by K. G. Reuss
Much to my displeasure, the day spun past quickly, and before I knew it, someone was knocking at my door.
“Marcus,” I answered, pulling the door open to find the hot as sin warlock on my welcome mat. “I thought Nev would be the one to escort me.”
“Ah, what’s wrong, sweetheart? No love in your heart for a warlock now that you have a vampire training you?”
I wrinkled my nose as I grabbed my cloak and slung it over my shoulders. “No. I just figured Nev likes to be the center of things because his ego is so big.”
Marcus grinned at me, his amber eyes twinkling. “He’s busy at the moment. I think I can handle a whisperer on my own.”
I grunted a response as I adjusted my cloak before reaching for my doorknob and stepping out into the hall with Marcus behind me.
“You excited to make a name for yourself, Torres?” he asked as I closed and locked my door.
“Are you prepared to start a war we may not be able to win?” I challenged.
“You know I am. I was born to tear shit up.” Marcus waved his hand, and we were cast in a dull purple haze, his magic twinkling around us. Another privacy charm. “But to be honest, I’m just ready to get this over with. I prefer the calm and solitude when I can get it. This shit is anything but.”
I nodded, completely understanding.
“I figured you’d try to hide us,” I said as we walked through the dark campus.
“No point. It’s not past curfew yet. We’re just as free as Andy and Lyn over there, kissing beneath that tree.” He pointed to a dark tree were two figures were tangled up in each other’s arms.
We continued our walk before I spoke again. “I haven’t seen you guys in a few days. Where have you been?”
“Duty calls,” Marcus answered. “Harper mentioned you needed to talk to one of us. That’s one of the reasons I came tonight too. What’s going on?”
I rushed through telling him about Shadow.
“He really said he’s taking you?”
I nodded. “Yeah, but I don’t know where or when.”
“Do you want to go? I mean, the guy is your other half, Ever. I’d rather he just stay gone, so we aren’t dealing with a bigger hornet’s nest. But if he’s coming, I want to know what side he’s on.”
“I don’t know what side he’s on. His own if I had to guess. He only wants me safe. At least that’s what he says.”
“Understandable, but I’m sure he’ll go with whatever side offers that to you. That’s why it’s so important we know who we’re dealing with here.”
“You can’t figure it out with your magic?”
“No. I’d have to be there to cast, and I think we both know this guy won’t let that happen.”
I nodded glumly. “I just wish I knew who he was. He has to be a student here.”
“Me too,” Marcus murmured.
When arrived at The Place, we stopped outside the door, staring at one another.
“I’ll put out some feelers. See if we can get any information on anything.”
I nodded. “What do I do?” I asked.
“Status quo for now. Stick to what you know. I’ll discuss this with Nev and get his thoughts. I’m sure he’ll say the same thing I am though. Get this guy to reveal who he is. If it means leaving, refuse to go until you have his identity.”
“Makes sense.” I sighed.
“It’ll work out. It has to. The guy can’t remain a mystery forever.” Marcus pressed his hand to the door, and it glowed before cracking open. “You ready for this?”
“I’m scared.” I wrapped my arms around myself and rubbed my arms. Not only did I have the stress of my Dyre induction to deal with, but now the worry about what I’d do with the identity of Shadow when I had it. Was he someone I knew personally? He said he was. But who? It was a vicious cycle. Did I really want to know? I pushed the thoughts out of my head. I had to focus on one stressor at a time.
“Will Nev really bite me?”
“Yes. He likes to exchange blood with members. Nev has the gift of being able to keep track of people once he has a blood exchange. I mean, with my help of course. I cast the charm, he takes the blood. It’s a fun little game we both enjoy playing.”
“You’re a weirdo,” I muttered.
“Using magic is a drug, Ever. If you could tap into yours, I’m sure you’d start to understand. Why do you think the carrion are so hell bent on it? Blood is a drug to Nev like magic is for me. We’re both addicts in our own way. You’ll see.”
“I’m really hoping I don’t,” I whispered as I followed Marcus into the depths of The Place, my heart in my throat.
“Everyone, welcome Everly Torres, the Mancer.” Nev held his hand out for me as Marcus and I stepped into the room.
I looked around, seeing for the first time who the members were. Surprise spiraled through me when I saw Harper and Abby. Jason. Skylar. Devon. All students I knew, some I was even close to. The others in the room were students I'd seen on campus, mostly vampires like Cam Perkins, a hulking man in his own right.
Harper gave me a look that said she was sorry for not telling me. Abby’s eyes were hopeful. Even Jason looked relieved. I supposed keeping it from me must have sucked. But it explained a lot of what I should’ve already expected.
Giving my friends a nod, I approached Nev, taking his hand when I got to him. He offered me a smile, his blue eyes black with hunger, a look that sent chills down my spine.
No one clapped. But it wasn’t like I expected a round of applause.
“We’re going to make this short and sweet,” Nev continued, offering for me to sit on the overstuffed chair at his side.
I did so, my pulse hammering at the anticipation of being bitten by a vampire.
“We have the Mancer. We need the Reever. We know what happens if they fall into the wrong hands. The way I see it, we’re halfway to victory. What we don’t want is the Order making the Mancer raise an undead army while the reever guards her from harm while she does it. What we do want is to take down the Order and replace it with the Dyre. No more will our people be forced into prisons to be tortured and killed. We won’t live in fear of extermination. Victory is near. Halfway there,” he repeated, his dark eyes fierce.
I shuddered beneath his words, impacted by how much rested on me.
“Marcus, the spell.” Nev held his hand out for me, and I took it, allowing him to pull me to my feet. He sank into the chair I’d been in before tugging me onto his lap.
“What are you doing?” I hissed at him.
“Having dinner.” His lips quirked up into a dark smile which made me tremble.
Marcus stood over us, his mouth set in a thin line as the room watched.
“Relax,” Nev murmured, brushing my hair away from my neck.
Marcus flicked his wrist, and the privacy charm fell over us.
“Why do we need a privacy charm?” I whimpered, my body quivering harder.
“I figure you’ll be a screamer,” Nev soothed, his breath warm against my neck.
I bristled, and he let out a soft chuckle.
“Relax,” he repeated. “I’m going to make you feel good, Ever. I promise you. You’re lucky because I don’t do that for everyone.”
“Why not?” I choked out as he adjusted me in his arms and nuzzled his nose against the sensitive skin of my neck.
“Not everyone is as special as you are,” he answered.
He darted his tongue out and tasted my skin. Goosebumps popped up along my body as his hold on my waist tightened.
“Breathe,” he murmured, his lips brushing against the shell of my ear.
“I-I don’t want anyone to see.”
“Close your eyes, sweetheart. Then no one exists but me and you.”
I squeezed my eyes closed, my breathing heavy as I waited for the pain of Nev’s fangs on my skin.
I flinched as the sharp points grazed my skin.
“Enjoy the ride, Everly.” Nev’s teeth sank deep into my neck.
&
nbsp; I let out a cry of pain as he dug in deeper to my artery. Fireworks exploded behind my eyelids as euphoria replaced the pain. It was nothing compared to the pleasure I’d felt over him suckling from my finger a while back. This was something else entirely.
My toes curled, my lips parted, and I let my head fall to the side as waves of splendor overtook me. In the background, Marcus strung together a spell, but I didn’t care to listen, far too absorbed in the pleasure Nev rocketed through my body.
Nev’s fingers raked through my hair, angling my head more so he could dig deeper into me. His other hand tightened harder on my waist, tugging my body to him as he fed.
“Nev,” Marcus called out. “That’s enough. You can stop.”
Nev let out a growl and sucked harder. More fireworks popped off behind my eyelids as he tugged me even closer, his fingers knotting painfully in my hair. Any other time I might have cried out. But his actions only brought more waves of euphoria which left me gasping in hot, heavy breaths.
“Nevron, enough. You’re drinking too much,” Marcus called out again.
“Nev, man, enough!” Jason’s voice sounded out.
I could hear shuffling in the background as members of Dyre became uncomfortable.
“Nev,” I moaned, my heart thudding unevenly in my ears.
My voice seemed to snap him out of it because with a snarl, he retracted his fangs from my skin. I stared up at him through slitted, blurry eyes. The black was gone from his gaze, only to be replaced by brilliant blue so bright and beautiful it seemed unreal.
“Ever?” Nev blinked rapidly and took my face in both his hands. “You OK?”
“Mm?”
“Shit,” he hissed.
I stared in blurry horror as he bit into his wrist and opened a wound. He pressed it to my mouth as Marcus muttered another spell. “Drink, Ever.”
I flinched against the warmth on my lips, my stomach roiling at the thought of drinking someone’s blood. But Nev was insistent and pressed his wrist harder against my mouth until I opened it and let the warmth flow in.
“Swallow,” he instructed softly.
I gulped down a mouthful, surprised at how it tasted. It didn’t taste like blood. Not that I had a lot to go on. It wasn’t like I tore into flesh and drank blood to know how blood tasted, but Nev’s blood was warm and sweet and nothing like the putrid mess I’d envisioned.
He ran his fingers through my hair, soothing me as I swallowed. My heart fluttered in my chest, a swell of feelings overtaking me. Confusion. Guilt. Happiness. Relief. Anxiety. Fear. Sorrow.
Nev pulled his wrist away, and I stared up at him, seeing him in a new, hazy light.
“You OK? I’m sorry, I think I took too much—”
He didn’t get to finish because I pressed my mouth to his in a bloody kiss, silencing him. His mouth didn’t move beneath mine, sending me into a panic. A moment later, he wrapped his arms around me and kissed me deeply, his tongue dancing against mine.
“Uh, what the hell is happening?” Harper called out, her voice anxious.
“Are they seriously making out?” A guy I didn’t recognize laughed.
“She’s lusted,” Abby shouted. “Marcus! Stop her! She’s going to regret this tomorrow!”
“Ever. Nev.” Marcus cleared his throat. “Hey, you guys.”
I kissed Nev harder, twisting my fingers through his blond hair. He growled his approval, his hand moving to cup my ass beneath my skirt.
“Nev, stop. You guys are lusted. What the hell,” Marcus muttered. “Jason, a little help.”
A moment later, strong arms pulled me from Nev’s clutches. His blue eyes were wild, his blond hair a mess.
“Assholes,” he muttered as he pushed his hair back down.
I let out a whimper, wanting to get back to him.
“Ever, honey,” Harper called out. “Come on. Let’s get you home.”
“But I want to stay with Nev,” I protested.
“You really don’t. You’re just lusted. He put you in a state of desire. You need to sleep it off. You both drank too much.”
“I want to sleep it off with him,” I slurred, feeling lightheaded.
Nev chuckled and stepped forward.
“No more, Nev,” Jason warned as Marcus put his hand on Nev’s shoulder.
“I’m not. I need to heal her puncture wounds.” He leaned down and licked the wounds on my neck.
“We can certainly continue this if you want,” he whispered before pulling his head up. “I daresay the effects of this are going to last a few days. May as well make use of it, huh?” He pressed a soft kiss against my wounds.
“Yes,” I mumbled, still floating on cloud nine.
He let out a soft chuckle before pulling away completely.
“You were only supposed to take a taste of her, not damn near kill her,” Harper huffed, wrapping her arm around my waist.
I leaned heavily against her, and she stumbled a bit. “We can’t even finish the damn meeting because she wants to dry hump your leg now.”
“Nev, this is why you get into trouble,” Abby scolded.
“You two are going to drop her,” Jason said. “Let me and Cam take her back.” He nodded to the large vampire beside him.
“I’ll take her,” Nev said, tugging me away from Harper.
I wound my arms around his neck amid Harper and Abby’s protest.
“Don’t think that’s a good idea,” Sky called out. “Jason—”
“I’ll go with them,” Marcus broke in. “I’ll make sure he comes back with me.”
“Come on, Ever, my little snack.” Nev led me out of The Place and across campus without a cursory look behind him.
“What’s wrong with me?” I slurred out, my head fuzzy. “I feel weird.”
“Nev overfed, and you overdrank his blood. You’ve been lusted,” Marcus said. “Although, I’m pretty sure it was his abilities more than the blood.”
“I like it. I feel good.”
“You look good.” Nev gave my waist a squeeze.
“Am I going to be a vampire now? I feel like I’m talking in cursive.”
Marcus chuckled as Nev answered, his raspy voice making me cling to him tighter, “Sweetheart, feeding and blood exchange doesn’t create a vampire. It’s a whole process which requires more dirt and touching than we were able to get to.”
“Touching?” I giggled. “Like you’d touch me?”
“I most certainly would.” Nev growled before leaning down to whisper in my ear, “How I made you feel tonight is just a warmup to what I could do to you.”
“Nev,” Marcus grunted, interrupting my peals of giggles. “Company.”
“What are you doing?” a deep voice boomed out as we turned near the courtyard of the school.
“For Hades’ sake, does this guy follow us or something?” Marcus muttered as Raiden stepped in front of us with Chloe at his side.
Their dark cloaks fluttered in the night breeze, casting an ominous look over the pair.
“I asked what you’re doing,” Raiden repeated, his eyes sweeping over us. His lip curled up in distaste as he took in Nev’s arm around my waist.
“Just escorting Everly home before curfew, General. It’s what a gentleman would do,” Nev answered.
“Ever, are you OK?” Chloe asked. “You look. . . drunk.”
“Have you been drinking?” Raiden demanded, his gaze leveling on me as I bounced nervously on the balls of my feet..
“Well—”
“Nev, not now,” Marcus cut him off.
Raiden took a step closer. “Miss Torres, answer me.”
“Uh, I-I have been. Yes. Guilty.” I let out a giggle. I clapped my hand over my mouth and snorted.
Nev grinned down at me. “It’s fine, General. Really. A couple sips, and she’s shit faced. Don’t worry. We’re taking her home so she can sleep it off.” Nev tore his gaze from me and focused on Raiden who looked like he was ready to murder someone.
“It’s against Dementon r
ules to drink on campus. If you supplied her—”
“General, how about you pull the stick out of your ass and live a little,” I interrupted, moving away from Nev and poking Raiden in the chest.
He widened his eyes at me as Chloe cleared her throat and glanced away, apparently torn between laughing and disciplining.
“Or are you not allowed to now that the cat’s out of the bag and the entire Special world knows you’re the prince? Did your title come with that jewel-encrusted stick up your ass or did Amara put it there for you?” I trailed my finger up his chest and cocked my head at him. “You know. Your fiancée?”
A muscle feathered along his jaw as he stared me down.
“Chloe. Take Mr. Ambrose and Mr. Blackburn to Headmaster Brighton’s office. Inform the headmaster they were supplying students with alcohol. I’ll be writing a full report, and if we’re lucky, they can pay a visit to Xanan.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Nev growled, stepping forward.
Raiden zeroed in on him and moved past me, facing off with Nev. “Do I look like I tell jokes, Blackburn?”
“You look like you are a joke, Hawthorne.” Nev reached out and shoved Raiden.
Marcus and Chloe both sprang into action, trying to stop the confrontation.
I moved quicker and stood in front of Nev, facing Raiden down. “Knock it off, General. Let us go home. Just because you’re mad at me doesn’t mean you can take it out on my friends.”
“They’re breaking rules. I do not hold with rule breaking, especially where you’re concerned—”
“I’m not your concern, General. Besides, I’m pretty sure you were breaking a whole host of rules when we were feeling each other up in my dorm. You even got my shirt off. Did you write yourself up for that, Mr. No Fun?”
Raiden narrowed his eyes at me as Chloe shifted awkwardly beside him. Even Marcus cleared his throat. And Nev? He let out a derisive snort typical of him.
I plowed on. “If you don’t let them go, I assure you I’ll raise such hell that not even you, the mighty Conexus general and prince of Specials, will be able to stop me. Nev makes me feel good. Stop trying to ruin that.”
Raiden stepped closer, that muscle I tended to set off working along his jaw.
“And if my happiness means anything to you, you’ll let us go,” I finished and moved away from him.