The Nocturnal and Fae Prison Academy Boxset [A Complete Paranormal and Fantasy Series Boxset]

by Margo Ryerkerk

  I turned to Blair. “Let’s go inside."

  We headed through the big doors, and Blair gasped. Right, I forgot how shocking the contrast was— simple hut on the outside, fancy mansion on the inside.

  “That’s some strong fae magic,” Blair whispered, walking beside me. “There’s so much ice and marble.”

  I chuckled. “Yes, apparently, we Winter fae have a flair for the dramatic.” I led her into Olwen’s study where his warriors, about thirty in total, were already waiting.

  All thirty warriors inclined their heads, but they did not fall to their knees or proclaim that I was their queen. Clearly, fae law was not as decisive on this matter as vamp law, or maybe it was different since Olwen wasn’t dead, but simply banished.

  I cleared my throat and started with the easy part, motioning to Blair. “This is my friend, Blair. She’s an elemental fire fae and will stay here with me. She is to be treated with respect and like one of us.”

  Just then Lily entered with a tray of wine and goblets. She put the tray down and was about to scurry out the door, but I took her wrist, stopping her.

  “The same applies to Lily. Even though she’s a Summer fae by descent, she’s on our side and has proven her loyalty."

  The Winter fae muttered, but it was Sela who took a step forward and addressed me. “In King Olwen’s absence, your Royal Highness is to rule his court, and while we most certainly respect your wishes, both fae must perform a binding blood oath before we can accept them into the Winter Court. Those are our rules.”

  “Agreed.” That sounded reasonable enough. I turned to Lily and Blair, about to ask if they were ready to take such a step, but both were already nodding.

  “It would be an honor,” Lily said in a surprisingly strong voice.

  “If it means getting protection and becoming a badass like Onyx, I’m in.” Blair winked, and a stone fell from my heart. With them both swearing the oath, they could not be removed from the Winter Court later, which brought me to my second point.

  I faced Sela again. “Tell me more about the faeland wastelands and what the likelihood is of getting my father out of there.” I worded my statement carefully, having the feeling that my father’s warriors would not appreciate my intention to leave Olwen where he was.

  Sela sighed. “It’s a complicated matter and has never been attempted before. But, because he’s our king, we must do whatever we can to rescue him.” She produced a pen and paper. “With your permission, I’d like to write a letter to the Winter Court and notify them of the situation as well as ask our scholars to do as much research as possible so that we can decide on our next course of action.”

  “Please do so.” I raised my chin, trying to appear confident when I said the next part, even though I didn’t feel it. “I have business to take care of here, but I do want to see my lands soon.”

  Hesitation slipped across Sela’s face. “Your Royal Highness, with all respect, I must advise you that until we know how the Summer Court will react to the news that Princess Petra has been banished by us, it is best to stay safe, which means remaining here. Only a handful of individuals outside this room know about this place, and if the Summer Court comes after you, I dare say you have a much better chance avoiding him where you know everything and not in the faeland.”

  I clasped my hands together behind my back. It seemed that the damn Summer Court would never leave me alone. “All right. We shall see then what the Summer Court does next.”

  Exhaustion crashed into me as the last vestiges of adrenaline left me. I needed to wrap this up. “Is there anything else urgent we need to discuss?”

  Sela shook her head. “I’ll compose the letter.”

  “I’ll need to see it before it's sent off.”

  Her mouth flattened into a hard line, but she nodded. Good. Because while there was a lot that I could learn from her, I also wanted the Winter fae to understand one thing—I was Onyx Vinter, their princess. I would rule them, not allow them to treat me like a puppet on a throne. I had enough of other people telling me what to do. I was in charge now.

  I existed the room, Lily and Blair trailing me. When the door fell shut, and it was just the three of us, I said, “Lily, please catch up Blair on everything that has happened and find her a room. I need to talk to Thorsten.”

  Lily fell around my neck, sniffing.

  I hugged her back. “What’s wrong?” Had I said something harsh?

  She wiped at her eyes. “Nothing, it’s just that you’re alive. You made it and so did Thorsten. And now, you’re in charge.”

  I smiled. “Yes.” It would take a while for all the changes to fully sink in. “Join me for breakfast tomorrow. Just the three of us.” I needed a good night’s sleep. How I wished to fall asleep in Thorsten’s arms. Alas, that was not possible yet. We were free now, but we both had responsibilities that weighed heavy on our shoulders and that we needed to attend to first.

  I walked out of Olwen’s mansion, my mansion, and towards Thorsten’s car.

  Olwen was gone. Truly gone for now. And I was relieved. Olwen had allowed me to train and provided me with good food and nice clothing, but his treatment of me hadn’t been much better than that of the vamps. If he and Petra stayed in the wastelands forever, I wouldn’t cry over it. The idea that I was the last fae of the Winter royal line was terrifying but also exhilarating. I wanted to learn. I wanted to grow. But most importantly, I wanted to make this world a better place.

  I opened the passenger’s seat of Thorsten’s car and slid in. “We made it.”

  He took my hand and squeezed it. “We sure did.”

  I leaned my head on his shoulder and allowed peace to overcome me. “I wish you could stay here tonight.”

  He titled my chin so that I faced him. “Me too, but we both have duties. I’ll come by tomorrow after sunset. We’ll figure it all out. Together. I promise.” His mouth collided against mine, claiming me. I moaned at the feel of his lips, the crazy things his touch did to my body. We had gotten a second chance. We were beyond lucky.

  I pulled back and gazed up into his arctic eyes. “I don’t know what’s going to happen next, but I know that I want to be with you no matter what. I’m going to fight for us.”

  He smiled. “So am I.” With a kiss, we sealed our promise.

  Disgraced Fae

  Fae Prison Academy Prequel

  1

  With a confident smile, I rotated my wrists, pausing a bit on each fancy motion, over the greenery. Of course, the motions weren’t necessary with the use of plant magic, but they made my abilities look more effective as the lilac trees, whispering with their rapid growth, reached head height. Their trunks groaned out of their twin pots, and their leaves unfurled from tiny buds. At last, their tops reached the twenty-foot high museum ceiling, brushing the vines already there.

  Gasps from the audience sounded from behind me.

  I smiled. The best part of the performance was yet to come.

  I held my hands up, opening my arms wide. The vampire patrons of the Magical Museum of the Plant Arts were suckers for this next stage. Wiggling my fingers, I let my warm, tingling magic flow down my arms and to the lilac trees. Clusters of colorful buds formed. Then I snapped my fingers and the lilac trees exploded into purples, whites, and yellows in a fragrant fireworks display.

  Deafening applause followed from every vampire in the museum. A tingle of satisfaction ran up my spine. Whirling, I eyed the rich vampires, two dozen men and women gathered in suits and evening dresses. They crammed the cobblestone path that led through the museum and stood against the thick plants that made up the displays. Unable to go out in the daytime, vampires didn’t have many options for enjoying nature like this, hence why they hired powerful Summer fae like me to satisfy that need.

  I offered a bow as the applause increased. When it died down, the vampires turned their attention from me and moved on in tight groups, chattering and surveying the other displays.

  The tingle died, and I was left a
lone. I caught my breath and turned to my handiwork. Once I returned the plants to their normal size, pulling my magic back inside myself, a young-looking vampire separated from the group and motioned for me to come over. Gracefully, I navigated the shiny, slippery floor in my sky-high stilettos, hoping that my skin-tight, deeply V-cut suit in canary yellow didn’t suddenly burst open to reveal my breasts. Not that I had much chest or was stupid enough to forget to wear tape underneath. The last thing I needed was a fashion mishap when surrounded by sharks. The vampires loved my performances, but I still had to be careful. You had to know how to navigate their maze if you didn’t want to end up as food.

  My outfit held, and I reached the vampire, still looking like a ten. I inclined my head respectfully. “Sir, you wanted to speak with me?”

  The vampire had dark hair, combed back, and a narrow nose. His irises gleamed with red, a sign of bloodlust or sexual hunger, but I wasn’t worried. For the most part. My position in the museum protected me from ending up as a used blood bag like many other fae servants. Besides, he could feed off the brunette behind him, a trashy courtesan fae whose tiny black dress barely covered her crotch. He had his arm hooked around her elbow. She was tonight’s ornament and like many fae whose families had been trapped in the human world for generations, probably without magic to boot. She plastered on a fake smile and trained her dull eyes on me.

  The vampire licked his lips. “Yes, I was wondering. Your name is Peony, right?”

  “It is, Sir.”

  He looked me up and down, his eyes narrowing in assessment. I stood completely still. Clearly, I had passed his test, because he finally nodded and continued. “As pretty as your display was, it was utterly useless when it comes to functionality. Can you create plants that, say, trap?”

  I smiled pleasantly and tilted my head sideways in a non-threatening manner to show that my magic was there to serve him. “Of course. I could definitely design something more practical for you.” I batted my long eyelashes that I knew made my hazel eyes look even more appealing. “I’m sure the director of the Magical Museum of the Plant Arts would love to draw up an agreement with you.”

  He nodded. “Excellent. Where is Lord Nilsson? I want to get this done as soon as possible.”

  “Certainly. Let me see if I can find him for you.” I searched the dispersing throng for the museum’s director, and soon I found the tall, lanky vampire with white hair who was a poster boy for his Swedish heritage. “Excuse me. I’ll be right back.”

  The vampire dismissed me with his hand and bit into his courtesan’s neck, then he slurped loudly. I tried my best to keep the polite smile on my face and not let my disgust show. She was his property. He had the right to bite her and do with her whatever he wanted. He had probably paid a nice penny for her as Lord Nilsson had for me. I had only been bitten once by Lord Nilsson when he accepted me as his servant, but that was just tradition. All vampires claimed their fae servants by biting them. Not all fae had useful plant magic like I. Many couldn’t do much but be servants, and the truly unlucky ones spent the rest of their long existence with their legs spread and their veins bleeding.

  I was halfway across the room when I realized that Lord Nilsson was already hurrying toward me. With another vampire, I would’ve slowed down my pace and tried to predict whether he was about to slap me, grab me, or bite me. But my boss’s gray-blue eyes often gleamed with excitement. He might’ve been turned well into his sixties and was over two-hundred years old at this point, but he often acted like a teenager, full of ideas that he couldn’t wait to share.

  “Peony!” He paused a foot away. There was urgency in his voice, but he didn’t touch me. He never did. I hadn’t seen him once with a courtesan, female or male, and guessed that Nilsson’s busy mind kept him too occupied to think about pursuits of the flesh. “Peony, I have a client who wants to see you immediately!” Nilsson’s eyes were wide like that of a five-year-old in a candy shop.

  I allowed my smile to grow. “Wonderful. I too have just spoken with a potential client who’s interested in ordering plants that trap.”

  Nilsson shook his head. “Who cares about trap plants?”

  “But—”

  “My assistant will handle him. Everyone who’s interested in an order will fill out a form.”

  I knew every client was required to fill out a detailed form so that they couldn’t complain afterward that we didn’t deliver what we had agreed on, but normally, Nilsson still took the time to talk to each of the potential buyers individually. Now, however, he motioned me to follow him. “Come to my office.”

  Given his long legs and my stilettos, I was certain I would break an ankle at the speed I was dashing after him, but somehow, I reached his office at the back of the museum intact.

  He paused dramatically in front of his door. “This is an amazing opportunity, Peony. I hope you understand.”

  I nodded, not bothering to ask what he was talking about. Nilsson had a flare for the dramatic. He would tell me what I needed to know when he was ready. For now, he was excited about whatever idea had befallen him. Since I started working at the museum over three months ago, I had quickly learned that the muse visited Nilsson on almost a daily basis. He loved discussing his ideas, and while some turned into projects like me creating Fourth of July flowers that shot pollen out like fireworks, most of his ideas were too impractical to become reality.

  But when he opened the door to his office, I didn’t find a bunch of papers strewn across his table or words scattered in his messy handwriting across the white board. Instead, I found a woman sitting on one of the fancy arm chairs. The Chanel jacket she wore was immaculate as was her pitch-black bob. Her legs were crossed, her lips were pursed, and her dark eyes stared at me with intensity.

  I curtsied lowly. “Mrs. Wu, what an honor.”

  I met Mrs. Wu before and while she didn’t hold a title, it didn’t mean that she was less influential than the Elite vampires who could call themselves lords and ladies. What the Wus lacked in family history, they made up with money. The Wus were stationed in Hong Kong and pretty much controlled business in all of Asia.

  “Peony,” Mrs. Wu said coolly. “Your boss, Lord Nilsson, has assured me that you are the best in your field.” She stared at me as if she highly doubted that.

  Tension hid in the deepest part of my gut, but I nodded, hiding the feeling. “I do my best.” I turned my gaze downward. It was best to act submissive around vampires at all times. Mother had taught me that early on. And though she appeared young, Mrs. Wu was old-school.

  “I see. Well, it so happens that I might have some work for you.” Her tone remained doubtful, as if she weren’t sure about choosing me.

  I glanced up, trying to look eager, even though I didn’t feel it. I had attended Nocturnal Academy with Mrs. Wu’s daughter, Mei, who was bossy and a perfectionist and whose stories about Mrs. Wu made my childhood sound like a pink, candy-filled dream. Mrs. Wu was very demanding and a stickler for perfection.

  Nilsson, whose fidgety hands made it clear that he had difficulty staying silent, burst out, “Mrs. Wu needs more fae servants.”

  I blinked, not understanding what this had to do with me. Certainly, he wasn’t about to sell me to her, was he? Since I had come here, I had done well. I had fulfilled every client order he gave me and brought in a lot of business for the museum.

  “You see, it’s expensive to buy fae servants.” Mrs. Wu examined her perfectly manicured pastel nails. “And some of them, frankly, disappoint.”

  I winced, remembering Kristen. She had been part of my squad at Nocturnal Academy and had managed to convince Mei Wu to buy her. Unfortunately, Kristen had messed up even before the night of the bidding ball was over. She was a disaster. I hadn’t heard what had become of her. Not that it mattered.

  Mrs. Wu’s brown gaze was intense and the tips of her fangs showed as she spoke. “I want to produce more reliable fae servants by mating my best females with my best males.”

  I took a s
tep back and felt my face fall despite my best efforts. Mrs. Wu was talking about fae like cattle. To be fair, most vampires treated us as such, but no one had ever tried to force us to reproduce, at least not on earth, since a little bit of vampire blood could heal most of our injuries, and we lived for several centuries.

  “I’m afraid I don’t understand,” I said quietly, glancing from Mrs. Wu to Nilsson, hoping he would explain how this was related to me.

  Nilsson sighed. “Peony, Peony. As brilliant as you are with your plant magic, there’s really not much in here.” He tapped himself against the temple and chuckled.

  I balled my hands behind my back while I imagined shooting a vine to slap him right across his smug face. Obviously, I would never do so. I wasn’t as crazy or uncontrolled as some fae. I was Peony Palmer, a full-blooded fae with amazing magic, and I had class.

  Mrs. Wu picked invisible lint off her Chanel jacket. “While I have blood crystals that would compel the fae to mate, some of them find ways to resist those, and obviously, their desire to resist them would increase with each pregnancy. I need an aphrodisiac that when given to the fae makes it impossible for them not to mate with a member of the opposite sex.” Mrs. Wu finished with a nod.

  I swallowed hard. So she was planning to put the two fae in a room, give them a potion, and turn them into wild, mating animals. It was sick.

  “Creating an aphrodisiac shouldn’t be too hard, right?” Nilsson gave me an expectant smile.

  I cleared my throat and forced myself to smile. There were several plants that could help with certain issues, but none in existence powerful enough to control fae behavior. “It will take me some time to create an aphrodisiac powerful enough to completely override their brain. I’ll need to breed several species of plants together until we get the desired result.”

  “Wonderful.” Mrs. Wu stood up. “And do something for their fertility as well. I want my servants to get pregnant immediately, with twins, to minimize the costs of them being partially indisposed for nine months.” Her tone was calm and confident, like her request was the most natural thing in the world.