“Zinnia, this is Aidenuli. Aidenuli, this is Zinnia, our resident kidnapper and hostage negotiator.”
Aidenuli nodded at me. “Hi.” He didn’t smile or have an ounce of warmth behind his sharp eyes.
“I’m not a hostage negotiator. I just want to know how to save him. Do you really want a student to die under your watch?” I turned toward the bars and looked at Ophelia still under my spell. If it was up to me, I would leave her sleeping in peace until this thing with Alataris was over and done with. But I couldn’t, not when Tuck’s life depended on it. “I just need the cure to help him, and I’m determined to get it.”
“By what means are you going to use? She’s not just going to tell you what you want to know.” He motioned to Ophelia.
I shrugged. “Well, I’m not going to hurt her if that’s what you’re asking. Something tells me she’ll negotiate for her freedom.” I didn’t know what made me think she wanted something from us, but my gut was telling me she would. Whether or not I could come through would be another story. I was in no position to strike a bargain and I wouldn’t release her until I got what I wanted.
Matteaus shoved away from the wall and came to stand next me. “I’m only going to say this one time and one time only. You have twenty-four hours to figure this out. After that, I’m letting her go. No one wants to see anything happen to Tuck. Even I kind of like the guy.”
I sucked in a sigh of relief. “I thought you were going to expel me.”
He shook his head. “Nah, what’s a little coercion between enemies to save a life?”
Magic school is so much cooler than public school. I beamed up at him. “I’ll be good. I promise.”
“Oh, I think you will be, and just in case you aren’t, my guy Aidenuli over there is going to be standing watch. Trust me, if you even think about crossing a line, he will know it.” He placed a hand on my shoulder and gave it a little squeeze, then walked out the door.
Aidenuli moved to a small wooden bench and let his large frame drop down on it. I thought the bench was going to explode into pieces under is weight. Yet it didn’t. He motioned to the cell. “Proceed.” His voice was deep and rumbling.
I sucked in a deep breath and held my hands out, letting my magic flow over Ophelia. It floated over her body like a sparkling silver dome. “What lies asleep now must wake. By the power of the sun I give you energy to take. Open your eyes and rise with the moon. Open your eyes and greet us all in this room.”
Ophelia didn’t move a bit. She lay in the same position Grayson dropped her in. Yet her breaths were no longer deep and even. I glanced at Aidenuli. “Is she up?”
He gave the smallest of nods, telling me she was. I turned and kicked the bottom of the bar. The sound vibrated up the bar with a ting. I wrapped my hands around them so tight my knuckles turned white. “Wake up.”
“Ugh, a girl needs her beauty rest, you know?” Ophelia sighed and rolled to her side.
“You’re not fooling anyone, Ophelia. We know you’re not Dario’s mistress.”
She shot straight up on the cot and looked down at herself. “Damn it!” She tossed her legs over the side of the bed and leapt to her feet. She swung her gaze around the room. Her opal eyes locked on the bars for a moment before landing on Aidenuli and then back to me. “Where am I?”
“You’re in the dungeon in Evermore Academy, and I won’t be letting you out until you give me the information I want.” I backed away from the bars and crossed my arms ready to wait her out for as long as it took.
Her gray sweater dress swallowed her tiny body, and her long black hair fell straight down to her waist. Black leggings clung to her thin legs, and a simple pair of black Uggs covered her feet. She looked so different than our first meeting when she’d taken a page out of Wednesday Addams’ book. “I didn’t think they kept prisoners in Evermore Academy.”
I narrowed my eyes at her. “They made an exception just for you. For now. In a few more hours, who knows where they’ll take you?”
Had she just swallowed? Was that a tremble I sensed in her hands? She took a step toward the bars. “And what exactly is it that you want?”
There was no use beating around the bush. With only twenty-four hours to get what I wanted out of her, I didn’t have time to play games. “Your father hexed Tucker Brand, a very close friend of mine. I need to know how to break that hex. And you’re going to tell me how to do it.”
She arched an eyebrow at me. “My father? Don’t you mean ours, sis?”
I could feel the blood draining from my face. “How did you–?”
“There isn’t much I don’t know.” She strolled up to the bars standing only a foot away. “I wonder what the rest of your friends would think if they knew who you were exactly.”
She was baiting me, trying to sway me from what I needed to know. She canted her head to the side, studying me with those obsidian eyes of hers.
I didn’t turn away, didn’t show any weakness. Instead I placed my arms through the bars and rested them on the horizontal one running across the middle. “It doesn’t matter. All that matters is getting Tuck better.”
“And in exchange for what you want…” She studied her nails. “What do I get out of it?”
“Your freedom.” I didn’t want to let her go back out into the world to act as Alataris’ general, but to save Tuck I would. Anything was on the table.
She tapped a finger to her lips. “And you say it’s a hex our father put on him?”
“Ugh, he is not my father. And yes, can you help break the hex or not?”
Ophelia shook her head. “No one can break a hex without knowing what it is first. But I can make it so that he’ll be heathy enough to function until the hex reveals itself.”
I leaned down and met her gaze. “What do you mean reveals itself?”
“Do they teach you nothing here?” She narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips as she shot Aidenuli a dirty look. “A hex of any short will eventually show itself. If the person who’s hexed is supposed to die, then there will be signs leading up to it, for example.”
I straightened my stance and took a small step back. What if the curse was to meant to kill him slowly. I pressed my hand to my mouth stifling a gasp. “You think he’s cursed to die?”
She rolled her eyes. “No, it was an example. Don’t be so dramatic. If he was cursed to die, he would be dead by now.”
“So, you’re saying you can help him?” I could hear the hope in my own voice, and I wanted to kick myself for letting her see it.
Ophelia leaned against the bars. “For a price, yes.”
Am I striking a deal with the devil? Sure felt like it. “I already told you I’d let you go.”
“I don’t want to be let go.” A smirk spread across her face. “I want to stay.”
My jaw dropped wide open and I froze.
“Don’t act so surprised, Zin. Everyone has a secret they want.”
It was true, secretly I wanted for Tuck and I to be together without consequences. I shook my head trying to fight against my disbelief. “You want to stay in this jail?”
“No! I want to be accepted at Evermore Academy. I want to go here. Make that happen and I’ll save the little fire birdie who’s captured your special attention.” She back away from the bars and plopped onto the cot. “Those are my terms.”
“Let me get this straight. You want to be a student here? How do I even know you have the power to do what you’ll say you can do for Tuck?” Was she messing with me? She wanted to stay? None of this made any sense. If it happened, would I be setting myself up for an even bigger mistake later on?
“Because I have this.” She bent down and pulled a folded piece of paper from the side of her boot.
When she opened it up, I sucked in a sharp breath. “The orchid. How do you have it?”
“Doesn’t matter how I have it. Only that I do. Do we have a deal? Can you get me into this place?” She held the flower out in front of her, taunting me with it. I want it mor
e than I wanted anything. I was tempted to open the jail cell and rip the flower out of her hand. As if sensing my sensing my desires she folded the paper back up and shoved it into her boot. “And don’t even think about stealing it. You wouldn’t know what to do with it even if you did have it. Only I can make a potion strong enough to help your precious Tuck, and you know it.”
“I don’t know it. We have Niche and Professor Davis to help me make the potion.”
Ophelia shook her head. “Neither of them is a queen of potions.” She dropped on the cot and sat with her legs crossed. “Only I can make it exactly how strong and effective you need it. And what I’m asking in return is to go to school here. So, make it happen.”
I threw my arms up then turned toward Aidenuli. “Is it even possible?”
He looked from Ophelia back to me, then rose to his full towering height. “I’ll see what I can do,” was all he said before he left us alone together.
Suspicion riddled my mind. It can’t be this easy. “If you betray me and something happens to Tuck, I will make you regret it.” My fingers twitched with the need to summon my blades to make my threat seem more real, but I didn’t trust myself not to get carried away. Desperate times, desperate measures?
“I have no doubt that you will. We share the same blood, after all, and holding a grudge is a specialty in our family.”
“What family!? Just because your creep of a father donated some swimmers to my mom sixteen years ago doesn’t make us a family. It makes us people who share the unfortunate coincidence of having the same DNA. Nothing more.” I began pacing back and forth in front of her cell. I couldn’t believe I was actually considering trying to get her into the school.
“Whatever you say, big sis.” Ophelia pulled the paper from her boot once more and waved the flower back and forth continually as we waited for Aidenuli’s return.
What seemed like an eternity later, he walked back into the room and sat down. “It’s done.”
Ophelia popped up from her cot and sauntered over to the cell door. “Damn, sis, you got some pull in this place or what?”
When she reached for the door, I placed my hand over it, holding it closed. “You can come out on two conditions.”
She put her hand on her hip and began tapping her foot. “Your little boyfriend doesn’t have much more time. So you better tell them to me real quick.”
“One, if this doesn’t work, you have to leave and go back to Alataris.”
She nodded in agreement. “And number two?”
“No one, and I mean no one, not even Tuck, can know we are related. The fact that my father is who he is will remain a secret until I’m ready for it to come out. Got it?”
“Boy, you must really trust your friends if you want to keep this from them.” She tossed her hair over her shoulder as she rolled her eyes.
My heart raced with the need to get the potion to Tuck. But if Ophelia was going to stay, things needed to be handled. “Do we have a deal or not?”
Ophelia let out a long sigh. “We have a deal. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you wouldn’t want anyone to know you’re my big sister.” Sarcasm dripped from each word she spoke.
I took a step back from the bars. “The question is, why would I want people to know about something I myself am ashamed to admit?” Before she could say anything else to piss me off, I turned away from her and marched out the door to go and save my forbidden soulmate.
Chapter 16
Nova
“I can’t believe you actually agreed to this.” I sat perched on the edge of one of the long lab tables in the potions room. At this time of night, the stools in the classroom were all turned upside down and sitting on top of the tables. At the front of the room Ophelia, one of my sworn enemies, stood with a cauldron in front of her. The flame burned low underneath it, causing a
constant bubble and boil. Steam rose up from it, and a floral scent wafted over me.
“What else can I do? I had to save Tuck. There was no other choice.” Zinnia stood next to her, watching every single drop of content that went into that cauldron. Yet being a new queen, she didn’t know what was going in there, but I did.
“You know what we’re dealing with here is black magic? That’s exactly what it is. All those ingredients combined together could take down an elephant, let alone a phoenix who is already fighting for his life.” I gritted my teeth. “She can’t be trusted.”
Ophelia tossed in one of the small leaves of the orchid and a purple death cap mushroom that she stole from the professor’s cabinet. “Hello, I’m standing right here and both of my ears work, thank you very much.”
“I don’t care if you can hear me or not. It’s obvious you can’t be trusted. Do you know how many times I faced off against you and your father’s thralls? How many people have died underneath his rule? Zinnia, you have to see this is crazy. It could kill him.” I leaned forward and shoved my hands into my hair, tying it in a high knot on the top of my head. Zinnia was my closest friend, I wanted to help her, I really did. But even this seemed a bit crazy to me.
“If you see another option here, then I’m open to listening to it. But as it is right now, this is our only option. Tuck has hours left, maybe even a few minutes. If we can save him now, I’m going to do it.” She met my gaze, and I could see the determination in her sapphire eyes. Her face was usually so bright and full of life but was now cold and determined.
I motioned toward the cauldron and the contents on the table. “We don’t know if she’s going to save him. This could kill him, Zinnia. Are you ready for that? Are you ready to lose him?”
“Ugh, are all of you always so dramatic? I’m not gonna kill the little bird boy, okay? You want him to live, I’m going to make him live and in exchanged I get to stay here.” Rosie light drifted up from the cauldron, illuminating her pale face in hues of pink and purple. She grabbed up one of the vials and pulled the ladle free from the cauldron, dumping the contents into that vial.
I shook my head. “I don’t trust this, and I don’t trust you. Why would you want to stay here? All you’ve been fighting for your entire life is to keep us from stopping your dear old dad. She’s a spy. I just know it, and there’s nothing worse than being a snitch. I don’t care if I am being unreasonable.” She couldn’t be trusted, and Zin knew it. She was so desperate to save Tuck that she believed there was no other way around this. Maybe there wasn’t, but I wanted to avoid having to deal with Ophelia. My only hope was that if we kept her here, we would keep our enemies closer than our actual friends. I could watch her and make sure she wasn’t out to hurt the rest of us. At least that’s what I was telling myself as I watched her put a little cork in the top of that vial and hand it over to Zin’s waiting hands.
“Nova, he’s going to die without this potion. It is our only shot at me seeing those honey-colored eyes again. I’m gonna do it. I’m going to give this to him, and when he wakes up, you’ll see it’ll all be worth it.” Zinnia wrapped her hands around that vile as if it were a silent prayer to save her Tucker. But deep down I knew it couldn’t be that easy. One little potion and he’d be fine? Nothing was ever fine when it came to Alataris and his daughter.
I pointed to my eyes, and then I pointed at Ophelia. “Just so you know, I’ll be watching your every move. One little step, one little toe out of line, and I will take you out.”
Ophelia snickered. “Take me out to where? Dinner? Come on, Goth Barbie. You and I both know you aren’t killing anyone.” She marched over to the door and waved Zinnia through it. “Come on, let’s get the show on the road. I’ve got a class schedule to look at and boys to meet.”
I rolled my eyes. “I think I liked her better when she was dressed like Wednesday Addams and only said a couple of words.”
“Oh, don’t worry, death girl. I’ll grow on you. Only takes a little bit of time.” Ophelia filed in behind Zinnia and I, following us down the hallway at school.
I kept pace with Zinna as I muttered, “Yeah, g
row on me like a flesh-eating fungus that I can’t get rid of.”
“Ooh, I’m shaking in my boots.” Though Ophelia was smaller than both of us and very slight, she was tough as any other witch I’d ever met before.
Zinnia stopped in the middle of the hallway. “Will you two just stop for minute? Just stop! This is important. We need to make sure that Tuck is okay. And your bickering isn’t helping. So, either shut it and come along or go back to your room and wait until you hear my news.” She turned away from me and marched toward the infirmary. When one of the pixies flew into her face, Zinnia batted it away the same way she would a gnat.
I sucked in a deep breath and jogged to catch up to her. “Okay, I’ll calm down. I’m here for you. Now let’s go save our leader, shall we?”
Chapter 17
Zinnia
“Get out of my way, Beckett.” I held the vial in the palm of my hand, clutching it to me like it was a lifeline. Indeed, it was a lifeline, not just for me but for Tuck. The glowing pink potion was still warm in my grasp. I wanted to give it to him more than anything.
The rest of the crew was spread out around the infirmary. They were perched on cots and stood in a semicircle next to Tuck. Even Niche and Matteaus stood off to the side watching. Beckett held his hand out in front of himself. “I can’t let you do this.”
Beams of the rising sun glistened in through the wall of windows, giving the already sterile white room a bleached-out shining effect. Each of the cots leading down to Tuck were made up in military style with all the sides tucked in, ready for the next patient. As it was now, he was the only one here. From where I stood just inside the double doors, I could see his breath had gone shallow and the sweat that used to mat his hair was all dried up. His auburn waves fell back from his face in a tangled wavy mess. His eyes darted behind his lids, but his body remained motionless.
Wicked Hex (The Royals: Witch Court Book 3) Page 9