Masking the Fae King: Bramble's Edge Academy Year 2 (Reverse Harem Romance)

by Brenda Trim

  Maurelle ducked under a branch and couldn’t hold back the snarl when Ryker lifted it out of Tiana’s way. Okay, now he was going way beyond being nice and covering his tracks.

  Maurelle hurried through the forest trying to remain focused on clues or any hint as to what they should be looking for. Reaching out, she started touching the trunks and leaves to see if she got a reading from anything.

  “What’s she doing?” Randy asked from behind her.

  “Maurelle is psychometric and looking for hints that staff may have passed this way,” Ryker explained. “It’s one of her many talents.”

  You’ve got more sucking up to do, Prince Charming. But, Maurelle had to admit he was on the right path. Flattery would get him pretty damn far.

  “You getting anything, Elle?”

  “Nothing. I imagine they were careful this close to campus.”

  “Let’s call the air currents to us. If we’re lucky we can catch a scent in the right direction,” Tiana suggested.

  “Good thinking,” Maurelle reluctantly admitted.

  “North first,” Ryker directed.

  Stopping, the five of them connected with the air element in their core and pulled from the north. Maurelle caught a slightly sour, smokey scent. They did east next and nothing but salt and brine came back to them. That made sense since the ocean was in that direction. West came after that and brought with it an icy current and a tart berry scent. They didn’t bother reaching for the south because that was the campus where they just came from.

  “I think north is our best bet, but there is also a hint of something west. I say we check west since more students headed north.” Everyone nodded and changed course with Ryker’s suggestion. No one even questioned following what he said. The amulet couldn’t dampen every facet of his mantle. Thankfully this wasn’t something that would give him away.

  As they traversed deeper into the woods, the vegetation became denser and the ground cleaner. This far from the Edge and other cities, Maurelle’s body began to bubble with energy as the elemental power was clear of corruption.

  Another major difference she noticed was the heavy shroud that surrounded her and weighed her down lightened. Breathing became much easier and her mind sharper. That had to be the dark magic around campus.

  She wondered if the other students noticed the difference. It made her think the staff weren’t involved in placing the spell on them or they wouldn’t chance the students noticing something different when they completed this trial.

  After five minutes of silently traveling through the woods, Maurelle was dying of thirst. “I wish I’d known we were going to be out here today. I’d have brought some water.”

  “They should have had packs of supplies for us, “Brokk grumbled.

  “There’s a stream not far from here,” Ryker announced.

  Randy narrowed his eyes at Ryker. “Are you using your water element?”

  “I’m not using it but being connected to water tells me there’s a stream close by.”

  Randy didn’t look convinced. “We’d better not be disqualified because of you.”

  Before Maurelle could give him her sharp retort a loud growl echoed through the trees and rattled the leaves. The sound of leaves and branches breaking along with the sound of footsteps followed, but whatever it was didn’t seem to be that big.

  Maurelle’s heart started racing and adrenaline dumped into her bloodstream as her fight or flight instinct battled over what she should do. “Vampires can’t come into the forest, right?”

  “No, Braveheart. They can’t survive out here during the day,” Ryker assured her.

  Unfortunately, Brokk wasn’t as reassuring. “I think it’s a wolf, or wild dog. I hope it’s not a grimm. That would be bad.”

  “Considering grimms live to claim souls it wouldn’t bode well for us,” Maurelle retorted. “We might as well continue and take out whatever is in these woods. It’s not like we will get through here without facing beasts spelled to attack us.”

  Tiana gaped at Maurelle and shook her head slowly. The wind picked up around the female’s body, sending her hair whipping about her head in a flurry. She was losing it, but as it got out of hand Tiana seemed to get her shit together. “That doesn’t mean we have to walk right into a trap. We can go back and look where there aren’t things after us.”

  Maurelle rolled her eyes. “It doesn’t matter where we go. There are creatures all over these woods looking for students.”

  “Maurelle’s right. We go this way. If you want to head back to the quad go ahead, but our best bet to complete this trial is to stay the course,” Ryker told everyone.

  Tiana opened her mouth as if she was going to object then looked at Ryker and closed it again. At least his flirtatious behavior was good for something. Maurelle accessed her air element in her core and sent tendrils to make her steps quiet.

  With all the groundcover there was no way to eliminate all sound, but she had to do something. As a group they made a large target, so she snuck behind a large tree. When her wings fluttered at her back with a snuffling noise that was way to close to their position for comfort, she nearly screamed.

  Those were going to be a problem. A Fae’s wings reacted automatically to stimulus, especially strong emotions like pleasure, fear and anger. She had to split her attention between her element and her wings.

  Brokk joined her while Ryker ducked behind another tree with Tiana. Randy stood there a second too long and a black blur raced through the air toward the male. He screamed and Maurelle was in motion before she could second guess herself.

  Using the skills that they’d covered in class, she used air to lift a broken branch from the ground. She snatched it as she ran and swung at what she now realized was a grimm. Exactly what they’d hoped to avoid.

  Grimms straddled the line between the living and spirit world. They weren’t exactly ghosts, but more of a spectre. When they attacked like this one was doing right now, they had solid bodies with massive fangs that tore into flesh easily. When their victim was close to dead, they became more mist than anything and sank into the body to gather the soul.

  Only in their spectral forms could they carry their burdens to the afterlife to give to the God Loki, who was their master. Grabbing the branch with both hands, Maurelle had a second to wonder what the hell she was doing. She should be running from the grimm, not toward it.

  As if she could allow someone to be hurt when she might be able to help. Letting loose a war cry, she swung the stick and connected with the side of the beast’s head when he let go of Randy’s arm.

  Brokk and Ryker were right behind her launching their own attacks. The second her feet touched down, she kept swinging her makeshift weapon. Each blow managed to inflict an injury. Crimson blood flowed from numerous cuts the first time the grimm tried to shift into its shadow form.

  “I don’t fucking think so,” Ryker warned before he slammed a rock onto the top of its head.

  The clomping of hooves echoed through the trees behind them. Trusting Ryker to take care of the grimm, Maurelle turned and scanned the area. About ten feet away three centaurs were heading their way.

  “We’ve got incoming,” she called out and adjusted her grip on the stick in her hands. There weren’t many leaves and smaller branches left on the thing and it was covered in grimm blood, but she didn’t have anything better.

  “Shit. I hate fighting these guys. Centaurs are sentient,” Brokk complained. “And, they aren’t blood thirsty like vampires and grimm.”

  “I’d rather face trolls,” Ryker agreed as he came to stand next to them. “Can you stand, Randy?”

  “Yeah, but I can’t do much else. That fucker nearly tore my arm off.”

  “Maybe he should go back to the quad,” Tiana suggested. And, I’m sure you’d like to be the one to escort him. Maurelle bit her tongue to keep from hurling that accusation at her. Honestly, it would be better if they did return. Only problem was she doubted their team would be awarde
d the prize when they found an artifact.

  Ryker pursed his lips as he scanned the ground then picked up a larger branch than Maurelle was holding. “No. We stick together. There’s no guarantee that won’t disqualify us and I want to pass this year.”

  Maurelle was so focused on the centaurs heading their way that she didn’t see the phantom approaching from the opposite direction until it threw a bolder at them. Brokk tried to jump in front of her, but he didn’t move fast enough.

  All Maurelle knew was Brokk was yelling and moving before she went sailing into the air as a large rock hit the side of her head. Her wings automatically flared and beat rapidly to stop her momentum. It was one of the times she was so damn glad they reacted to events like they did, or she would have gone head-first into a tree.

  “Don’t let it possess you,” Ryker warned as he dragged Maurelle back to their group.

  “I didn’t think there were any phantoms in the Edge,” Brokk said as he tucked Tiana behind him putting her close to Maurelle, so they were sandwiched between him and Ryker. Randy stood at her side, more behind Ryker than standing next to him.

  Ryker snorted and helped her to her feet. “There aren’t supposed to be but that doesn’t mean shit at the moment.”

  The five of them stood huddled together. Her head was throbbing, and bleeding and it was a minor miracle she was standing upright. Okay, that was an overstatement. It was more like she was leaning against Ryker.

  The phantom shook off whatever was keeping it immobile and started heading to them. Ryker let go of her waist and threw his hands into the air while shouting, “Leave us the fuck alone.”

  The moment the words left his mouth bright white light circled by blue fire exploded out of his palms. His wings lit up with red and black. The markings remained blurry, but they weren’t entirely invisible anymore.

  Several things happened at once leaving Maurelle even more dizzy. The phantom disappeared, Randy and Tiana gaped at Ryker. The centaurs stopped in their tracks sending plums of dust into the air and Brokk stepped in front of Ryker, trying to block him from view.

  Maurelle’s heart clenched as she realized they were royally fucked. And, not in the good way. There was no way for Ryker and Brokk to fight off their new visitors and she was fairly certain their classmates were just clued in about his true identity.

  “Who are you?” the centaur at the head of their group demanded.

  Ryker scanned the area with pursed lips while Maurelle searched her mind for some way to help. Her brain was fuzzy and more than a little side-tracked by pain, but she pushed herself to focus. She recalled reading something about shielding spells.

  It was magic well beyond her skill level, but she had to give it a go. Accessing her air element along with her water element, she whispered the words and sent them to Randy and Tiana.

  “We have no quarrel with you,” Ryker told the centaurs as he held out his hand and dropped his weapon. Maurelle whimpered beside him and wanted to curse. She lost her branch when she was hit by the boulder and now, they were defenseless.

  “We were sent into the forest to find an artifact for the academy. Let us pass.” Maurelle felt Ryker’s power wash over her when he spoke. Their eyes grew wider, telling her they felt his power.

  Apparently, that spell was way over her abilities. Right as she was ready to resign herself to being killed under hooves, Randy and Tiana’s faces went blank and their mouths fell open.

  “What just happened?” Ryker asked.

  “Sorry, I panicked and used a shielding spell. I didn’t want them to put the pieces together,” Maurelle told him.

  She tilted her head back to meet his gaze and immediately regretted the movement. Pain shot down the side of her body and her head was suddenly being crushed in a vice.

  “You’re the lost heir,” the leader announced, his words dropping like a bomb threatening to implode their entire world. Through half-closed eyes, she watched the other two centaurs come abreast of the leader.

  “I’m not going to lie to you,” Ryker began. Maurelle tugged his arm trying to get his attention. This was not a good idea. “I am, but that information must remain hidden. We need time to take down those responsible for the fall of my parents and the corruption in the Edge.”

  All three creatures watched Ryker with what Maurelle assumed was reverence. Their faces lost their harsh snarls and their spines were no longer stiff. Their arms hung loosely at their sides now as well.

  “All of Mag Mell needs to hear you’re back. We’ve begun to lose hope. Many have been searching for a new realm to call home,” the leader said.

  “You can’t tell anyone,” Brokk blurted. “If you do Ryker will be killed and then all hope will be lost.”

  “We will not tell anyone. We want to help take down those tainted with dark magic,” another of the centaurs promised.

  “Right now, we need your help leading us to an artifact,” Ryker said as he wrapped an arm around Maurelle’s waist. “And, if you can remove their memory of the shit with the phantom that’d help, too.”

  “Your friend there has wiped their mind pretty thoroughly. They might not even recall their own names,” the leader replied, making Maurelle feel like shit. She should never have tried that spell. She knew it was out of her league, but her fear for Ryker overrode her common sense. “As for your artifact, continue in a north-west direction. We noted several objects belonging to the academy close to the base of the mountain,” the leader told them.

  “Thank you,” Ryker replied then picked Maurelle up. Brokk grabbed Randy and Tiana’s hands and prompted them to start walking. She had no idea what exactly she did and wasn’t about to keep messing with unknown powers.

  “Thank the Gods that your charm works on all creatures,” Maurelle teased when they were several feet away. “Now, let’s find a stupid artifact. My head is killing me.”

  Ryker didn’t smile at her teasing, only ran his eyes over the cut that finally stopped bleeding on her scalp. With luck they’d complete this task quickly so she could get some tea and rest. The staff really needed to rethink the danger they put students in during these trials. Did they really think being in life threatening situations helped their control?

  Maurelle didn’t. She might gain more focus and get by on sheer determination, but the average student was more like Randy and Tiana who were completely worthless during the fighting. Not that it would do her any good to try and convince them.

  Her body ached and she wanted nothing more than to cut this expedition short and return to her dorm for a nap, but that wasn’t an option. At least she had the best seat in the house. She rested her head on Ryker’s shoulder as they moved quickly and followed the directions the centaurs gave them.

  It didn’t take much time for them to find the artifact. It seemed Ryker made good allies in the centaurs. They encountered no other problems, which was a freaking relief. No way could she muster much energy to fight if anything new sprang at them. She accepted the statue from Ryker and kissed the side of his neck as they headed back to the campus.

  His low growl perked her interest. She’d attack him right after she got a couple hours sleep. Fighting was hard work. It robbed her of energy and left her a useless heap of spent Fae.

  “Ahhhh!” Tiana shouted, making Maurelle’s head jerk up. Her vision swam as dizziness nearly took her under.

  “What happened?” Maurelle asked as adrenaline dumped into her frazzled system. It barely made her heart pick up its pace, but it made her surroundings clear up. It was like she was looking at everything from under water.

  Brokk grunted and lifted Tiana from the ground by grabbed hold of her arm. “She stumbled into some poison ivy,” he explained as he kept his hand in place on her arm. “Don’t touch anything. You’ll give me that shit too.”

  Maurelle slumped back down. “No more screaming unless someone is losing a limb,” she demanded. Her eyes slipped closed as Ryker carried her snuggled against his hard chest.

  Chapter
8

  “Why the fuck are we going down there again?” Brokk whisper-yelled as he held onto Ryker’s lapel. Ryker’s eyes remained trained on the building where Gullvieg’s house once stood. Giaus’s home stood in the spot, but it looked nothing like the previous headmistress’s had.

  “I want to see what is below this house. And, before you say the area was destroyed in the fire. I don’t agree. I never sensed the flames travel below ground. Besides, I want to know if Gaius was in league with Gullvieg.”

  Ryker was taking a huge risk trying to sneak in right now, but before curfew it was easier to get around campus. All sorts of spells were enacted to keep students in their rooms which meant there was all kinds of activity before ten at night.

  Pausing at a corner of the headmaster’s house as he had with Gullvieg’s months ago, Ryker was looking at a very different scene now. Back then he was part of the previous headmistress’s Bravo Unit of assassins. They’d been tasked with taking out a student that was trying to escape the control and manipulation of the academy.

  The new house was a two-story structure made from square brown stones. All the other buildings on campus were created from grey stones of an irregular nature, that bore the mark of time. The headmaster’s house was new and modern where the older buildings were centuries old.

  Ryker preferred the character of the original structures. They contained intricate details like flowers, flourishes and gargoyles. All created by Fae artisans when the academy was first constructed. He imagined the castle where he was born was very similar, although he’d never laid eyes on the place. He wasn’t allowed out of the Edge and the royal castle was located in Dornwich where the richest of the humans lived.

  “I can save us the trouble. There’s no way the guy is innocent. I mean c’mon evil drips from the male.”