by Wendi Wilson
Chapter Ninety-Four
25
I didn’t go to my room to wait for Easton. I started the trek, then changed course about halfway there. There was no way I could go sit on my thumbs and wait for Easton’s dad to finish…whatever it was he wanted.
I had to do something. I needed to find Shaela.
The bell rang and students flooded into the hall, moving toward their fourth period classrooms. I stood in the shadows of an alcove and waited for the students and professors to clear out. I didn’t want to take the chance of someone spotting me and asking a bunch of questions about why I’d been missing classes all morning.
The hall emptied with no one noticing me and I breathed a sigh of relief as I stepped out of my hiding spot. I stared at the floor as I walked, my mind whirring with possible scenarios of where Puck may have taken Shaela. And what he might do to Charles if he manages to find them.
“Well, look who we have here.”
My head whipped toward the voice and I groaned in irritation. Tiana and Aubrey sashayed toward me with perfectly timed steps clacking across the floor. Tiana was wearing her usual nasty smirk, and I rolled my eyes. I so did not have time for this shit.
“What are you doing skulking about the hallways, Mutt?”
My eyes flashed to Aubrey when Tiana’s words weren’t followed up by her usual giggle. She was smiling, but something in her eyes sent a chill racing down my spine. They were wide and glassy and filled with anticipation. There was something else there, too. Something that looked a lot like malice.
I turned my attention back to Tiana and attempted to sound bored as I asked, “What do you want, Tiana?”
“I assumed you’d be with Easton,” she said nonchalantly as she inspected her fingernails, “since you both missed class. Yet here you are, alone.”
Her eyes met mine and her voice deepened with that last word, making it sound like a threat. I blew out an impatient breath and tapped a foot against the tile floor. She knew she couldn’t intimidate me, so I wasn’t sure what she was playing at.
“Trouble in paradise?” Aubrey added in a tinkling voice.
I shifted my gaze back to her and barely stifled a gasp. Her eyes were…off. Their usual cornflower-blue color darkened as I watched. My eyes flicked to Tiana, but she was still looking at me with a nasty smirk on her face. I turned back to Aubrey and cleared my throat.
“Not that it’s any of your business,” I said, hoping my voice wouldn’t crack, “but Easton and I are fine. He got a surprise visit from his dad.”
It was obvious from her expression that Aubrey already knew that. I held onto my blank stare, forcing my face muscles to remain slack as a blackness swirled through her eyes before they snapped back to their usual blue. Just like Cris’s did when his Glamour slipped.
Holy shit. She’s a Zephyr, ran through my mind over and over as I waited for either of them to respond. My throat tightened and I swallowed thickly, hoping they wouldn’t notice. I needed time to process and come up with some sort of plan before Aubrey figured out that I knew.
I kept my eyes on Tiana’s, looking for any change, but hers didn’t fluctuate from their normal navy color. She was truly a Sylph, or her Glamour was stronger than Aubrey’s. I had a feeling it was the former. Tiana was way too emotionally driven to hold a Glamour strong enough to fool me through all of our past confrontations.
So how had Aubrey done it?
My eyes shot back to her of their own volition. She looked like her normal self. At least, I think she did. I never really paid much attention to her. She always had Tiana’s back. Literally. She blended into the background, her only contribution those damned annoying giggles.
I bowed my head as my eyes widened with realization. Aubrey Ellsworth was not some simpleton who followed Tiana around for popularity’s sake. She was a Zephyr spy using the loudmouthed, attention-seeking bitch as her cover. The repercussions were mindboggling.
“I don’t have time for this,” I snapped, not meeting either of their eyes as I pushed my way between them.
Tiana made barking noises at my back and Aubrey giggled, reverting back to form.
As I strode away, I wondered—did Aubrey’s Glamour slip? Or did she intentionally pull it back because she wanted me to know the truth?
Whatever her reasons, I needed to compartmentalize the information and get back to the task at hand. First, find my friends. Second, rescue Shaela from Puck’s influence. Then I could process Aubrey’s deception and what it meant for me, the academy, and the Sylph’s fight against the Zephyrs.
I decided to go after Easton first. I needed to get him away from his asshat father. There were way more important things happening than whatever supposed grievance Alwyn Jameson was berating his son over.
As I jogged down the hall that housed Easton’s room, I could hear the shouting from several doors away. I picked up the pace as words like “abomination” and “Zephyr mutt” met my ears. Easton’s dad was yelling about me?
A loud crack echoed through the closed door just as I reached it. I panicked and, not even trying the knob, lifted a foot and rammed it into the wooden panel while pushing magic into the kick. The door flew open, banging against the wall and ricocheting back. I caught it with my hand and stepped inside, taking in several details at once.
Easton was on his knees in front of Alwyn, who stood over him with sweat dripping down his temples. Alwyn’s hand was raised, and my eyes focused on it as my blood started to simmer in my veins. My gaze darted back to Easton’s face, which had the distinct imprint of a hand reddening his right cheek.
He hit him? And Easton just took it? What the actual fuck?
Even through the haze of anger building rapidly inside me, I knew the answer. It was for his mother. Easton would do anything to protect her, even suffer the shame and abuse his father heaped on him without defending himself.
Alwyn’s hand lowered as he sneered at me, yelling something in my direction, but I couldn’t make out his words over the blood pumping through my ears. My magic swelled inside me, making my skin tingle and the hair on the back of my neck to stand on end.
Easton said my name, but my focus remained on his father as my hair tossed around in a sudden gust of wind. Pinpricks of heat burned my arms as fire tried to manifest, and I barely held it in check as I spoke.
“Get up, Easton.”
My voice sounded off even to my own ears, deep and dark and filled with power. Easton scrambled to his feet and backed away. He said something about his mother and protecting her. Though I didn’t catch all the words over the humming inside me, I got the gist of what he was saying—Alwyn threatened Easton’s mom to bring him to heel.
The man was vile. And I was about to teach him a lesson.
I held up my hands and fire bloomed from the palms. Wind boosted me, and my feet left the floor as I levitated, my body floating forward. Movement from the corner of my eye caught my attention and my gaze flicked to Easton for a split second. He was calling the wind, controlling it to keep me floating. I gave him a quick nod before refocusing on his father.
I called to water and the humidity in the room spiked as Easton’s wind began to swirl around me with ever-increasing speed. A smile curved my lips as Alwyn’s face filled with fear and he stumbled backward. He held up his palms in supplication, mumbling pleading words that I couldn’t hear.
I boosted the fire blazing at my palms, and the twirling wind caught the flames, creating one of my signature fire-tornadoes. The humid air in the room quickly heated, causing beads of sweat to roll down my forehead and temples. Electricity crackled around me and, with the wind whipping my hair and clothes, I was sure I was a frightening sight to behold.
Just what I was going for.
“You will never touch Easton again,” I commanded. “If I find out you’ve so much as breathed in his direction, I will strike you down.”
I punctuated the statement by conjuring a flash of real lightning. It zigzagged across the ceiling, not even
coming close to Alwyn, but it was enough to scare the piss out of him.
Literally. A wet stain bloomed across the front of his beige trousers, spreading down one leg. I wrinkled my nose in disgust. The man was a coward. He didn’t even try to fight back or protect himself.
“My protection also extends to his mother,” I said. “You will never mistreat her again, or use any threat against her to control Easton. If you do, I swear on all that is holy that I will kill you and free her of your pathetic presence forever. Do you understand me?”
I pushed forward, bringing my cyclone of fire close enough to make him flinch. His head bobbed repeatedly as he turned it away from the flames.
“I understand,” he shouted, the fear evident in his voice.
I nodded at Easton and reined my magic back in as the wind he’d conjured died out. As soon as my feet touched the floor, I stalked forward until I stood toe-to-toe with Alwyn Jameson. Rearing back, I let my hand fly toward him and crack against his tear-stained cheek. Then I backed away until the reek of urine no longer assaulted my nostrils.
“Leave this place, and never darken its doors again. When you get home, apologize to your wife and tell her to call her son. If he doesn’t hear from her by nightfall, you’ll answer to me.”
I stepped to the side and Alwyn rushed past me, his baby-blue wings popping out and propelling him through the door and down the hall. My body slumped with exhaustion, my knees buckling. Easton stepped forward, wrapping an arm around my waist before leading me to his bed. I plopped down with a sigh.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I know you wanted to handle him in your own way, but when I realized he hit you, I lost it.”
“Are you kidding?” he asked, his eyes wide with excitement. “That was amazing, December. You were amazing.”
I grinned. “You don’t think it was too much?”
He laughed. “It was perfect. I’ve never seen him so scared. It took everything inside me not to laugh and ruin the wrath of God vibes you were throwing his way.”
I sobered, my face falling. “I was so angry, I could have killed him.”
He sat down next to me, taking my hand in his. “I know.”
“Do you think he’ll mistreat your mom in retaliation?”
He shook his head. “I don’t think so. I think your threats were enough to keep him in line. At least, for now. Thank you, D.”
“It was nothing you wouldn’t do for me,” I mumbled.
“I only put up with it for her,” he murmured, scrubbing at his cheek. “I knew I only had to bear it until I become king. Then I’d have the power to do something about it, even if I had to issue a royal decree that they reside under my roof so I could keep an eye on him.”
“Does Finn know how he treats her?”
“No,” he said, shaking his head. “It would kill him, knowing he’d allowed such a monster to marry his only daughter. I’ve had to protect him from it.”
A hollow feeling bloomed in my chest at his words, and I realized he’d spent most of his life protecting the people he cared about from his own father. It was heartbreaking, thinking of Easton as a small boy, bearing the brunt of the vile man’s anger. Never knowing the safety of real love besides the scraps of affection his mother could dole out when his father wasn’t around.
I leaned over and kissed him with all the love I felt inside, hoping he could feel it. He wasn’t alone anymore, and neither was I. We would love each other. Protect each other with everything we possessed.
We no longer needed to bear our burdens alone.
I broke off our kiss and gave him a determined smile.
“Let’s go find Shaela.”
Chapter Ninety-Five
26
“Do you think they left the grounds completely?”
We’d searched everywhere. There was no sign of Shaela or her grandfather anywhere within the building. We walked out into the afternoon sunshine as I asked the question, shading my eyes so I could see the expression on Easton’s face.
“Maybe,” he said, but he didn’t look convinced. “Puck has too much riding on his position here. He wouldn’t just kidnap a student and leave before he’s done what he came here to do.”
“Maybe he has,” I offered as we walked around the corner to the side lawn. “Maybe his only goal was to get my father exiled and throw my life off-kilter. Maybe he only stuck around to mess with me for his own entertainment.”
“I don’t think so,” he replied, shaking his head. “Everything he’s done has seemed very purposeful. Besides, you’re forgetting about his meeting with that Zephyr Stark in the forest. Stark was collecting information, getting a status report from Puck for the queen. Whatever it is he’s up to, he’s not finished.”
“That’s it!” I shouted freezing in my steps.
“What?”
I clutched his forearm, my body humming with excitement and anticipation. The words tumbled out of me in a rush.
“The forest. My God, he left us a clue. It was there the whole time.”
“December, slow down. What are you talking about?”
“In Puck’s suite, I noticed a small tree branch on the table in the main room. It seemed strange. Out of place. But then Charles showed up and I got distracted and forgot all about it. Easton,” I said, tightening my grip on his arm, “he left it there on purpose. The bastard left us a clue to find him.”
“They’re in the forest,” he breathed.
Images of Shaela bound and gagged in the forest when Elias abducted her danced through my head, and by the look on Easton’s face, I could tell he was thinking the same thing.
“If he left us a clue,” Easton whispered, “it’s got to be a trap.”
“You’re probably right, but it doesn’t matter,” I said. “We have to find her.”
He nodded in agreement, and we turned as one and headed toward the edge of the forest. Without speaking, we both maneuvered through the trees to the spot we found Puck meeting with Stark. If he wanted us to find him, that would be the most logical place. Otherwise, we could search the woods for hours and not come across them.
I used my Glamour to muffle our footsteps as we approached the small clearing. I held little hope that we could sneak up on him—Puck always seemed to know when we were around—but the silence might help us hear them first.
“What do you think of this, Grandad? Isn’t it pretty?”
I nearly charged forward at the sound of Shaela’s voice, but Easton gripped my hand and held me back with a finger to his lips. We crept forward through the foliage, stopping behind the trunk of a large tree.
“Why, it’s lovely, my dear. What do you think, young Charles?”
I squatted down and peeked around the tree to see Shaela sitting on the ground with a lap full of wildflowers. She’d twined them into a crown, which she placed gently on her head.
“It’s almost as beautiful as she is,” Charles replied, and I spotted him next to Shaela, beaming up at Puck.
“Such a charmer,” Puck stated. “Wouldn’t you agree, Miss Thorne?”
I flinched, then heaved a sigh. I’d expected this. We’d never been able to get the drop on the wily bastard. I stood up and made my way into the clearing, Easton at my side.
“Let them go, Puck.”
Shaela jumped to her feet, her crown of flowers falling to the ground, all but forgotten. Her face twisted into an ugly mask of hatred as she pointed a finger at me.
“What are you doing here?” she demanded, her face turning red with anger.
“Shaela, please,” I begged. “Please listen to me. He’s using his Glamour on you to come between us. I need you to fight it.”
“Professor Goodman would never do such a thing to his own granddaughter,” Charles shouted in Puck’s defense. “You should leave. Now.”
“Oh, no,” I breathed.
He had Charles under his thrall, too. This was going to be harder than I thought.
“Charles,” I said carefully, “you know he’s b
een controlling her. And he’s doing it to you now. Try to break free.”
Charles took a menacing step forward, glaring at me like I was insulting his idol and he was going to shut me up. My magic gushed to the surface and flames burst from my hands. I didn’t want to hurt him, but I had to protect myself. Maybe I could scare him like I’d done Alwyn.
“Oh, for heaven’s sake,” Puck moaned, then gave a lazy clap of his hands.
The angry haze contorting Charles’s features cleared, leaving only a look of confusion on his face. He dropped his hands, which had balled into fists in front of him, and looked from us to Puck and back again. Then Shaela’s voice had everyone turning toward her.
“Grandad, what have you done?”
Her sorrowful tone nearly broke my heart. The pain in her eyes as she looked at him made my eyes sting. For the first time in weeks, Shaela was completely free of his spell. And the disillusionment was destroying her before my very eyes.
“Only what had to be done,” Puck sighed, answering her question.
“What does that mean?” Easton demanded. “What are you up to? The truth this time.”
I could feel the wobble in my center, that feeling that told me Easton was inadvertently using his power again. The power of command that he would have full control of once he was king.
“No need for that, son,” Puck said. “That is the reason I brought you all here. To clear the air, so to speak.”
“So start talking,” I gritted out.
Puck opened his mouth to respond, but before any words came out, a rustling in the forest behind me caught everyone’s attention. We all turned toward the sound on high alert, prepared for an ambush. We’d already assumed that this was a trap. Easton and I joined hands as the wind whipped around us and fire burned beneath my skin.
The magic died instantly as my father stepped into the clearing.
“Dad!” I shouted, dropping Easton’s hand and lunging toward my father, who wrapped me in his arms. “Where were you?”