I sat in Arcane Arts at the end of my table, trying to predict the future with the roll of the dice Gabriel had given me and finding it unclear time and again. Frustration built in me as I continued to struggle with the task and the shadows writhed beneath my skin, feeding on my anger and looking for an outlet for it.
‘Tory, I want a word with you at the end of class,’ Gabriel said as he moved to stand beside me and I looked up to find him standing over me, eyeing my notes with a disapproving frown.
“Why?” I asked, wondering why he seemed to be taking such an interest in me.
“The problem with your predictions is that you need to really connect with your emotions to get a read on your future. And all the time you’re letting things get in the way of your true feelings-”
“I don’t know what you mean,” I replied flatly and he sighed in frustration.
The air shield around me trembled at the touch of his magic against it and I stood abruptly as I tightened my hold on the shield I always kept in place.
‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,’ Gabriel said, stepping back as I narrowed my eyes on him.
The shadows twisted and swirled within me, whispering at me to strike at him for that, but I didn’t give in to them. Something in my gut urged me not to hurt him and though I wasn’t sure why, as he backed away I found I was glad I didn’t have to do any more to defend myself.
“I’m not afraid of you,” I replied flatly.
I lowered myself back into my chair and Darcy caught my gaze from the far side of the room. I didn’t turn away, holding her eye with an expressionless look that seemed to be making her angry and her brow furrowed as she stared at me, her eyes watering as her fists tightened on the table in front of her.
As the bell rang to mark the end of class, she leapt up and strode from the room, nodding at Gabriel as she went and disappearing before anyone else had even managed to pack their things away.
I bit my lip as I considered whether or not I should call my king, running my fingers back and forth over the Guardian bond mark on my forearm as I considered it. It had been three days since I’d seen him and though I knew he was busy with the changes he had to make in the kingdom, I was certain he had to be missing me too. Or at least I hoped he was. Because without him I didn’t have anything.
But he’d also told me to stop calling so frequently and I didn’t want to make him angry.
I huffed in frustration and packed my stuff into my bag then turned to leave.
But before I could make it more than a few steps, Gabriel moved to block my path.
‘I still need that word,’ he said seriously, levelling me with a look that said he wasn’t going to leave this issue.
I shrugged and moved back towards my chair but he shook his head, pushing his black hair away from his eyes and regarding me with interest.
‘Why don’t we walk and talk?’ he suggested and for some reason I liked the sound of spending more time in his company. There was just something about him that made me feel safe. ‘I think a bit of fresh air could do us both good.’
Technically I shouldn’t have been mixing with a Harpy but as there were allowances made for teachers and I was above the rules anyway, I decided not to make an issue of it.
‘Fine,’ I agree, not caring much either way. I just wanted this day over. On Friday I could return to my king and in the meantime, I just needed to study and sleep to make the time disappear. But the more time that passed, the more I ached to return to him and the harder it was to ignore the itch in my bond mark. I’d do it though. For him. Like I promised.
Gabriel led the way out of the building and I trailed along after him, tightening my hold on my air shield as we stepped out into the cool air. Lionel had warned me that Darcy might try and attack me at any moment, especially when I was alone so I had to be on the lookout at all times. Though for some reason I didn’t really think she would. But I’d do as my king told me all the same.
‘Do you mind if I get my wings out?’ Gabriel asked casually, unhooking the buttons on his grey shirt without waiting for my response so I didn’t bother giving one. He’d clearly decided he was getting them out either way.
As he removed his shirt, my gaze caught on a tattoo above his right hip of two Phoenixes flying together and my brow furrowed as a memory was tugged to the forefront of my mind before being swept away again on a tide of shadows.
Gabriel rolled his shoulders back and a huge pair of midnight black wings burst from his back as he shifted and I watched a little curiously as he flexed them behind him.
‘I haven’t seen you shift since you came back to the academy this term,’ he commented, leading me up the path that led into The Wailing Wood. ‘Perhaps we could go flying together soon?’
‘I don’t enjoy flying,’ I said automatically, unsure where the words had even come from. But as I opened my mouth to counter that comment, I gasped at the ripple of pain which washed through my chest.
I did hate flying. It hurt me. My wings hurt me and I didn’t ever want to use them again.
‘What’s wrong?’ Gabriel asked, reaching for my arm but finding my shield still in place which stopped him from laying his hands on me.
I didn’t want him touching me. I knew that very clearly and I cut him a glare as I stepped aside, placing more magic into my shield in case he tried again. ‘Nothing.’
‘You looked like you were in pain,’ he pushed.
‘You have very little understanding of true pain then,’ I replied. And I had a lot of understanding of that.
Gabriel chuckled darkly and shrugged. ‘I know a fair bit. I’ve been through more than a few battles in my time and I took a bolt of Storm Dragon lightning to the chest once too.’
I fell still as he said that, my fists clenching at the memories of being struck by that very thing. A voice in my ear whispering those words. ‘This is the full power of a Storm Dragon. Whose fault is it that you have to feel this pain?’
‘Darius,’ I breathed, almost forgetting Gabriel was there as the memories of being struck with all of that electricity over and over again overwhelmed me for a moment and I was forced to seek solace in the shadows. That had happened to me because of Darius and I needed to keep the hell away from him unless I wanted it to happen again.
I glanced over my shoulder like he might be lurking in the dark, just waiting to pounce and my pulse raced as I drew even more shadows to the surface of my skin, sighing as the fear began to subside and the pleasure of their power took its place.
‘What about Darius?’ Gabriel asked but I just shook my head. I wasn’t supposed to talk to him about that. Not him, not anyone. Only my king and Vard and Clara. I wouldn’t be coaxed into saying anything to anyone else.
‘He’s the worst kind of poison,’ I breathed. ‘The kind you don’t realise is killing you until you’ve already taken too much.’
‘Darius isn’t poison, Tory,’ Gabriel said firmly, coming to a halt at a turn in the path where the trees surrounding us were so thick that I could barely see between them.
‘He is to me,’ I replied. But that was all I was going to say on the subject.
Gabriel opened his mouth to respond, but before he could, a blast of power slammed into the back of my air shield and I gasped as I barely managed to hold it in place.
I whirled around, drawing more air into the shield as Seth burst from the trees, his face set in determination as he cast more air at me and I had to fight to make sure he didn’t break through my shield.
I gritted my teeth in determination just as another attack hit the shield at my back and I looked around to find Darius directing water at me, his brow furrowed as he worked to break through my defences.
My heart began to race at the sight of him coming for me, just the way he did in my nightmares, his face set in a cruel mask and his body written with determination.
‘Stop,’ I commanded, raising my hands either side of me as I pushed more power into my air shield and the ground beneath my feet began to tremble as Caleb shot out of the trees and attacked me too.
‘Tory!’ Darcy called as she stepped onto the path and heat flared along my limbs as I spotted my twin taking part in this ambush as well. They were all against me, just like my king had told me they were. They were going to hurt me and take me away from him and steal everything I cared about in this world if they got the chance. ‘We aren’t trying to hurt you. We just want to help you regain control of your Phoenix. We need you to free yourself from the shadows and-‘
‘What if I don’t want to be free of them?’ I snarled, gritting my teeth as the combined pressure of so much magic almost buckled my shield. My king needed me to wield the shadows with him. I wasn’t going to let them go against his wishes. I wasn’t going to disappoint him like that. It was unthinkable.
‘Her shield is about to crack,’ Gabriel announced as he added his own water magic to the assault and Max and Geraldine emerged from the trees to help too.
‘I’m ready!’ Caleb called and I spotted a syringe held in his hand which sent fear slicing into me. I couldn’t let him get close to me with that thing. I’d die before he did.
My heart was pounding and the shadows were whispering promises of death in my ears as they begged me to use them.
The shadows were always so hungry for blood that they would make me sloppy if I gave them too much freedom. I needed to control them rather than allowing them to control me, but I was burning through my power resources and any moment now, they were going to break them down.
‘Go carefully,’ Darius barked. ‘If any one of you hurts her, I will personally beat the shit out of you for it.’
‘We are going careful,’ Seth growled as he increased the pressure of his attack and I felt my shield cracking.
I sucked in a sharp breath and dropped my shield half a beat before it would have broken anyway then yelled out as shadows burst from my body in an explosion of darkness that blotted out the world.
They slammed into the entire group who had surrounded me, hurling them off of their feet and into the trees in every direction and the sound of their screams made me smile savagely as their pain fed my darkness.
I took off running the moment the path was clear, throwing up a huge wall of shadows at my back as I reconstructed my air shield with what little power remained to me and cast a ball of fire to replenish what I’d lost.
Seth was howling in agony in the trees behind me and their shouts and curses chased me away as I kept running and running, not stopping until I made it back to Ignis House and into my room.
I slammed the door closed and pressed my back to it as my chest heaved and the shadows writhed beneath my skin, making me moan with pleasure in payment for the pain I’d fed them.
But as my rampant heartbeat finally calmed, I forced myself to push them back so that I could think a little more clearly. Just enough to remember the orders I’d been given before returning to this place.
I knew what I had to do. What I’d promised I’d do if I was ever foolish enough to let them get close to me. But as I pulled the glass jar from the bag beneath my bed, my hand began to tremble with fear.
I placed it down in front of me before unknotting my tie with shaking fingers and slipping out of my shirt and blazer next.
I sat cross legged on the floor in my bra and school skirt, eyeing the crackling electricity contained in that jar with a sense of dread that even the shadows couldn’t keep away.
I blew out a shaky breath and picked up my Atlas, calling my king and placing it on loudspeaker as I set it down on the carpet beside me.
‘What is it?’ he snarled as he answered and I flinched at the knowledge that I’d upset him, especially knowing I had to deliver this bad news. “I’m in the middle of dealing with an issue with the Nymphs at Stella’s manor.”
“Can I help?” I asked, hoping he might need me for something and summon me back to him where I belonged.
Lionel sighed irritably before he replied. “Not unless you can come up with a way for them to gain the magic they require without the population noticing that they’ve been killing again.”
“Let’s feed them children,” Clara’s voice came in the background. “Nobody likes children.”
“Go and make yourself busy somewhere, Clara,” Lionel snapped. “I have no use for your nonsense.”
Clara started crying loudly and a cruel smile captured my lips as I heard her running away. Who’s the favourite now, bitch?
“Between her and her useless mother, I’m at my wits’ end,” Lionel growled. “I’ll figure out the solution to this problem myself. Now tell me why you are calling before I lose my temper.”
‘I’m sorry, my king. I promised I’d call you if anyone tried to attack me,’ I said quietly.
‘Who attacked you?’ Lionel growled, his tone changing to one of interest.
‘Darcy. The Heirs. And Gabriel,’ I said quickly. ‘I think they were trying to capture me but I managed to use the shadows to escape them.’
There was a long pause and I waited for his answer with my heart pounding fear into my veins.
“Gabriel Nox?” he asked curiously. “Why would he involve himself with their foolish attempts?”
An answer came to my lips and I almost spoke the truth of who he was to me, but a moment before I could say the words, the knowledge slipped from my mind again and I couldn’t remember what I’d been going to say. I didn’t care about Gabriel anyway. Only my king. I only loved my king.
“I don’t know,” I breathed and he grunted irritably.
‘Well, the main thing is that you got away. But you will have to be punished for allowing them to get you into that position in the first place,’ Lionel growled.
‘I know. I’m sorry,’ I breathed, eyeing the jar of lightning again as fear washed into me.
‘Where are you?’ he asked.
‘In my room,’ I replied.
‘I’ll send someone to come heal you in a few hours. Once you’ve learned your lesson.’ His voice was eager now and I took some comfort in that, knowing that at least my suffering would please him.
‘Thank you,’ I murmured, reaching out to pick up the jar.
‘Give me a moment to get somewhere private. I need to be sure you do everything exactly the way you promised,’ he commanded and I nodded even though he couldn’t see me.
I waited as the sound of his footsteps filled the speaker and closed my eyes as I listened to him breathing, drinking in the sound like it was giving me life.
‘Go ahead,’ Lionel grunted as a door snapped closed wherever he was and I bit my lip as a shiver of fear danced down my spine.
I reached for the jar, picking it up and feeling the power of the runes used to contain the bolt of lightning inside it as I unlocked them the way he’d taught me. This was what I deserved for letting Darcy and the others get close to me like that. For letting them try and take me from my king. I needed this punishment. It was the only way to set things right.
I gritted my teeth as I pushed my magic into the runes, unlocking them as I twisted the lid off of the jar in the same movement.
The bolt of lightning slammed into my chest with a force so powerful that I was helpless to stop the scream of agony that tore from my lips as I was knocked flat on my back while the electricity careered back and forth inside my body.
It lit me up from the inside out, burning and frying and shocking everything it touched before bouncing back around to hit all the same places again twice as hard.
My back arched as I screamed so loud my throat tore and pain unlike anything else I’d ever experienced held me in its grasp and wouldn’t let go. It was never ending, this blinding, all consuming agony which sliced through every piece of me until it was destroyed and bleeding for my king.
When it finally stopped, I collapsed in a heap of agony, shaking and crying, the scent of burning filling the air and a ringing in my ears that wouldn’t let up.
I could hear Lionel breathing heavily as he listened in to my torture and I latched onto the sound as a groan of pleasure escaped him, the single good thing that I could find in this eternal fire that I was burning in.
‘Good girl,’ he grunted through his panting breaths as I just lay there sobbing and whimpering, unable to move or do anything to relieve the pain in my flesh which went on and on eternally.
The shadows crept closer to me, promising oblivion if I let myself dive into them, but I knew I couldn’t do that. Not yet. Not until he said I could.
‘Five more minutes to make sure you’ve really learned your lesson,’ Lionel said in a rough voice. ‘And when I next see you, you’ll be rewarded for your dedication.’
I tried to force a reply past my burned lips, but only a pained moan escaped them as I lay there, almost certain I was dying.
‘Remember not to kill the one who comes to heal your wounds,’ he added gruffly. ‘I need them alive. Don’t let the shadows take them.’
Another pained moan escaped my lips as I agreed and he clearly knew I understood as he cut the line, leaving me to lay there and suffer for my failings.
The tears which slid from my eyes only made the burning worse but in five minutes I could escape into the shadows. Five minutes and I wouldn’t feel it anymore.
And soon I would see my king again, knowing he was proud of me. That was all that really mattered anyway. So I’d hold onto it with everything I had and be sure to make him proud.
