by Bekah Harris
The Glass Scepter
Bekah Harris
Copyright © 2019 by Bekah Harris
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Created with Vellum
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
About the Author
Chapter One
Ivy Hawthorne filed down the grassy aisle, trying not to trip in her heels as “Pomp and Circumstance” echoed its brassy melody from the instrumental virtuosos of Kingston Academy. The usher stepped aside as she approached, allowing her to lead the rest of the students with “H” surnames down the long aisle to stand in front of their assigned chairs, just as they’d practiced in rehearsal. As she stared between the heads of whispering students, gazing at the stage nestled between two towering oaks as old as the campus itself, Ivy couldn’t help but feel a slight thrill—even if it did seem like a charade. Kingston Academy had been her home since she was eight years old, scared and lonely without a friend in the world, when her father had decided she should go to boarding school instead of living a comfortable life with Nan.
Her father. Dylan Hawthorne. Now that was a fun topic.
She had left three messages with his virtual assistant, and she still didn’t know if he’d show or not. So far, she hadn’t seen him. She didn’t know why she cared. It wasn’t like he was her actual father, and his aversion to her may have seemed unfair before Ivy had discovered the truth behind her strange past, but it was for good reason. He had always sensed that Ivy wasn’t his daughter, and all these years, he had been right. One day, Ivy told herself, she would sit him down and tell him the truth, maybe even introduce him to Violet, but she didn’t know if he would ever be able to handle a truth like that. Still, his absence left an unexpected sting that cast a shadow over the entire day.
Think about who is showing up, Ivy urged herself, unable to help the giddy smile. A few rows behind the student section were Nan, Lyric, and Lochlan. They were her real family, along with with Jules. Ivy turned her head. Jules was two rows back with the “M” names. Jules smirked when she met Ivy’s eyes and winked. Once the headmaster had instructed the group to sit down, Ivy glimpsed Ardan to her left with the “W” section, since his assumed name was Ardan Wallace. His lascivious smile sent the heat straight to her cheeks. Her heart fluttered, flashes of Ardan’s eyes, gold with excitement, along with his full lips and their tangled arms and legs, searing through her mind.
She had fought so hard against loving him, and she never would have imagined six months ago that being in the same room with him would affect her like a match to kerosene. She had taken a gamble when she had married Ardan, but she certainly couldn’t say she was unhappy. In fact, if she were being honest with herself, it was quite the opposite. Ardan ignited in her something she had never known was there: confidence and assertiveness. He brought out the best in her and challenged her to be a better leader.
And she certainly never would have dreamed she’d be married to anyone, let alone Ardan, before she graduated from high school, yet here she was. It all seemed anti-feminist and patriarchal to her more human sensibilities, but things were different in Faerie. There, no one would dare call into question her personal or political decisions. No one would dare to question her strength or independence. But here, in the human realm, Ivy had kept her union with Ardan a secret. The act would be considered antiquated and unusual to anyone outside her world, and until she was free of Kingston Academy, it was best not to raise suspicions. So her new husband met her outside the dorms each morning and dropped her in front of them every evening. But by the time she had climbed the three flights of stairs and unlocked her door, Ardan had already faded into the room and waited for her, distracting her all night before fading from her room before breakfast only to start the entire game all over again. They were married, but there was still something thrilling about it—the sneaking around. The secret they shared. The knowing looks they exchanged from across tables and classrooms. The smiles they shared, knowing each other’s thoughts as the world went by, completely unaware that the Heir of Winter and the younger Unseelie Prince walked among them here and had united their kingdoms in another realm.
The headmaster introduced Jules, then, who was the Valedictorian of the class. She stood awkwardly, sliding out of the row and stepping on several feet, if Ivy was reading the expressions of her classmates correctly, to take her place on stage. Even missing school and attending Unseelie Revels, Jules never allowed her grades to slip. She walked confidently up to the podium, and once the applause had died away, she began her graduation speech. As far as anyone in the audience knew—even her parents—Jules was bound for Hollins University in the fall. But Ivy knew that graduation marked the dawn of a huge decision for her best friend. Jules would have to decide between her family, college, and career in the human realm and the true desires of her heart.
As Jules expertly linked the school’s motto with KA’s tradition of excellence and legacy, Ivy turned her head, straining to catch a glimpse of Padraic—delectable eye candy to every female in the audience—dark Unseelie King to the few Fae in attendance. Looking nearly identical to Ardan, he sat beside Lochlan, rather than beside Jules’ family, who were seated a few rows behind Ivy’s strange party. Padraic didn’t even notice Ivy staring. He was too enraptured by Jules, so captivated, he wasn’t even blinking. Ardan noticed Ivy watching, though, and winked when he caught her eye.
She smiled at him and turned her attention back to Jules, who was wrapping up her speech with typical Jules flair.
“And if I’ve learned nothing else during my time at Kingston Academy, which obviously, I have, considering I’m Valedictorian—but my point is that Kingston Academy is where I learned the true meaning of family, the value of friendship, and the speeding of time,” she said, her eyes locking right onto Padraic’s. “And as for me, I don’t plan on wasting another second. To the graduating class, I say Carpe Diem! Seize the day, and never look back.”
The crowd broke into applause and raucous whooping as she finished up her speech. She had barely cleared the stage before the headmaster rose and began handing out diplomas. Ivy’s mind raced as the line continued to move, and before she realized how close she was, she was right in front of the three steps of the stage.
“Ivy Lucinda Hawthorne,” he said.
Her heart pounding, Iv
y climbed the stairs and headed toward his outstretched hand. As she shook it, a movement in the background captured her attention. She paused, squinting against the morning sun to make out the object in the distance. There, standing at the edge of the grass, was the one person whose image Ivy had been fighting to remove from her memory forever.
Bear.
Ivy’s heart picked up speed, an onslaught of memories and impossible hopes assaulting her from every direction. When their eyes met, he smiled, crossed his fist over his heart, and dipped his head. Then, he turned and walked back the way he had come until he faded just in front of the iron gate. Tears stung her eyes as she accepted her diploma. Wiping her cheeks, she descended the few steps to the grass on shaky legs.
Why had he come? Why had he risked it? Why did the sight of him make her feel so confused?
Bear was married to Slaine. They had a baby on the way. A baby that would be the heir of the Seelie Court and the entire Seelie Realm. Ivy was married to Ardan, and she had promised to leave Bear in the past where he belonged. And yet the sight of him, the fact that he had remembered her special day, was causing her to question everything she had finally begun to accept.
Fabricating a smile as Nan snapped a photo, Ivy stopped and posed with her diploma before heading back to her designated row.
Chapter Two
Jules grabbed the tip of her lame graduation cap and waited. God, could this speech last any longer? She hoped she hadn’t blathered on as long as the headmaster.
“Now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for,” he said.
Finally.
“It is with great pride that I present this year’s Kingston Academy graduates.”
With an enthusiastic whoop she’d been holding back for the last fifteen minutes, Jules, along with everyone else, jerked the cap from her head and flung it high into the air. She couldn’t believe she was finally out of here. Away from Kingston. She couldn’t deny the feeling of complete giddiness, but what she hadn’t expected was the knotted bundle of nerves swinging around like live wires in her belly.
Tonight, she wouldn’t be leaving Kingston and returning home with her family.
She would be going to stay in the Unseelie Castle with Padraic, an adventure otherwise known as backpacking through Europe with Ivy and a few of their friends. And with any kind of luck, she’d finally get some quality alone time with Padraic. She’d been waiting so long, she felt like she might combust.
At any rate, the beginning of the summer meant Jules had a decision to make, and once it was made, it couldn’t be undone. No biggie, right?
As the recessional music blared in the background, Jules filed out of the aisle behind her classmates and made her way toward the campus chapel until she found Ardan waiting on Ivy beside a huge maple tree.
“Did you ever think you’d be attending your own high school graduation?” she asked him.
She still didn’t like Padraic’s prick younger brother, what with him cursing her and then trying to use her to spy on her best friend, but even Jules had to admit that Ardan had undergone a serious transformation since their first meeting. To her surprise, he had been good for Ivy in a way Jules had never imagined. Maybe it was Ardan, or maybe it was the discovery of her role in an entirely different realm, but Ivy was more confident and carried herself with an intimidating heir she had lacked before.
“It never occurred to me that I would need a high school education,” Ardan said with a sly grin. “But,” he tacked on as Ivy approached, “the positives of my private boarding school experience have outweighed the negatives by far.”
Ignoring Jules, Ardan stepped in front of her and slipped his arms around Ivy, greeting her with a scandalous kiss.
Gag.
The two of them had been beyond nauseating since they tied the knot a few weeks ago. It’s not like Jules was a prude or anything, but she was used to having Ivy all to herself. She certainly didn’t begrudge Ivy the mindblowing experience of rolling in the sheets with her dark Unseelie Prince, but she missed her best friend. Lately, she felt like all of Ivy’s time was occupied by Ardan and Winter Court business.
“We are so proud of you!”
Jules groaned. When she turned, her parents were standing in front of her. Her mom, as usual, was standing about three feet from her father, neither one of them acknowledging the other, despite the fact that they had driven together, shared a hotel room, and sat next to each other for the ceremony. In fact, the only thing they were sharing at the moment was their fake enthusiasm. Her two sisters had graduated already and were both on the clear “McKinnon” path to success, just as their parents had planned. Jules was the last, and, no matter how well she did in school, the least.
“Thanks,” Jules said. “I wasn’t sure if you’d show.”
Her mother forced a nervous laugh as Ivy’s family approached. Jules could tell she had embarrassed her.
“You know we would never miss your graduation,” Mom said, “especially with you being the Valedictorian. You know how proud we are of you and all your achievements.”
And yet when Jules had told her the news, her mother’s only remark was that Jules’ GPA was two-tenths of a point lower than her sister’s was when she had graduated from KA two years before.
“Lucinda, it’s so nice to see you again,” Mom said to Nan, shifting her attention in an effort to change the subject.
Nan shook Mom’s hand, as Jules’ dad pulled her in for a hug.
“You know she pushes you because you have so much potential,” he said. “We only want to see you succeed.”
“Of course.”
Jules pulled away and took a few steps toward Ivy and Ardan. Lyric and Lochlan each gave her a hug, and she introduced them to her parents as Ivy’s aunt and uncle from Minnesota, as she’d been instructed. But she wasn’t seeing the one person that made this day such a critical one. Had Padraic gone back to deal with Unseelie business? She could have sworn she had seen him with Lochlan.
Nan pulled her from her thoughts, as she got them all together for pictures. Jules smiled, though her attention was elsewhere.
Finally, she spotted him.
With Chelsea Douglass. Jules didn’t even have the energy to be jealous. Padraic was here. He showed up. That was all that mattered.
“What’s up, bitches?” Chelsea squealed. “Never thought I’d say this on the other side of hell, but I wanted to snap a pic with you two.”
Jules laughed with genuine surprise, her delight increasing with her parents’ clear disapproval. She had spent so many years hating Chelsea that their newfound friendship was one of the most shocking things she had experienced in all of her years at boarding school. Jules slid an arm around Chelsea, and Ivy did the same on her other side.
“My turn,” Padraic said.
He held out his hand toward Jules, holding her eyes with such intensity, she had to remind herself to breathe.
“Juliet,” he said, “it’s always a pleasure to see you.”
Then, he dipped his head, his eyes never leaving hers, and pressed his lips to her hand.”
“Are you going to introduce us to your friend?” Mom asked.
Jules had almost forgotten about her parents. She cleared her throat and straightened.
“Padraic Wallace,” Padraic said before Jules had the opportunity. “I’m Ardan’s brother and an avid admirer of your daughter.”
Mom eyed him skeptically, clearly taken in by his charms but astonished that someone who carried himself like Padraic would be interested in her misfit daughter. Padraic had glamoured his greenish skin to a rich Mediterranean olive. He’d slicked back his messy shock of black hair into a sleek pompadour that complemented his expensive suit. The way her mother was studying him, Jules could tell she thought he was wealthy and probably from a prominent family.
She held out her hand, and Padraic took it, just as he had Jules’, and pressed a kiss to it. Then, he shook Dad’s hand, his grip, Jules noticed, firm. Just as her father would ha
ve demanded, Padraic looked him square in the eye, telling him what an honor it was to meet him.
“Are you any relation to the Wallaces of the Wallace and Pietro Firm out of Manhattan?” Dad asked.
“A distant relation,” Padraic answered, “though my family is in…politics.”
Jules couldn’t hold back a smirk but managed to fight away the snort laugh that threatened. Since Padraic had her parents eating out of his hands, she turned her attention to Ivy.
“So, are you ready?” Ivy said low, so only Jules could hear. “An entire summer in the Unseelie Court?”
“I think so,”Jules admitted. “Do you think the Unseelie Court is ready for me?”
“Well, I can’t account for all of the Unseelie Fae, but I know one part of it who cannot wait for your arrival.”
Jules looked over her shoulder to see Padraic watching her, his eyes impossibly dark and focused on her alone, though her father was beside him, rambling on about corporate lobbyists. Her heart pounded against her chest and she bit her bottom lip, toying with her lip ring.
“You know what I mean,” Jules whispered.
“Padraic and his people love you,” Ivy said. “If you choose to stay by his side, they’ll accept you as his queen.”
“And you?” Jules asked.
“Like you even have to ask that,” Ivy said. “I know I’ve been quiet because I want this to be your decision, but you know I’ll be lost without you. It’s totally selfish, but I just keep thinking that if you stay with Padraic, I’ll never have to say goodbye to you.”