Vicious Royals

by Margo Ryerkerk

  “I...I…” the fae said.

  Thorsten tugged on my sleeve again.

  I couldn’t stand by. It was my fault they were being punished. Balling my fists, I breathed out my rage and focused on the expanding puddle. My quaking fury took over. I’d had enough. I’d end Vulthus for abusing Blair and these fae. I’d rather be caught and executed for protecting others, than become a broken slave.

  Also, as the fae who killed Vulthus, I’d take the blame for everything else. Lady Cardinal would spare Thorsten out of whatever loyalty she had for Griffin Steinberg.

  I stepped into the room, waving my hands, willing the puddle to morph into an ice stake. It rose from the ground. The two fae women eyed me in confusion as the weapon hung in the air, pointing at Vulthus’s back. Vulthus froze, his foot brought back for a kick. He’d turn and follow their gazes. I had to act now. There was no going back.

  I let the ice stake fly.

  With a sickening thunk, it impaled Gregory Vulthus through his right shoulder blade. The monster froze in shock, slowly raising his hands to grasp at the weapon. He fell to his knees, flailing, and craning his neck to stare at the object that had impaled him.

  “Ol...Olwen…?” Vulthus started, reaching for the stake to pull it out.

  Vulthus couldn’t, certainly, he couldn’t.

  Thorsten dragged me out of the room and forced me into a sprint. I pulled against him, but he only increased his tempo. “We have to go. He’s not dead. He’ll heal soon enough.” He seized my wrist so hard, he could easily break it with a twist.

  “What about the fae servants? I can’t let them take the fall for this.”

  Thorsten footsteps faltered, his stormy gaze meeting mine. And just as he opened his mouth, a screeching alarm went off. Mei, Peony, and Kristen must’ve notified someone about the leak.

  “Come on!” Thorsten shouted, pulling me down the corridor with new resolve. I followed him, even though I knew we couldn’t emerge from under the curtain now. Everyone would see us walk back into the amphitheater and know we had been responsible for what happened to Vulthus.

  Thorsten stopped in the middle of the hallway and drew his fingers in a strange combination of movements across the wall. A number pad lit up, and as he shoved against the wall beside it, it opened. A hidden door.

  I gasped as I followed him outside. “I didn’t know you could do that.”

  He shrugged like it was no big deal. “Vamps have emergency exits everywhere.” Then his face turned serious again. “That was very close, Onyx.”

  “And stupid,” I whispered, hoarse.

  He seized my arms. “I understand why you did it, but you can never attack him again. Vulthus didn’t see you this time and blamed someone else for the attack. Next time, you won’t be as lucky.”

  Vamps streamed out of the building. We stood so close to them that all it would take to blend in was to fall into step with them.

  I stiffened as a guard said into his phone, “There was a problem. Olwen showed up uninvited and he turned on Vulthus.”

  Who the hell was Olwen? And why did Vulthus think, Olwen would attack him?

  The guard paused. “No, he’s fine. He’s mostly healed already.”

  I cursed myself silently. Of course, he was. Vulthus was no amateur, he was no prince of the faeland who was used to getting by on his looks, only using his powers when absolutely necessary. Vulthus was a sadistic warmonger.

  More guards streamed from the building, discussing something while the fae were herded by a few vamps toward the limousines.

  “Onyx, you have to get back to the car.” Thorsten took my face in his hands. “I have to make an appearance.”

  “But what about Peony? She still has the video on her own phone.” The one Mei had probably given her to spy on Thorsten.

  Thorsten shook his head. “Don’t worry about her. I’ll handle Peony.” And then he leaned in, his lips brushing mine, in such a quick kiss that it left me wondering whether it had been real as he strode toward the other Elites, leaving me to join the fae.

  Chapter 18

  The vamps seemed eager to get us back to the academy and ushered us into random vehicles. That is how I found myself in a black limo surrounded by five fae I didn’t know. I hoped Lily was all right, and I hoped that Mei and Peony hadn’t gone to another vamp with the video. I hoped that however Thorsten planned to take care of Peony’s phone, he did it quickly.

  What if Peony had sent it to someone besides Mei? What if she went straight to Lady Cardinal? The headmistress would probably believe Peony even without proof. Or would she, given how friendly she was with Griffin Steinberg? Until that was repaid, she wouldn’t turn on Thorsten.

  At least that’s what I hoped.

  Still, even if Lady Cardinal wasn’t a threat, I still needed to make sure Peony hadn’t made copies of the video or sent it around. While I doubted that anyone in Mei’s inner circle would talk to me unless I used my ice to torture them, something I wasn’t quite ready to do, I knew someone who owed me a favor.

  As we drove through the city center of Denver, the vamp guard who was sitting in the back with the other fae and me, handed each of us each a vial. “Drink.” He glared at us, flexing his fist, letting us know that he wouldn’t mind knocking us unconscious if we didn’t obey. I gulped the sticky liquid down, knowing there was no escape.

  My vision turned fuzzy, my tongue felt thick, and my limbs relaxed as I slumped against the wall. I kept repeating my plan silently until sleep pulled me under.

  I awoke, shivering. I groaned at the hard floor under me, and then sat up. I was surrounded by other fae who were in the midst of waking up. Most were still asleep. Chandeliers and stairs came into focus. How lovely. Once again, the guards had left us on the ground of the entry hall. Couldn’t they have at least carried us into the gym and laid us on mats? I groaned and rose, hoping I wouldn’t get hypothermia.

  Since no guards were around, I guessed they were having their meeting with Headmistress Cardinal.

  She must be furious. As far as I was aware, my little stunt with Vulthus had resulted in everyone leaving before a blood crystal could’ve been purchased. Good, I had eliminated two birds with one stone.

  But even as happy tingles surged into my chest, I knew it’d cost me. Everything always came back to bite me in the ass.

  I eyed the sleeping fae on the floor. I kept waking up before the others. Was it because I was a winter fae? That was something to ponder later. Right now, I had to find the blonde bitch who kept making my life hell.

  Peony was on the other side of the room, dumped on her side. I wanted to hurry over to her and search her for a phone, but was terrified that someone was watching me.

  A few voices, probably those of guards, floated down the corridor.

  Peony groaned.

  It would be too risky to try it.

  I searched for the other fae that might be useful and found her lying near the steps. I hurried over and nudged her with my foot. “Wake up.”

  Virgie’s lids fluttered open. “Onyx,” she croaked.

  “Follow me.”

  She must’ve heard the resolve in my voice because she got up and trailed after me into an empty corridor, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

  “What is it?” she asked, annoyed when I came to a stop. “Don’t tell me you’re involved in what happened with Vulthus.”

  Ignoring her question, I said, “Peony made a video of me. She sent it to Mei tonight, whose phone was destroyed. I need you to get rid of Peony’s phone and find out if she sent the video to anyone besides Mei.” Best to cover my bases, just in case.

  Virgie crossed her arms. “That’s a lot of demands. Even if I had the power to do what you ask, who do you think you are, commanding me around?”

  I stepped closer, ice gathering in my veins, and Virgie’s lips turned blue.

  “Listen closely, because I won’t repeat myself,” I hissed. “I’ve helped you several times, rescuing you from rape and death. You
chose to repay me by ignoring me and running after Peony to get scraps. You didn't even warn me that she was planning to film us. I’ve been patient, but my patience has run out. You owe me.” She'd written me a note but couldn't even lift a finger to stop Peony's plan when she knew the bitch would pull something like this.

  Virgie’s eyes flashed with anger. “And if I don’t do this?”

  I let a vicious smile come across my lips. “Then you’ll finally find out what it’s like to be Kassius and Kayden’s plaything.”

  Her eyes widened. “You wouldn’t.”

  “Try me.” With that, I pivoted and strode away. I had no intention to truly hurt Virgie, but she didn’t know that, and quite frankly, she deserved to be afraid after showing zero gratitude following the Wild Hunt. I was done beating myself up. Something had broken in me watching Vulthus torture his servants tonight. A new survival instinct had taken over. I might have been a bit nice to Virgie in class yesterday but things were getting desperate.

  The twins had chosen to sacrifice her because they saw her as a threat, not because of anything I’d done. Virgie wouldn’t be alive if not for me. It was high time she did something for me for a change. Plus, if the video of me and Thorsten came out, no one would be around to help her when the twins decided to zero in on her the next time.

  Headmistress Cardinal must’ve been really busy sorting out the mess with Vulthus because she didn’t come up with any punishment for us students in the morning or the next day. Our classes continued as normal and the blood crystal wasn’t mentioned again. The only change were a few extra guards at the academy. In the past, I would’ve scurried around like a mouse, waiting for the axe to drop, but this time, I used my time wisely.

  Confident that Virgie wouldn’t let me down since I had threatened her own hide, I channeled all my attention on learning glamour.

  Heeding the anonymous note’s advice, I used my ice magic as a base to learn new magic.

  In my dorm, I spent hours creating shapes from my ice—birds, flowers, dolphins, and people. Yet every time I tried to change into a person, nothing happened. Lily frowned at me with each failed attempt.

  I had just created bees out of ice who swarmed around me when the door to my dorm was flung open. Quickly, I let the floating figures melt and splatter to the floor, but apparently not fast enough, because Virgie asked, “What were you doing?” Her voice was thick with suspicion.

  “Nothing.” I gave her a hard stare. “Did you do what we discussed?”

  She nodded. “Peony mysteriously lost her phone when we all fled the outing. It wasn’t recovered. She didn’t send the video to anyone besides Mei. It took me forever to find out what she was doing. In case you haven't noticed, I'm at the bottom of the totem pole in that group.”

  Had Thorsten come through and destroyed Peony’s phone? A part of the weight on my chest lifted. “Are you sure? Have you checked that no one else has it?”

  Virgie snorted. “I think if someone else had it, Mei wouldn’t have been screaming at Peony and Kristen the last few days about how useless they are.”

  I exhaled before I remembered that if Kristen fell from Mei’s grace, the Wus were unlikely to buy her contract. Mei and Kristen needed to make up, or my plan to take Kristen’s identity would fail.

  “Make sure they get along again,” I said.

  Virgie rolled her eyes. “Why? I don’t work for you.”

  I advanced. “I’m the only one who will use my magic to protect you. Don’t you ever forget that. Peony left you in the dust the night of the Hunt, remember?”

  Her eyes filled with hurt, but I didn’t apologize or soften my blow. She had ignored me for months. If I needed to be firm with her, so she didn’t think I was weak, so be it.

  “Ahem, do you want me to come back later?” Lily stood in the dorm’s threshold, her arms loaded with books.

  I shook my head. “Virgie was just leaving.”

  Virgie glared at me, but turned around and sauntered out of the room.

  “What’s going on?” Lily’s face was furrowed with concern.

  A strange tingle mixed with ice swept over my body as I imagined Virgie's attitude again. “Nothing. I’m just tired of putting up with Virgie’s bullshit.”

  Lily stepped closer, her brows furrowing, then she touched my hair. “Wow.”

  I jerked back. “Ever heard of private space?” My voice sounded different.

  Lily smiled, almost jumping up and down. “Look in the mirror.”

  I turned slowly, my heart pounding wildly with hope. And there it was, not my face, but Virgie’s, staring back at me. My eyes were dark, my face was rounder, and my hair was a silky black curtain.

  I glanced down at my uniform to find my shirt ready to burst. Somehow, that made it fully sink in. I let out a laugh and crushed Lily in a hug. “I did it!” My voice was not my own, but Virgie’s.

  “You sure did!”

  Finally, I let go of her. Hope filled my heart for the first time in ages. “Did Virgie see?”

  Lily shook her head. “You turned into her a second after she left.”

  My ears rang in confusion. I hadn’t even been trying to turn into Virgie in that moment. What exactly had happened? Had it been the combination of me focusing on molding my ice and the anger of arguing with Virgie? I’d go with it. “But I wasn’t trying to use glamour.”

  Lily shrugged, eyes widening. “You must’ve done something. Maybe not trying is the trick.”

  I tried to think. The ice had risen in my veins at the challenge in Virgie’s tone, but I hadn’t actively had to hold it back. Instead, I’d stared at her hard, committing each of her features to my memory. I had done it almost subconsciously, barely aware of it, not realizing that I had finally found the key to unlock glamour. Reshaping my anger had allowed me to access the power and being in close proximity for an extended time with Virgie allowed me to become a mirror image of her. At least, that was my best theory.

  That’s what Petra must’ve done with the real Ms. Rutherford. Petra had been furious over her brother’s disappearance and probably found Ms. Rutherford’s home where they went at it. I could imagine it scene by scene. Petra threatening Ms. Rutherford. Ms. Rutherford insisting that she didn’t know anything about Preston. Finally, Petra must’ve realized that the only way to get answers was to get into Nocturnal Academy. That’s when she had decided to use glamour. Now I could do the same thing. That meant that I’d have to—

  Fear crept into me and a cold tingle swept over my body.

  Lily's smile dropped away but relief filled her eyes. “You’re back to normal. That’s good. Would’ve been weird having two Virgies walking around the academy.”

  I didn’t share her joy. Anger switched on glamour while fear made it dissipate—Petra had lost hers in the awful simulation cube and I had turned back into myself when I realized that I was really going through with my insane plan. But there was a new problem. “I’ll have to incapacitate Kristen long enough for me to get out of here. And the vamps are going to bid on us soon.”

  Lily gulped. “How are you planning to do that?”

  I shook my head, heart racing and stomach sick. I didn’t know, but I sure hoped that I didn’t have to kill her to pull off the glamour. Killing in self-defense was one thing, but killing to get something…it was monstrous, unforgivable, and yet the iciness in my veins egged me on, telling me to take what was mine. Telling me that I deserved to be free, whispering that the end result always justified the means.

  I had ignored the impulses of my Winter Court powers for too long, but I couldn’t pretend they didn’t exist any longer. I was evil, tempted to do whatever to escape Vulthus and other sadists. I was a predator, just like the vamps.

  “Onyx, are you all right?” Lily touched me gently, but I jerked back.

  “I’m fine. I just need some alone time,” I snapped. Then I dashed out of the room, hoping to find the one person who might know what to do with my new monstrosity.

  Chapter 19<
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  I was being reckless. I knew so, and yet, I still headed toward the Home Décor room and slipped through the hidden trapdoor, making my way down the secret tunnel and toward the staff tower.

  My nerves only fully kicked in when I reached the storage closet, and thus, the final door that separated me from the vamp staff lurking behind it. As always, I paused before opening the door, straining my ears for noises. There were none, and I prayed that it meant the coast was clear. Vamps were just like cats, incredibly quiet when they wanted to be.

  I pushed the door handle down as footsteps neared. Quickly, I released it, pressing myself into a wall instinctively, even though it wouldn’t provide cover.

  “Headmistress Cardinal isn’t happy. If Vulthus doesn’t buy a fae from her this year, she’s going to lose a lot of money,” a female voice said. I groaned, recognizing it as belonging the mean guard McKenna. “Our jobs are going to suck big time.”

  “Because monitoring a bunch of hormonal morons is so much fun all the other times.”

  My heart swelled at Thorsten’s smooth voice, my body purring at the deep vibration of his baritone.

  McKenna chuckled. “Touche. Well, I’ve got to get going. Catch you later.”

  Thorsten didn’t respond. A set of footsteps disappeared, and I dared to open the door an inch. Thorsten glared at me before slipping into the storage closet and shutting the door behind himself. “What are you doing here?” he hissed.

  I smiled, no longer intimidated by him. Not after the kisses we had shared. “I’ve done it. I used glamour.”

  His eyes shone with approval before he frowned. “You could’ve told me later. It’s not safe to use this tunnel.”

  I ignored his reprimand, sick and tired of others telling me what to do or what was dangerous. My whole life was dangerous. I might as well live a little. “Virgie said that Peony only sent Mei the video and that Peony’s phone went missing at the outing. I guess I have you to thank for that?” I shot Thorsten a playful smile.

  He shook his head. “No thanks needed. I did what I had to do.”