The Roses Academy- the Entire Collection

by Tara Brown

  My stomach twisted when I saw his eyes. Sometimes when I looked at him I could hear his thoughts. Thoughts of draining every drop of blood from my body. He made me blush and cringe at the same time. Fortunately, Henry would die defending me. I didn’t know him, but I knew that fact. Mostly because Marcus thought it.

  Marcus was creepy.

  “A situation. Great.” Oliver stood and followed after him. I hurried behind them down the hall of the huge creepy old castle. It was weird there was a castle in Portland that no one had listed as one of the tourist stops or put on TripAdvisor.

  The hall was wide and filled with old pictures. Old paintings. I'm pretty sure I'd seen a few that resembled Marcus, Dorian, and Aleks, but in costumes.

  I wondered if in two hundred years I'd be walking through my own castle with Oliver and the walls would be lined with paintings of me in Forever21 tee shirts and skinny jeans.

  “Where are we going?” Oliver demanded after a minute of walking and no explanation.

  “She called a meeting in the woods here and I think it’s about the avenues we’ve been exploring. I want to discuss it with you and Aleks first,” Marcus grumbled.

  “Great.” Oliver glanced back at me, but I was lost in the paintings and the artwork.

  I was so mesmerized that I almost didn’t hear the muffled noise off to the right when we passed one of the corridors. Marcus’ back straightened when a second moan filled the hall.

  It was so familiar, I paused.

  When it happened a third time, I turned right and started running. I knew exactly what that sound was.

  “Ophelia, leave it!” Marcus barked after me.

  “It's Hanna,” I shouted back at them.

  A struggling scream came from behind a weird door at the end of the corridor. It was dark and thick and when I touched it, my hand sparkled. I turned the knob but it didn’t budge. Down the hall, Oliver and Marcus fought and suddenly Oliver flashed them away.

  My stomach sunk as I realized what was happening. “Hanna?”

  The moan was muffled. He was keeping her here.

  I kicked the door but nothing. I stood back and rolled my shoulders. A wind started to pick up in the hallway. I pointed my fingers and a blast of lightning hit the door. It ricocheted off and shot down the hall, hitting a painting of a house and igniting a small fire.

  “Oh shit,” I muttered nervously. Marcus was going to kill me.

  I shot a bolt of frost down the hall and froze the flames.

  The cold of the frost lingered on my fingertips. I brushed them against the door and it froze solid. White ice crystals covered the door in an intricate frozen design.

  I stood back and fired another bolt of lightning. The door shattered into a million dark sparkly pieces. I covered my mouth and shut my eyes, stepping through the black dust with my other hand out.

  When the dust cleared, I could see the room was padded and creepy. A single light shone down from above. Hanna was tied to the wall, wearing only a long shirt and the shackles holding her arms and legs.

  “Oh my God!” I ran to her. “What a pervert,” I muttered.

  “O?” she moaned, squinting like she was having trouble keeping her eyes open.

  “Yeah, it’s me.”

  “Help.” She’d turned him down every day since he came back from the dead, but this was not what I had expected. Her bracelet was gone. I knew by the instant contempt I felt for her.

  I planted my feet and took her hand in mine. Her skin was burning. I closed my eyes and envisioned it the way Lydia had taught me to. The field of flowers and the shore of shells met in my mind and began to weave together. The flowers were the base of the bracelet and the shells were the bling. My mind weaved and as I thought of it, I felt it form on her wrist. The white shells hit her skin, mellowing the energy blasting off her.

  She sighed as the struggle inside her ended. “Thanks.”

  My hate for her dissipated with her fever.

  Her eyes opened and she smiled weakly. “You make them so fast now.”

  “I’m getting better.” I snapped my fingers at the lock of each shackle.

  She raised an eyebrow. “You're getting better at all of this.”

  “Yeah. I've been practicing a lot with the whole reliving the same lessons.” I didn’t mention the fact we were fast approaching the moment my dad would have to die and I needed to be as strong as possible. Or that I practiced pretty much night and day.

  “Henry.” Her lips trembled.

  I spun to see the man standing in the doorway. He was solid and wore a bowler hat, which was weird. He nodded and walked into the room. I knew him of course. Everyone knew who Henry was. But more than that, my body knew him. I put a hand out and he took it. He squeezed my fingers and we spoke without words.

  You're in danger. If you must take her, you should go now. Go and don’t come back here. Dark things come to this castle, Ophelia. Dark things that may corrupt your magic. Lydia's is the best place for you. His soft words whispered through my mind.

  Oliver told me Marcus’ house is guarded. I thought back in witch speak.

  “No.” He shook his head. “I can't keep them all out.”

  “Okay. Thank you.” I turned back to her just as she collapsed. “Great.” Grunting, I lifted one of her arms over my shoulders at the same time Henry did, and together we walked her out.

  He leered at Hanna. I knew he couldn’t help himself. None of them could.

  “Don’t tell anyone, okay?” Hanna muttered as she stirred.

  “Okay.” I didn’t understand why she would keep the secret that Marcus had held her hostage and tortured her. Why would she protect him?

  We took her to the front door and put her in the car parked outside. “Where to?” I asked, trying not to notice the way Henry continued to stare at her.

  She licked her lips and seemed to struggle with sitting. “Roland's.” She winced.

  I decided on the drive over that I was going to kill Marcus.

  When we got to Roland’s house, I gasped. The castle was cool but the huge Tudor mansion was the most beautiful house I'd ever seen. It was beautiful.

  Roland stood in the doorway when I arrived. He was stoic, but I suspected he always appeared that way.

  He opened the car door, forcing a smile across his lips. “Miss Hanna, are you all right?”

  “Yeah, help me out. I need a shower.” She winced as he pulled her from the car and held her tight.

  His eyes darted to mine.

  “Rough night,” I tried to lie.

  He made a face at the flimsy tee shirt, and carried her to the house.

  “Hanna, Lorri called a meeting. Want me to wait for you?” I shouted.

  “No.” She looked over his arm and smiled. “I'll just clean up and head over. Where is it?”

  I grimaced. “Marcus’ backyard.”

  “Oh great.” She sounded unimpressed. “I should have just showered there.”

  “Okay,” I muttered and put the car in gear, convinced she had Stockholm syndrome. I didn’t want to think about what he had done to her or why I had to keep it secret. I already had a pretty good idea. I turned the car around and headed back to his place.

  When I got to the house, Marcus and Oliver were outside but still arguing.

  I hadn’t made it out of the car when Marcus shot me a death stare. I grinned back. It wasn’t genuine, mostly because I was pretty much ready to pee my pants when he looked at me, but I couldn’t back down.

  Oliver mouthed “go away” but I got out of his car, angrily. “You had her tied to the wall, Marcus. What the hell?” I snapped, not sure how he got off on being such a creep.

  “How dare you!” Marcus snarled at me. “You foolish little girl. Who do you think you are, coming in my house—?”

  “More powerful than you,” I cut him off. “I mean, I am the first witch's daughter and all. You know, magical royalty? Which is why I’m allowed to say you are a first-class piece of shit and pervert.”

/>   He laughed, always the same broken and bitter chuckle, and stormed inside.

  “I can’t believe you’re friends with him!” I turned my anger to Oliver. “How can you stay here?”

  “Are you serious?” Oliver scowled.

  “Yes!” I scoffed. “He had her tied to the wall like a shackled prisoner in the Spanish Inquisition.”

  “It wasn’t like that.” He closed his eyes, clearly about to deliver some bad news. “Hanna was being held because the cure Marcus made for her isn’t working. She was starting to black out and change. She woke in a puddle of blood and half-eaten mountain lion yesterday, covered in injuries. Marcus brought her here and she changed again. She tore a hole in the wall of her room. He chained her for her own safety. Ari messing with the time is altering the effects of the cure.”

  “Oh.” I paused, my stomach hitting with a thud. “Oh my God, I left her with Roland.”

  “She’s coming back, she just messaged him. She can't live with Roland right now. It’s not safe. She needs someone like Marcus who can keep her safe—well no—keep everyone else safe from her.”

  “We need to help her.”

  “I'm pretty sure you have enough on your plate.” He cocked an eyebrow and grabbed my arm to pull me into the house just as Marcus stormed into the front room.

  “GODDAMMIT, OPHELIA, FOR CHRIST'S SAKE!”

  “What?” I cringed and sensed the sparks starting in my fingers.

  “You cannot come into a man’s house and burn his things! I won’t have it! It’s why I never keep witches!” Marcus paced and seemed on the verge of pulling his hair out.

  “Marcus,” Oliver warned.

  “No, Oliver. She destroyed the obsidian door and burned a four-hundred-year-old painting as well as half a wall!” His dark eyes settled on me. “You women are going to be the death of me.”

  “Hopefully,” I snarled back, letting lightning flicker around my hands.

  “Quit it, both of you.” Oliver sighed impatiently. “I know where I can get another door, Brother.”

  “That isn’t the point!” Marcus eyed me, frothing a bit. “I have the goddamned doors in the basement. I keep several on hand, Olly. It’s the principle. She’s a meddling little witch, and I don’t want her in my house anymore.” He charged at me but before he could get to me, Oliver stepped in his way. “Don’t protect her, it only pisses me off further!”

  “I can’t let you hurt her!” Oliver spat back. “She’s our salivation.”

  A sharp wind ripped through the room, flinging both Oliver and Marcus to the ceiling.

  My hands were outstretched but I glanced down at my fingers, certain I hadn’t unleashed the magic. I turned to see Henry standing in the entrance to the room. His annoyed expression never really changed much but the glare in his eyes was spicy.

  Oliver flashed and stood in front of me again. Henry glowered at him fiercely, but Oliver grabbed my hand and suddenly we were in the grove behind Marcus’ house. His fingers were almost ripping the skin off mine.

  “I didn’t see that coming, did you?” I asked into the silence of the forest.

  If looks could kill I would have exploded seconds before I had even asked the question, which apparently didn’t improve his mood.

  Chapter 3

  Feeling wolfish

  Aimee

  My dad loved Aleks. Loved wasn’t even the right word. Adored.

  I smiled at myself in the mirror and enjoyed a small measure of happiness, knowing he would rest easy that I was in a relationship he could trust. As far as my dad was concerned, I was in school and doing great with a great guy. His days of worrying were over.

  If he only knew.

  My skin shivered as warm wind filled the room. I sighed before I saw anything. He was the answer to my heart's call. I smiled when he touched me, but his voice wasn’t relaxing as usual.

  “Aimee, we need to go.” There was a hint of panic in Aleks’ tone.

  “My dad loved you.” I kissed his cheek softly, teasingly.

  “I know. Everyone likes me.” His warmth seeped into me when I glanced up at him.

  He flashed and we were in a forest. “There.” He walked away from me, into the woods. The moon's brightness lightly touched objects surrounding us, showing me half of what was there.

  Dorian waved his usual nod. “Hello, Brother, Aimee. Long time no see.”

  I wanted to sneer, but Aleks hated it when I started the pissing contest with Dorian. I smiled sweetly and laced my voice with the disgust I always tried to muster for him, “Dorian. Fancy meeting you here in the dark woods where you have no doubt lured some young girls.” I muttered the last part.

  “I could make it fancy if you like.” His dark eyes burned.

  “Ewww.” I laughed, mostly because I couldn’t stop myself. “My life is fancy enough.”

  He rolled his eyes. “Half an hour, Aimee. That’s all I would need to change your world. If you think that lug is skilled at being fancy, you’re mistaken. His paltry few hundred years are nothing compared to my thousands.” He took my hand and kissed it.

  “Stop mocking me, Dorian.” I ripped it away, ignoring the way it felt when he kissed me. “It only makes me want to kill you.” It was a lie but I said it as cruelly as I could.

  “Try it.” He stepped into my face. “I have moves you can't even imagine.”

  “Oh, I bet you do.” I stared up into his dark eyes daringly. “I bet they revolve entirely around you. You strike me as a selfish and self-centered dark angel.”

  “Oh, Aimee. If you only knew.” He ran a finger along my jawline. “How much I love—a challenge.” His eyes darted to where Aleks trekked ahead of us.

  My face flushed and I didn’t bother to fight anymore.

  I let him win.

  He always won.

  My fingers sparked, making him laugh as he turned and walked into the forest.

  Aleks paused, glaring back at me like I was holding him up. I grunted and stalked into the forest after them. My high heels sunk into the soft moss and dirt.

  “You need different boots for this sort of stuff, Aimee.” Aleks chuckled.

  “Right,” I snarled up at his crooked grin. “I didn’t know we were going bushwhacking. I was trying to get a kiss and you flashed us here.”

  “We have stuff to do. Days of stuff to do. You kids need to grasp the severity of the situation.” He sounded distracted.

  Dorian eyed me smugly. “Yeah. You kids are truly not taking this seriously enough.”

  Kids? Did they seriously just call me a kid?

  Acting like a child, I stuck my tongue out at Dorian and blew by Aleks, well, as fast as my boots would allow. “Where are we?”

  Dorian's dark eyes glistened in the moonlight. “Behind Marcus’ house.”

  I despised Marcus too. I wished they would all just go away. After we saved the world, of course.

  Marcus, Dorian, and Hanna were the list of people I couldn’t wait to never see again.

  Hanna, I didn’t want to hate but I couldn’t help it. I hated that she made me think about Sam. The night became colder suddenly as his smile floated in my mind. His face brought the memory of the children. I cleared my throat and scanned around. “Where’s everyone else?”

  “I’m here,” Hanna muttered as she arrived. Even in the dark I could see she was exhausted.

  “Hey.” I waved awkwardly.

  “Hey.” Hanna pulled her hair back into a ponytail. “Why are we here?”

  “I don’t know.” I shrugged. Contempt for her prickled inside me. I shook it off and forced myself to be nice to her. Everything was forced. I did it for him. It was what Sam would have wanted me to do. Sam had loved her and so I had to try harder.

  Dorian sauntered over to stand beside her, grinning. “Hanna, my dear. How are you?”

  “Stop.” She rolled her eyes. “I'm too tired to deal with you tonight.”

  Her bracelet was fiery red. It would dull the sunlight midday but in a dark forest it
was like a beacon.

  Aleks paced.

  He wasn’t touching me or even trying to talk to me. He offered me a fake smile. His lips were eerily even, no crookedness at all.

  Something was wrong.

  Ari strolled into the woods looking wild with the huge wolves on either side of her.

  “You need a bow and arrow for that look.”

  “I would probably shoot one of them by accident.” She laughed bitterly. “Why are we here?” Lately, she appeared to be exhausted or tortured. Tonight’s version was exhausted.

  Were they all working and not telling me?

  Aleks glanced at Dorian. They did the thing where they speak without speaking. I hated that.

  Ari gave Hanna her best pleasant smile. “Hey, Hanna. How's it going?”

  “Don’t.” Hanna shook her head. “You don’t have to, Ari. I get it.”

  “Get what? We just never see you anymore. You're always at Roland's.”

  Hanna turned around impatiently. “Yeah. Lydia's was a hard gig for me. Roland's isn’t easy either though.”

  “I hear that,” I muttered.

  “Oh, for the love of God and all that is holy, can we not?” Dorian held a hand up. “Can we not do the maudlin Sam thing again please? We're here to see Marcus. He refuses to meet with us on our land, obviously. He'll be here any minute.”

  “Marcus is here now,” a deep voice rang through the forest as he strolled over with the same asshole air he always had about him. Snooty and shitty to everyone.

  Something followed behind him.

  As they got closer I saw it was Oliver dragging Ophelia through the forest to us.

  She didn’t seem to want to come, but he wasn’t taking no for an answer.

  I didn’t get them. I couldn’t tell if they were a couple or not. It had an awkward dad-and-daughter vibe, but he didn’t look a day older than twenty-five. His being besties with her dad was creepy, there was no denying that.

  But he was probably using his angel magic on her.

  The fallen had a strange effect on us.

  I glanced at Dorian and hated how attracted to him I was. He grinned at me. He knew what I was thinking. That also annoyed me.