Disruption: An Academy RH Paranormal Bully Romance (Fallen Fae Academy Book 5)

by Rachel Angel

  These are the things that he wants from us. It’s not that hard. We just have to play along.”

  “Play along,” Zed said. “And do what? Go to battle against the Kingdom of Spring? Against 204

  Disruption (Fallen Fae Academy #5) Harley, the Princess of Spring? Come on, Red. You know I can’t do that?”

  Red leaned back against the wall and looked at his brother. “Think about it, Zed. There’s little you can do out here in this cabin to help Harley or her kingdom. But if you come back to the castle, play along in front of father and let me convince you to join us, you’ll be in a better position to help Harley.”

  Zed looked at him, surprised by his twin’s insight. He smiled as he nodded. “All right, little brother. I’ll go back to the castle… reluctantly.”

  “Good,” Red said as he headed out.

  Zed followed his brother out of the cabin and on down the path that ran along the edge of the corn field. The air was fresh and clean, and felt good on his skin, but he knew that it would be the last breath of clear and peaceful air he would breathe in for a good long while.

  “We when arrive near the castle,” Red said.

  “I’ll argue with you the reasons you should join us.”

  “Make it look good, right?” Zed said.

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  Red stopped suddenly and looked at Zed.

  “While we’re on the topic of making it look good.”

  He gave his brother a sturdy shove, pushing Zed to the ground. He climbed atop him and tussled around a bit.

  “Hey,” Zed called out. “What the hell are you doing?”

  “Making it look good,” Red said as he sat on his brother’s chest.

  “Huh?”

  “When Father saw this gash on my face, he wanted to know what had happened. Well, I told him that we fought and that while you were able to get this shot in, I then tackled you to the ground and left you crying for you mommy.”

  “Great,” Zed muttered. “So, are you going to hit me, or what?”

  “No,” Red said. “Getting you messed up should suffice.”

  “Good,” Zed said. “Now, get off of me.”

  Red chuckled as he got to his feet and offered a hand to his brother. “All of this makes me feel like a child again.”

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  Disruption (Fallen Fae Academy #5) Zed took the offer and allowed Red to help him stand up. “Like when we teamed up to convince Mother to let us go fishing on our own.”

  “Or when we tricked her into thinking that we were both in our respective rooms while you were out at a festival. I ran back and forth between our rooms to play your part and mine.”

  They both laughed as they walked on.

  After sobering somewhat, Zed looked up at the imposing castle. “Only now the stakes are so much higher.”

  Red nodded solemnly. “Indeed, they are.”

  They prepared to enter the castle. “Get ready,” Red said. “Father is no doubt nearby and listening.”

  Zed nodded. “I don’t know why you’re bringing me back here,” he said loudly. “I want nothing to do with your plan.”

  “Then you’re an idiot,” Red shouted. “We’re going to win this war, Zed. With or without you, we’re going to win.” He stopped to looked directly at his brother. “Don’t you want to be on the winning side of this war?”

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  “Yes, but…”

  “But nothing. Winning is winning,” Red said. “Think about it. We could win this together.”

  Zed looked at him. “I don’t know. It doesn’t seem right.”

  “Just think how proud Father would be. The Fall twins winning the war…”

  “You don’t understand, Red,” Zed insisted as he noticed his father standing in the distance. “I love Harley. This would be the ultimate betrayal to her. She would never forgive me.”

  “No,” Red said. “Don’t you see? It would be the ultimate victory. Imagine going to Harley and offering her the possibility of being the queen of the entire faery realm. She would be crazy in love with you.”

  Zed smiled and scratched his head. “Yeah.

  That would be impressive, wouldn’t it? I hadn’t thought of it that way. She could be my queen. I would be her king.”

  Red put his hand firmly on Zed’s shoulder.

  “Does that mean that you’re with us, my brother?

  Are you going to join us in this historic battle?”

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  Disruption (Fallen Fae Academy #5) Zed grinned. “I think I must. If I really want to impress Harley, I must win this realm for her.”

  “And if we must enlist the help of the Dark Fae Wizard to achieve our goals, then so be it.”

  “So be it!” Zed repeated.

  “Let’s find Father and announce the good news.”

  Zed noticed his father quietly returning into his chambers. By the time they arrived at his door, the king was seated at his desk, a tentative grin on his lips.

  “I bring good news, Father,” Red said. “Zed has seen the light and he will join us in this ultimate battle for the faery realm.”

  The king looked at Zed. “Is it true?”

  “Yes, Father,” Zed said. “I must apologize for being so blinded by the countless lies Mother has told us over the years. She led us to believe that the Academy she wanted to build was important.

  She made us believe that our knowledge of the human realm was important. The truth is, the only thing we really needed to know was how to destroy 209

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  them and how to destroy our faery enemies. But that was not what she was teaching us.”

  “All that foolishness,” the king muttered.

  “We should have been learning how to be fae warriors instead of the silliness she fed us.”

  “Sissy crap that made you both soft.” The king stood as he grumbled. “Damn Academy.”

  “Yes, sir,” Zed said.

  “I’ll make fae warriors out of you,” the king said with pride. “I’ll whip my boys into shape, and we will rule the Kingdom of Faes.”

  “We’re ready, Father.” Zed stood at attention.

  “Good,” the king said. “Then let’s head out to the army camp and get you boys started. There’s no time to waste. Go up to your rooms, pack a few things and we’ll head out.”

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  Disruption (Fallen Fae Academy #5) Chapter 16

  Red

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  Red looked around his room. Being there, with his father going insane, and his mother missing, seemed so surreal. He had so many good memories of that room, of his childhood in the Fall castle, of his time with his mother.

  And now those great memories were eclipsed by the madness that had taken over his father.

  Feeling somewhat numb and detached, he shoved a few items into a sack. Then he saw the silk sash that he had brought back from Harley’s dorm room. It was a small reminder of the love he had for her, but it also had her scent. He brought it to his nose and breathed her in, remembering just how much he loved her.

  “Ready?” Zed called from the other side of the door.

  “Yeah,” Red said. “I’ll be right out.” He shoved the sash into his sack, cinched the ties and swung the sack over his shoulder. With a last glance at his room, he opened the door and joined his brother.

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  “This isn’t going to be easy,” Red softly said to his brother. The weight of their mission was already pressing down hard on his shoulders.

  “I know,” Zed said. “We just have to remember why we’re doing this. Think about Harley. Think about what will ultimately be best for the Faery Realm and all the kingdoms.”

  Red nodded as they headed down the stairs and joined their father.

  “Ready boys?” his father said as he led them outside.

  A small army of guards were waiting.

&nb
sp; “We’re heading out to the encampment,” the king called out to his men. “And my sons will be joining us.” He gestured to the guards.

  Three of them took the head of the procession while five more guards walked in a semicircle directly in front of the king. Five more guards followed directly behind him, with three more closing the line. Red and Zed trailed behind them.

  The small yet formidable entourage headed out into the golden forests that made up much of the Fall landscape.

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  Red put on a happy grin, determined to keep up the charade no matter how rotten it made him feel. It wasn’t easy. Just looking at the men who surrounded his father, he realized the amplitude of their endeavor.

  They were all large men, strong men. Men who would lay down their lives for the king. If these were the men his father surrounded himself with, Red could only imagine what the army would look like.

  As the lay of the land exposed itself to them, they reached a narrow and rocky ridge that offered a view of the encampment below.

  Red almost let out a dismayed gasp. The encampment was huge, larger than anything he’d ever seen. And the troops seemed to number in the thousands.

  How had his father found so many young and willing men?

  The answer came to him quickly.

  His father didn’t care whether a young man was willing or not. Every able bodied man and most women were required to join the battle.

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  Disruption (Fallen Fae Academy #5) Zed came up beside him as they looked down at the impressive army.

  “The army certainly wasn’t this large when last I saw it,” Zed said softly.

  “I was thinking the same. Every man and woman in the kingdom must be down there, and then some.” He looked at Zed. “Do you think he might have recruited soldiers from the other kingdoms?”

  Zed shook his head. “Worse,” he said. “I think there are a lot of dark faes down there.”

  “Great,” Red grumbled beneath his breath.

  “That’s all we need.”

  “Well, boys,” the king called out from up ahead. “Let’s head down there and see what they’re up to.”

  The descent was slow as they maneuvered over unstable rocks, jagged boulders and a crumbling path.

  The closer they got to the encampment, the more Red could make out the individual soldiers.

  Many of them were citizens of the Kingdom of Fall.

  He recognized the baker’s son and the ironworker’s 215

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  daughter. He saw some of the soldiers he’d met while fighting, but there were also so many soldiers he’d never seen before.

  The dark faes, he assumed. He hated the thought of so many of them already taking part in the training that was reserved for true soldiers of Fall.

  They passed a training field and stopped for a moment to watch the dark faes in action. It was terrifying to see just how vicious they could be, even in simple training exercises.

  Red could only imagine how truly brutal they could be once they got on the field and faced their supposed enemy.

  “Kingdom of Woods won’t stand a chance,”

  Zed said.

  “Neither will Kingdom of Sea,” Red added.

  Up ahead he saw his father looking back at them with an enthusiastic grin on his face. “You’ll be training with them later today.”

  Red forced a smile. “Can’t wait.” He heard the words coming out of his mouth and heard the lack of conviction. The words sounded hollow and 216

  Disruption (Fallen Fae Academy #5) meaningless and he was certain his father had picked up on it.

  But the king beamed with pride and Red let out a quiet sigh of relief. It was going to be difficult to keep up the charade. The thought of facing the armies of Woods and Sea made him sick, made him gag. How was he ever going to maintain a convincing front before his father?

  They passed another training field and Red was once again startled by how well organized they were. They were also better equipped than they ever had.

  “Come, boys,” the king called out. “I want you both at my side when I enter the general’s tent

  – my tent.”

  Red followed Zed as he cut through the guards and came up beside the imposing leader.

  The king led them to a large and impressive tent and entered to find field officers waiting to report to him.

  “Good to see you back at camp, General,” an officer said.

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  “Good to be back, Lieutenant Babcock,” the general said. “Looks like everything is running smoothly here. I like that.”

  “Indeed, sir. It is,” Lieutenant Babcock said.

  “We’ve just received a new shipment of freshly forged swords and we were able to get our hands on two dozen newly broken in warhorses.”

  “And what about carts and wagons? I ordered a dozen of those to be built sturdy and strong.”

  “We’ve received ten of them and the remaining two should be here by the end of the afternoon.”

  “Good.”

  The lieutenant gazed at the twins. “New recruits, sir?”

  “Ah,” the general said as if he’d forgotten his sons’ presence. “These are my boys – Red and Zed.”

  Lieutenant Babcock shot a skeptical look at them.

  “Yes. Yes,” the general said. “I know that they’ve been softened somewhat by their doting 218

  Disruption (Fallen Fae Academy #5) mother, but they’ve finally seen the light and have come to realize that her coddling had turned them into useless mush. They are now ready to become true men – true Fall warriors.”

  “I will make sure they are whipped into shape fast enough, sir,” Lieutenant Babcock said.

  “That’s what I was hoping to hear,” the general said.

  Red looked at his father, again forcing himself to bring an eager grin to his lips. “When do we start?” he said. “I’m ready to go.”

  His father tapped him on the shoulder.

  “That’s my boy.”

  Zed joined in. “I’m ready as well, Father. I want to make you proud.”

  The general beamed. “Win me this war and I will forever be proud of my boys.”

  “Follow me,” the lieutenant said as he headed to the door. “I’ll get you two set up.”

  The twins followed the young lieutenant who led them to a small fenced in enclosure with two other soldiers.

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  The two men were massive, with huge hands that could easily crush a man in two and murderous eyes that spoke of their eagerness to do just that.

  “Your first exercise will be hand to hand combat,” the lieutenant said. “These men will show you a few tricks. They will show you ways of breaking down a man with your bare hands and ways of avoiding being broken down by an enemy soldier.”

  The lieutenant turned to leave them with the two massive warriors.

  “What’s this?” one of the warriors called out to the lieutenant.

  “The general’s sons,” the lieutenant shouted over his shoulder as he walked on. “Be gentle with them.”

  One of the warriors kicked up a cloud of dirt as he muttered, “Sure thing.”

  For the next hour, Red and Zed fought, and numerous times, the warriors could have easily killed them. It was clear that they were dark faes.

  Completely impervious to pain, they took blow after blow without wincing or grimacing.

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  Disruption (Fallen Fae Academy #5) Red looked at the beast that was clearly crazed and totally merciless. The enemy soldiers didn’t stand a chance.

  When the hour was over, one of the beasts looked at the twins with an amused grin. “Good thing your father is the general, or you would both be ground meat by now.”

  Red had no doubt of the validity of that statement. His neck still ached from the choke hold the dark fae had held him in and both his legs felt like they’d b
een broken.

  Sweating and recovering from their battle, Red and Zed watched the two goons leave the enclosure.

  “What the hell was that?” Zed said.

  “A taste of our father’s lunacy,” Red said.

  “How are we going to keep this dark fae army from completely decimating the other kingdoms?”

  Red looked at his brother. “I don’t know. I really don’t know. That’s what I’ve been trying to figure out throughout this whole training session.

  There’s no stopping this army.”

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  Chapter 17

  Kingsley

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  Disruption (Fallen Fae Academy #5) Once again, Kingsley reached the threshold to the human realm and turned to Oak. “Ready?”

  “Let’s go for it.”

  They crossed over and arrived at the backside of the campus just behind the row of dorms.

  “Things are quieter then when last we came,”

  Oak remarked. “Very quiet.”

  “Why do I sense that it may not be a good thing?” Kingsley looked around, trying to get a sense of the atmosphere. Things were definitely quiet, but not in a calm and serene way. It was more of a foreboding silence.

  “Where do we start looking for Harley?” Oak said. “There are so many changes to the campus, I barely recognize it.”

  “Harley had to glamour the place again when it was destroyed,” Kingsley said as he made his way to the dormitory. “From what I could understand, she made many improvements, but the lay out is more or less the same.” He stopped in front of the building. “Which means that she should still be staying here with April.”

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  He opened the door to the building and headed to her apartment.

  “Wow,” Oak said as he looked around. “This place is really cool. I sure will remember who to turn to if ever I need some impressive glamouring.”