by Wendi Wilson
This was all my fault.
I threatened Sebille. I made her look like a fool. I bested her more than once and now Easton was paying the price.
I climbed to my feet as renewed energy coursed through me. I paced in front of the desk, my eyes locked on that short, succinct note. I had to do something.
And I had to do it now.
I ran back up the stairs to prepare. With each step I took, the plan I was forming in my mind solidified a little more. As did my resolve to see it through.
Once I was closed off in my room, I methodically undressed and changed into a pair of stretchy workout pants and a snug-fitting tank top I borrowed from Shaela’s chest. I needed clothes that gave me freedom of movement, but also had no flowing edges that could get in the way.
I slipped on some socks and a pair of comfortable shoes, then grabbed the note from my bed where I’d dropped it. Flipping it over, on my night stand, I grabbed a pencil and jotted out a message for Shaela.
I told her I had to do this, and that I knew she’d understand. I asked her to explain things to my parents and to please take care of Blossom while I was gone. I signed it with a “D” and dropped it on her bed. Sticking my fingers through the bars on Blossom’s cage, I scratched her head and murmured a few soothing words to her.
I strode to the door, feeling confident in my decision. It didn’t matter what happened to me, as long as Easton was safe. He was the important one, not me. As interim and future king, the Sylphs needed him, and I couldn’t let Sebille hurt him, or worse, when there was such an easy solution.
All I had to do was hand myself over to her.
My steps stuttered a little, uncertainty plaguing me as I wondered if she’d really uphold her end of the deal and let Easton go once she had me. Picking up the pace, I decided to cross that bridge when I came to it. The one thing I knew for certain was that the longer I made her wait, the worse things were going to get for him.
It was still dark and, though I never actually checked the time, no more than a few hours could’ve passed since the Zephyr attack. If I moved quickly, I could reach the city before Sebille had a chance to hurt Easton at all.
That’s what I kept telling myself as I jogged back down the stairs to the great hall.
The place was deserted, and the gaping hole in the outer wall was all patched up like it had never been there. Magic sure made things easier…except when it made them harder.
I thought about my time at the academy, about how my magical abilities had scared the other students. How my Zephyr side, and what they all considered dark magic, had made them shy away from me. Only those close to me had believed I was good. That my magic was not evil.
People like Easton, who was suffering God-knew-what because of me. Because I existed.
I headed straight for the main entrance, pulling open the huge wooden door and slipping out into the night. I obviously didn’t have a car, or any other means of transportation, so I was going to have to fly. I popped my wings out and bent my knees, preparing to launch myself into the sky.
“December, wait!”
My father rushed down the steps toward me as the rest of my family poured out of the building. Mom, Shaela, Charles, and even Freya darted behind Cris, and despite the darkness of night, I could see their matching panicked expressions.
“What is it?” I demanded. “What’s happened?”
“What’s happened?” Shaela barked, holding up the note I left her. “What’s happened is my idiot best-friend-slash-cousin thought she could just take off and hand herself over to Sebille like it’s no big deal. That’s what’s happened.”
“I have to,” I argued. “She’s going to hurt Easton because of me.”
“December,” Freya said, moving to the front of the group to stand directly in front me. “I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but you have to know—giving yourself over to Sebille is not the answer.”
I was shocked that Easton’s mother, of all people, would disagree with me. I stared at her with wide eyes, noting the grief and fear, but also the determination in her expression.
“But Easton—”
“Was taken because he’s the acting king,” she finished, “not because you love him.”
“I know my mother,” Dad said, moving in to place a warm hand on my shoulder, “and that note was only meant to draw you out. If you go alone, she will take you. She’ll have you and Easton, which means she will have all the power.”
“The Sylphs will fall,” Mom added, “with the help of my own father.”
I could tell by the sorrow clouding her expression that she’d seen Puck just as I had. Free as a bird, as the humans used to say, flying side-by-side with the Zephyrs. I shot her a sympathetic look before turning back to Dad.
“If I don’t go, she’ll kill him.”
“If you do go, she’ll kill you both,” he replied. “We’ll get him back, December. We will. We just need to form a solid, fool-proof plan that will get us in and out without sacrificing you.”
“Easton would kill you, himself, if he knew you were even thinking of doing this, D,” Shaela added.
“Yeah, then he’d kill the rest of us for letting it happen,” Charles added.
My head knew they were right, but my heart urged me to keep arguing. That I had to be the one to save Easton, just as he’d done for me so many times before. I looked at the faces of my friends and family, at the worry and fear etched across their features, and I realized that if I took off and turned myself over to the Zephyrs, I was not the only one who’d be affected.
They all loved me as much as I loved them. They loved Easton, too. And because we all loved each other, together, we were unstoppable.
“Okay,” I said in surrender, “what’s the plan?”
Chapter One Hundred Nineteen
21
“I didn’t want to say anything in front of the others, but I don’t know if this is going to work.”
Shaela and I were sitting on our floor while Blossom hopped around between us. She wore a pained expression as she said those words, like she feared my reaction. But I wasn’t going to argue with her. I had the same doubts.
“I know,” I said, stroking Blossom’s silky ears. “Every time we’ve tried to surprise her, she’s one-upped us. It’s like she always knows when we’re coming.”
After my attempt to run, we’d sat down as a group and tossed around ideas, forming a shaky plan to storm Sebille’s headquarters and get Easton back. My dad seemed confident about it. He knew that part of the city and the high rise Sebille lived in like the back of his hand, and he was convinced he could get us in and out with none the wiser.
The problem was, when we tried before, we never even made it to the building. Sebille always set a trap and ended up being the one surprising us.
“Of course,” I said, a thought occurring to me, “she doesn’t have her little spy to tell her we’re coming anymore.”
“Well, not that we know of, anyway,” Shaela sighed.
I cocked my head, studying her face. She shrugged and shook her head.
“We had no idea Aubrey was a Zephyr and she’d been here for years. Who’s to say there’s not another one?”
While I didn’t want to even consider the possibility, I knew she was right. Any of the students, or staff for that matter, could be secretly passing information to the Zephyr queen. If that were true, we were screwed.
“Do you think he’s okay?” I asked, my voice cracking with fear.
“I do,” she said. “December, he’s strong and smart. He will survive this. I know he will.”
I wanted to feel her confidence, I really did, but I’d had my fair share of run-ins with Sebille. I knew what she was capable of. Killing the future king of the Sylphs would be not only satisfying, but a great coup for her side of the war. And with Finn incapacitated…we would be left floundering.
Anger spiked through me at the thought of her hurting him. My magic rose up inside me with the emotion, and
I reveled in it. This was good. I needed to stop wallowing in my fear and grief. If we were going to get Easton back, I needed to be strong.
I’d already proven I could stand toe-to-toe with Sebille. I’d driven a lance of fear straight into her heart, made her run like her hair was on fire—literally. And now that I had both of my parents by my side, she had even more to fear.
My lips turned down at the thought. I pulled my knees up to my chest and wrapped my arms around them before looking back at Shaela.
“Do you think Grandfather told her about Mom?” I asked.
Sebille knew my father’s touch amplified my power. She’d seen it, firsthand. But she didn’t know my mother was here, and she didn’t know that her touch, combined with my father’s, made my power spike even higher. Ellie’s anonymity was a huge advantage.
Shaela shook her head. “I don’t know, D. I still can’t believe it. How could he have tricked us like that?”
I didn’t have an answer for her. I’d come to trust Puck completely, and I was devastated by his betrayal. My brain was still having a hard time processing it. Especially after we spoke of loving each other.
“What if he’s not really with her?” Shaela asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, he was here during the attack, obviously, but what if he was trying to stop it? He could have been maintaining his cover while secretly trying to thwart her plan. When it succeeded anyway, he had to go back to watch over Easton.”
“That’s a nice thought, Shae, but he had to have been helping. Someone had to have lured Easton out so she could grab him. Someone he trusted to be on his side.”
I’d heard from a few witnesses that Easton had been in a closed meeting with the council. Then he’d taken off just before the attack started. Several students witnessed him running outside, a wild look in his eyes, and that was the last anyone had seen of him until Sebille and her minions made a show of flying away with him in their custody.
“You could be right,” she acquiesced. “Or you could have it all wrong. Easton would rush right into the belly of the beast if he thought you were in trouble. You know that, D.”
“But why would he think I was in trouble?” I countered. “Everyone that saw him said he ran outside before the attack. Why would he do that? What would make him freak out, leave a council meeting, and run outside?”
“I don’t know,” she admitted.
“Well, I do. Someone said something to him. Or sent him a message,” I said, giving her a meaningful look. “And whatever it was scared him enough to make him lose his common sense and run right into Sebille’s waiting grasp.”
She cocked her head, pulling her eyebrows down low.
“If Sebille already had Easton, then why did she blow a hole in the school? She could have avoided all risk and took off with him, then sent us a ransom note or something.”
“That’s an easy one—she’s a total bitch. The more damage to us, the better. Plus, someone had to get inside to leave that nice little handwritten note.”
I stood and picked up Blossom, scratching her behind the ears before placing her back in her cage. I turned and plopped down on the edge of my bed, my eyes looking at Shaela, but not really focused. I was trying to imagine storming Sebille’s stronghold and rescuing Easton, but even in my daydreams, Sebille knew we were coming and was ready for whatever we threw at her.
Shaela pulled herself up off the floor and sat down beside me, linking her elbow through mine before interlacing our fingers. I shot her a grateful smile and squeezed her hand. I hoped she knew how much I loved her and how lucky I felt to have her in my corner.
“I’m heading out to the dining hall to grab some dinner with Charles. Wanna come?” she asked, nudging her shoulder against mine.
“No, thanks. I’m not hungry.”
She arched a disbelieving brow at me and I chuckled. We both knew I never turned down food. Not after the virtual starvation I suffered my whole life before coming to the academy.
“If you say so,” she said with a smile before giving my hand one last squeeze and releasing it.
She stood and started for the door, but paused and turned when I called her name.
“Thanks,” I said. “For, you know, everything.”
“Of course,” she said, grinning. “Besties for life, right?”
“Besties for life,” I repeated, my words sounding like a solemn vow.
Chapter One Hundred Twenty
22
After Shaela left, I decided to go visit Finn. Hopefully, Freya would be there, and I could make sure she was okay. Easton’s abduction had to have been a devastating blow. He was her only child, and they’d been apart for far too long already.
Easton would want me to take care of her.
I swept into Finn’s office, bracing for the impact of seeing the empty desk. With Finn incapacitated and Easton gone, there was no one running the school. No one ruling the Sylph community.
But I was not prepared for what I did see. The desk was occupied, and not by a member of the Oberon family.
“What do you think you’re doing?” I snapped, striding forward with anger nipping at my heels.
“It is common courtesy to knock before entering a room.”
The sneer that accompanied Alwyn’s condescending tone made me want to conjure up one of those ice spears and stab him in the ass with it.
“This is not your office,” I gritted out between clenched teeth. “That is not your desk. You shouldn’t be here.”
“Do not fool yourself into thinking you have any power here, half-breed,” he said, his tone low and menacing. “Just because you are my son’s plaything of the month doesn’t make you his equal. Or mine.”
Plaything? Was he joking? And did he just tell me I didn’t have any power?
He was delusional if he thought he had more power than me—in any sense of the word.
My anger at him and that which I held for the whole situation got all mixed up together, then combined with my grief and worry and formed a heavy knot of emotion that roiled inside me, begging for release. And Alwyn Jameson made the perfect target for that release.
I raised my hands and directed the power there, smiling briefly as I wondered if I could make him piss himself again. Electricity crackled across my skin as a light breeze ruffled my hair. Alwyn must have felt it, because he looked up from whatever he was working on at the desk.
His eyes widened, and his mouth fell open with shock. I lit a fireball in one palm, making it rage toward the ceiling for a moment before settling back into an orange-sized ball.
“You wouldn’t dare attack me,” he breathed, like he was trying to convince himself more than me.
“Wouldn’t I?” I countered.
He opened his mouth to respond, but before he could, the door to Finn’s bedroom swung open and a very frazzled-looking Freya poked her head out.
“December? Is that you?”
At the sight of her, I let the magical energy drain out of me. Ignoring Alwyn’s sigh of relief, I hurried toward her. I pushed into Finn’s room and pulled her toward me so I could swing the door shut and block Alwyn from following us.
My eyes traveled over her, noting her puffy, tangled blonde hair, sallow skin, and the dark circles under her eyes. Her clothes were wrinkled, and she smelled like sweat and sorrow.
“Freya, are you okay?” I whispered. “He’s not…mistreating you again, is he?”
“Who? Alwyn? No,” she muttered, turning and heading back to her father’s bedside as she spoke. “I’m not even here, as far as he’s concerned, which is how I prefer it.”
She met my eyes, a little bit of a twinkle in their blue depths as she added, “Thank you, again, for that.”
“How is he?” I asked, ignoring her thanks and focusing on Finn.
“The same,” she said, taking a seat in the padded chair beside the bed. “I haven’t left his side in two days, which is why I look like hell. I just can’t bear to leave him. Not
after…”
Her words trailed off, but I knew what she meant—she lost her son, so keeping Finn in her sights was her way of keeping him from disappearing, too.
“I’ll stay here with him if you want to go get cleaned up and maybe get some food.”
“No, I don’t want to impose,” she said, shaking her head.
“Freya, you’re no good to Finn or anyone else if you waste away. You need to stay strong. Go. I promise, I’ll keep him safe while you’re gone.”
Her lips curled upward as she nodded and stood. Moving around the chair, she stopped in front of me and laid a palm along my cheek.
“You are a good girl, December Thorne. Selflessness and generosity are just as important as strength and power. My son is a lucky man, for you have them all. You two are a perfect match.”
With a light pat to my cheek, she turned and left without waiting for a response. Which was probably a good thing, since she’d rendered me speechless.
I sat down in the chair she’d vacated and reached over to squeeze Finn’s hand that rested against his chest. His fingers were warm, yet lifeless. I tightened my grip for a moment, hoping he’d mimic the act or give some sort of sign that he was still in there somewhere.
Nothing happened.
My eyes burned with emotion, but I bit back the tears, determined to show some of that strength Freya had talked about. I wanted to be worthy of her words. And her respect.
“Hey, Finn. It’s me. December,” I began, my words stilted and unsure.
My jaw clenched and my eyes pinched shut as I silently berated myself for my awkwardness. I needed to be strong and confidant. I needed Finn to hear me and come out of this coma. I, along with his family and the entire Sylph community, were lost without him.
Taking a deep, calming breath, I started to speak.
“It’s so nice to have Freya here, isn’t it? I bet you’ve missed her all these years. She’s been by your side the whole time. She needs you, Finn.”
I watched his face as I spoke, praying for some sort of sign. A twitch of the eyelid. A tightening of the lips. When nothing happened, I decided to pull out the big guns.