by Maya Daniels
My mind is racing from all this. If anyone in Sienna can use the portals, then we have no idea who is sneaking out and feeding information to the hunters. More troubling is the fact that anyone from the agency who may be working for Roberti can be going in and out, gaining access to us as well as the library.
“That’s the thing,” Leo cuts through my dazed thoughts. “He can’t use these portals.”
If I am not one-hundred percent sure that Zoltan will never hurt me, I may be running like crazy the second Leo finishes his sentence. A strong pulse of anger blasts from him, burning my skin like I have the sun itself sitting next to me. I can feel the fluid under my skin bubbling and blistering, but I’m frozen in place and unable to do anything about it. I know exactly how a moth feels when it finally reaches the flame.
“Zoltan.” Fenrir lifts slightly off his seat, the Fae magic swirling around him like a tornado and picking up the ends of his hair on a non-existent breeze. “Calm down.” The Fae snarls, his blue eyes turning into bottomless black pits with white pupil.
As sudden as it starts, the pain and pressure disappear. I slump on the sofa as both Fenrir and Zoltan take deep breaths, rolling their shoulders to loosen up. That’s when I notice the warm body pressing on my calves. Looking down at the panther, he is half crouched while leaning on my legs, one of my hands tangled in his fur. A green glow surrounds him, writhing like tendrils of smoke. Following them with my eyes, I realize they wrap around me too, forming a thin barrier with me and the shifter inside it.
“You good?” Fenrir’s voice snaps my gaze to him. He is looking at Leo, who is still half lifted off his chair like he can’t decide if he should sit back down.
“I need a second,” the Alpha growls more than he speaks, his face contorted between human and wolf. It’s eerie to see him partially shifted with blood dripping from his nose. “Drake?” Leo glances at me with pain-filled eyes.
“I’m good.” Scrubbing the back of my hand under my nose, I check to see if I’m bleeding as well. Nothing is smeared on my skin. “It’s not my time of the month yet.” My laugh is strained and I avoid looking at Zoltan.
“Tenebris protected her from the brunt of it.” Fenrir eyes the panther thoughtfully as he finally lowers in his chair. “I wasn’t aware he could share his powers like that with someone else.”
“At least I know his name.” I can hear a heartbeat in my mouth, and it makes my words shaky. Zoltan flicks a hand out and shoves the panther away from me, but the shifter only snarls in response as he nips him. “Is it safe to ask what that was all about?” I reach for Zoltan, placing my hand on his forearm to stop him from grabbing the feline.
“The only known portals to the human realm are the ones we are protecting behind our gates.” Smoothing his hair away from his face, Fenrir crosses one ankle over a knee and leans back. “Which brings the question of how the mage will be using a portal, and if there is one somewhere in Sienna, how is it that we don’t know about it.”
“Sienna has no portals outside the gates.” There is not a trace of doubt in Zoltan’s voice. “The mage will be using one of ours.”
“This is a bad thing how exactly?” My stomach growls like an angry dinosaur, and that turns all four sets of eyes on me. My face heats up like a stovetop, making me wish the ground will open to swallow me whole. “I need to speak to him away from here. Who cares how he will come to meet me as long as he comes?” Ignoring my embarrassment, I plow through with determination born of days going hungry in my younger days. Nothing to see here folks. The hunger will go away soon enough.
Raising my chin, I dare them to say something.
All three of them spring into motion, piling food on plates and shoving them in front of me. Scrubbing a hand over my face, I bite my tongue to stop myself from telling them I don’t need food. I need answers. If I don’t get them soon, hunger will be the least of my problems. With Roberti pissed that we killed a good chunk of his hunters and the Board plotting to screw me all the way to Sunday, an empty stomach is a good problem to have.
“How will I …” Zoltan uses my distraction to pop a piece of meat in my mouth, which shuts me up. Closing my mouth, I chew the morsel like an angry cow chomping on stubborn weeds, though I keep my eyes narrowed at him.
The asshole grins, waving another piece in my face.
Swallowing fast, I snatch his wrist and hold him back. “How will I find the address when I go through the portal?”
“I will take you there.” Removing my hand, he presses the food to my lips until I take the offering.
“I will speak with Daren alone.” The food is so delicious that saliva floods my mouth, dribbling through my lip when I speak with my mouth full. Suck it up jerk, I’ll keep talking even if you stuff me like a bell pepper.
“You will speak with him alone.” Inclining his head like a king from his throne at a peasant, he lifts a cube of cheese and holds it out for me. “I’ll be close, but you can see the mage on your own.”
“Wow, how very nice of you.” I gush sarcastically before snatching the cheese from his fingers. “I can eat on my own, so no need to feed me.” Grinning, I stuff the food in the panther’s mouth, almost losing my hand in the process.
“So stubborn.” Fenrir chuckles and returns to his apples. “It is set then. We will hold the perimeter while she tries to find …” He pauses, a slight frown forming a line on his forehead. “What is it exactly that you want to find, Hellion?”
“If Roberti is working with someone from Sienna, Daren will know about it.” So I don’t have to look at the others, I focus on the fascinating plates of food in front of me. “I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the Board creates all this chaos right as we deal a blow to the hunters that’s big enough to give us the upper hand. None of them knew it wasn’t orchestrated.”
“It’ll be an easy back and forth.” Leo is back in his human form but he looks tired, like he hasn’t slept in weeks. “I’ll have people watching the portals to see which one the mage will use. They wont stop him.” He assures me when I open my mouth.
Zoltan pops cheese between my lips, and that pisses me off.
“Hunters are gathered on the other side on every portal.” Astara comes rushing like a whirlwind, her hair tousled all around her face.
The cheese lodges in my throat, choking me.
Chapter 8
“Roberti doesn’t have to kill me. You almost did the job yourself,” I rasp, my throat burning like I’ve had barbed wire for breakfast.
“Don’t talk.” Zoltan presses a glass of water to my lips, rubbing my back with his other hand. Tears are running in rivulets down my face.
“What have I missed?” Astara bounces on the opposite sofa, giving me an apologetic smile. “Sorry, Franky. I need to work on my delivery for next time.”
“Let’s hope there is no next time.” Swiping at my blurry eyes, I sniff pitifully. “Geez, I really just kicked the bucket from a piece of cheese.”
“That …”
“If you say that Daren had anything to do with this I’m going to cut your throat while you sleep.” I cut Leo off with a glare.
“…is very bad timing,” the Alpha finishes, slowly raising an eyebrow at me.
“So bloodthirsty.” Fenrir cuts me a side glance, displeasure written all over his angelic face.
“She’s magnificent.” Smoothing a piece of hair behind my ear, Zoltan’s gaze is burning a hole on the side of my face.
“You were feral a little over twenty four hours ago. It doesn’t sound like a compliment coming from you.” Slapping his grabby hands away, I ignore Astara’s knowing smile. “You think they’ll breach the portals again?”
“They can’t. None of them survived that were in the house where they had Zoltan.” Fenrir leans forward placing his forearms over his thighs. “They couldn’t get their hands on your blood and whatever Roberti has from before won’t be enough to open every portal.”
“Opening one is enough for us to have our hands f
ull.” Rubbing my neck gingerly, I hope the sting will go away soon so I don’t sound like a smoker killing two packs a day. Smoking doesn’t affect supernaturals, but I’ve heard enough of them on human television to know I sound exactly the same.
“Someone must’ve heard you talking to the mage.”
I have no idea how Zoltan can do this. No matter what he says, there is so much conviction in it that you can’t find it in you to doubt him. No wonder everyone here looks up to him and follows directions without a second thought. With the certainty coming out of him, even I will jump in the fire and burn to ashes if he tells me to do it. It’s staggering to feel it the way I do right now.
“I was very careful.” Fenrir frowns at his feet, confirming my thoughts that you can’t doubt Zoltan. The Fae is trying to see how he could’ve slipped.
“I walked in alone first.” Leo looks troubled. “It could’ve been something I said that triggered this.”
“We are all missing the point here.” A purr like an engine starts at my feet and I realize I’ve been rubbing the shifter under his chin. I snatch my hand back in dismay. “This just proves that Roberti has eyes and ears in Sienna.”
“Or he is pissed that we whipped his ass and is planning to retaliate.” Tilting her head, Astara shrugs a shoulder. “It’s a possibility. He is a sore loser.”
“The only thing he will lose is his head when he stops running like a coward.” The panther perks up at Zoltan’s menacing words.
I notice for the first time that we are the only ones in the dining hall. It’s very strange to see the vast place empty. Cocooned in our bubble of silence so we are not overheard, I don’t think the rest of them are aware. Leo is the first to lock his gaze on my face and turn around to see what has gotten my attention. The rest stop whatever they are talking about mid-sentence doing the same.
“The portals.” Astara jumps up ready to run to the clearing, but I’m already shaking my head.
“Francesca?” Zoltan is watching me intently, his body coiled up and ready to spring.
I can’t speak from the churning of my magic inside me, the force of it pressing on my bones like a living thing trying to burst out of an eggshell. Me being the eggshell in this case. Dizziness makes me sway where I’m sitting on the sofa, my vision blurring from the bright colors pulsing to life in my normal sight. The entity sharing my body is seething in rage, but I’m not able to understand the reason behind it because my bones bend to contain my powers, leaving me in excruciating pain.
“Ag obair còmhla, fuil drágon!” Fenrir snaps sounding very far away, but it’s enough to clear my head. “You must work together,” he tells me while Zoltan bares his fangs at the Fae.
“Thank you.” Gasping for breath, I latch onto Zoltan’s arm so he doesn’t attack Fenrir for yelling at me. “I thought I was going to split apart. Something is inside the Academy.”
Now that I know my skin is not going to be shred to ribbons, I can feel why the rage is bubbling in my veins. Someone dared to come uninvited to the land tied to my dragon blood and this thing inside me is pissed. It doesn’t help matters that my anger and fear are coming off me in waves, fueling Zoltan and the others until all of them shed their humanity for the true predators they are.
Tenebris jumps on the table, sending plates of food flying all over the place and crashing on the floor. The panther’s tail is flicking in agitation, his ears pinned to the back of his skull and his gaze locked on something across the room. All of us angle our bodies in the same direction, following the animal’s instincts on a primal level.
That’s when I see it.
The air ripples, thickening, swirling, and pulsing like a heartbeat in the middle of the dining hall. It shimmers with sparks flying like electrical outbursts, growing in size and density. A calm washes over me very different than the one I get when my heartbeat slows just as Zoltan slides forward and places himself between me and whatever is about to materialize inside the Academy. I’m too busy trying to understand the feeling to be frustrated at his caveman tactics.
Fenrir, Leo, and Astara spread around just as I see Azgor running through the doors and screeching to a halt at the sight of the pulsing lights. The ghoul doesn’t need explanations as he joins the rest, circling whatever is about to pop into existence. It all happens in a blink of an eye, but to me it feels like a day has passed, the absence of the anger rattling me inside weakening my knees. Way to go Franky. Everyone is freaking out about how powerful you are, and you can’t even keep yourself standing, you dumbass. If the voice in my head had a physical body, I would’ve punched her in the uterus.
The shimmering forms into what resembles a body, limbs and a head taking shape from the sparking lights. His belly brushing the floor, the panther slinks closer with his tail lashing the air. My feet follow on their own behind him with Zoltan hot on my heels.
Everything happens at once.
Daren pops in front of us, his hair sticking in all directions like he just walked through a hurricane, eyes darting wildly until he locks on me. Leo jumps him with Astara at the same time while Fenrir sends a blast of some freakish Fae shadows that wrap around all three of them. Tenebris sails through the air, joining the pile of bodies in the fray. I finally find my voice, somehow shaking off the shock of seeing my friends face in the middle of this place.
“No!” My shriek bounces around the empty space, echoing, but drowning in the grunts and snarls coming from the heap on the floor. “Stop!” Snatching Zoltan, I tug harshly on his arm because I can’t find any words from the fear that Daren is already half eaten under the pile.
I sag, leaning on the vampire when he sends his mind fuck like a wave hammering everyone. All of them jump off Daren, moving fast to put enough distance between them so they aren’t attacked when my friend gets up. If he gets up. But I shove that doubt away with everything in me. Only the panther doesn’t have a care in the world as he chomps on Daren’s arm like it’s his personal buffet.
“Tenebris, that’s Francesca’s friend. The mage.” Using my distraction to his advantage, Zoltan gathers me in his arms, speaking as if he is exchanging pleasantries at a social gathering.
The panther’s eyes open wide and lock on mine. I swear he looks chagrined. Very slowly and purposely, he opens his jaw, pushing Daren’s bloody arm away from his teeth with his tongue. He even goes to great lengths to gag and cough, which makes me think he’s about to cough up a hairball. All I can do is gape at the absurdity of the situation.
“We have a problem,” Daren grunts, pushing off the floor with his good arm.
“Yes we do.” Fenrir is back to a royal Fae, staring the mage down his nose. ”Let’s start with how you managed to portal yourself in here through the wards.”
“Roberti has your mother.” Ignoring the Fae, Daren watches me like I’m about to go into hysterics.
Everyone turns to look at me.
“This is excellent news.” Excitement surges through me, but I stomp on it when they all look like I’ve lost my mind.
“He took her Franky.” Daren takes a step toward me and Zoltan tightens his arms around my chest.
“Let her process the shock in her own time.” Astara rushes to me, coming to hug me on the other side of Zoltan.
I’m the ham in a brother-sister sandwich.
Hysterical peals of laughter burst out of me.
“We will get her back, Drake,” Leo growls, a fierce expression tightening the lines on his face.
“Oh dear fates.”— I howl harder and a stich forms on my side—“you guys are serious.”
“It’s the shock,” Astara murmurs, giving me a reassuring squeeze to let me know she’s here for me. I love her for it but her concerns are not needed.
“Daren.”—Knowing he is the only one that might understand, I get myself somewhat under control—“it’s my mother you are talking about. Have you met her?”
“Once.” A familiar smile makes an appearance on his face. “But Roberti is insane. I had to tell yo
u.”
“I don’t get it.” Astara leans back, holding me at arm’s length. “It’s not shock, you really are laughing.”
“They were estranged …” Fenrir cocks his head, searching my face like you would look at an unfamiliar bug under a loop.
“I learned my fighting and mastered the weapons from my father.” Wiping the tears from my eyes, I nudge Zoltan to release me with no results. “My attitude, the stubborn streak, and no patience for fools is all from my mother. Roberti will regret the day he took her under his roof. She’s a tough cookie; she’ll be fine until we get to her. If we are lucky she’ll drive him to hang himself just so he doesn’t have to deal with her.”
“She might be feral when we find her.” Zoltan kisses the top of my head, reminding me of how I found him. “Good thing we have a cure for that.”
“You think that’s why the hunters are gathering around the portals? They think when I find out I’ll run there mindless of the danger?” The vampire holding me in his arms as if someone might steal me away turns my insides to mush, so I lean on him and bask in his body being wrapped around me. Just for a little while, I lie to myself.
“It’s as good a guess as any.” We all look at Azgor when he speaks. “I was coming to ask for help when they told me what was going on with the portals. Those stationed on guard alerted the Board.”
Daren stiffens visibly, and that gets my attention.
“You still need to tell us how you managed to portal yourself past the wards, mage.” Arms folded over his chest, Fenrir glares at Daren.
“Why does it matter? He is here.” Detangling myself from Zoltan with great effort, I jump to the side to get away from him. The damn vampire is like Velcro. “We don’t have to wait to talk until tomorrow.”
“There are hunters on all portals.” When I squint at Astara, she shrugs sheepishly.