Dread Delight: Rosewood Academy for Witches and Mages (Darkly Sweet Book 2)

by Juliann Whicker

  “Get behind me, Cara Mia. Stay low. When they come down to get you, I’ll eat their eyes and crush their hearts.”

  “I didn’t think Creagh had hearts.”

  Signore stiffened and I looked back at the shadow forming, a cape flickering around his feet. It was the popcorn guy. What the macaroon was he doing here?”

  “You want to die?” I demanded. We didn’t have time to argue, not when the sky was whistling as the witches flew above us, finding a new formation with their now uneven numbers. Seven left. Pitch and I had taken out nine. Not too bad.

  “Stay low, Cara mia.” Signore shoved me down and actually placed one sturdy boot on my back between my shoulder blades. I would have argued, but, at that point, he would be a target, and I would only distract him. Could he and the popcorn mage possibly survive an encounter with seven furious and psychotic Creagh? They were Darksider witches, every one of them battle-hardened and homicidal. That Pitch could take out so many… No wonder they wanted her. If only they could take her without it killing me.

  The rest of it happened fast. So much faster than I expected. My visibility wasn’t good with my cheek pressed to the icy, bumpy ground, but I heard the whistling grow louder and louder until the witches fell as one on Signore. I had a better view of Popcorn mage than Signore who stayed directly above me, pushing my head down any time I lifted it off the ground. With his boot. Macaroons and bonbons I’d have to wash mud out of my hair along with blood. If I didn’t die, or worse, get captured by Creagh until Pitch was tortured out of me.

  At any rate, Popcorn mage knew how to kill Creagh. He went for their throats, moving in a graceful swirl of his cloak, and he had knives. So many knives. He had knives coming out of his boots in all directions. That was an interesting way to decapitate someone. Pitch would be impressed. Okay, I was a little bit impressed too. Mostly grossed out. He killed two, and then a head fell two inches away from my face, the empty wide eyes of a witch staring at me, her eyeballs completely white without a pupil.

  So gross, and worse, the pain, the exhaustion was circling around me faster than Creagh. I closed my eyes, half to get away from the blank stare of the Creagh and half because I was so tired. Signore grabbed my already bruised arm and pulled me upright. He glared at me. I could barely see his black eyes beneath the mask, but I did see the sword he held in one hand. Oh, that was pretty. It glistened like rubies filled with fire.

  “Signore, that sword is gorgeous. That’s why you aren’t married, you can’t find a woman who compares to her.”

  He flicked his fingers and the sword vanished. He put his hands on either side of my face, gripping me hard, like stone and bone, no softness of flesh to soften his fingers. He pulled down his mask and brought his face to mine. I saw red in his eyes, like the glow of his sword. He smelled wonderful, like standing on rocky bluffs staring out into an endless black sea, or flying through a starless night on the back of the wind.

  “How many Creagh were there?”

  “Sixteen. Pitch and I killed nine.”

  He grunted. “You’re going to suffer great pain from this battle.”

  I shrugged. “It’s better than the alternative.”

  His fingers buried into my face and I felt the strangest ripping through my face and down my back to the base of my spine. I arched and gasped, going limp around him while he drew the pain out of me as I’d done so many times before to him.

  I hung from his hands until he slowly lowered me back to the ground and stared at me. His eyes were still red. Somehow I knew that was a bad thing.

  “You didn’t have to do that,” I whispered, careful like I was facing a furious Señor Mort. He was going to bite me because I’d done something very bad, like forget to feed and water him for days.

  He ripped my cloak, like it wasn’t already shredded enough, and gripped my shoulder, hard, digging in where Drake had monogrammed me. He leaned closer and growled, low and long from his throat.

  “Nice Signore. Don’t eat stupid Penny. Unless you want indigestion. All that hair can’t be good for a mage. I know I shouldn’t have done it. But he played me so beautifully. You should have seen him. He sacrificed his ego for my feelings. His ego. I didn’t think there was anything more precious to a mage than his ego, but apparently owning me was worth the sacrifice.”

  He shifted, pressing his face against my shoulder then I felt his teeth sink into my skin. Ow. And then green sparks exploded around me, and Signore was knocked away from me. He didn’t land, simply disappeared.

  “I don’t mean to interrupt, but this might not be the safest place for you to relax.”

  I breathed rapidly, the feel of Signore’s teeth in my shoulder burning with a terrible fire. It was like Drake and Signore were fighting in my skin, and I lost.

  I covered the wound with my hand and winced. My cape was completely worthless. I looked like I’d been in a fight with sixteen Creagh. I’d lost the bandage, so all sorts of crap was in my open shoulder wound. Drake’s initials and Signore’s teeth.

  I’d known he was going to bite me, but usually I was wrong when I knew things like that. I shifted my shoulder and nodded to the Blackheart mage. I stumbled over the ripped hem of my dress. I stopped for a moment, stole one of the mage’s knives, slashed through the front of my skirt above my knees, a little bit short, but I wouldn’t trip, tossed the knife back at him then strode back over the frozen field towards the tourney.

  He fell in beside me. After a few steps, he cleared his throat. “That man, the one with the red sword. I don’t suppose you could introduce us some time.”

  “I don’t have to. You can meet him any time on your own.”

  “I can?”

  “Google specialized international delivery services. His is the one with Idul in the title. If he doesn’t like you, he’ll probably run over you with his truck, so it’s a risk.”

  “And if he likes you?”

  I winced and touched my shoulder. “He’ll probably bite you.”

  “Do you think he has rabies?”

  “I’m all up on my shots.” I glanced over at him. “I hate to be rude after you were so helpful back there, but what are you doing?”

  He smiled at me, his face so utterly beautiful it seemed like a cartoon or something. I reached out and poked his cheek, but the skin was soft, fleshy, so different from Signore Ludi. I pulled my hand away and rubbed my fingers together. His face was fine, but my stomach churned at that touch. Because he wasn’t the mage I belonged to.

  “When a Creagh touched my cloak, the one that you were holding, an alarm went off and I knew that there was a problem. I found the cloak outside, left in the mud so carelessly.” He fingered the fabric and carefully pulled the hood over his head. “I wouldn’t have found you if it weren’t for the explosives.”

  A sudden bolt of pain went through my shoulder and I hissed, kneading it with my fingers. “That makes sense. Except it doesn’t. Why would you join a fight with a stranger? I don’t know you.”

  He gave me a sudden smile that wasn’t flirty. I got the distinct impression that he didn’t use that smile very often. “You belong to a friend of mine.” He cocked his head. “Can you call us friends? How strange. Drake dislikes losing things.”

  I stiffened up and turned to face him. He might be very good at killing Creagh, but I had Pitch. Would I really call her back so soon after I’d gotten rid of her? Signore wasn’t going to take that pain for me again. It had cost him a lot. What could I do to make it up for him? He was so angry. He’d never been angry at me before. Never.

  I glared at him before I shook my head and continued towards the tourney. I wasn’t going there, but past it, to my room before someone saw me in my shredded clothing and started asking question.

  “I’m Teddy,” he offered after a few steps.

  “I’m Drake’s towel, but you knew that.”

  “Towel? You wrap around him when he’s damp?”

  “He monogrammed me.”

  “You could be his shee
ts instead, lay over him while he sleeps, or his robe, covering his naked body…”

  I whirled around on him. “Don’t get the idea that because I needed saving by Signore you can talk to me any way you want. I have had a very long day, I have mud in my hair, and I’m so angry that I’m not going to be able to sleep until I’ve put my fist through Drake’s face. I would happily practice on you.”

  He smiled. “You’re adorable.”

  My mouth fell open in shock. Adorable? I was covered in Creagh gore! My dress was a complete wreck, my hair, I didn’t even want to think about my hair, and he called me adorable?

  “There you are. Meeting all the worst knaves, are you?” Drake’s voice was low, amused, stunningly rich. It was only a few words, but my skin prickled, vibrantly aware of him.

  I did the first thing I could think of that would really irritate him. I grabbed the popcorn mage by the clasp on his cloak, jerked him towards me, and mashed my face against his in what felt like assault but hopefully looked like a kiss.

  The mage’s dark eyes widened for a moment, staring into mine before the corners crinkled, his lips parted, and I found his tongue down my throat. Macaroons and lollipops, gag! It was terrible, much worse than terrible, and after I let him go, he didn’t stop with the tongue. Finally I shoved him away from me, dragged my forearm across my lips and tried to get rid of the revolting feel of him. I froze.

  Drake hadn’t stopped me, he just stood behind me, watching. “Not very pleasant, is it?” he murmured. “Teddy enjoyed it much more than you. What he really enjoyed is how much you and I both hated it. He’s a bit of a sadist, aren’t you, Prince?”

  I whirled around to face Drake. “What do you want?”

  He studied me, his face still while his eyes went to my hair, over my bruised arms, slashed gown, and shredded cloak, pausing on the bite mark over my shoulder. “I felt that,” he finally said. “I did not feel the rest, the apparent battle that I so sadly missed. Was it a good one?” he asked, turning to Teddy, or Prince. Popcorn mage.

  “Sixteen witches, she said. Pitch flying through the sky, raining dead Creagh, and the Ruby defending her at the end, yes, it was the best fight I’ve ever attended.”

  Drake’s eyes narrowed, flashing green. “No wonder you took a break from the tourney. I wondered what could possibly steal you from the chance of beating in a few fair Rosewood boys.”

  “Prissy brats,” Teddy said cheerfully. “I can still do that, but it’s not every day…” He swung his gaze back at me. “Be gentle with him, witch. He has no idea what he’s getting into.”

  With that, he stepped into Darkside, leaving me alone in the dark with a mage traitor who I wanted desperately to kiss until the taste of wrong left my mouth.

  “Penny,” he said in a low voice.

  “I’ve never seen you so brutal, beating mages like they were watermelon.”

  “Sixteen Creagh, how could I have missed that? You should have called me.”

  “I left my phone in my room.”

  He inhaled sharply. “Not like that. We have a bond. You can draw my attention any time you like. I can find you in a storm, or know when you’re hurt, but I didn’t know…”

  “I’m not hurt. I’m fine.”

  “Your arms are bruised. Your face is swollen. I’ll have to heal you.” He stepped forward and put his hand on my cheek. I should have pushed him away, but he was my healer, and I didn’t want a swollen face. This would be better to do now, quickly before I went to my room and slammed my door on him and the rest of the world for a long, long time.

  “Drake, what is the Ruby?”

  He raised his eyebrows, dark eyes sparking. “Darksider sorceror, head of the finest assassin guild in Darkside.”

  “An assassin? That makes no sense.”

  Drake shrugged as he trailed his fingers over my cheek, eyes sparking green. “Teddy is obsessed with the Ruby. He’s probably mistaken. Teddy wants to be the finest assassin in the world when he grows up. His dream is to take the place of the Ruby some day.”

  “He has cool knives, and he doesn’t fight with a cocked knee.”

  He wrinkled his nose at me. “If I’d known you were watching, I would have been more vigilant. You were supposed to be in your room. This isn’t a good night for you to wander around. I should have made certain you were safe.” He frowned suddenly hard, fierce and his fingers trailed down my shoulders to my arms. “I’m not very good at owning you, am I?”

  “No. Drake, you need to undo it.”

  He shook his head, lips tight. “I can’t. I’ll walk you back to your room.”

  I glared at him then spun around before he had a chance to finish with my arms.

  We walked in silence for a long time. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you,” he finally murmured.

  “Oh, be quiet. Creagh shouldn’t be your problem, unless you’re just sad you missed the fight. I wish you’d been there. You could have gotten your head ripped off by a couple of Creagh, or dropped from a thousand feet to shatter on the ground.”

  “That does sound enjoyable, much better than an angry Penny giving me the silent treatment. Now I understand what Zach was always going on and on about. Your conversation is always…”

  “Adorable?” I cut him off and spun to face him. “Drake, you don’t understand. I can’t belong to you. Ignoring the part where I despise the concept of being owned by some heartless mage, I don’t have time for this. If I have to find a way to break the bond, I will, and I if I can’t, then I will break you.”

  He finally smiled, a beautiful smile that lip up his eyes. “Finally, a threat. I’ve been waiting all night for a threat. Please break me, Penny. Destroy all the malice in this mage and make him something that deserves your love. I want to rip the world apart when you look at me like that, loving me in spite of everything. I know you can’t stop, because love is who you are, and I want it even though all I can give you in return seems like nothing in comparison.”

  “Stop! I told you what I love most, my business, my weasel, and my independence. You took two of those things from me. I don’t want to hear what you want. I don’t care what you want. You can take your stupid wants and choke on them for all I care. I don’t have time to be the object of some stupid mage’s desire.”

  He cocked his head at me. “Is it the curse? I have a great many resources that are at your disposal.”

  “Curse? What curse?”

  He put his hand on the base of my spine. “Here. It’s very well done. The protection spell keeps it in bounds, but as much as I’ve studied it, I can’t see a way of freeing you from it. If you let me study it directly…”

  I pulled away from him. “Don’t touch me. The only curse I have is falling in love with the mage most likely to destroy me.”

  “The fear, the fainting, the memory loss, all of it is part of the curse. The effects are extremely strong if you suffer them in spite of all the protection spells laid on you over the years.”

  I swallowed and put my hand over my spine. “I don’t know anything about it.”

  He moved closer, fingers brushing mine as we walked too slow. I should be running away from him, but how could I run away from the feelings in my chest? They were worse than the mark in my shoulder, but I wasn’t about to tell him that.

  “I belong to you, Penny. You may as well make use of me.”

  I whirled around and grabbed his shirt, dragging him close to me. I held him, a breath between our lips. “Use of you? Is that what you intend to do with me? I might love you, but you should know that I have a track record for destroying and disappointing the people I love best.”

  I kissed him then. He kissed me, sliding his strong hands around my shoulder, fingers sliding over the monogrammed bite, and the war, the ache faded with that touch. I kissed him hard, angry, desperate and hurt. I’d been right. He was a mage I could never marry. No, belonging to a mage like Drake permanently closed the door to that idea. He’d killed my mother. No, I’d killed her. I’d begged
Drake to mark me after I tied him in the woods, losing the control they’d trained in me so carefully. I’d failed.

  I pulled away, lips burning. “You don’t understand. I can’t belong to a mage.”

  He brushed my lips with his and tangled his fingers in my hair. “I really hate you saying that. You can. You do. You will until you die.”

  He kissed me again. I should have bit his tongue, but he was nothing like the revolting popcorn mage who hadn’t even tasted like popcorn, just dead Creagh. Drake didn’t understand and I couldn’t explain it to him, not without making myself even more vulnerable. No. I would find a way out of this mess. Somehow.

  Right after I stopped kissing him.

  For news about upcoming books, s.ubscribe HERE to my newsletter list.

  If you made it this far, why not leave a review? If you have comments, questions, or just want to chat, you can find me:

  Twitter

  Facebook

  Amazon Author Page

  The next book in the Darkly Sweet series comes out in May 2018.

  Thanks to all my fantastic readers, particularly those on my FB group, Juliann Whicker’s secret society of Witches, Wizards and Pretzels. Thanks for getting excited about my shockingly decadent imagination. You make this stuff fun.

  I couldn’t have done this without my mother who told me it was ‘good enough’. That’s exactly what I needed. Thanks to my editor, Dr. J.H. Whicker Ph.D. in Writing Studies, you highfalutin guy you! Without you it would look like aw;eoirtuy2$%sk.

  Read on for a sample of Watergirl.

  It started like so many of my dreams, underwater. Everyone moved slowly through the halls of school, shadows of blue and green shading faces of people I knew so they looked different, special. I didn’t notice the water we all moved through, didn’t think anything about it until someone dropped a notebook and the papers fell up, spreading around me like a whirlpool had caught them. That’s when I realized that I couldn’t breathe. I batted the papers away from me when they clung to my face and arms, covering my nose and mouth as though the water wasn’t enough.