I really, really wanted to do well at the final show when I danced with Drake in front of the rest of the world. “Three hours. Then dinner, then the car.” Then studying mage contracts. Bonbons and macaroons, I did not have time for school. But it was important to keep up appearances.
He cleared his throat. “You don’t have to do the final show with Drake. You could get another mage instead, Ian, or even me if you wanted. I don’t suck.”
I patted his head. His hair was kind of soft and silky. What kind of shampoo did he use? I leaned closer and sniffed it. Strawberry. I grinned at him. “You’ve been buying my Darkly Sweet shampoo.”
He jerked away and ran a hand through his hair to fix it or make it messy, whatever. “You know how important it is to have shampoo you can drink in case you’re in a shipwreck and have nothing else. Shut up. See you at six in the dining room. After we eat, the car.”
He spun around and went to speak kind of aggressively to Travis, like plaid pants were irritating or something.
Drake wasn’t in ballet class, no, Ian was there instead. I didn’t ask why and he didn’t say anything, just was the perfect partner in every way. Except that he wasn’t Drake. I stopped walking and leaned against the wall while I ached. I needed him to touch my bond, to touch me.
I shook my head and straightened up. I didn’t have time for that. I had things to do. Serious things. I went to my room, secured the door and called Teddy.
“Penny Lane, what can I possibly do for you? Creagh attack?”
“Not today. You’re supposed to sort of be my contract mage, right? I mean not my mage just a mage that will help me with my contracts, right?” Ugh, why did I have to deal with the wolves?
He laughed, this silky smooth sound that made me shiver. “What do you need?” He left a lot unsaid that I didn’t delve into.
“I want to understand mage contracts, but I feel like I’m missing huge gaps. Can we do a study session some time?”
He paused for a few minutes. “A study session? At Rosewood?”
“Yes. I’m sort of stuck here. I can meet you in Fairfield if you’d like, at the library or something. Do they have a library? I don’t even know.”
“No, I’ll come to Rosewood. We can study in your room. Was your mother really Serene Night?”
“No night with my mother was ever serene. How about Wednesday, eight o’clock?”
“I’ll be there.” He hung up and I was left staring at my phone like it had betrayed me.
What was I thinking, playing with Teddy Prince, the second worst mage in the world? Well, if I couldn’t play with number one, I had to get what I could. No. I needed to see Drake. I should. We should do the bond thing in a totally calm and collected kind of way. No, I had to practice dance with Ian.
Alone in the studio with Ian, he was incredibly normal. He didn’t leer at me once and his hands felt completely indifferent on my skin. Weird. But not unpleasant. I actually relaxed around him and really put myself into the exquisite lines of the dance. After three hours, we were standing together, his arms around me while I swayed to the side when Zach started clapping, the sound sharp, cutting through the focus I’d put into becoming lines.
Ian’s arms tightened for a moment before he stepped away. He handed me a clean towel. “Good work. Watch your arch. Flexibility without strength will lead to injuries.”
“Yeah, you too.” I rolled my eyes and headed towards Zach. “You ready to cherry up the monster? What’s first, boss? Strip her down to the bones and rebuild from scratch?”
Zach grabbed me around my sweaty shoulders and pulled me against him as we walked down the aisle of the small theater where I practiced with Ian. “First, you need a shower. You smell terrible. I’ll grab dinner, we’ll eat and work. Yeah?”
I shoved him away from me. “No one asked you to smell me.”
So, yeah, working on the car with Zach was fun, kind of annoying because he had to sit and explain stuff instead of just following whatever I did. Not that I couldn’t figure out what he wanted and do it a little bit better than he asked for, but it was still annoying to have to listen and follow instructions. He was a better helper than I was. Still, he clearly had experience with large vehicles that I completely lacked. Okay, I admit it, he was pretty brilliant. And he didn’t look half bad covered in motor oil. But my shoulder ached almost as much as my heart by the time I wiped my hands on a rag and headed to the library.
How did Drake handle the agony if he really loved me? How could I understand mage contracts when I didn’t understand mages?
Lester sat down beside me and opened up his books. I turned to stare at him. He didn’t notice for a long time before he finally raised his head and nodded at me, swinging his shaggy mane.
“Lester, what motivates a mage?”
“It depends on the mage.”
“You, what motivates you?”
He frowned for a long time. “Knowledge first, power second, influence third. Stoneburrow is also a knowledge first sort of mage. Huntsman values influence most.”
“How is influence different than power?”
“Power is about what you can do, influence is about what others do.”
“But a powerful leader makes others do what he wants.”
“Yes, but he doesn’t make them want to do what he wants.”
I wrinkled up my forehead trying to understand. “You’re saying influence is about changing people instead of forcing them to bow to your will. That sounds like my grandmama.”
“World changers.”
I smiled slightly and handed him a lollipop before I refocused on the book in front of me. It was 2 a.m. before I finished up for the night. Lester walked me back, the uneaten lollipop tucked into his pocket as we walked through the halls.
The next day was Tuesday. I made a batch of lollipops early that morning for my princesses and blueberry and pecan crunch for Missy and Carl’s son.
My darling girls were so beautiful and for a little while I forgot about the ache in my shoulder, my heart, then I walked down the hall where I might accidentally run into Drake.
No Drake. Just the normal humans, well, normal if Darkside survivors could be considered normal in any way.
I flopped beside Missy on the couch and stole some of her chocolate mints. She smiled slightly and took one of the lollipops I held out to her.
“How are you?” she asked.
I shrugged. “I don’t know enough about mages. I want to ask you a million questions, but I don’t want you to feel bad remembering.”
She hesitated then glanced around at the other humans who were carefully not looking at us. Sebastian wasn’t around. “I don’t mind talking about Narcollo. It’s kind of a relief, actually. That’s the point of this place, somewhere everyone understands, but sometimes I feel like we’re all trying to ignore it so it will go away. It can’t go away. It happened. I’m who I am because of what I experienced. I can’t go back to being that girl on her way to the library to check out books on magical romance. Everything was different back then. Poor. Hungry. Going to Darkside was like a dream, everything richer and darker and stronger. I just pretended I was in a dream and floated along with it. The others in my group went mad very quickly because they couldn’t separate Darkside from reality. I don’t know. Maybe I did go mad. I met a lot of mages. So many witches.”
“What did they want?”
She tilted her head from side to side. “Novelty usually. The younger ones are burning with ambition but as they get older, jaded, they’re searching for diversion as life loses all meaning. That’s before the madness. The madness gives them a second period of burning, but they break you quickly when they forget to be careful.”
“What stage was Narcollo at?”
She frowned. “Narcollo was different. He was a seeker, a finder, a knower. He never got tired of learning, of hunting. He could find anything whether it was an object, a person, or a speck of knowledge. He had so much knowledge inside his head. He liked showi
ng me his thoughts, teaching me languages and customs. He understood Dayside and he’d talk to me about it, having me explain difficult concepts like faith and trust, hope and kindness. That was before he bought me from the Mavens.”
“So his greatest desire was knowledge.”
She shrugged and rubbed her arms with what was left of her fingers. “He took everything I taught him about love and used it to see how much I could love him. I was his pet and love was my project. I failed, though. I cared more about the lives of those humans than pleasing my master. It was the hardest thing I’d ever done, going to the Mavens to report Narcollo for eating humans. But I’d do it again. No, I’d have found a way to free them myself.”
Carl came over and put a hand on Missy’s shoulder. “Mirbeth wanted the love of a human as well. She tired of the dead for company and wanted someone live, a pet she could teach tricks. She taught me so many tricks. Sebastian thinks that was love. Perhaps it was.”
“Not human love,” Tim the bartender said coming over and sitting on the arm of the couch next to me. “But human love can be a horrible thing too. I see it a lot in my work, people coming in and confessing their sins. They don’t eat each other, but sometimes they’re even worse. Are you trying to understand the mage, Penny?” He said my name kind of carefully, like he wasn’t sure if he was allowed to say it.
I smiled at him brightly. “I’m trying to understand mage contracts. I need to understand the nature of mages so I can understand how they work, how they can be manipulated, how they can change mage nature.”
He nodded slowly. “That’s the best way to deal with them. You can’t trust their emotions. Even if they love you, that doesn’t mean that they can control their instincts. They keep what they love locked far away from any threat.”
Missy nodded. “That’s why I thought he loved me, because he started building walls around me, stopped allowing any visitors, stopped taking me out.”
I sighed. Love. My marriage contract with Drake had been universally detailed on things like how many children we would have but also their rights. I needed to see the contract between my mother and my father. Would she still have it? How could I find it? Narcollo could find anything.
I looked at Missy, at her one, sad gray eye. No. Missy wasn’t my pet. She was my friend. I wasn’t going to sacrifice her to get what I wanted. I didn’t have to be wicked since I wasn’t really a witch, not without magic.
I leaned over and gave her a hug. She smelled so nice. “I’m glad that Drake found you. You’re nobody’s pet. Just because you don’t have magic doesn’t make you any less powerful. That’s why they want you, because you have what they lack. Soul. Do you want to go to church with me on Sunday? I’ll make you a pretty eyepatch if you like.”
She smiled and shook her head. “No eyepatch, but I think I’d like to try church.”
“I’ll give you a ride,” the bartender offered with an easy smile. He’d developed that smile from years in Darkside surviving who knew what. I smiled at him and gave him a lollipop.
It was on my way out that I realized that Narcollo could find anything, even the mage who broke Poppy. I hadn’t even thought about revenge. I was a truly, terrible, horrible witch.
Chapter 3
Mage
Penny Lane. I turned a corner and stopped while my heart felt like it was going to rupture in my chest. She stood outside my door reading a book, her red gold curls cascading around her face until she looked up. Her enormous eyes softened when she saw me.
“Drake, do you have a second?”
A second? No. A billion seconds wouldn’t be enough, one second was too much. “What do you have in mind?” I gave her the most dissolute smile I’d picked up from Ian as I walked closer. I could either move closer or run away as fast as I could. That would look like I cared.
She tucked the massive tome beneath her arm and put her palms against my chest. “Can you touch my shoulder? It aches.”
The feel of her against my chest, the ache that had grown until I’d felt I would never feel anything else, made it almost possible to breathe. I inhaled shudderingly the intoxicating scent of Penny Lane and dusty books before I slid my hand over her shoulder to her back, somehow not digging my claws into her.
“We really should do something about that.” My voice was too much like a growl.
She blushed like I’d said something suggestive, not that I meant giving the bond to Zach. She ripped my shirt open with that same sweet blush before she traced over her name as though the glamour wasn’t there. She pulled the pain out of me as she touched me, relieving more than the bond ache. I curled my fingers and shredded the back of her shirt absently. I touched her skin, sliding around my initials, but she had so much more skin begging to be touched. My hand slid down her back to the base of her spine.
She gasped and jerked like I’d bitten her. That was an idea. I brushed her hair away revealing the soft sweet side of her throat.
“Drake, you missed our Tuesday.”
I froze. I couldn’t miss our Tuesday because we didn’t have that anymore. I stepped away from her and spelled my shirt closed. She’d ripped off the buttons. “I heard you were there. I’m glad you’re still seeing Missy.”
She pressed her lips together and took a step closer to me. “Drake, I’m not finished with you.”
I laughed, sharp and cutting. “Of course you aren’t. You can’t help but want me. I’m the most despicable mage you’ll ever meet. Enjoy the pain, Penny. Revel in it.” I brushed past her to my door. My hand was shaking as I unlocked it.
She yanked on my shoulder, spinning me around. Her arms were crossed as she glared at me, her eyes growing darker, her lips pulled back in a delicious snarl that showed the sharpness of her teeth. “Explain to me about the Creagh attack. What are you doing to fight the deception sorcerer who is messing with you? What can you do against a mage like that? What can I expect from him in the future? Is everyone at risk who I come in contact with? Can I marry a mage in good conscience if this monster is going to ruin whoever I touch?”
I stared at her. I’d avoided having this conversation, but she needed reassurance so that she could marry a different mage. Zach. It took me a moment but I finally managed to summon the appropriate snarl. “Marry whomever you like. That’s interesting. You’ve never shown any interest in the Deception Mage before now. All those Creagh attacks and not a word of concern but now suddenly, you care?”
“We should have this conversation in private.” She glanced around like the walls had ears. Maybe they did, but having Penny alone in my room was out of the question. Then again, she didn’t look like she was going anywhere. I threw open my door and bowed elaborately, texting Zach while she walked in. She smelled so lovely. When I saw the title on the spine of her book, ‘Marriage Contracts made Unbreakable,’ I wanted to rip it apart. Instead, I headed for my bar and poured myself a drink. I swallowed it in one gulp then poured another before I could give Penny a charming and indifferent sneer.
“You were saying?”
“Pitch isn’t something I can talk about openly. You know about everything, so we should discuss what this monster wants with her. Do you know?”
“What would a monster do with a Penny Lane? Perhaps it’s your hurters. Who doesn’t want heart shrapnel when you really want to leave an impression on the enemy? I can’t think of a single reason a truly diabolical mage would want you.”
She narrowed her eyes and took a threatening step towards me. Was she going to hurt me? That would be so pleasant. “Why won’t you tell me? Am I just too stupid, little macaroon-for-brains Penny Lane who can’t think two thoughts together? I know he messed with my mind. I know I have gaps where I used to have memories, but I want to know as much as I can know. I need to. I’m vulnerable, Drake. I’m vulnerable and I need to know what my limitations actually are so I don’t accidentally get myself killed or kidnapped by some psycho mage. I have enough of them in my life. I don’t need any more.”
Her ches
t rose and fell. Her shirt was barely attached at the sides and back. It would be so easy to finish the job. The curve of her waist, the way her bottom lip trembled, the bed at the top of the short stairs, the stairs, the couch, the coffee table, the door.
I took a step closer to her while green shimmered around me, green and gold that blended with her hair while I stopped breathing. I couldn’t take another breath unless it was Penny Lane. I backed her against the door and pushed her hands above her head while I buried my face into her neck and inhaled and inhaled and inhaled. She struggled against me. Mm. Such a delicious struggle. I opened my mouth and touched my teeth to the skin of her neck. Ah. A shudder went through me at that contact then a hard knocking reverberated through the door.
It took me a few breaths to get it together enough to retract my claws and pull away from Penny. I pushed her to the side and opened the door.
“Zachary Stoneburrow. Looking for your witch? She came within a hair’s breadth of being eaten by a dragon. Keep a closer watch on that one. She doesn’t know when to run away.”
She glared at me and then spun towards Zach. “Stay away from me, idiot mage. Just because I don’t have magic doesn’t make me a pet that you can pass around when you get tired of me.” She pointed a sharp finger at me. “As long as we’re bound together, we have to regularly interact. Try not to be such an idiot in three days when I contact you again.”
She shoved past Zach and stalked down the hall, clearly not wanting any mage company. Zach looked at her back, the pale skin showing beneath the fluttering white fabric of her shirt, what was left of the shirt. He cast a quick spell that glamoured the shirt so no one else would see her like that then walked past me towards my couch. He flopped down and ran his hands through his hair.
“This isn’t working.”
“You mean that outfit? That’s because you didn’t wear a belt. Throws off the whole proportion.”
He laughed. “Not you too. She’s friendzoned me. I thought she’d naturally kind of shift her affection to me once you dumped her, but she doesn’t see any mages like that. Not even Ian. You know how witches are with him, but they’re almost friends. Ian doesn’t have witch friends, not just friends.”
Deadly Morsel: Rosewood Academy of Witches and Mages (Darkly Sweet Book 5) Page 2