Oberon Academy Book One: The Orphan

by Wendi Wilson

  As Finn’s words ended, every Sylph in the room, turned toward the exit and started filing out. No questions, no arguments, no bid for time to collect their things. It was so strange, how quiet and obedient they were. I watched them go, digging my heels in when Easton tried to pull me forward.

  “We have to go,” he said when he realized I was struggling against his pull.

  “No,” I said, yanking on his arm to pull him closer.

  Shaela was already moving toward the door. I shouted her name, and she turned to look at me, but kept walking.

  “Come back,” I called out. “We can’t leave.”

  As the words left my mouth, Easton’s grip on my hand loosened. I looked over at him, arching a brow at his incredulous expression. I felt a presence on my right and glanced over to see Shaela, her expression matching Easton’s. I vaguely noticed a few other kids gathering around us, but my eyes trained on Easton as unease built inside me.

  “What?” I asked. “What’s wrong?”

  “My grandfather gave a command,” he said, his jaw slack.

  “Yeah,” I responded, the word sounding more like a question.

  “December,” Shaela cut in, pulling my attention to her, “no one can resist Finn’s commands. He is king, and every Sylph must obey him.”

  “I know. He told me that,” I said, not getting what they were trying to say.

  “And yet,” she said, “you’re not leaving.”

  “And neither are we,” Easton added before I could respond.

  I looked around at the Sylphids crowded around us, their faces mirroring the confusion of Easton and Shaela’s. I met Easton’s eyes, my head shaking of its own volition.

  “I don’t understand,” I said.

  “Somehow,” he said, “you’re immune to the king’s command.”

  “And,” Shaela added, “somehow you broke its hold over us, too. All of us.”

  I glanced around again, counting off about fifteen kids grouped around us. It seemed everyone within earshot had stopped and was waiting for me to say something. Feeling the pressure, I decided to just speak from the heart.

  “I don’t know you all or your stories,” I called out, loud enough for everyone to hear, “but this school saved me. I can’t let the Zephyrs come in and take it over. Not without a fight.”

  Several voices called out, encouragement, questions, and denials all jumbled together into an unintelligible racket. I held up a hand, and the sounds died off. I had no idea where the bravery came from, but I knew I wasn’t about to lose everything without at least trying to save it.

  “You can all make your own choice. Follow Finn’s command and head for safety, or stay and defend our school.”

  Easton’s grip tightened on mine, and I knew I had his support. Shaela’s palm slid against my other hand, her fingers closing around it and squeezing. I looked at her and nodded once, my eyes burning with emotion.

  “What is going on here?” a booming voice called out, and we all turned.

  Finn Oberon stood there, arms crossed over his chest and a stern look on his face. I stepped forward, attempting to extract my hands from Easton and Shaela, but they held tight, stepping forward with me.

  “We want to stay and fight,” Easton said.

  “This is our home, and we want to protect it,” Shaela added.

  Several shouts and grunts of agreement sounded behind us, and I turned to see the group of Fae crowded around. Not leaving. I turned back to Finn, steeling my spine.

  “We won’t let Sebille take this place, Finn. It belongs to us. All of us. We have a right to defend it.”

  Finn didn’t say a word, his eyes moving from one student to the next. When his eyes finally landed on me, he didn’t smile or commend our passion and bravery. He also didn’t deny our demands to stay and fight.

  He simply gave us a nod and turned around, heading back toward his office. We followed behind him with no words spoken.

  The war was about to begin.

  Chapter 31

  31

  “Sebille was spotted a few miles south of here after slinking out of the city under the cover of darkness. Our scouts estimate she has around fifty Zephyr soldiers with her.”

  “Wait,” I said, looking around Finn’s office at our small group, “Sebille is coming? The queen, herself?”

  Finn’s gray eyes shone with resignation as he said, “Queen Sebille would not leave something this important to underlings. She leads the charge.”

  “How long do we have?” Easton asked.

  “I’d say an hour, at most,” Finn replied, his eyes scanning the others in the room. “I know this is what you’ve been training for, but in my own selfish need to protect you, I sent most of you out of here to hide away until the danger passes. Perhaps that was not the wisest choice.”

  “We can take down fifty Zephyrs in our sleep,” a boy with a long blonde ponytail called out, pumping a fist in the air.

  Shouts of agreement rang out, the energy of the students charging the air around us with electricity. I watched Easton move to Finn’s side and whisper something in his ear. Finn nodded at him, then turned to me with the same gesture.

  Easton wrapped his hand around mine and pulled me toward the door. I looked back at Shaela who, after a split-second’s hesitation, followed behind us. Wherever Easton was taking me, she wasn’t going to let a little thing like not being invited stop her.

  “Where are we going?” she asked when she caught up to us.

  Easton didn’t miss a beat. Like he fully expected her to follow.

  “To the gym,” he answered. “December has the gifts of air, fire, water, and earth, but she doesn’t know how to control them. We have less than an hour to help her gain some semblance of control.”

  As we strode through the doors of the gymnasium, Easton’s wings popped out, a blue so light, they almost appeared silver. I realized that was the first time I’d seen them. They were beautiful.

  I looked back at Shaela, whose green wings were also visible, slowly flapping behind her. With a calm, determined thought, I popped my own wings out, feeling a sense of relief and comfort as they fluttered behind me.

  “Wow,” Shaela said as Easton flicked on the lights.

  I turned to look at her, but she twirled a finger in the air, asking me to turn back around. My face heated a little, but I did as she asked. She’d never seen my wings and wanted to take a good look at them.

  “They’re so beautiful, December. To hear you talk, you’d think they were drab and lifeless, like the Zephyrs wings. But they’re not. It’s like all the colors are there, swirling amongst each other and reflecting out through the silver parts.”

  “Told you,” Easton said, smirking.

  “Okay,” I said, my face setting fire, “enough about my weird wings. We’re going to run out of time.”

  “You’re right,” Easton agreed. “We need to get started.”

  For the next three-quarters of an hour, Easton and Shaela coached me on the use of my powers. Shaela had an affinity with earth, Easton with air. They taught me to work with the elements, not against them. To request what I wanted, not to try to manipulate them to my will.

  And because I’d already kind of figured that out the night Rowan died, it didn’t take long for me to succeed in wielding all four of them. At my request, a fire blazed to life in the middle of the floor. I tilted my head to the side and concentrated. The air released its moisture, droplets raining down on the fire and extinguishing it. I held up a hand, and wind whipped through the room, blowing away the ash.

  “Very good,” Easton said. “You have clearly discovered how to access the elements. Now you need to learn to use them in battle.”

  “You mean like shooting fireballs from my hands, or something?” I asked.

  Easton opened his mouth to respond, but a loud bang echoed around us as the building shook on its foundation. Shaela stumbled and Easton’s hand shot out to steady her. We looked at each other for a few beats of sil
ence, realizing our time was up.

  “Let’s do this,” Shaela whispered.

  I gripped her hand and said, “Please, be careful.”

  She nodded and turned toward the door, giving me a brief moment with Easton. Without delay, he pressed his lips against mine, his tongue dipping inside my mouth. Just as quickly as it began, the kiss ended and Easton was pulling me along behind Shaela.

  No warnings to tread carefully. No last words of comfort or affection. No goodbyes.

  We were headed into battle and failure was not an option.

  As we passed through the gym doors, the sounds of combat echoed around us. My hair flew up and across my face as wind gusted down the corridor. Gathering the long, dark strands into my fist, I tied it in a knot at the base of my skull.

  Shaela pulled an elastic band from her wrist and motioned for me to turn around. She undid my hasty knot and pulled my hair up into a high ponytail, where it would be out of my face and away from my wings.

  I shot her a look of thanks as she pulled another elastic from her wrist and tied up her own blonde locks. How many rubber bands did she carry around? I shook my head, clearing it of the random thoughts.

  I needed to focus.

  A boy with strawberry blonde hair and pink wings darted down the hall toward us, his breath huffing in and out as his chest heaved. He skidded to a halt next to us, bracing his hands on his knees.

  “What’s happening, Charles?” Easton asked.

  “The Zephyrs attacked, blowing the front door off its hinges and blasting away part of the wall. They’re putting up a good fight, but I think we have the edge, despite their numbers. It’s obvious they don’t have the training we do.”

  “That’s good, right?” I asked, unable to mask the hope in my voice.

  “Yes,” Charles said, “but Queen Sebille…she has your grandfather.”

  “Where?” Easton demanded, a sheen of rage reflecting in his eyes.

  “His office,” Charles said, pointing back the way he’d come.

  Easton took off without another word, and Shaela and I darted behind him. I used my wings to speed up, my feet barely brushing the floor as I ran. The feeling was exhilarating, but I didn’t let it go to my head. I couldn’t lose focus.

  We rounded a corner and Easton skidded to a halt. I rammed right into his back, but he must have been braced for it because he didn’t budge an inch. Placing my hands on his shoulders, I raised up on my toes so I could peek over his shoulder.

  Two dark-haired, black-winged Fae stood outside Finn’s office, their arms crossed over their chests. We were going to have to fight our way inside if we were going to save the king. There were three of us and only two of them, so I liked our odds.

  I felt a tug on the back of my shirt and heard Shaela’s voice whisper my name. I glanced over my shoulder and spied a Zephyr girl coming up the hallway behind us. Her black eyes reflected the lights around us, giving them an eerie glow.

  “I got this,” Shaela said, turning to face off against the girl.

  I braced my feet apart as the hallway started to rumble and shake. A crack split the floor between Shaela and the Zephyr soldier, brown earth spilling up through the crevice to form a barrier between her and us.

  Shaela looked over her shoulder, giving me a smile before turning back. She leapt over the barrier and before I could blink, it built itself up into a solid wall. I screamed her name and ran up to the wall. I dug my fingernails into it, but whatever scratches I made in its surface refilled themselves before I could get any deeper.

  Hands gripped my biceps and pulled me away, twisting me around. Easton’s silvery-blue eyes bore into mine as he spoke, but I couldn’t hear his words over the blood rushing through my ears. I blinked a few times, willing my heart to slow its frantic rhythm.

  “She’ll be fine,” Easton said, his words finally reaching me. “We have our own Zephyrs to deal with.”

  He jerked his head to the right and my eyes followed the motion. The two guards were facing us, having heard the commotion. They remained by the door, probably under the strictest of orders, but there would be no surprise attack. They were ready for us.

  Easton started toward them, discreetly motioning for me to stay behind him. Part of me wanted to obey the directive. To stay out of the way and let the big, strong boy who had been trained all his life for this battle take care of business.

  The other part of me said screw that.

  Easton said it himself…no other Fae could wield all four elements. At least, none that he’d ever heard of. Despite the fact that I was only half-Fae, I had power. Power that I was no longer afraid to use.

  I silently asked fire to come to me. Within a second, I could feel its heat warming my insides, begging to be released. I narrowed my eyes on the two guards, their black eyes trained on Easton—the most obvious threat.

  Easton stopped, his back stiffening with a hiss. He turned his head to look over his shoulder, giving it an almost imperceptible shake. He felt the heat. He was asking me not to use it.

  He might as well have been asking me not to breathe. There was no tamping the power down. It had grown inside me, swelling to the point where I had to release it. With a silent apology, I braced my feet apart.

  “Duck.”

  Without pause, Easton dropped to his knees. I threw out my hands, releasing the fire inside me and channeling it down my arms to my fingertips. From there it burst free, a stream that arced over Easton’s head and headed straight for the two Zephyrs outside Finn’s door.

  When the flames petered out, I flapped my wings, bringing the wind to my back. I floated up, hovering several feet off the floor as air whipped around me. The Zephyr guards’ hair and clothes blew back and, despite my impressive fire-cannon display before, looked fearful for the first time.

  Were they afraid of the wind? Or was it because I clearly wielded control over two powerful elements?

  Easton shot forward on foot while they still stared at me, completely distracted. He punched the first guard in the face, causing him to fly back against the wall before he slumped down to the floor, unconscious.

  The second guard put up more of a fight. They circled each other, throwing jabs and hooks, attempting to get the upper hand. Their movements took them further down the hall, and I slowly floated forward until I was in front of Finn’s door.

  No one was there to stop me, so I lowered myself until my feet hit the floor. I took one last look at Easton, who seemed to be holding his own against the dark Zephyr. I swallowed against the lump of fear in my throat as I turned to face the wood panel.

  The time had come to face the Zephyr queen and rescue King Finn. And the only one who could do it was me.

  Chapter 32

  32

  I opened the door—just the thinnest of cracks—and slipped in through the opening before pushing it gently closed behind me. My eyes scoured the room, finally landing on Finn, who sat in one of the chairs in front of the fire.

  His eyes were closed and I prayed that he was unconscious and not…worse.

  A soft tinkling laugh pulled my attention to his desk. A woman sat behind it and, as I watched, she stood and rounded the edge to stand in front. Her head tilted to one side, her black gaze assessing me. Her stare gave me the heebie-jeebies, but I forced myself not to react.

  “Who are you?” she asked, her voice surprisingly soft and gentle.

  I’d imagined her demeanor and voice to be harsh and unforgiving, designed to rule over everyone around her. But she was quite the opposite. Though she was taller than me, she seemed frailer, like I could break her in half if I tried.

  Her features were soft and subdued, her black eyes shining in the dim light of the office. She had curves in all the right places, accentuated by her hand resting on her cocked hip.

  “I asked you a question, girl.”

  The intolerance wasn’t masked beneath the bell-like voice that time, and I snapped out of the trance she’d somehow put me in. Suddenly her face chan
ged, its delicate beauty melting away to reveal sharp planes and rigid angles.

  Glamour. And I’d almost fallen for it.

  “I am December Thorne,” I said, injecting a confidence I didn’t really feel into my voice, “and I need you to go. Take your army and leave us alone.”

  She laughed again, and this time the sound grated against my nerves. I forced myself not to flinch, to keep my head held high and my back straight. I would show no fear.

  “December Thorne,” she said, “I am Sebille, queen of the Zephyrs. How do I not know of your existence?”

  “What do you mean?” I asked, my brow furrowing in confusion.

  “I know all of my people, all of their children. All of their children’s children. Yet, I have never heard of you. Nor have I heard of the surname Thorne.”

  “I am not one of your people,” I said, wondering why Sebille was talking nonsense instead of trying to eviscerate me. “I am half-human, half-Sylphid.”

  I flinched, my eyes squeezing shut before flying back open. Why did I tell her that? It’s not like we were having a friendly chat over coffee and cookies.

  Sebille smiled, and it was downright predatory. “Who told you that, child?” she asked.

  “Rowan Dobbs,” I said without thinking.

  Oh my God, I did it again. I needed to shut the hell up before I spilled my guts to the enemy.

  “Rowan Dobbs was a liar,” she stated, her black eyes narrowing.

  “Don’t you talk about him,” I said between clenched teeth, my voice low and menacing.

  “Or perhaps he was just an idiot, thinking there is anything human about you,” she continued like I hadn’t just threatened her.

  My anger cooled a bit with those words, taking a backseat to curiosity. What was she implying? Without pause, I asked her as much.

  “I’m not implying anything, darling. I am telling you, without question or doubt that you are of Zephyr descent.”