by KC Kingmaker
“It’s Dr. Merryman,” I said.
“Whatever. Goodnight.”
I grazed my hand over my head and shrugged. Donovenn stood and joined me at the door.
I supposed it was as much as I was going to get out of the young woman, but I was fine with that.
Against all odds, Coralia Hargrave had endeared herself to me during her fight with Genevieve Jade. I liked to think I had endeared myself to her as well . . . if only marginally.
Chapter 15
Coralia
I AWOKE SOMETIME LATER, briefly, and vaguely remembered seeing through my heavy, gummy eyes that I was alone in the infirmary room. I finally had time to rest, perhaps for the first time since getting to Shadowblade Academy. Genevieve Jade had not only worked me over in class—I’d dreamt of her sneaking into our dorm room and knifing me in my sleep, which led to a lot of tossing and turning.
The first day of class had been a whirlwind, and I’d only made it to two classes. When I awoke, I had no idea what time or day it was. I remembered I had two more classes to go to—Shadow Manipulation and Shadowwalking—the two I’d been looking forward to the most.
When I tried to get out of the gurney, my head swam. My muscles protested and my bones creaked. With a grimace, I groaned and dropped back to the bed. “Maybe just a few more minutes . . .” I told myself, my eyelids already getting droopy. I yawned once and was promptly out again, for another indeterminate amount of time.
In my fugue, I wasn’t aware what was real and what wasn’t. Was everything that had transpired before Dr. Feelgood’s drugs took hold part of the real world, or were they a dream?
No, no, no. Why would Dax Kilmeade and Venn Gable offer to tutor me in anything? It makes no sense.
Then again, Sunny didn’t offer shit, so it seems all is right in the universe in that respect. If that asshole had proposed teaching me the ins and outs of the Academy, I would know I’m dreaming.
So maybe it all actually happened?
Dax was going to be my Physical Intent tutor. Venn had pledged himself as my Alchemy tutor. It was baffling to say the least.
My mind drifted to something more questionable: how intriguing those three were.
Even Sunny, despite being a grade-A A-hole. The tall, long-haired, fit vampire defiled me, sucking the blood from my neck like it was nothing. Does that mean he’s attracted to me? Or was it simply a show of dominance? Because maybe he’s the kind of man I wouldn’t mind taking control over me, putting my snappy mouth in its place . . .
And Dax. He looks at me like I’m either his next meal or his next target. Am I making a mistake, getting close to him? Allowing him to teach me something so “intimate” as physical combat? I mean, I wouldn’t mind seeing what his dark skin looks like covering my pale flesh, but . . .
Venn might be more my speed. He can match my dark humor and seems the most interested in what I have to say and what I do. He’s the most honest with his emotions, and that goes a long way for me . . .
Handsome faces funneled in and out of my vision, swirling on the wings of a tornado. The men smiled at me one by one, flashing their pearly whites before dissipating and morphing into the next delicious man down the line.
Those heads shifted into body parts, my mind’s eye taking in every inch of their built muscles, their powerful arms, their brick-like abs. Powerful auras radiated from each man—different colors that made no sense to me. All I knew was the colors made them resplendent, alpha avatars.
Why am I so drawn to them?
The auras twisted back into memories of reality: lying on my back and staring up at Venn’s outstretched hand; the mound my eyes landed on between his legs; the strength with which he carried me, like I weighed nothing at all; the cocksure smile.
Yes, so cocksure.
All these men shared something I wanted a piece of, swinging fat and loose between their thighs—
Oh my God. Horny alert! Horny alert!
I need to wake up!
Wake. Up. Girl!
My eyes snapped open. I found myself breathing raggedly in a fetal position, on my side, staring at a wall. A blanket lay over me, covering my body in ooey-gooey warmth. Mmmm, so warm. Like pancakes and bacon. No wonder my libido’s gallivanting around unchecked.
Not only had I not been laid in God-only-knew how long, but I’d had all these sexy men thrust in front of me at the same time. Men who put the regular-schmegular guys from the Crust to shame.
My face felt flush. I got control of my breathing as my eyes started to open. It was then I realized, to my dismay, that my hands were stuffed between my fleshy thighs, fingers hooked inside my warm, wet center. My digits were sticky with my own arousal, the lust of my wet dream coming into full focus as reality faded in around me.
My eyes widened and I pulled my fingers out of myself. Pancakes and bacon, my mind said, the final remnant of my lewd dreams dying out in a breath of yummy food and syrup.
I rolled onto my back with a sigh—
And nearly jumped out of my skin. My heart stopped for a beat as two figures loomed over me on the other side of the gurney: Charli and another girl I’d never met before.
I hiked my blanket up to my neck, frightening embarrassment scalding my cheeks. I had no idea how much of that Charli had seen.
She stared down at me with a wide smile, as she was wont to do, and had a hand on the shoulder of the girl next to her. “Yay, Cor Cor, you’re finally awake. You okay? You were squirming a bit th—”
“Pancakes and bacon!” I blared, mortified. My new bestie had almost barged in on me scratching my turntable like a DJ. “I’m f-fine. Uh, who’s this?” My eyes flicked over to the blondie next to Charli—anything to get the attention off me.
“Oh, this is Mya. She’s my roommate.”
I furrowed my brow and started to prop myself up, keeping the blanket over my body. “Oh . . . kay. Hi, Mya. I’m Coralia.”
“I know.” Mya’s tone seemed a bit sassy, which was odd coming from her sweet face.
“I made an executive decision, Cor Cor, and Mya has agreed,” Charli informed me with a sage nod.
“Agreed to what, exactly?” I felt so damn confused and vulnerable with my kitty still throbbing beneath the covers. Speaking of kitty, I thought, and found myself scanning the bare room—behind Charli and Mya; leaning over to inspect under my gurney. “Where’s Brucey, Char?”
“Don’t worry, he’s safe back in our room.” She gave me an exaggerated wink. I could tell it was taking every bit of strength for her not to explode with excitement.
“He’s—huh? Wait, I’m still confused. Slow it down for me.”
“We’re switching roomies!” Charli squealed, clapping enthusiastically.
I tilted my head. “We are?”
“I want to train with the best,” Mya said, her blue eyes gleaming. “Genevieve Jade is the best. We’ve already gotten the okay. It’s happening, so don’t try to stop it.”
“Why . . . why would I try to stop it?” My flat tone picked up. “That’s, like, seriously the best news I’ve gotten since I came here!”
“Yayyy!” Charli cheered. She pumped her little hands in the air.
I sat up sharply. “You’re seriously telling me I won’t have to room with that damn harpy anymore?”
Mya mumbled, “It can’t be that bad . . .”
“Nope, you and Brucey are staying with me now!” Charli butted in. “It’s all worked out, like Mya said. Now that we’re roomies, I can help you learn the basics of spellcasting! The stuff you would have learned at, like, Briarwitch Academy, had you gone there.”
My mouth fell open. I didn’t know what to say. I’m going to be a wizard? Or something? A sorceress?
I mean, I was told I do have powers, so why not?
Making sure my downstairs was safely hidden, I lunged out of bed and wrapped Charli in a hug. We did Ring-Around-the-Rosie near Mya, who suddenly didn’t seem too stoked on the switch she’d made.
For me, things were
looking up.
“I NEED PANCAKES AND bacon,” I said as I walked out of the infirmary with Charli. Nighttime was fast approaching on the pink horizon. “Jeez, how long was I out?”
“A few hours. I think your body needed sleep more than anything. Doctor said you’ll be fine.”
“Well that’s good.” I glanced over and saw she was brimming with energy. She couldn’t hide it from her cherubic face. With a crooked grin, I wrapped my arm around her neck and brought her in close so I could smoosh her. “Get over here, pixie stick.”
She giggled in my grip and stuffed her face in my sideboob, getting remarkably comfortable in a few short seconds.
“Thank you so much for everything you’ve done, Char,” I said in a low voice, in her ear. “You don’t know what it means to have someone on my side.”
She pulled herself away. Her eyes looked dewy. “Are you kidding me? You got your butt kicked so I wouldn’t! That’s the nicest thing anyone’s done for me.”
I chuckled and scratched my head. “Yeah, well, I didn’t really think that one through.”
“Did you really think you could take Genevieve, Cor Cor?”
“I hoped so,” I admitted.
“She’s well trained. But we’ll get you up to speed, and you won’t have to worry about her harassing you in your own dorm room.”
“Thank the Spirits! As you all say.”
Charli put her arm around my waist and canted her head on my shoulder as we kept walking into the night, across campus. “Now come on, let’s get you some pancakes and bacon. The mess hall is up ahead.”
At mention of breakfast foods, my stomach dropped. I slowed my roll as a wave of sadness and nostalgia bellowed inside me, coming up out of nowhere.
Charli felt my abrupt mood change and gave me a concerned look, slowing alongside me. “You okay, boo?”
Bottled memories came roaring back unfiltered—being the brunt of my mom’s scorn; going out on my own as a teenager; working at Lindon’s thrift store; working with Marlow . . .
Ah. So that’s why I was dreaming of pancakes and bacon.
“I miss my bestie, Charli.”
“I-I’m right here, Cor Cor.”
I blinked away tears suddenly blurring my vision. “I mean my one back home, hun. I’m sorry.”
She took it in stride, the trooper. “Oh, it’s okay. We all had lives before Shadowblade Academy.” She tried to play it off but I could tell I had inadvertently hurt her.
I felt like a sack of shit for doing that to such a kind spirit. “Yes, we all had lives,” I muttered, “and I was ripped away from mine.”
“Who is she?”
“Her name is Marlow.” I gave her a fond smile. “She makes the best bacon with the perfect amount of crunch. I miss it. I miss her.”
“I understand, Cor Cor.”
“I guess I’ve been too caught up in my own whirlwind of shit to remember I have a life—albeit a crappy one—back home.”
“Where is home?”
We resumed walking toward the mess hall, because nostalgia or not, a girl needed to eat.
“New Orleans. Well, near it. We call it the Crust. And yes, it’s exactly like it sounds.”
With a small chuckle, Charli said, “Sounds nice.”
“Where’s home for you, Char?”
She flapped a hand at me and, for once, the enthusiasm on her face died. My heart ached from the look I saw. “Far from here.”
I didn’t pry. I knew when someone didn’t want to talk about it, and Charli’s body language was the most unmistakable thing I’d ever seen. Her honesty and authenticity were partly why I liked her so much.
She wore her heart on her sleeve, like me. Except her heart was way bigger than mine.
“We’re gonna have fun as roomies, Cor Cor,” she said, changing the subject. “I just know it.”
I smiled. “I bet you’re right, Char.” My mind shifted back to Marlow and my smile disappeared. For a moment, we walked in silence while I reminisced. Then I said, “Say, Charli, do you think I could visit her?”
“Marlow?”
“I left on such a whim. She doesn’t even know where I’ve gone and I bet she’s freaking out. Probably has an Amber Alert out for my ass.”
The sadness came back to her face. “Oh, Coralia, I don’t . . . I don’t think so. Not while you’re at the Academy. Haven’t they told you?”
I sighed dramatically. “Yeah, yeah. ‘If I told you, I’d have to kill you’ and all that.”
“It’s dangerous, y’know?”
Frankly, I couldn’t believe she was defending the Academy on this. Perhaps she knows something I don’t.
“It could put your friend at risk,” she explained, likely sensing my frustration. “If your friend has knowledge of this place, it could get her implicated or even killed. At least that’s what they say.”
“Mhm.” I gave up. A feeling of defeat washed over me. “Can’t even send, like, a messenger pigeon or something? I mean, I’ve seen no cell phones and I doubt there’s service wherever we are. I haven’t even seen gates to this place!”
Before I could get too wound up, Charli ran a hand down my back. “I don’t think they have messenger pigeons, boo.”
“I know. I was just kidding.” I glanced at the monolithic cathedral of Grimmer Hall far off in the distance to my right. “Messenger . . . ravens?”
Charli giggled. “Makes more sense for this place.”
“What about portaling? The way I was brought here was through a shadow portal of some kind.”
Fear flitted across her freckles. “Well, I guess that would be possible—”
“What about portaling without anyone knowing?”
“Oh, Cor Cor, that sounds dangerous. You’d get in so much trouble! Plus, I don’t know how to portal. You’d have to ask an upperclassman, I think, and I don’t think any of them would risk getting in trouble for—”
“Oh really?” I cut in, mind wandering. I currently have two upperclassmen vying for my affection as we speak. Or so it seems.
I needed to catch a Phantom?
I bet I can do that.
Chapter 16
Venn
I SAT ACROSS FROM HEADMASTER Cane in his conference room in Fort Nocturnus. As usual, I was spooked and nervous about meeting with the wizened old man. Other than being scary, I worried about disappointing him—not because I feared for my own life, but because I knew what he was capable of.
Since coming to Shadowblade Academy, Headmaster Cane had become something of a father figure to me—a father figure which, honestly, I had never asked for. He was overbearing, demanding, and watched me like a hawk. Then again, he watched everyone at the Academy like a hawk because that was his job.
I felt I was a bit of a special case, however, because of my background. He gave me more attention than others.
In a school full of assassins, Alaric had to be top dog. He might have been older and more wrinkled than in his heyday, but he still had an utterly commanding presence that chilled me to the bone.
We stared at each other for a long time, his steely eyes boring into me as if he could see my soul. The ancient mage folded his bony hands into a steeple on his desk, his white beard brushing across the surface. His thin lips were folded and I felt the overwhelming need to fill the empty silence with words. Any words.
I resisted, knowing it was part of Headmaster Cane’s strategy. He had showed me you could get more out of a person simply by staying quiet, listening, and waiting for them to open their big mouth. “People want to talk,” he had once told me. “You need but listen between the silences.”
The thick, heavy quietness became constricting and immense, like a heavy layer of fog I couldn’t see through.
“Do your Glovemates know you’ve been talking to me?” he asked at last.
“They were present when Wrist Hudson first told me you wanted to speak with me. I lied about the subject of our talk.”
“They don’t know you’ve been watc
hing Coralia Hargrave for me?”
“No. Should they, sir?”
Alaric gave me a quick shake of his head. “I don’t want this to get in the way of their studies.”
What about my studies, old man? This whole farce is stressing me out!
I was not the Unseelie fae Alaric Cane thought I was. I was not a fae predisposed to keeping secrets and taking part in dubious activities. Those were things my people were known for, yet I had managed to shirk those tropes.
It hadn’t been easy.
“It’s been a few days since your assignment, Donovenn. Do you have anything new to report to me?”
I hesitated. “Honestly, Headmaster, I don’t know, because I’m not sure what you’re looking for.”
The headmaster raised a white brow.
“Am I looking for something suspicious?” I asked. “Does the girl mean something to Shadowblade Academy, and you, that no one else is aware of?”
“Those aren’t important factors, son.”
How couldn’t they be? “Then no, I’m afraid to say I don’t have anything new to—oh!” I veered tracks as a thought rolled over me. “Coralia recently switched dorm rooms. She no longer stays with Genevieve Jade, and instead is bunking with Charli Fairfax. The two have become quick friends.”
“Do you know the circumstances regarding that switch?”
“Honestly? Genevieve Jade is a mean-spirited bully. Coralia is lucky Charli’s roommate was looking for that kind of personality trait in a tutor.”
Headmaster Cane nodded slightly. “Yes, Miss Jade has always been a rowdy one. She is hellbent on maintaining attention around herself.”
“So I’ve seen.”
“I wouldn’t worry too much about her.”
“Worry, sir?” Who said anything about worry? “Should I be worried of, um, Coralia, instead?” I leaned forward in my seat, no longer able to stand the incessant thumping of my boot on the floor.
“No,” Alaric said, waving me off with an incredulous look on his face, as if it was the furthest thing I should’ve been concerning myself with. “Her powers are unlocked, but I haven’t heard of progress in her abilities. She’s slow-learning.”