The Hidden Court

by Vivienne Savage

  After cloaking myself in magic, I crept from the steps of the residential building to the outskirts of the complex. Gabriel and I may have dedicated our Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays to him whipping me into shape, but on Sunday night, my new sentinel would be hanging out with his pals.

  I dashed across the grounds with ease, avoiding the pockets of night school students scattered over the campus. Like Gabriel, I figured most of them were busy enjoying their final evening before the start of another school session.

  Gabriel had assured me the eastern training yard remained empty around the hour of midnight, and somehow, the place had become our spot. It was where we trained religiously while he ran me through laps and obstacles or sparred with me over the yard.

  Since the arrival of the snow, most of our work had transitioned indoors to the adjacent building, and since Gabriel held the keys to most of the university’s gymnasiums, we still had absolute privacy.

  I’d planned to slip between a gap and phase through with my gifts, but a gathering cut me off from the doors. Too curious for my own good, I crept up behind the bushes for a better look.

  A fair-skinned blond vampire stood in the center of the group. I didn’t recognize him, but at least two of the people staring at him with rapt attention were freshman like me. There were seven people in the audience, two more vamps, three wolves, and two bears.

  “The mages and faeries have it easy, and every day, they make sure the rest of us know it,” the blond said. He looked across the group and for a moment his gaze lingered on the bushes where I hid.

  Please don’t see me, please don’t see me. It became my mantra while I tightened the Prismatic Cloak shrouding me from view. Hopefully concealing me from their supernatural senses of smell too.

  He looked super familiar, but most of them did, all members of the night school with prominent roles around the campus. I recognized faces instead of names, and identified them by activities I witnessed them performing or folk they hung out with. Wolf guy who interned under Sebastian, vampire chick who worked the security box, bear girl who helped the PT trainer.

  One was a really huge black dude I’d seen at the gym with Rodrigo. His name might have been Isaac or Isaiah, I couldn’t remember for sure, but he’d been nice to me and took the big weights off the squat bar once.

  A trio of ravens landed in the small group, likely shifters, their black bodies difficult to see in the shadows.

  “You, Blaire.” He pointed to a lanky, white-haired junior I recognized from my Spanish class. “Your family has served as fodder for the Dupree clan for five generations. As soon as you graduate, you’ll be stuck playing guard dog for them. Is that what you want?”

  “Hell no. Dad could barely scrape together enough money from his paychecks to buy everyone Christmas gifts. Old man Dupree is a cheapskate.”

  “And a racist,” a dark-skinned girl in mage robes said. The moonlight cast a strange silver glow over a face that would be umber if she were human. I recognized her from my Magical Artifacts class. I wondered if we’d have Arcane Lore together this semester.

  “Tricia’s right,” Rodrigo’s massive friend muttered. “He says all kinds of shit ’cause nobody cares as long as it’s not breaking any law.”

  “But what the hell can we do about it, Isaac?” Gabriel asked, voice coming from the center of the crowd. Blinking, I leaned forward and squinted through the bare branches, view obscured by the number of bodies. I hadn’t seen him initially, but he must have been one of the ravens who landed among the group. He turned to the ringleader. “They’re only words. This is the way things have always been for centuries before us, Matt.”

  Matt Sinclair. The full name materialized in my head like a soap bubble. “We can fight. Surely you know something about that—since you’re killing nossies now.”

  Gabriel chuckled and shoved both hands in the pockets of his leather jacket. “Yeah, well, that’s different from this stuff. That was killing a nos in self-defense.” The two ravens with him laughed too.

  “But for what? You had to put your life on the line for a spoiled faerie. One who isn’t even worth a wand from what I hear. Did she lay there and take it while they tried to put the fangs in her?”

  Gabriel’s grin faded. “There were two faeries there. Even if one of them was worthless, those vampires would have been as happy to take a bite out of anyone. Human or fae. Your grandma went nos, right? So you especially know what happens when they go over to the dark. When any of us go to the dark.”

  My mouth fell open at the revelation. Having a darkling in the family—even if they’d been neutralized—hung over folk like a stigma, one of those secrets no one ever mentioned in polite company. Not that Gabriel seemed to care. He raised his chin and trained a defiant stare on Matt.

  With his back to me, Matt’s expression remained a mystery, but his back tensed and his spine straightened tall. “Taking pot shots won’t change shit, Fujimoto. According to the laws, you’re expected to lay your life on the line. How is that fair? Why do the fae get protection when we don’t? You tell me that. What makes our lives worth less than theirs?”

  Murmurs of agreement rose from the small gathering. Three or four heads nodded, including one of the guys with Gabriel.

  Singling Gabriel out of the crowd of ravens, Matt turned and pointed at him. “Tell me, what do you want to do with your life?”

  Gabriel laughed at him without even the pretense of civility in his mocking expression. “I’m doing what I want with my life. What about you? Did someone piss in your blood bag this evening, dude?” One of Gabriel’s pals clapped him on the shoulder.

  “Funny. A little bird tells me you want to advise businessmen and shit—a position reserved for the mages. Doesn’t matter if you’re smarter than half of them, which I know you are. With the laws like this, you’ll never get the chance.”

  Gabriel’s head snapped toward Matt again, eyes narrowed. “Who told you that?”

  “Does it matter? What matters is your dream is unreachable because our oppressors don’t want us having any real power. You’re just another caged bird for some fae to pet and stroke.”

  “Screw ’em!” Tricia cried out.

  “If we want power, we have to take it. No one’s going to give it to us,” Matt continued.

  A red-haired vampire stepped up to his side, her teeth flashing in the pale light. “Except for a rare few. Some of them have come over to our side. There are faeries and mages willing to join the Hidden Court. They know this is wrong. This doesn’t have to be a losing fight.”

  “Oh yeah? Fae willing to come down off their high horses to help us?” Gabriel asked, incredulous. He crossed his arms over his chest. “Denise, you know better.”

  Nausea rose in my throat, my mouth watering with the urge to vomit. Is that how he felt about us?

  I couldn’t watch any more and forced my heavy limbs to move. Step by careful step, I retreated from the bushes before I turned and ran. By the time I reached the dorm, my lungs burned and my legs shook.

  Quiet as a mouse, I let myself back inside and retreated to my bedroom. Then I made sure my blinds were shut.

  The gravity of what I had witnessed remained with me, and no matter how much I tried to enjoy class, the spirit of the day wasn’t with me. I spent lunch stirring my salad and barely touched the tea Liadan made for me while we sorted our introductory packets to each new class. It sat beside the pile of paperwork, untouched.

  When I did sip it, the cold herbal brew did nothing for the queasy waves rolling through my stomach.

  “Is everything okay?” Liadan asked. “You’ve been distracted.”

  “Yeah. Sorry. I guess I’m nervous about having my own charge all to myself.” It wasn’t a complete lie.

  Gabriel hadn’t disputed their claims, and I was beginning to doubt him, wondering if he’d painted us all with the same lazy brush.

  My phone chirped, filling the room with gentle bird song. I slid my finger over the screen and opened a
text from the raven asking when I’d like to visit Sharon.

  I scrolled through Sharon’s schedule and chewed on my lip. She didn’t have any big events coming up soon, but I probably should check on her. Make sure she was feeling steady about her recent studio contract.

  Does tomorrow work for you? I asked.

  Sounds good to me. Mind if I drive?

  Considering I don’t have a car, please.

  I needed to fix that. Mom and Dad had promised to meet whatever I put toward a used car now that I had a job as a cashier at the campus bookstore.

  His reply came in a moment later. Meet you in the parking lot at 3.

  Okay.

  It took all my willpower to remain cordial, when what I really wanted was to ask if he was okay driving around one of his snooty faerie overlords since I apparently had a high horse to ride instead. Something in my face or aura must have changed because Liadan reached over and set her hand on my arm.

  “I’m okay,” I told her. “Thanks though.”

  “If you ever want to talk, my ear is open.”

  While I knew I could trust Liadan with what happened, I wondered if I should have run to one of the administrators and told them what I overheard.

  Would they have believed me? I doubted it. Even as a fae with the supposed edge the dark students believed we had, no one would believe me without proof, and unlike the Harry Potter series, we didn’t have a magical serum to prove our words were true.

  16

  Understanding a Misunderstanding

  Since I’d opted for cramming most of my Tuesday classes into the morning, my afternoon remained free to check in on Sharon after two. I had time to jog to the dorm, drop off my stuff, and grab a snack after my mundane history course. Gabriel awaited me in the parking lot as promised, his truck idling while he played a game on his phone.

  “Hey, Sky. Good day?”

  After climbing up and into the passenger seat, I strapped the belt across my chest. “Yup.”

  He pulled out onto the main road and cruised down the enchanted drive leading into non-magical civilization. I slouched down in my seat and focused on my phone while metal music spilled from the speakers.

  “Where’s Sharon today?”

  “School.”

  “Okay. That where we’re heading?”

  “Yup.”

  His gaze darted to me when we reached the stop sign. He lingered, studying my face, then pulled out into traffic. “I read about her contract in the paper,” he continued in a conversational voice. “You kicked ass when you got her that hookup. So what’s the next goal for her?”

  I shrugged. “The usual.”

  “That’s it? The usual?”

  Instead of answering, I shrugged again and made a noncommittal grunt.

  “You okay, Sky?”

  “Fine,” I murmured.

  Gabriel eyeballed me for a moment before his gaze drifted back to the road. “You’re not the same today, and it feels sorta personal. Call it a sixth sense or something, but I’m pretty fucking sure you’re pissed at me, and I don’t know what the hell I did.”

  “I’m not pissed.”

  “Yeah, says the girl who’s said like five words to me. Did I do something I don’t remember?”

  “Maybe I figured you didn’t wanna listen to me blather from my high horse,” I snapped.

  Gabriel stiffened. “You were there.”

  “Your night class powwow? Yeah. I thought I’d go punch some bags, work off all those cookies my folks foisted on me. Instead I found your little bashing session.”

  “Sky—”

  “Don’t worry, you don’t have to talk to me or sacrifice your life for me. I’m fine.”

  “You don’t really think I agree with them, do you? Seriously? I only went because two of my friends dragged me along to hear them out.”

  “Yeah, well, you didn’t sound too upset to be there.”

  One of his dark brows curved up. “What the hell did you expect me to do? Moonwalk out and tell them to kiss my ass? You don’t want to be on the wrong side of people like that, Skylar.”

  “You seemed to be doing a good job of it by bringing up his aunt and shit. And since I was born a faerie, I am on the wrong side of people like that.”

  “Look, I had to say something. For the love of God, are you really going to hold this against me?”

  “You could have said nothing.”

  After running his left hand through his hair, he huffed out a laugh. “Right. Whatever you say. Fine, you want to be like this? I’m cool with it then.” He drove in complete silence, staring at the road in front of us.

  We made it five miles before my curiosity got the better of me. “What’s the Hidden Court anyway? Everyone I ask either doesn’t know or they won’t tell me.”

  He said nothing, expression stony as he turned onto the next road.

  “Fine. Forget it.”

  I twisted in the seat and faced out the window, staring at the snowdrifts piled alongside the roads. Unlike back home, winter stuck around Chicago in the form of four-foot drifts and patches of black ice.

  A tense half hour passed before I broke. “You going to ignore me now?”

  “You’ve made it clear you aren’t in the mood to talk to me,” he fired back.

  Despite everything I wanted to say, he made a fair point. “Yeah, well, now you know why.”

  “I thought we were friends,” Gabriel admitted. He rolled his shoulder and glanced away from me. The hurt in his expression took the wind out of my sails.

  He hadn’t done anything at all, and he was right. Most of my people did stare down their noses at the shifters and vampires. I’d been pissed at my advisor and Monica for doing the same thing.

  “I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I was scared you really felt that way, and I acted like a bitch.”

  “I would never include you in that kind of thing. Honest.”

  “It hurt. I know that’s a stupid excuse, but there you have it.”

  Gabriel sighed. “I get it. You heard some crappy stuff.”

  “Crappy doesn’t sum it up. Now are you going to tell me about the Hidden Court, or do I have to bribe you with breadcrumbs.”

  His jaw clenched as he watched the road and navigated the snowy conditions. “I’m not a duck, and bread’s bad for them anyway.”

  “Smart-ass.”

  Gabriel pulled off the road into an empty church parking lot. “If I’m going to tell you about this, you promise you won’t tell anyone I said a word. I want a solemn vow.”

  “Cross my heart,” I replied, making the gesture with my finger.

  “How much do you know about shifters who go... bad?”

  “Not much really. I mean, I know any of us can. Fae go dark sometimes, and mages have turned to necromancy to become liches or done other… unsavory things. So it’s possible for all of us to become darklings.”

  “Right, and what I’m going to tell you isn’t something you learn until Magical Ethics if your folk don’t talk openly about shit at home. Most people know a nosferatu is a vampire who’s murdered in cold blood a few times, but the rest of us don’t speak about our temptations often. You know why?”

  I shook my head and studied his tight features. It was unusual for him to avoid my gaze, but he did exactly that, eyes focused on the steering wheel.

  “We eat people. We don’t drink their blood and drain them to death like a vampire. For werewolves and bears, they maul and consume their prey flesh, bones, and all. It’s an act of evil so great it blackens the soul.”

  For one heart-stopping moment, I thought I would puke in his car. Sour bile burned its way up my throat. Gabriel studied his hands while continuing in a quiet voice.

  “Human flesh is addictive. With every slaying, we’re disfigured physically as well as magically and spiritually until the corruption of the soul is worn on the outside. That’s why nos and all the other creatures of the dark are so hideous.”

  “Does it—” I swallowed, throat
tight and stomach churning. “Is it like vamps? I mean, does it happen the first time?”

  He shook his head. “No one falls to the dark side by accident, Sky. I’ve heard of vamps in bloodlust and werewolves who go overboard during a fight, but becoming a nos or a wendigo is cold-blooded murder. Plucking a human like a lamb for slaughter.”

  “And the wereravens? What... I mean…”

  “Murder and eat the heart of a child,” he said in a quiet voice. “Doesn’t have to be a child, or so I’ve been told, but most ravens who go to the dark prefer it. Supposedly, there’s an extra kick of power for devouring innocence.” He dipped his head forward and closed his eyes, throat bobbing when he swallowed his own apparent revulsion for the act. “That thing you saw in the haunted house mirror was a valravn, a darkling wereraven. That’s what happens to my kind.”

  That was the thing that attacked my parents?

  “I… I had no idea. I mean… my folk taught me darklings are evil versions of all us, but they never gave it to me in detail.”

  “It’s gross, so I can’t blame them.”

  “Does it… does it happen often?”

  “For every nineteen or twenty vamps who go bad, only one of us commits to it. Bears go grendel almost as infrequently as we turn. They teach it in depth next year in Magical Ethics, but there’s a faerie Magical History instructor who likes to discuss it too.” He stared through the windshield without looking at me, still avoiding eye contact like he’d done something wrong. “And he’s gonna paint the rest of us like wild animals.”

  “You’re not a wild animal.” Anguish had contorted his features, prompting me to run my hand down his arm. The moment I did, he stiffened and his shoulders tensed. The next stroke relaxed him and loosened his tight muscles again.

  “Yeah, well, some of the shifters feel that if they’re going to be treated like animals, they may as well act like it and be free. That’s what the Hidden Court is about, but once you’ve gone over to that side, it’s a one-way road. No coming back from it. You spend the rest of your life hiding from creatures of the light, because once you undergo the change, you’re executable on sight. If a sentinel catches you out there somewhere in the dark, he doesn’t need approval to slay you.”