by Wendi Wilson
I smiled at how our nervous energy was manifesting as silliness. There were definitely worse ways to feel when preparing for battle. I’d take silly over scared shitless any day of the week.
Once we were ready, Shaela met my eyes, and any fun that we’d been having leeched from the room.
“You ready to do this?” she asked, holding out a fist to me.
“We got this,” I said, bumping my own fist against hers.
I just hoped I was right, and that no one would get hurt. Or worse.
Chapter Sixty-Six
33
The large, black vehicle with dark-tinted windows cruised at a high speed down an old dirt road, but the ride was surprisingly smooth. We somehow missed every bump, every hole, and every rock in the road. Must have been magic.
I looked over at Cris, who sat beside me behind the wheel. He seemed to be concentrating heavily on the dirt-packed earth shining in the headlights before his eyes flicked left then right to the wastelands on either side of the road. We were away from the academy and Alvaro forest, so there were no trees to hide behind, or anything else to use as natural coverage.
If the Zephyrs saw us coming, we’d see them, too.
“Does Finn know we’re doing this?” I asked, breaking the tense silence inside the car.
Cris’s eyes flashed to me before turning back to the road. “I didn’t tell him,” he said.
“I didn’t either,” Easton said from the back seat where he sat behind Cris. “I knew he could force me to tell him if he got suspicious, so I stayed away from him. I didn’t say goodbye.”
“Hey,” Shaela said as she elbowed him in the ribs, “none of that. We are gonna be fine. We’ll get in, do what we need to do, and get out. Then we’ll go home and no one will be the wiser. Not even Finn.”
“Yeah,” Charles said, leaning forward to look around Shaela at Easton, “and we have D, the biggest badass there is, on our side. We’re golden.”
I was glad for the dark interior of the car when I felt my face heat up at Charles’s words. It still felt weird, having people be proud of what I was instead of fearful.
“Let’s go over the plan again,” Cris said.
I half-expected sighs of impatience to ring out from the backseat. We’d already gone over the plan a-hundred-and-one times, as it was. But no one complained. We needed this to go off without a hitch.
“When we reach the city, we dump the car and fly the rest of the way, keeping to the shadows,” I said, starting at the beginning. “The car is too conspicuous, since no one drives, and we want to remain hidden.”
“Once we reach The Tower, we let December do the talking,” Shaela added.
We had to get inside for the plan to work, and the best idea we could come up with was for me to use Glamour to make my eyes black. The rest of me already looked like a Zephyr, so it wouldn’t be too hard. I’d bring in the rest of them, telling the guards I’d found four Sylphid spies lurking around my house that I needed to hand over to Sebille. Cris had assured us that nothing less would gain us an audience with the queen.
Of course, once she saw me, the jig would be up and we’d have to act fast.
I would use my magic to hold her while the others used magic-infused cords to tie her up. I wasn’t so sure that would work—she was the freaking queen, the strongest Zephyr alive—but Cris seemed so sure it would. I just hoped he was right.
“We grab Sebille and take her back to the academy so Finn can deal with her,” Charles added.
I exchanged a look with Easton. The whole plan was sketchy, at best, with each part’s success depending on everything falling into place perfectly. The others were certain that if we took Sebille and delivered her to Finn, he’d know exactly what to do to neutralize her and save the school. And the humans. And the planet.
It seemed like a longshot to me, but I kept the negativity to myself after discussing it with Easton. He’d agreed that is was risky, but what else could we do? Short of killing her?
And I wasn’t going to do that. Never again would I take a life.
As silence descended once again, I watched Cris’s profile in the dim glow of the dashboard lights. I’d gone to him, alone, after we formulated this insane plan and asked him why he was agreeing to it. Why he was helping us instead of turning us over to Finn to be put on lockdown so we couldn’t put ourselves in the path of danger.
I wasn’t really buying the whole “I know you’ll do it anyway” excuse.
“Why are you really helping us, Cris?” I asked.
He met my eyes, his expression fierce.
“Because I agree with you. I think we have to make a move before she does, or she’ll catch us unawares and won’t be so easily defeated as she was last time. Finn wants to wait her out, to see what she’ll do. I think that’s a mistake. So, we’ll force his hand.”
“Won’t you get fired? I mean, they can’t let you continue teaching after you’ve taken four students into a deadly situation, regardless of the outcome.”
His face fell for an instant before his lips curved into a sad smile. “At the very least, I’ll lose my position. The repercussions will probably be much worse than that.”
I’d left it at that, despite an inner desire to argue with him further. Arguing would be counter-productive. He wanted to help, and we needed him. No matter how selfish it sounded, it was true.
“Hold on!” Cris shouted, the present crashing back in as he jerked the wheel to the right and slammed on the brakes.
“What the hell?” Easton shouted from the backseat.
“Is everybody okay?” Cris asked, turning in his seat to look behind him before settling his gaze on me.
“What is it?” I whispered.
“It’s her,” he said, his voice firm despite the fear I could see on his face. “She found us first.”
“December Thorne, come and meet your fate.”
The words reverberated through the car, amplified by magic to pierce our eardrums with their intensity. A large hand clamped down on my shoulder as I jiggled a finger in my ear to clear the ringing. I looked back to see Easton leaning toward me, a desperate look on his face.
“This is not the plan. We should get out of here. We can regroup later and try again,” he said.
“Easton’s right,” Shaela added. “We can’t meet her on her terms. It has to be ours or nothing.”
I looked behind me at Charles, and he nodded in agreement. I sat back in my seat, the fuzziness in my ears subsiding and heaved a sigh. I wanted to jump from the car and end it, right then. But my friends were right. Straying this far from our plan, flimsy as it was, was way too dangerous. I turned to look at Cris.
“I think they’re right,” I said. “We should get out of here and make a new plan.”
He nodded, saying, “I agree. We’ll come back when she’s not expecting us.”
The car was still running, so he popped it into reverse and started to back up onto the road. Sweat was pouring from his face, despite the chill inside the car from the cold, wintry night. Then it hit me.
He looked exactly like he did the night we faced down Elias. Desperate. Scared.
“Cris, are you o—”
“Stop the vehicle. Get out and face me.”
The words pierced my skull, battling my own free will to make me obey her command. The urge passed quickly, my hybrid nature once again making me immune to her power. My sigh of relief cut short when the car came to a sudden stop.
“I’m so sorry,” Cris muttered, throwing the car into park and flinging open the door before stepping out. “Someone else drive. Get her out of here.”
With that, he slammed the door closed and walked away.
“What the hell?” I shouted.
Easton climbed between the seats and slid in behind the wheel. He snapped his seatbelt into place before throwing the car in gear and pushing the gas.
“Wait,” I said, shaking off the shock of Cris’s unexpected departure from the car. “Go back. We have
to help him.”
“You heard what he said, December. Besides, something is not right with that guy. Why did he get out of the car? And why did he look so nervous?”
“We’ll never figure that out if we don’t go back.” I countered. “Please, Easton, we can’t leave him there to face her alone.”
He gritted his teeth and, swearing, slammed on the brakes while spinning the steering wheel. The oversized vehicle spun in a great arc, the backend sliding back and forth across the roadway a few times before straightening out.
As we neared the group in the road, Easton slammed on the brakes, slamming everyone in the car forward. Thank God we were wearing our seatbelts. I looked at him like he was crazy, but he stared straight ahead, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open.
“What the fuck?” he murmured.
I turned my head to see what he was staring at, and my heart stilled in my chest. I gasped, the sharp intake of breath sounding like some kind of reverse-scream. My heart restarted, pounding its way up into my throat.
Sebille stood on one side of the road, flanked by four guards, and Cris stood on the other. Alone, yet defiant, his chest was puffed and his arms were crossed over his chest. His wings were out, and I realized that it was the first time I’d ever seen them.
Of course, he’d never let them out before.
They were black.
Chapter Sixty-Seven
34
“Cris?”
I know it was probably the stupidest thing I’d ever done, but I hopped out of the car and ran straight toward them. And I completely ignored Sebille.
“December, get out of here,” he ordered, never taking his eyes from Sebille.
“Oh, ho ho. Isn’t that just precious?” Sebille cooed, but the sweetness of her words was overshadowed by the venom in her voice. “Crispin is concerned for the filthy hybrid.”
“What’s going on?” I asked, continuing to ignore the queen.
I heard footsteps and felt my friends skid to a halt behind me, but I didn’t take my eyes from Cris. I couldn’t look away. It was physically impossible. Those dark wings on his back had me mesmerized. That is, until he turned to look at me.
With eyes as black as a dark, starless sky.
“Holy shit!” Charles yelled from behind me.
Cris looked away quickly, turning his eyes back to Sebille. She smirked, cocking her head to one side as she observed him. Her smirk quickly morphed into a deadly smile.
“It seems you’ve been playing dress-up, Crispin, hiding inside that school. Surrounded by them, day and night. These dirty Sylphids had no idea what you are, did they?”
“Please, Sebille, just let them—”
“Do not address me so!” she shouted, cutting him off. “You will use the proper respect when speaking to me, just as you always have.”
Cris’s teeth clicked together as his mouth snapped shut. A muscle flexed in his jaw, like he was grinding his teeth together in frustration. My eyes, drawn back to his wings, watched them flutter in the light breeze.
I just couldn’t believe it. We’d worked together for weeks. And, somehow, he’d managed to always appear with no wings and blue eyes. His Glamour was strong. I thought back to the few brief moments when his eyes appeared to darken. He’d let his control slip a little before reining it back in.
I was in awe of his abilities. But not mad that he hid them. If anyone understood wanting to keep part of yourself hidden from the world, it was me. I just hoped my friends didn’t try to desert him because of his deception.
And I hoped he had a damned good explanation to give us.
“Do it now, Crispin, or I shall have my guards tear the three Sylphs to shreds. Then I’ll make you watch as I, personally, choke the life from that girl.”
She spat the word like a curse as she flung out a finger to point at me. I had no doubt that she’d do those things, with or without Crispin’s use of her respectful title, but whatever. He needed to stall her as long as possible so we could find an opening to get out of there. All of us.
I was not going to leave him behind, Zephyr or not.
“Please, mother,” he spat, “let them go.”
My heart stopped beating again, and I was pretty sure that this time, I really was dead.
“Holy shit,” Easton muttered as Shaela gasped at the exact same moment.
A long whistle came from Charles, who seemed to never let anything get under his skin. Always running with punches, that one.
“Much better,” Sebille said, the satisfaction oozing from her. “Now, tell me why you have betrayed me, turned your back on me for these vile creatures, and helped this monstrosity in her quest to…what?” She glanced over at me. “Revoke my power? Banish me from this side of the veil? Kill me?”
I kept my face blank and didn’t respond, waiting for her to turn her attention back to her son. It was too much. The surprise appearance, Cris being a Zephyr with none of us knowing, his being her son…
I didn’t think I could handle another shock. I prayed that the time for surprises was over and we’d somehow get away from Sebille, all of us, and regroup to try again later.
My prayers were one hundred percent, completely, and irrevocably ignored.
“I’m helping her because she’s my daughter.”
Every single person on that road, with the only exception being Cris, himself, gasped. A thick silence ensued for about four heartbeats as Cris looked my way, his expression filled with apology and affection. Shock, pain, and disillusionment shot through me in rapid succession, followed immediately by something that felt very close to hope.
Then all hell broke loose.
Sebille reared back and slapped Cris across the face. Unprepared for the blow, which was obviously strengthened by some kind on elemental magic, he tumbled to the ground. I lunged forward, intent on helping him, but a hand grasped my wrist, holding me back.
I looked over my shoulder at Easton, who held me with a determined look on his face.
“Let go,” I said. “We have to help him.”
“No, we have to get out of here. Now,” he said. “She is going to kill us, but she won’t hurt him. He’s her son. He’ll be okay.”
His words sounded rational, but I didn’t agree with them. The way Sebille hit Cris…she obviously had no real love for him and wouldn’t hesitate to hurt him. Or worse.
I turned to face him and the others, gently extricating my wrist from Easton’s grip. I motioned for them to gather around, peeking over my shoulder to make sure Sebille was still occupied with berating her son.
It was so weird to think of him like that. I cleared my throat and my mind, intent on convincing my friends to help me help him.
“Listen, guys. I know this is off-the-charts insane. But Cris is our teacher. He’s my mentor and friend, and he’s done nothing but support and help me since the day we met. I can’t…deal with the whole father thing yet, but when I do sort through my feelings about it, I’d like him to be alive.”
“But he’s a Zephyr,” Charles said. “And a prince. He belongs with them.”
There was no malice in his tone as he spoke those words. They were simply facts, like saying “fried chicken is good” or “the sky is blue.”
I was shaking my head before he even finished.
“No he doesn’t. The fact that he’s a Zephyr doesn’t automatically make him one of them,” I said with meaning.
My tone dared them to refute my words. They’d all spent the last few weeks trying to convince me that my Zephyr half didn’t make me evil. That my intentions and my heart were the real me, not the blood in my veins or the color of my wings.
“Lies! Tell me this isn’t true, Crispin. You will remain at my feet until I decide to let you up.” Sebille’s voice echoed around us, vibrating with power and letting me know we still had some time.
I looked at my friends. Shaela nodded, letting me know she’d go with whatever I decided. She was on my side, no matter what. Charles shrugged, ticking
his head toward her. He would do whatever made her happy. Easton still looked undecided. His aura told me he was worried.
“Please,” I said to him. “I’m doing this with or without you, but I’d much rather do it with you.”
His eyelids drifted down for a moment, and he nodded.
“Of course, I’ll help you. I’d do anything for you, D.”
“Thank you,” I said, pecking his lips with my own.
I looked back at Sebille and Cris. She was still berating him like a wayward child, ordering him to lie about his crimes so she wouldn’t have to kill him. The four guards looked down at him, still held to the ground by the queen’s power, with cruel smiles that reeked of twisted pleasure. They enjoyed seeing their prince brought so low.
“She seems to have forgotten all about us,” Charles whispered.
“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Easton replied. “We should probably assume that this show is to distract us, to get us to let our guards down.”
“I don’t know,” I said. “She seems really pissed. What’s her aura say?”
“It’s red,” he admitted. “She’s angry, for sure.”
“Let’s do this,” Shaela said, her voice filled with anticipation. “Time to kick some Zephyr butt. No offense, D.”
I waved her off to tell her I wasn’t offended. She was right. It was time to kick some Zephyr butt.
“Ok, Shaela, you and Charles take the two guards on the right. Easton, you take the two on the left.”
I knew he could handle them. He was an Oberon, after all.
“I’ll free Cris from Sebille’s control, then we’ll take her on together. You all back us up when you’re done taking your guys out.”
“I don’t like this,” Easton sighed.
“I know,” I said. “I’m strong enough, Easton. I can do this.”
And I knew those words to be true. For the first time, I really believed in myself. I was a half-Sylph, half-Zephyr hybrid with crazy powers that raged out of control most of the time. But I was a good person, and I would always try to do the right thing.