by Tiegan Clyne
Gideon tuts and watches me place my quill and ink back into my desk drawer. The hatred, and the lust, burning on his face are written as clear as day, yet I have no intention of throwing him another bone. As the mortal saying goes, throw a dog a bone and he’ll love you forever. Well, I believe if you throw a prince some Darkblood pussy, he’ll stop acting like a self-entitled little twat all the time. My little piggy has had enough treats for today. It’s time to relax for a while.
Once I’ve packed up my belongings, I leave the classroom building and enter the courtyard. Alice is waiting for me outside, dark bags framing her tired-looking eyes. I don’t think she’s slept all weekend.
“Is it just me or has today been incomprehensibly long?” she asks over a slow yawn.
“Heaven yeah.” I link arms with her, and we walk through the courtyard and into the main building. “Guess what I found today?”
“A cure for insomnia?”
Another yawn, and this time I catch it.
I shake my head, answering over a yawn, “No, but my grandma swore by ground squirrel liver. She slept like a log whenever she rubbed it on her feet.”
“Ummm. That’s a little—”
“Gross? That’s a normal thing in our apothecary. Plus, she swore it worked.”
“Well, she is your Grandma. I bet she’s really wise.”
I glance down at the floor, falling silent for a moment. “She was wise.”
Alice picks up on the past tense and I’m glad she doesn’t press me. She merely squeezes my arm and presses her head into my shoulder.
“I’ll try that tonight,” she says, leading us through the castle to the common room stairs. “What did you find today?”
“I found a secret room next to the library. I hid there today, at lunch. Prince Biff and his posse found me, though. They couldn’t get past the protection charm on the door. I have also decided that Rapunzel, aka Punzi, shall henceforth be known as Cuntzi.”
A loud snort comes from Alice. “Oh, wow. Just wait until Sirena hears about that.”
“Where is she?”
Alice gives me a pointed look. “Erik.”
“Ugh. Him.” My stomach churns. “Sirena deserves so much better than a jerk like that. Why is she betrothed to him?”
“I don’t know if you remember, but for decades Poseida and Aira were at war. Airyans claimed it was because people from Poseida were driving their fish away. But Sirena told me that was just a lie to cover up the fact that Poseidans were overfishing, and it resulted in a famine. The High Council eventually stepped in, but by then Aira had already been boarding Poseidan boats and slaughtering their crews. Then they started poaching fish in Poseidan waters. Do you know Captain Levi Hook?”
I nod. “Everyone in Draoich knows him.”
His reputation has preceded him for centuries. Grandma even had a signed picture of him on her dresser, right beside our Dark Lord. The man is sort of a celebrity in Draoich. The blacker your heart, the further you’ll go. It’s always been that way. It’s hard to believe he now supposedly teaches at Nevermore.
“Well, Hook is actually Erik’s uncle and the former heir to the Airyan throne. When he realized he wasn’t second in line anymore, he authorized the poaching. Talk about being petty. Anyway, he was soon exiled into Neverland. King Gareth made an alliance with Poseida shortly after, but until Sirena and Erik fulfill the treaty by getting married, the fate of their kingdoms hangs by a thread. It’s why she’s sort of…”
“Trapped?” I finish for her, grimacing. “And here I thought the five kingdoms prided themselves on the false illusion of freedom. Please.”
Alice laughs. “Exactly. Are any of us really free in the Great Forest? I don’t think so. We’re all caged by a wall of thorns.”
How depressingly true. On the plus side, that wall keeps us safely divided from the human world. But it can be isolating for some people. Not for me, though; there’s only so much peopling I can do in life. I don’t want to throw an extra species into the mix.
We climb the stairs into the common room. Unsurprisingly the area is swamped. Even the human-made computers are being put to good use. Erik is slouched on the velvet sofa by the fire, his arms splayed, one leg crossed over his knee like he’s lord of the land. Sirena sits beside him, her arms crossed in a defensive pose with her face slightly flushed. Erik doesn’t seem to be paying her any attention as he sips from his pretentious little china cup while listening to a group of male students laugh and joke.
“Look who we have here,” Alice mutters, rolling her eyes, “and look at Sirena’s eyes. They’re bright red.”
My hackles rise. “I was just thinking to myself, doesn’t Erik have a very hexable face?”
Alice widens her already unnaturally large eyes. “You wouldn’t!”
I lift my hand, subtly pointing a finger at Erik’s cup as he lifts it to take another sip. “Just watch me. Sirena’s the one betrothed to him. Me? I’m just the Darkblood, remember?”
With that, I cast a childish but incredibly amusing hex on Erik’s drink. The dark liquid explodes, surging in all directions and fills any airhole of Erik’s it can reach. He hunches over, coughing and spluttering, struggling to breathe, and the whole room is watching and laughing. The poor little prince’s face is purple from the effort. I’m too busy laughing at how greatly he’s embarrassing himself to notice Sirena standing beside me.
“You sure know how to make one helluva scene, Redera,” my friend says, folding her arms in mock disappointment. She can’t hide the slight curve of her lips or the glint in her eyes. I’m so glad to have lightened her mood. I hate to see her upset.
I give her a sweet smile and bat my lashes. “What ever could you mean? I’m perfectly innocent.”
She arches a threaded eyebrow, and for a short moment, I wonder if I’ve genuinely upset her. But then she’s laughing and linking arms with my free one, her eyes wet with tears again, this time not from sadness.
“That was amazing, girl. Thanks for cheering me up. I really needed that after Erik’s latest dick move.”
“You know I’ve got your backs,” I tell them both, squeezing their arms. “Everyone else can suck a dick for all I care.”
Oh, that reminds me.
I have a very important fuckpointment to get ready for.
Time to say goodbye to school for the day and hello to sinful debauchery.
Who knew how much I would enjoy this… arrangement with my headmaster? I never expected Lucifer’s plan to work so well in my favor, not that I’m really complaining. I now have a Daddy, a Master, and a new fucktoy to pass my time at this school.
All things considered, I’m a lucky witch.
If only I could have all three of them at the same time…
The auburn moon nestled in the inky-black sky is extremely beautiful tonight. It appears so close to the Earth that if I reached out, I could almost touch it. With the glamour cast over me, I make my way toward the western gate, my cloak billowing in the cool night air.
Professor Lockwood is already waiting for me, a great shadow of a man standing opposite the gate. He’s bathed in a soft amber hue from his lit torch, accentuating his clothes, and fuck does he look good in his school robes. The way his cloak falls off his broad shoulders, revealing his waistcoat and a blood-red cravat, sends a shudder through my body.
“Hello, Professor,” I greet him, pulling my lips into a naughty smirk.
Lockwood nods and reaches for the gate, then he pauses to look me up and down. I specifically chose my sluttiest little black dress for him in the hopes he’d give me the look he’s giving right now. This dress is one of the few items that are actually mine, locked away safely in Broin’s cabin. The lace material is scarce, displaying ample cleavage, most of my back and arms, and parts of my stomach. Sure, the thigh-high leather boots aren’t exactly appropriate for being out in the woods, but it is Witching Hour. Dressing in only black and red clothing is a must for my people during this time. The black represents
our Dark Lord’s wings and the red his blood.
A sly grin lights up my headmaster’s face. “I see you came dressed for the occasion.”
I slip through the gate and smile up at him. “Compliment taken, Sir.”
He closes and locks the gate, then turns around. “This way, Hemlock.”
“Where are we going?” I ask, following him into the forest.
“For a walk.”
“Ooh, sounds romantic. Aren’t you going to hold my hand?”
There’s another pause. I watch his expression closely, trying my best not to laugh at my hilarious joke. But he looks to the side, and the shadows covering his face make it impossible to decipher if he thinks I’m serious or not. Broin would bend me over his knee and spank my ass rotten for uttering such a silly little comment.
Finally, he parts his lips. “You wanted a Master to degrade, hurt, and humiliate you?”
“Yes.”
“Then that’s exactly what I’ll be doing, Miss Hemlock. Sentimentality wasn’t stipulated in our so-called agreement nor will it ever be. Do I make myself clear?”
“Crystal.” I wink and purse my cherry-red lips. “I love when you talk dirty to me like that, Sir. Please don’t stop.”
Lockwood ducks under the trees, ignoring me.
Fuck if that isn’t hot.
I follow eagerly in his wake. He’s so tall that even when he bends the branches still manage to snag him. He seizes and crushes them effortlessly in his large hands. Of course, such a savage display fills me with immense desire, and I no longer wish to continue this walk. I’d much rather climb Lockwood like a tree and ride his trunk from dusk to dawn. Yeah. I went there.
“There’s something unusual I discovered this evening,” he starts, glancing over his shoulder at me. “I think perhaps it will fall under your area of expertise.”
“Unless it’s on the darker side of things, I’m not sure I’ll be all that helpful, Sir.”
“You sell yourself short, Miss Hemlock. I see great potential in you.”
“Academically or physically?”
Another grin from Lockwood, this time a genuine one. “Perhaps both. It remains to be seen.”
He moves a few branches aside and watches as I duck under them. Some moments later, he falls into step with me, his torch lighting the forest floor. Shards of moonlight claw through the treetops, bathing our bodies in a soft reddish hue. I wonder what he has in store for me, what sinister pleasure awaits my body, when he suddenly jerks to a halt.
Through the dense vegetation around us, I see what looks to be an arch carved into the trees, and beyond there a small clearing.
“So this surprise,” I say to Lockwood, nodding to the arch, “is it something I’m going to enjoy, Sir?”
He chuckles, the dark reverberance filled with promise. “That all depends on one’s perspective.”
With that, he enters the clearing without as much as a backward glance.
A giddy feeling builds inside me, sending a swarm of butterflies dancing through my stomach. I take a step forward, but then I smell something familiar.
Something I’ve used many times in this forest.
I look down at my feet. A ring of salt surrounds this whole clearing, and not just any salt. It’s the kind intended for the likes of the Devil’s Altar, which means a Darkblood has been here.
On the plus side, that means Lockwood isn’t a pure spirit, or else he wouldn’t have been able to cross over. I knew from the instant he touched me that he possesses a wicked, sinister soul like me. We’re more alike than he knows.
The downside to this circle is that I never created it. The only other person I can think of is Broin, but why would he want to summon our Dark Lord?
Tentatively, I cross over the line of salt, and a wave of dark magic surges into me. It lifts the hairs on the back of my neck and prickles down to my fingertips. Lucifer has been here not long ago; I can feel his presence circulating all around me, forcing parts of my body to clench in memory of his touch. And his tongue. That sweet, devilish tongue.
At first glance, I nearly mistake Lockwood for my Dark Lord once I step into the clearing. His back is to me, his body entirely motionless, but his long cloak is floating lightly, appearing almost like shadows wrapped around him, like one of my Dark Lord’s numerous forms. He’s buried his torch into the ground and its light is bathing something strange and familiar.
Pausing beside him, I gaze down at the altar. It’s rather sad looking, with only a reversed pentagram carved into the earth. Nothing else. No stone altar or sacred relics. There isn’t even much grass, just a bland stretch of uneven soil and periodic puddles.
There are, however, signs of an extinguished fire running along the eges of the pentagram, meaning that whoever summoned Lucifer had their wish granted.
“Does this altar belong to you?” Lockwood turns his head to scrutinize me.
“Of course not. I have my own back home.”
“Then who else could have erected this dark altar?”
Broin. Possibly Alice. I don’t answer that, though.
I say instead, “Anyone, Sir. Darkbloods don’t just live in Draoich, you know. This would be like finding a needle in a haystack.”
Lockwood gives a long, slow shake of his head. “I tracked footprints all the way to the girl’s dormitories at Everafter.” He turns to face me, his cobalt eyes fixed on mine. “I want you to find this Darkblood and bring them to me.”
My stomach coils. “What would you do to them, if I did?”
“If?” The way he says that word gives me chills. “You’ll do as I say, girl, regardless of the command. And what do you think I will do? Get rid of them, of course. I cannot permit any Darkbloods here. Should the High Council catch wind of this—”
“But you let me stay,” I counter angrily, irked by his comments. He speaks as though my kin are a plague of some sort and it’s beginning to irritate me. “Why is turning a blind eye to one more student so difficult?”
A dark shadow drops over his face. “That is because I had no choice. If I had my way…”
“You would what?” I challenge him, stepping closer. “Send me packing? Get rid of me, too, Sir?”
He mimics my movement, bringing his face so close that I feel his breath fanning down my cheeks. “I’d do precisely that. You’d be out of here quicker than you can open that pretty little mouth of yours and beg me to reconsider.”
White-hot rage bubbles through me, casting a crimson veil over my line of sight.
“Then why don’t you? Oh, yeah, I remember. You’re too scared to lose that pretty little job of yours.”
His face tinges with fury. “You better watch that tongue, girl. We may have an agreement but you’d do well to remember who you’re addressing and just what I’m capable of inflicting.”
“Don’t try to sweet-talk me now, Sir, and speaking of whom I’m addressing,” I spit back at him, gesturing to the altar, “you managed to cross that circle. Do you know what that means?”
“What?” he grinds out, seizing my arm and pulling me to his powerful chest.
“You’re a Darkblood, Professor Dane Lockwood. Just. Like. Me.”
I barely finish saying the words when he slams me into the nearest tree. My face crashes into the jagged wood and Lockwood’s hand latches around my throat, cutting off my airway. Stars dance across my vision and my wobbling knees are seconds away from liquifying onto the earth. He loosens his grip a little so I can breathe, though not by much, which is all terribly exciting and painful. Just what I was hoping for.
He slides his other hand under my cloak, pulls up my dress, and grabs my pussy.
Hard.
I let out a surprised but delighted yelp.
“Is this all just a game to you?” His voice is dangerously low, a mere whisper filled with sinister intent. He shoves me harder into the tree, his enormous body covering my own. Either he has a whip in his front pocket or he’s just excited to see me.
Correcti
on—excited to punish me.
Sweet Lucifer, I hope it’s both. It would be a shame to waste our time here tonight and below such a beautiful moon.
“No,” I manage to answer, my own breath constricting within his hold. “This is the Devil’s game and I’m just his pawn.”
His grip slackens, just a little, as he pins me to the wood. “Satan’s game, eh?”
I try to turn my head to look at him, but his fingers hold me like a vice, scraping my cheek off the bark. There is nothing at all gentle about his touch. I’m a lucky witch, for sure.
“We’ll see about that,” he adds in a whisper, then he casts an incantation I’ve never heard before. “Levoramus.”
My arm lifts high above my head, and a long spidery branch seizes my left wrist. Lockwood undoes my cloak, letting the material puddle around my ankles and exposing me to the cool night air. All the while, he holds me by the throat with his other hand, a gentle reminder of who’s in charge. He could choke the life out of me if he so desired. Just a simple quirk of his wrist and my neck will be broken—my existence gone. It’s that fear and anticipation that I love the most.
He traces the length of my spine with his free hand, slides his palm around my waist and seizes the dagger attached to the sheath on my thigh.
“That’s a big one,” he murmurs, pressing the dagger against my leg, adding just enough pressure to nick my skin.
“That’s…what she said,” I gasp out, hardly able to move or breathe as two droplets of blood race down my thigh.
Lockwood doesn’t pay my joke any attention.
What a shame. I thought it was hilarious.
He shoves the dagger back into its leather home. His breath is hot against my skin as he none too gently grabs my pussy again and slips a finger inside, grunting at the wetness he finds there. His cock nudges me in the back. I wiggle my hips in an attempt to take him deeper, but then he just… stops. He yanks his finger out, lets go of my throat and steps back.
This damn motherfucker!
With my neck free again, I’m able to turn around to see what’s going on. The branch is still holding my wrist captive, so I can’t go anywhere, but I can see Lockwood again and he doesn’t look happy.