by LJ Swallow
Zeke tenses. “You said. Why would you do that?”
“To help us all,” I say and touch his face. “If Dorian is strong enough to break out, we can leave.”
“Seriously, Eloise? He’d probably drain you dry and then fuck off on his own, after taking out a few people he hated–including me.” He pulls my fingers from his cheeks but doesn’t release my hand. “I knew he’d pulled you into his web.”
“I’m stronger with him,” I whisper. “With Dorian’s power, I could help us all.”
Zeke’s pupils dilate as his face darkens. “You want Dorian? Fuck, Eloise!”
“No!” But do I?
“You’re a good person,” he says and squeezes my hand. “Don’t let him fuck you up.”
“A good person? I’m a necromancer.”
“An accidental necromancer.” He sighs and traces his fingers across my cheeks and rests them on my lips. “And I bloody hope this cuddle is helping you.”
“Yes. You’ve warmed me. Thank you.”
“Good, because your scent is driving me nuts.” I tense. “It’s fine. One reason I didn’t stay fully shifted today is because I don’t want to lose all my human control.”
I rest my palm on his chest and snuggle into him. Zeke pulls me onto his lap as I curl up, but I almost disentangle myself and run when I feel his cock hard beneath me. “Zeke.”
“Look. I’m chivalrous, but the girl I want is almost naked against me.” He places a hot hand on my belly. “I’m fucking shaking here and not because I’m cold.”
There’s something incredibly hot about the strain in his voice and the need he’s holding back. I part my mouth as I look into his dark eyes, then hesitantly move my face forwards to place my lips on his.
For a moment, Zeke doesn’t move, and his fingers dig into my skin. Embarrassed, I dip my head. Why do these guys make their attraction to me obvious and then knock me back?
I gasp as Zeke’s other hand curls around my head and his nails dig into my scalp. “Do you understand what you’re doing to me?”
“Yes. You just told me, and what’s beneath my ass is obvious.”
“No. If you give yourself to me, everything changes. I’ll fight to the death for you.”
I’m about to laugh at his serious words, but he’s deadly earnest. “Then you have a few girls you’ll fight to the death for.”
“No. This sounds like bullshit, but you’re different. There’s an emotional connection that already drives me to protect you above myself.” He pauses. “Otherwise, I’d use all my persuasion to fuck you right now.”
“Charming,” I laugh out.
His lips brush mine before he tugs my lip down with his teeth, gripping my scalp harder. “I wouldn’t be able to let you go again,” he growls as he releases my lip. “I’ll lose my shit if anybody tries to take you from me.”
My breath hitches as he peppers kisses along my jaw and to my neck before gently nipping my collarbone. How can I agree to be this to Zeke when I want Ethan?
Or, if I’m not lying to myself, Dorian too.
“I’m not having sex with you when I’m half-starved in a cave, in a freezing Scottish autumn,” I breathe out.
“Yeah. Like I said, I put you before me,” he murmurs with his cool lips against my skin still.
His fingers play across my belly and send tingles through, heating my blood against the cold. I look up at him and his bronze eyes shine as he lowers his head. Our mouths meet, but this time more than a gentle press of the lips as he delves his tongue into my mouth. Heat builds between us as the kiss we share is exactly what I imagined—harsh, uncontrolled, devouring.
I grip his hair and return his bruising kiss, our tongues exploring each other's mouths. He holds me closer, and I turn to straddle him and wrap my arms around his neck. As I press myself against him, Zeke growls and his hands cup my ass, his hungry mouth still over mine.
I slide my hands into his messy hair and grip, lost in the heady kiss and forgetting the cold, harsh world surrounding us. Zeke’s hands slide along my sides and he dips his head to kiss the soft flesh pushing above the top of my bra. I make a soft noise against his mouth and tip my head back; if we were in a different place at a different time, would this move closer to what Zeke bluntly told me he wants?
Zeke moves his mouth and my skin cools where his lips were. “Fuck.” His voice is rough, and he runs his fingers back down to my ass, the light touch sending more heat through me. “I need to stop.”
Omigod. Another guy rejecting me. Although in Zeke’s case, I can understand. There’s no bed to lie on and the cavern floor isn’t appealing either. But in this position... I shake the thoughts from my head. His words echo: ‘if you give yourself to me, everything changes’.
Right here, right now, I’m not ready for the change.
I shake again as the cold air replaces the warmth from our lust and he hugs me tight. “I wish I had something you could wear.”
I chuckle. “But you’re always taking my clothes off, not dressing me.”
His breathing is heavy as he strokes my cheek with the back of his cold hand. “I know, but I’d rather you didn’t die of hypothermia before I get my chance.”
“Chance at what...?” I trail off at my stupid question.
Zeke brushes his lips against mine. “Showing you not all men are selfish arseholes. Treating you how you deserve.”
“That’s very sweet, Zeke, but not how I picture you.”
He pouts. “I’m offended.”
I smile and rest my forehead on his. “If we get off this island, we can revisit this situation.”
“So proper, Eloise. And not if—when. Come here.”
Zeke holds me tight and I’m engulfed by his warm strength, safe in the care that this normally conceited guy is showing me. We will get through this.
Chapter Four
ELOISE
I’m unable to believe I could fall asleep in the circumstances, but the exhaustion from the last twenty-four hours catches up. Somehow, I wake still curled against Zeke with my cheek against his chest.
“What’s that?” I whisper to a sleeping Zeke as I point at something close to where we shelter.
Zeke rouses himself and as he moves, the cold envelops me again. At least my hair and skin dried, but I’m not looking forward to pulling my damp clothes back on. He edges forward and pulls a black holdall into the shelter then unzips and delves inside.
“Clothes.” He pulls out grey pants and sweatshirts then rummages further. “Water. Energy bars.”
I snatch the closest sweatshirt and drag it over my head, luxuriating in the warmth from the fleecy lining. As Zeke stands to pull on loose pants, he gazes around. “I never heard anybody. I should’ve.”
“You were distracted,” I say with a small smile, and kneel up to pull the bottle of water from the pack. Zeke takes the other bottle and we drink. “Is this to keep us alive? How long will we be here?” I ask.
We search the bag’s contents and at the bottom is a small sheet of paper that I unfold. A rough map of the island? The academy is drawn and so are the cliffs and wooded areas, so this must be.
Zeke points at a circle drawn at the opposite end of the island. “X marks the spot, huh?”
Tears well as I draw my knees to my chest. “This is a game. Somebody is messing with our minds, Zeke.”
“Hey,” he says softly and reaches out to push hair from my face. “We won’t let them. Somebody wants us to survive, so we play their game.”
“And then?” I ask. “What the hell is happening?”
Zeke unwraps an energy bar and hands it to me. The sweet stickiness glues to my teeth as I eat, and my heart continues to pound. “I guess we go to the spot and find out.”
“Now?” My pulse races harder. “The sun is setting again. There’s no light.”
He nods at me. “Witch light? And my feline vision returned when my shifting did.”
“But the wards,” I say in confusion. “How are we bypassing
them?”
“Well, we now know somebody at the academy interfered with the wards, and they must be weaker the further we move from the building.”
A horrible thought enters my mind as I stand to pull on the warm sweatpants. What if this is where students go and solitary doesn’t exist? Have people died on the island?
“Eloise?” asks Zeke from behind me.
“What?” I look over my shoulder as I pull the pants over my hips.
“I like your ass. Biteable.” He tugs his lip into his mouth, eyes shining at my surprised look. “Just saying.”
He stands to face me and cradles my head, lips softly moving across mine, and I hug him. “We’ll survive this and take down the fuckers who put us here. I promise.”
The sun drops slowly below the horizon as we make our way across rocks and pebbles again towards the place indicated on the roughly sketched map. I’m on alert for Ethan and Dorian, but surely, we would’ve come across them by now. If they’re not on the island too, why are we separated? And what happened after I lost consciousness when the pair fought? I don’t want to imagine who’d come off worst in a fight between the two.
As we climb and jump down from larger rocks close to the pebbled shore, Zeke spots a figure nearby and grabs my arm to stop me. His eyes shine in the dark, and I place my hand over my palm to extinguish the witch light.
“Stay away,” he growls at the figure.
The person steps out. He or she is dressed in a long, dark coat with a hood, wrapped up against the weather and from anybody seeing their face. She pulls the hood down.
Francesca.
“What the fuck?” snarls Zeke. “Was this you? I thought Marcus threw us out here.”
“Marcus? The academy can deal with his fuck-up. I have what I want.” She’s barely visible in the dark and I hear the triumph in her voice. “I have two of you, anyway.”
“What do you mean?” I ask sharply.
“I apologise for the extra day on the island and for Marcus’s abhorrent decision to abandon you out here as punishment. The Confederacy do not use common sense, because strong-arming rarely works.”
“You’ve come to take us back to the academy?” I ask hopefully.
Francesca steps forward and pulls a face. “No. I’m taking you off the island.”
I reel at her words and Zeke doesn’t respond.
“I’d rather Dorian and Ethan joined us, but unfortunately Marcus decided to keep the pair where he could watch them,” she continues.
“And do what to them?” I ask in horror.
She shrugs. “Solitary until they’re Nighthold age? Maybe bypass the age requirement? You’re all too dangerous to keep at Ravenhold; the wards couldn’t keep you subdued.”
I shiver and Zeke draws me closer. “You interfered with the wards?” he asks.
“And the students’ minds! I heard you talk to Marcus—he was pissed off that you’d ruined his plans for us. Zeke was out of control.”
“Yes, yes.” She waves a hand. “Survival of the fittest and all that. Those whose minds don’t break are taken to work for the Confederacy; I helped them weed out the runts. But the Confederacy can’t have you.”
“And neither can you,” I retort.
Her silver bracelets jingle as she lifts her arm to pat my cheek. “You are wasted here, Eloise. Whoever conspired to bring the four of you here merely helped our plan.” She sighs. “I am rather annoyed I only have two of the four. Dorian would’ve been the icing on a delicious cake.”
“You’re insane,” scoffs Zeke. “What do you plan to do? Hit us over the head with your crystals? Meditate us off the island?”
“Dear me, Zeke. That’s very patronising. No. I am waiting for a boat.”
I look to the churning, lead-coloured North Sea. Nobody could approach without the island authorities noticing, even in this secluded area. But there’s something more important here. “You don’t work for the Confederacy. Who are you working with?”
She gives me a tight smile. “I don’t work with Marcus.”
“That doesn’t answer my question.” I moisten my lips. “I’m staying on the island.”
Zeke glances down then turns me away from Francesca. “This is our chance. There’s two of us and only one of her. We could get on that boat and kill—"
“No!” I say in horror. “That’s immoral.”
“Survival of the fittest, Eloise—she said it.”
“The boat will have a pilot, don’t forget,” I whisper back.
Zeke turns his back entirely on Francesca and looks me dead in the eye. “I would kill to get off this island. We won’t have another chance.”
My chest tightens. Why did one night with a kinder Zeke lead to me forgetting how vicious he can be? Yesterday, he almost killed another student. If he’s willing to kill when in human form, he’ll not hesitate once he shifts.
A distant sound of a motorboat engine confirms Francesca is telling the truth. “You have to help me,” he urges. “Take her down and then we can deal with whoever is on that boat and get the fuck off this island.”
“I...” I clench my jaw. “I can’t leave Ethan.” Or Dorian.
“What the fuck, Eloise?” he snaps. “You hardly know the guy. Ethan can look after himself—he’s a survivor.”
“No,” I say firmly.
“Listen to me.” Zeke grabs my shoulders and shakes me. “This is our way out!”
“Darling children, please stop squabbling. You don’t have a choice now.” Francesca crunches across the pebbles towards the water as the boat’s outline comes into view, and a light bobs across the water like a sea-creature’s eye.
What do I do? Turn and run? But what would my fate be either at Francesca’s hands or the academy? Yes, I’ve potent magic, but I’m not at full strength.
I shift away from Zeke as the small boat hits the beach. There’s room for the three of us and the pilot who resembles a bear mid, but we’ll be tightly squeezed.
I can’t leave Ethan, because I care what happens to him.
And I can’t leave Dorian because he holds an energy that would give me great power—possibly greater than his.
Something nearby crashes louder than the waves on the rocks, and I spin around before screaming out. Three bears, twice the normal size, lumber from the dark and along the beach. I never realised bears could move this quickly, but then I’ve never had the misfortune to meet one. I scream and Zeke whirls around with his claws instantly extended.
Francesca snatches my arm and attempts to pull me towards the boat, but one of the hulking bears runs straight for us. She drops my arm to defend herself as the creature rears up and swipes with a massive paw. Turning to run, I trip over rocks amongst the pebbles. I’d grab Zeke’s hand but his claws would rip me, and his snarling focus is on the bears. Something hits the side of my head and I fall sideways to the ground. The bear whose paw just collided with me bears down on Francesca as I hit my head on a rock.
Chapter Five
ELOISE
I squint at the bright light above me and the scent of lavender tickles my nostrils rather than the earlier mix of damp earth and ozone. I’ve the worst headache, and quite frankly, I’m growing pissed off with how much time I’m spending unconscious and out of control. Another reason to take Dorian’s blood—I don’t see him losing consciousness often.
Propping myself up with a shaky arm, I look around. I’m in the academy infirmary, somewhere I passed and peeked into once, but never spent time inside. Two metal framed beds opposite are empty, as is one beside me, all neatly covered in white sheets and pillows. A stone jug of water and a small glass is beside me on a dark wood nightstand. I sit to pour myself a glass, then gulp down the water in several mouthfuls.
This isn’t water. I pull a face. Magic might be limited on the island, but tinctures and tonics can be created. I’m warm and don’t ache, so something already helped. I’m also dressed in a long buttonless shirt and nothing else.
Where’s Zeke?
>
The bears.
Omigod. Did he die?
How am I alive?
A woman with unruly curls around her face walks towards me and my heart leaps, but calms again when I see this isn’t Francesca. The middle-aged witch smiles and touches my face as she approaches.
“Are you feeling better?”
I frown at her speaking as if I visited the infirmary with a simple sickness, not attacked by bears after a night on the island.
“Yes. Where’s Zeke?”
“Ezekiel is quite well.” she smiles serenely. “If you’re feeling better, you may leave.”
“Just like that?”
She laughs lightly. “Why, yes. You don’t need to remain in bed if you’re well.”
At least I’m not under guard, but this whole situation is bizarre. “Do you know what happened to me?” I ask her.
The nurse’s smile doesn’t drop. “I heard there’s been trouble within the academy and on the island. That’s all I know.”
But bears? Or were they shifters? Are the wards completely down on this island? “I need clothes,” I say and pull at the front of the shirt.
“Of course. Oriana left some for you.” She indicates a small pile on a wooden chair beside my bed. “Angus is waiting to speak with you and your friends. Dress and head over to his office.”
Her heels click on the tiled floor as she wanders off. I stare at the clothes and touch the side of my head, completely dizzied by the situation and her treatment. I spent a day lost on the island before a staff member attempted to remove me on a boat—and then shifters appeared.
I’m on the verge of asking if any of that actually happened, or if I’d hallucinated. Samuel did before he jumped off the building; I could be victim to that magic. But my hands answer the question. They’re scratched and grazed from falling and grasping branches.
I’m conscious for minutes and a nurse tells me to go to the academy heads and explain. The menace within these walls and on the island has grown. They’re the ones who need to explain.