by Brenda Trim
Dani exited her dorm and sidled right up to Ryker. With blatant desire, she ran her hand up his chest and batted her eyes at him. “It’s good to see you, Ryker. I’d love to sit…by you.” It was clear she was going to say something else. Instantly rage sparked in Maurelle’s core.
Before she said or did something she’d regret, Maurelle glared at Ryker and turned on her heel. She was stomping down the stairs with Brokk, Sol and Daine following her when she heard Ryker respond to Dani. “No thanks. I guess I haven’t been clear. I’m not interested, Dani.”
The tight knot in her gut eased with his words. Until Dani replied with a purred, “Let me know if you get tired of that fluffy excuse for a female. I promise to rock your world.”
Brokk’s hand on her arm stopped Maurelle from turning and blasting the wretched female with a torrent of water. She couldn’t help looking over her shoulder. Ryker was glaring at Dani with disgust written all over his face.
“Maurelle isn’t the reason I have no interest. I find nothing about you appealing,” Ryker told the female before jogging down the steps to join them.
Maurelle stood there with her eyes wide as she watched Dani turn red and narrow her eyes at Ryker. Maurelle called up her water and tossed it at the female before she could reconsider.
The power came easily to her and the blast was so controlled that it didn’t hit anyone except Dani, who shouted and sputtered,
“I’ll make you pay for this,” Dani promised Maurelle, who was still watching her.
Maurelle shrugged her shoulders. “Projecting your loss of control onto someone else makes you look even more pathetic,” she declared then turned around.
Brokk whistled and shook his head “Remind me not to mess with you. How’d you get so good at your control?”
Maurelle chuckled darkly. “I’m just that good, Brokk. Don’t you forget it, either. Oh, hey, Calla.”
The female turned when Maurelle called out to her. “Hi. Maurelle, right?”
“Yes. This is Ryker, Brokk, Sol and Daine,” she introduced as they continued to the mess hall. “How are you adjusting?” she asked Calla.
Calla lifted a shoulder. “It’s odd. I’ve never been to school or anything so it’s all so different.”
Brokk gave the female one of his winning smiles. “If you need any help adjusting, I’m here to do what I can.”
Maurelle punched Brokk in the arm. “Are you flirting with her right now?”
Brokk turned to her with his jaw hanging slack. “What? She’s gorgeous. I can’t help but appreciate that. But, it’s not all about that. I’m still nice to you even though you continually reject me.”
Calla watched them with her arms crossed over her chest. It wasn’t an aggressive gesture but was a protective one. “Why would anyone reject you?”
Brokk pointed his thumb over his shoulder. “Because she’s into him. Not that Ryker isn’t a great male, but it hurts the ego.”
Calla chuckled and shook her head. Maurelle changed the subject. They were getting too close to an area she preferred to leave alone for the time being. Ryker wasn’t with another female and he kept coming back to Maurelle for more, so she saw no reason to talk about their situation or try and force it into a box.
“Hey, Calla. Can you tell me more about what’s beyond the borders? Is there really land that’s recovered and is inhabitable?”
Calla’s head swiveled to Maurelle and then darted around the students making their way into the cafeteria. “I must have been wrong,” she whispered.
Maurelle moved closer to her and placed a palm on her shoulder. “You can trust us. We know something isn’t right at the academy.”
Ryker and the others continued into the mess hall and found seats toward the back of the room. He was watching her and Calla intently, and it made heat unfurl in Maurelle’s veins. When Maurelle noticed Gullvieg entering the other side of the room, she grabbed Calla’s arm and walked to the table with Ryker and the males.
A sense of calm filled the mess hall, making Maurelle’s shoulders drop and her back loosen. A smile crept over her face, before she realized what was happening. Her head snapped to Ryker, but his expression gave nothing away.
Maurelle clutched tight to her connection to Ryker and the others close as she watched the gathering unfold. Gullvieg waved to students, and Maurelle swore she noticed a pale blue mist emitting from her fingers as she sat at the head table.
It was impossible to get a lock on it, or even capture a clear glimpse in her mind. In the next instant her mind went blank and her body seemed numb for about a second. Based on the smiles around the room, the students were in their happy places. When the sensation left Maurelle, she wasn’t shocked to noticed that the students were still under Gullvieg’s thrall.
The Headmistress was definitely working some kind of magic on the students. What didn’t make sense to Maurelle was how she was able to pull off something this big. And, how that control was maintained beyond the Academy.
She had no doubt the school was now a perverted semblance of the original intentions for the institution. It explained some of what was going on in Bramble’s Edge, but not everything. Gullvieg was one piece of the puzzle, but what was the rest?
So many unanswered questions lingered, pissing her off to no end. They needed answers so they could develop a plan to overthrow the current regime and take back Fae control. Seemed impossible from where she sat.
Calla was hiding something. Ryker could feel it with every bone in his body. But pushing her for more information wasn’t going to help them any. The female was wary, and it was obvious to Ryker she didn’t trust anyone at the academy; telling him she was smart, as well. He hoped she never gave anyone information that would put the families in the wilds at risk.
Staff walked around distributing drinks to the students. Gullvieg tapped the side of her glass, making a tinkling sound. Everyone’s eyes turned to the front of the room where the Headmistress searched each table. When her eyes met Ryker’s, hers narrowed before she turned away.
“You’re probably all wondering why we brought you here. Rumor has spread around the Edge and the Academy, that some great power was awoken on campus. I brought you here to congratulate you on your progress. Talk originated from the fact that we haven’t had more power expressed in our student body for several decades. Cheers to your emerging powers.” The Headmistress held her cup in the air and clinked it to an invisible glass. “To the new student body.”
Ryker took a small sip when everyone else brought their cups to their mouths. From over the rim of his cup he watched as students drank deeply then clapped and cheered with their friends.
The noise in the room quickly became deafening. When his eyes landed on Maurelle, she clutched her glass and looked on with a pinched expression. Daine, Sol and Brokk all smiled and clapped, but Ryker sensed the males were putting on a front.
He had no idea how he knew that. He’d gotten to know them well over the past weeks apparently, and every cell in his body was certain his friends were aware something wasn’t right and were on his side.
Calla lifted the drink to her lips, but only took one small sip. Her eyes remained trained on the liquid and she swirled it. Ryker wanted to grab her hand and tell her not to stand out with her skepticism. Maurelle must have caught on because she wrapped an arm around Calla’s shoulders and laughed as she hugged her close.
“I feel like I’m not capable of doing crap, but I’m glad to add to the collective,” Maurelle said as Calla looked at her. Ryker saw the way Maurelle shook her head slightly in response.
“I’m even more lost than you are,” Calla replied.
Gullvieg continued talking, this time switching gears to praise the way humans came in and saved the Fae. “We are blessed to have the Edge and the Academy. Humans allowed us to keep them when the land was dying and threatened to take all of Mag Mell with it.”
Yeah, Ryker thought. Because the humans used nuclear weapons that destroyed the land. They wouldn’t have survi
ved without Fae help. He turned and met Maurelle’s eyes. At that moment magic filled the room like fog.
Everyone in the room felt it, but before anyone could ask anything their stares went blank before resuming their excited chatter about being saved by humans. The spell wasn’t gone. In fact, the more Ryker fought against it the more it felt as if razors were cutting him to shreds from the inside out. Taking a deep breath, he stopped trying to keep it outside his body.
Immediately, he felt cold seep beneath his skin before a flash fire coursed through his veins obliterating any icy remnants making him shake. The entire time, Ryker focused on his mind and his desire to help Fae kind. The spell slid off him like oil, leaving behind a residue that clung to his skin, but didn’t go further.
Maurelle grimaced, as did Sol, Daine, Brokk and Calla. He switched his focus to all of them individually and mentally bolstered the connection he had with each one of them. It was weakest with Calla, making him add more there. Proceeding on instinct he leaned on his elbows and kept his gaze on the Headmistress. “Don’t fight. She can’t control you,” he whispered to them.
“Total bullshit,” Calla whispered before she relented, and he watched her shudder like the others had a second before.
Ryker met her gaze and nodded, letting her know he agreed and was listening before turning back to the head of the room where Gullvieg continued her brainwashing session. “They eliminated the one power source that held Fae together and kept chaos from reigning. That power has floated throughout the realm, healing it ever since.”
Maurelle gasped and fisted her hands on the table. “That bitch better hope that power doesn’t find a new home. She’ll be the first to go.”
Ryker shot Maurelle a look of commiseration before they continued listening. The mention of a mantle of power made him think of the experience the other night when power flooded through him and the amulet Shineah gave him.
For a split second, he wondered…no, he cut himself off before he even fully formed the thought. It wasn’t possible, but he would do anything in his power to help the new King when he was located.
Of all the things he wasn’t sure about; Maurelle and his relationship with her, specifically if he wanted one. Well, he knew he wanted her, but wasn’t sure about the rest, so it was odd for him to be so certain that a new King was on the cusp of being identified.
And when that happened change was coming to the realm. He would be there to usher it in with open arms. He refused to sit by and watch the Fae be used and controlled while lands and freedoms were stolen from the Fae.
Chapter Seventeen
“What the hell is happening?” Ryker yelled as he glanced out of his window. Sirens were blaring throughout the Academy grounds, alerting them of trouble.
“Don’t know. Do you think someone tried to escape?” Daine called out to be heard over the loud noise.
Ryker opened his mouth to respond when an announcement started. “Attention all students,” the male voice boomed.
“I didn’t know we had a speaker system in the school,” Brokk said as they headed to the door like the message instructed.
“We don’t,” Daine said. “That’s a spell. And a powerful one.”
“All students must report to the grand entrance to the residence hall immediately to address a threat on campus,” the voice repeated over and over.
“What the fuck does that mean? Do you think the humans are attacking?” Sol asked.
“I don’t know what other kind of threat we could be facing. The Rebellion is mostly myth, I think,” Ryker replied. Before coming to the academy, he didn’t give much thought to the Rebellion.
Every Fae heard about the largely underground movement. He wasn’t the only one that chapped under human control. For as long as he could remember his mom told him about a group of Fae that banded together with the hopes to one day overthrow the human control of Fae citizens.
It seemed like a pipe dream to Ryker, but perhaps they were at the academy seeking the strongest of the students to ally with them. If there was any hope of taking control back of their realm, Fae needed to regain the upper hand. And that would mean finding out how they are controlling Fae.
Ryker was one of the strongest at the academy. There was no denying that. So was Maurelle. Brokk, Sol and Daine were also strong. He’d gotten lucky with those closest to him during this tumultuous journey at the academy.
“According to my dad they aren’t a myth,” Sol interjected as they ran into Maurelle and Calla.
“Please tell me you used your charm to get answers about whatever this threat is,” Maurelle said by way of greeting.
Ryker noticed the pinched expression and clenched jaw. It seemed as if one thing after another kept coming up, challenging their abilities and safety. “Sorry. Afraid my charm is wearing off. Stick close. We need to watch each other’s backs.” That last bit he directed to everyone.
At the bottom of the stairs, they joined the rest of the student body. Everyone stood around asking each other for answers. Several professors were there as well. “Air league, over here,” Professor Romelda announced.
Ryker, Brokk and Maurelle headed toward Romelda while the others went to their leagues. The hall went from noisy to quiet in an instant. The room buzzed with anticipation, making his skin itch. The amulet around his neck heated against his skin.
Within seconds the charm was burning its way through his skin. A grunt left his throat like a gun shot. Maurelle’s eyes, and the rest of the student body, snapped toward him. When his hand went to his neck, she caught on immediately.
“Sorry for stepping on your toes. There’s not enough room for everyone here,” she announced. Her voice boomed in the quiet space. Thank the Gods she was smart. It deflected attention from him.
No one questioned her remark. The entrance seemed enormous. It was open to the ceiling eight stories up, but it wasn’t very deep or wide. Two staircases rose off to the sides of the area. The floor was marble and there was an elaborate crystal chandelier hanging above them. A hall branched off of each side and the double doors to the mess hall was located between the stairs.
He recalled thinking the place was massive when he stepped foot inside. Now with them crammed in like sardines it seemed incredibly small.
“We are under attack by unicorns,” Professor Romelda explained.
“What?” Maurelle blurted. “They actually exist? And are attacking us?”
Narrowed eyes turned their way. Romelda shook her head. “We haven’t reached the education of magical creatures yet, so I will excuse the question. Unicorns and more exist, and they are vicious creatures. We need to fight them back into the brambles.”
Maurelle moved close to Ryker. “How did they come through the brambles? Nothing can get through there.”
“No. My guess is they came from the lands beyond Bramble’s Edge,” Ryker replied equally as quiet.
“Use lethal force at will,” Romelda was instructing. “There are weapons by the doors. Select one and head out to the quad. Most of the Unicorns are there, but they have infiltrated the entire campus. Headmistress Gullvieg is out there herding them toward the quad.”
That explained where the Headmistress was at the moment. It wasn’t like her not to have her fingers in everything. Ryker headed out next to Maurelle and noticed Brokk searching the crowd. No doubt he was hoping to stick close to Calla. His friend was developing feelings for the female.
At the sides of the massive entrance there were three large wooden bins with countless swords sticking out. Maurelle lifted one out and overbalanced as she did. Ryker caught her arm when she started falling backwards and helped her find her footing.
Grabbing his own sword, he was surprised to feel the heavy weight in his hand. No wonder Maurelle struggled with the object. Without knowing precisely what he was going to encounter, he exited behind some other students.
A green lawn stretched in front of them. There was a short building between them and the quad, but he saw enoug
h to marvel at the sight of several large white horses with golden horns racing around.
Ryker stood stunned along with the other students. He’d never seen such majestic creatures. Centaurs, hobs, brownies, banshees and many more lived in the Edge along with the Fae. There had to be at least a hundred unicorns racing through the grounds.
Ryker’s arms tingled and the sensation traveled from there throughout his entire body. Bubbles fizzed and popped in his bloodstream, and his vision sharpened. Bouncing on the balls of his feet, he turned to Maurelle and made sure she was still with him.
Ryker headed to the left while most students went right. He had no desire to be in the thick of the battle. Screams were echoing around them already. The close call Maurelle had in the sewers was still too damn fresh in his mind. It was something that haunted him, and likely always would.
Images of her bloody body clutched to his chest and her rattling breaths made a shudder travel up his spine. Allowing himself to think about that would distract him and lead to injury.
When he made it to the corner of the small building, he caught an astringent scent of Gullvieg. The Headmistress was at the other side of the quad. Why was he smelling her way over here?
His eyes scanned the area for any sign of the vile female. When his gaze landed on the open window, he realized the building he’d always wondered about was her home. Relaxing slightly, he continued to the quad on the other side of the building.
A Unicorn waited five feet from them when they emerged from the shadows. “Watch out,” Brokk warned.
The sound drew the creature’s gaze. Ryker was mesmerized by its bright blue eyes. There was nothing malevolent in the Unicorn’s posture. In fact, an immense sense of relief hit Ryker when the Unicorn noticed him.
It made no sense and didn’t fit with the fighting he saw occurring not five feet from them. “Do you think you can communicate with it?” Ryker asked Maurelle.
Her eyes flew from him to the animal and back again. The sword she carried looked both right and wrong in her grip. Maurelle wasn’t like a typical Fae. She was voluptuous, and strong willed. Even without him, she wouldn’t easily be controlled. And, fought against injustice even if it meant danger for her.