Rylan looks down at me, nearly in shock as I look up at him with an accusing smirk. “What?” he asks. “How was I supposed to know? I told her to back off at the beginning and she had.”
I laugh as I hold onto him. “You’re kidding, right? The whole Academy knew she was in love with you.”
He looks down at me in horror. “Ugh,” he groans as he sits back down at the table and pulls me onto his lap.
Daniel sits up taller with a massive grin on his face. “I’d just like to thank you, oh wise, caring leader, for letting us all be witness to that show.”
Rylan shakes his head in exasperation as I grab my half-empty bottle of water and launch it across the table at Daniel. “You’re such a shit,” I laugh as the bottle rebounds off his head and lands straight back in my hands.
He rubs his head but looks at me with an impressed smirk. “That was awesome,” he declares as Nora rolls her eyes at her boyfriend then cracks into a fit of giggles as Daniel drags her off her seat and pulls her up onto his lap.
I turn to Rylan to ask him if he wants to go dance when Brax walks past our table, looks over his shoulder to see who it is and then backtracks to a standstill in front of us all. “Hey, where the hell have you guys been the last few days?” he asks, giving us all a friendly smile.
It’s almost comical the way every set of eyes at the table darts around from one person to the next, wondering how this is going to play out. Brax’s eyes linger on mine and more so specifically the way I’m curled around Rylan’s lap, so I take point on this one. “We’ve been around,” I smile, innocently. “What have you been up to?”
“Oh, not much,” he says. “Cool party, huh?”
“Sure is,” I smile.
His eyes move back to Rylan’s. “Congratulations, man. Cool gig.”
Rylan grunts his thanks with a quick nod and I take Brax’s distraction to peek over at Daniel who’s watching me back with a question in his eyes, wondering if this is it, if we’re finally going to go after the slimeball. I give him a quick nod before turning back to Brax. “Want to dance?” I ask with a bright smile.
“Oh, uh,” he says a little awkwardly as his eyes flash back to Rylan who looks calm and collected. “Sure,” he says slowly.
I jump up off Rylan’s lap and turn around, bending down to give him a quick kiss. “Be careful,” he warns quietly, knowing exactly what I’m up to.
“Always,” I grin before turning back to Brax and looping my arms through his, leading him away from the table. We’re just about at the dance floor when I discreetly look back over my shoulder to see both Daniel and Trey getting up from the table, a concerned look on Jacinta’s face, a bored one on Nora’s, and a set of gold speckled eyes firmly glued to my swaying ass making a wicked grin creep across my face.
I pull Brax to the very corner of the dance floor where it would be easy to slip away from the crowd. I begin dancing as I wait for Trey and Daniel to make their move. “So,” Brax starts. “You and Rylan are really a thing,” he states.
“Yeah,” I say giving him a guilty smile. “Sorry, I wanted to tell you I was involved, but I couldn’t.”
“It’s okay. I get it,” he says. “There’s no real competition when a guy like that is in the running.”
This time I give him a real smile. He’s completely right. Rylan will always come first for me and I can’t possibly imagine the day where another man would be able to take my affection away from him. It’s just not possible.
I see Daniel out the corner of my eye, pretending to grab a drink. He gives me a quick nod before my eyes flick back to Brax. “Hey, I’m feeling a bit funny. Do you mind if we go for a quick walk? I think I need to get away from all these people,” I tell him.
He easily falls for my charm. “Oh yeah,” he says, placing a hand on my lower back and leading me away, right down the dark street I was hoping for. “Are you okay?” he asks.
“Hmm, yeah. I think, it’s just very noisy and crowded back there,” I tell him as we walk further down the street. I see an alleyway between two buildings that would work a treat for what we need to do. “I might just stop here,” I tell him.
He gives me a concerned look but keeps his eyes on me as I lean against the building and bring a hand up to fan my face. With the noise from the party traveling down the street, he doesn’t even see them coming. One minute he’s watching me with concerned eyes, then next he’s being manhandled down the dark alley by two very pissed of boys.
“What the hell?” he yells, trying to get out of Daniel and Trey's tight grip. I quickly look around to make sure nobody saw then rush down the alley to the boys.
Daniel pushes Brax behind one of the buildings to keep out of sight and immediately nails him with a nasty punch to his face. “What was that for?” Brax groans as he spits a mouthful of blood down to the pavement.
“I’ve been waiting a long time for that,” Daniel says with a satisfied yet equally as wicked smirk.
“What the hell?” Brax growls in anger as he fights against Trey's hold and looks to me for help, but quickly realizes it’s not coming.
“I know it was you who attacked me at the mall,” Daniel says.
“What?” he says, feigning innocence. “It wasn’t me, man,” he adds, earning himself another punch to the jaw.
Brax’s head whips around with the momentum before he groans and brings his face forward. I step between the boys and decide to get the show on the road. “We know about your deal with Phillip Cooper,” I say, trying not to give out too many of my theories, just in case we’re actually wrong.
But…he falls right into the trap, just like we had expected.
His eyes bug out and he begins looking around in fear, trying to find some kind of escape. “I’d start talking,” Trey states. “Daniel’s been pretty pissed about this for a while. I wouldn’t keep him waiting any longer.”
Brax hesitates and Trey tightens his hold making him whimper in pain. “Fine,” he yells. “Phillip hired me to get you out of the way,” he spits at Daniel who instantly clocks him in the jaw again.
“Why?” I ask, placing a hand on Daniel’s shoulder to help him calm down.
“I don’t know,” he grunts. “He gave me a lot of money not to ask questions.”
Jesus. My anger finally gets the best of me and I punch him hard in the stomach, winding him. He gasps for breath as he sneers at me. “Next time you should avoid someone who actually has skill when it comes to fighting, maybe then you wouldn’t be in this situation.”
“Fucking bitch,” he growls at me.
“I’ve been called worse,” I grin. I don’t bother asking why he’s been hanging around so much, I think that part is obvious now that we know we were right. I turn my back and step away from the boys. “Have fun,” I tell Trey and Daniel. “Just don’t kill him. I don’t want you guys getting in trouble.”
I walk around the corner, back into the alley where I find Jacinta standing only a few feet away with tears streaming down her face. I stop before her and instantly pull her into a hug. “I’m sorry you had to hear that,” I tell her.
She sniffles as she pulls back to wipe her eyes. “I knew he wasn’t a nice guy, but I never thought he would do something like this,” she says, speaking about her father.
“I know and that’s okay. He’s your dad and no matter how he has treated you this year, you still love him.”
She lets out a sigh as I hear that familiar sound of flesh being beaten. “Come on,” I tell her. “I don’t want you to hear this.”
“K,” she murmurs.
I walk her back out to the party and immediately find Rylan talking with a few guys in suits, looking completely bored out of his mind. His eyes find mine and he looks to me with a question in his eyes. I give him a nod, confirming what we already thought about Phillip Cooper and Brax.
He gives me a tight, disappointed smile and I see the sigh from here. I know he wants to come to me to find out how it went, but I don’t want to discuss it again with Jacinta. I nod i
n her direction, having a full conversation with him without the need of words, letting him know I’ll take Jacinta home. He gives me a nod and a smile, telling me that he loves me.
I give Jacinta a gentle tug and start walking her back to the hotel. “What are yo-” I start when my sentence is cut off, thinking I’m hearing something. “Did you hear that?” I ask Jacinta.
“Hear what?” she asks, stopping in her tracks and listening out. “I can’t hear anything.”
“I swear I heard someone scream just now,” I say, pulling my brows down in concentration as I strain my hearing through all the other noises of the night.
A blood-curdling scream is heard clear as day, making my skin crawl. “Now, that I heard,” Jacinta says, slightly alarmed. Another scream rips through the night, coming from a different direction, making my back stiffen.
Three different screams in three different areas. This could only mean one thing.
I grab Jacinta by the shoulders and flip her to face me. “Run to Rylan as fast as you can. Tell him we’re under attack,” I tell her with urgency. She nods her head in understanding, her eyes wide with fear. I grab one of my guns and press it hard into her hands. “Take this. Do not hesitate to use it. Find Nora and get to safety. Now run,” I yell as I dart off into the night, following the sound of the screams.
I pull my dagger from my uniform as I sprint down the street, searching for what could have caused such a terrified scream when I turn a corner and come face to face with it.
The Fey.
They’re here, hundreds of them and they’re taking no prisoners.
Chapter 27
I stop at the corner as I mentally weigh up my options. If I run in now, guns blazing, I might be able to get a few down before they get me, after that my odds are low. I’d be slaughtered. I’m going to have to wait until Jacinta can get to Rylan to activate the alarms.
God, I hope it happens soon. I watch in terror as the Fey make their way from the outskirts of the boundary line and deeper into the streets, streets which lead right to the center of the community where hundreds of people and children are partying, celebrating Rylan and Brett.
My palms sweat and I itch to make a move, but it’s far too dangerous. They move deeper into our city, torching homes as they go and I hope to God that there are no people inside those houses.
I consider pulling out my phone and calling Rylan, but I would be heard immediately and can’t take the risk. I need to play this safe and as much as it pains me to say, I need to wait until they begin to spread out so I can easily begin taking them out, but the moment the first fey is killed. It will be on. They will sense the death and they will charge.
I stick to the shadows of the building as I hear another scream of agony in the distance and realize that a cry of pain that loud which can be heard over the music coming from the city center must be absolutely torturous. I move along the building, following their movements, not taking my eyes off them for even a second.
I cringe as another house goes up in flames and have a slither of relief as the smoke alarm from within starts to screech into the night then realize if anyone comes out right now, they would be slaughtered.
Smoke from the first few homes begins billowing up into the sky and I know smoke like that isn’t going to be ignored for long.
Come on, Jacinta. What’s taking so long? We need to get on the defense already, every second wasted is probably another few more lives gone.
A sound coming from the shadows of a house nearby has my heart sprinting in my chest and I quickly look around to find none other than Miss Layton, stumbling around in the dark, as drunk as a freaking skunk.
Shiiiit.
I dart across the street towards her, hoping that the fey haven’t heard her yet. I sprint up behind her, slam my hand against her mouth as we both crash to the shadow on the ground beside her house. Her eyes widen in fear before they focus on me and quickly begin to narrow.
She squirms under me and attempts to push me off, but I refuse to budge, when she tries to talk through my hand on her mouth, I push down harder. “Stop it,” I whisper with urgency. “The fey are here. You need to be quiet.” Her eyes begin darting around as terror sweeps through her. “I’m going to remove my hand,” I tell her. “You can’t say a word.”
She gives a fearful nod and I slowly release my hand from her mouth and begin getting up off the ground, pulling her up to her feet which in her drunken stupor is actually quite difficult.
What the hell am I going to do with her? She’s as pissed as a nit and is going to get herself killed. I reach forward to grab her hand when her eyes widen impossibly large and her mouth drops open in a gasp, giving me only a split-second warning.
I push Miss Layton backward, as far away from the fairy as possible and spin on my heel. I face a tall, scary-looking dude with human-ish looking features and glowing yellow eyes that make him look disgustingly odd. His body is a collage of nature which gives off the impression of being fragile, but I know differently.
He reaches behind him and I watch in almost slow motion as his stick like fingers wrap around a hilt to draw a massive sword. He immediately flings it towards me with the worst kind of technique that would make Rylan cringe. I dart out of the way and hope Rylan is close to sounding the warning alarm as this bastard is seconds from going down.
My hand flashes to my belt and I whip out my favorite dagger then lunge forward with a speed he isn’t ready for. I nail the bastard and let him fall to the ground before he starts to bleed out slowly. The slow painful death might just give me a few extra moments before the other fey are notified.
I turn to look for Miss Layton, only to find her openly gawking at me. I take a step towards her which makes her turn in the wrong direction and bolt.
I don’t have time to run after her and as much as it goes against everything I am. There’s nothing I can do for her now.
I dart back into the shadows to see how far the fey have made it when the sound of the alarm finally screeches through the community. The fey pause for a fleeting moment. They look around at each other and realize they’ve been sprung. And suddenly, it’s on. Each and every one of them charge.
Thank God, now it’s time for me to do what I do best. I wait in the darkness and watch as the fey start darting in my direction.
I hear their footsteps growing closer, but it’s drowned out by the alarm and the panic which is now happening in the city center. I’m sure mothers are running around like crazy trying to find their babies while their husbands are double-checking their weapons, and no doubt heading this way.
Let’s just hope the people who aren’t able to defend themselves are able to make it to our underground bunkers, but I know it’s not going to be everyone. Those bunkers aren’t going to be big enough to hold the number of people who have all flown in over the past week.
Damn Fey. They would have known there were so many members here at the moment.
I see the fey getting closer and wait until the first one comes around the corner. I desperately want to grab my gun, but that would draw too much attention to me. I need to wait until the rest of the front lines make it here. The fey finally turn the corner and I slash out with my dagger, slicing it fair across his stomach, not even giving him the chance to fight.
I don’t have time to dwell as the next one appears. He launches himself over his fallen fairy and comes down in front of me with his arms raised, he punches out, but I’m too quick. This isn’t a fairy knight, just a regular fairy, and he has no idea what he just got himself into.
He’s down in seconds.
The next comes and then the next.
Ten minutes have passed and I’m still at the same corner with more and more fey turning up, but at least I’ve been able to hear the tell-tale sound of the battle so I know everyone has come. I hear the battle way off in the distance and I realize with a pained sob that the battle has crept down into the city.
When no more fey come around the corner, I’m
finally able to step out and I’m shocked to see the sight before me, hundreds of fey and hundreds of my people all in battle, fighting for blood. Surrounding buildings burn around me as the sounds of screams and metal on metal chill my bones.
I look closer and realize that there are more of my guys in this area than fey and I know my people can handle it.
I take off, heading deeper into the city to find where I’m more desperately needed and pass Trey on the way. “Jacinta?” he asks as he lands a devastating blow on the fey he’s currently taking out.
“Don’t know,” I grunt as I sprint past, nailing the fey in the back with my dagger in the process, “Told her to find safety.”
“Damn it,” he growls, hating that he doesn’t know where she is or if she is safe, but I can’t dwell on it. Jacinta is a smart girl, she would have done everything she could to help as many people as possible, right until the very last moment, then she would have taken care of herself. I feel a tiny bit better knowing she has one of my guns with her, but I pray she won’t have to use it.
I dash past him and find myself in the same area where the party was. A fairy knight darts in front of me with his sword drawn, but I don’t give him the chance. I pull my gun and take him out. I’ve never been happier that their magic is practically useless outside of their kingdom, otherwise, this would have been a Guard massacre.
I quickly look around and see Rylan off in the distance. His eyes meet mine with relief before focusing back on the fey before him. A breath of relief leaves me as I realize this area is only filled with our soldiers and the enemy which means so far, the majority of people have managed to get away.
Taking a deeper look, I realize that this area is swarming with mainly fairy knights and that this is where I’m needed. I tuck my gun back in its holster, not wanting to waste bullets and launch myself into battle with my favorite dagger.
I try my hardest to move closer to Rylan while continuing to fight, but the way the Knights keep coming at me is making it far too difficult, so I carry on, taking them out one by one.
Queen and War: Slayer Academy (Book 3) Page 20