Vicious Royals

by Margo Ryerkerk

  Virgie coughed. “I have to get out of here.”

  My chest ached as I thought back to my own attempt to escape. “Stick with us,” I said, hating that I sounded like I was begging. “We’ll do what we can to keep you safe.”

  Virgie shuddered as I tossed her a sweater, which she greedily threw on over her torn top. Her eyes were empty. Dead. She stared at the wall as she stood and absently pulled on a pair of my pants. “I can’t. She’ll...she’ll…”

  “Who?” I blurted. “Mei? Did she set this up?” Who else would know about the contract Virgie tried to make with the twins’ father, other than the twins themselves? Mei had been looking right at me.

  “I…never mind.” Virgie threw the door open and fled without another word, as if being caught with us would mean her death.

  “We need to go after her,” Lily said.

  I nodded, dizziness sweeping over me. What if the vamps decided to finish the Wild Hunt, even though it was officially over?

  We dashed down the staircase past the other fae hurrying toward the dining hall. Everyone had changed into whatever spare clothing they had, and one fae girl had wrapped a blanket around herself. No one had escaped the Wild Hunt unscathed. The dining hall was full, but only with fae students, and the tables had been arranged in rows that faced the front of the room. Virgie had gone to sit with Peony and Kristin once again, staring straight ahead. Peony scooted closer to Virgie as if protecting her. Was Peony playing both sides? Or merely willing to help Virgie when it didn’t cost her anything?

  Either way, I hated seeing that snake next to Virgie. Anger gathered in my chest, forming icy daggers in my limbs that begged for release. Lily and I were the only ones who tried to help Virgie, yet it looked like Peony was the one getting the credit.

  As Lily and I filed toward the end of the room, closest to the exit door, Peony caught my gaze and smiled as if she’d scored a victory. Her hollowed cheeks still hadn’t recovered from her stint in the dungeons and made her look like a madwoman. I didn’t like the glint in her eyes.

  Was Virgie scared of Peony?

  Did Peony have a hand in how the Wild Hunt had gone down?

  Before I could share my suspicion with Lily, Lady Cardinal strode into the room. A few guards flanked her, and Lord Sullivan and Mr. Chad trailed her.

  Even though it was breakfast time, the canteen was empty of food. Clearly, this was a punishment meeting.

  “Students.” Lady Cardinal tapped her stick against her open palm. “We have now had several suspect incidents here at Nocturnal Academy. First, our Home Decor fae staff member goes missing. Second, someone attempted to harm our vampire students earlier this morning. The switch to the shutters of the vampire tower was flipped shortly after the plant decorations fell and injured several students. Thankfully, the sunlight was not strong enough to cause lasting harm, but several vampire students are in the infirmary this morning. Most are resting from this abuse.”

  I clenched my fists under the white tablecloth. Really? She was going to portray the darn vamps as the victims here? I forced myself to breathe. Outside the castle, a wind began to howl. A mountain storm. Fantastic, like this meeting needed to get any more ominous.

  “The guards have not been able to figure out who flipped the switch. Therefore, I will ask each one of you in turn if you did it. I will only accept yes and no answers.” Lady Cardinal grinned, knowing most of us couldn’t lie. “Any other answer will earn you a month in the dungeons, if you are lucky.” Then she turned to the first fae, a redhead, and asked, “Did you flip the shutter switch?”

  “No.”

  Lily cringed. I leaned close. “You technically didn’t do it,” I reminded her.

  She let out a breath of relief.

  “Kristen. Did you flip the switch?”

  “No.”

  “Peony. Did you turn the switch or cause those plants to fall?”

  She stiffened as a flash of animal fear filled her eyes. “No.”

  At her answer, people muttered. And Lady Cardinal smacked the stick so hard against her palm that the noise earned silence.

  “Onyx? Did you open the shutters?”

  For once I praised my half fae heritage. “No.”

  “Lily?”

  “No.”

  After Lady Cardinal had exhausted us all, she turned to face a disappointed Mr. Chad. “The fae do not receive food today. They are to spend the day washing their uniforms and any laundry the vampires have. Then they will clean the mess they’ve created during the Wild Hunt.”

  I groaned, remembering the nasty staircase covered in tar and feathers. Mr. Chad grinned, probably imagining himself positioned behind us as we leaned forward, fantasizing about all kinds of gross things while we cleaned.

  Outside, wind howled once again with an oncoming blizzard.

  “And there is one more thing,” Lady Cardinal announced. “We must begin another investigation. There is still the matter of Prince Preston Kallan’s disappearance, and we are still seeking a new Home Decor teacher. But before we hire a new face, we must provide an answer to the Summer Court, or we will risk another incident with a fae like Petra.”

  I shuddered. Lady Cardinal had known the real Ms. Rutherford for centuries and had been disturbed by the death of her important ally. The real Ms. Rutherford probably got paid to convince the Summer Court to look the other way when it came to the fae abuse in this world. At least, that was my theory. The headmistress had her own reasons for finding whoever had killed Preston, which made the investigation so much more dangerous. I wanted to scoot closer to Lily, but resisted.

  “I will be interviewing students, one by one, over the next couple of weeks, and in alphabetical order,” Lady Cardinal announced. “Even those of you who are half fae will be compelled to offer me the truth.” She grinned, and I knew she’d use her blood crystal, a magical device that enhanced the mind control powers of vamps.

  I shifted in my chair, knowing from experience that I would not pass the test. She might even take the chance to ask me about the shutter incident, too.

  Headmistress Cardinal turned her eyes into slits as she paced before us. “So, if you have knowledge of why Preston has vanished, causing Petra to kill Ms. Rutherford, you can go to sleep every night dwelling on the punishment that awaits you.”

  Chapter 7

  As I dipped my uniform in the washbasin down in the laundry room, I ran the calculations in my head. It would take Lady Cardinal two weeks to interview everyone.

  She’d go from A to Z, probably by last name. As an L, I was roughly in the middle. That meant I had about a week before I’d be at her desk, where she’d force the whole horrible truth out of me.

  And shortly after that, I’d be lucky to die.

  “Onyx?” Lily asked at the basin beside me. “Are you all right?”

  “No.” A tremor came over my body, and the walls of the dim, humid laundry room seemed to close in. There was only one shot at surviving the interrogation, and that meant going to Thorsten and possibly putting us both at risk.

  The day dragged on forever. The guards made us hand wash our uniforms and the vamps’ dirty clothes, which included a lot of stained underwear that I tried not to examine too closely. After we were done, we had to mop, vacuum, and scrub the floors, a task that seemed impossible given how hard it was to clean off the tar and feathers.

  By the end of the day, my back was aching all over, and I was shaking from hunger pains. But like the other fae, I didn’t dare to sneak into the kitchen. If the vamps had decided not to feed us for a day, it was best to comply, rather than risk a lashing or the dungeons. I could do a day without food, even if it was incredibly uncomfortable.

  My legs shook, my vision swam, and dizziness wrapped itself around me like a second skin. Yet, I couldn’t go to bed after we had finally been dismissed at nine P.M, putting in over thirteen hours of unpaid labor. The only good thing about the day was that the other fae had been too exhausted from the work and hunger to even glare a
t me.

  As much as I wanted to collapse into bed, I had to find Thorsten and get him to help me avoid Headmistress Cardinal’s blood crystal. I didn’t exactly know how I would convince him or what he could do, only that I had to try.

  I waited in the main corridor, pretending to pick dirt and soap from under my nails, hoping for a sighting. Guards often patrolled around the center of the castle.

  When I saw a blond guard emerge from the darkness of the History corridor and then walk around the corner toward Home Décor, I waited a minute, then followed him into the shadows. I wasn’t even sure if it was Thorsten. Given the strange dots dancing in front of my eyes, I might’ve imagined him completely. Still, despite this, I allowed my legs to carry me toward Home Décor, removing my shoes to avoid making too much noise. The last thing I needed was to alert other guards of my presence. Or this guard, if he turned out not to be Thorsten.

  The classroom door was open an inch. I was about to push through it when a voice from the inside rang out.

  “I could make your time here much more enjoyable.”

  I groaned. The high-pitched voice belonged to Peony. What was she doing in Home Decor? Would I ever get rid of this bitch?

  “I’m not interested,” Thorsten growled and I perked up, relief washing over me that I had found him. And better yet, he was rebuking Peony’s advances.

  A giggle from Peony followed. “Trust me, I’m not like the other girls you had. I’m special, and I’ll even let you drink my blood. Imagine how high you could get off my magic.”

  Holding back a gag, I peered through the door. Thorsten was standing behind the teacher’s desk and Peony was on the other side, leaning forward, probably pushing her breasts up and together, and sticking out her ass. And she called me a slut. This was the first time I’d seen her trying to come on to a staff member this hard. What had the dungeons done to her? Peony had come back, multiplied by ten.

  Thorsten held up a hand. “No, thank you. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve come here to grade some papers.” He sat down at the table and opened a thick folder, showing Peony that this conversation was over.

  “Thorsten,” Peony purred, and waited.

  Should I go in? Ask Thorsten about an assignment? Helping him get rid of Peony might score me some extra points, but it would also make her hate me even more. But perhaps I could get her out without her knowing I was here. Peony was wearing only her skimpy shirt and her legs were naked. Clearly, she had no worries that the twins would have their way with her. Perhaps they’d already had her in all the ways they could without diminishing the price of her contract. Or maybe they simply didn’t want someone who was that desperate. Either way, I could work with her half nakedness.

  “Peony, leave. I need to focus on these papers,” Thorsten growled.

  I gathered the ice into my fingertips, ignoring the fresh wave of dizziness that swept through me at the tiny effort. I pointed into the room, half expecting a blade to form in front of my fingers, but a cold gust formed instead. Wind whistled into the room, nearly shoving Peony off her feet. She wobbled and gasped. “This stupid blizzard outside. Would you mind lending me your jacket?” She circled the table to Thorsten’s side.

  He shook his head, his face marred with disgust. Gathering his papers, he rose. “For the last time, I’m not interested.” He strode toward the door, and I pushed myself into an alcove, still holding my shoes.

  Thorsten didn’t notice me as he walked past me. I thought about giving him a few minutes to cool down before following him, but then my attention was drawn back to the Home Décor room and the two voices whispering inside. Peony wasn’t alone. I hadn’t seen Kristen. Perhaps Kristen had been hiding in there ahead of time. Thorsten hadn’t given any indication of having seen her.

  “Mei won’t be happy.” Kristen sighed heavily. “Seduce him, already.”

  “I did my best,” Peony hissed back. “But this was just my first try. I can try again.”

  Kristen snorted. “I don’t think so. I’ve seen plenty of horny vamps. He isn’t interested in the least.” Kristen’s shoes clicked as she neared the door, and I flattened myself into the wall.

  Peony ran after Kristen. “Please. Ask Mei to give me another chance. I’m worth it. So what if he doesn’t sleep with me? We can find another way to get him indebted. Fae contracts are binding if made with a pureblood.”

  Interesting. Mei needed Thorsten, and she was using Peony to get to him while Kristen was her spy. Sure seemed like Mei was going through a lot of trouble. What could a Hong Kong vampire heiress want from the Steinbergs?

  “We’ll see,” Kristen said haughtily as she walked down the corridor, Peony running to catch up. Clearly, Kristen was enjoying being Queen B for once. Their little exchange also explained why the twins hadn’t picked on Peony during the Wild Hunt. Mei had vouched for her. Mei was protecting both fae’s hides.

  I decided to wait for a few more minutes in case anyone else was involved. My upper body was too heavy to hold up, so I slid down the stone wall.

  I must have dozed off because I awoke to a hand on my shoulder, shaking me. My back and legs were cold. The blizzard outside was invading the whole building.

  “Onyx.” There was urgency in Thorsten’s voice.

  I blinked my eyes open as he shone an oil lamp into my face. “What are you doing here?” The light fell on his face, making him look like a dream. My stomach rumbled and a headache started between my ears from the lack of food.

  So he had noticed me when he left the room. Or perhaps he had smelled me.

  “Onyx?”

  Right, he had asked me a question. I blinked again, trying to remember. “I had to talk to you, but you weren’t alone. Kristen was spying while Peony was throwing herself at you.”

  He sighed. “I can’t say I’m surprised.” He glanced around. “We can’t be seen together. You need to go back to your dorm.”

  I grabbed his hand, remembering the rest I had overheard. “Mei wants to bring you down. She wants to catch you with Peony.”

  His jaw tightened, but there was no surprise in his blue eyes.

  “Why does she care so much about you?”

  Thorsten shook his head. “That’s a story for another day. You need to go to bed.” He took my hands and pulled me gently up to my feet.

  I brushed a hand through my disheveled hair, wondering how he always managed to look so put together when I was constantly a mess. “There’s something else.”

  Thorsten glared at me impatiently.

  I hoped he didn’t think that I too was trying to come on to him. No, I was much worse. I didn’t have anything to offer for the favor I was about to ask of him. I wrung my hands. “Headmistress Cardinal will use her blood crystal to question every fae about Preston’s disappearance.”

  Thorsten’s throat bobbed up and down as his pupils dilated. He knew what that meant. He had helped me dispose of Preston’s body.

  “And you’re telling me this because?” His sharp voice sent shivers through me.

  I swallowed hard. His patience and generosity had finally run out. “I don’t know what I can offer you in return. I promise to do everything to find out what Mei, Kristen, and Peony are up to and why they’re so obsessed with you. I know it’s not anywhere near enough—”

  “No, it’s not.” He cut me off.

  My stomach dropped. Was he telling me he wouldn’t help me?

  “But I’ll see what I can do.”

  “Thank you.” I’m in your debt forever, I added silently, unable to speak the words even though they were the truth.

  “Keep your head low. Go about your days as usual. Don’t seek me out. I’ll find you if I have to.”

  “Right.” He wanted to keep our contact to a minimum, wanted to see me as little as he had to. Why did that hurt so damn much? I didn’t want to think about it. Didn’t want to consider how helpless, inadequate, and foolish I was in his eyes. I needed to distract myself. “You must at least have a clue about why Mei is so
interested in you.”

  His shoulders tensed. “The Wus have an issue with the Steinbergs.” Before he could continue, faint footsteps sounded from the end of the corridor, and Thorsten gave me a nudge. “Go.” He wouldn’t tell me more. Not tonight. Maybe not ever.

  As he disappeared into the Home Décor room, I had to admit that Thorsten Steinberg was a mystery to me while he knew everything about me. He was the one who had the upper hand in this relationship. We’d never be equals. He’d never see me as an individual. I was that fae he was helping, and nothing more.

  Chapter 8

  How on earth was Thorsten going to help me if he planned to stay away? Was he going to sneak into Headmistress Cardinal’s office and exchange her blood crystal for another, identical-looking one? That was a difficult task that seemed impossible after the twins’ blood crystal had vanished. Lady Cardinal would no doubt be looking after hers like a hawk.

  Thorsten seemed to already be on shaky ground. Why help me and put himself into an even more dangerous position? Me keeping an eye on Kristen, Mei, and Peony wasn’t going to solve whatever problems he had. Once again, I wasn’t providing anywhere near the value he was giving me.

  I hated always being a step behind, hated being weak. Was that what the rest of my life would be—subterfuge, if I were lucky?

  I didn’t see Thorsten at all on Sunday, but at least we got fed again. Fae stuffed their faces with pancakes and scrambled eggs, and I was grateful to be wearing a clean and complete uniform. For once, even Lily didn’t talk during breakfast, too busy munching to comment on Virgie sitting with Peony and Kristen again.

  “When do you think Headmistress Cardinal will interrogate us?” Lily finally asked, mouth full of bacon. A day of no food had led to all of us losing our manners.

  I took a sip of my coffee, trying not to choke as the tsunami of panic swept over me. “Starting tomorrow, probably.” I rarely saw Lady Cardinal over the weekends. She must have gone off campus and mingled with the other rich vamps during most of that time. Maybe she even jetted off to a posh city like Paris to ingest some culture before returning to our isolated Colorado fortress. “She’ll question us Monday through Friday. It should take two weeks.” Headmistress Cardinal would probably have her prime suspects narrowed after one week. I didn’t say that out loud, not wanting to make it real.