A wry grin spread across his lips. “Yes, I’m still the same Caleb who wasn’t worth your precious time.”
I opened my mouth to protest, but closed it. He was right. I had treated him like a nobody because there was nothing he could do for me. Pain gathered in my throat and solidified into a painful lump. I was an awful person.
I swallowed, trying to get some moisture into my dry throat. “What are you going to do with me? Are you going to hand me over to the vampires?”
His jaw tightened. “Why would I do that after leaving you a map on how to open the portal? It would be a waste of my precious intelligence.” He winked.
But that didn’t mean that he had forgiven me. “You must hate me after how I treated you.” I pushed myself off the crushed flowers and grass I had collapsed on, probably looking like crap while he was prince charming. Oh, how our roles had changed. But that didn’t mean I’d be pathetic. I’d take what was to come with grace. “What is the punishment for treating someone of your rank the way I did?” Caleb must be a noble. No...his golden wings...I had heard that the color signified a rank even higher than that. Caleb was—
The lines around his eyes crinkled. “How the mighty have fallen. Or should I say the self-righteous?”
I bit my tongue to stop myself from firing back.
“I’m surprised you’re not demanding to know who I am and why I left the map for you. I liked that side of you.”
I must’ve misheard. “You like the bitchy part of me?”
“Not the bitchy part, but the one that takes control of a situation. The determined Peony.”
I tried to find something witty and clever to reply, but I was spent. The mask of toughness became an unbearable weight, and for the second time, I collapsed into the grass, loving the prickle on my neck. “I guess that part was knocked out of me when I was fighting for my life to get out of Nocturnal Reformatory.”
Grass crunched as Caleb lowered himself onto the ground next to me. He put a hand on my arm, soothing energy streaming into me. He was warm. “What did they do to you?” There was nothing calming in his tone, only barely contained rage.
I met his gaze. “Not much. I managed to get away. But if I ever return, they’ll kill me.” This was the part where I was supposed to lean in and bat my eyelashes, telling him that I needed his protection. But Caleb would see right through the act. I would need to give him something of value in exchange for staying here. “What will it take for me to remain here?” I had finished the plant for Mrs. Wu. I had committed a crime and damned other fae. The darkness in Caleb's eye told me that he suspected the truth, and if he asked for it, I would have no choice but to give it to him, unless I found a clever way to dodge the truth.
He studied me for a long time, his face unreadable. Finally, he said, “No earthbound fae may return to the faeland unless the king himself or someone from his court has extended a welcome.”
His words extinguished my hope. I let out a breath. No one had invited me here. My limbs weighed a million pounds. It was all for nothing, then.
“I'll vouch for you if you prove that your selfishness was not due to who you are, but the circumstances you were in.”
I balled my fists. Was this a cruel joke? He already knew I was selfish. Only a horrible person would’ve agreed to create the fertility plant for Mrs. Wu.
As if reading my thoughts, Caleb motioned for me to sit up. I did, waiting for what else he had to say. “When that fae servant was executed,” he continued, “I knew you had no choice but to follow whatever instructions the vampires gave you. I could see your determination to escape, and I knew you didn’t want to work on the plant when you talked of busting out. The vampires’ world makes me so angry. I never expected it to be so bad.” He inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly. “Now, your situation is different. Prove that you’ll fight for something bigger than yourself.”
I wrung my hands. “What are you talking about?”
He chuckled almost to himself. “Of course. Forgive me. I’m Caleb Sutter Kallan, the king’s bastard son and thus barely a prince. In the Summer Court, I’m known as a disappointment and since no one cares whether I live or die, I have been allowed to lead my troops into battle to tear down Nocturnal Academy and Nocturnal Reformatory. It helps that I stole that first fertility plant and gifted it to my father, to win his favor. In exchange, he gave me my own soldiers. You see, it may hold the keys to curing the plague that has made so many fae here infertile.”
I inhaled sharply. Caleb was a prince. A rebel prince. And he had taken the plant to help the fae back home. “You’re going to destroy the school with your troops?”
He nodded. “Yes. I have had spies in the human world for a long time because I knew the vampires would eventually try to create something to breed more fae servants and something that could help us. Join me and if we survive, you may stay in the Summer Court permanently. That is my promise.”
I stared at him, heart dropping into my shoes. I thought of Nilsson using the fae underground to get seeds from this place. I wondered if Caleb's spies were in that same underground. “I get that I need to pay my dues, but I’m not a warrior. I’ll be a hindrance, not an asset.”
A wide grin spread across his face. “Don’t sell yourself short. I saw your magic. That’s why I took your first creation. I am working on ways to safely use it for the benefit of our people.”
My jaw dropped. I hadn’t thought of that.
“And you escaped the prison all by yourself. And most importantly, you know its inner workings. So, what do you say, Peony? Are you in or are you out?”
14
What was I doing? I’d been asking myself this question for the past few weeks. While spending time in the faeland was amazing and relaxing, as Caleb allowed me to stay in a literal tree house near the meadow with furniture carved from the tree itself, watching Caleb order his troops how to shoot poison darts at fast-moving vampires and then use wooden stakes on the weakened monsters was an unnerving reminder that soon we’d head into battle.
Caleb’s Summer fae troops consisted of tall, athletic, and drop-dead gorgeous men and women. All wore bronze and green uniforms with bark belts and leather armor. It didn’t look comfortable, but the hundred or so troops didn’t complain. Many had hunter green wings while others possessed wings of forest bronze. Only a few had light green wings like mine. The Summer fae, it seemed, had different levels of magic just like those of us who had gotten trapped on the Earth side.
Yet all were deadly with weapons.
Caleb had me train beside them and didn’t leave anyone much time for speaking. Some of the soldiers, particularly the women, sneered at me when Caleb mentioned I was once earthbound. Clearly, we were looked down upon. The faeland was just like home in some ways, with women at each other’s throats. Luckily, I knew how to play that game.
When I was supposed to engage in a sword fight with one of the women, she fought dirty, throwing dirt into my face. I managed to close my eyes just in time and summoned a small tree that grew under the fae woman, who took a ride skyward, screaming profanities. My magic sure was amplified in the faeland. To my shock, instead of chastising me, Caleb let out a low laugh. “Well done, Peony. Always try to surprise your opponent. Now, let’s move on to target practice.”
A few soldiers gave me nods of approval, while the fae who had returned to the ground glared at me and kept her distance, which was fine by me. Apparently, my magic was impressive even to fae who had spent their whole lives in the Summer Court and were thus not weakened by iron.
Following the others' suit, I picked up a bow and arrow, but Caleb walked over to me. “You’ll learn later how to use it, but given how short we are on time, I’d prefer to focus on your strengths and teach you new skills later.”
Later. If there was a later. If I survived. “Sure.” I gave him a playful smile before remembering that I didn’t need to flirt anymore to survive.
“I want you to summon more trees.” Caleb gave me strange, anci
ent looking seeds that I’d never seen before. With my magic amplified, it was easy to turn the seeds to thick roots within minutes that produced huge trees with wide trunks and thick branches.
The plant summoning didn’t end with trees. During the next week, I summoned fields of moss that could slip up enemies, and hordes of vines that could capture and knock out several warriors at once.
After this, I learned to control plants that already existed. I made shrubs march across the meadow to attack targets. I made trees fall on others. Eventually, I was able to seize the magic resting in the ground and make roots of giant trees rise to attack anyone in their path.
“Your magic is almost of royal quality.” Caleb grinned as if this was amusing. He was a strange man. He wasn’t threatened by my magic, but he also didn’t ladle on the praise. No tearing me down, yet also no idolizing me. He saw the real me and treated me for who I was. This was both exhilarating and terrifying.
When I glanced back up at him, I found that his gaze had turned to the setting sun over the meadow. The Summer troops were wandering back to their tree houses in the woods, and only he and I remained.
Tingles swept over my body as I realized that like a tongue-tied idiot, I hadn’t replied to his comment about my magic almost being of royal quality. Before, I would’ve twirled my hair and told him that I knew my magic was amazing, but now that response didn’t seem right. In fact, I wasn’t sure what the right response was. “Thank you?” The words tasted strange on my tongue. They made me feel weak, yet also lighter.
Caleb’s green-blue eyes twinkled. “So that layer of ice around your heart is melting.”
I crossed my arms, not wanting to speak about myelf. I did not need him to find and scrutinize my flaws. So instead, I turned the conversation around. “Why are you doing this?” I motioned around our training field. “You’re safe here in the faeland. Taking the plant, I understand. But why risk your life and the lives of your troops to take down Nocturnal Academy? Especially since you don’t exactly seem fond of earthbound fae here.”
Caleb’s eyes darkened, and his fists balled. “Because watching the suffering and slavery and not doing anything even though we can is wrong. I am not my father.”
“You’re doing this to spite him.” I recognized that look in his eyes. I had opened the portal to spite my mother, after all.
“I’m not a child. I’m not doing this to get his attention. I’m doing this because I hate the system we have. All of it. My mother was one of the fertile fae, and my father used her to produce a spare, then cast her aside when I was born. Fertile fae women have had their lives become hell at my father’s orders since the Plague came. We are one step away from implementing a full breeding program.” He closed his eyes, and when he opened them, they blazed with anger. “This must stop. If we allow the earthbound fae to return to their rightful home, their magic will heal. They can help us. We will be able to rebuild our society, together.”
We stared at each other for a long beat. Strangely, the disgusting way Caleb and I had been brought into the world, not by love but by force, felt uniting. In a calm, but strong voice, I asked, “When do we attack Nocturnal Academy and the Reformatory?”
“How about tomorrow?” His low voice caressed my skin, his gaze drilled into me, and I couldn’t deny the longing that hummed in my body. For once my sexuality didn’t feel like a weapon, but like something else, something I wasn’t quite ready to face.
“I’ve been working with messengers on the Earth side,” Caleb continued, apparently unaware of the effect he had on me. “The underground. They say it’s a good time to attack. The students for the Fall Semester at Nocturnal Academy have arrived, meaning a lot of earthbound fae are in the same place. We can free them.” He paused. “I know my father won’t be happy about bringing them back to the faeland, but I’ll find a way to convince him.”
I nodded. The King needed to get over the fact that some fae had run from the Plague generations ago. And he needed to realize that us, the descendants of those refugees, weren’t at fault. “How are we going to take down Nocturnal Academy?”
A grin played on Caleb’s lips. “You’re just going to have to wait and see. Focus on your part. You know the layout of both the prison and the school. You know where our best weapons will be and how the vampires will react. I am counting on you to prove yourself, for our sake and yours.”
15
It turned out that getting out of the faeland was easier than getting into it, at least for Caleb. No full moon was required. All we needed was a fairy circle on the other side, which wouldn’t be a problem as there was one in the garden at Nocturnal Academy. A couple of teachers had used it to get in and out of the prison school. The vampires, I knew, didn't expect any Summer forces to come through and free the disgraced fae on the other side. They were used to their slaves being ignored by the court that now scorned them.
Now their oversight would be their downfall.
And better yet, the garden would provide us with plenty of plants to work with. The trick would be getting them inside the castle. The Home Decor classroom would be another favorable place for us to take the fight as was the top floor of the vampire students’ dormitory tower. I had helped create the display of plants there myself and knew there was a lot we could work with.
At dawn, Caleb had the troops assemble in the meadow, forming three lines. While his little mission was okayed by the king, thanks to the bargain Caleb had made, there wasn’t any support coming from him. I had the feeling the king didn't know about Caleb's plan to bring the earthbound fae home. No one showed up from the royal line or otherwise to see us off. We were on our own. Caleb didn’t seem to mind or more likely was doing a great job of hiding his disappointment. Maybe, he even thought that this mission might bring him closer to his father if he succeeded.
No, that was me. Always seeking approval. Caleb had accepted his bastard status and seemed almost amused by it. Still, it must’ve left its mark.
Now, Caleb paced before us. “We will emerge in what Peony says is the Outer Garden of Nocturnal Academy. We will fan out through the school and fire at any guards and teachers we see. Follow the maps she drew us. Help and backup will meet us within the academy’s walls. From there, follow the maps to free the fae trapped in Nocturnal Reformatory below the school. Evacuate them all into the surrounding forest.”
Caleb turned away. I almost backed into a guard as Caleb uttered low words and opened the portal, not needing a fairy ring on this side. From the faeland, the portal glowed yellow rather than green, and revealed a foggy sunrise and a familiar garden on the other side. Caleb held up his arms. No one spoke. The air filled with tingling and crackling magic as the portal grew bigger to reveal the trees and flowers of Nocturnal Academy’s outer garden, and the gray twin towers of the gothic castle.
Caleb stepped through the portal and onto the grounds of Nocturnal Academy. Not wanting to look weak in front of the hundred or so Summer fae lined up behind me, I followed him without hesitation while wondering who the heck Caleb had worked with on the Earth side, and if we could really evacuate the academy’s and reformatory’s students while fighting the vamps. Bracing myself, I stepped through the portal, knowing that right now there wouldn’t be any answers to my questions. A tingle swept over me, and then I gasped at the lack of magic in the air. I had forgotten how thick and suffocating the air was in the human world. The weight dropped off my back as my wings vanished, and my feet hit the inside of the grassy fairy ring. Caleb waved me out of the mushroom ring and onto the empty cobblestone plaza. The pink light of dawn bathed him.
The vampires would not come out here during the day. I eyed the castle with its tall spires that housed the school on top of Nocturnal Reformatory. The castle’s double wooden doors would lead right into the school. All the windows were shuttered to keep out the daylight, which hopefully meant the vampires wouldn’t see us out here. I highly doubted they’d bother to look as they had no reason to expect the Summer Court to
attack them.
The fae students would rise soon and go to breakfast in the dining hall. That would be the best time to gather and evacuate them. And the best time to attack the vampires, who would be tired from being out all night, hunting and partying.
Caleb and I stood aside as the troops moved quickly and silently through the portal and out of the fairy ring. The garden, made to look like the faeland, was still mostly dark and quiet. Lanterns in the trees went out in response to the daylight.
Caleb eyed the doors and lowered his poison dart gun. “Peony, you must give us the word when to proceed. We are relying on you.”
I gulped.
You mess up everything. You’re selfish and unreliable. You are a no one and nothing.
Shut up, Mother! Shut up, shut up, shut up! You don’t have any control over me. I’m my own person now.
An ominous gong went off from inside the castle, signaling the start of breakfast. Caleb looked to me, and the troops behind us grew two inches taller as they stood on their toes, determination shining in their gazes as the portal closed.
“That’s the signal to go to breakfast,” I said. “We should wait ten minutes for all the fae to reach the dining hall.”
But Caleb waved me to the big wooden doors. “Our fellow resistance stated they would meet us inside. One is a vampire, who as a former guard, knows several secret entrances. The other is a fae of high standing and an odd alliance my father wouldn’t approve of. But with a common goal and enemy, we must work together.”
My heart thumped as I followed Caleb to the door, not liking this development. Who was he talking about? Caleb held out his hand, which sprouted a vine from his palm. The vine shot at the door and turned into the shape of a key. It turned and to my astonishment, the door unlocked and opened an inch.
For a moment, I just stood there and stared like an idiot. Our magic could do that?
The Nocturnal and Fae Prison Academy Boxset [A Complete Paranormal and Fantasy Series Boxset] Page 67