by Kendal Davis
Frost moved behind me, so that I was in the arms of both men at once. I felt Frost’s form body against mine, his rock-hard pecs moving against my back. It was hard to catch my breath. Would it be so wrong to indulge in a little togetherness with these guys? This was the stuff of fantasies.
“You’re trouble. There’s no doubt about that,” I murmured. “How am I supposed to think clearly when you do this kind of thing?”
Frost nibbled my ear, his hands roving around to my front, gently cupping my breasts. “We are just offering you some help. If you let us attend to your body, it will make your magic stronger.”
“How altruistic of you,” I said.
Varic had his hands in my hair now, stroking with infinite control. “It is our role as princes. That is what the prophecy tells us. We are here to bring pleasure to you, so you can advance in your abilities.”
“That sounds good,” I admitted. “But what’s in it for you? Besides fulfilling an old prophecy. Well, and besides the obvious.”
Frost slid his hands down my belly, moving slowly and purposefully to the heat between my legs. “We have what you need. We have to focus on that, for our own sanity. Not the other way around.”
“Maybe you do.” It was hard to think straight. Never in my life had I been in a situation like this. I was sandwiched between two devastatingly sexy men, and all they could talk about was how they wanted to pleasure me, with no need for me to return the favor. “Maybe this is all a dream.”
Varic leaned down to kiss me again. This time, it was not a tantalizing brush of his lips against mine. It was a hot, urgent kiss. His tongue slid into my mouth, still sweet and tangy. He pulled me to him. As he did so, Frost moved against my back, so that I was completely enveloped in their lust.
Varic’s voice was rough. “It is no dream. This is what you have always been meant for. Let us make you scream with passion. It will release your powers.”
His last words made me nervous. “I thought you told me that I was full of darkness.”
Varic kept his hand on the back of my neck, but he ceased kissing me. “You are. It is hard for us to do this.”
“Are you kidding me?” Outraged, I slipped out from the sex sandwich I’d been in. I pivoted on one foot so that I was facing both men. They drifted apart from each other when I was no longer part of the embrace.
Frost glared at me. “You should not step away from us. This is something we all want.”
“I did for a minute, maybe. But how can you say things like that, and expect me to be ok with it?” I lifted my hand to pull my hair away from my face. I was losing my mind to fall for the sex appeal of these snobs again. As I brought my hand down, I saw the horror on the faces of both fae men. “What is it?”
Varic spoke first. “Your mark. The black mark on your hand.”
I quickly tucked my hand behind my back, wishing he hadn’t mentioned it. Then, having second thoughts, I brought it forward to scrutinize it. I did not need to work hard to see the mark. It was spreading.
“How did that happen?” Shock resonated in my voice. “It was a tiny mark. You remember, right, Varic? You told me that it was from Lara’s spell.”
“It is because you destroyed Lara’s spell,” he corrected me sharply. “Just as you saw through our concealment of our desire for you in gym class. Your power appears to be centered around the destruction of magic.”
Frost sent him a look. “Of course it is. What kind of a scholar do you call yourself to be surprised by that?” His mouth was set in distaste.
Worry was rising up in me, replacing the sexual tension that I’d been sure a minute ago was about to take over every part of me. “But look at it now,” I said, my voice quavering. “It’s getting bigger.” I held up my hand, showing them the dark mark that wound along all my fingers now. It twined as far as my wrist, ready to make its way up my forearm. “Is this dangerous? Who am I supposed to ask?”
Frost was solemn. “It is a mark of your power. We were right in thinking that you are making progress in unblocking your magic.”
Varic finished the thought with a sigh, looking as if he were following Frost into a doomed battle. “And you are. But the more we work with you, the more Darkness you manifest.”
Fury flashed inside me. “You don’t need to ‘work with me.’ What a bunch of teases you princes are. You would not be doing me any favors if we took this farther.”
Frost’s jaw was tight. “We have what you need. Your body calls out to join with ours. That is how it is meant to be.”
Varic was looking at the school, thoughtful and more patient than Frost. The building’s brilliant walls sparkled in the sun in contrast to the dark woods beyond. “I think not today.” He spoke to the other prince as if I was no longer there. “Our task is to let her know that we are waiting for her. That is all. If this little mortal can withstand the temptation to be with us, then she will remain blocked in her magic.” His expression suddenly shifted from practical to something almost sad. “And if she cannot develop her power, then we are all doomed.” He gave me a polite nod, as if we had merely met on the street, then turned to leave.
No matter how much of a pain these princes were, I didn’t want them to go. I called out to him. “You’re always walking away from me.”
Frost, too, made his way back toward the path, collecting a red apple as he did so for the walk. He polished it on his hard forearm, looking troubled.
Varic turned back briefly. His eyes were dark with emotion. “I wish I knew what else to do. You think we exist to torment you. But we have a greater purpose. Watching what is happening here is tearing me apart. You are more Darkness than light. As you come into your powers, you may not survive.”
I leaned against the tree trunk to steady myself. “You’re saying that if I make love with you, then I’ll get my magic? But you don’t know if it is good or evil?”
Frost’s icy blue eyes looked right through me. He wanted me, but he also still hated me. “Oh, we know. Do you?”
Chapter 14: Lustre
The others did not tell me about what had happened with Arabella, but I knew anyway. I could feel it along the bonds that were increasing daily between the four of us. The web that connected us was strong enough now that I sensed Arabella’s well being at every moment.
She was changing.
We all knew it.
As more weeks passed, she surprised all of Fae Academy by improving in her music. Her progress was slow, but it began to alleviate the frustration that the other students felt with her. She managed to settle in enough with the others that they granted her an occasional exchange of stilted pleasantries. The fae were still suspicious of the mortal woman, but they were getting used to her.
Arabella thought she was getting stronger in her fae magic, as she learned baby tricks like lighting a piece of straw and then dousing it with her command of the elements.. She did not yet understand that the magic within her was already a raging fire. It was only the music that she needed to learn to control. If she could achieve that, she could use her powers freely.
Heaven help us, she would have to use them.
One evening, during the interval between dinner and bed, I looked for her in the enormous drawing room that served as a common area in the school. She was sitting at a small table with Lara, playing cards and talking. I’d meant to merely pass by her so I could enjoy the pleasure of her aura for a moment, but I found myself stopping. Without asking for permission, I took a chair from the corner and joined them.
Lara opened her eyes wide. “Lustre. That is, Prince Lustre, what a surprise.”
I kicked her under the table. “Lara, you don’t have to call me that here. You’re my sister, doofus.”
She returned the kick. “And I’ve been told a hundred times by the Sisters that I’m supposed to call you that. You three think you are so important. It’s a real pain being your sister; nobody knows how to act around me.”
Arabella played a card and cleared her throat. “Prince Lustre.” She
inclined her head in a faint bow. “I have not had the honor of your notice since my first day here at Fae Academy. I believe you did say that you were part of a welcoming committee.” A spark in her eyes suggested that she was mocking me.
When she leaned forward to play another card, my eyes strayed to her bodice.
As Lara frowned at me, Arabella chuckled. “Quit it. I can see where you’re looking. I’d like to be able to talk to you without this bond distracting us. But I know that’s impossible.” Something about the way she settled in her chair made me think she was just as aware of my body as I was of hers.
Lara fiddled with her cards. “I can’t believe that school has turned out to be so tiresome. I’ve always looked forward to these years at the Academy, and now I’m finding out that it wasn’t worth it. The Sisters are only focused on one thing, and nobody else can get any work done.” Realizing how she’d sounded, she turned to Arabella with a look of apology. “Sorry. I know you try, you really do. But this place isn’t anything like I thought it would be.”
I nodded, wishing I could take away the look of guilt on Arabella’s face. “You should have come later, then, Lara. Nobody ever said your talents were going to change the world.”
“Of course they are,” she huffed. “Just not as much as yours. Besides, none of us know whether there will be a ‘later.’ This is the first year that I was allowed, since I couldn’t go to school before you. I didn’t want to wait.”
Arabella jumped on the change of topic. “Is it hard to get into Fae Academy?” She set her cards down, giving the conversation her full attention.
Lara set hers down as well. “It is not a question of being denied an education, if that’s what you mean. Each fae will spend time at the Academy at some point. But we must wait until we are called.”
“And the three princes were called here for me,” Arabella said simply.
Lara shrugged. “Maybe we all were. The Golden Council has plans of its own.”
“Of course we all were.” I spoke bitterly. “The plan that Amaris has laid on our shoulders for a thousand years is coming to fruition. In all the time we spent in the social whirl at the capital, we let ourselves forget what was ahead. This is what I’m supposed to do. And if I must take her Arabella as my consort, then I suppose I must.”
“Boy, that sounds like you can’t wait to spend more time with me. Just like the others. I can’t say I like the style of your fae prophecies.” Arabella frowned at both of us and stood up. “Lara, I’m not mad at you, really. I know you didn’t mean to point out that I don’t belong here. I don’t ever need reminding, anyway. I’m just going to go for a walk. Prince Lustre, always a pleasure to see you.” She sent me a formal bow that was definitely intended to be sarcastic.
As Arabella left, Lara turned to me and put her hand on my arm. “You have to go after her. I know why you came tonight. It’s her hand, isn’t it? The one with the mark. It’s getting worse.”
“You did a good job showing her the glamor to hide the mark of the Darkness. But you’re right. The Sisters all know about it.” I lifted Arabella’s abandoned wine to my lips. I’d wait a minute to avoid drawing attention. I knew that Frost and Varic were in the library. That was why I’d chosen this moment, if I was being honest with myself.
“She’s getting scared.” Lara twisted her hands together. “If she could leave school, she would. Not that she’s a prisoner, or anything.”
“Of course she is, sister of mine. We are all held prisoner here. We are part of an elaborate experiment. That is why Fae Academy has not been what you expected. It’s never been like this before.” Having downed Arabella’s drink, I reached for my sister's glass. She pretended to swat my hand away, but then she passed it to me.
“You’re going after her.” She wasn’t asking a question.
“I am. It’s far too late to be out in the woods. Don’t you know how dangerous it is these days?”
“No, it isn’t. As long as we all stay within the boundaries.” Lara was signaling the server for more wine. If I stayed any longer, she’d keep me here with her endless tales of fae aristocrats and their gossip. She was right. She didn’t belong here any more than Arabella did. She and I were both older than any of the other students, save the other princes. We’d had to wait until Arabella was ready, so we could all be at the Academy at the same time.
“Sorry, I can’t stay. If you can find Varic and Frost in the library…”
My sister grinned. “Keep them there? Get them drunk and don’t let them come after you?”
“Exactly.” I saluted her with humor and took my leave.
I exited the building, stepping through the drawing room’s doors onto the slate stones that edged the garden behind the school. I knew from legend that this area had once been a wide carpet of green, just as in the front. Over the years, though, the forest had grown closer to the crystal walls. Where the fae had once strolled in peaceful groups, laughing without a care in the world, now everything seemed shadowed.
There were paths that wound through the garden, drawing my eye over the enchantment. The work of the Sisters went beyond teaching us. They had to maintain the power of the school itself by keeping it pure. The thickets at the edge of the forest had never been as close as they were now.
Despite the magic that held this place together, we were losing.
I wasn’t at all sure that I was on the same side as Arabella, but I was going to have to find out. I sighed with a mixture of dread and anticipation, and set off. I could feel where she was.
As I followed her trail, I found myself deeper in the forest than I’d planned, however. It grew dark suddenly, making me narrow my eyes with suspicion. It was as if the light had been sucked from the air around me. That hadn’t been a cloud or the setting of the sun. Magic was at work.
When I heard Arabella scream, I ran. It didn’t matter whether I approved of her. I’d do anything at all to save her. I arrived at a run to find her standing in a small clearing. The only light anywhere was around her. She had gathered all the good in the forest and brought it to her.
And she was singing.
She raised her beautiful Voice into the warm summer air, letting magic blaze freely from her fingertips. It was a song of battle, not of fear.
She was singing to fight off the tendrils of blackness.
I shuddered as I realized what was happening. The Darkness was on the move. The black, tarry vine was sliding along the forest floor, lashing out at her. Its advance was smooth and inevitable. If the vine reached her, we would never see her again.
But Arabella did not shrink from it. Instead, she took the stance of a warrior and directed all the light she had at the advancing evil. Her will wound through every element at once, gathering a force of nature that nobody could handle. No fae could wield that and live.
I shouted out to her. “No! You’re drawing too much power. Leave the vine. we can’t hope to win against it. Don’t you know that?” Even as I was urging her to retreat, I joined her. I ran to her side and took up my place next to her in the fight.
My own powers were no match for the Darkness. I’d known that already, but it made my heart cold to think of it. Even though I’d been selected as one of the Princes of the Realm, even though I was one of Fae Academy’s strongest students, I couldn’t drive back the vine.
It was lashing in the air at us now, sending us a warning. This moment mattered. Whatever I did now would seal my fate.
I stood with her. How could I not?
I raised my arms to unleash a blaze of fae magic against the vine. This was not a scout, coming from a faraway set of roots, deep in the forest. No, it grew here, only a few minutes walk from the school.
The vine had grown as thick as the trunk of a tree in some places. How had none of us known the trouble here was so advanced? The flesh of the plant was like no other; it seemed to be made of sticky steel and it absorbed all light that reached it. I’d heard of these evil beings, from the time of the fall of Kin
g Regis, but I had never seen one.
“I’m glad you’re here, Lustre,” Arabella muttered sideways to me. “It doesn’t look like you know what to do, but you’re the only fae at this school who would have the blind confidence to walk into this situation. Or maybe just foolhardiness.”
“That goes for you, too,” I said, casting a covert glance at her. She had stopped singing to talk. The absence of her song was like a canyon in my soul, but for the advancing vine, it was an opportunity. It poised itself to strike at us.
But Arabella saw it too. She set her lips in anger and resumed her melody, fighting as hard as she could. With one final note, she channeled enough light into the vine to break off part of the moving tip that targeted us. The vine writhed in agony.
“Got you. Now get the hell out of here,” she snarled at the creature.
The vine paused for only a moment, then doubled back into the woods. It would return to its roots and then report to its master.
“I didn’t know you could do that,” I turned to Arabella with relief. “How did that vine even get here? I’ve never seen one in real life.”
“How should I know?” She reached up to rub her forehead. Her breath was coming fast. “It just came out from those trees, right there, and started trying to wrap my ankles.”
“That’s not possible,” I breathed. “It could never grow this close to the castle. I mean, the school.”
She sent me a searching look. “And you said I could not defeat it, but I did. I think maybe you should sit down and give me some answers. Isn’t that why you broke into our card game this evening? So you could finally come and give me your special welcome services?”
“We can’t sit here in the woods, not after that thing was just in the clearing. It could come back at any time.” I felt a chill run through me at the notion.
“Are all fae princes so easily scared?” She was taunting me, still on a high from having fought back the Dark vine.
“The smart ones, yes.” I tried to catch her hand to bring her along with me, but she stood still. Her feet refused to follow mine. She did, however, keep her hand in mine, twining her fingers with my own.