by Wendi Wilson
Oberon Academy Book Two
The Zephyr
Wendi Wilson
Copyright © 2019 by Wendi Wilson
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.
Cover by We Got You Covered Book Design
Created with Vellum
For my sisters
Janie, Tammy, Suellen, Darla, and Sylvia
You all contributed, in some small way, to the woman I am today.
How I live. How I love. How I write.
Thank you, and this one’s for you.
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Epilogue
Afterword
Acknowledgments
Also by Wendi Wilson
Chapter 1
“What about Charles Everest?”
My mouth fell open and my wide eyes burned a little as I watched a pink hue spread up Shaela’s neck and face. I’d been grasping at straws, naming boys from our class who might be prospective dates for her to bring to the party she was throwing in my honor. She’d shot down every suggestion I’d made, her facial expressions ranging from mild disagreement to outright disgust.
Until I mentioned Charles, the cute strawberry blonde who’d stayed behind and helped us protect the school from a Zephyr invasion two weeks before.
“Shaela Goodman,” I said, injecting disappointment into my tone, “you never told me you like Charles!”
“I don’t,” she said, but her face grew even redder and I knew she was lying.
I planted my hands on her shoulders and shoved her backward. She caught herself just before she tumbled off of my bed. I tried to keep my face stern, but laughter busted through the façade.
“You’re such a liar!” I accused. I cocked my head to the side, adding, “His wings are such a pretty shade of pink.”
Shaela’s eyes went a little dreamy, and I knew I had her. I smirked until her glassed-over gaze snapped back into focus and she sucked in a breath. Busted.
“You lo-o-o-ve him,” I sang.
“Shut up,” she said, unable to contain her own smile.
I straightened my spine and locked my gaze on hers. “Spill.”
“Ugh.” She rolled her eyes before lifting one side of her mouth into a smirk. “Okay, maybe I do think he’s sort of cute.”
“Then invite him to the party,” I said, my voice sounding desperate to even my own ears.
My seventeenth birthday was in one week. As it was also Christmas, Shaela was planning a huge birthday-slash-holiday party and I’d been trying to get her to choose a date for days. I was going with Easton, and the last thing I wanted was for her to be alone. I’d insisted she could come with us—like a group thing—but she’d wrinkled her nose and flat-out denied the suggestion.
“I did invite him,” she said, “just like I invited everyone else.”
“You know what I meant, Shaela. Ask him to be your date. He’d be crazy to say no.”
“That’s sweet of you to say,” she said, a tinge of sadness creeping into her eyes. “But you know my history. You know how everyone feels about my gift.”
My mouth pulled down into a frown. Shaela had explained that she didn’t have a boyfriend, or even any friends, because of something her grandfather did. He wielded the power of love and had caused a huge ruckus that ended in two deaths a couple of centuries before.
It was ridiculous that the Sylphs at Oberon Academy held that against her.
But that wasn’t the only problem. She had also inherited some of her grandfather’s power and had the ability to influence others to feel love or friendship. No one trusted her not to use it against them.
No one until me.
“Shaela, listen to me,” I said leaning forward. “You should ask him. The worst he could do is say no. It’s not a big deal if you don’t make it one. Just be casual.”
“I don’t know, D.”
She’d taken to calling me D instead of December, and my heart warmed every time she said it. I’d never had a friend before, much less a friend who liked me enough to give me a nickname.
“Do you want me to do it for you?” I asked, the words sounding more like a threat.
“No!” Her shoulders slumped. Resignation, then acceptance flashed across her face before she added, “Fine. I’ll ask him. But you better be there to console me when he laughs in my face.”
I gave her a toothy grin and clapped as I bounced up and down. “Yay! And he’s not going to laugh at you.”
She rolled her eyes at me, but didn’t argue. I really hoped I was right, and that Charles was as nice as I thought he was. I didn’t know what I’d do if he intentionally hurt my friend. It wouldn’t be pretty, that was for sure.
“On to more important things,” Shaela said, pulling me from my thoughts. “What are you going to wear?”
I was embarrassed to admit I hadn’t even thought of that. I was so used to wearing my school-issued uniforms all the time, it never occurred to me that the kids would be wearing real clothes at the party. A flash of panic zipped through me.
“I don’t have anything,” I said.
Shaela smiled and hopped from my bed. Running over to her trunk, she started rifling through it and called over her shoulder, “You can borrow something from me. We’re about the same size.”
I started to argue, to say that her clothes would be too big, but my mouth snapped shut before any words came out. That might have been the case when I first arrived at the academy, as I was stick-thin, nearly to the point of emaciation, from lack of any real nutrition.
But after several weeks at Oberon, getting three solid meals a day and regularly dipping into Shaela’s stash of chocolate, my body had filled out. I had become a little self-conscious of my newly formed curves, but Shaela had assured me that I looked amazing, not chubby.
A black sweater hit me in the face, and I held it up for inspection. My eyes widened as I held it to the side and arched a brow at my roommate.
“Where’s the other half of this shirt?” I asked.
The sleeves were twice as long as the body which, by my calculations, would put the hem about halfway between my boobs and my belly button. Nope and nope.
“Come on, D,” Shaela said, reading my expression. “At least try it on with these jeans.” She threw the dark blue denim pants at me, adding “I bet you’ll look amazing.”
“I don’t think so, Shaela,” I said, my fingers rubbing the silky-smooth texture of the jeans.
I’d never owned something so well-made. My clothes had always been cast-offs, things people h
ad thrown in the burn bins because they were worn out or damaged. And they’d mostly been men’s articles, thanks to my towering height—towering by human standards, that is. All Fae were tall, so at Oberon Academy, I looked just like everyone else.
Well, not just like everyone else. Where all the Sylphs were some shade of blonde, my hair was dark. And where they had bright, colorful wings, mine were black.
I was different because I was only half-Sylph. My other half was Zephyr, the race of dark Fae that had been plotting against the humans for centuries. They had put their plans into motion by “saving” the planet and making the humans forever indebted to them.
I was half-dark, half-light. A freak. The only one of my kind, since Sylphs and Zephyrs hated each other and would never be together.
Well, except for the one time it happened and I was the result.
I’d grown up as a human kid in the foster care system, an orphan cast off and abandoned on the steps of a public library. I had no idea if my parents were even alive. And I’d probably never know who they were and why they left me alone in the world.
“Earth to December!”
Shaela’s words snapped me out of my thoughts and I shot her an apologetic look. She crossed her arms over her chest and huffed.
“Just try them on, please,” she begged. “If you hate it, then I’ll find you something else.”
I groaned, knowing she would talk me into wearing what she wanted me to wear, regardless of my opinion. The girl had a gift.
“People will think I’m trying to show off, or something,” I complained. “Trying to appear more confident than I am.”
“People aren’t always what they seem, D. You know who you are. It’s up to you to show the world.”
Chapter 2
God, I was tired.
Easton and I had been at it for hours, just like every other day after classes, tumbling across the mats spread on the gym floor. He was relentless, determined to teach me to defend myself without magic. I was getting better, but my body was wrung out and I didn’t know how much longer I could keep up with his grueling schedule.
“Again,” he said, shifting his weight from foot to foot with his hands in the air in front of him.
I barely suppressed a sigh as I mimicked his stance. I knew he was worried about me after the Zephyr attack and the subsequent revelations about my parentage, so I didn’t want to complain. He’d been working tirelessly with me. For me.
In my distraction, he lunged, grabbing my forearms and slipping his heel behind my right ankle. I shifted my weight to my left foot and lifted my right, dislodging his before he could pull my leg out from under me. Lightning-quick, I intentionally fell backwards, wrapping my right leg around his waist as he tumbled on top of me. Before he could squirm out, I brought my left leg around and locked my ankles behind his back.
Easton’s eyes widened for a moment before narrowing. He struggled to escape my full guard, but was unsuccessful. I snaked one arm around his bicep and the other around his neck, locking him in. I had grown strong, but he was still stronger. I could feel my grip on him slipping.
So, I did what any self-respecting girlfriend would do. I cheated.
As he strained to get out of my headlock, I gave him slack—just enough to put a little space between our faces. As soon as our eyes met, I pounced.
I plastered my mouth to his, sucking his bottom lip into my mouth and running my tongue across it. All the tension drained out of him and his weight pressed down on me as he kissed me back. Fighting hard not to get as lost in the kiss as he apparently was, I let my body relax, unlocking my ankles and planting my right foot on the floor.
Thank God he closed his eyes the moment my lips touched his, because if he read my aura right then, the jig would be up.
Easton’s tongue slipped into my open mouth, brushing against mine. I kissed him for a moment more, enjoying the feel of his weight on me. A groan vibrated in his chest.
I pushed off with my right foot, lifted my shoulder off the floor and reversed our positions so that I was straddling him. Keeping my lock on his arm, I threw a leg out and around, spinning until both of my legs spread across his chest and his arm was trapped between them. My back hit the floor, my body now perpendicular to his, and I lifted my hips, completing the maneuver and executing a perfect arm-bar.
Within seconds, Easton tapped out.
I released my grip on his arm and rolled away, hopping to my feet in one smooth move. Easton stood, rotating his arm while giving me a narrow-eyed look.
“That was a dirty trick,” he griped.
“Well, it worked, didn’t it?” I asked, giving him my best smirk.
“I hope you don’t plan to try that in a real fight,” he shot back, arching one perfect blonde brow.
“Of course not,” I said as he stalked toward me.
I took a big step backward, my smile growing as he came a little closer. I forgot all about how exhausted I was as excitement bubbled up through me. I knew this game of cat and mouse well. And God, I loved being the mouse.
My back came up against the wall and I froze, watching Easton move in for the kill. When he was a few steps away, he lunged, his body slamming into mine a split second before his lips landed on my neck. I tilted my chin up and away, giving him better access to the sensitive skin there.
This time, it was me groaning with pleasure. The heat of his mouth sent chills racing through me, followed closely by flames that heated me to the core. My breaths puffed in and out in time with my pounding heart, which was close to exploding.
One of Easton’s hands tangled in my hair, tilting my head even farther to the side as his lips trailed up to my ear. He sucked the lobe into his mouth and twirled his tongue around it. Without any guidance from my brain, my hips bucked forward, bringing our bodies even closer.
A deep growl met my ears as Easton’s mouth moved to mine, somehow demanding and worshipping at the same time. I took the lead, pushing my tongue inside his mouth and was rewarded with a moan of pure pleasure. My hands moved from his hips to his hair, my fingers fisting around the white-blonde strands.
I was on fire. The heat was almost unbearable, but I wanted more. I needed it. I lifted one leg and wrapped it around his thigh. Without breaking our kiss, Easton gripped my butt and lifted, pulling me up so I could wrap both legs around his waist as he pressed closer, bracing my weight against the wall behind me.
The heat ratcheted up another notch, and my skin felt prickly. Sweat dripped down my temple as Easton’s hands kneaded my ass, grinding me against him. Another drop trickled down my face, burning my eye as I tried to blink it away.
A tingle of fear raced down my spine. Something wasn’t right.
Tightening my grip on Easton’s hair, I pulled his head back and took a deep breath. His eyes glowed with unmistakable desire, and I swore I could see pure heat flickering across his features.
My world tilted on its axis, and my vision blurred. Air rushed around my back as Easton spun me away from the wall, and then we were tumbling across the floor mats. When we rolled to a stop, I sat up and looked at Easton like he was crazy.
But he wasn’t looking at me. His gaze was focused off to the side, his eyes wide with disbelief.
I followed the direction of his stare and gasped. Less than five feet from where we’d been making out, blue and green flames licked up from the floor, spiraling around like some kind of fire-cyclone. As I watched, the flames shrank lower and lower until they disappeared completely.
I stood up, my whole body shaking with adrenaline, and walked over to get a closer look. There was nothing. No evidence that the fire had ever existed. No embers. No charred remains. Not even a wisp of smoke.
“What the hell was that?” I asked when I felt Easton step up beside me, my eyes still locked on the spot where the fire had burned.
“I don’t know,” he said.
I turned my head toward him and he looked at me. His eyes were as wide as mine felt, his face mirroring my co
nfusion. We stared at each other in stunned silence for several moments before I squeezed my eyes shut.
“I did that, didn’t I?” I whispered.
“I think so,” Easton murmured back, his arms circling around me in a comforting hug.
I laid my head against his chest, and clenched my fists in the fabric of his shirt. He was my rock. My anchor in the vortex of crazy my life had become. Why Easton Oberon wasn’t running away from me as fast as he could, I had no idea. But he was steadfast, taking each new shocking discovery about me and my weird powers in stride.
I had no idea what I did in a past life to deserve him, but I would never take him for granted.
I’d done that with Rowan Dobbs, my mentor and teacher, assuming he’d always be there to guide me. But he was gone, and I never got a chance to say goodbye, or thank him for all that he’d done for me. What I wouldn’t give to have been able to go to him at that moment. He would have known what that thing was and how to handle it.
But I was muddling through on my own with only Easton and Shaela as my guides. They knew more than me and tried to be helpful, but it just wasn’t enough. I needed someone who could teach me to control my magic. To keep it from flaring out of me uncontrollably.
I’d gone to Finn about the issue a few days before, and he assured me he’d find a suitable mentor to pick up where Rowan had left off. I’d panicked then, begging him to take over and maybe give me a few tips. But he couldn’t do it, because he was just too busy being headmaster of the school.