by Maya Daniels
A nagging at the back of my mind tries to pull my attention away, but I’m too far gone at the moment to do anything about it. Alarms blare in my head that this is not normal, but yet again I’m a passenger in my own body. Zoltan stops with his hand raised between us, his eyes narrowed to slits at the shifters behind me. A couple of them whimper when his power slams at us as hard as a slap, but not one of them backs down.
“Ms. Drake.” Snapping at me, his upper lip curls in a snarl. “You are bleeding. I need to see the wound.” He hasn’t used that “Ms. Drake” bullshit for a while, so it’s enough to jolt me out of whatever is clouding my head.
“What the fuck is going on?” Pushing the words though clenched teeth, my whole body is racked by tremors, though I still can’t relax from my fighting stance. “Don’t.” My shout is enough to prevent him from moving when I see that he is about to reach for me again. “I can’t control my reaction right now, and I will attack you.”
With a slanted gaze he assesses me again, and then his hand drops to his side. I almost cry from the relief that I won’t have to hurt him. Zoltan is the strongest male I know, but when the creature inside me gets defensive like it is now I have no doubt in my mind that he will get hurt. He will give me a run for my money, but he will lose at the end. It will kill me inside if I bring such a magnificent beast to his end. Having the guards still at my back will only serve as a distraction, nothing else.
Closing his eyes, Zoltan’s chin drops to his chest and his shoulders hunch inward as if he’s been punched. I suck in a harsh breath that makes the shifters snarl and hiss. The spike of fear is replaced by dread when I watch his body grow before my eyes. The thick horns twist and curl around his head to form a horrifying crown as his muscles double, twitching from the strain of his tight fists. My head tilts up until a kink develops in my neck, but at least I can see his face. I should be paying closer attention to the wicked claws protruding from his fingers, but instead I’m frozen in awe at the sight of him in his true form. Not that it will help him much.
Those extraordinary eyes fixate on my face with such intensity my knees buckle.
“I said, ‘you are bleeding.’” The foreign lilt to his words turns my insides to mush.
The creature inside me perks and purrs, my chest vibrating from it.
“Dè a tha thu a ’dol a dhèanamh mu dheidhinn?” Sultry words spill out of my mouth, my voice unrecognizable when I ask him what he is planning to do about it.
He attacks.
I have never been hit by a truck—which is something that will come out straight from the mouths of humans—but I’m pretty sure this is how it must feel. The air whooshes out of my lungs when his fist slams in my chest. My body flies in the air, my limbs flailing until I hit the trunk of a tree a few yards away. Bones crunch when my spine clashes against the harsh bark, and I drop on my hands and knees panting and gasping. Silence thick enough to be cut with a blade falls over the place, the anticipation of the magic so palpable I think I can reach a hand out and touch it. A soft chuckle pierces the air.
It’s coming from me.
As the laughter grows in volume, my head lifts and I watch confusion bloom over Zoltan’s face. My back burns where the broken bones knit together, healing a lot faster than ever before. With that comes the memory of the creature raking its claws over me before I killed it, ripping the skin on my shoulder and back. It pulses, but I can tell it’s not closing. It must be what Zoltan was talking about. I have blood all over me from killing the damn thing, and it stunk pretty bad when it was alive. Coming outside must’ve cleared away that putrid stench so he could finally smell my own blood again, though it still doesn’t explain why he attacked me.
Tendrils of my hair escape my braid and hang in front of my eyes when I grin at him. Swiping the back of my hand over my mouth, I wipe away the blood that is trickling from my lips before my tongue darts out to lick the remainder off. I keep steady eye contact with Zoltan the entire time, my grin stretching wider when his nostrils flare.
“Is dòcha gu bheil thu nad leannan airidh air às deidh a h-uile càil, vampire.” My chuckle pebbles the skin on my arms. ‘”You might be a deserving lover after all, vampire,” I told him. Whatever game the Dragon Blood in me is playing, I don’t like it.
I start fighting to regain control of my body.
Pushing off the ground, I crack my neck and roll my shoulders to remove the stiffness from the impact with the now-tilted tree. I guess it was uprooted when I slammed into it. Go figure. Roots as thick as my thighs poke up from the upturned earth at my feet. Peeking at Zoltan through my lashes, there is nothing I can do to wipe off the small smile curling the corners of my lips.
“Where were you going, Francesca?” Let it never be said that Zoltan will give up a fight. The jerk is still adamant that I answer his question.
“I …” my voice trails off, both eyebrows lowering and tightening my forehead. “I …” I have no idea where I was going. There is no way I’m going to tell him that, but the realization is enough to give me some of my control back.
“Let us go inside.” One of his wicked hands with those sharp claws is trying to beguile me to go to him.
“No.” Hissing angrily at him, my fists ball at my sides.
“I will not let you go anywhere when you are not yourself. Did that creature use a poisoned blade?” He moves parallel with me when I start inching to the side, his eyes locked on every move I make.
“No.” At least I have that much of my rational brain left to tell him the truth. “It raked me with its claws.”
“You will come with me inside, Francesca.” His stubborn look is replaced by determination.
“Carson nach toir thu orm?” I’m saying one thing in that damn tongue twister language I’ll never be able to pronounce if not for the creature inside me, while in my head I’m screaming the total opposite: “No, don’t take me. Don’t you dare take me anywhere.”
Zoltan throws his head back and laughs.
“Mar a mhiannacheadh tu.” All the oxygen leaves my lungs for a different reason when he whispers the words telling me, as you wish, and a sinful smile dances on his lips.
That’s all the warning I get.
One second we are in a standoff with a few yards separating us from each other, and the next he is in front of me, his huge hand taking a hold of my shoulder. Moving on pure instinct alone, I twirl around, spinning under his arm and getting a good grip on his forearm. Taking a running step, I flip my legs across his torso, releasing his arm and using his body as a surfboard to glide over until I twist to his side and land on my feet behind him. Lifting my leg, I kick the center of his lower back, sending him crashing and sprawling over the poor uprooted tree.
He doesn’t stay down long at all. I have no time to gloat before he is in my face again, his fists and claws coming from all sides and looking for an opening to score a hit. My own arms and legs are moving just as fast to block each punch and kick, my shins screaming in protest each time one of his boots connects to them. Our harsh breathing is the only thing I can hear, the fast breaths sawing in and out of our lungs. I can’t help but wonder why the stupid guards don’t attack or at least make a sound. Now is the perfect time for a distraction, and I’m starting to regret the cocky attitude I had earlier when I thought Zoltan had a chance of losing this fight. The adrenaline coursing through me clears out my mind and I finally identify the urge that made me come out here.
“I need to get to the portal,” I tell Zoltan, each word strained coming out in a huff.
“Why?” The question is a snarl, which pisses me off.
“How the fuck should I know, asshole.” Dancing away from a particular swipe that would’ve carved my stomach open, I glare at him. “Cut me open, why don’t ya?”
My talking earns me a smirk and a kick to the gut that sends me on my back sliding over the gravel, which is scratching the shit out of my exposed skin. I’m never wearing a tank top around Zoltan again. Bringing my knees to my c
hest, I kick out and jump to my feet, but that only gives me a second to see the massive fist coming for my face. I think I hear Zoltan mumble something like “forgive me my love,” but pain explodes in my head as gravity shoves me to the ground and I’m sure I imagined it. It’s the second time in less than ten seconds that my back hits the ground, and my eyes cross as blood gushes down my chin. The scariest thing I see before I pass out is Soren standing at the window on the second floor watching us.
Does he know what’s going on with me? Even if he doesn’t, why doesn’t he come stop us? Furthermore, does he have something to do with it? A million questions flash through my mind in less time than it takes me to blink.
And then I pass out.
Chapter Six
The angry voices cut off when a pained groan rips from my lips. I try my best to turn to my side, but my stomach churns so bad I have to grind my teeth so I don’t lose the contents all over myself or whoever is standing so close to me. Zoltan, no doubt. The jerk deserves it, but I’m well aware that I would’ve done something very stupid if he didn’t stop me.
Soren’s distorted face through the glass of the window floats behind my closed eyelids. Did I really see him, or was he a hallucination from whatever drug the creature had on its claws? Just thinking about it sends excruciating pain through my skull, which elicits another groan from me.
“Francesca?” Zoltan murmurs a second before his hand cups my cheek and he turns my face to him.
“There are other ways to knock me out apart from punching me in the face. You know that, right?” Not that I blame him, but it tickles me to see him squirm. It’s impossible not to feel the spike of adrenaline coming off of him. “You should’ve been a shifter for as many times as you find yourself in the dog house.” Nothing could stop the curl of my lips when he snatches his hand back.
“I told him he’ll regret it when you wake up.” Astara’s voice is full of amusement, and it forces my eyes open.
Blinking away my blurry vision, I turn my head and look around. I’m not surprised to find myself in Zoltan’s rooms. The jerk is territorial. What does surprise me is seeing Leo leaning a shoulder on the wall and watching me with an exhausted look on his usually grinning face. His green eyes stay on mine, but he doesn’t say a word. I look away, finding Astara standing next to her brother, her hand fisted in his t-shirt and bunching it on his chest as if she is preventing him from running away. It would’ve been funny, and I’m about to say a bunch of things that come to my mind that will give him a hard time, but her appearance stops me from uttering any of it.
Her once glossy hair is dull and sticking out in frizzy strands from the messy bun she attempted on top of her head. The flawless skin I was jealous of looks etiolated, her cheeks sunken and making the dark circles under her eyes stand out like smudges on her face. Over her shoulder I see Daren warily watching me from further in the room, his hair sticking out in all directions like he’s been running his fingers through it and tugging on it. I haven’t seen the two of them since they took over their places in the Order, and I stupidly believed they were ignoring me. Come to think of it, the couple of times I saw Leo it was brief, too, and he was lacking the typical jokes and arrogance he usually sports.
“What’s going on with the three of you?” Blurting out the first thing that comes to mind, I cringe as I push off the bed and swing my legs over the side.
“You should see yourself before you talk.” Astara attempts a joke, causing Zoltan to grumble something under his breath.
“It takes him”—Hitching a thumb in her brother’s direction, I grin at her—“knocking me out to see you. Bloody nose or not, I’ll take it.”
A paw-sized hand prevents me from standing up. Zoltan grips my shoulder and pushes me down on the bed as I glare at him, but I say nothing when I catch the determined jut of his chin. Astara shoulders him away so she can to sit next to me.
“Seriously, Franky. How do you feel?” The worry on my friend’s face makes me sigh.
“As good as you look.” It comes out in a huff as I wiggle further to the center of the bed to make room for her.
“Be nice.” She pokes her long nail into my thigh.
“You are my friend because I’m not nice.” That broadens her smile, which also brings a little of the sparkle back in her eyes. “There is nothing wrong with me now. No need to stay in bed. I feel fine.”
“Drake, did a portal open before the creature attacked you?” I turn to look at Leo when he speaks, recoiling into the pillows the same second because Tenebris’s huge head pops up in front of me. I didn’t see him stretched out next to the bed when I attempted to get up.
“If there was one, I didn’t feel it, and I definitely didn’t see it.” Frowning, I reach for the panther’s head to scratch his ears when he leans his chin on the bed, his gaze intently focused on my face. “There was a shift in the energy … Tenebris sensed it at the same time as me. I’m not exactly sure what got my attention and made me look for something before she showed herself. I can’t really remember now. What?” The question comes out harsher than I intended it when they all glance at each other.
“No disturbance was recorded, so that tells me no magic was involved to open a gate for the creature.” Daren sounds as tired as he looks.
“You mean she was here longer and just decided to show herself?” Unable to stay where I am, I lift up, curling the knees to my chest and wrapping my arms around them. My mind is spinning with what that creature could’ve been doing left alone in the Academy. “But how? Someone would’ve known if she passed our portals, no? Even if a mole helped her hide, they had to get her through it first.”
“Agreed.” Since Daren doesn’t sound very confident, I keep my gaze steadily on him until he squirms.
“Right?” My second attempt at asking for confirmation just adds to the tension in the room.
“We could’ve missed it.” Astara gives the mage a side-eyed glance, and my stomach clenches when I see how uncomfortable she is about pointing that out.
“Now is the right time for everyone to stop dodging bullets and speak plainly. If she managed to slip your notice, there could be others too. That thing was not easy to kill. Think of the damage something like that could do to the others we have here.” Scrubbing a hand over my face, I puff up my cheeks before blowing out a long breath out. “Imagine if they can get out of the gates and roam through Sienna. It’s a bad idea to keep secrets.”
“We are not keeping secrets.” The hurt plastered all over Daren’s face has more to do with him hiding shit from me since I’ve known him than from my accusation right now. His fingers stab through his thick hair and he tugs on it in frustration, which makes it look like a horn on one side of his head. “Things are not as easy as we anticipated when we took over as members of the Order.”
That gains him stern, angry looks from Leo and Astara.
“Not easy in what way?” My gaze darting from one face to the next, I try my best not to scream at them. It’s like pulling teeth with my bare hands to get any answers from this bunch of stubborn mules. “It’s not hurting you in any way, is it?” Panic ripples through me at that. “Is it?”
“Not the way you think.” Astara is fast to assure me, taking my hand in hers. “It’s overwhelming, and we still can’t control it.”
“It’s draining their lives.” Zoltan speaks for the first time since calling my name to wake me. “Do not lie to her.” Folding his thick arms across his chest, he looks down his nose at his sister.
“Soren knew this?” When Astara winces, I have to consciously uncurl my fingers since they are tightened around her hand. “He was the one encouraging you to take their place. If he knew this was going to happen, what was his motivation? It couldn’t be just because he thought they were compromised by Roberti. He even helped. So why would he be looking away now? To what end?”
“Franky, calm down.” I realize I’m shaking in rage, my upper lip curling over extended fangs, and when Astara gingerly re
aches for me, she drops her hand before making contact.
“We are searching the entire area, including inside each of the rooms.” Leo pushes off the wall and starts pacing. “We haven’t found anyone else.”
“Yet.” Pointing that out earns me a scowl from Zoltan.
“If there are more, we will know within the hour.” The confidence I hear in his deep voice calms me a little. Not enough to ignore the reason why I’m so angry.
“Did you find out what kind of a poison she used on me?” I forcibly keep my body still while shivers claw at my back.
“I’m not sure it was a poison.” Daren looks down at his hands, a line forming between his brows and puckering his forehead. “I can’t be certain, but I believe it was a secretion uniquely to her, whatever mixed species she was. To know more I’ll have to check the body. I wanted to see that you were well before I go there.”
“I tasted your blood.” Zoltan narrows his eyes on me, daring me to say something about it. “There was no trace of anything in it, yet the effects where strong. Even unconscious, I had to restrain you so you didn’t go to the portal.”
“Where is Soren now?” When he cocks an eyebrow thinking I’m ignoring his comment, I wave him off. “I thought I was hallucinating before I passed out, but something doesn’t sit well with me here.”
“Hallucinating about what?” A muscle jumps in his jaw and his gaze is so slanted it looks like he is squeezing his eyes shut.
“That he was watching the two of us from the window on the second floor.”
“He was acting very curious about the creature. He said he wants to look at the body. When they were taking it to the infirmary, he left with them,” Daren answers my original question.