People huddled together. No one spoke. Humiliation hung in the air.
Kirstin and Peony climbed the steps close to last, and the vamps had been no more kind to Peony than to us. She was in a matching set of lacy red underwear, but tar had splattered her blond curls, and her eyelid was ticking with nerves. Kristin was covered from her waist down with tar and feathers, her highlighted hair kindly spared by Mei in exchange for her spying duties.
Peony noticed me watching and glared back at me, eyes sparkling with malice and delight. That’s when I realized that almost all of the fae were crammed in the safe zone.
Except for one.
Lily grabbed my hand, her teeth chattering. “Where’s Virgie?”
Chapter 5
Vomit rose in my throat. Virgie was the last one. She had lost the game. She’d be sacrificed.
With bated breath, I watched as the vamps dashed up the staircase. They were laughing, smacking each other on their backs, chatting giddily. No remorse, no compassion whatsoever. Several of them held bras and panties, tokens of their victory while others had dried fae blood on their chins and shirts. One vamp guy was even using a bra as a bandana.
Virgie still hadn’t reached the top. Maybe she had gotten lucky, managed to find a hiding place the vamps didn’t know about.
But then Kayden and Kassius appeared, and my hope was dashed. In between them, they were dragging Virgie. Her head hung low, and she showed no signs of resistance. Her shirt was torn open, and her bra was missing, allowing everyone to see her breasts. Her legs were bare, only a black thong covering her privates. She was the only fae not covered in tar and feathers, her body kept pristine for the vamps’ pleasure.
“Let us be very clear, little fae—” Kayden flashed his fangs at all of us, “—that it is us who make the rules, not you.”
Kassius grabbed a chunkful of Virgie’s silky hair and tugged her head up. A guttural scream shot from her throat, and her eyes rolled back. Her throat moved in and out with her quick breaths.
“This one will be a lesson for all of you.” Kassius dragged Virgie closer to him, and she whimpered.
Ice gathered in my veins. What had these monsters done to Virgie already? I’d never seen her this terrified.
Kayden grinned widely and paced up and down in front of us. “You see, we made a handsome contract for this slut.” He jabbed his finger into Virgie’s sternum. “Daddy was going to gift her to us for our nineteenth birthday.” In a flash, he was next to Virgie, gripping her chin hard. “But this ungrateful skank had the audacity to go above our heads and talk to our dad, trying to make a deal with him.”
Kassius snorted. “She wanted to run a business for him. She actually thought she could whore other fae out while she sat prettily around, waiting for a rich vamp to marry her.” Kassius swung his hand far out and backhanded Virgie so hard, her head snapped back. She let out a blood-curdling scream. I dashed forward, but Lily’s small hand gripped my wrist, stopping me.
“Onyx, no! You’ll only make it worse.” Lily’s eyes swam with new, unshed tears as she dug her fingernails into me.
I took one breath and then another. She was right. If I defied the twins, they’d only get further enraged. Perhaps they would claim two victims or drag out Virgie's torment. I couldn’t take them on openly. Subterfuge was the only way to go.
“Virgie will be punished for her audacity and insubordination!” Kayden pinched Virgie’s breast hard, and the vamps cheered. The fae sat there, unmoving, frozen with fear. I wanted to shake them. Our numbers were as big as the vamps. Sure, the vamps had superior strength and agility, but we had magic. Even Peony could be a big help with the vines and plants hanging overhead. If only we banded together. But that was a thought for another day. There was no time to try and rally them now. Today, I was on my own.
Kassius ran his finger down Virgie’s throat. “To imprint on her for once and for all what her place in our society is, we invite every male and female vamp—” he winked at Mei, “—to punish or have their way with her before we all drain her dry!”
The vamps hollered.
The ice in my veins continued to gather to the point that not releasing it made my fingers ache, and yet, I had to hold it in. There were too many witnesses. A little bit of ice wouldn’t stop the vamps from finishing the Wild Hunt. And I couldn’t get them all.
With a racing heart, I knew it was time to put into practice what Candice had been teaching us for the last few weeks.
I took a step forward and raised my hand demurely.
Lily was shaking her head vigorously no. Kristen wrinkled her nose and whispered something to Peony, who was beaming, probably hoping I’d get myself killed. She cared nothing for Virgie. Virgie was only a pawn to her. A blizzard roared into my head, but I tensed, holding it back.
“Excuse me, Kayden and Kassius, may I ask a question?” I batted my eyelashes and pushed my chest out.
Kassius stepped forward and brushed his finger over my lips, showing me and everyone else who was in control. “Ah, Onyx, would you like to have some fun with Virgie’s body too?” He glanced at his twin. “Perhaps after all of us have their fun, we could let Virgie pleasure some fae before draining her?”
Kayden chuckled. “The night is young, so I don’t see why not!”
A bad taste rose in my throat. I might throw up, but that would ruin what I was trying to do. The other vamps hollered their approval, while fae shot me disgusted and horrified glares. Peony pretended to vomit into her hands. This wasn't going the way I planned.
“That is very generous of you.” I stepped closer to Kassius and made my voice breathy, which was the hardest thing I'd ever done. “But sacrificing Virgie would let her off the hook too easily, don't you think?”
Kassius’s forehead wrinkled, and his lips pursed. I had to tread very carefully, or I’d piss him off.
“Shouldn’t Virgie pay for the rest of her life for her haughtiness instead of just one night?” I tilted my head as Kassius glowered. “I mean, obviously, I don’t know as much as you do.” His expression softened at that. Ugh, men were so predictable, always loving weak females they could dominate.
“She’s just trying to protect this slut,” Kayden said.
A few of the vamps booed. I swallowed, knowing I would have to venture into terrifying, dark waters. Kayden glowered at me. Did he know I’d saved Virgie the last time they’d tried to assault her? I was on a tightrope. “This bitch,” I said, keeping my voice breathy and pointing to Virgie, who pulled against Kayden’s grasp, “ditched me for Peony.”
Virgie snapped her gaze to me. Her brown eyes were wide. Terrified. Angry. But a flicker of desperate hope followed.
I had to keep going. “I was a great friend to her and she just dropped me. She’s a user.” I slid my hand up Kassius’s chest, pausing just under his throat. “It seems she should live with her choice, don’t you think?” I trailed off, allowing him to claim my idea as his own. “Just like Blair, who also tried to leave me.”
I died inside as some of the fae behind me gagged in disgust. The summer prep fae remembered the whipping, the sale to Gregory Vulthus, and the humiliation Blair endured.
Kassius grinned widely. “Absolutely.” He joined his twin, who still held Virgie in place. “We’ll arrange a really appropriate contract for you, Virgie.”
Virgie took a deep breath. I watched the hope in her eyes die. She looked at the floor, hair hanging.
What had I done?
Kayden’s dark eyes flashed with cruelty as he whirled to face us all in turn. “New Wild Hunt rules. Do to Virgie whatever you want without taking her virginity. Have some of her blood, but don’t drain her completely dry.”
Virgie raised her head again. Hate lived in her dark eyes. I gulped. I had saved her life, but she’d still be raped and then probably sold to a brothel where the girls had to serve customers in the double digits every night. I had turned a quick death into an endless nightmare. She could’ve died relatively quickly. Now, her
torment would spread through the rest of her life.
I turned to the other fae for help, hoping someone would come forward. But the faces I saw didn’t promise aid. Peony muttered something. Lily held her hands over her mouth. The other faes' eyes were narrowed, their jaws set. I was a traitor. They hated me. They didn’t understand my real intent.
“Well done, Onyx,” Peony hissed viciously as the first male vamp stepped toward Virgie and the twins pushed her down to her knees.
The vamp, the one with the earlobe-widening earrings, undid his belt buckle.
The other vamps cheered.
The fae around me gasped, but no one did anything to stop the monster. They would watch as Virgie was assaulted repeatedly, blaming the vamps and me, refusing to take any accountability for their passivity.
Well, I couldn’t just stand by and do nothing. Even if I was about to sign my death warrant, I had to help. As the vamp fumbled with his pants, I sent out a sheet of ice under his feet, hardening the carpet and turning it into a death trap. He slipped and fell backward as I allowed the ice to melt. The other vamps guffawed.
“Cool your excitement, Blake!” Kassius yelled.
“Let someone more experienced go first,” Mei said. She studied me, probably for trickery, and I clasped my hands behind my back to hide their trembling. Had she seen what I had done? Either way, I couldn’t continue sending sheets of ice under every vamp’s feet. I needed to think bigger.
I glanced up at the clock. It was already seven in the morning. Sunrise was close and just on the other side of the shutters, which were above the doors and closed. But would it come fast enough for Virgie?
Another vamp, a meatball, stepped forward. “I’ll pop your back entrance cherry first.” He positioned himself behind Virgie and spanked her ass hard. “I need a table, something she can be propped up against,” he yelled, and two of his friends ran off to fetch it.
I turned to Lily. “We need to get the shutters. There must be a switch or a way to crank them open.”
Understanding illuminated her eyes, but then her face dimmed again. “They’ll never let us get to them.”
“They will. I’ll distract them. Can you—?”
“Yes.” Her lower lip trembled, but Lily's eyes hardened as she balled up her hands into fists.
I smiled at her. She was a true friend. She wasn’t the strongest or toughest, but she had the heart of a lion.
I surveyed the room, trying to find the perfect target. As much as I wanted to teach Mei a lesson, I knew not to rouse the viper. My gaze zeroed in on the vines decorating the rafters. If I could bring them down, I’d create an effective distraction. Plus, the vamps wouldn’t blame a magicless fae like me, but rather someone like Peony who had created a lot of the plant decorations and was known to be Virgie’s friend.
“Ready?” I whispered to Lily as the vamps returned with a table taken from one of the surrounding dorms. Lily nodded.
I gathered my ice, knowing I’d have to blast several, different points on the vines in rapid succession so that it was hard to trace back to where the attack had come from.
Kassius shoved Virgie’s upper body down on the table, pressing her face sideways and petting her cheek. Virgie closed her eyes and whimpered. Kayden produced a dagger, ready to shred her underwear. It was now or never. Tense silence dragged out. The vamps and fae alike were watching the nightmare spectacle and paying me no attention. I couldn’t wait any longer.
I aimed and released the icy vapor from my fingertip. Tiny daggers flew overhead. Once. Twice. Thrice. I blasted the vines hard and quickly, so that the frost only covered them for a second before they wilted and collapsed.
The room broke out into screams as the masses of plants crashed to the ground. One large stem hit a vamp in the head, knocking him out. A fae dashed aside only for a thick branch to strike her back and sending her flying face down to the ground.
I dodged to the side in the chaos, moving fast, hiding behind other fae, hoping no one spotted me moving my hands or the quick flashes of ice that ruined the thick plants. More vines rained down. But even if I destroyed all the decorations, the vamps would recover. What the hell was taking Lily so long? I didn’t dare to search for her to see her progress.
And then it happened. A ripping noise. A heavy whoosh. The creaking of shutters was the sweetest sound ever as they all opened at once, as pale, pink sunlight flooded the room. It wasn’t too strong, but the vamps let out screeches and several covered their exposed skin.
“Get security now!” a vamp yelled as the others darted out of the room like rats fleeing a sinking ship.
Lily grabbed my hand. She'd returned. “We need to get Virgie and leave!”
I shook my head, watching as the vamps bolted to the stairwell, trampling several fae in their wake. More screams rose as feet thundered down the steps.
“Let’s wait for the room to clear.”
“But they’ll call security,” Lily protested. “They’ll blame us.”
She had a point, but I didn’t want to get pushed down the stairs and break my neck when we had come so far. “Give it a minute!”
It didn’t take long for the vamps to leave, or for the humiliated, tarred and feathered fae to scurry out. Once only twenty or so fae remained in the room, Lily and I each grabbed one of Virgie’s arms. She was unable to stand and her eyes were empty with shock. Slowly, we made our way down the stairs. Virgie slumped in our grasps, dragging her feet. She was traumatized. Non-verbal. A shell of her former self. I wanted to see hatred. I even wanted her to spit on me. Anything.
We were on the second floor when our path was blocked by a hulking figure.
I looked up, and even though his menacing stance and artic eyes should’ve sent me running, all I felt was relief. “Thorsten,” I breathed.
He took Virgie from us, heaving her over his shoulder as if she weighed nothing. “Follow me.”
“No!” Virgie shouted, beating weakly against Thorsten’s back.
“It’s okay now,” Lily soothed, circling Thorsten.
Was it?
Instead of taking us down the staircase, he cut through the hall on the second floor, opening a narrow stone door that led to a curving, secret passage. All the other vamps had fled. Some had no doubt gone to Lady Cardinal's office. I followed him, too shaken to pay attention to the path we were taking or our surroundings as I wondered if I had gotten away with my stunt. Had I rescued Virgie or would the twins be back for her tomorrow?
Thorsten must’ve sensed that my brain wasn’t working any longer because he didn’t abandon us, but stayed with us until we emerged back in the stairwell of the fae tower and reached my and Lily’s dorm. He put Virgie on my lower bunk bed. There she sat, staring at the wall.
“Stay in and take care of her,” he said.
“Thank you.” I glanced toward the door. “What’s happening?”
His jaw clenched. “The guards are handling the situation.”
That probably meant they were manhandling the fae, blaming us. Had I once again made everything worse for everyone?
As if sensing my thoughts, Thorsten stepped forward, his gaze drilling into me. “You did the right thing. The Wild Hunt is an outdated, barbaric tradition. By watching it, everyone was participating. You stopped your classmates from becoming savages.”
I held the tears back. I wasn’t so sure. I wasn’t sure of anything anymore. All I had done was turn them against me. Maybe my Winter nature made me no better than the vamps.
Thorsten looked like he was going to say more, but then he shook his head and headed for the door. “Stay put until you can't anymore.”
Then he was gone, and my knees finally gave out as the horror of the night sank in.
Chapter 6
“I never reached the switch to open the shutters,” Lily confessed, picking yet another feather off her torn uniform. “It was behind a maintenance door just off the safe zone.” She shrugged. “I guess it makes sense. I bet the shutters are only opened
for cleaning, and the windows of the vamp tower are only there to serve as emergency exits.”
“Huh?” I asked, eyeing Virgie, who had passed out on my bunk bed. My stomach turned, thinking of what she’d face when she woke. And how furious she’d be with me. If I hadn’t interfered, her punishment would be over by now. Some things were worse than death.
“That guard, Thorsten, was there. He must’ve guessed what I was trying to do. I was afraid he’d stop me, but then he went into the maintenance room himself.”
“He opened the shutters?” I felt my jaw drop open.
“He must have. And then taken some hidden passage down to the second floor to intercept us.”
“They’re still going to blame us fae.” I began pacing the room. Thorsten had helped us. Again. And even though I was grateful, I was uneasy about his involvement.
“At least, they’ll have to blame us all since we were all in the same room together.” Lily chewed on her bottom lip. “If we’re lucky, they might blame it on a mechanical failure.”
I doubted that. “Not the vines.”
The gong went off, signaling breakfast even though it was Saturday and we weren’t supposed to have a schedule. The last time it had gone off during an odd time, Blair was to be whipped and punished. My knees shook, and I grabbed our shared dresser as Virgie, probably caught in a nightmare, groaned and thrashed, twisting in the blankets.
“We have to go down still tarred and feathered?” Lily stared at her skirt.
“Throw on something else. I bet everyone’s going to do the same, especially if Mr. Chad is down there.”
“Lily? Onyx?” Virgie rasped, her heavy eyelids fluttering half open.
“You’re safe,” I told her. I’d rescued her, but would she forgive me?
Virgie groaned, rubbed her head, and sat up as Lily threw on a red sweater over her tarred bra and skin. I pulled on a pair of worn, holey jeans I owned from the days I had lived with Mom.
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