by G. K. DeRosa
“Why yes, dear. Drake is the obvious choice for a tutor. He’s the strongest in our class, and you’ve already proven to work well together. Professor Arcana and I already discussed it, and he’ll be tutoring you in both spellcraft and defensive magic.”
“He shot daggers at me!”
“But he coaxed your magic out, didn’t he?” She gave me a smug smile. Crap on crackers. This was so not what I was thinking when I asked her for help. I figured Ash would be the logical choice since he was my partner. And he didn’t totally hate me unlike the ice prince.
“I can’t commit to everyday,” Drake finally said. “But I suppose I could do a few days a week, for an hour max.”
Professor gave him a beaming smile and patted him on the shoulder. “That’s perfect, thank you, young prince. I’ll leave you two to work out the details.”
As soon as she walked away, I slumped down in my desk. “You don’t have to do this,” I said, staring up at him. “I know you’d just as soon kill me than help me.”
He shrugged. “Maybe I’ve grown a heart in the past few weeks. Maybe I’ve decided you’re not as bad as I thought. For a human anyway.”
I arched a skeptical brow.
“Triston told me what happened on the full moon.”
I knew that gray wolf was him!
“Surviving trolls, the Fae forest and a pack of wolves is pretty impressive for anyone.” He cocked his head, those lilac eyes scrutinizing me. “But don’t let it go to your head, human. I still don’t think half-bloods belong at Darkhen Academy.”
Those freaky words from my first day at the academy swam across my mind. “Was it you?”
His light brow arched. “Was what me?”
“My first day here someone said almost those exact words about me not belonging here. They were trying to freak me out or something when I was walking alone in the hall.”
He shook his head. “I don’t hide in the shadows and scare little girls. That’s not my thing. If I had something to say to you, I’d say it right to your face.”
Good point. Drake Wintersbee was nothing if not straightforward.
“So are you ready to practice or what?”
I opened the defensive magic book on my desk and flipped through a few yellowing pages. “Where should we start, oh wise one?”
Drake cracked a smile before pulling up a desk next to mine. A few seconds later, he was all business as he began quizzing me on defensive maneuvers. From the corner of my eye, I couldn’t help but trace the sharp line of his jaw and the flicker of light in his unique lilac irises.
Maybe this wouldn’t be the worst thing ever.
Zeus was the worst thing ever. Despite my continued attempts to tame the wild beast with my nightly elaria fruit visits, I still hadn’t succeeded in mounting the stubborn brute.
The day of the big race had finally come, and the entire academy had shown up to witness my humiliation. I was the only student failing Flying and Shifting 101, and now I’d become the only first year not to compete in the biggest event of the semester.
“How’s he looking today?” Cinder gave me a hopeful smile as she sauntered over. She looked perfect with her sleek onyx hair in a high ponytail and her slim-fitting riding pants tucked into shiny black boots.
I was a mess in an untucked polo and jeans. What did it matter what I looked like when I was going to be grounded anyway? “No progress,” I muttered. Which wasn’t exactly true. I had managed to get him bridled and saddled which was a feat in and of itself.
She patted my shoulder, eyeing the ornery stallion. “You should at least try.”
“So the entire school can witness my mortification? Thanks, but no thanks.” I slumped down on the trunk in front of Zeus’s stall. “I’m destined to spend my short days at Darkhen magic-less and flightless.”
“Don’t count yourself out just yet.” Raf appeared, a dark shock of hair tumbling over his forehead. The handsome nephilim never spoke much, but he wasn’t as standoffish as some of the other Seven.
Cinder’s golden eyes shone with excitement. “Are you going to help her?”
“I don’t know how much I can do, but I can shoot the old bastard with a little soothing angel light and see if it calms him down a bit.”
Over his shoulder, I caught Drake’s eyes fixed on us. His pinched expression was unreadable as usual. Had he sent Raf over or was he pissed he was helping me?
Raf’s quiet murmurs coaxed Zeus’s head over the stall gate. “Easy, easy, big guy.” He extended his hand, allowing the mercurial unipeg to get a whiff. The animal huffed, and Raf ran his fingers over his muzzle. Hazy golden light emanated from his palm, the warmth bathing the space in soothing energy.
Man, I needed a shot of that stuff.
Raf backed away and smiled. “Good luck.” Before spinning around, he threw Cinder a cute grin.
“Thanks,” I called out behind him. I nudged my roomie in the arm. “Did you see that look?”
“What look?” Her cheeks flamed.
“Raf totally gave you a flirty grin. I thought you said The Seven never talk to anyone, they’re too good for all of us, blah, blah, blah.”
She shook her head laughing. “It must be because of you. Besides Ash, none of them had ever said a word to me before you showed up. If you haven’t noticed, you seemed to have caught the interest of the male members of the exclusive squad.”
A rebuttal was on my lips when Mrs. Thornberry appeared, drawing my attention away from our discussion. “Are you girls ready?”
“Yes, ma’am,” answered Cinder, way too eagerly for my liking. I pressed my lips together and inclined my head.
“Let’s go then. Everyone’s waiting.”
A swarm of butterflies took off in my belly, their wings battering my insides as I led Zeus out of the barn. I cautiously followed behind Cinder and Bella. Her beautiful white unipeg completed the dragon shifter’s picture perfect image. If my roommate hadn’t been such a sweetheart, I totally would’ve been jealous. She had it all—a loving family, a powerful position in the Azarian political world as the sister of the dragon alpha, and she was gorgeous and sweet.
I was lucky she’d adopted me without considering the social ramifications. I guessed I had my half-sister and brother-in-law to thank for that.
The roar of the crowd drew me from my inner musings as we stepped onto the field. Tilting my head up, I found the source of the ruckus. A gigantic floating stadium had been erected below the cloud line. They hadn’t been kidding, it did seem like the entire academy had shown up for the spectacle. Thousands of bodies lined the bleachers—way more people than attended the school. Had the Fae locals come to watch too?
Kill. Me. Now.
It was enough to become the academy’s laughing stock, but the entire Winter Court?
No sooner had the words popped into my mind… The Fae king, Elrian Wintersbee, and one of the hottest former bachelors from Hitched sauntered my way. His pale blue high-collared suit graced his slim lines, hugging his shoulders all the way down to his tapered waist. His platinum blonde hair was neatly tied behind the nape of his neck, his presence screaming royalty.
For a second, his icy lilac eyes met mine and my heart flip-flopped. They were exact replicas of his younger brother’s. Then his gaze lifted over my shoulder, and a smile settled over his lips.
Following his eye line, I found Drake seated atop his elegant dapple unipeg. The animal seemed an extension of his limbs, unlike my wily beast who struggled against the bit in his mouth.
Drake trotted past me, meeting his brother with the most genuine smile I’d ever witnessed from the ice prince. He slid off his steed and wrapped Elrian in a hug. I quickly walked by with my head down, praying Zeus wouldn’t buck or rear or do any of a number of terrible things to further my mortification.
Before I made it far, Drake called out my name, startling me. “Get over here, human. Someone wants to meet you.”
I turned slowly, still half-certain he was messing with me.
The king of the Fae wanted to meet me?
Elrian stepped forward, extending a hand, his lilac eyes twinkling. “Ms. Hallows, it’s a pleasure.” His gaze skimmed over me, his lip curled in amusement. “The resemblance is quite remarkable.”
I attempted a lame curtsy, but ended up straightening at the last second to avoid ending up on my butt in front of the Winter Court king. “The pleasure is all mine, your Highness.” At least I’d learned something from watching Kimmie-Jayne interacting with the royals on TV.
Elrian cocked his head at his brother. “You’re right. She does have spunk—just like her sister.” He whispered the last part.
Drake paled, and I couldn’t help the twinge of glee that exploded in my chest. Drake had been talking to his brother about me?
“I look forward to seeing you out there.” He tilted his head skyward.
The ice prince sneered. “Not likely. She still hasn’t been able to mount good old Zeus.”
“Oh no?” The king moved closer to the unipeg, and I nearly pulled him back scared he’d try to gore the royal. Then I’d really be screwed.
To my surprise, Zeus leaned into Elrian’s touch and whinnied.
My eyes snapped open. “How’d you do that?”
Elrian chuckled, running his hand up and down the animal’s muzzle. “Zeus used to be mine when I was a bit younger than you. We donated him to the academy a few years back.” He ticked his head at Drake. “He never took a liking to my brother either.”
Drake frowned, crossing his arms against his chest. “He’s a stubborn beast.”
“Come on, Ms. Hallows. I’ll help you on.” Elrian took hold of Zeus’s reins as I stared dumbly at the surprising king.
“Come on, Luna. We don’t have all day,” muttered Drake, as he leapt onto his unipeg.
My blood started pumping again, and I urged my legs forward. This was it—it was now or never. The king gave me a leg up, and a moment later I was on. After two months of fighting with the obstinate animal, I was on!
“Thank you,” I mumbled breathlessly. My heart was dancing in my chest, and I was afraid it might break out at any moment.
“Good luck, you two.” With a smile, Elrian turned toward the unipeg-hitched chariots that were ferrying the guests to the floating stadium.
Glancing around, I scanned the field for Cinder, but she and Bella were nowhere in sight. They’d probably already headed up. I gulped as I stared upward at the ever-growing crowd. It was a good thing I couldn’t make out much detail from this distance because the Fae struck me as a rather intimidating bunch.
Beside me, Drake nudged his steed forward and its magnificent wings unfurled, revealing a colorful rainbow beneath. Over his shoulder he called out, “You do know how to fly these things, right?”
“Right!” I shouted behind him. Lie. I knew the theory, but I had yet to put it in practice.
Here goes nothing!
Chapter 15
Digging my heels into the irreverent beast, I urged him onward with a cluck of my tongue. He actually moved forward a few steps. My heart soared as I ran through the commands I’d been memorizing for weeks.
Zeus’s head swung about, his hooves anxiously pawing the ground. He eyed the sky above where his barn-mates already circled. Nervous energy fluttered around us, and if I didn’t know better, I’d think the blasted unipeg was actually excited.
The crowd above our heads continued to chant and clap as some of the students put on a preshow, the magnificent unipegs soaring with their brightly tinted wings painting a rainbow of colors across the serene blue sky.
Even the air seemed warmer than normal, the typical arctic blast absent for once. Must’ve been faery magic.
I patted Zeus’s neck, and he craned his head around to look at me. Those obsidian eyes scorched over me as he waited expectantly. Bossy little unipeg. “You ready?”
He snorted in response.
“Ad litem!” I called out, and I could’ve sworn the animal smiled at me. He unfurled his sleek black wings, and my heart took off with his hooves. With a powerful flap, my stomach dropped as we lurched into the air.
The snow-coated ground fell away, and my pulse skyrocketed. “Holy flying unicorns! It worked!” I squeezed my thighs and calves around Zeus’s midsection as we flew higher up. The closer we got to the stadium, the warmer the air got. I’d expected an icy blast, but instead a series of flickering torches lining the stands caught my eye. Their heat radiated across the floating arena, warming the surrounding air and actually making the high altitudes bearable.
Zeus led the way, my hands loose on his reins. He joined his fellow unipegs prancing around the ring. There was no doubt about it, he was happy. And showing off. His magnificent wings overshadowed all the others, the rainbow of colors beneath a striking contrast to his deep onyx hue.
Cinder and Bella flew over as soon as she caught sight of me. “You did it!” She clapped her hands, a huge grin spreading across her face.
“It was all thanks to King Elrian.” I patted Zeus again, hoping his old master’s name would make him happy.
My roommate arched a dark brow. “King Elrian? How did that happen?”
I shook my head, keeping a tight grip on my reins. “I’ll tell you about it later. Don’t we have a race to start?”
She ticked her head toward two posts floating in the middle of the stadium. A banner was stretched across the poles, the crests of each of the seven houses emblazoned on the fabric. I guessed I’d be on team dragon shifters since the humans didn’t exactly have any formal representation. “Come on, let’s get to the starting line. It looks like we’re about to begin.”
A huge clock appeared over the stadium flashing red neon numbers. It was counting down, and there was less than a minute remaining. Zeus followed behind Bella without me having to utter a word. It was like the crazy unipeg was on autopilot. It was obvious he’d done this before and was loving every minute of it.
We sidled up to the starting line, Cinder taking the spot beside Ash. He leaned over, and his eyes widened when he recognized me. “Damn, Luna girl. I didn’t think I’d see you up here.”
“Neither did I.”
Drake appeared flanking me, his dapple-gray unipeg pawing the air. He patted his steed and turned to me. “Don’t get too excited, human, the Fae have held the winning title for the past eight semesters.”
“Maybe that’s because they’d never raced against Zeus.” I’m not sure where the false bravado came from, but I went with it.
“You remember the rules?” asked Cinder, turning my attention back to my friend.
“Yup. Three laps around the stadium and no crossing over the blue line.” A neon cerulean ring floated around the circumference of the arena, illuminating a clear path.
“And no playing dirty,” added Ash with a veiled look at Drake.
I gulped as I glanced down at the ground below. Falling from this height would hurt like a mother, even with the magical safety net positioned below the stadium.
The crowd began to count down from ten, and my heart raged wildly against my ribs. In the front row, I caught a glimpse of Cillian and Ryder. My instructor’s dark gaze was heavy on me. He was probably as surprised as I was to see me up here.
As the clock wound down, Ryder mouthed, “Good luck.”
I shot him a smile and focused my attention on the sprawling blue before me.
“Three… two… one!” The buzzer sounded and Zeus leapt forward, jerking me with him. Strands of blonde hair whipped across my face as we zipped by Cinder and Bella, then Ash and his mount, Phoenix, then almost all the other students in my class.
Holy unipegs, this guy could fly! My heart thundered in my ribcage as excitement hemorrhaged through my veins. The adrenaline coursing through my system was a completely new high. Just a few lengths in front of us was Drake. Apollo’s massive dapple-gray hindquarters pounded the air in front of us, his wings sending a blast of wind in our direction.
I ducked just in time, grabbing on
to Zeus’s mane to avoid getting tossed off. “Good boy, Zeus,” I mumbled. “Please don’t drop me. It’s a really long way down for a mortal like me.” He threw his head back and snorted. I hoped that meant, “No, of course I won’t drop you, dear Luna,” in unipeg speak.
As we rounded the stadium for the second time, I hazarded a quick glance behind me. All the other riders had fallen back. Only Drake and I remained at the head of the pack, and Zeus was gaining on Apollo.
I slackened my hold on his mouth, giving him free reins and he sprinted forward. The roar of the crowd reverberated across my eardrums, drowning out the mad thumping of my heart.
Were they actually cheering for me?
Then Drake’s earlier words came to mind: the Fae had won this race the past eight times. That’s probably why the king was here. Sinking my heels into Zeus’s midsection, I urged him forward. King Elrian never should’ve helped me on this wild beast. His loss—or Drake’s to be more exact.
With a mighty flap, we inched forward, now nose-to-nose with Drake and Apollo. The ice prince shot me a sidelong glance, his typical cocky expression nowhere to be seen.
“Velocem!” he snarled at his steed.
The unipeg panted and huffed, a string of saliva dribbling down his mouth, but he surged forward. Glancing up, the brightly colored flags at the finish line flapped in the breeze. Only a quarter of a lap left.
“Velocem!” I echoed Drake’s command to speed up and Zeus sailed ahead, eating up the air below us. The wind smacked against my face, tugging my cheeks back and I ducked down to reduce the air resistance. I wondered how fast we were going.
We turned the final bend with Apollo less than one unipeg-length in front of us. I dug my heels into Zeus’s sides pleading with him to go a little faster. After what a disaster I’d been the entire semester, I finally had a chance to prove to everyone I belonged here.
Zeus lunged forward as we approached the final few yards. The red and white floating finish line was just within our reach. Apollo and Zeus continued neck and neck, neither giving the other the advantage for more than a second. Beads of sweat accumulated on my brow as I clenched my jaw to the finish line.