects the student body.
The dean, for all her talent, had an old fashioned mentality that didn’t really work anymore in these modern times.”
“The work I did might have been an improvement on what the dean had initially done, but that hasn’t changed much with regards to the students who want to attend the Academy and use it to destroy it; namely Cici and Ashley.”
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“Oh,” April said dismissively. “Are they bothering you again?”
“They’ve begun recruiting new students, students who are to replace Kingsley, Oak, Red and Zed. Students who are to become the new Fallen Boys. Students who will be bound to the dark side.”
She’d hoped her words would shock April a bit, that the revelation of what was to come would anger her, but that was not to be.
“So, I’ve heard,” April said simply as she idly licked her spoon.
Harley had almost forgotten who April really was. It was so easy talking to her. So easy to fall back into the relationship they’d once had. So easy to rely on April for good advice, a helping hand and a kind word. She looked into her big and enchanting eyes, so full of promise.
“Of course, you have,” Harley said with resignation.
“I’m sorry to say that there’s not much you can do about that. I mean, Cici and Ashley are pretty determined. And you don’t even have the 46
Disruption (Fallen Fae Academy #5) guys around to help you out. It’s just you against them.”
Harley looked into April’s eyes.
“Yeah,” April said with a tight grin. “Sorry, kiddo, but you can’t rely on me either.”
“I know,” Harley said, raising her chin.
“That’s why I’m considering the option of closing down the Academy altogether.”
April set her spoon down on the counter with a clatter. “You’re considering doing what?”
“You heard me,” Harley said, happy to have finally gotten a real reaction from April. “I think I might have no other alternative than to shut the school down. I can’t allow Cici and Ashley to go ahead with their destructive plans.”
“You can’t do that,” April argued as she got to her feet. “I’m telling you now, Harley. You can’t do that.”
“Why not?” Harley said between sips of soup. For the first time she felt she had the upper hand and it felt good. “I’m the one who glamoured it in the first place. Surely, I can unglamour it, right?”
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“Wrong,” April said flatly. “It’s too late for that now. Too much has happened.”
“What do you mean, it’s too late. It’s never too late. The semester hasn’t even started yet. All I have to do is…” She raised her hand into the air as if preparing to undo it all.
“No!” April cried out. “Don’t.”
Harley looked at her. “Give me one good reason not to. And I mean, a really good reason.”
“Well, for one, there are too many students and professors around. For all of this to suddenly disappear… imagine what all those students will think.”
“Okay,” Harley said. “So, I’ll wait until later today when they all leave. The few students and teachers here will be gone.”
“They’re not leaving, Harley. Classes are beginning tomorrow. Most s
tudents will be staying overnight.”
Harley pressed her lips tightly. April was right. Harley had made the mistake of assuming many of the students would return home for this last night before classes.
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Disruption (Fallen Fae Academy #5) April shook her head. “And there’s another thing.”
Harley looked expectantly at her.
“Harley, when I say it’s too late, I mean that the Academy allowed the portal to open.”
Frowning, Harley looked at her. “So?”
“So, the opening is what permitted the Dark Fae Wizard, otherwise known as Stephen, your father, to enter.”
A foreboding sense of dread filled Harley as she slowly understood April’s objection to the shutting down of the Academy.
“If you shut down the Academy now,” April went on, “the portal will close.”
“And the Dark Fae will forever stay here in the Human Realm,” Harley finished for her in a defeated whisper.
April nodded. “The Dark Fae will remain in the human realm until a new portal is opened, and there is no telling when that will happen.”
Harley stared silently at the counter.
“Is that really what you want?” April said.
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Harley glared at her. “Of course, it’s not what I want. I want the Dark Fae gone. I want you gone. I want Cici and Ashley gone. But you are all here. You are all here and there’s nothing I can do about it.”
In frustration, she slammed her empty mug to the counter and turned away from April. She had to find a way of getting them all out of the human realm, and while she’d always relied on April to help her, she now had to question every single thing that came out of her mouth.
Was she just toying with her again? Was it even true that the portal would close if she revoked the glamouring of the Academy?
“Harley?” April said tentatively. The light and pleasant tone she’d held so far faded and was replaced with a hint of the darkness that truly resided inside of her. “What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know yet,” Harley said as she turned around to face her once again. A part of her was tempted to test the veracity of April’s words. “I’m not sure if I believe you, April. After all, it wouldn’t 50
Disruption (Fallen Fae Academy #5) be the first time you’ve lied to me. Hell, I wonder if you’ve ever told me the truth at all.”
April snickered. “I wasn’t lying when I said you did a great job at glamouring the place. I applaud you. Bravo.”
Harley leaned back against the refrigerator and sighed. She looked at April, longing for the days when she could trust her friend and rely on her.
“Was any of it true?” Harley said quietly, almost to herself. “Were any of the stories you told me true? Your parents? Your trip to Disney? Your childhood? Any of it?”
“Is it really important at this point?” April said.
Harley shrugged. “I guess not.” But somewhere, deep inside, it was important. She wanted to know that a part of the friend that she’d known these past years had actually existed.
“If it’s any consolation,” April said, “I really did have fun with you, in as much as someone like me can have fun with someone like you.” She smiled and looked Harley in the eyes. “You really made me laugh. That wasn’t fake. That time when 51
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you tripped on those boxes in the hall… you intentionally tripped and made a fool of yourself just to make me laugh. Just to cheer me up. I really appreciated that.”
She came around the counter and brought her soup bowl to the kitchen sink, passing within inches of Harley. After depositing her bowl, she turned to look affectionately at Harley.
“No,” April finally said. “My childhood is not the one I led you to believe. It was far more disruptive and unpleasant.” She shrugged and looked away. “Who knows? Maybe if I hadn’t met your father, things would be different. Maybe I’d be a different person. Nature versus nurture, you know.”
She returned to her stool on the other side of the counter and was thoughtful for a long moment.
“I did, however, follow your advice on more than one occasion. Last summer when you told me to go to that special store for a great bikini, I went.
You were right. It was great.”
Harley shrugged.
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“I also took a day to take a nice hike up Frenchmen peak. That was really nice, and I thought about you as I sat up there looking at the view. Did you know that from all the way over there, you can see all the way over here?”
“Yes,” Harley said quietly. “I’m aware of that.”
“Doesn’t it please you that I took your advice?” April said. “I mean, I trusted you. I trusted your judgement.”
“It’s not really relevant at this point,” Harley said.
“I see.” She shrugged nonchalantly. “Well, I tried. What can I tell you? I’m just not the person you thought I was.”
“You deliberately deceived me. You went out of your way to deceive me.”
“Let that be a lesson for the future, Harley.
You can never be too quick to trust people.”
“Right,” Harley said. “Which makes me wonder if I should really trust you now.”
April shrugged.
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“If you are lying now… What if all I have to do is take all of this away and my problems are solved?”
“You don’t really want to take that chance, now, do you?” April said. Her eyes were both wide with apprehension and dark with hatred.
Harley just stared silently at her.
“Your father, Harley, is easily given to angry and violent tirades. He does not take it well when things don’t go his way. If you think he is evil and wicked now, just imagine what he will do if he were to discover that the portal to the Dark Realm has been closed. Then imagine what he will do when he finds out that you are the one responsible for closing it. You have no idea of the darkness he can unleash. You have no idea of the destruction he will bring upon anyone and everyone who might happen to be in the vicinity, whether they’re responsible or not. Do you really want to take that risk?”
Harley stared down into her empty mug.
“Don’t be discouraged, sweetie,” April said, resuming her kind and friendly tone. “We’ll figure something out.”
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Disruption (Fallen Fae Academy #5) Saying nothing, Harley simply shook her head. Though she was tempted to rely on April for advice on the dark world, she knew that it wouldn’t be enough. She had to reconnect with the Fallen Fae Boys.
She needed their help… and soon.
*****
The next morning, Harley awoke in her room.
She could hear April humming in the kitchen and she smelled the delectable aroma of fresh brewed coffee and sizzling bacon.
She emerged from her room to find April sporting a cute, bright yellow apron over her dark green slacks and lime green blouse.
“Oh, there you are, sleepy head,” April said.
“Breakfast is ready, and your first class is in an hour.”
“You looked at my schedule?” was all Harley could think to say.
“Sure,” April said with a wink as she slipped two eggs and three strips of bacon onto a plate and 55
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set it on the counter. “I want to know what you’re up to.”
She poured Harley a cup of coffee and set it next to the plate.
Harley sat down and looked out the window as she took a sip of coffee. The campus grounds were filled with people. Students were meeting up with friends after a few months apart. Teachers were getting reacquainted with students and other staffers.
And amidst it all, Cici and Ashley stood greeting new students.
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Disruption (Fallen Fae Academy #5) Chapter 4
Kingsley
Kingsley sat back and stared at the ceiling of his tent. As much as he tried to concentrate on the map in front of him, he couldn’t. The only thing he could think of was Harley.
Since seeing her last, he was confused and concerned.
Obviously, it’d been disconcerting to realize she had no idea who he was or what their relationship was, but he’d quickly realized that something was up. Someone had placed some sort of spell on her.
But where had that spell led her? After leaving him in search of her brother, where had she gone? And had she found her brother?
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He’d sent a few men out to the neighboring kingdoms to discreetly look for her. He’d even sent someone to Spring in search of her, but he had come back empty handed.
With every day that passed, his heart sank more and more.
The bell outside his tent rang.
“Come in,” Kingsley said as he sat up.
A young soldier entered and walked up to Kingsley’s desk.
“Sir,” the young man said as he respectfully pulled off his cap and tucked it under his arm. “I’ve just received word about the search you’ve requested.”
Kingsley immediately jumped to his feet.
“You’ve found her?”
“Yes, sir,” the soldier said. “She has been spotted.”
Kingsley’s heart pounded in his ears. She’d been found. She’d been found. Finally…
The encampment had been quiet as tensions between the kingdoms had intensified. There was a 58
Disruption (Fallen Fae Academy #5) sense of foreboding that weighed down on everyone.
And yet, all Kingsley could think about was Harley. Was she all right? And now…
“Where?” Kingsley said breathlessly as he looked at the young man. The strategic map in front of him suddenly meant nothing. The entire war meant nothing.