by Wendi Wilson
“You figured out what she’s up to?” I whispered.
He shook his head, confusing me, saying, “I don’t think she’s up to anything. I think she really likes you.”
“That doesn’t make any sense,” I said, rubbing my fingertips against my temple where pain was blooming. “She hates me.”
“She did hate you, and now she doesn’t. I wracked my brain, trying to find a reason behind it, an ulterior motive, anything. But, December, every time I see her aura around you, it’s a positive emotion. No one could hide their true intentions one hundred percent of the time. That’s when it hit me. She’s not hiding anything. She really likes you.”
“Since when?”
He held up a finger, saying “And that is the right question. She likes you since yesterday, during gym class.”
“I don’t get it,” I said.
He leaned forward, bringing his face close to mine so he could whisper.
“Yesterday, during class, you looked at her and Aubrey and said, Things would be so much easier if they liked me.”
“So?” I asked, still not understanding what he was trying to say.
“It’s your ability, D. Like Shaela, you can affect people’s feelings. I think when your said those words, it happened without you really even trying.”
“Good morning, class.”
Cris’s entrance broke off whatever denial I was about to make. I glanced over at Tiana again, and she must’ve felt my eyes, because she looked over and smiled at me, a big, toothy grin that I’d never seen grace her features before.
Oh my God, what if Easton is right? What if I somehow made this happen?
And what was I going to do about it? I couldn’t go on letting her think she actually liked me. Could I? No. No. It was wrong. Yet, it would make my life at Oberon Academy so much easier…
No. I had to fix it. I’d talk to Cris after class and get his take. I was sure he would know what to do to make things go back to normal.
“So, class, any thoughts on what steps the humans can take to get themselves out from under the thumbs of the Zephyrs?” Cris asked, his voice projecting across the space.
Tiana’s hand shot up into the air. Cris nodded at her, giving her permission to speak.
“I’d like to hear what December has to say about it. I mean, she lived it, right? She would have the most insight.”
Cris’s eyebrows shot up into his hairline as his gaze shot from Tiana to me. I shrugged like I had no idea why she said that, but he lifted one brow like he didn’t believe it for a second. He mouthed the words “after class” at me and I nodded, having already decided to speak to him about it, anyway.
The period dragged on forever, but at least Tiana didn’t call any more attention to me. When class was dismissed, she bounced in my direction, an apologetic smile on her lips.
“Sorry if I put you on the spot, D. I just thought you’d know, better than any of us, how it really is out there.”
“It’s okay,” I said, managing to restrain a flinch at the sound of her calling me by Shaela’s nickname.
It was okay for my friends to call me that, but not her. Of course, at that moment, Tiana thought we were friends. It was so confusing, and honestly, more trouble than it was worth. I needed Tiana Avery to go back to hating me so the Earth could start spinning on its axis again.
“Well, that was an interesting turn of events,” Cris said as the room cleared out and he approached me. “Don’t you have somewhere to be, Mr. Oberon?” he asked Easton when he didn’t follow the others out.
“I’d like him to stay, if that’s okay,” I said, my fingers cinching around Easton’s wrist to hold him there.
“Okay,” Cris said. “Care to explain what’s going on with Ms. Avery?”
“I think,” Easton started, then corrected himself. “We think December may have inadvertently Glamoured Tiana and Aubrey to…uh…like her.”
“Is that so?” Cris asked, his voice mild.
At least he wasn’t angry.
“I didn’t mean to,” I said defensively. “I didn’t even know I had that ability. I mean, I still don’t know for sure. This is just a theory. We could be totally wrong.”
Easton twisted his hand and grabbed my fingers, giving them a comforting squeeze to stop my rambling.
“Yesterday,” he explained, “in gym, December made some offhand comment about how much easier her life would be if those girls liked her. There was no intention in the words, just an observation, and bam! By the end of class those two were inviting December to sit with them at dinner and they’ve been acting like they want to be friends ever since.”
“We thought it was a ploy, at first,” I added. “Like they were trying to trick me to gain my trust. But Easton can see their auras, so…”
I trailed off with a shrug and waited for Cris to digest the information and speak. I didn’t have to wait long.
“And what would you like to do about it?”
“What?” I asked. “What do you mean?”
“Well, we have two options,” he said, holding up a finger. “We can fix it, break the Glamour and let things go back to normal, or,” he held up a second finger, “we can let it go. Let them think you’re the best thing since sliced bread and check them off your list of problems.”
I was shocked that he’d even consider leaving things as they were. It was immoral, not to mention against school rules. At least, I assumed it was against the rules.
“I can’t,” I said. “It’s not right. Can you help me fix it?”
His lips stretched into a wide smile, letting me know I’d said the right thing.
“Were you testing me?” I asked, narrowing my eyes.
He laughed. “Maybe a little. But it wasn’t to prove anything to me. I knew you’d make the right decision. I just wanted you to prove it to yourself, December. You are a good person. You should stop doubting that.”
Easton gave my fingers another squeeze in agreement.
“Okay,” Cris continued, “let’s get this fixed so you can go on about your day.”
I should’ve just left well enough alone.
I found the girls in the dining hall at lunch and sat down with them. They started gushing simultaneously about how happy they were that I was there. How they just wanted to get to know me better and how we would be the best of friends in no time.
Following the instructions Cris gave me, I concentrated on breaking the Glamour, whispering words to give Tiana and Aubrey back their free will. The chattering stopped as they both looked at me with questioning gazes.
Then the storm hit.
“You little bitch,” Tiana shrieked, drawing all eyes to our table. “I’m going to kill you!”
I stood quickly, taking a step back from the table. I held my hands up in surrender and attempted to placate her.
“I’m sorry, Tiana. I didn’t mean to do it. I didn’t even know I could do it. It was an accident.”
“And you let me follow you around all day like some simpering idiot?”
My eyes inadvertently strayed to Aubrey, who sucked in a sharp breath. Tiana’s barbed words could very well describe her. She followed every step Tiana took. I almost felt bad for her. Almost.
Stiffening my spine and remaining calm, I said “I only just realized what happened and found out how to fix it. I took away the Glamour and I’ve apologized. What else do you want from me?”
Her lip curled up and her eyes narrowed. “Your total annihilation,” she hissed.
That’s just great.
I spun on a heel and walked away, keeping my head held high. There was no getting through to her. I was just going to have to watch my back.
I slumped into my chair next to Easton, and he reached over, rubbing his hand up and down my spine.
“Went that well, huh?”
“Just fabulous,” I deadpanned. “She’s out for blood. I may need you to help me keep an eye on her.”
“No worries,” he said. “I’ve got your back.
”
“Have you seen Shaela?” I asked. “She wasn’t in sociology and now she’s missing lunch. I’m starting to get worried.”
“No,” he said. “But Charles is missing, too.”
“You think they skipped to hang out together?” I asked when I noticed his mischievous grin.
“It’s possible. Those two have been getting closer.”
I thought about it for a minute, then shook my head.
“No. No way. If Shaela was planning a skip day to sneak off with her boyfriend, she would have told me.”
“Maybe,” he said. “You want to go check your room? See if she’s there?”
I shot him a grateful smile and stood, grabbing a handful of French fries from his tray to eat along the way. Easton didn’t try to carry on a conversation while we walked. He just let me eat my fries and worry.
When we reached my room, I threw open the door and called Shaela’s name. The room was empty, her bed neatly made with deep purple throw pillows scattered across the headboard. I checked the chest by her bed and nothing seemed to be missing.
I walked to my side of the room, searching for a clue, a note, anything that would let me know where she might be. Nothing was out of place and there was no message anywhere. Fear spiked through me, sending a shiver down my spine.
Something wasn’t right.
“Let’s go find my grandfather,” Easton said. “If her schedule got rearranged, or something came up to take her off-campus, he would know.”
“Okay,” I murmured, but the fear didn’t abate.
With my early-morning session with Cris, I didn’t get a chance to speak to her before I left. When I got back to get ready for class, she was gone. I had assumed she’d went to breakfast, and that I’d see her later in the morning.
One thing I did know for sure, though, was that she would’ve found me. If something came up and she had to leave the school, she would have, at the very least, sent me a message. She wouldn’t just disappear without a word.
By the time we reached Finn’s office, I was a nervous wreck.
Easton knocked and, without waiting for a call to enter, swung the door open. We spotted Finn immediately, standing near the large fireplace, the light from the flames dancing across his face.
“Grandfather?” Easton called out as we stepped over the threshold.
Finn snapped out of whatever deep train of thought he was in, his body jerking toward us as if Easton’s voice had startled him. His eyes landed on us and his body relaxed, his expression a mix of equal parts pleasure and resignation.
“Easton, so good to see you. December.”
He said my name with a nod in my direction, but my eyes were drawn to the items clutched between his fingers. A crumbled sheet of paper and a small, purple backpack-style purse.
“That’s Shaela’s purse,” I said, my words sounding like an accusation as I stormed across the room. “Why do you have her purse? Where is she?”
I was falling into pure panic-mode. I knew on some subconscious level that Finn could never hurt Shaela and had nothing to do with her disappearance, but seeing him standing there, worry lining his face and Shaela’s purse in his hand, something inside me snapped.
It had been a day, and things just kept getting worse and worse.
“D,” Easton whispered from behind me, breaking through my anxiety.
I sucked in a few deep breaths, then apologized to Finn. He shook off my words, then handed Shaela’s purse to me as he spoke.
“That is quite all right, December. I understand your concern and do, in fact, share it with you. The purse was found near the edge of the forest with this note.”
I took the crumpled piece of paper he held out to me, smoothing it with my fingers before reading it aloud.
“I will return the girl, unharmed, in exchange for the half-breed. Send her into the forest by midnight. No negotiating. If she does not come, the Sylph dies. ”
My voice cracked as tears sprung to my eyes. It was my fault. Shaela was missing because of me.
“I’ll go right now,” I said as the note drifted from my fingers to the floor.
I spun around and stepped toward the door, but a hand on my arm stopped me. I glared at the offending fingers, my gaze travelling up the length of the arm until I met Easton’s icy-blue gaze.
“What are you doing? Let me go,” I demanded, my voice laced with fear and rage.
“Just wait, December,” he said, his tone even and placating. “We should come up with some kind of plan before you just go charging out there to hand yourself over.”
“They have Shaela,” I snapped, feeling like everything was spinning out of control. “I don’t care what she does to me.”
We all knew she was behind this. Queen Sebille. It probably wasn’t her, out in the woods holding my best friend captive, but she would have been the one to make the order, sending one of her minions to do the job.
“I got here as soon as—”
We all turned toward the door at the sound of Cris’s voice. He looked at my tear-streaked face, then to Finn, then Easton before focusing back on me.
“What’s going on here?” he asked.
“Thank you for coming, Crispin” Finn said, and his voice never sounded so weary. “Shaela Goodman has been kidnapped.”
Chapter 25
After the three of them talked me off the ledge and out of running straight for the woods to turn myself over, we hashed out a plan to get Shaela back. Because the note said “I will return the girl,” we assumed there was only one of them, which helped our odds.
Finn stayed behind as we made our way outside an hour later. He was king, and we convinced him that he shouldn’t put himself at risk, no matter how powerful he was. The three of us could handle it.
As we crossed the grounds, something was bugging me, so I asked the guys about it.
“Why wouldn’t Shaela just use her power? She could make whoever took her captive fall in love with her, and they’d let her go to make her happy? Right?”
“There’s a natural balance preserved between the Sylphids and the Zephyrs,” Cris explained. “While our magic in its purest form is deadly to the other species, the opposite side of that coin is that our weakest magic, that which is based on Glamour and emotion, is the least effective on each other. It would take a much older, stronger Fae than young Shaela to keep up that type of Glamour for any period of time.”
A memory struck me, and I asked “So, would you say Sebille’s the strongest Zephyr? That her Glamour would fool most Sylphs?”
“Naturally,” Cris said. “Her abilities would dupe most Sylphs and Zephyrs, alike.”
“When I first saw her in Finn’s office that night,” I said, “she looked beautiful. But within a few seconds, the Glamour faded and I saw the real queen underneath.”
Easton took my hand and laced our fingers together. He knew that whole night was difficult for me to talk about, despite my victory over the Zephyr queen. That was the night we’d lost Rowan.
“I told you on my first day,” Cris replied, “holding a Glamour with you is extremely difficult. It could be your mixed heritage, or that you’re just unnaturally strong, but without constant effort, any Fae’s Glamour doesn’t stand a chance of holding up.”
I opened my mouth to say something, then snapped it closed again as I realized we’d arrived at the edge of the woods. Easton pulled me into a hug, whispering words of comfort and admonishments to be careful in my ear. Then he kissed me on the lips before slipping into the woods.
“You’ve got this, December,” Cris said, smiling warmly before he too, slipped between the trees.
All alone, I followed the edge of the tree line until I hit the approximate spot Finn had pointed out to me from his office window. The spot where they’d found Shaela’s purse and the note. I took a few cleansing breaths, preparing myself for what was to come.
Then I stepped into the forest.
Walking between the trunks was like being on a d
ifferent planet. The giant canopies created by the tree limbs kept the forest’s interior cast in perpetual shadow. It was eerily quiet as I tilted my head back and stared at the uppermost branches, which seemed to pierce the sky.
Refocusing on my part of the mission, I turned in a circle as my eyes probed the dark spaces between the trees. Unable to see anything, I breathed in deeply through my nose, letting it out slowly. Then I cupped my hands around my mouth and yelled.
“I’m here! Where are you? Show yourself so we can get this over with!”
I spun round and round, shouting at the top of my lungs, my words echoing off the tree trunks and reverberating through me. When the kidnapping, hostage-taking bastard didn’t show himself, I started to get mad.
“You wanted me. Now come and get me!”
The snap of a twig had me twisting around, peering through the trees behind me. A dark shadow emerged, large and misshapen. A chord of fear struck through me until I realized the shadow was a tall, lean Zephyr and the bulky, disproportionate part of him was Shaela, draped over his shoulder.
A dull thud and high-pitched whimper met my ears as he tossed her to the ground. I started to step toward her, but he held up a hand and a sharp wind blew me back.
His obsidian eyes glinted in the low light as he said, “December Thorne, I am here by order of our one true Queen, Sebille of the Zephyrs, and I command you to come with me. If you come without a fight, your young friend here just may live to see another day.”
Suddenly, I stepped out of the woods on my right. It was one of the guys, Glamoured to look just like me, black wings and all.
“It’s me you want.”
The words came out in my voice, from a Fae that looked exactly like me. Just to make things more confusing, I popped my wings out so that we would be completely identical. The Zephyr looked confused, glancing back and forth between us.
Then another me stepped out from the trees on my left.
“I’m over here you big idiot,” the new me said.
My lips twitched, but I forced my face to remain neutral. That was definitely Easton. Despite using my voice, he couldn’t hide his own confident tone. I’d know it anywhere. I was just glad our enemy didn’t.