I moved to Cassia as fast as lightning, sitting down and putting my arm around her shoulders. “Cassia’s a better person than you could ever be.” Electricity hummed under my skin as I glared up at Octavia. “Everyone in this house hates you. Felix included.”
It slipped out before I realized it would blow our cover. Even so, I didn’t want to take it back.
“Shut up, Princess. I wasn’t talking to you. I was talking to her.” She refocused on Cassia. “You’re sleeping with him, aren’t you?”
Cassia opened her mouth, like she was about to deny it. Then she closed it.
Oh my God. Is Octavia right?
I knew Cassia and Felix cared about each other. But she’d never been with a man before. She only wanted to be that intimate with her one true love. She’d told me that during the first few days of the Games.
If she’d given herself to Felix, surely she would have told me?
Like how you’ve been so open with her about Julian being your soulmate?
“You’re worse than a whore.” Octavia smirked down at Cassia. “You’re his second choice. How does it feel, knowing that he’s having you in the shadows while I’m the one he brings to his bed?”
“Enough.” Felix put himself between Cassia and Octavia and stared Octavia down. “There’s nothing going on between me and Cassia. You know me better than that.”
Cassia stiffened, and I held onto her tighter.
“I know what I heard.” Octavia backed away toward the door, each word low and measured. “So apparently, I don’t know you at all.”
She spun and ran out of the sauna before he could reply.
Cassia burst into tears in my arms.
Felix kneeled down in front of her and took her hands in his. But she pulled them away.
“Is she right?” Cassia sounded so vulnerable, and even though I wanted to trust everyone in our alliance, I was wondering the same thing.
“Of course not.” Felix’s eyes glistened with tears. “You’re the one I love. I’ve told you that from the start.”
I sat up, startled by the word love. I knew he and Cassia cared for each other—at least, I knew Cassia cared for him. But love?
That was more than Julian and I had said to each other, and we were soulmates.
At the thought, I looked to Julian. He was standing next to the door, looking like he desperately wanted to leave Felix and Cassia to sort this out on their own.
He could do whatever he wanted. I wasn’t leaving Cassia unless she asked me to.
“But what you just said…” Cassia’s voice shook, and she couldn’t continue.
Felix reached for her hands again. This time, she didn’t pull away. “Yes, I’ve been with Octavia,” he said. “I’m doing what I have to do to protect you. I’ve been open with you about that from the beginning, because I respect you. That’s more than I could ever say about Octavia. She means nothing to me.”
“How do I know you’re not saying the same things to her that you’re saying to me?” she asked.
“Because I didn’t go after her just now. I stayed here with you. Surely that shows you that you’re the one I love?”
Cassia sniffed and removed one of her hands from his to wipe away her tears. “What about tonight?” she asked. “When you go up to Antonia’s suite to convince her to go along with our plan?”
“I’ll do whatever it takes to get her on board.” His face softened, making him look as vulnerable as ever as he remained kneeled at her feet. “Especially because now, you’re on Octavia’s radar. We have to get her out this week. To keep you safe.”
But this was the Faerie Games. None of us were safe. It was just a question of who went sooner, and who went later.
From the heavy silence in the room, I had a feeling that the three of them were all thinking the same thing.
“If neither of us wins the Games, we’ll be together in Elysium.” Felix held tighter onto Cassia, begging her to believe him. “Forever.”
Cassia trembled, like she was about to burst into tears again. But she managed to get ahold of herself. “Selena?” she said, shifting to look at me. “Would you and Julian mind letting Felix and me continue this conversation in private?”
Yes, I do mind, I wanted to say. Because everything Felix was saying didn’t sit right with me.
But Cassia could make her own decisions. This was what she wanted, and I needed to respect that.
“Of course.” I let go of her and stood up. “But I’ll have to make sure to stay away from Octavia, to stop myself from zapping the hell out of her.”
That got a small chuckle out of Cassia, and then I headed toward Julian, leaving with him so Felix and Cassia could be alone.
15
Torrence
My mom drove us to the airport, where Sage had called on the Montgomery jet to fly us directly to Nassau, Bahamas. All of the mythological objects were on the various uninhabited—well, seemingly uninhabited—Bahamian Islands.
Neither Reed nor I had ever been to the Bahamas, so we couldn’t teleport the four of us there. And it was too big of a risk to study maps and pictures to try getting close. We could get stranded in the ocean. So, regular travel it was. And it was a good thing we were flying private, because getting through human airport security wouldn’t have been easy, given all the potions and weapons we brought along with us.
The flight was at night, so we slept on the jet. We landed at the Nassau airport at dawn, where a car was waiting to take us to a boat rental facility.
Thomas chartered one of the biggest yachts there. It came with a crew, but with Thomas’s power over electronics, we didn’t need them. The owner was hesitant to let us take the yacht without a crew, but a little compulsion from Thomas was all he needed to agree.
We stood on the top deck when we took off. I rested my arms on the railing, taking a deep breath of the salty ocean air. We were venturing into uncharted territory, and while I was excited, I was also scared of what might happen if we failed.
We won’t fail, I told myself. We’ll get King Devin his objects, bring Selena back home, and everything will be back to normal.
The pressure of saving my best friend’s life was a never-ending weight on my shoulders. But all I could do was focus on one step at a time. Which meant following the map to get the first object.
We could do this.
Thomas stopped the yacht once we were far enough from Nassau that the island was a dot in the distance. “Torrence and Reed,” he said. “It’s time to create that boundary spell.”
Witches couldn’t place boundary spells around moving objects. But Reed had sworn that as a mage, he was powerful enough to do it—especially with the support of my magic. I hoped he was right. Because once we started collecting the objects, the only place to store them would be on the yacht. We needed a boundary spell to stop anyone—or anything—from entering and trying to steal them.
We went downstairs and stood in the middle of the modern living room. Boundary spells extended outward, so it was best to cast them in the direct center of the place you were protecting.
“Take my hands,” Reed said, handing his out to me.
I did as he said. His hands were surprisingly soft, warm, and comforting. And the way he was looking down at me with those dark, mysterious eyes…
Stop, I told myself. You can’t think about him like that. He’s an ass. And he has a girlfriend back in Mystica.
“Torrence?” he said, snapping me out of my thoughts.
“Yeah?”
“You ready to start?”
“Yep,” I said, as casual as ever. “Let’s do this.”
Together, we chanted the Latin to cast to boundary spell. His yellow magic and my purple magic flowed out of our retrospective hands, spiraling around each other’s to form a sparkling sphere around us. His eyes were locked on mine, trapping me in his intense—and encouraging—gaze.
We continued chanting, and my magic poured out of me faster than it ever had before. It swirle
d around us so quickly that my hair whipped across my face. Our magic was a tornado, and we were standing in the center of it.
My magic had always been strong. But I’d never created wind before.
Reed gripped my hands tighter and chanted louder. I did the same. His eyes glowed with his yellow magic, and while that never happened to witches, I was suddenly looking through a light purple lens, as if my eyes were doing the same.
He gave me a single nod, and I could feel what he was saying.
Do it now.
I nodded back in acknowledgment. Then we pushed out our magic, binding it to the yacht and creating a protective bubble around it.
The entire boat—plus the bubble around it—flashed yellow and purple, like an electric storm.
The final bits of magic released from our hands, and we stopped chanting. The colorful shield around the boat dimmed and turned nearly transparent. You’d only see the outline if you knew to look.
Wow.
My heart pounded as quickly as it did after finishing a great workout. I could somehow feel Reed’s heartbeat through my hands, and it was synced with mine, beating just as fast.
I stood there, stunned, high from the incredible rush of power.
His eyes sparkled with a hint of his yellow magic, and I knew he felt it, too.
Whatever our magic had just done together… it wasn’t normal. At least, I’d never heard of anything like it.
“Torrence?” he said my name slowly, like he was struggling to get ahold of himself.
I blinked, grounding myself in his steady gaze. “Did it work?” I asked.
“Thomas and I will get the boat going again to test it out,” Sage said. She headed to the stairs that led up to the top deck, pausing at the bottom of them. “Come on, Thomas. You’re the captain of this thing.”
“I can connect to the boat’s electrical system with my gift and tell it to move from here.” He pressed his palm to the wall, and the engine revved to life.
“But we’ll be able to see better from up there.” Sage glanced at me and Reed, then looked back to her mate. “Come on.”
Thomas opened his mouth to argue back. Then his lips formed a circle of understanding, and he followed Sage up to the deck.
My cheeks heated. They’d left me and Reed alone on purpose.
Awkward.
“You can let go of my hands now,” Reed said. “Unless you’re purposefully trying to cut off my circulation.”
I glanced at where our hands were clasped together. Sure enough, I had his in a death grip.
“Sorry.” I pulled away and rubbed my palms over my jeans. “That was…” I trailed off and gazed around the living room, still stunned by the incredible display of magic we’d just performed.
He stared at me, waiting for me to continue.
Focus, I told myself. You sound like a bumbling idiot.
“Did you feel it?” I asked.
“Feel what?”
“The magic…” I said. “The power. It was amazing. It was like our magic was feeding off each other’s. Boosting it somehow.”
He froze, expressionless. Then his eyes narrowed, and he looked at me like he was disgusted by me.
My breath caught in my throat. I stepped back and looked at the steps leading up to the top deck, ready to flee.
But then he spoke again, and his voice trapped me in place.
“Of course your magic felt boosted.” He walked over to the bar and poured himself a small glass of amber liquid. Hard alcohol of some sort. “I’m more powerful than you are. You were feeling my magic—not yours. That spell felt no different to me than any other.” He took a sip of whatever he’d poured himself and puckered his lips. “Damn,” he said, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “The humans who make this could learn a thing or two from the botanists in Mystica.”
He placed the glass back down on the bar, clearly wanting nothing to do with it.
Anger rushed through me. Why did Reed always feel the need to “prove” that the mages did everything better than the supernaturals on Earth and Avalon?
“I know mage magic is stronger than witch magic.” I straightened my shoulders, keeping my gaze level with his. “But that doesn’t make you better than me.”
“Did I say it did?” he asked.
No.
At least, not directly.
“Don’t worry, little witch,” he said. “It’s okay for you to crave the rush of my power. I won’t tell anyone.” Then, he actually had the gall to wink.
“I don’t crave your magic,” I lied.
From his amused expression, I wasn’t fooling either of us.
Ugh.
Fed up with his arrogance, I marched over to the bar, stared up at him in challenge, and picked up the glass of whatever he’d poured for himself. The liquid inside smelled like gasoline, but I took a sip anyway.
It took all my willpower not to cough and make a face. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. This is delicious,” I said, forcing myself to take another sip. I was a bit more prepared that time. But still—yuck.
He raised an eyebrow. “You’ve had whiskey before?”
“Of course I’ve had whiskey before.” I tossed my hair over my shoulder and leaned against the bar. “I don’t live on Avalon full time, you know.”
“Right,” he said. “You spend your weekends on Earth.”
“Yep.” I took another sip, realizing how silly this all was. Forcing whiskey down my throat didn’t prove I was as strong as Reed, or that I wouldn’t be entranced by his magic if we needed to do another spell together in the future.
But I wasn’t about to stand down now. So I took another sip, swallowing it down like it was as smooth as holy water.
He smirked, like he was waiting for me to show just a hint of dislike.
I didn’t.
“Well, you enjoy that whiskey,” he finally said. “I’m going to check out the accommodations and get myself situated.” He picked up his duffel and headed down to the rooms, not bothering to look back at me before going down the stairs.
I heard him open a door and shut it.
Once I was sure he was gone, I picked up the glass of whiskey, pinched my nose together to block out the foul stench, and poured it down the sink.
16
Selena
Felix spent the night in Antonia’s suite, exactly like he’d said he would.
Julian and I chatted with Cassia until she fell asleep, to take her mind off of it. It didn’t work completely, but it was better than leaving her to her own thoughts.
The next morning, Felix and Antonia slept through breakfast. They emerged from her suite just in time for lunch. They both had dark circles under their eyes. But while Antonia was practically glowing despite her lack of sleep, Felix looked exhausted. It was the least perfect I’d seen him look during the entire time in the Games.
During lunch, Octavia made a big show of flirting with both Pierce and Emmet. But if she was trying to make Felix jealous, it wasn’t working. His attention remained on Antonia.
Even though it was all for show, Cassia struggled to keep herself from looking at them through the entire meal. Each time she did, she looked like she’d been stabbed in the heart.
After eating, Cassia, Julian, and I retreated to the library.
“I know he has to give her attention until the selection ceremony is over,” Cassia said once we closed the door behind us. “But that doesn’t mean I have to watch it.”
We continued to chat with Cassia about anything we could think of to keep her mind off of Felix and Antonia. She was a private person—she didn’t talk much, if at all, about her life in the Otherworld. I suspected it made her sad to think about how she’d likely never return to her family. So she and Julian told me all about the history and stories of the Otherworld, while I told them about Avalon and Earth.
After about an hour, someone pushed the door open and came inside.
Felix. He rubbed his eyes and collapsed onto t
he sofa next to Cassia.
She scooted away from him. “Where’s Antonia?” The jealously in her voice was impossible to miss.
“She went upstairs to take a nap,” he said. “She asked me to join her. I said I would, but that first, I wanted to work out.”
As if he didn’t get enough of a workout with her last night?
I would have said it out loud if Cassia weren’t in the room. There was no need to make her feel worse than she already did.
“And the other three?” I glanced at the closed door.
“You saw Octavia.” Felix smirked. “She’s out there trying to make me jealous with Pierce and Emmet. As if I care.” He moved closer to Cassia, directing that last part to her. She didn’t move away again, although she remained expressionless. If he was trying to make her feel better, it didn’t seem to be working. “Octavia has too much pride to come chasing after me.”
“Agreed.” Julian sat straighter and moved to the edge of his chair. “But we should discuss this quickly, just in case. How’d it go last night with Antonia?”
“Not exactly like we’d hoped.” Felix sighed and ran his hand through his perfectly tousled hair.
My heart stopped. “What happened?” I asked.
“Antonia wants me to herself,” he said. “She’s jealous of all the other girls in the Games.”
It would have sounded ridiculously arrogant coming from a normal guy who hadn’t been gifted magic from Venus. Now, I realized he was simply stating a fact.
“She wants to make sure another girl is taken out of the Games during her reign as Empress of the Villa,” he continued. “And other than her, there are only three of you left…”
“Me, Octavia, and Cassia,” I said flatly.
“Yep.”
Cassia pulled her legs up onto the sofa and wrapped her arms around them. Her expression remained blank.
Felix tried to reach for her, but she shrugged him off.
He pressed his lips together and focused on Julian. “In Antonia’s mind, Octavia’s the biggest threat to my affections,” he said. “So Octavia’s her target. I tried my hardest to convince her that you and Selena would definitely team up, and that the two of you together had the best chance of successfully taking out Octavia.”
The Faerie Mates (Dark World: The Faerie Games Book 3) Page 6