by G. Bailey
“What do you mean?” I ask her as her hand goes to the handle of the door.
“Their parents are on the Masters’ council and extremely powerful. The brothers disappear every other week for days at a time, and the school doesn’t even ask where they go. Their previous fiancé turned up dead, and no one knows who did it. I saw Noah and Knox come back covered in dirt and blood one morning not long after she died…just be careful. They have dark secrets.”
“I think the boys I remember as a kid are long gone,” I admit. “I need to remember that when I see them. I need to remember things have changed.”
“There is nothing boy about the Tale brothers. The sooner you learn that, the safer you will be.”
Chapter 12
“Why do I need to wear stretchy clothes, Lane?” I ask Lane as I pull up the leggings that fit just a little bit tightly. I look over at the book I opened up and rested against my pillows after getting dressed in what he suggested for today. Lane just smirks as I pick up a black hoodie out of my wardrobe and put it over my tight clothes, hoping to cover up some of my skin on show. I glance in the mirror at the tight black leggings that go up to my mid waist and the light blue crop-top that hangs over one shoulder, short enough to show off my ribs. Yeah, that didn’t work.
“What time is it?” Tavvy groans, before climbing down the steps of the bunkbed with messy hair sticking in all directions. She rubs her eyes and then pauses, staring at my outfit and then to Lane. “Oh god, it’s Friday, isn’t it?” she says with a long groan of annoyance.
“Considering yesterday was Thursday? Yep,” I reply, and she grimaces at me like I just confirmed the world was ending.
“Wow, your second day at this school is going to suck. It’s fight training class all day,” she explains, revealing why she doesn’t look happy and why Lane suggested stretchy clothes. I’ve never even punched someone before, how the hell am I going to survive fight class?
“Fight training?” I nervously question her, hoping she is going to tell me it’s a big joke or something.
“Yep,” she says, yawning and grabbing clothes out of the drawer as I go and sit on the bed. “Be prepared to get your ass whooped, but they have this healing cream that is amazing to mend you. So don’t worry too much.”
“There is no part about that sentence I don’t worry about,” I admit to her.
“Why are you up so early anyway? I thought Sleeping Beauty’s descendant would like to sleep-in like yesterday,” she asks me as she picks a brush up and starts sorting out her hair. “It took me an hour to wake you up.”
“I get these bad dreams sometimes. I just couldn’t get back to sleep, and I thought I might as well get up. Though I’m regretting it now,” I say, covering up a yawn as she pulls her hair into a tight bun. I wonder if I should put my plaited hair up but decide I should just leave it.
“What do you dream of?” she asks, pulling off her pyjama dress and getting changed as I figure what exactly to tell her. The dreams don’t even make much sense to me, and most of it, I try to make myself forget as soon as possible.
“Crows. Fire. People dying. The same dream I’ve had for months. It doesn’t make sense and never changes,” I admit to her, and she finishes pulling on leggings and a long vest shirt before replying to me.
“It might be a power of yours, you know. The dreams could mean something,” she suggests.
“I don’t think I even have any powers. Nothing weird has happened so far, and these dreams happened before I opened that book on my birthday,” I explain to her. I guess the dreams could be trying to warn me of something, but I highly doubt crows, fire and dead people are clues of anything good.
“It takes fear, Madi, true fear to access your powers at the beginning. I got mine for the first time in fight class; so do most people,” she tells me. “The teachers will let your opponent push you harder to see what you can do. As no one knows your powers yet, they will be expecting a show.”
“Great, so I have to be close to peeing my pants to get my powers?” I sarcastically ask her.
“Yeah. I heard a kid actually did that once though,” she says, making me more nervous, and she glances at my pale face as she pulls her trainers on. “We will skip breakfast because you might throw it up, now I think about it.”
“Might?” I whisper.
“Actually, you will. We always run ten laps around the academy before we even start the practice fight. The teacher shoots the people at the back with streams of water from her hands if you fall behind or try to stop,” she tells me. “Freezing cold ice water as well.”
“Any chance I can just skip this class like yesterday’s?” I ask, rubbing my hands together as I get more nervous.
“Nope. Even the Tale brothers don’t skip this one. The academy is serious about fighting class above all else,” she says, and I sigh, looking down at Lane.
“Any tips, Lane?” I ask him.
“Avoid pointy things,” he replies. Yeah, as if that isn’t obvious.
“I meant more along the lines of you explaining my family’s powers and how I should use them, not general useless advice I already know,” I say, and Lane grins at me.
“Your power is going to help you beat them all. I won’t tell you though, it should be a surprise,” he says and then fades away so there is only blue smoke left.
“That’s not useful,” Tavvy says, laughing. “At least my book told me I could use my dust to paralyse people. Oh, and make me and others fly.”
“That’s pretty cool. You could make me fly?” I curiously ask.
“Yeah, but only for a few moments. I’m not that good at it yet,” she says, shrugging like it isn’t a big deal when it is. “In a few years, I will get my wings, and it won’t matter too much.”
“Plenty of time to learn,” I say, smiling at her just as there is a knock at the door. Tavvy walks to the door and pulls it open. She moves to the side a bit, so I can see where Oisin is standing outside with his arms crossed and a mysterious expression on his face as he spots me.
“Morning, ladies. Do you girls want a very good looking escort to class?” he asks.
“Yeah, we would love one. Do you know someone who has time to walk us to class?” I retort, and he laughs with Tavvy and me as I stand up. “But being more serious, that would be cool. We haven’t had time to catch up much yet.”
“I’m going to run and get some energy bars from the breakfast hall for us. Go ahead without me,” Tavvy says, picking up her bag and winking at me before running out the room past Oisin. She tells me to stay away from the Tale brothers, and then in the next second, she leaves me alone with one of them. I close my book and put it in my bag before walking to Oisin who waits at the door for me to come out.
“Noah said you missed us,” Oisin starts off, seeming like he couldn’t wait to tell me that.
“Noah should learn when not to tell you guys everything,” I reply. “He was never very good at keeping secrets.”
“We were good at keeping secrets though, Sleepy. Just like that time two weeks before I left,” he says as I shut the door, my hand pausing on the handle as a memory flashes through my mind.
“Oisin, stop it!” I squeal as he continues to tickle my ribs as I try to escape his grasp. I manage to get away only to trip on the edge of my bed and fall backwards onto it. Oisin jumps onto the bed next to me, laughing as he grabs my arms and holds them tightly above my head with his one hand. My breathing quickens as I look up into his very unusual light silver eyes as they stare down at me, both of us losing the playfulness we had just a moment ago.
“You know, I’ve never seen anyone with eyes like yours or Knox’s,” I whisper, and his other hand gently cups my face.
“I guess they are unique, just like you,” he replies, his voice more gravelly than before, whereas mine sounds more high pitched than usual.
“I’m nothing special, Oisin,” I say, laughing a little.
“Yeah, you are,” he whispers back, leaning down and brushing his lips gently a
cross mine. I freeze for a second, stunned that he would kiss me. Oisin never kisses me. I lean up and kiss him back, exploring his soft, yet firm lips as his hand releases my hands and slides under my head, pulling my head closer to him as the kiss deepens. The emotion and the way he kisses me makes me feel dizzy. I’ve always loved him and the others…just not like this. This is everything I didn’t even know I wanted.
“Madi! Oisin! Dinner is ready!” my mum shouts up the stairs, and Oisin breaks away from me, crawls off the bed, and runs his hands through his hair as I stand up.
“Our secret?” I suggest, knowing his brothers and Quinton wouldn’t take it well.
“Yeah, Sleepy. Our secret.”
“It’s not like I had long to keep that secret. You disappeared on me not long after,” I reply.
“You have to know we didn’t want to do that. I thought Noah explained,” he says. “I fought my parents all the way to the island, but we didn’t have a choice.”
“He did explain, but it doesn’t stop it from hurting. You would understand if I walked away from all of you guys suddenly without a word,” I reply, ignoring the way he looks at me like my words are cutting deep holes. “I thought there was more to us than that, when actually Quinton was the only one there in the end.”
“Sleepy, you don’t ever have to leave us all to make us know how much it hurts. Now you’re here, you don’t have to leave us, and more importantly, we don’t have to leave you ever again,” he says, grinning in that charming way that makes me want to instantly forgive him, and he knows it.
“We should get to class, Oisin,” I reply, and he chuckles, stepping closer and wrapping an arm around my shoulders, pulling me to his side. I try not to breathe in how good he smells, but it is pretty impossible. He smells like peppermint.
“I thought you would be asking what my powers are. You were always so curious,” he asks me after we have walked in silence for a few moments.
“I heard it was rude to ask,” I reply, and he shakes his head as I stare up at him.
“Yeah, to ask someone random. We are family, we always have been. You know I’d tell you anything you asked me,” he states, squeezing my shoulder.
“Alright then, what is your descendant power and is it as cool as being the sun or moon like Noah and Tobias?” I ask, and he rolls his eyes at me as we get to the main part of the corridor, which makes me smile.
“Merlin was our descendant, and we come from one of the most powerful lines. Our parents were next in line to be Masters,” he tells me. “Now we are. We both struggle controlling our unlimited powers, but we are getting better.”
“Like Merlin the wizard? You guys are wizards?” I ask, and I must be getting used to hearing random things, because I’m not actually surprised.
“Not exactly. We have control over six elements. Though I’m better with fire, water and air, Knox has mastered earth, spirit and healing. We also each have our own particular strengths. I have enchantment powers, and Knox can pull anyone to another dimension he created,” he tells me like it is nothing. “We also can talk in our own dragon language. Though there aren’t any dragons around anymore for that skill to be useful.”
“Damn, that’s pretty awesome!” I tell him, smiling up at him. “Remember when I told you I desperately wanted my letter from Hogwarts to turn up one day, and you told me I was a geek? Well, now who is the wizard, huh?” I tease him. All the guys hated watching Harry Potter on repeat with me, as they didn’t like watching movies more than once, but I loved it. I guess I kind of got what I wanted, just a more fairy tale version of it with no powers to show. Okay, this isn’t half as cool, but at least I know two wizards, it seems.
“You’re still a geek, I see, just a very sexy one now. Not that you weren’t always pretty,” he says, twirling a strand of my hair around with his hand on my shoulder.
“Like Hermione?” I ask, ignoring the way my heart pounds at his compliment.
“That’s your reply? No ‘thanks for calling me sexy’? No red cheeks?” he asks, and I nervously laugh. “I guess that I’m going to have to work on my game.”
“Sin, that kiss was just once, and I think we would be better as friends now. This is complicated enough, so no need to work on your non-existent game,” I tell him, my thoughts straying to Quinton and how betrayed he would feel to see me flirting so soon after leaving him.
“I don’t think we are better as friends. That kiss has haunted me for years, and I have no intention of letting you go again, Madi,” he says, stopping me in the corridor and stepping in front of me. I look up at him as he stares at me, and I shake my head.
“Quinton and I—” I start off, and he presses a finger against my lips to stop me saying anymore.
“I know, and you must be feeling all kinds of fucked up since you left him. I know how that feels, Madi. I left someone I was in love with once as well.” His honesty completely shocks me. I can only stare as he continues talking. “But life is short. Quinton was not meant for you, well, at least not just him. When you’re ready to move on, I will be waiting. I’ve waited years to see you, a little more time isn’t going to bother me.”
“Oisin…” I whisper, watching as his serious expression turns playful once more.
“We have class, remember?” he says, winking at me and offering me a hand, making it clear he doesn’t want to talk about this anymore. I slide my hand into his and let him silently lead me to class as I think over and over about what he said. I don’t know how to move on, I never really have. I always secretly hoped the brothers would come back, and I am still secretly hoping there is a way for Quinton and me to be together, even when I know it is likely hopeless.
Chapter 13
“Here,” Sin offers me his bottle at the end of the ten laps as I lie on the floor next to where Tavvy has collapsed; both of us are worn out like most the class of twenty students sitting around us. Well, all of us except for Oisin, Noah, Knox and Tobias who are still standing. Tobias and Knox are jogging on the spot like lunatics. If I could lift my arms, I would find something to throw at them. I groan and look away, staring up at the white tiled ceiling.
“Thanks,” I breathlessly say, accepting the bottle of water and drinking some big gulps before handing it back to him where he is hopping from foot to foot. “Seriously though, you guys are no fair.” He laughs at my breathless grumble and runs off to his brothers who stayed at the front of all the runners the entire ten laps. I lie back down, calming my breathing down before looking over at Tavvy as she sits up and drinks some water.
“You did good, Madi. You only got hit with water like three times, right?” Tavvy asks me, and I shake my head.
“Four. I couldn’t help but count the times the freezing cold water hit my backside. Though most of it got on my hoodie, and I took that off somewhere out there,” I say as I sit up and glare at the sporty teacher who I know is evil from that run alone. She has dark brown hair up in a ponytail, a perfect skinny body, and she is wearing brown joggers with a white shirt. No part of her looks tired. I glance over to see Ella standing next to three guys, and she doesn’t look that tired either. Though she has a little sweat on her skin, so she is at least a little bit normal like the rest of us.
“That was the easy part guys, I can’t believe all you suckers are still tired! Maybe we should do extra running to build up your strength?” After nearly every person in the class protests instantly, the teacher laughs. “Alright. Alright. I was just messing with you. Everyone come here in a circle.” I groan, making myself stand up, even though most of my body protests against the idea. Tavvy links her arm with mine as we walk to the middle of the group and stop as the others join us. The brothers all watch me from the other side of the circle, and I look to my left as an arm brushes against mine, seeing a tall guy stood next to me, and he smiles. The guy is built like a tank, with a very small head, considering the size of his body. I think my head is the size of his arm. I look back to the teacher who is looking my way.
“Madilynn Dormiens, welcome to your first fight class. My name is Miss Aquana. As everyone already knows, I team you up into partners, and you combat the other until you win. Then when the bell goes, I team up the winners, and this goes on until there are two students left. Those two left battle each other, and the winner is the champion. The champion gets a prize of their choosing from a selection of pre-selected offers,” she explains. “We offer everything from an hour on a laptop with Wi-Fi to a trip to a human town for shopping or food.”
"How do you win?" I ask, curious.
"When your opponent is passed out or at least too badly injured to carry on. We have healers and creams to fix anything you can do. Though we prefer you perfect the art of knocking your classmate out rather than hurting them too badly," she says. “It’s no fun to have someone in the medic bay for weeks.”
"I'm sure Miss Dormiens will struggle to knock out a fly, let alone beat one person in here. You don’t need to worry, miss," Ella says, laughing through her words, and a few students around the room laugh. Even though she is being a cow, she has a point, if I’m being honest with myself. I can’t fight. I’m not going to pretend I can. So, let’s hope I have some secret powers, or this is going to be embarrassing. I glance at the brothers, who look tense as they watch me, but I smile at them anyway.
"Shut it, mermaid bitch," Tavvy snaps in annoyance. “Considering you’ve never won fight class, I don’t know why you’re talking.”
"ENOUGH!" Miss Aquana shouts, making us all go into complete silence. "Right, Miss Dormiens will go against Roger. Why don't Octavia and Ella fight each other to work out some of that misused tension?" I glance at the guy to my left, wondering if he is Roger. By the grin he gives me, I wouldn’t be surprised.
"Fine," Ella says in annoyance, whereas when I look at Tavvy, she seems pleased. Maybe Tavvy can beat her. I’m not sure my little fairy friend is all that innocent with the massive grin on her face at the moment. I think back to Roger, only noticing that the guy next to me is looking down at me with a smile.