Vicious Royals

by Margo Ryerkerk

“Wow, that was amazing,” Lily breathed.

  I gripped her hand harder and quickened my steps. “We need to get out of here before they come to their senses and come after us.”

  Lily nodded, her face shutting down. We didn’t speak as we climbed the stairs or when we washed off the red gunk from our clothes or when we did our homework. We remained silent through all of our evening activities, but I had the feeling that we and the hundred other fae students were all wondering the same thing.

  Would our minds and bodies survive this Yule?

  Chapter 4

  Nothing else happened for the next week, except that we fae got tasked with cleaning the cafeteria and washing all the tablecloths. Classes did not stop for Yule, which didn’t surprise me given Headmistress Cardinal’s relentless dedication to discipline. Peony went back to fluttering over to the twins’ table whenever she could, but they gave her the cold shoulder, leaving her to stalk back to where Kristen and Virgie sat. At least I could take a bit of joy from that.

  Virgie gave Lily and me no indication we’d ever had a friendship, aside from a small wave or two in the corridors. Lily, after seeing the hole I’d dug myself into with the twins, stayed beside me at all times as if she could protect me from them. While Lily, despite being a pureblood fae, couldn’t do magic so far as she knew, I was glad to have her by my side. The twins were ambush predators, tending to strike lone prey as they had with Virgie last term.

  When the twins got me alone again, they’d expect more than just seductive flirting. I'd have to defend myself. If my ice magic rose to the surface, the vamp students would have no problem choosing their sacrifice. A fae who could kill with ice was a threat the Elites would want to be eliminated. Lady Cardinal might even get money or magic gifts from the Summer Court fae once she told them she had avenged Preston.

  Thankfully, following Lily’s advice to lay low seemed to be working. The vamp students, who had many separate classes from us, often whispered in groups as if they wanted us to know they were choosing a sacrifice. But they showed no indication of who they were going to choose. Mei gave me a long stare that I didn’t like at the beginning of the tenth day, and for the first time, I hoped it was because she noticed I had spent too much time with Thorsten, much more than a fae should with a vamp guard. Getting punished for being too friendly was preferable to the alternative—her considering me for the sacrifice.

  “Everyone’s drifting apart,” Lily said on the morning of the twelfth and final day—the day of the Wild Hunt.

  She was right. A tense atmosphere had settled over the cafeteria. The vamp students hadn’t shown up for breakfast. They must be making their final decision on who the victim was this year. I’d taken top spot on the Placement Tests, but I’d also given that up for Lily. That made me a rebel, and the Wild Hunt, no matter what the students decided, was a way to get rid of the rebel.

  Lily had taken a position not meant for her, too. I’d seen her struggling with her homework every night despite being the Independent Study student. We were both at risk, no matter how low we kept our profiles.

  None of the fae in the cafeteria talked much. Groups of friends sat apart. No one wanted their heart broken when their friend was brutally murdered. I’d grown to hate the decorations still on the tables and around the fireplace.

  The teachers acted as if nothing was wrong all day. Candice led us through our lesson in Courtesan Studies about how to act if we were lucky enough to cling to our master’s arm at a fancy party, and what etiquette to use if he were to rent us out for the night. “Always remember that if you are rented out for an evening,” Candice said, “that you are not to allow anyone but your master to sample your blood. Many courtesans ask their masters to accompany them on such duties, or remain in the next room, in case the purchaser loses control.”

  I glanced around to gauge the others’ reactions on how they felt about being rented out like a piece of furniture. Apparently, I was the only one who felt anger. Most fae looked terrified while Virgie wore a bored expression. It seemed that she was still confident that she’d get to run a business and sell girls instead of being the one who was being sold.

  I stared at her for a long time, but she didn’t meet my gaze. Was this the end of our friendship now that Peony was back?

  By the time dinner arrived, a crazy hope that the vamps had canceled the Wild Hunt swept over me. The vamps were once again eating with us, sampling goblets of blood as they did every evening before they went out and hunted. Maybe they weren’t building up their hunger? The twins stuck to themselves and even Peony remained with Kristin and Virgie. Peony and Kristin were safe, it seemed. The vamps wouldn’t kill someone who could command a high price contract. And Kristin was Mei’s little spy. That earned her protection, too.

  There were close to one hundred fae students in the academy, and yet, I felt as if that only left Lily and me.

  We could barely eat our pulled pork. Lily tapped at her plate.

  “Eat,” I commanded. “We need the strength.”

  “I can’t.” Lily pushed away her plate. “I’m not getting the best grades in my classes right now. And the Independent Study fae is supposed to get the best grades. I’m failing.”

  Darkness settled over the cafeteria. At first I thought it was my mood, but then I realized the lights had dimmed. I turned my head to see that Kayden stood beside the dimmer switch. I hated the subtlety even more than the red lights from the prank.

  “Attention, all students!” Kayden announced as Kassius closed the cafeteria doors. “The Wild Hunt begins at moonrise! To honor Odin, we will continue an ancient tradition tonight. Fae, you are the hunted. Your job is to make it to the very top of the vamp student tower, where you will be marked safe.”

  Mutters floated around the cafeteria as we tried to process what we were in for.

  “They make it sound like a game,” Lily whispered.

  “Stick with me,” I said. If I had to, I’d use my ice to protect her. We'd make it to the top of that tower. Did that mean the last one up was the sacrifice? Or had they already chosen their sacrifice and just didn't want us to know?

  “Trying to hide is futile,” Kayden continued. “We will find you and we will take what is rightfully ours.”

  “There’s something they’re not telling us,” Lily said once we made it to our dorm. Moonrise was in one hour according to the lunar calendar I’d found hanging in the library.

  I nodded. “It was far too vague.” I could barely speak over the dryness in my throat as I shoved my homework under my bed. One of us likely wouldn’t live to hand it in to Lord Sullivan the next morning.

  Who else would the vamps pick to sacrifice?

  Lily and I waited around, too nervous to carry on a normal conversation. I rubbed my hand on her back but it did no good calming her down. She rocked back and forth.

  At last, the ominous gong went off, reverberating through the castle. The festivities had begun. We were in a real life horror movie, but unlike the dumb heroines who always investigated the dark basement when the power went out, we had no escape.

  Lily turned our light off. I could see nothing besides the stars and the moon that had risen over the horizon. The yellow orb peeked at us between the tall mountains.

  Silence ruled. Lily held my hand. I might have to out myself to save us. I would to keep us from becoming the sacrificial lambs torn to shreds.

  Ice gathered in my chest, and I welcomed it. I was not a lamb. I was a killer. If there was any time to use the darkness and evil lurking in my veins to my advantage, now was it.

  In the distance, someone banged on a door. And then another. Hinges creaked as the vamps began their rampage through the school. At least a few of them were hitting the dorms first, trying to find us cowardly fae who didn’t want to make the sprint to the vamp tower.

  “Lily, we have to try to get to the safe zone,” I said. Hiding was futile. We had to fight.

  She tightened her grip on my hand. “They’ve already chosen
their sacrifice. It’s probably a trap.”

  A fae girl screamed as a male shouted at her. The words were muffled. I dragged Lily to the door and opened it, using the noise to mask our exit. Whoever was going to be sacrificed was going to die no matter what. But I didn’t have the heart to tell Lily.

  Even those who weren’t going to die would suffer if they didn’t make it to the top of the vamp tower. The vamps might only be allowed to deflower one of us to keep our contracts high, but they could do other things to us. They could damage our bodies, break our souls, rip us apart, then mend our appearance with their blood, leaving our souls desecrated.

  “No,” Lily begged, pulling against me.

  “We have to go. Do you trust me?”

  Her teeth chattered, her eyes were wide, but she gave a tiny nod.

  “Follow me.”

  Few knew about the passage to the staff tower that was hidden under the teacher’s desk in Home Decor. Did the staff tower have an entrance to the vamp tower? Maybe. Maybe not. But hiding in that passage might buy us time.

  Or delay the inevitable.

  Our corridor was clear, and we bolted down the red-carpeted steps to the main floor as the shouts and bangs continued behind us. Then Lily screamed, and I froze behind her on the landing. Three vamps, two guys and one girl, sauntered up the stairs at us. Their red uniforms blended in with the carpet.

  “You have been hunted,” the girl said with a nasty grin. “Now give us something we want.”

  The two guys stepped forward, a redhead and a dark-skinned vamp who looked like he worked out during all his spare time. They both flashed their fangs.

  I stepped in front of Lily. How was anyone supposed to make it down the steps, let alone to the vamp tower? We weren’t. They were going to gorge themselves on us before ending the night in a kill.

  This was foreplay to them for the grand climax.

  I breathed in, letting the cold sweep through me.

  “Blood. Or an article of clothing,” the well-built vamp said. “Choose or we choose for you!”

  I shushed the ice begging to be released. This wasn’t too bad. It wasn’t worth exposing my powers.

  “I…” Lily started, moving her lips in silence.

  The vamps' plan was clear. They would either weaken us or make us strip on the way to the vamp tower. Both ideas were intoxicating to them. This was an all-night treat for the sickos. Fine, I could play that game. I lifted my foot and took off my shoe, handing it to the girl, who held out her hand, waiting until I gave her the second one. She rolled her eyes. “They always start with the shoes. Even the future courtesans. They’ve got a lot to learn.”

  I didn’t reply, but simply waited as Lily took off her shoes and handed them over. True to their word, the vamps stood aside, letting us continue our descent.

  Somewhere, someone screamed in pain. A male fae.

  Unless he was very stupid, it appeared that some vamps had done the choosing for him.

  Lily let out a mewling sound as she ran down the steps beside me. Most of the vamps seemed to have gone to the dorms first. We burst into the main room, the heart of the school, and stood under the grand chandelier. I eyed the entrance to the Outer Gardens. The temptation to jump off the cliff and into the lake below was high, but I wasn’t suicidal. No matter the time of year, we'd never make it.

  Two more fae joined us in the main room. One was missing her gray blazer. The other had sacrificed her socks. They didn't look at us. Down the left corridor was the way to the vamp tower. There would be more waiting for us. The vamps would drag this out all night until we were all butt naked and completely humiliated.

  “Onyx?” Lily’s voice trembled.

  Instead of replying, I tugged her into the Home Decor room, but just as we were about to enter, a hulking figure appeared in the doorway, blocking the way forward.

  “You’ve been hunted! Give me something I want. Both of you!” A vamp with large round earrings that widened his lobes eyed us hungrily. “It’s you,” he said to Lily and licked his lips. “The innocent. I should demand your blood, but the rules this year state you must have a choice until you have a choice no more. So your blood or a piece of your uniforms.”

  So that was it. Once stripped, we’d become blood bags. Perhaps the vamps hadn’t chosen their sacrificial lamb yet and would simply pick the last fae who arrived in the safe zone.

  My knees trembled. Hiding in the passage was no longer an option if there was even the tiniest risk that the vamps would find us. Our only hope was to make it to the top of the vamp tower as quickly and unscathed as possible.

  I took off my socks and handed them to the vamp, but he made a face and snorted in disgust. “Try again.”

  Not wanting to provoke him, I took off my blazer. Lily followed suit.

  “That’s the spirit.” He snatched the blazers from us, staring at our chests.

  I wanted to cross my arms, protect myself from his gaze, but that would probably only arouse him further. So instead, I put my socks back on, praying we’d meet a girl vamp next. The vamp grinned as I patted Lily’s back and urged her on.

  At least the vamp tower wasn’t too far from the Home Decor hallway. There was nothing left to do but make a run for it. The slower we moved, the more likely we’d end up hunted again.

  To my shock, no vamps stood at the entrance to the vamp tower. I thought of the big, round space at the top and shuddered. The richest vamps would be up there, and I hadn’t seen the twins yet. We ran up the spiral staircase and past the first floor, but when we got to the second—

  “Hunted!” A girl with sleek black hair jumped out from the corridor and onto the landing. Mei. Her nasty grin was bright in the pale light cast from the oil lamps, and her eyes had those red lines of hunger. But instead of flashing her fangs, she waved a bucket of a gooey, black liquid in front of us.

  The twins themselves flanked her.

  “Onyx, give us something we want.” Kassius winked. “You owe us, remember?”

  “Yeah. Where’s our feisty lay?” Kayden brought his index finger to his mouth as if thinking, then pointed at my crotch. “I’ll take your skirt, please.”

  Mei didn’t say anything, simply raised her eyebrows with impatience.

  A shudder went through me as I remembered how the twins had bitten into Virgie’s thigh, but then I remembered something else. The twins wanted me. They were playing with me, wanting to show me who was boss, but not planning to truly hurt me. If I played this right, I wouldn’t become the sacrifice.

  “I’ll take your top,” Kassius pointed at Lily’s chest, though his gaze was on my breasts.

  Heat flooded into my cheeks and tears gathered in my eyes, but I took off my skirt, leaving me in just my panties and white shirt.

  “Here you go, handsome.” I handed the skirt to Kayden, grateful that my breathless voice could be interpreted as flirty and not terrified out of my mind.

  Lily backed into the wall, and Mei tsked disapprovingly while Kassius advanced on Lily with a hungry growl.

  “Just give him your shirt,” I said tightly as ice surged into my limbs.

  Kassius grabbed the collar of Lily’s shirt and ripped it down the middle, sending the buttons flying before yanking it off her.

  “No!” Lily crossed her bare arms over her lavender bra and nearly flat boobs.

  Mei giggled. “Don’t worry, it’s not like you've got much to show anyhow.”

  Kassius snorted. “Very disappointing. Someone won’t command a high contract at all when she fails all her Independent Study classes.” He leaned forward and licked Lily’s neck, his gaze focused on me.

  I wanted to slap Kassius as more tears brimmed in Lily’s eyes. Stab him, but I couldn’t. Not now. Maybe if it had just been the twins, but not with Mei standing here. She wasn’t distracted. She was as sharp as a dagger. She’d figure it out.

  Talking of Mei…where had she gone?

  I turned just in time to see her lift the bucket.

  I lun
ged at Lily, shoving her to the ground, but it was futile. Tar rained down on us, the thick, warm mass covering and swallowing us. I shut my eyes and brought my palms in front of my face, shielding it.

  Mei laughed cruelly. “Better run, little sheep!”

  I grabbed Lily’s arm, hand slipping on the thick fluid. “We need to go.”

  She just stared at me, breathing quickly and shallowly. Mei and the twins backed away, ready to ambush the next victims.

  Using my upper body strength, I pulled Lily up. “We’re almost there,” I hissed and dragged her up the steps, trying not to overthink how the tar had managed to cover me from head to toe besides where it actually mattered—my breasts and crotch. My hair clung to me, and the stupid, vain part of me hoped it was salvageable.

  Lily wheezed next to me. “I want out. I just want out!”

  “We’ll be fine. If they were going to rape us, they wouldn’t have tarred us.” At least that’s what I kept telling myself.

  “I hope you’re right,” Lily whispered.

  More vamps waited for us on the third-floor landing. They held slashed pillows. Feathers. How unimaginative. Of course, the sudden onslaught of feathers stuck to us, making us look like livestock. Just like chickens ready to go to slaughter at any moment.

  But at least we had reached the top. The staircase opened up into a round room with red carpets and rafters above. Vines curled over the beams, blocking the view of the tower ceiling far above, and there were no vamps waiting up here. A few fae girls had made it before us, and they were just as sorry of a sight as we were. One was completely topless but still had her skirt on. Tar covered her chest. The other one must’ve sacrificed her underwear, because she held her skirt down low with her feathered hands.

  We were in the safe zone.

  All we could do was wait.

  As the minutes trickled by, more fae made it to the top. They were all panting and disheveled. Most stared at the floor. Some were crying.

  The large, round room slowly filled. The male fae didn’t fare any better than we had. One had lost his pants, probably taken by one of the vamp girls. Others spotted bruises and scratches. Their eyes were empty, their shoulders slumped forward.