All the Guardians in the class burst into laughter, including myself. The human children shrank into their seats looking terrified, except Shay, who wore an expression of utter confusion. The young Keepers smirked, throwing disdainful glances at the wolves.
Shay’s next words were frustrated but insistent. “Hobbes isn’t talking about savagery. It’s about the ceaseless struggle for power. Strife unending that makes the world go round. That’s the true state of nature. You can’t just ignore it because some stuffed shirts call it vulgar.”
Ren turned to face Shay, regarding the new student with a gaze that was almost admiring, if still wary. Dax glanced from his alpha to me and then to Shay. He looked like he was waiting for one of us to spontaneously combust. Sabine stared at Shay as if the boy’s skin had turned inside out. Logan sighed and began to examine his fingernails.
Shay threw a pleading look at Mr. Selby. “Can we please talk about the war of all against all? I think it’s the most important idea I’ve come across in philosophy.”
The sweat on Mr. Selby’s forehead formed droplets that trickled down his temples.
“Well, I suppose . . .” He raised the marker to begin writing on the whiteboard. A spasm jerked through his fingers and the dry-erase pen dropped to the floor again.
“You need to work on your reflexes, Mr. Selby,” Ren teased. A nervous titter moved through the classroom.
Our teacher didn’t respond; the quaking of his fingers moved up his arm. His entire body convulsed. He bent backward, flailed, and collapsed to the floor twitching violently. White spittle collected at the corners of his mouth, spilling down his jawline.
“Oh my God, he’s having a seizure!” shrieked a human girl, who I thought was called Rachel. I’d never bothered to learn most of their names.
Dax bolted from his desk and crouched beside Mr. Selby’s tormented body. He shouted at the still-screeching human girl, “Shut up and go get help!”
She scampered from the classroom. Several human children had pulled out their phones.
“Phones away now!” Logan’s sharp command filled the room.
“Just get Nurse Flynn, Rachel,” he called to the girl in a loud but rather lazy voice. The golden-haired Keeper looked bored. I stared at him. Nurse Flynn was a Keeper who oversaw the small infirmary in the Mountain School, but I wasn’t sure she had any real medical training.
Dax, who had stilled our teacher’s convulsions through sheer brute strength, frowned. “He needs an ambulance.”
“No, he doesn’t. When Flynn arrives, our dear teacher will be fine.” Logan’s cold response was accompanied by a sweep of his eyes across the room. He raised his crystal-clear voice, addressing the class.
“In case you hadn’t noticed, we’re finished here. Go find someplace else to be.”
Most of the human students bolted from the room. A few stared for another minute at Dax, who still pinned Mr. Selby against the tile floor, then slunk off whispering to each other. The other Keeper children nodded at Logan and moved quietly out the door. The Guardians, and Shay, hesitated. Our eyes fixed on Logan, who gazed back at us with smug confidence. An ebony-haired woman, with a stunning figure marred by the large, misshapen hump on her back, appeared in the doorway. She was followed by two men who pushed a gurney.
“We’ll take it from here, Dax.”
Dax released Mr. Selby, who immediately began to flail again. Nurse Flynn withdrew a syringe from the pocket of her lab coat, knelt down, and plunged the needle into his neck. Mr. Selby’s spasms eased and he moaned once before dropping into unconsciousness. Nurse Flynn nodded to her two companions, who lifted Mr. Selby onto the gurney and wheeled him from the room.
She turned to Logan. “Thank you for sending Rachel to alert me, Mr. Bane.”
The golden-haired boy made a dismissive gesture with his hand.
“Your prompt attention to the matter is noted, Lana.”
Nurse Flynn dipped into a curtsy and left the classroom.
Logan sauntered over to Shay. “Let’s take a walk.”
Shay slowly rose to his feet. “What the hell just happened?”
“Mr. Selby is epileptic. It’s a shame, really. He’s a fine teacher,” Logan replied, the hand that he still held behind him jerking rapidly in odd flickers of his fingers.
Shay’s eyelids fluttered as Logan smiled, sliding his arm around the boy’s shoulders. He drew our new classmate, who stumbled forward in a near stupor, toward the door.
“I’ll give you a ride home. I’m sure Bosque is eager to hear about your first day at our school.”
The two boys walked away. Logan turned once and flashed a smile at the Guardians, who were now the sole occupants of the classroom.
Ren leapt to his feet and swore. “What was that?”
I thought about standing but decided against it. My limbs seemed to have transformed into Jell-O. Ren’s gaze moved over my face. He crouched beside my desk, folding my shaking hands in his own.
“Calla,” he said. “Are you all right?”
I pulled out of his grasp. “His uncle. Logan said Shay’s uncle is a Regent. That’s just not possible. God, Ren. Why would the Keepers have anything to do with a human boy? Who is Bosque?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never heard of them adopting a human. If that’s even the right word.” Ren shoved his hands in his pockets. “Efron hasn’t said anything about it. At least not to me.”
“And what happened to Mr. Selby?” Dax wandered over to Ren’s side. “I didn’t know he was epileptic.”
“When did you all become idiots?” Sabine’s voice was jagged as broken glass. “He isn’t epileptic. You know the phrase that stupid boy kept repeating is forbidden. He triggered one of the Keepers’ spells. Selby was being punished for discussing a censored subject. The Keepers don’t tolerate such behavior.”
Dax turned toward her. “So no ambulance?”
“A doctor couldn’t do anything for him,” she said. “Flynn’s obviously the spellwarder at our school. Don’t you know anything?”
She stood up and, with a final withering glare, flipped her long hair and strode from the classroom.
SIX
“YOU CAN’T BE SERIOUS.” I PULLED THE corset from Bryn’s hands. The velvet slid enticingly over my fingers, but I cringed at the thought of wearing it in public.
“Brutal truth time.” She walked to my closet and began shuffling through clothes. “You own nothing that will work. Just pretend it’s Halloween.”
“Yeah, that makes me feel much better.” I turned toward the mirror and held the corset against my body. “And who knows what I’ll be wearing on that day.”
Bryn shut my closet door, cutting off all fashion escape routes. “Since it’s up to Naomi, probably something with puffed sleeves.”
“Ugh. I can’t think about the union now.” I handed the corset back to her.
“You’ll look amazing tonight at least,” she said. “Get out of that shirt so we can get you into this.”
I looked her up and down. She was striking in her formfitting black satin dress and brass-buckled combat boots.
“You’re sure about this?” I sighed.
She bobbed her head with a little too much enthusiasm. “You have to look fierce, Cal. You’re our alpha. Make an impression.”
“Fine. I’ll wear it. But only with a jacket,” I said. “And I’m still wearing my jeans.”
Bryn frowned for a moment but then shrugged. “I guess that works. Suit yourself.”
She sat on the bed while I stripped off my T-shirt and bra and wiggled into the corset.
“I’ll lace it up,” Bryn said. “Just tell me when you can’t breathe.”
“Great,” I said.
“Say uncle!” She jerked the stays.
“That’s tight enough!” I choked, glancing down. Oh my God.
“I’d kill for your boobs,” Bryn said to my reflection.
I snatched my leather jacket from the back of a chair, pulling it tight around
my body.
“I didn’t have these boobs until you cinched it up.”
She laughed. “Ren’s going to turn inside out when he sees you.”
“Stop.”
“Well, that’s the point, isn’t it?”
I didn’t answer. Maybe that wouldn’t be a bad thing. The union was getting so close. I wanted him to want me, even if we couldn’t act on it.
She was quiet for a minute. “He hasn’t bothered you again, has he?”
“I wouldn’t say he’s bothering me,” I mused. “Ren’s just being Ren.”
“I wasn’t talking about Ren.”
“Oh.” I frowned. “No. Nothing else. He hasn’t tried to talk to me since Logan pulled him out of Big Ideas.” I fiddled with the embroidery on the corset’s hem, thinking about how I wished he would try, even if I shouldn’t want him to.
“And Mr. Selby?”
“Back in class like nothing happened.”
“Well, maybe everything will get back to normal now.” She smiled.
“Nothing will be normal if I have to keep wearing stuff like this.” I rapped my knuckles on the corset’s boning. “At least it might be able to double as armor.”
A gasp followed by several coughs came from my bedroom door. I turned to see Ansel, ashen-faced, staring at us from the doorway. I quickly buttoned my jacket, but his eyes were locked on Bryn.
“Are you feeling okay?” I frowned at my little brother.
Ansel seemed to have lost his ability to blink.
Bryn smiled at him. “What’s up, Cub Scout?”
“Come on, Bryn.” He kicked at the door frame. “I’m a sophomore now.”
“Yep, and we’re seniors. Which makes you a cub as far as I’m concerned.”
“Whatever. I just wondered when you guys were gonna be ready.” Ansel stared at his shoes. “Mason said he’d drive—his parents gave him the Land Rover for the night. Fey is already at his house. He wants to know when he should pick us up.”
“Half an hour, tops,” I said. “Bryn, do you have fashion tips for my brother too?”
She wandered over to Ansel, who stood transfixed in the doorway. She tugged at the collar of his black silk shirt, deftly unfastened one button more than Ansel had left open, and eyed his jeans critically. After a moment she smiled, patting his cheek.
“Nah, he’s adorable.”
Ansel swallowed and then bolted from the door frame.
“I’ll yell when Mason gets here!” he called without looking back.
The bouncer, a Titanesque Bane elder, took our names and jerked his thumb toward a stairway cordoned off from the main floor of the club.
“VIPs head upstairs.” His eyes were respectful but wary as they moved over our party.
“Thanks.” I led the Nightshades up the steel staircase to the second level of the warehouse-like club. Eden throbbed with a mix of industrial beats and dark trance. Humans packed the main dance floor, pulsing and swaying with the heavy bass. Bryn elbowed me. Compared to the other women in the room, I could have been mistaken for a nun.
“Are you going to say I told you so?” I glared at her as I pulled off my jacket, baring my arms, shoulders, and far too much else.
“I don’t think I have to.”
“You’re not gonna fall out of that, are you?” Ansel laughed.
“Shut up or I’ll make you wait in the car.”
Mason darted forward, wrapped his arm around my shoulders, and pecked me on the cheek. “You look fabulous. Ignore them—go forth and conquer.”
I squeezed his hand but wrinkled my nose when we reached the second floor. Mason frowned when he caught the scent in the same moment. We both glanced up at the ceiling. No less than six wraiths floated in and out of the scaffolding above us.
“Tight security,” he murmured.
“No kidding.” I fought to keep my eyes off the shadow guards who hovered fifteen feet over our heads.
Bryn flinched when she saw the dark figures skimming along the ceiling. Ansel twined his fingers through hers and tugged her forward.
“Come on, we’re on the list, right? Efron’s guests. No trouble.”
Bryn let my brother guide her onto the dance floor. Fey brought up the rear of our pack. Her lips half curled in a snarl as her gaze darted up at the wraiths. She took a few quick steps forward to catch us.
“So what do we do now?” she asked. “Just shut up and dance?”
I shook my head. “We need to find our hosts and thank them for inviting us.”
Fey put her hands on her hips. “You’re trying to kill me from prolonged Sabine exposure, aren’t you?”
“Just say hello. Then shut up and dance.”
“Deal.” She shook her red hair so that it fanned around her shoulders, making her look like a lioness.
The dance floor gleamed, shimmering colors running across the black surface like it was a pool of oil. Bodies pulsed, pressed together, in rhythm with the throbbing bass line that shook the entire club. A sleek silver bar extended along the far side of the room. Dark velvet couches ringed the dance floor.
Professional dancers, scantily clad and wielding whips, writhed on platforms scattered throughout the room. Broad, leathery wings sprouted from some of the dancers’ backs. Given Efron’s reputation, I couldn’t be sure if they were part of the dominatrix costumes or the real thing.
Most of the guests were Keepers. I saw Logan Bane dancing amid a crowd of his peers and, surprisingly, Lana Flynn. A few Bane Guardians, adults, stalked through the club, their eyes darting throughout the space, muscles tense.
Mason tightened his grip on my shoulder, steering me toward the bar. He walked confidently toward a young man who was laughing with the Bane Guardian pouring shots behind the bar. The bartender looked as though he’d been molded into his clothes, but that wasn’t a bad thing.
Bryn leaned over, whispering in my ear. “Forget drinks. I’ll take a double of him.”
“Just behave.” I giggled.
“Hey, man,” Mason called, and Neville turned to face us, a wary smile sliding across his mouth.
If a band had been playing at Eden that night, I would have assumed Neville, dressed in a T-shirt and leather pants, was with them. I cast my eyes around, attempting to search the club in a casual manner. Neville watched me with a knowing smile.
“We have a table at the back,” he said softly. “He’s been waiting for you.”
Neville led us away from the dance floor to a secluded corner of the room where the young Banes lounged on couches. Cosette and Dax sat opposite Ren. The alpha grinned at his packmates while one of the leather-clad dancers, draped across him like a cloak, nuzzled his neck. An unfamiliar, painful gnawing began in my stomach.
Bryn leaned into me. “I wouldn’t let a succubus get that close, if I were him.”
A shiver moved up my spine. She thinks the wings are real.
I looked closer and saw that the coquette whose lips were latched on Ren’s cheek did not have wings. She sat up, smiling at Ren, who glanced at her with a disinterested expression. My eyes widened. It was Sabine. I could barely recognize her in the mirror-shine black leather hip-huggers and studded bustier.
Fey coughed: “Slut.”
Bryn giggled. Ansel choked on his drink when he caught sight of Sabine.
“Hey, Ren.” Neville squeezed himself on the couch between Sabine and his pack leader. “Look who I found.”
A warm tremor bubbled up through my veins as Ren’s eyes moved over my corseted body.
I stole a glance at my newly generous curves. Maybe there’s something to this outfit after all.
“You guys look great.” He gestured to the couch where Dax and Cosette sat and the other, still-empty couch next to them. “Please join us.”
He turned to Neville and Sabine. “Make room for Calla.”
Sabine rose with some reluctance while Neville eyed the near-empty glasses on the table.
“Looks like you’re ready for another round anyway.” He lo
oked at Mason. “Make a bar run with me?”
Mason shrugged, trailing after Neville. Dax frowned as he watched the two boys move off. I caught Fey eyeing Dax’s biceps and a smile twitched at the corner of my mouth.
Ansel took a seat on the empty couch, pulling Bryn along with him. Ren stretched his hand out to me. I hesitated but then took his fingers in my own, letting him draw me down onto the sofa next to him.
“Let me get that out of the way for you.” He took the jacket I’d slung over one arm and draped it along the back of the couch. From behind me I heard Sabine sigh.
“I think there’s a platform missing its go-go dancer, Sabine.” Fey’s brutal tone cut through our courtesies.
“Play nice,” I growled.
“It’s fine.” Sabine held Fey in a steady gaze. “Talk bores me.” She glanced at Ren.
“Go dance,” he said. “Try to stay out of trouble.”
With a toss of her hair, which shone like vinyl under the flashing club lights, Sabine turned on a needle-sharp heel and trotted away.
I patted the empty space on the couch next to me. “Fey?”
She lowered herself onto the velvet cushions.
“It’s a party. Have fun.” I flashed fangs at her, making sure she knew it was an order, not a request.
She settled for drawing patterns in the plush velvet with her sharp nails.
My hand still lay enfolded in Ren’s grasp. His thumb slid up and down the back of my wrist, taking my mind off Fey completely. It was dangerous to be around him.
“Sorry, guys.” Bryn suddenly jumped up. “As much as it pains me to agree with Sabine about anything, I’m here for the dancing. Who’s with me?”
Ansel was on his feet immediately. “I am.”
“Great!” Bryn dragged my brother away.
Fey watched them depart and pointed at Dax. “Do you dance?”
“Do you?” he replied.
“Why don’t you find out?”
She rose, wandering past the Bane, whose eyes went wild when she trailed her fingertips over his broad shoulders. She laughed and darted away. Dax looked at Ren, who twitched his wrist, and Dax went after Fey.
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