by Alex Lidell
Coal jerks me up by my tunic, and I fall to my hands and knees, my own coughs tearing through my chest.
“That’s right, Leralynn of Osprey.” The male’s soft voice is as cold as the stream. “You don’t deserve this. You need Great Falls no more than you need manure stuck to your boot soles.”
I blink, lifting my pounding head to meet Coal’s eyes, my sluggish mind struggling to understand. “You want me to leave? Is that what this is all about?”
Coal leans his face so close to mine that drops of water from my shivering body land on his chest, his familiar metallic scent filled with a bitter tang of fury. “Yes,” he says, a muscle ticking along his jaw. “And I’m not the only one.”
I recoil as if struck, the words hurting more than the cold, cold stream. “You’ll have to keep waiting.”
The ticking muscle in Coal’s jaw quickens, but he says nothing. His icy blue eyes crackle in the thunder-charged air, something in him about to break as surely as a gathering storm.
Overhead, a fleeing hawk swoops close, the forest around us silent in anticipation.
Coal wants me gone. And not just him. Heat rushes through me despite the chill, my chattering teeth gritting. The mask I’ve seen River don so many times slips over my face as I grip the stones on either side of the stream and lower myself right back into the water.
Whatever happens, Coal won’t get the satisfaction of seeing me surrender.
7
Arisha
Two scoops grain, one scoop sweet for three dozen of the horses, for four weeks with each feed sack holding—no, wait, with the spring weather breaking, fresh grass might come soon. Arisha crossed off the calculation. Would the extra green grass mean the horses needed less grain, or would the extra running they did on soft ground lead to them needing more?
“Should we tell her?”
“That would be a full-time job, Nolan, and I need to watch Tyelor’s training. He needs someone to keep him honest.”
Arisha buried her head deeper into her book, ignoring Princess Katita and her royal cousins. One and a half scoop of—something rough hit Arisha between the eyes, sending her sprawling onto the ground. Glaring up, Arisha saw the tree she’d just walked into. A few paces away, the group of royals broke into ill-concealed chortles. Brilliant. That was the third—no, fourth—time this month alone she’d walked into something. Was someone moving the damn trees and building in the middle of the night? At least when the stunning Leralynn stumbled into something, the something inevitably turned out to be Great Falls’ top athlete.
One who Princess Katita believed to be her property.
Scowling, Arisha gathered her books and hurried into the sanctuary of the library. She needed to alphabetize the books. Or count them. Or maybe regroup everything by time period instead. Anything to keep her mind off whatever torment Master Coal was inflicting on Lera. The girl was brave and kind and as unaware of her own mortality as a fourteen-year-old boy. Pitted against Coal’s creative sadism, the combination could end in nothing but utter disaster.
The chime of newly attached doorbells startled Arisha free of her thoughts. “Uncle Gavriel?” she called, stepping into the great circle of the library’s entrance hall. The librarian’s desk where Gavriel usually sat was empty, though the sound of a cane tapping the polished marble floor echoed from somewhere in the room. “Uncle?”
“Arisha.” Stepping out from behind the far stacks, Gavriel limped toward her with more energy than she’d seen in him lately. The extra glint in his brown eyes was downright contagious. “Are you quite all right, my dear?”
“Yes.” Arisha picked a stray leaf from her braid and adjusted her glasses. “You, however, look like a cat with a bowl of cream.” Despite being alone in the library, Arisha dropped her voice. “Has the Guild welcomed you back?” Gavriel’s vocal disagreements on both the interpretation of the fae prophecies and the Guild’s rules surrounding them had gotten the man put out the door a year ago. Gavriel, being Gavriel, immediately got himself hired into Great Falls Academy, negotiating a spot for his niece along the way.
“Not quite, but they will.” Gavriel set his books on a table and went to pull out the pot of tea and platter of sweets he always kept for Arisha’s visit. Sugar-powdered scones with raisins, by the smell of them. “They truly will have no choice but to acknowledge my theories.”
With a sigh, Arisha neatened Gavriel’s books into an ordered stack and glanced at his newly placed door chimes. Gavriel wanted to know if anyone invaded his space, which meant he was planning to be more reckless than usual. “You’ve discovered new evidence?”
“Better.” The man returned to the table, handing Arisha a tea tray. “I’ve proven my theory correct. I found the Protector.”
The tea tray slipped from Arisha’s hands, Gavriel rescuing the pot before it could spill. Arisha’s heart quickened. After a lifetime’s work with no acknowledgment, her uncle deserved a bit of recognition. “Are you certain? Where is he?”
“She. And right here in Great Falls Academy, just as I predicted.” Gavriel winced. “She isn’t what I expected, I grant you. A bit rough around the edges and not quite ready to accept her role, but I will work with her through it.”
A familiar thick dread settled on Arisha’s tongue. There he went again, the reason Uncle Gavriel was cut off from his life’s work to begin with. “What do you mean work with her? The Sentinel Guild is very clear—watch, record, don’t intervene. Prophecies tend to go awry when people start sticking their tongues and pens in them. I believe you taught me that.”
Gavriel adjusted his glasses. “This is different, Arisha. And vital. The danger arrived in advance of the Protector, and she… I fear that left to her own devices, she is going to be chasing young men instead of saving the mortal realm. Sometimes prophecies need a bit of guidance, eh?” He poured Arisha a cup of tea. “The Guild will come around once they see.”
“Are you going to tell me who it is?” Arisha asked, letting out a heavy breath. She’d seen Gavriel here before and knew when there was no talking reason into the man. The best she could do was manage the damage and ensure his noble intentions did not dig a grave for him.
Despite the empty library, Gavriel dropped his voice before speaking. “Leralynn of Osprey. She wears a veil amulet, of course, but it is her.”
“Leralynn?” Arisha blinked. “Are there two Leralynns?”
“We’ve started off on a very productive foot already,” Gavriel continued. “The Great Falls area has been under siege from the nastiest of creatures—Sky…no, Sclices. I explained to Leralynn yesterday—”
“Leralynn of Osprey?” Arisha’s fingers curled around her paper, crumpling the calculations. The kind, beautiful Lera who couldn’t keep her nose out of a hornet’s nest was an immortal fae warrior? No. Arisha had always imagined the Protector to look and act more like Deputy Headmaster River or maybe Master Coal. A small smile touched Arisha’s face. Coal. Who was likely trying to run an immortal fae into the ground right now. Serves the bastard right.
Arisha’s smile faded as the rest of Gavriel’s sentence registered. “What do you mean, you explained to Leralynn? The Sentinel Guild watches. We don’t interfere. Tell me you didn’t actually speak to her about… Stars. Uncle.” Arisha’s stomach clenched, her heartbeat quickening. The Guild’s vow of noninterference was vital, lest the whole mortal realm turned to war over winning the immortal warrior to their side of the truth. Arisha wasn’t yet a full Sentinel, but even she knew that. Leralynn—Arisha’s mind still spun with notions—had to be free to make her own choices. Arisha’s eyes widened. “Please tell me you had nothing to do with Lera’s sneaking out and going over the wall last night?”
Instead of blushing, Gavriel set up taller. “Indeed. I was pleased to learn she took my word to heart, and we had a very productive discussion this morning about the creatures she encountered.”
“Yes, well, Lera got caught,” Arisha told Gavriel, her voice hard. “Master Coal is punishing her a
s we speak—at River’s orders. I little need to tell you what those two do to new cadets.”
“Hmm.” Gabriel made a sound that was more intrigue than repentance. “That may work out in our favor quite nicely, in truth. And by our favor, I mean the entire human race’s.”
Arisha’s brows narrowed. “Because the Protector needs extra experience in misery?”
“Because Leralynn must get those young men out of her thoughts so she can focus on the task at hand,” Gavriel said, leaning forward. “The girl insists that Tye, Coal, River, and Shade are all fae as well, the five being part of a Lunos quint together. Mates, in fact. According to Leralynn, a magical artifact she broke caused the men—males—to absorb the properties of the veil amulets they wore. The four believe themselves human.”
“Coal. River. Tye. Shade.” Arisha felt like a damn parrot, her understanding of the world spinning on its head. Her already fast pulse jumped again. Those names… They were an integral part of the Academy. An influential part, whose actions could have a ripple effect through the entire Continental Alliance. Stars, River and Coal were in direct line of command of King Zenith’s daughter. And here Gavriel was, trying to put a bit into Lera’s mouth—which would inevitably affect her mates’ actions too. Did Gavriel not understand he’d be put to death for this? No, of course he didn’t. Uncle Gavriel was brilliant and kind and as disconnected from reality as his books.
Taking off his glasses, Gavriel wiped them on the corner of his robe. “I confess that Lera’s excursion last night might have been motivated by a desire to find the broken artifact as much as my explicit instruction on a Protector’s duties, but it’s better to stay optimistic, don’t you think?”
“Optimistic?!” Arisha checked her voice. “You are trying to direct the Protector to do your bidding, and your optimistic version of events is that she obeys you blindly and stops fighting for her mates’ memories?”
“Lera is very young and easily distracted by amorous escapades,” Gavriel said defensively. “I’ve no nefarious agenda. I just wish to help her grow in her destiny and save as many lives along the way as possible.”
“No, Uncle. You want to help Lera grow into your vision of her destiny.” Arisha stood, her heart pounding against her ribs as she started to collect her books, her thoughts spinning too wildly to keep up with. Moving Gavriel’s papers aside, Arisha felt her hand brush against an odd disc, its runes unfamiliar but plainly fae made. She frowned, recalling River’s complaint of a missing pendant, and felt a cold shiver run down her spine. “What is that, Uncle Gavriel?”
8
Lera
I can’t breathe. The icy water running over my face never stops, never lets up no matter how much I spit it out. I’m cold and I’m wet, and it feels like I’ve been so for days and years. The coarse wet fabric of my uniform rakes over my skin each time I move, sending shots of pain where it rubs over abrasions left by the branches we’d run through. At least the pain breaks up the freezing numbness.
Through it all, Coal’s blue eyes watch me with unwavering intensity, his whole body repeating a single word: leave.
“No.” I shout it into his face at first. And when I’ve no more energy to spare for that, I shout it in silence.
No.
Go to hell, or bring hell here.
I’m bloody staying.
When, some eons into the torment, I first hear a wolf’s howl, I think the noise is inside my mind. An exhausted wet body playing tricks on its sluggish mind. When the howl calls a third time, the familiar notes—along with Coal’s hands hauling me to the bank—shake me from my trance. The return to awareness is so harsh, I can’t hold back a choking sob that Coal pretends he doesn’t see.
“A stroke of fortune,” Coal says, his voice as cold as ever. “We’re going back indoors for now.”
I blink at him. I didn’t quit. Why—
“A storm is coming.” Coal points to the sky in answer to my silent question.
He’s right, I realize, still not moving. Sometime in the past hour, the wind has picked up and now screams through the pine branches, the gray skies already leaking rain. The plop plop plop of fat drops hitting the stream sends a stab of fear through me, though I can’t quite understand why.
“Leralynn.” Coal’s chiseled face and blond hair fill my vision. A moment later, he grabs my shoulder, shaking me roughly. “Leralynn!”
I blink at him.
Coal’s gaze surveys me once, then stays on my eyes. When he speaks, his voice is as certain and commanding as the storm itself. “Listen to me. Can you walk?”
A wind-curled swirl of spray from the stream hits my face. Wind. Rain. Storm. It finally hits me then, the reason why the rain sent the shock of fear through me. Soon, maybe already, the tablet and my tracks—my only hopes of getting the males’ memories back—will be gone. Washed away.
“No,” I whisper. My halting breath and racing heart now have nothing to do with the chill. I struggle to my knees, my numb hands giving way, though Coal stops me from falling. Even as he does, I seek my landmarks. Plot my course.
“On your feet, Cadet.” Coal wraps his warm, muscled arm around me. “I will help you.”
No. I push away from him, landing myself right back in the stream.
Coal curses. Reaches for me again.
This time, I move with greater purpose, pulling myself to the other side of the water. “Don’t touch me.” I intend my words to sound strong, but they come out in a rough-edged croak. “Don’t. Touch. Me.”
A wolf calls again.
A flicker of something crosses Coal’s face, and he pulls his hands back slowly, showing me his empty palms. Even as he does, his gaze assesses me the way one might consider tackling a rabid dog. Another moment and Coal will do just that.
I can’t let that happen.
Scrambling to my feet, I break into a run, racing the coming storm back toward my nearly two-day-old tracks. My numb feet pound the soft ground, sliding on uneven earth and tripping over rocks. A harsh wind blows with enough force to make the fallen leaves and twigs rise into the air, hitting my face, the shock of it making me sway. Losing time I do not have.
“Leralynn, stop!” Coal’s bellow races up from behind, the voice so close that I can feel it. Then Coal is on me, tackling me to the ground, twisting my shoulders to force my gaze to meet his. Impatience, fury, and something more—fear. His chest heaves, pressing into mine, trapping me. “You are not thinking straight. Follow me. Now.”
“Let me go,” I holler at him, my voice rising with true fear. I can’t do this. Can’t pretend a day longer that I’m human, can’t face the males through the veil’s perverse looking glass. And each second Coal holds me, he further seals that horrid fate. “Let me go!”
Coal drags me to my feet, holding me roughly. “This isn’t a negotiation, Cadet. You want to stay at Great Falls, you take my damn hand and come.”
My mind goes silent, the ultimatum so clear that my response comes with no thought. I can’t outfight Coal. And I can’t let him slow me down a moment longer.
“I quit!” I shout into the male’s face, loud enough to be heard over the wind. “I’m done with your runs, your punishment, your half drowning me. I’m not an Academy student as of this moment, so get your damn hands off me. Now.”
Coal freezes, face pale. And then he does as I demanded. Icy air rushes in to take his place.
I run the instant he lets me go, before I can let loneliness rush in with the cold air, before I can second-guess myself. I sprint. My clumsy body focuses on nothing but the mountain slope, now hazy through wet, windy air. Droplets of rain bounce off leaves and pine needles, striking them like tiny never-ending drums. Branches bend in the wind to clash against their neighbors and hiss and snap their displeasure. Everywhere I look, the forest is different from the way it was, the trees bending and shifting through misty gray sheets of rain, clutches of dirt and spray flying through the air. The smell of wet earth and damp bark saturate the air so thickly, I
scent nothing else.
Fat raindrops pelt my face, fueling each of my strides. Through it all, my gaze focuses on nothing but the lone set of tracks that is miraculously still there, winding through the trees. The slight change in the pattern Sprite’s one shoeless hoof left is no longer visible, but I know the tracks as mine and thank the stars that Coal’s bloody stream was not so far as to make me lose the sacred route.
Coal. I stumble as the image of him flashes in my mind, turning my stomach. Even when the reconnected rune restores the quints’ memories, I’m not sure I’ll ever look at him—at the male who wanted me gone—the same way again. An uncontrolled shudder races through my body, spreading panic. For a heartbeat, my face is beneath the surface again, freezing water rushing into my mouth and nose. Closing my lungs. Choking off my air. I gasp, my eyes wide and heart hammering my ribs.
I force a breath down my throat, fighting off the dizziness I’ve no time for. With the growing rain, there will soon be little left to follow on the steep sloped earth. Faster. I have to move faster, rush straight down the slope that I used switchbacks to climb. I do. I run, allowing no thoughts, no memories of Coal’s ice-filled eyes. No—
My boot lands on something soft, the steep ground suddenly slipping from under me.
I fall onto my side, the slope dragging me down with the mud. The breath I fought so hard to draw now grips my chest, gravity seizing me. Pulling me into a tumbling roll down the slope. Rocks scrape my skin, my numb fingers unable to grasp anything to stop the slide.
Down, down, down.
My side, my belly, my head, all take turns against the ground. I bounce off the first tree I hit, the second sending me on my way with a bruise. The third finally stops me, my back striking the trunk so hard that the world blinks. Lightning cracks the air just as my wits clear, thunder following a breath later. The rain pelting my face churns into a downpour, mud and earth running in streams down the slope, taking me with them when I dare try to rise.