by Wendi Wilson
“That’s impossible,” I said, my head jerking back as if she’d slapped me. “Rowan told me. He said he could feel the Sylph inside me. I-I don’t have black eyes.”
My voice started to tremble as her words confirmed my darkest fears. I’d known all along that something was off about me. Humans and Sylphs didn’t have babies together. I had black hair and black wings and strange power.
“Be that as it may, the Zephyr inside you sings to me. It obeys my commands. Why do you think you answered my questions without pause or restraint?” She smiled again, her sharp white teeth gleaming in the firelight. “It’s because I am your queen.”
“No,” I mouthed, but no sound came out.
I couldn’t voice the denial because I believed her. After all, King Finn’s commands didn’t work on me. But hers apparently did. Maybe she was right. Maybe Rowan lied, or was confused.
Thinking badly of my mentor and friend made me cringe. No. He didn’t lie. And he was the smartest person I’d ever known. Which meant…
“No.”
This time the sound did come out. I shouted the word over and over again, until Sebille ordered me to be quiet. My jaw snapped shut and I stared at her, tears pouring down my cheeks.
“What is it?” she asked. “What thought inside your pretty little head has you so upset?”
I squeezed my lips together, but it was no use. I couldn’t resist the pull of her questions. I had to answer.
“Rowan was not a liar,” I said. “He swore to tell me the truth, always. Which means I am half-Sylph—”
Her black eyes widened, shining like polished obsidian. “No,” she said. “It’s not possible.”
“—and half-Zephyr,” I continued like she hadn’t spoken.
“No,” she repeated, like saying it again would make it so. “It is forbidden. No Zephyr would touch a Sylphid.”
She shivered, like the thought disgusted her. Her reaction was a kick in the gut. Not that I wanted or needed her approval. Or her acceptance.
But if her reaction was any indication as to what I’d face when the Sylphs found out the truth…
And I was certain it was the truth. I felt it, in my bones. The surety was undeniable. I was half-Zephyr. And half-Sylphid.
And not human at all.
“Come here, child,” Sebille ordered, and my head snapped up.
I could hear the demand in her tone that brooked no disobedience. I could also hear the threat. She was going to kill me, and there was nothing I could do about it. My very genetic make-up would be the death of me.
And yet…my feet weren’t moving.
“I said come to me,” she ordered, her voice strong and loud.
One corner of my mouth ticked up. I couldn’t help it. I wanted to laugh out loud, but I held it in, knowing I’d be pushing Sebille too far. I needed to keep the upper hand.
“It looks like accepting both halves of myself broke your hold,” I said.
“Come here and die,” she gritted out.
I tilted my head to the side, saying “My Sylph half rebels against your mind control. I’m free.”
A cyclone of wind twirled around her, building in strength and intensity as she moved her hands in a circular motion. I widened my stance, holding my palms up and silently asking the air to come to me. My clothes plastered to the front of my body as her gust of wind blew in my direction.
The power built inside me, the wind around me whipping faster and faster until my feet lifted off the ground. I focused my gaze on Sebille, whose mouth was hanging open. No air moved around her, despite her frantic hand motions.
I’d pulled it all to me.
I whispered to the earth, asking it for assistance. Huge vines busted through the glass panes of the window, then flew back out, taking the wood framing with them. Even more air rushed in through the opening, whipping around me and lifting me even higher.
I called to the fire, begging it to lend me its strength and power. The flames in the hearth expanded, roaring high. Sebille’s head snapped in that direction just as a streak of fire flew from the fireplace and wrapped around her.
She screamed, slapping against the flames. I released the wind twirling around me, and it flew toward her burning body, lifting her up as I fell to the floor. I raised my head, whispering my plea, and the air obliged.
Sebille’s shouts echoed through the room as the cyclone of air shoved her through the broken window, out into the night sky and away from Oberon Academy. I watched the flickering dot of her body grow smaller and smaller as she disappeared from sight.
A crackle and pop pulled my attention back to the room. The curtains were on fire and small sparks flew from the fireplace, threatening to ignite the carpet. I called to water, requesting it to form and put out the flames.
Then I laid down on the floor and cried.
I cried for Rowan, who was sure there was no darkness in me, but was wrong. I cried for my youth, for the life I could have had if my parents hadn’t participated in some forbidden act of passion that required them to dump me on the steps of Thorne Library. I cried for Easton and Shaela, who would probably distance themselves from me once they found out the truth.
And I cried for me. For a life forever changed. For the loss of my first real home.
“December,” Finn’s voice called out.
I sat up, wiping my tears, and crawled over to him, asking “Are you okay?”
“A little groggy, but otherwise fine. Sebille?”
“Gone,” I said.
“You defeated her?” he asked, something like pride coloring his voice.
“I ejected her from the premises,” I said, but my joke, and my smirk, fell flat.
“Whatever is wrong, December?” he asked, his soft hand brushing against my hair.
“I’m half-Zephyr,” I whispered.
Finn smiled. “I imagined as much,” he said.
“What?” I exclaimed, pulling out of his reach. “You knew?”
“It wasn’t until tonight, when you resisted my command and broke the control I had over the others that I began to suspect the truth,” he said. “No Sylphid can resist, yet you did. It would take a lot of power, more so than any human, half or otherwise, could possess, to fight my control like you did.”
“Do you want me to leave?” I asked.
“Why would you ask me that?”
“I’m an abomination. Sebille made it sound like something awful and disgusting, a Sylph and a Zephyr coming together in that way.”
“Sebille is an evil and petty monster,” he said. “Do you think I have much in common with her?”
The tilt of his head and lilt in his voice made me smile. “No. I don’t.”
He nodded once. “We should go make sure everyone else is okay, don’t you think?”
I pulled myself to my feet, then held out a hand to Finn. He took my help and together, we hobbled to the door. I pulled it open and almost took a fist to the face.
Easton pulled his arm back at the last second, his shoulders drooping in relief. His hand snaked out, grabbing my arm and snatching me toward him. His heat warmed me as he wrapped himself around me muttering words against my hair.
“I couldn’t get in. I tried. I tried so hard, but the door was sealed with magic. I couldn’t break it, December. I’m so sorry. I tried.”
“Hush,” I said. “I’m okay.” I pressed my lips to his before jerking back in a panic. “Shaela?”
He nodded, the movements quick and jerky. “She’s okay. She’s in the medical ward with a broken arm, but no other injuries.”
I relaxed back into his chest, savoring the feel of him against me. I didn’t know if I’d ever get the chance again, once he found out the truth about me and my heritage.
They say the truth will set you free, but I didn’t want that kind of freedom. So I decided to wait until the right time to tell him.
Whenever that would be.
Chapter 33
33
“Then, she threw me int
o the wall, and that’s how I broke my arm,” Shaela said, lifting the appendage in question.
It was late, and we were all exhausted, but I’d insisted on going to see her after we searched the school and found no remaining Zephyrs in the building or on the grounds. Some of the students said they saw them flee, all in unison like some silent alarm had been tripped, warning to them to leave.
“I pulled myself up and started toward her, but she ran away. Coward,” she continued, and I couldn’t help but smile. “What happened with you guys and Sebille?”
“I’d like to know that, too,” Easton said, “but she’s being awfully tightlipped about it.”
“You weren’t with her?” Shaela asked, accusation heavy in her voice.
As Easton explained to her what happened and how I ended up alone in Finn’s office, I gathered my thoughts. I had to tell them the truth. There was no more avoiding it.
“Sebille ordered me to tell her things, and I did. I couldn’t stop myself.”
“Because you were scared?” Shaela asked, her expression soft and comforting.
“No,” I said. “I mean, yes, I was scared, but that wasn’t the reason why I felt compelled to answer her.”
“What are you saying, December?” Easton asked.
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, my eyes drifting back and forth between them. I knew what I had to say, but the words wouldn’t come. I pinched my lips together and shook my head, tears stinging at the corners of my eyes.
“What is it?” Shaela asked. “You can tell us anything.”
Her words just made it worse. I was sure they thought I could tell them anything and it wouldn’t make a difference in how they felt about me, but what I was about to say was a game-changer.
They’d never look at me the same way again.
Taking another deep breath, I let out the words in a rush. “I couldn’t resist her because I’m half-Zephyr.”
“What?” Shaela exclaimed, her head jerking backward. “How is that possible?”
Easton was noticeably quiet. I refused to look at him, keeping my eyes on Shaela. I would never get through this if I looked at him and saw something like disgust on his face.
I swallowed against the lump in my throat, my voice cracking as I said, “Apparently, Rowan was right. Or half right. I am half-Sylph. But the other half is Zephyr, not human.”
“Woah,” Shaela said, wonder etched across her face. “That’s so crazy. I mean, it doesn’t make any difference to me, but just the thought of a Sylph and a Zephyr getting together and…you know…it’s crazy, right?”
She looked over at Easton as she finished, but he remained disturbingly silent. I still hadn’t looked at him. I had no clue what he was thinking.
Something Shaela said registered in my head and my eyes widened. “It doesn’t make a difference to you?” I asked.
Her head tilted to the side, her eyes narrowing as she answered, “No. Why would it?”
I looked at Easton for the first time, but his expression was unreadable. My eyes moved back to Shaela, and I shrugged, holding my palms up.
“You guys hate Zephyrs. Every class I’ve taken, every conversation I’ve overheard. The dialogue is always the same. Zephyrs are evil. They’re the enemy. You’re training for war, to defeat them, to save the human race from being enslaved by them.”
As I said the word “them,” I jabbed a thumb against my chest. Shaela’s head was shaking before I even finished.
“But you’re not like them, December. You’re a good person. You care about others. You don’t want the humans to be slaves to the Zephyrs any more than we do. Obviously, your Sylphid half is dominant.”
She said that last part with an arched brow and tone that brooked no argument. A laugh tumbled from my lips, taking with it half the tension in my body. I leaned forward and wrapped my arms around her, careful not to jostle her broken arm.
“I’m so lucky to have you as my best friend,” I whispered.
“I’m the lucky one,” she replied.
“Well, we’ll just have to agree to disagree,” I said, smiling at her as I straightened.
“December, can I speak to you outside?”
Easton’s question speared through me, igniting fear in all my nerve endings. I nodded, keeping my eyes on Shaela’s. She gave me a comforting look, jerking her head toward the door in a silent order to go with him. I almost balked, insisting to stay with her so I could put off the conversation.
But the conversation was inevitable. It was time to face the music, for better or for worse.
As soon as the door clicked closed behind us, I was pushed back against the wall. Easton moved forward, his body pressing against me in all the right places as his mouth crashed against mine. His kiss was urgent, demanding, and full of tension, lacking his usual finesse, but I melted anyway.
He yanked himself away just as quickly as he pounced, his chest heaving up and down in time with mine. He looked angry, which confused me. Why did he kiss me if he was mad?
“Just try and tell me you didn’t feel that,” he spat, making me even more confused.
“I…I…”
“The connection, December. You feel it, right? That pull between us? It’s irresistible.”
I nodded, saying “I feel it.”
“Then why,” he asked, his voice growing deeper as he moved in close again, “did you think you couldn’t tell me about the Zephyr stuff? Did you think I’d be upset? That I’d leave you?”
I couldn’t respond. He was too close. His voice too gruff. His anger was palpable, making me feel like a complete idiot for doubting him. He was a solid, trustworthy guy and I should have felt comfortable telling him all my secrets.
“I’m sorry,” I mumbled, launching myself across the inches that still stood between us. I buried my face in his chest, saying “I was scared. I thought you’d hate me for what I am.”
His arms came up around me, squeezing me in tight. “I could never hate you, December. Please, trust me.”
I nodded against his chest, sniffing as I said, “I do. I do trust you, Easton.”
He kissed me again before pulling away and suggesting we go back in and sit with Shaela for a while. My heart warmed with pleasure at his thoughtfulness. He could have offered to take me back to my room, or his, so we could be alone and make up properly. But he didn’t.
He knew Shaela would be lonely in the medical ward by herself, and I’d feel guilty for leaving her there alone. He smiled as we pulled up chairs next to her bed and she asked if we’d sorted out our lovers’ quarrel.
“Who says ‘quarrel’?” I asked, slapping her thigh playfully.
“I do, and that’s why you love me,” she said.
“I do love you,” I replied, reaching for her good hand and giving it a squeeze.
“And I love you, December. Best friends. Forever. Never doubt it.”
“I won’t,” I promised, and my eyes skirted over to Easton.
The look on his face was odd, like he’d just realized something that excited and frightened him at the same time. Before I could question it, he wiped a hand across his face, leaving only a soft smile behind. I quirked a brow at him, silently asking what was up.
He mouthed the words, “Nothing. I’ll tell you later,” and because I trusted him, I simply shrugged and let it go.
I watched each of them as they told stories and jokes and other anecdotes, and I realized something. The comfort, the closeness I felt with them was what I’d been chasing after my whole life. Not money, a house, or material things.
What I’d been searching for was a home. A real family.
A single tear drifted down my cheek as it dawned on me—I’d finally found it. Oberon Academy was my home. The Sylphs were my family.
And nothing was going to take them from me.
Epilogue
Queen Sebille stomped in her high-rise apartment, throwing her charred jacket in the general direction of the trash can. She ground her teeth against ea
ch other, the tension in her jaw radiating out to the rest of her body. She paced across the room to the sliding door that led out onto the balcony.
She caught her reflection in the glass, her hair wild and sticking up all over, the ends singed and a growl worked its way up her throat. She jerked on the handle and the door flew across its track, banging to a stop. She stalked out onto the balcony and took a deep breath.
“December Thorne,” she gritted out between her clenched teeth.
Anger raged through Sebille’s body. This girl, a youngling who had barely begun her life, had bested her. She had thwarted months of careful planning, stopping the Zephyr takeover of that blasted school. New plans needed to be made, a new timeline set. Nothing had gone as planned.
Sebille opened her mouth and screamed, letting her rage escape her body as her black eyes burned with the need for revenge. And revenge, she would take.
She’d gain control of Oberon Academy, one way or another. She’d bring the Sylphids to their knees, and rid the world of that self-righteous king, Finn. And she’d kill the girl.
“But first,” she whispered out into the night sky, “I shall discover who her parents are.”
Someone in her midst had done the unthinkable. One of her own people had slept with a Sylph. She shuddered at the thought, disgust coursing through her.
“Whoever helped to create that abomination shall die right alongside her,” she mumbled. “I shall kill them, myself.”
With thoughts of revenge and justice swirling through her head, Sebille turned and walked back into her luxury apartment. Raising her voice, she called out to the guards whom she knew were still standing vigil outside her door.
“Maxim. Jameson.”
Her front door swung open and the two male guards filled the doorway, bowing at the waist.
“Yes, Your Majesty?” Maxim asked.
“Is he in the building?” she asked, knowing her guards would understand who she meant.
“Yes, Your Majesty. He entered his apartment a little over an hour ago and has not left since.”