by Eva Chase
“Looks like we’ve got some competition, guys,” Jude said, shaking his head with amusement.
Connar made a humming sound. “I think Rory’s proven she’s got more than enough affection to go around.”
Viceport looked as if she’d restrained an eye roll, but the corners of her lips curled upward as she stepped closer to me. “The main spell should only take a matter of minutes. Close your eyes so you can tune out everything else, and focus on the connection you want to form with this animal. Have you chosen his name?”
I followed her instructions, stroking my hand over the cat’s soft fur. “Archie,” I said. Banefield’s first name had been Archer. It seemed a fitting tribute.
The professor started to pace in a circle around me, intoning casting words in a rhythm that shivered over my skin and into my chest. Archie’s back twitched, but he nestled against my shoulder with a hitch of a purr.
A faint sense of the cat’s impressions drifted into me as my consciousness must have been seeping into his head as well. I caught contentment and curiosity and a whiff that might have been relief. Maybe he hadn’t been any happier stuck with the breeder who obviously disapproved of his habits than she’d enjoyed his company.
Slowly, with a finality that brought a lump to my throat, a hum of magic filled the empty space inside me that had ached so badly in the early weeks after Deborah’s death. I had my familiar, and he had me. Even if we couldn’t engage in actual conversations like the ones I’d shared with Deborah, I could already feel how right he was for my life—and hopefully me for his.
The energy washing over me rose and then ebbed, until my sense of the familiar connection was only a faint tickle I wouldn’t have noticed without reaching for it. When Viceport stepped back, I opened my eyes.
“The bond is complete,” she said. “It may take a little getting used to, especially for him. I recommend giving a new familiar as much space as they want to take in the first few days while they adjust.”
“Of course,” I said.
The guys headed out with me. Archie stayed tucked in my arms until we came out into the warm spring air. Then he squirmed from my grasp, and I let him leap onto the ground. He sniffled the air, took a glance back at me as if to check whether I was going to protest, and trotted off to explore with his slim tail held high.
“Look at that independent spirit,” Jude said, elbowing me lightly. “Definitely a good match.”
I laughed and glanced at Malcolm. “Maybe he can go hunting with Shadow after all. They can work out some joint strategies.”
“Sure, if your familiar ever wants to hunt rather than cuddling up to every other animal in the world,” Malcolm muttered, but his tone was good-natured. He motioned me toward the western woods. “Come with us? We made a few plans for this afternoon.”
“Without telling me?” I said, but I went along, my curiosity piqued. We didn’t get together just the five of us as often as I’d been used to now that Declan and Malcolm were finished with university. They generally tried to make the most of what moments we did get to share, and in ways I quite enjoyed.
“You’ve seemed pretty fond of surprises in the past,” Jude said with a grin.
As we ambled between the trees, I settled into step beside him. “How did your meeting with the studio go? Do you think they’re on board?”
Jude’s grin grew. “Hell, yeah. It basically means lots more funding for them, so they’re hardly going to argue with that. They’ll just add a new production or two every year with that money to cater to our intentions.”
He’d been taking part in the meetings of the pentacle even though he couldn’t be officially initiated, since he did have plenty of experience to lend to the discussions regardless, but he didn’t expect to keep up with that forever. When he graduated, he was still hoping to find work with one of the few fearmancer film studios, conjuring special effects with his illusionary magic.
His affiliation with that industry had sparked an idea as our new pentacle had been brainstorming ways for us to help our people stoke their powers without causing the Naries any further harm. My memory of the way I’d drawn fear from my Nary roommate while she’d been reading the scary novel I’d bought for her had stuck with me, and I’d realized that effect could help us on a much larger scale.
We’d tried it out in a very small way a couple months ago, having several fearmancers including myself and Jude fund a short horror film that then showed at a local festival. The rush of emotion from the audience had been intense, even spread out between the bunch of us. Now we were in the process of arranging feature length horror productions that dozens or even hundreds of fearmancers could get in on at a time. Whenever anyone watched those movies, enjoying the scares they brought, our magic would be fueled at the same time. Win-win for both sides.
“What’s next after movies?” Connar asked. “Do you think we should try Noah’s amusement park idea?”
“He’s pretty set on giving it a shot,” Declan said with a chuckle. “I told him we’d work on that if he can find a place to build it and figure out how to deal with the red tape.”
Malcolm rubbed his hands together in anticipation. “I wonder what roller coaster terror will taste like.” He’d been on board with the innovative approach as soon as Jude and I had suggested it to the rest of the pentacle.
I’d seen wobbles in his confidence after the final battle with our parents as he’d grappled with the choice he’d made, but with every decision he was able to make out from under his father’s shadow, every step he’d taken toward making the Nightwood name stand for integrity rather than tyranny, those lingering worries had fallen away. It was as if he’d recovered a piece of himself that’d been stolen away and now was whole in a way he’d never quite been before.
Glancing around, I realized the path we’d taken led toward the Casting Grounds. Declan paused to activate the wards that would prevent any other students or teachers from coming this way while they were being put to private use. Even more intrigued about this “surprise” than before, I searched his expression and the others’ for some clue, but they were keeping very good poker faces. Only Jude’s hint of a smirk suggested how much he was looking forward to it.
We stepped out into the large clearing used for practicing particularly expansive spells. My gaze shot straight to the shape marked in the grass—a pentacle, maybe ten feet in diameter, each point perfectly equal. It was a slightly larger version of the symbol that marked the pentacle table that belonged to the barons.
Connar took my hand and led me to one of the points. “It’ll be more than a year before we’ve all graduated and can make official commitments,” he said. “And maybe it’ll take longer than that to find a way of presenting this kind of marriage so that it won’t cause any political or other sorts of problems. But in the meantime… we thought it was time we made our own kind of commitment.”
“I designed the ceremony,” Declan said quietly. “It takes elements from the traditional fearmancer marriages and from the baron consolidation ritual, which seemed appropriate given the circumstances.”
“All that library time does come in handy every now and then,” Malcolm said with a playful glance at his fellow baron.
“This is all assuming you want even an informal commitment to us,” Jude put in, an eager gleam in his eyes despite the caution in his stance. “You’re totally welcome to tell us all to take a hike.”
Emotion swelled in my chest, so fast and giddy it overwhelmed my voice for a moment. I hadn’t known I could love these guys more than I already did, but in that moment my heart panged in the best possible way, as if it were so full it was about to crack open. “Yes. Of course I want to. I wasn’t expecting—none of you should feel like you have to.”
None of them had shown any signs of concern before, but since we’d stopped any attempts to hide how close our relationship had become, we’d certainly gotten some odd looks and the occasional skeptical comment from those bold enough to challenge a s
cion’s judgment. Even once we figured out a way to adapt the rules, it was going to take a while before everyone accepted what we had.
Malcolm scoffed and stepped close to brush a kiss to my temple. “It’s a fucking honor, not an obligation.”
“None of us has the slightest doubt, Rory,” Connar said. “The hard part is going to be waiting for the full ceremony.”
“All right then.” I dragged in a breath, unable to hold back a grin that stretched across my face. “What’s the ceremony? How does this work?”
Declan motioned to the pentacle. “We each stand on our own point and focus our magic around the key elements of commitment: dedication, loyalty, cooperation, and love.” A soft smile touched his lips as his bright gaze held mine. “We’ll all send out that energy to you, and you’ll send your own back to us. As we maintain that exchange, we’ll each speak, making a personal statement of how we mean to uphold those elements. We’ve already prepared ours. If you need a little time to consider what you’d like to say…”
I shook my head. So many words were already clamoring at the back of my mouth to come out. “I already know.”
“And then we end with a binding spell to enforce our commitment. I think we can use the standard marriage wording: ‘I swear to stand with you while you stand with me, in faith and love.’”
The promise sent a tingle of rightness through me. “Yes,” I said. “That’s perfect.”
Jude clapped his hands. “What are we waiting for, then? Let’s get hitched.” He winked at me before he moved to one of the points on the pentacle.
The other guys spread out around the symbol. I trained my awareness on the thrum of magic behind my collarbone, remembering the principles Declan had mentioned and coloring the energy inside with those emotions.
I’d already dedicated myself to being there for these guys in every way I could. I would have defended them loyally to the bitter end. I wanted every move we made to be born of cooperation and unity. And love? It radiated through me without my even summoning it. I adored them each so much in their commonalities and their differences.
“Let’s begin,” Declan said.
I didn’t want to take the chance of skewing the spell by using my own made-up casting words when I still wasn’t completely solid on using those. This was too important. I murmured the words to propel four streams of magic from me to my lovers. “Dedication. Loyalty. Cooperation. Love.”
Their lips moved with their own casting words, ones of their own creation, but I heard the emotion in them all the same. And then I felt that emotion, tingling through me as their magic coursed from them into me.
I looked at the guys in turn, willing the magic I was sending them to flow with even more strength. How could even this act completely capture all the love I felt for them? Connar with his balance of ferocity and gentleness, each quality coming out when called for. Declan with the unshakeable devotion and studious curiosity he offered all of us. Malcolm with his kingly power and the generosity that hid beneath it. Jude with his playful tongue and the depth of emotion I’d discovered in him.
Without any signal between them, they launched into their statements in turn, their magic coursing steadily on.
“I want to share every part of my life, for the rest of my life, with you,” Connar said, his gaze intent on me. “You saw parts of me that no one else did and helped me believe in them.”
Declan inclined his head with his eyes still trained on me. “You bring light and hope into my world that I hadn’t realized was possible. If I have my way, I’ll never stop bringing the same to yours.”
Malcolm’s mouth curved with a softer version of his usual cocky grin—the version he saved just for me. “You’re everything I could possibly have wanted, more than I knew was possible before I met you. If I can spend every day admiring the strength and the compassion you wield so well, it’ll be time well-spent.”
Jude’s voice came out slightly hoarse with feeling. “Even when I thought I was nothing, you showed me I could be so much more. I don’t know that I believe in better halves—what you do is bring out the best I have in me.”
My throat had tightened with each expression of love. It took a moment before I could work my own out onto my tongue.
“Before I came here and found out who I was, I’d never been in love with anyone, let alone four people at once,” I said, shifting my attention around the circle to encompass all of them. “You made me realize how much I was capable of. You trusted me when I struck out on my own path. You let yourself consider things from my point of view, even when you’d been so sure of your own. You grew with me in understanding as you helped me understand my own people and powers so much more. Even though we went through a lot of pain along the way, there isn’t a single moment with any of you I’d wish away. I may be a fearmancer, but more than any amount of fear, it’s the love that’s bloomed between us that raises me up.”
My four lovers beamed back at me. With their magic rippling into me, a lightness came over my body as if I might float right off the ground.
“The next words we each speak, we are bound by,” Declan said with the pulse of a spell in his voice.
“The next words we speak, we are bound by,” we all repeated, adding our energy to the casting.
“I swear to stand with you while you stand with me, in faith and love,” Connar said, and then Declan, and Malcolm, and Jude, the words ringing out the same and yet shaped by their individual tones.
“I swear to stand with you while you stand with me, in faith and love,” I said back, again and again, until I’d given my word to all of them. The certainty of the moment snapped tight around me, but not in a constricting way. More like a comforting blanket wrapped close around me.
The magic fell away as we released it. My mouth curved into a smile so wide my cheeks ached with it. I stepped into the center of the pentacle, and the guys all moved to meet me at the same time. They encircled me, their hands slipping over my body, their heads bowing close to mine. Right then, it was hard to tell which reverberated through me stronger: affection or desire.
“You know,” Malcolm said in a low voice, “we may not be able to christen the actual pentacle for a while, but I think this one right here would make a pretty good substitute.”
I grasped his shirt as my other hand slid up Declan’s chest. My head tipped to the side for Jude to kiss my neck, and my body swayed into Connar’s caress across my belly. “I’m in total agreement,” I said, and anything I might have added was lost to the press of Malcolm’s mouth against mine. I gave myself over to the moment, soaking in and offering back every bit of pleasure I could to each of them.
How many odds had we beaten to end up in this place together, with so much devotion and passion between us? More than I suspected I could count. But here we were, and here I knew we’d stay, standing together for both the people we were meant to lead and for each other, with all of our hearts.
* * *
After eight books and more than 600,000 words with Rory and her guys, it’s hard to believe the Royals of Villain Academy series is finally at an end. Thank you so much to all the readers who’ve stuck with them and me through their entire tumultuous journey! You rock! :)
If you’d like to read another paranormal academy story from me, this one with a gothic twist and shades of Beauty & the Beast, don’t miss my new Cursed Studies series. Trix arrives at Roseborne College searching for answers about her foster brother’s disappearance—and finds herself tangled in a decades-old curse that could consume her and everyone else on campus. Check out the first book, Academy of the Forgotten, here!
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Next from Eva Chase
Academy of the Forgotten (Cursed Studies #1)
Three haunted young men. A terrible curse. One girl who could break it... if this place doesn't break her first.
From the first time my parents decide
d that getting their next hit mattered more than keeping me fed, I learned I couldn't trust anyone—until Cade. My foster brother took me under his wing and sheltered me from the worst of the crap thrown at us.
So when he heads off on an exclusive scholarship and everyone around me starts denying he ever existed, Roseborne College has some explaining to do. I'm not leaving until I get answers.
The school I barge into isn't what I pictured. The staff claim Cade's never been here. The students glare like just looking at me offends them. The classes involve more torment than teaching, while sobs and howls fill the night. And three very different, unnervingly appealing guys—one of them a teacher—act way too invested in my arrival.
Some unnatural power holds this place in its grip. The more I dig, the more horrors I uncover. Finding Cade might not be my biggest problem after all. It's looking like none of us, me included, will escape this place alive.
Get it now!
Academy of the Forgotten excerpt
Three haunted young men. A terrible curse. One girl who could break it... if this place doesn't break her first. Find out what awaits Trix at the mysterious Roseborne College in the new Cursed Studies series! Here’s a sneak peek inside the first book, Academy of the Forgotten.
ACADEMY OF THE FORGOTTEN
1
“I’m looking for my brother.”
I said the words under my breath as the gate closed behind me, as if I needed to rehearse them—as if the statement hadn’t been running through my mind for the entire two days it’d taken me to get here. The wrought-iron bars clanged shut with a finality that made my nerves jump. I glanced back, half expecting to see chains and padlocks had magically sprung up to seal my way out.
The gate still looked as ridiculously foreboding as before, tall and black with imperious twists rising along the arched top, but no unexpected barriers had sprung up. I studied it a moment longer anyway. Something strange was going on here at Roseborne College, or I wouldn’t have trekked all this way to begin with. But considering how stealthily the strangeness had crept into my life, I couldn’t count on concrete proof falling into my lap within thirty seconds of arriving.