by G. Bailey
“You okay, darlin’?” he asks with a furrowed brow. I lift my head and smile, but it doesn’t fool him. The classroom empties after the teacher, and when the door shuts behind the last student, Henry picks me up, placing my ass on the desk and stepping between my legs.
“I can think of a good way of getting you out of your head,” Henry suggests, running his lips over mine. I chuckle, about to agree when he steps back and lifts my hand. Slipping a silver chain around my wrist, Henry does the clasp up, and I lift my arm, seeing a rose charm hanging from the chain. It’s made of silver, and it must have taken Henry a long time to make something so unique and special.
It means more because it’s a rose...and only Thallon knows why I love roses. That means Henry must be talking to Thallon, making an effort for me. This means we have a chance, we could all be together at the end of this. My family. Henry runs his finger across the chain on my skin, smiling softly at me. “I hope we can add charms as the years go on. The rose is for your family, and it’s a good place to start, right?” he asks, and I nod, trying to calm the swirling emotions in me. I wrap my arms around Henry’s neck and lean up, kissing him with everything I have.
Because everything I have is locked up in Henry’s heart, and I never want it back.
Chapter 47
A low growl stops me in my tracks, my hands gripping the buckets full of cut flowers in my hands as I turn around, the weight of the buckets hurting my arms. Thallon told me to leave them for him when he got back, but I was too stubborn to accept his advice, and I’ve nearly got them to the back of the greenhouse. Typical, something goes wrong on the way there. Right in front of me, in the middle of the greenhouse is a stunning grey wolf. His fur shimmers like the moon, silver coating his fur like someone has brushed it through. The midday sun shines through the glass windows of the greenhouse, highlighting him and his impressive form even more. The wolf is like no wolf I’ve seen in any movie or science book; he holds so much more power in his stance. He stands above my head, and the sheer size of him is shocking enough I drop my flower buckets and they spray across the floor between us.
But he doesn’t even notice or flinch as water pours around his paws.
Neither do I as I meet his eyes and really see who he is. And why I’m not afraid and running screaming like I should be right now.
This wolf would never hurt me.
“Myles,” I whisper, leaning closer, and in the blink of an eye, he jumps on me, knocking me to the floor as his claws lightly cut into my stomach. I know he isn’t trying to hurt me, but I cry out from the shock and look down as he lifts my top with his nose. The sentiment should be nice, but I’m scared and shake as he licks my cuts before he climbs off me, jumping over my head into the lavender bush. Climbing to my feet, I lift my shirt, seeing three lines that glow with a green light, and they don’t hurt anymore.
What the ever-loving fuck?
“Shite, I’m sorry, Kaitlyn,” Myles states as he rushes to me, buck naked. My eyes widen as I realise Myles has hidden an amazing body under his clothes. Rippled muscles for days, a slim waist, and a six-pack any guy would envy. He isn’t bulky like Henry or Ren, but he clearly has been working out, and he is perfect.
Jesus Christ.
The wolf that says I’m his looks like he has the body of a Greek god. I try not to look lower. I swear I try.
And so fail.
Without a care in the world that he is naked, Myles covers my stomach with his hand, leaning down to inspect the cut.
“It’s my wolf’s way of marking you. I let him out for a run...and he took over,” Myles says with so much guilt in his voice it hurts me to hear it. Shaking my head, I lift his head with my hands so he meets my gaze. His hair feels soft under my hands as I don’t know what to say, but everything seems to disappear as we look into each other’s eyes.
“I don’t mind. It’s just another scar, but at least this one will remind me of you,” I softly say, and he shakes his head like I’m crazy. I might actually be, now we are on this subject. A door opens somewhere nearby, and I jump away from Myles as I realise he might get caught.
“You should get some clothes on and hide,” I whisper, and he grins.
“Meet me at Thallon’s house,” Myles says before he rushes off into the bushes and all but disappears from sight. I go to the buckets, picking them up and gathering flowers as a vampire walks near me, a gold chain glittering from his hand, and I follow it to see Jessica in tow with her head bent down, but I know her.
I almost miss her taunts, her being a pain in my ass.
“Do you want some help? My angel can pick those up,” the guy asks, pausing to look down at me. I meet Jessica’s eyes as they meet mine, and she lowers herself to her knees, gathering some flowers. The way she does exactly what she is told without an argument makes me worried for her state of mind. The Jessica I knew would have told us both to fuck off and fought the vampire if he dared to make her do anything.
This girl is a shadow of someone I knew. Just like the academy is.
“Thanks,” I say to the vampire, but it’s all for Jessica, and I hope she knows it. “Jessica used to be a friend of mine,” I say, even though it burns to lie and my body resists it. Light angels can’t lie...but half vampires sure as hell can. This new realization of mine has to be useful somehow. “And I would love to hear she is well cared for. I know our king loves when I’m pleased, and that would make me so, so happy.”
The guy, who is good looking and about mid-thirties, looks between us. He doesn’t seem cruel, or I can’t sense that from him right at this moment. I know Ren won’t be happy with my kinda lie. I mean he does like to see me happy…so that’s not a lie. My heart hurts as the lie sits on my chest, digging its way in and making itself at home. White lies are sometimes needed to save someone else, and I won’t let the light above, my wings or being a light angel change my thoughts on that.
“I don’t believe angels deserve kindness, but for you, in respect for my master, I will strive to make her life better than it is,” he finally says, and I suck in a deep breath. I don’t know how Ren expects me, a half angel with angel friends, to ever be queen of the vampires when they do not like me, and that much is clear to everyone.
The vampires won’t want a half angel queen, let alone one as young and clueless as I am. Jesus, what the hell am I doing?
Once the flowers are all in the buckets, I stand up. “Thank you. Could you take these flowers to the back of the greenhouse for me? They are so, so heavy.”
“Of course,” the vampire agrees and hands me Jessica’s chain in exchange. I accept it, hating how it feels in my hand as he picks up the buckets and runs off with them. Holding the chain feels like I’m betraying my race, and I don’t think there is another way of looking at this.
“I’m so sorry this has happened to you,” I quickly tell her, wishing I could see the confident, bitchy girl who was once queen of the academy under the dirty clothes and messy hair. Her eyes meet mine, and I see the spark of who she was in there. Knowing we don’t have long to talk, I step closer to her, and I pray she can see I am on her side. Jessica has lost her family, died as a human and been reborn as an angel just like me. I keep pretending my life is the only messed up one, but it’s not.
Every single angel and vampire in this academy has a story that is heartbreaking. And it’s Ren’s and my job to make peace before the last story any of us tell is of a war that destroys us all.
“Don’t be sorry. Be the fucking queen of the academy and save us!” she harshly says and grabs my arm. Her nails dig into my wrist as she steps into my face. “You always wanted Henry and your place at his side. Now you have everything. You only need to decide to save your people. I loved Henry, and you took him. I loved the academy and being an angel, and somehow you took that from me. If you have any goodness left in your dark soul, you will save us all.”
“It’s not that simple,” I mutter, stepping closer, but she backs away, fearfully glancing behind me as sh
e drops my arm.
“I know what you are now. Have the vampires really turned your heart so cold you would forsake your own race?” she asks just as her vampire gets back, and I don’t have an answer. Am I heartless to walk around the academy, just trying to survive and find my feet?
“All done. See you around,” the vamp says, taking the chain and tugging Jessica behind him. I rush to the doors and push them open as I step outside, thankful to be alone as the first tear falls down my cheek. My feet move as I silently cry, wishing I knew what to do, how to be...and most of all if there is a chance I can save everyone I love.
I hear footsteps on the stone path in front of me, and then I’m in someone’s arms, held tightly against their chest. Myles’s scent wraps around me like a soothing wave, and the silence breaks. It cracks into a trillion pieces as I let myself fall, and my wolf saves me, picking me up and carrying me back to his home. Time drifts by as Myles carries me into the living room of Thallon’s house and sits us on the sofa, holding me as I let go of all my guilt.
I stop pretending to be perfect and have everything under control.
Nothing is in my control right now, and I need to admit it.
“I don’t think I can side with just the angels anymore...the vampires...they aren’t…” I pause as Myles kisses my forehead.
“They aren’t evil, are they?” he replies. “I’ve watched them, this big bad race the world fears, and they are just like us. They love, they hate, they get jealous and they are fiercely protective of their mates. That describes every race I know, so how can the rumours be true? There is nothing heartless about vampires.”
“War makes heartless monsters of us all.”
My statement lingers in the air between us, and I wipe my eyes. “I’m sorry I broke down out there. I think I finally realised I can’t do what the light above wants of me, and I can’t be what Ren wants either. I need to be me.”
“Funny enough, I think that is exactly what the world needs,” he replies, and I smile at him despite everything. “Don’t be scared to be yourself.”
“I’m not anymore,” I exclaim and smile softly at him. “And I want to know you more.”
Sensing that I need light conversation, that I need him to make me laugh and smile and be a normal teenager for a little bit, he swiftly talks.
“Cool. Well, I’m twenty-two, my favourite colour is orange because it’s never anyone else’s favourite and I feel sorry for the poor bugger,” he starts off, and I can’t help but chuckle. As Myles tells me his life story, I know my heart falls in his open hands a little more.
Chapter 48
Rain spits down on my cheeks, smothering my hair as I run through the puddles back to the academy from Thallon’s house, leaving Myles and Thallon there arguing over the latest Marvel film. Boys.
“Kaitlyn, wait!” a voice gently whispers to me, but with enough magic that it jolts into my system, making me nearly slip on the stone payment. I turn around and stare into the trees nearby as, very slowly, a bright blue light flickers like a projector gone wrong before it blasts into a circle, and a face I have met before hovers in the light. Soft brown hair cups her face, and her brown eyes hold a supernatural light to them. The room behind her is full to the brim with people, mostly guys, and bright glass windows behind them. Wherever she is, it is far from here.
“Madi, it’s nice to see you again,” I say, stepping closer and glancing around me. I’m completely alone, but I know danger is never far off in this academy.
Or in this world.
And currently, I’m on a portal phone call with the queen of the tales. How did this become my life? I was once a normal girl on a double date with my best friend and excited about going to university. Even if it meant seeing more ghosts and avoiding them.
That’s the one thing I am thankful for at the academy, angel ghosts don’t stick around.
“We don’t have much time,” Madi hurries, looking urgent. “My friend, Lexi, the queen—”
“Of hell. Yes, we met,” I say, saving time as I cross my arms and step nearer as she talks.
“Yes, well, your vampire king sent another angel to hell today, and that was the final straw.” She pauses. Why would Ren send another angel to hell? What the hell is he thinking? Demons do not sound like supes I want to go to war with. If anything, they sound terrifying, and I loved the new Sabrina The Teenage Witch TV show. That was creepy as hell. “And she is getting her army ready to rise. Demons are coming to earth, and there will be hundreds of thousands of them. They won’t fight the vampires or angels directly, but they will take the academy back for the angels and stop the war. Lexi doesn’t want anyone to die, but enough is enough. Demons will not be easy to control when their queen is unable to leave hell, but her men will lead the army. Lexi and I worry there will be many, many deaths.”
“I will talk to Ren,” I weakly say, feeling intimidated as hell. Her eyes soften, and she shakes her head. She looks behind once, listening as a man says something, but I don’t catch what he says before she looks back. The circle shakes a little bit, and I wonder how much time we have left and how exactly they managed to make this happen.
“I was in your shoes once. Not exactly, but you get me,” she says when she turns back to me. “Being someone important isn’t as grand as it is in books, is it? Especially not when you once lived as a human and the most important thing was school and boyfriends.”
“No,” I humourlessly laugh. “This is why I prefer to read science fiction, for this very reason. Romance always breaks my heart.”
That’s a total lie, and it hurts my chest to say it. I love romance books even when they rip my heart out, stomp on it and somehow put it back together with hope for the world I didn’t have before.
“Gotta,” she replies with a wink, and we smile at each other for a moment before she clears her throat. “Kaitlyn...Ren asked for a magical artifact my race stole from vampires, and I found it. Our people have changed a lot over the years, and we don’t want to keep whatever it is. If you come to us, I will give you it with no catch.”
“What is it?” I ask, curious. It must be something important, or why else would Ren bother attacking the tales and making trouble for them?
“A rock,” she shrugs. “But I’ve learnt anything from a book to a stick can be powerful in this world. It’s not what is on the outside that matters.”
A rock? What the hell, Ren? I have so many things to ask him about, once I’ve told him my most important decision I’ve made. I think I made it the second I came back to the academy and learnt the real truth of everything. I don’t hate Ren for making me a half vampire because he snapped under the power of potent soul mate magic.
And being half vampire isn’t the curse I once thought it was. If anything, it feels right. It feels like I was always meant to be exactly what I am now.
“No, it isn’t,” I agree and nod my head in respect. “Thank you.”
“Is there anything I can do to help you?” she asks me. “You look so lost.”
I was lost and confused, but not so much anymore. Everything is going to change tonight, and I’m going to make sure of it. I’m not running from my fate anymore, because it needs me to do the right thing and that lies with Ren.
My fate lies with him.
“Tell Gabriel I’m sorry. I can’t be who he needs me to be, because it isn’t my fate,” I firmly state, holding my head high. I swear, respect shines in her eyes, but she doesn’t voice it. “But I will make sure the angels here are saved. War is not going to happen, I’m going to stop it.”
“May the goddess be with you,” Madi says, bowing her head once. “And good luck! I know you will do the right thing, I can see it in your eyes.”
“Blessed be the angels and vampires.” My reply makes her eyes widen because it’s not what we are meant to say.
And I don’t care. Angels and vampires are blessed, and it’s time everyone knows it. “What are you, by the way, Madi?” I ask, and she grins.
&
nbsp; “Long story. Let’s say the fairy tales are real in my world,” she replies with a secretive smile. I’m sure I will hear the story one day when we aren’t running out of time. I’m super interested in the demon queen’s story too. “Goodbye, Kaitlyn. We will see each other soon.”
The circle flickers out into blue dust that blows into the air, mixing with the rain to look like glitter as it floats away into the sky.
Magic can be so beautiful...
I rush back into the academy and head down the corridors to my room, a plan firmly set into my mind. I’m not looking at anyone or where I am going when I bump into someone, and I look up to see a vampire woman I know.
“Watch it,” she warns and tugs on her gold chain. The world slows down as Riley is tugged after her, and my heart hurts as I can only smile at him, offering him comfort however I can. His eyes fill with a longing I wish was just as a friend before he is dragged away.
By the end of tonight, I hope the angels will be free.
And Ren will finally end this war.
Or he loses me.