by G. Bailey
“Trust me, they will not sense or see me unless I want them to. It’s a gift of mine,” he tells me with a cheeky grin. If anything happens to him, I don’t know how I will forgive myself. “So go and make your grand entrance, set down your rules, and I will find the kitchens and make you some food.”
“You’re going to bring me food?” I question. This wolf is crazy, but for some reason, I don’t feel so nervous now.
“Yes, I’m going to make food for you every night while you handle what needs to be done here,” he says softly.
I smile back despite everything. “I’m looking forward to our food date later then.”
“Stop stalling and go,” Myles says, releasing my hands. I turn around, clamping my shaky hands into fists at my sides, and head out the door I came through. I shut it behind me and walk around the building, stepping over some overgrown bushes. Gods, if Thallon were here and okay, he would be gardening. This place looks terrible. I try not to stare at the ruined flowers and the rotten fruit from the trees, littering the ground. The angel academy gardens need a lot of work done, and I know it’s not important right now, but I can’t help but feel angry for Thallon. He spent years building up this garden, and I helped him in the last few months too. My footsteps seem louder than ever as I get close to the academy and the glass doors in front of me. I come to a halt, my feet digging into the stones as the glass doors swing open and Ren walks out.
My heart feels like it stops, and I resist the urge to whack my chest to restart it as I get a good look at the vampire king who was my friend. Someone I trusted. Someone who once saved me only to destroy me. Power radiates off him in waves, suffocating me before he has even gotten close. There is an arrogance to every move he makes, a dominance over the very floor underneath him that never was there when he was a ghost. Yes, he had a big ego, but nothing like this.
I wish Ren was alone, but as I finally turn my gaze away, I notice a woman at his side. I recognise her straight away as the vampire who tried to bite me in the attack on the academy not so long ago. Her blonde hair is cut shorter than before, but it does nothing to detract from her beauty. She has long legs covered with skintight black jeans, and a tank top that is nothing more than a tiny piece of silk hangs off her shoulders. I legit can see her nipples through the top. As Ren comes to a stop, she rests a hand on his arm, passive-aggressively telling me he belongs to her.
Ren doesn’t take his eyes off me though, but I refuse to meet his gaze as someone else steps through the door.
Henry. I almost take a step towards him as he walks to Ren and stops at his side. I knew he was on his side, but it still hurts to see this. I can’t help but notice how Henry no longer looks as sick as he did. His once pale skin has colour now, almost a golden glow to him, and even though his eyes speak a thousand words, I don’t look at him. Knowing I need to get this over with, I lock my eyes with Ren and ignore the flutter of my heart.
The zap of something inside me, which I don’t know or understand why it is there.
“Ren. I’ve heard you’ve been looking for me,” I start off. The wind whips around us all, the tension becoming almost too much to bear.
“You ran from me,” Ren finally speaks, and gods, his voice hurts me to hear. I used to love his voice, his stories and how kind he was. Was it all a pretence? “And now you’re home. Welcome back to the academy, Kaitlyn.”
“Want me to lock her up with the others?” the bitch face at his side asks. Ren reaches out with one hand, grabbing her neck and slowly peeling his eyes from me to her. “Miranda, pass the message along that if anyone touches my queen, they will be ripped apart by me. Do you understand?”
“Y-e-s,” she splutters out, and he drops her to the floor like she is trash, and as he looks at me, it’s clear she is forgotten. Miranda looks at me with disgust before climbing to her feet, and she walks off into the academy, tugging down her shirt. Ren takes a step closer to me, and I take one back, which makes him pause.
“Why did you come back?” he softly asks with guilt shining in his eyes. “I honestly thought you never would after what I did.”
“My friends are here...” I truthfully answer him as much as I can. “Where are Vesnia and Thallon? Riley?”
“You care about that boy still?” Ren tuts, almost hisses. Henry steps closer to his side, but I can’t look at him. “He hurt you. Betrayed you!”
I don’t answer. Ren couldn’t understand the reason I want Riley alive any more than I really understand it. Ren and I are a million miles apart, even when we stand so close.
“You asked me to keep him alive, and I did. He is okay. So are Thallon and Vesnia,” Henry tells me, and even though his words bring me relief, they still hurt because he said them. The air I didn’t know I was holding in comes out in a rush, and I nod once. That’s good. They are alive, and I can save them still.
“If you let me see Thallon and Vesnia, then I will stay and behave,” I say, putting my cards on the table.
Ren nods, watching me closely. “For what it is worth to you, I am sorry. The mating bond is very hard to resist, but when you wish to talk, come to me. I will always wait for you, Kaitlyn.”
“You betrayed me,” I whisper, but the words echo around us. “Riley and you…both of you ripped my heart out that day, and neither of you can simply put it back together as it was. It is gone.”
“Yes, I did.” Ren fully accepts it and holds his hands out. “If you wish to kill me for my actions, then do so. I will not stop you. I owe you my life a thousand times over.” For a moment, I see the young man whose entire family was murdered in front of him before he was betrayed himself, and then he became a ghost who desperately wanted to be alive. To save his people. Even if it cost him me.
“Ren...” Henry warns, looking between us both nervously.
My hand shakes as I look away from them both to the academy. I’m not playing into his taunt. “Killing you when you give me permission to won’t fix what you did to me. I want my friends.”
“Henry, you are now in charge of Kaitlyn’s protection. You know where her friends are, correct?” he asks Henry, who bows his head before answering. I almost laugh, shaking my head slightly. Oh how the “king” of the academy has fallen to a ghost.
“Yes, sir,” he answers. “I will take Kaitlyn to her friends if you wish it.”
“I do,” Ren answers, and without another word, he turns around, walking to the door to the academy and leaving me alone with another one of the guys I think I fell for who betrayed me.
Chapter 34
Henry and I stare at each other in silence for a long time, and I almost wish he would talk first. It’s definitely not because I want to hear his voice. And it’s not because I need to hear him tell me the truth or because I long for everything we used to have together.
And lying to myself is key to my resolve today, it seems.
Henry Ravaric has never scared me. He was my undoing from the first moment we met. The so-called king of The Angel Academy.
And he has fallen.
“There are answers if you will let me explain, darlin’,” Henry’s voice rolls over me in such familiarity and longing it makes my knees weak. If I weren’t so stubborn, I would let him explain. Maybe. The months I was changing or whatever happened to me before I woke up haven’t changed Henry all that much, but yet, everything has changed. His black hair looks that much softer as the locks curl around his forehead just above his burning eyes that look like embers flicker within them. Henry’s confident demeanour hasn’t changed, but he feels less reckless, like he has nothing hanging over his head making him want to give up.
Crossing my arms, I walk right up to Henry, who seems a little off guard to have me so close, but he doesn’t back away. I think it would break my heart if he did, but I’d never let him see it. I’m stronger than he thinks. “Because you fought Riley to try and stop him throwing me in the white fire, I will speak to you, but we aren’t going back to what we were before. You knew about Ren, so you k
new I could see ghosts, and yet you lied to me.”
“I never lied,” Henry firmly replies, searching my eyes. “You never told me about Ren either. My secret was just as big as yours, because my fucking life depended on it. I just met you, and I still wanted to tell you everything, throw everything away because—”
He halts, swearing under his breath and turning around. Because of what? “Come on, darlin’. If we are lucky, we can catch Vesnia before class.”
I have to jog to keep up with Henry’s large strides towards the academy, and when we get to the doors, he holds one of them open for me. Maybe Henry has a point, we both did lie to each other about big things, and it seems Henry has a reason just like I did. Honestly, it all feels pointless at the moment. I slip inside after him, and my feet nearly come to a halt when I see how the academy looks so much the same, yet the students are anything but. Men and women around our age in modern clothes, who I assume are vampires, hold gold chains leading to angels following behind them. The gold chains are wrapped tightly around the angels’ necks, where there are plenty of bite marks on most the angels I see, and all of them look rough in clothes that have seen better days. Bonnie is the first angel I really recognise, but she is anything but the bitchy girl I used to know. She doesn’t even look up as she is dragged behind a tall woman with red hair.
“What the hell?” I whisper, and Henry reaches back as most the vampires turn to look at me, and the look he gives me tells me that he doesn’t agree either. Henry’s hand wraps around my arm, and he drags me through them and into the greenhouse which is emptier than that room was.
“The new rules at the academy are harsh. Angels are slaves to vampires now, and each vampire has an angel slave. Ren got the idea from The Demon Academy who did similar to wolf shifters,” Henry whispers to me, his warm breath blowing against my cheek. “If anyone can reason with Ren, it’s you. You’re his mate, his chosen queen, and he speaks fondly of you even when you ran away. Change the academy, Kaitlyn.”
“Will he not listen to you then? Why do I need to change things alone? You’re a fucking angel too!” I question, pushing him away from me, but he doesn’t let go. “And why are you even close to him?”
“When you’re not angry and in shock, I will tell you,” he replies and lets go of my arm. I miss his touch the second it is gone, and I’m sure my face gives that away, but Henry thankfully points at something in the distance. I step forward, gulping down disgust when I see Vesnia. She has a gold chain on her neck, and it leads to a young vampire with black hair and muscles for days. Her eyes stay on the vampire the whole time, but she doesn’t look broken or scared. Her clothes look washed, and overall she doesn’t seem in such a state as many of the other angels are. “I made sure Vesnia was paired with a good vamp. Bryne Maddix is a bit of a Welsh arsehole, but he won’t hurt her or force her to be fed on. That can’t be said for most.”
“Thank you for taking such good care of my best friend,” I dryly tell him. We stare each other down until some people pass us and I remember Thallon. “Where is Thallon?”
“In the dungeons with the teachers,” he tells me, and this he does look guilty about. I can hardly look at him as we stare at each other. “I don’t like the fucker, but I am sorry he is down there.”
“Let’s just go,” I sigh.
“Wait,” Henry touches my arm again, and I gulp. Contact between us is not making it easier to stay mad at him. “Where did you go when you ran away? Why do you smell like a dog, and why are you really back?”
“I smell like a dog?” I question with a furrowed brow. “Real smooth compliment there, Henry.”
He sheepishly grins, and I almost laugh until someone cries out in pain nearby, reminding me of, well, everything. Any humour between us drifts away as reality waits for us, and it’s not pretty. “Take me to Thallon, Henry.”
The dungeons are just what I expected them to be like. Dark, doomy, and they smell like damp things gone wrong. After walking down endless flights of stairs, we come to a large room with two gated sides. In the one prison are some of my old teachers, and I pause as they turn to look at me. They all look in rough shape, some of them are missing their wings, and all that is left is feathers on the ground. No one speaks, and the horror of the room makes me freeze, feeling so lost I don’t know how to react.
“Kaitlyn?” Thallon’s deep voice grumbles, and I turn towards his voice, seeing him alone in the other cell on the dirt. My heart beats like a drum as I rush to the bars, and he slowly stands up by holding the bars, wobbling as he does. Thallon does not look good—in worn clothes, covered in dirt and looking thinner than he was the last time I saw him. And oh my gosh, the smell in here is terrible. But gods, Thallon makes my heart pound all the same. Dirt and misery can’t hide who he is to me.
I don’t give a monkey’s ass what he looks like…he is my Thallon.
“Let him the hell out. Now, Henry!” I all but scream as Thallon just about holds himself up on the bars, and I look down to see his leg is bleeding through his trousers. Henry grabs the keys and unlocks the door, and Thallon instantly falls onto me, and I nearly drop him, but Henry helps.
At least he is finally helping. Gods, I’m so mad at him, but I will deal with Henry later.
“I missed you,” Thallon mutters in my ear, and I reach my hand up, resting it on his forehead.
“He is burning up and bleeding. We need a healer, Henry,” I demand. Henry grunts and lifts Thallon over his shoulder before straightening up.
“Agreed. Fly up with me,” he says before stretching his wings out and flying up the staircase. Well, if he can do it. I take a deep breath, stretching my wings out. I can totally do this.
“Save us, Kaitlyn. The light above says you will,” Professor Nina groggily says, and I turn to see her near the edge of the cell, holding the bars. She is pale, her once shiny and long hair is a mess and cut in all lengths, though hope still shines in her eyes as she looks at me, like an eighteen-year-old is going to save her from this somehow. I want to tell her I can hardly save myself, but the broken look in her eyes makes me stay silent. I do feel sorry for her, even when my mind flickers with images of killing students and how cruel she was. Seems like in this war, there isn’t a good or a bad person. Without replying to her, I put my wings away and run up the staircase, pushing all thoughts other than getting Thallon better to the back of my mind. Flying can wait. The teachers can wait.
Henry waits for me at the top, his eyes full of questions of where I was, but he doesn’t bring them up as he turns and walks through the greenhouse to the rooms. Dozens of vampires stop to stare, but no one stands in Henry’s way, and I trail behind him, my eyes focused on Thallon, who isn’t awake yet. I follow him up another set of staircases until we get to a row of rooms. There are four all together, all dark wooden doors, and Henry opens the one in the middle, taking Thallon inside. I follow him in and close the door behind me, pausing as I realise this is the same room I ran away from not that long ago. The bedding has been changed to light purple sheets, and the wardrobe door is open with all my clothes hanging up, my shoes resting next to it. My suitcase is on the other side of the room, and a dresser is next to a bathroom door with a sign that clearly marks it as the bathroom. On the dresser is a gift box, but I ignore it for now as Henry lays Thallon on the bed.
“Get some towels, warm water and a first aid kit. There should be one under the sink; they usually put one in all the rooms,” Henry commands as he pulls up Thallon’s jeans, and I flinch at the huge cut going from his ankle to his knee. Who the hell did that?
“Wait, we need a healer,” I nervously say, and Henry sighs, looking at me.
“They are all dead, and the best healer here is the students. Aka, me or a vamp. Your choice, darlin’,” he firmly tells me. I grit my teeth and nod before going to the bathroom and rushing to the many cupboards under the sink. I quickly find a first aid box, a bowl for the water and some fresh towels. After running the first aid kit and towels to Henry, I get
the water and come back. I climb onto the bed on the other side of Thallon and watch as Henry cleans the wound and gets a needle out.
“Hold him down if he wakes up. He might be out of it though,” Henry warns as he gets everything ready, and he looks like he knows what he is doing.
“What can we do about the fever?” I ask.
Henry leans down near Thallon’s leg, and I have to look away as he starts to stitch. “Thallon isn’t human or angel, therefore he can’t have either of the medicines used to treat them. I’m going to make a concoction I was given as a child, which should heal him.”
He works in silence, cleaning Thallon’s leg, and I stay quiet, only tucking a pillow under his head. Meeting Henry’s eyes for a second, I know I have to say something. “Thank you, Henry.”
“Does this make us even now I’ve saved your lover boy?” he asks me, and I nervously chuckle a little as I stroke Thallon’s head. I don’t want to get into this conversation with Henry right now.
“No, but I will hear you out,” I tell him. “I’m still mad.”
“Got ya. Let’s talk after I sort him out,” Henry says and gets back to work as I pray to all the gods I know that Thallon makes it through this.
Chapter 35
After a quick shower, I change into my skinny jeans and a light green T-shirt that has “Everything else is on the Floordrobe” written on it. I French plait the front of my hair and clip it back before staring at the present box I brought into the bathroom with me to open. I damn well know who it’s from, and I should burn it, but curiosity killed the cat and all that. I rip the paper over the box open and push the bow aside before opening the lid. A purple letter rests on top of the biggest stash of Parma Violet sweets I’ve ever seen. I open the letter, wishing it wasn’t from him, but of course it is.