“The Summer realm changed while we were gone.” Caleb glanced down. We all paused, then descended. The last of daylight died, leaving stars overhead and a single dark circle where the sun should be. We were cloaked in the night. A firefly buzzed here and there, which was disturbing as there used to be swarms of them.
I didn’t understand. Had King Peter done this to accommodate his new guests, the vampires? Maybe there wasn’t enough Shield to go around for all of them, or he wanted to hog it all for himself.
Despite trying to pull back up and fly away, the Pegasi lowered us to the patch in the woods where we had met Nerissa on our escape. The side of the mountain rose beside us, hiding the Summer castle. I dismounted and studied the darkness between the trees. The trees at least appeared to be the same, still full with leaves and some bearing fruits. Yet when I took in the pain reflected on Nathan’s and Caleb’s faces, I knew the damage done to the Summer lands was very bad.
“This is wrong. We need day and night,” Caleb muttered. “The balance is completely out of whack.”
I swallowed hard. How much worse could the king have gotten since we left? I tried not to fixate on that, but on the task ahead—getting into the castle. “Where’s the secret entrance?”
“Here,” a cultured voice replied. Nerissa, still wearing Blythe’s form, walked out of the trees. Her peach-colored wings looked paler than last time.
“Sister.” Nathan enveloped her in a hug. It was clear that the two had spoken telepathically as we had neared this spot, allowing Nerissa to be here when we arrived.
Nerissa pulled away from Nathan. “The Summer Court is afflicted with King Peter’s darkness. He has no idea that I’m impersonating Blythe, but our overall situation is dire.” She wrung her hands. “The earthbound fae are wishing they had been sent away to die in battle. It would’ve been more dignified than this.” Nerissa choked up, and Nathan’s eyes filled with rage.
“We will restore balance and heal the Summer Court,” he gritted out.
I thought of Kristen, who had been forced to stay behind after King Peter shoved Onyx into the wastelands and all the other earthbound fae. They thought they’d escaped the vamps by coming here. How wrong they’d been. “What’s happening?” I asked, unable to hide the tremor in my voice.
Nerissa looked at me with deep sadness. “Vampires have moved into the Summer Court. King Peter lets them roam as they please.”
My chest contracted. Was King Peter really doing what I feared? Allowing vamps to feast on fae and harass them? Of course, he was. Deep in my heart, I’d known this would happen, but I had conveniently hidden the truth from myself, focusing only on the plight of my little group, not thinking about the countless other fae that were still in the Summer Court.
Nerissa led us to the mountain and pushed away one of the rocks. We entered through the hidden passage, and Caleb closed it behind us while Nerissa summoned a ball of pale, golden light to show us the way up the tunnel. Nathan and I hung back while Caleb caught her up on our progress, Onyx’s and Peony’s situation, and the plan to steal the crown.
“I hope it works,” was all Nerissa said after Caleb was done. I gritted my teeth. How much had she been through since we’d departed that there was no fight left in her?
Nathan tightened his grasp on my hand. He didn’t want me or Nerissa to be in danger, but there was no other way. At least he didn’t know that I planned to be the one to steal the crown. That was if I could touch the crown without dying. Something else occurred to me, tightening my chest. Nathan was still bound by his loyalty vow to the king. How bad would his ailment get while we were here? Nathan hadn’t shown much pain back in the borderlands when we were talking about our plan, so his vow must be stronger here in the Summer realm.
The walk up the tunnel seemed to take hours. No one spoke. We knew what we had to do and what the consequences were if we were caught. We had to do our best, so we didn’t end up as King Peter’s eternal slaves and punching bags. As the bricks grew less mossy and cleaner, Nathan let go of my hand and his shoulders tensed as he focused. He was using his telepathy to summon a few guards.
“Who did you call?” I asked when his shoulders dropped again.
“Christoph is willing. He and two other guards will meet us at the secret entrance where we’ll take their forms.”
“That’s great.” Christoph was a familiar face. He was a courageous guard who’d helped us before when Peony needed to practice her transmutation powers.
At last, we reached the end of the tunnel. Nathan stepped forward and waited for a minute, then pushed the wall open to reveal the dark corridor of the Summer Court castle. I heard no laughter or chatter on the other side. Only dread filtered in along with three Summer Court guards. They all sported bronze wings and were dressed in green and tan uniforms. Caleb shoved the door shut after them.
Christoph, the redhead, sighed in relief. “Bitterbay, it’s so good to see you.”
The other two guards, a man and woman, nodded, studying Nathan, Caleb, and me as if we were ghosts.
“This is Zeeba and Kalvin,” Christoph said. “They’re friends of mine. They share our goal.”
“What happened to the Summer Court?” I asked, needing to hear the truth, no matter how much it terrified me.
Christoph leaned against the wall. “King Peter is not himself anymore. He’s gone...dark. With him, the whole Summer realm has done the same thing. The sun rises, but it’s not there properly. Panic is spreading.”
I thought of the toxic tinge the king’s wings had taken the last time I’d seen him.
Nathan squared his shoulders. “King Peter is not himself anymore,” he repeated, cementing our new reality. “He is not the king I vowed to serve.”
Relief spread through my body, allowing me to breathe deeper. Nathan was working his oath, not the other way around.
“The sun is still rising outside the palace,” Caleb said. “The whole Summer realm hasn’t gone dark yet, but it will if we don’t restore the balance soon. Have any of you taken a vow to King Peter?”
“No,” Zeeba and Kalvin said. Since pureblooded fae couldn’t lie, we didn’t have to worry about the truthfulness of their statements.
“No,” Christoph echoed. “It appears that forcing others into vows drains him. He was looking rather frail after he made an exhibit of a few Vasara students in the throne room. Since then, he bound a few more nobles and higher-ranking guards, but only one a day.”
“But,” Zeeba spoke up, “He’s using other methods of persuading us. Lady Cardinal has moved in her guards. Other vampires are all over the palace now. We have to work beside them, but we’re not equals. If any of us fae guards disappoint King Peter, the vampires have the right to…” Her voice broke, and she glanced away, shame coloring her cheeks.
“Feed on you,” I finished. “Even kill if the king is displeased.” I wanted to hug Zeeba, promise her that soon all of this would be over, but I knew that what she really needed wasn’t coddling but for me to dethrone King Peter.
“We’re the lucky ones,” Kalvin said, eyes narrow and cynical. “I had a guard shift at the Vasara Center yesterday. The place is crawling with vampires. The fae students are being forced to brew potions from that horrible fertility plant Lady Cardinal and King Peter displayed to the entire court. It cures the fertility plague, all right, but it does more…”
I nodded, knowing about that one as well. “It will compel them to breed and create more expendable soldiers.”
Nerissa wiped at her eye. “I wish I could do more to help. As soon as they produce the next generation of soldiers, King Peter will send them into battle. He’s planning to sell the survivors back into slavery on Earth. Vasara is becoming a breeding center of soldiers and slaves.”
I imagined the Potions classroom, a place I had previously enjoyed because it was Nerissa’s class. Now, it was a place of horrors where Nerissa had to pretend to be hard and unyielding Blythe.
“I need to get into the Vasara and
get Kristen. I made a vow with her.” I’d felt its pull since my arrival, and it was getting stronger by the minute. “She helped us. Now, I need to protect her.”
“We will.” Nathan squeezed my hand.
“What about the common fae and the nobles?” Caleb asked.
Zeeba rolled her eyes. “Some do their best to stay oblivious, but most know we’re doomed. Without the Winter Queen, all of the faelands will eventually die. Then, we’ll be forced to Earth where we’ll find ourselves at the mercy of those damn vampires.”
“We won’t let that happen,” I said firmly. “We returned to steal King Peter’s crown. With it, we’ll rescue Onyx and the faelands.”
11
Onyx
After Virgie’s message, I was more determined than ever to figure out a way to combine my magic with Peony’s.
“If Virgie, Caleb, and Nathan return to the Summer Palace to steal King Peter’s crown, they’re dead,” I said as I continued to urge the stone book in front of me to reveal more useful information. I ran my hand over the unmoving pages again and again, trying to coax more words into existence, but the Grand Librarian remained silent. However, a strange sense of connection to the energy within the book remained. If I focused hard, I could feel that summer sun combined with the icy wind. Despite that, no more revelations came. Apparently, all the book wanted me to know was that the more the Summer and the Winter Court fought, the greater the destruction to the faelands. We needed to unite. But how? Would it even work here? I knew I’d have to repeat the process when I got out of this hellhole to stop the destruction of the faelands, which would never happen with King Peter. Caleb had to become king. What if stealing the crown was the way to go? Not to get us out of the wastelands, but to ensure the faelands didn’t suffer worse damage. How much of the Winter Court had fallen into disarray in my absence? How soon would it and the Summer Court join the wastelands?
“I don’t want Caleb and the others to endanger themselves either,” Peony said, stepping up beside me. She’d been searching the rest of the stone library for clues for the last few hours. The weary look on her face told me she hadn’t been successful. The books here had solidified ages ago. “But we need to have a plan B. Neither of our plans is foolproof. With two plans and two groups working on getting us out of the wastelands, we stand a much better chance.”
I studied her, this calm and reasonable version of Peony. “You’ve changed. A lot.”
She gave me a sad smile. “I had to. The way I used to live was unsustainable.” She held my gaze. “I’m really sorry for everything. I was such a bitch to you.”
I chuckled. How could I fault her when I had done some unsavory things myself? “That was in the past. You rescued Thorsten. You risked everything to help me. We’re even.” I gripped her hand. “I’ll get you out of here safely.”
She nodded. “I know. You carried me to that cave, and you taught me how to fly, even though leaving me behind would’ve made everything much easier.”
“The easier choice is not always the right one.” I kicked up some dust with my boots, then asked, “Why did you hate me so much when I came to Nocturnal Academy?” Perhaps I should let the past be the past, but I simply couldn’t help myself. My curiosity had always been strong, getting me into trouble over the years.
Peony’s cheeks flushed. “Honestly? I was jealous.”
I felt my forehead wrinkle. “Of me? The gutter trash? The girl who was destined to become a courtesan? Why? You were popular, beautiful, and had plant magic.”
She nodded. “That I did, but it was all so fleeting. It could be taken from me at any moment. You were confident and fierce. Unafraid.” She gazed past me, her eyes gaining a far-away expression. “You knew who you were. You didn’t conform. You loved yourself.”
I swallowed hard. It was true that I’d only ever sought out approval as a means to survive physically, not because I needed it emotionally. I didn’t care about authority or popular opinion. I only cared what a chosen few thought of me. “I’m glad to have you as a friend.” As soon as the words left my mouth, I held my breath. Had I gone too far? Was that even what Peony wanted?
She gave me a genuine smile that reached her hazel eyes. “Me too.” She nodded at the book. “Now, let’s figure out how we’re supposed to combine our powers. We’re wasting time.”
I huffed. Peony was still bossy. Some things never changed. “What do you think I’ve been doing? Twiddling my thumbs?”
She threw her head back and let out an unabashed, guttural laugh, surprising me once again. “What’s so funny?” I asked. I could also use a good laugh.
“You’re the Queen of the Winter Court. Of course, I don’t think you’re twiddling your thumbs.”
I shrugged. “I’ve only been queen for a few days, and so far, I’ve accomplished nothing.”
She grew serious again. “Don’t say that. If you were just a foolish girl, like King Peter claims, he would’ve imprisoned you. He would’ve kept you in the Summer Court. He’s terrified of you, just like I used to be. That’s why he banished you to the wastelands.”
Icy anger grew in my veins. “I can’t wait to end his monstrous reign.” I refocused on the stone book. “It doesn’t respond to my ice magic or the crown. I think it told me all it had to say. Maybe we need to go somewhere else for answers. Or try to combine our magic here.”
Peony started to nod, but then she tapped the stone book thoughtfully. “What if it will tell us more if we work together?”
I could’ve slapped myself. Of course. Why hadn’t I thought of that? I put my hand on the book, and Peony put hers next to mine. Green vines sprouted from her fingers, growing across the book. I shot my ice around the vines. Instead of killing them like I’d done with plants before, I let me ice wrap carefully around them, encasing them in a protective film. It was strange not to fight Summer Court magic, but it felt good. It felt right in my soul.
The stone book under our hands began to glow, and then it wasn’t just the ink but the whole page that turned to crisp paper. The paper lifted up at the corner, and we removed our hands. The page flipped, and more text appeared on the next page, as the book reverted back to stone.
“To restore the balance, Summer and Winter must go to either utmost point that represents their court.” I read aloud. “So we have to return to the Summer or Winter Court to get out of here?”
Peony shook her head. “No, both places must be here.”
I still didn’t understand. “How?”
“I suppose Blythe’s lessons were good for something,” she said. “Think about it. Areas that are pure Winter or Summer are very hard to inhabit. Blythe said so herself. Back in the faelands, each court has a little bit of the other flowing through it. They’re connected. The water that feeds the Summer Court comes from the Winter glaciers, and the seeds that grow in the Winter Court travel from the Summer Court on the wind.”
I had heard that before from one of my generals. Nodding, I gave Peony the go-ahead to continue.
“So, we must find two areas that are purely Summer or Winter. We need desert and tundra. Or desert and glacier. Places that have no trace of the other.”
I felt my forehead wrinkle. My kingdom was full of ice, yes, but nothing as unforgiving as the tundra or glacier. We had cold forests. Winter wonderlands. Mountains inhabited by hardy birds and goats. The borderlands had neither extreme. The Summer Court was a land of eternal late spring and early summer. It made sense that both unforgiving tundra and desert would be in the wastelands. “How do you propose we find either? I have no idea where to look for a tundra in here.”
Peony squared her shoulders with determination. “We’re far away from a tundra, but we are in the desert. We just need to find its most unforgiving part. The one where I feel the weakest.”
I lifted an eyebrow. “Shouldn’t I feel the weakest there?”
Peony shook her head. “Everything is warped in this universe. One of the reasons this desert hurts me more than you is b
ecause the Summer Court magic is corrupted here. Blythe taught us that when magic corrupts, it hurts those it’s most similar to.”
I got it, but… “Perhaps we should look for the tundra first. Test this theory. I have the crown and that could be the reason you’re hurting on the ground more than I am.”
Sadness filled her eyes. “We don’t have time. We are close to the desert’s heart. I can feel it.”
“But—”
She narrowed her eyes to catlike slits, revealing the Peony I remembered. “No buts. I’m either strong enough to survive it, or I’m not.” She tossed her curls across her shoulder, her face hardening. “If I’m going to die, I’d rather do it soon than wilt away here slowly.”
I swallowed hard and studied her. This whole time, I’d been worried about what the heat was doing to her body, but now I realized there was much more to the wastelands. “Is this place messing with your mind?”
She turned away from me. “Let’s just get this done before the sun rises again.”
What were the wastelands doing to her? I wanted to push but didn’t. Peony deserved some mental privacy. She walked away from the library, and I followed through the roofless entry hall and back outside. The slate sky spread over us and the cold wind once again blasted our bodies. Staring at the valley below, she snapped her wings open. “Ready for a long flight?”
I nodded. “You know where we’re going?”
“It’s calling to me.” She ascended into the air and then dove down, flying at a crazy speed. I had to struggle to keep up. It was as if the core of the desert were singing a siren song, drawing her in. Some ancient magic was left in the wastelands, but could we trust it? What if this pull Peony felt and the library were here to trap us?
Then we’d face it head on, I decided, and beat my wings faster.
The Nocturnal and Fae Prison Academy Boxset [A Complete Paranormal and Fantasy Series Boxset] Page 108