by Tiegan Clyne
The wolf.
Aladdin.
This all feels like a dream. Or a nightmare.
Quasimodo appears in the doorway and watches us for a moment. I’m not sure he realizes what we’re doing until he grins and gives us a thumbs-up.
Alice stands. “Where is he?” she asks softly.
The bent little gardener shrugs and points out the door.
“I guess he went that-a-way,” I shrug and Quasimodo nods.
“Is he all right?” Alice frowns in concern. She’s a considerate little soul, bless her. She really is a heroine through and through, and more of a princess than some of the princesses I know.
I like her.
Quasimodo nods, but he doesn’t look too convinced. I guess he understands us after all. Gideon said not to talk to him because he was too stupid to know what we’re saying, but that’s obviously not true. I guess I shouldn’t always do what Gideon says. I feel so ashamed that I have been, always following his lead like a puppy and not using my own head.
Alice turns to me. “I guess we need to wait for Redera to come back. I hope she’s okay, too.”
“So do I. Uh… She’ll be coming back to your room, I gather?”
She looks at me like I have three heads. “Of course our room.”
“Right. Okay.” I smile at Quasimodo, who shuffles off to do whatever he needs to do to get the day started. Alice grabs my arm and pulls me out toward the girls’ dorm. I really, really hope we don’t get caught.
Curfew, man.
With Alice insistently leading the way, we head up the stairs toward her room. We’re about halfway up when an unwelcome voice calls out, and my blood runs cold in my veins. This is exactly what I was afraid of.
“Mr. Falconer, where do you think you’re going?”
We slowly turn around to see Mrs. Thornhart, the leader of the first-years, standing at the base of the stairs with her hands on her hips.
“Uh….” I answer stupidly, scrambling for some kind of excuse.
“The girls’ dormitory is strictly off limits to male students,” she says archly. “I believe you’ve been warned about this before.”
My ass aches at the memory. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Then off with you.”
I look at Alice, and she nods. “I’ll let you know,” she assures me in her soft, whispery voice.
“Mr. Falconer,” Mrs. Thornhart barks. “Don’t make me tell you again.”
I retreat down the stairs and let Alice go up by herself. I hurry across the common area toward the stairs leading to my own room.
“You’re breaking curfew,” Thornhart warns me as I pass her. “This will be noted.”
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Thornhart. Please don’t blame Alice. It was my fault.”
She harrumphs and stalks away, literally folding one of the shadows around her like it was a curtain and stepping behind it to hide again. She’s using magic to lie in wait and watch for curfew scofflaws. I shudder and run upstairs. Gideon always calls her an old bat. Now I’m beginning to wonder if it’s true.
My room is the third on the left, and there’s a light shining under the door when I get there. I wrap my hand around the knob, my heart pounding, and open the door. Gideon is lying on his bed, an ever-burning candle flickering on his bedside table. He’s shirtless, lounging on his side and writing in a journal. The quill in his hand scratches across the page, leaving bold, green ink marks behind. I’ve never read his diary, and I don’t really intend to, but I’ll bet there are interesting things in there.
My roommate looks up, and an unreadable flicker goes through his blue eyes. “Well, well, well,” he says, and his tone is either casual or dangerous. I can’t tell which. “Where were you all night?”
I look down at his boots, which are standing by the end of his bed. The mud is still wet. “Where were you?”
“None of your business,” he sniffs. He closes his journal and swings his legs over the side of the bed.
I watch him as he stands up. He’s got a magnificent body. His pecs and abs are rock-hard and well defined, and his skin has a sort of burnished bronze color to it. He’s got broad shoulders, a nice strong chest, and his waist is accented by the hottest sex lines I’ve ever seen. His pajama bottoms hang low and barely cling to his hips, the dip in the elastic threatening to show me everything he’s got…as if I haven’t seen it before.
“You like looking,” Gideon says quietly. “What are you gonna do about it?”
He comes up to me and takes my face in his hands, and then he’s kissing me, hard. I close my eyes and open my mouth to him, and he walks me backward. It’s almost like we’re dancing until I bump into the door. Gideon reaches around me and twists the lock.
Our lips part, and when I open my eyes again, he’s giving me a smirk. I dive right back in, shoving my long fingers into his hair and holding his head still so I can fuck his mouth with my tongue. He groans and grabs my shirt, balling it up in his fists until I pull back my head and let him take it off. He tosses my shirt onto my bed and returns to our kiss. This time it’s him backing up, and he stops when he collides with my mattress. I push him down so he’s on his back and I’m straddling his hips. He smoothly unbuckles my belt and opens my trousers, pushing the cloth away.
He’s already hard under his pajamas, and I rub him with the palm of my hand. Gideon smiles, but that expression fades when I ask, “Why were you outside? It’s dangerous out there.”
He doesn’t answer. Instead, he grabs me in his arms and picks me up as he rises to his feet. He’s so damn strong…I could never do half the things he’s done with me. He acts like I’m no heavier than a dandelion.
Gideon tosses me onto the floor and then falls on top of me. We wrestle our clothes off, looking for a little skin-on-skin contact. Our cocks are caught between our bellies, and he takes us both in his hand. He drives against me, the wet tip of his cock sliding against mine until we’re both rock hard and leaking. He rubs a thumb over my slit and I moan into his mouth, which makes him shudder.
He pulls back, and his gaze bores into mine. “Do you want me, Christopher?” he asks, his voice husky. Prince Charming is wooing me and he knows that I love it. “Do you want me to make love to you?”
There must be a romantic way to respond, but all I can do is open my legs and gasp, “Oh, yes! Please!”
Gideon smiles and wets his finger with the moisture on the tips of our cocks. He kisses me, and while he does, he smears our precum over my hole. My flesh shivers when he touches me, and he purrs. He’s teasing me, barely touching the puckered skin, and I want him inside me so badly I think I might die.
“Gid,” I moan. “Please…”
He moves his mouth, brushing his lips over my cheek until he gets to my earlobe. I grip the muscles of his shoulders, feeling the way they flex and relax as he moves. He’s so fucking sexy. He takes my earlobe between his front teeth and holds it, flicking it with his tongue before he nips me. I jerk in surprise, and at that moment he plunges his cock into me, sinking balls deep into my ass. The sudden stretching is both pain and pleasure, and I hook my feet behind his knees.
“God, you love being fucked by me,” he groans against my neck.
I have no words, but my body tells him yes. He pulls back and I slam my hips up, impaling myself on his long dick. He presses his fists into the floor on either side of my head and looks down at me.
“Fast,” I tell him. “Hard.”
He complies.
I’ve never known a man who could fuck as fast as he can, and it makes me dizzy. I love the feeling, the filling, the yearning for more. He’s deep within me but I wish he were even deeper. I wish he were stretching me farther, consuming every morsel. He’s not small, not at all, but I guess I’m sort of a size queen, and I want him to destroy me.
He’s not gentle, which is good. He’s taking me so hard I can hardly hold in the noises I want to make. I got good at being fucked by men in silence when I was back home, so I manage to keep it do
wn to a quiet groan even when he hits that amazing spot inside like a sledgehammer. He knows me well enough by now to know the angle I like best, and he’s pummeling that sensitive spot until I’m almost delirious.
I cum all over the both of us, and then he’s drenching my insides with his royal seed. He collapses into a heap in my arms, and we lie together in a happy, messy pile while the sun rises in the sky.
Morning in Everafter, and here we are with our own happy ending. If only we could stay like this forever.
The endless screams cut into me like a thousand hot knives. Blood gurgles, ropes tighten, and the cries turn into pleas in an attempt to stay alive. But the Witch Hunters have captured their prey. I can see their torches, hear their taunts. They have no intention of letting go until the nooses tighten around their prey one last time.
They gather around the ash tree, laughing and celebrating their victory.
Grandma and Redera hang from the largest branch, their feet supported by a wooden bench—the one we used to have picnics on. I know what’s going to happen and there’s nothing I can do to stop it. I can’t even look away. I’m rooted to the spot like that tree is to the earth.
Redera’s head snaps to the side, her eyes finding me. “This is all your fault,” she cries, blood spurting from her mouth.“You did this to us! You killed us!”
I open my mouth to say that I never meant for this to happen. All I do is squawk, again and again. When I glance down, I find that I’m a raven with blood-stained wings. I still can’t speak or apologize or do anything to stop these monsters from hurting my family. All I can do is watch.
“Murderer.”
One of the wolves steps forward and lifts a leg.
“Traitor!”
He kicks the bench to the side, and with a sickening crack, the ropes break their necks.
I wake up, my heart thrashing in my ears. Tears well in my eyes, and I wipe them away with a grimace. It’s too late for crying now. That won’t bring them back from the dead.
Broin lets himself out of his cage and hops onto my pillow. He rubs his beak against my cheek, trying to soothe me with the little sounds he’s making in his throat. I don’t want comfort. I want blood.
I push him away gently and get out of bed. My roommates, Sirena and Alice, are still asleep. It’s not even dawn yet. I’m glad I didn’t wake them. I’m never certain if I leave my nightmares with a whimper or with a scream.
—You gasped,—Broin says through our bond, his voice as clear in my head as if I were thinking the words myself. —You’re having nightmares again.—
—Can you blame me?—I ask him irritably. He knows as well as I do what happened to my family and why. He knows that I’m to blame. —They’re dead because of me.—
—You didn’t know…—
—Don’t try to make me feel better,—I warn him. —Don’t you dare.—
—Don’t take that tone with me, young witch,—he growls, but I know he’s just concerned about me.
I draw in a heavy sigh and fumble with my clothes. —Sorry, Daddy.—
—You’d better be. I’ll let it go… this time.—
I get dressed in the dark. The fabric and the movement make the wounds on my back ache, which soothes me more than any kindness my Daddy could show me right now. I need pain. I need to be reminded that I’ve been punished for what I’ve done.
No punishment will ever be enough.
Even though curfew rules state I need to stay in the dorm until seven a.m., I slip out of the tower where the female students sleep and head out into the common room. There’s a path I want to take, one that will lead me through a maintenance closet and out onto the roof, and I’m halfway there when I stop.
I’m not the only one awake this morning.
I hear two voices whispering in a staff access corridor where there are maintenance closets other than the one I’m heading toward. This school is rotten with them. I’m sure that Sirena and Alice and I aren’t the only people here who know about their existence, just like I’m certain there are other secret tunnels I haven’t found yet.
Better get on that.
Broin flies down the stairs and alights on my shoulder. He’s not supposed to be out of his cage, since Everafter has stupid rules about our familiars, but I don’t lock him in. He’s too precious to me to be locked into a cage all the time.
The voices whisper again.
Two males.
I creep closer.
Christopher and Gideon are in the hallway by one of the closets. Gideon is bent over the lock, trying clumsily to open it with a set of lockpicks. Christopher is standing guard, looking over his shoulder, his wand raised. His familiar, an owl, perches on his wrist. I melt into the shadows as only a Darkblood can do and I watch. Those two are up to no good.
“Hurry up,” Christopher urges in a whisper. “They’re going to catch us!”
“I’m doing the best I can.” Gideon fiddles with the lockpicks again, and this time he’s rewarded with a click. He straightens. “Shit. Finally.”
I’m curious about what these two are doing, so I sidle closer. Christopher hurries into the closet and Gideon follows him. I hear them rummaging around inside, shifting things, and I think they’re probably either making room or clearing the junk from in front of one of the walls. I’m not close enough to see, and if I go any closer, I’ll run out of shadows that I can hide in.
The boys emerge with cleaning supplies.
“This is the last time,” Gideon hisses. “Honestly, I don’t know why we have to do this every time. There are staff people here who’ll clean up the mess.”
I won’t deny that they’re both handsome, these two princes, but they’re still in my bad books. And they’re clearly up to no good. I don’t trust either one as far as I can throw them.
Gideon is the tallest of the two, and broader, and he seems to be using his extra size to bully his lither companion. Christopher is willowy, with long blond hair that frames his face, and he’s just a little prettier than he should be. He has hair that girls would kill for. I bet he makes Rapunzel jealous. We all know she has to use magic to make her hair look half as good.
Gideon is still talking. “They’re not going to tell anybody what they find in our room.”
“They will,” Christopher says, “and word will get back to my mother and it’s going to be horrible.”
“Oh, please. Your mother doesn’t care what the staff has to clean off the floor.”
I’m curious. What are these two idiots talking about?
“She will care. I’m telling you. We can’t let anybody know.”
“‘We can’t let anybody know,’” Gideon mocks. “Seriously. This is the last time I get a mop and bucket for you.”
They drag the cleaning supplies out of the closet and take them back toward their room.
—Daddy,—I say to Broin, softening my voice the way he likes. —Could you look and see what Prince Biff and Christopher are cleaning? They have a window…—
He gives a disgusted sigh. —Why should I?—
Broin knows what an opening he just gave me.
—I’ll make it worth your time.—
He makes a sound that’s like the raven equivalent of a purr. —You’d better, young witch,—he warns,. He doesn’t sound genuinely angry. If anything, he’s excited. I can feel the thrill of it through our bond.
—Oh, I will.—
He flies away and I continue on my original path. I sneak up the granite stairs, around the corner, take another turn, and walk through the maintenance closet onto the roof. The magically-cooled ice box is empty, so there’s nothing to drink, but I don’t really want any alcohol right now anyway. That’s more Sirena’s thing. That girl can drink like a fish.
From where I’m sitting, I can see the walls around Everafter Academy and the gates that have been sealed for the last three days. The moon is fading now and the locks will be opened in a few hours. The emergency of the full moon is over. I haven’t heard any wolf c
alls all night, so they must have moved away from the school. On one hand, that’s a relief, but on the other, it’s really fucking annoying, because now I’m going to have to go even farther to hunt those bastards down.
Broin flies up and lands beside me. With nobody around to see, he shifts into his human form and sits down at my side. His muscular chest is on full display and all he’s wearing is a pair of dark pants.
“Well? Did you see?”
“No. They had their curtains closed.”
I blow out an exaggerated sigh. “No fun.”
He smiles, glancing at me. “Not at all. I’ll ask Phillip in the morning what was going on. He’ll tell me.”
“Who the fuck is Phillip?”
“The boy’s familiar.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Oh. Yeah. I forgot. He’d rat out his person?”
Broin waves a hand. “Owls can’t keep secrets. Everybody knows that.”
I feel a little affronted because I didn’t know that. He puts his arm around my shoulder, though, so I let it go. I lean into him, seeking his warmth, and he kisses my hair.
There’s motion by the west gate and I see Lockwood coming back onto Academy property. He looks a little rough—his normally perfectly coiffed hair is out of place and his suit is crumpled. I frown, but Broin vocalizes what I’m thinking.
“Hmm. I wonder what he’s been up to.”
I’m curious to know, too. First, the princes are up to no good and now the headmaster? The full moon certainly does bring about strange circumstances.
I lean into Broin and he wraps his arm around my waist. We only have a short time until the sun rises. I want to savor my time with him.