Wynter's End

by K. R. Thompson

  William beeped again. “Come on!”

  I watched as they got in, and the car pulled out of the driveway on its way back to Shifter’s University, then I walked to Adam and cupped his cheek with my palm.

  “How are you feeling?” It had been two days since he came to, and the hospital had just discharged him that morning.

  “I feel fine,” he said, putting his hand over mine. I’d spent a good deal of those two days sleeping, my body trying to both adjust to the new magic and recuperate from my trip up the mountain.

  Luckily, no one had a clue of what I’d done, Adam included. He looked thoughtful for a moment, his eyes taking on a faraway look as if he were thinking of what he wanted to say.

  My gut told me he knew I’d done something to bring him back, but he didn’t know what. From Erik, he’d learned I’d taken Wynter’s magic away and that it was what had broken the link between them. Doctor O had been the one to suggest his magic simply needed to reset itself once the link had been broken—and when his heart had stopped beating, that was when it happened.

  But I knew differently, and from the thoughtful expression on his face, I was afraid he was going to be asking questions…questions I didn’t want to answer.

  What would he say if he knew his magic was linked to me?

  Somehow, I didn’t think it would bother him nearly as much as the fact that I’d made a deal with the fey.

  My brain skipped even further ahead. What would he think about me having the magic of a Spriteblood? Would he still love me knowing what I was now?

  He took my hand in his and looked like he was ready to say something when Ed called from inside. “Are you guys coming in or not?”

  “Are you sure you want to do this?” Adam asked as he stood.

  In his search through Adam’s grandpa’s books, Ed had come across some valuable information. While he hadn’t managed to find anything to help Adam, he did come across some references in the old, dusty tomes that made him confident he could help me get rid of the animal spirits still trapped inside me.

  “I’m sure.” There was too much magic in me, I decided. It was time to let them go free if it was at all possible. I could feel them there, but it was as if they were caged, pacing at the confines my new magic had put upon them.

  Adam held the door open for me, and we went in.

  Ed was sitting at the kitchen table, books spread before him on every visible inch of the surface. He glanced up when he heard the screen door slap shut and pushed a few of the books opposite him over to the side to give us room to sit.

  “Okay, I think I’ve got this figured out,” he said, gesturing to the Wolf Stone on the table I hadn’t noticed before. “From what I’m gathering from the books, getting rid of your animal spirits won’t be difficult at all, since they weren’t truly yours to begin with.”

  Very little of my magic was truly mine to begin with, I told him silently. You’d be surprised how little. But instead of telling him that, I only nodded encouragement, and he kept going.

  “I’m surprised we didn’t think of this earlier, to be honest,” he said, now addressing Adam. “It’s a simple matter of gratitude and reverence for life.”

  Adam caught my dumbfounded look and explained. “Whenever our people would hunt, it was customary to say a prayer before moving the kill, to thank the animal for its gift of life—to let it know we do not take killing lightly. By showing gratitude for what it gives us, it frees the spirit to go on.”

  Ed nodded gravely. “I believe those animal spirits that have been with you are tied to you because they haven’t been freed. Their lives were taken, and their spirits were captured, purposefully.”

  My brain was having issues following their line of thinking. “So you’re telling me all I have to do is thank them and then they’ll go?”

  Could it really be so easy?

  “More or less, yes.” Ed flipped through the pages of the book in front of him.

  “I don’t like the way you said that,” I said, suspicious. “What am I going to have to do?”

  “Just get them as close to the surface as you can. We’ll do the rest,” he replied, pulling a bag from the seat next to him. A bowl and a feather appeared next, and within the next moment, the comforting aroma of smoky sage filled the small kitchen. Then he stood and came around the table, wafting the smoke over me from head to toe, chanting as he went along.

  I closed my eyes and willed the animal spirits to come closer, but the magic from the mountain fey kept them far below.

  I thank each of you for what you have given me. Crow, I thank you for your powerful wings and for showing me the way to Efflehurt. Wolf and Coyote, I thank you for your speed when you helped me up the mountain. Bear, I thank you for your strength…

  I felt them creep closer to the surface, coming free of the bonds that held them down.

  Adam pressed something in my hand, and it scorched like fire. I resisted the urge to drop whatever it was and instead held tight to it as the animals came closer, pushing toward the surface. The air was filled with chanting and smoke and now a new scent…that of singed flesh. I ignored it and kept concentrating.

  They were close now…so close.

  Whatever it was I held in my hand was giving them the strength to come out. I thanked them one last time and opened my eyes to see four ghostly shadows move across the room before fading away.

  “They’re gone,” I said, my voice hoarse.

  “Nikki, open your hand.” Adam was prying at my stiff fingers.

  I hissed as pain shot through my fingertips. The Wolf Stone crackled, and steam rose from its surface as if it had been on fire.

  “Oh, Nikki…your poor hand,” Adam said, stunned when he finally got the rock loose and set it on the table.

  There, in my palm, was a perfect replica of the stone’s paw print, burned into my flesh.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Emily’s eyes were wide as she looked at the scar on my hand. “Does it hurt?”

  “No, it doesn’t.” I smiled, glad to have her and my mom back. I’d had to tell them about Adam’s accident, but I hadn’t told them about my part in it and what I’d been up to in the week they’d been gone.

  My little sister wasn’t buying it though, so I had to tell her quite a bit more than I’d told my mom. She seemed a little sad my animal spirits were gone now but was very curious about why the magic the mountain fey gave me made me look “different.”

  “You’re pretty” she added quickly when I frowned and looked at my reflection in the mirror. Being as I was dressed and ready for the spring dance, I was worried.

  “You just look different somehow,” she said with a shrug as she kicked her feet back and forth from her perch on the edge of my bed. “Kinda like Cinderella after her fairy godmother turned her into a princess, you know? She still looked the same, just different.”

  She was right. My stomach tied in knots at the word fairy. The purple dress I’d bought when I was with Ronnie had seemed like a good choice at the time, but now I wasn’t so sure. It seemed to shimmer when I walked. Had it done that when I tried it on before?

  It’s just your nerves, I told myself. After a night full of strange dreams that made no sense, it was no wonder I was slightly edgy now.

  Emily had already changed direction with the conversation and was busy telling me everything that had happened in Florida while they were there visiting. Her chattering more or less faded into the background as I took another look at myself in the mirror.

  With the animal spirits leaving, the fey magic had wreaked absolute havoc while I slept, giving me different scenarios of what might happen tonight. In one dream, Adam and I were dancing, and I finally told him what had happened on the mountain. He’d walked away from me in disgust, leaving me in the middle of the floor, alone. The dream replayed itself again as soon as it had ended but gave me another version the second time around. Again, I tried to tell him what I was, but instead of words, I ended up showing him. I transfo
rmed into a mirror image of Wynter, complete with razor-sharp teeth and long blue hair.

  Thankfully I’d woken up right before anything else had happened.

  Emily stopped talking mid-sentence and was watching me inspect my teeth.

  “Just making sure nothing was stuck,” I said. Or that they were sharp and pointy.

  What is wrong with me? I felt like something was getting ready to happen, but I didn’t know what.

  “Nikki, Adam’s here,” my mom yelled.

  I took a deep breath and smoothed the front of my dress.

  “You look beautiful, Cinderella.” Emily smiled.

  My own smile was weak, but I plastered it on my face anyway and headed down the steps.

  When I saw Adam, every worry vanished. He stood at the bottom of the steps looking up at me. His hair was pulled back into a ponytail caught at the nape of his neck, his silver eyes shining.

  “You’re gorgeous,” I whispered when I made it to the last step.

  A slight flush crept into his cheeks, and he leaned forward and brushed a light kiss on my lips. “No, you’re the gorgeous one.”

  “You both look great.” My mom appeared with a camera and took a picture just as his lips met mine. Then she laughed. “Now I’d like a regular pose without the kissing, please. Something I can frame and put on the wall, okay?”

  We stood side by side, and Adam wrapped his arm around my waist. The air popped and sizzled around us as I leaned into him and smiled for the picture.

  “Good one,” my mom said, looking at the screen. She flipped it around to show us. “You two look perfect.” Then she wiped the back of her hand over her eyes. “And so grown up. You guys better go before I pull the parent card and get all emotional on you.”

  We laughed and left. Adam held the door for me, and I hopped up into his Jeep. He held my hand the entire way to school while he drove. Even though I joked that he should be driving with both hands, I linked my fingers through his, happy I was with him and knowing there was nowhere I’d rather be.

  Brian and Tori met us in the parking lot. It felt like they’d been gone for ages. I jumped out of the Jeep as soon as Adam put it in park and tackled Tori in a hug.

  “I have missed you so much!” I said, squeezing her as if my life depended on it.

  “I’ve…missed…you…too, Nikki,” she managed to say between fake choking sounds, as if I’d managed to take her breath.

  “I’ve got so much to tell you,” I whispered in her ear.

  “Okay,” she answered in a conspiratorial whisper.

  “Later.” Brian laughed. “Tell all the girl secrets later. I hear the music going. We’re late.”

  As soon as we made it through the big double doors, Adam led me to an open space. “May I have this dance?”

  Immediately, my brain replayed the nightmares from the night before, and instead of saying anything, I just nodded.

  I make my own future, I reminded myself. Those dreams weren’t real. This is what’s real. Right here. Right now.

  Adam put one hand on my waist and took my hand in his. As we swayed back and forth to the soft music, his thumb traced the paw print on my palm.

  “Is it all right?” he asked.

  “Yes, it doesn’t hurt at all.” It was true. The burn had healed before Ed had even had time to scramble under the counter to grab gauze and antibacterial ointment. Luckily, both of them were convinced it had been the ceremony that burned my hand and that the Wolf Stone had healed it.

  They didn’t know it was my fey magic that had done the healing. I took my hand from Adam’s, wrapped my arms around his neck, and pulled him closer, not wanting to think about magic or anything else now. I only wanted to be close to him.

  We danced through one song and then another.

  Across the room, I spotted Mrs. Graham dancing with Mr. Perkins. Their eyes were locked on each other, and I don’t think they noticed anyone else in the room. As we kept dancing, I looked at different couples. Erik with Penny, Ed with Hannah, Brian with Tori…each couple looking as if they were the only ones in the room.

  Every worry melted away. I laid my head on Adam’s shoulder. Whatever the cost had been, it was worth it. Here and now, everything was perfect.

  “Nikki,” Adam whispered softly in my ear. “There’s something I’ve been wanting to ask you, but I didn’t know how.”

  I tensed for the barest of seconds, but then the shield he’d kept up so carefully over the past few weeks dropped, and I knew what the words were going to be before they left his lips.

  “Nikki, I love you more than life itself. Will you marry me?”

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  Shifter’s University

  Dragons, magic, and more…welcome to Shifter’s University! Read on for a sneak peek into this new series…

  Exclusive Excerpt

  Shifter’s University: Logan

  The wind caught beneath my wings, pushing me higher into the air. I readjusted slightly, feeling the slight tinge of magic as it raced along my scales. The shields were still intact. For that, I was more than grateful.

  Otherwise, the non-magical humans who lived in the city below would be getting an eyeful.

  I snorted, and a small puff of smoke blew out my nostrils. An eyeful, indeed. It would be pure chaos if the people of Roanoke realized a scaly green dragon flew above them on a regular basis each weekend, searching for other shapeshifters.

  No doubt about it, they’d be bringing out the pitchforks. Nope. Scratch that. They’d be bringing out the guns, missiles, and who knew what else in an effort to shoot me down.

  If they only knew how much magic surrounded them—in the air and on the ground. Lucky for them, all they would see at this exact moment was the illusion of a clear, starlit sky, void of any magical creatures.

  Another gust of wind came and I spread my wings further, changing direction until I soared over Roanoke’s sister city, Salem, a few miles over.

  Yep, Salem, just like the witchy town of Salem, Massachusetts, only this one was in Virginia—and it was every bit as witchy.

  Another minute passed, and I was at my destination. I glanced down at the vacant lot beside a small white house, dipping one wing experimentally as I descended to test the shields. They were still strong, so I dropped to the ground, taking care not to let my wings wander outside of the magic that kept me invisible.

  I shifted to human, my scales disappearing in a rush of blue flame that licked along my body, and walked toward the house.

  The porch light was on.

  I was expected.

  I didn’t even have to knock. The door swung open to reveal a petite blonde girl who looked a good deal younger than I was, though I knew for a fact she was older. A year older to be exact. She was nineteen.

  The light from the kitchen illuminated her, making her look ethereal.

  “Hadley,” I acknowledged with a nod of my head. My hair swung into my eyes with the movement, and I shoved it back, impatient. “You wanted to see me?”

  “Yes, hurry up and get in here,” she replied, waving her hand at me impatiently. “You haven’t got all night, you know.”

  You, I noticed. Not we. You haven’t got all night. I walked through the open door into the kitchen, and stood, arms crossed over my chest.

  Whatever Hadley Rose had in mind for me this evening, it would likely involve a lot of work. Rarely did the youngest of Salem’s witch coven request my presence, but when she did, it was serious business.

  “Is it the shields?” I asked when she didn’t say anything right away, my brain automatically searching for the worst possible outcome. A breach in the shields would most certainly be that. The coven kept Imperium University’s magic hidden from human eyes with a collection of spelled cryst
als placed strategically throughout the city and within the school’s grounds.

  “No, no, the shields are fine,” she replied, handing me a multi-faceted crystal the color of an evening sky. “Bronwyn, Aunt Sally, and I strengthened them earlier today to be sure. This stone is for the east wing in the school’s main house. Everyone in and around Imperium will be safe enough, as well as the forest behind it and the skies above the city. But that isn’t why I sent for you…”

  “Then what is it?”

  Hadley bit her lip.

  “Just spit it out. What do you need me to do, Hadley? You’ve already told me I haven’t got all night.” And I’d rather not spend it all here with you, trying to figure out what you want.

  She rolled her eyes. “Fine. I have a friend I need you to help. She left here a little while ago, so she should be home in a few minutes.” Hadley thrust a piece of paper into my hands. “Here’s her address.”

  I looked at the scrap of paper, quickly mapping out Roanoke’s streets in my head. “She doesn’t live in a great neighborhood. Mind telling me what I’m supposed to be helping her with?”

  Hadley didn’t waste any time with her next words. “I need you to get her out of there.”

  “What? Like move out? Do I look like a rent-a-dragon service?”

  Hadley’s blue eyes narrowed to slits, making me wonder if she was contemplating zapping me with a spell that would turn me into an entirely different reptile…a small one that preferred to eat flies. “Smart-ass. She’s a shifter, and her foster father has been beating her. She needs to get into Imperium and away from him.”

  That was enough to make me want to at least try to help, but I didn’t want Hadley to catch on. Knowing her, she’d go on a quest to make me a list a mile long of other people she wanted me to help.

  “What kind of shifter?” I asked, suddenly curious. As Roanoke and Salem were in the mountain regions of Virginia, the majority of the shapeshifters I encountered were woodland creatures. There was a pack of wolves, several bear, and even a few smaller shifters—the smallest, thus far, having the ability to shift into a small blue butterfly. Imperium School was full of woodland shifters to the point the headmistress wouldn’t let just anyone in. It would be nice to have another dragon, though.