by Belle Malory
I frowned, unable to imagine that kind of betrayal. I had never known my mom, and that made it easier to accept what she was. But Xander was raised by his Dad. To find out the man who raised him wasn’t really who he said he was must’ve been devastating. “I’m sorry, Xander.”
He shrugged, as if he’d gotten over it a long time ago. “Now you see why I want nothing to do with my father’s magic. When I chose Ares, it was also a message. I wanted him to know I was nothing like him.”
That made sense. In a way, I was sending my own message by not choosing a defining magic. I didn’t want to be put in a box or modeled after anyone. I just wanted to be me.
“But magic doesn’t make the mage good or bad,” I pointed out. “It’s all in how you use it.”
“I know, firsthand.” He kicked at the pebbles against the lake’s edge. “Ione’s magic is beautiful. Yours, too. But my father’s is vile.”
I nodded, feeling like I finally understood a part of him he kept hidden from the rest of the world.
“Anyway, aren’t we supposed to be keeping things light?” He grinned, looking devastatingly handsome in the moonlight.
I slid my hand into his, linking our fingers together, the same way he usually did. “Heavy isn’t so bad. This is nice, getting to know this side of you.”
He pulled me close, and I sucked in a breath. “It’s more than nice, damsel.”
Sparks of heat ignited as he pressed his lips against mine. Like always, there was a magnetic force attached to him. Dimly, I felt his body mold to me, our magic entwining like tree roots beneath the ground. There was something unique about the way our magic interacted. It transported us to another world, one far away from this one. When we were like this, the bubble was real. Real enough to make me forget. And real enough to make me want to stay inside of it forever.
“Do you feel that?” Xander whispered, his breath hot on my lips.
I nodded, my forehead brushing his, glad to know I wasn’t the only one.
I’ve been kissed before, by Connor many times, and once by Joey Douglas at a Halloween party in seventh grade, so I grasped the basics of how kisses were supposed to go down. This was like nothing I’d ever experienced. It felt like when Xander and I touched, we created our own fusion of magic. “Whatever it is, I like it,” I whispered back.
He grinned. “Me too.”
13
I woke in my dorm room, tucked beneath the covers on my bed, warm and cozy. As I stretched, the previous night’s memories came back, and I smiled lazily against my pillow. Last night had been perfect. Better than perfect.
The last thing I remembered was falling asleep on Xander’s chest, and later, vaguely noticing he was carrying me back to campus. It was kind of a long walk to carry a sleeping person, but he managed it like I was a sack of feathers.
I dreamily got ready for the day, then walked out of House Aphrodite, still stuck in my own world. It caught me off guard when Zack jogged up the steps to meet me. “Hey, Sheridan,” he said, breathless.
“Hey, Zack. What’s up?”
“I have a message for you.” His tone was urgent. “Your dad and your grandfather have arrived on Spring Island. They want you to meet them for dinner.”
I stopped walking, pressing my hand over my heart. They had made it. “Tell them yes—definitely yes!”
He grinned. “Figured you would be happy about that.”
Happy was putting it mildly compared to rush of endorphins and serotonin flooding into me. This was amazing news. The only annoying part was having to wait until dinnertime.
Classes dragged on, each second slower than the last. In Basic Magic Principles, Jett sat next to me again. This time, I blocked her from reading my thoughts. When the bell rang, she pushed a black rose in front of me, then quietly left. Black roses were the Hades version of an olive branch. I tossed the rose in Professor Ambrosia’s wastebasket on my way out of the classroom.
Later, as we walked to class together, I recounted the story to Hazel. I didn’t expect much of a reaction. Perhaps, “that girl has some nerve” or an eye-roll at best. Instead Hazel’s eyes watered, leaving me completely dumbfounded.
“Seriously, Haze? You hated her.”
She pursed her lips, her shoulders stiffening. “That’s not true. I didn’t always get along with Jett, but I didn’t hate her.”
I stared at her pointedly, hardly able to believe what I was hearing. The two of them constantly bickered when we were friends.
“I hate what she did to you.” She pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose, shrugging. “It just sucks…I miss the trifecta.”
I shuffled my sandals against the sidewalk, pressing my lips together.
“I do, too.” I could, at least, admit that much. Even though I despised Jett for what she did, I also missed the way things used to be.
14
Xander found me on the way to Weaponry, sneaking up out of nowhere as usual, causing my heart to trip over itself. He reached for my wrist, twisting it back and forth, and my charm bracelet sparkled in the sunlight.
“Looks good on you,” he said, running his thumb over the little blue stone.
“Oh, that?” I smirked. “A handsome gladiator gave it to me.”
His lips curved. “He must really like you.”
“Oh, he does. A lot. I mean, it’s almost overwhelming. The guy would be lost without me—”
“I get the picture.” Xander chuckled. Then he gently squeezed my hand, the humor vanishing from his face. “I would be though.”
“What?”
“Lost without you.”
I rolled my eyes. “Oh, stop.” He had been doing just fine before I came along, and he handled everything thrown at him far better than I did.
“I would.” The way he said it combined with the intensity in his gaze made me almost believe him.
We walked to the training field together, our hands entwined. Once there, I found an available spot on the grass and took a seat. Xander took his place next to Redtree, getting the weapons ready for today’s training session. Students filed around me, spreading out along the grass. I felt the moment Riley arrived, her venomous gaze searing the back of my neck, but I ignored it.
Redtree began his lecture, diving in where we left off in A History of Warfare, a textbook I already imprinted and knew from cover to cover. But as he discussed the various swords used during the Roman Empire, my mind wandered, distracted by a strange buzzing.
I tried to shake it off, focusing on Redtree. But the buzzing grew louder, like a prickly hum in my ears. I fidgeted anxiously, stretching out my hands, then tightening them again. The air was thick with tension, and I wasn’t sure why.
Stranger yet, I felt my little bracelet struggling to ward off the sensations. As if it were trying to protect me from a darker force.
I caught Xander’s gaze. He watched me, his brows furrowed together. “What’s wrong?” he mouthed silently.
I shrugged, no answer to give. Something just felt…off. I glanced around, looking for signs of it in the faces of the other students. They listened quietly to Master Redtree’s lecture, nothing out of the ordinary.
Riley.
I searched for her, sensing she might be behind this. She was centered between Calypso and Anastasia, but she wasn’t paying much attention to the lecture. She tilted her head toward me, that familiar gleam in her eyes, while twisting something in her hand. I squinted, trying to get a better look at what she wound through her fingers. A stone. It was attached to a golden chain around her neck, one I’d never seen her wear before.
As soon as Redtree was done speaking, it was time to partner up and train. Xander, sensing something was up, stopped what he was doing and came to me.
“What’s that stone Riley is wearing?” I said, keeping my voice low.
Xander looked, then went very still. “Make up an excuse. Tell Redtree you’re not feeling well, then get out of here.”
Just like the day before, Riley headed in my d
irection. With every step she took, a red haze encompassed me. She wore a sly smile, the same one she wore when I found her with Connor. The memories came back in sharp flashes. The two of them breaking apart. The guilt on Connor’s face. The fire exploding into flames behind us. The way my fury grew until it was out of control.
Xander pressed his hand against my shoulder, pulling me to the present. “Sheridan, listen to me.” He steered me around. “Get out of here. That stone is magnifying the effects of your curse.”
As soon as he said it, I knew it was true. All of the anger, hate, and bitterness I worked so hard to keep pushed down was brimming at the surface, threatening to spillover.
But the buzz of the past grew louder than Xander’s voice, drowning him out. That night flooded back, a blur of rage, cursing, and violence. Riley and I fought like maniacs, trying our best to draw blood. Our actions spooked Connor enough to run out of there, shouting for help. I hadn’t realized it at the time, but he went to get Dad.
I still remembered the scissors with clarity. They were sitting on Riley’s vanity, the kind that came from a beauty supply store, sharper than most. She swung a chair at me, knocking it into my legs. I made a quick grab for the scissors and plunged them into her shoulder. My breath sharpened when I thought about how badly I wanted to pierce her heart. At the last moment, I shifted up. Just a millisecond within that blind fury that saved her life.
She stopped before me, carrying two swords. “Hello, Sher Bear.” She tossed one of the swords, and it landed at my feet. “Let’s train.”
I blinked, torn between the past and present.
Focus. Stay focused.
“Do you ever stop, Riley?” I cut straight to the point. “Now you’re amplifying the thing that’s trying to kill us both?”
She shrugged, unapologetic. “It can only end with death. Hopefully, yours.”
“Is this why you trapped Dad inside the house? To have ample opportunity without him getting in your way?”
“You heard about that, huh?” She chuckled, then shook her head. “No, I spelled that trap for just for fun. He deserves to stay locked inside the cage he created for me.”
“Fine.” I ground my teeth together. “You want your chance. Here it is.” I picked up the sword.
“Finally.” She breathed a sigh of relief, as if she were long ready for this.
“Sheridan, no.” Xander’s tone was full of disapproval that I ignored.
We took our places, waiting for the other class members to do the same. Redtree gave the signal, and Riley wasted no time swinging. I wasn’t skilled in fencing, but I knew the basics, and I had a lot of adrenaline pumping to help aid me.
“The swords aren’t spelled,” Xander said from the sidelines, referring to the precautions usually put in place to keep the students from accidentally killing themselves during training sessions. No one out here wore any armor, because the swords prevented killing blows. But I didn’t care. Every cell in my body wanted to fight.
Riley was good. Better than good. She had obviously trained before, saw my every move coming, and managed to block each swing with perfect precision. My only advantage was my anger. I was tired of this. The fighting. The curse. Everything. I put all of my strength into each swing, an endless supply of energy urging me forward.
“Will you feel better once I’m dead?” I screamed. We were gaining a crowd of spectators around us full of curious students, several of them taking bets.
“Absolutely,” she said. “I’ll even dance on your grave.”
The blade of her sword came around to my left. I ducked, then kicked her in her stomach. Riley flew backward into the ground, her sword sliding off into the grass.
“Looks like no dancing for you.” I held my sword to her throat.
“Do it,” she dared me, weaponless. “End it now, then we can both be free.”
Her words startled me enough to pause. Riley never could stand feeling trapped. She would rather be dead.
A great force slammed into me from the side, and the sword flung from my hand. Xander’s arms caged me in, keeping me locked in place. It took me a few seconds to breathe. Partly because the wind was knocked from my lungs, but mostly, because I was stunned Xander was the cause. Sweat dripped from his face—he’d obviously been fighting the urge to stop me long before he did.
“Why did you do that?” Riley demanded, standing. She dusted herself off, circling around us. Her hazel eyes, so like my own, searched our faces for an explanation. “Why did you stop her?”
“Because we don’t train to kill each other at this school.” Xander tried to play off what was actually happening to him. “The two of you took things too far.”
She pressed her lips together. “No, I don’t think that’s why.”
“Detention,” said a gruff voice from behind. It was Redtree. He loomed over the three of us, his stony face scrunched together in disapproval. “For both of you.”
Riley huffed and walked away. As soon as she was gone, the hold the necklace had on me released. It felt as if I could breathe again, the monster inside of me returning to its deep slumber.
Right away, I knew I’d made a horrific mistake. Riley may not understand exactly what happened with Xander, but she saw enough to know something was up. It didn’t make sense for my own boyfriend to stop me when she was the one instigating the fight.
Once the class was over, I tried to apologize. “Xander, I’m—”
“No,” he cut me off abruptly. “You don’t get to make excuses. I told you to leave, but you didn’t listen.”
I felt awful.
If I could dig a grave for myself, I would.
That necklace may have amplified the situation, but I had a choice. I could have chosen not to respond. Instead, I jeopardized everything we worked so hard to prevent. I gave into my own anger.
His blue eyes pierced into me. “Don’t you get it? You outed me, Sheridan.”
I squared my shoulders, going into defense mode. “Hey, that’s not fair.”
“Neither was what you did.” He stormed away, ignoring any apologies I tried to make. I hated how he did that—avoided me when he was angry. This time I wasn’t letting him get away with it.
So, I marched after him. “Yes, I screwed up, but you can’t put all the blame on me.”
He swung around, tossing his shield aside. “I wasn’t the one fighting your sister.”
“No, you just protected her.”
He blinked, obviously surprised I would go there. “I couldn’t—”
“Help it?” I finished for him, crossing my arms over my chest. “Sounds awfully familiar.”
He let out a long, slow breath. “Our situations are not the same.”
“No, they’re not. I didn’t choose to be cursed, but you chose to take that oath with Selena. Now that you’re facing the consequences, here you are, shifting the blame to me.” Even as the words spewed from my mouth, I hated myself for saying them. I knew he made that oath to escape the Underworld. I knew he did it to save his own life. But I said them anyway.
Xander’s jaw ticked as he took a step toward me. “You’re forgetting one thing, damsel.” I didn’t like the derision in his tone.
“What’s that?”
“I wanted to carry out the terms of that oath, until I met you. The only reason I’m not doing everything Selena asked of me, is for you.”
I raised my brows, so stunned I had to take a breath. “Are you saying, if not for me, you would happily protect Riley?”
“Selena helped me escape the Underworld. Yes, I would’ve kept my end of our bargain.”
I swallowed.
It would have been less hurtful if he’d slapped me across the face. Somehow, even though I was dying inside, I kept my head held high. “Then maybe you should.”
With that said, I walked away. I needed to get off this field and away from both him and Riley before I said or did anything else I would end up regretting.
“Sheridan, wait,” Xander sighed be
hind me.
But there was nothing left to say. We had both said more than enough.
15
The day that started off so perfectly kept getting worse. Grandpa sent a note to my next class that instructed me to report to his office for detention. Don’t be late, it read. Because he knew me well enough to know I would drag my feet.
I wrung my hands together, wondering what Dad was thinking. Only his first day at Arcadia, and Riley and I were at each other’s throats again. After the last incident, he sent me away to put some space between us. This time, I may not be so lucky.
When dinnertime came, I hesitated at the door to Grandpa’s office. This felt an awful lot like déjà vu. The only other time I’d been here was for my previous detention, when Grandpa interrogated Xander. Now it was my turn.
I wasn’t sure how to explain my fight with Riley when he explicitly told me to stay away from her. I closed my eyes and breathed out through my nose. I would’ve rather taken my detention in a snake pit.
My brows raised at the sound of Riley’s voice, followed by Dad’s. Oh, this should be interesting. The family reunion from hell. But hey, at least that meant Grandpa wouldn’t be laser focused on me. My sister had a reckoning coming her way too. Before going in, I pressed my ear to the door.
“You didn’t think you’d have to suffer any consequences?” Dad shouted. “You made me a prisoner in my own home!”
“Now you know how I felt,” she replied, without an ounce of regret. Typical Riley response. Always eye for an eye with her.
“Let me go!” Riley screamed suddenly, and I blinked, wondering what was going on in there.
Dad’s voice was more forceful than usual. “Sit down, Riley.”
“Or what?”
“Or I will withdraw you from this school as soon as I leave this room. Now SIT DOWN.”
I cracked the door open in time to catch Riley throw herself into the nearest chair, crossing her arms over her chest dramatically. “Fine, let’s get this over with. Where the hell is Sheridan?”