23. ~Talon~

23

~Talon~

An Obsidian event.

This one was unlike any other.

We weren’t partying or letting our powers and abilities loose for pleasure, amusement, or experimentation this time.

Nah, some real hardcore shit was going down this time.

And I wasn’t allowed to be a part of it.

Orpheus had told me that Constantine was gunning for a phoenix to complete his plans with that stupid fucking Orb I was so sick of hearing about. It was what all of this shitstorm was about, why Alena had been taken, why I’d lost my parents, why Orpheus was about to lose his father, why Xavier had tried to take his own life, why Elliot had been injured so severely, and why Ore kept pushing himself too hard.

Just like he was now.

Only this time, he wasn’t just pushing himself.

He was pushing a whole army of a couple of hundred students.

He had two good things going for him when it came to readying his army.

One was that they all had great command of their abilities thanks to his efforts over the last few years.

Two was that they respected his authority and his natural ability to lead was coming through really well, giving them confidence and faith in him.

But there was also a big issue right about now.

There was a lot of in-fighting and ego trips getting in the way of them working as a cohesive unit. Quite honestly, it was a shit-show.

Orpheus was bringing the very best of his patience to the table and combating it as he went. But I was so fucking done with it.

And I wasn’t even down there with them in the woods.

I was up in one of the trees that was still inside the massive illusion that he’d cast to be able to do this without faculty interference or disapproval.

Professor Marlowe was also helping out by keeping them busy and all that.

Every now and then he came by to check on their progress.

I could tell him one thing just from watching what was happening and that was that the army wouldn’t be ready for weeks.

Not if they wanted to survive what was coming.

Ore thinking he could pull it off in days wasn’t like him. It was way too rash for how he usually was. He was usually calculative and highly strategic about every little thing.

Things were clearly weighing on him.

Alena being held captive by that fucker and now his father sick too.

It was a lot to bear, especially given the fact that he’d told me and X that he was expected to take the throne as well, a lot sooner than was ever planned.

Truth be told, I’d never wanted him to take it. I’d always thought he’d find a way out of it. I knew we’d all be graduating and not living on top of each other at the Academy then, but I’d figured we’d get a place together or something, that we’d still stay as one.

But if he became King, he’d be in the DFR pretty much all the time. We’d barely ever see him. Our connection would just fade away.

I couldn’t stand it. I really fucking couldn’t stand the thought of it.

And it wasn’t helping my rage issues one bit.

It was always right at the surface lately wanting to break free. No, worse. Screaming to break free. I wanted to burn the whole world down and raze every fucking thing to safeguard the four of us and what we had, to prevent losing them.

I couldn’t take another loss. I just fucking couldn’t.

Feeling my anger getting the best of me, I failed to pull it back, and the next thing I knew, I was leaping from the tree branch and sweeping down right between Ore and his army below.

“Shut the fuck up!” I roared. “Just shut it! Get over yourselves and get a fucking grip! Don’t you see? If you can’t get over your pathetic issues and all this in-fighting and actually work together, we’re fucked! We’re all done for! We’re fucking done!”

An eerie, charged silence fell over them all.

Good, I’d gotten their fucking attention.

A hand landed on my shoulder and I turned to see Orpheus there, shaking his head at me.

“Had it covered, baby bird.”

Before I could argue back, he smiled and added, “But giving them an extra kick in the ass never hurts.”

He stepped back from me and let out a wolf-whistle.

In the very next second, Xavier blurred across the area and came to a sudden stop right in front of us.

He and Orpheus exchanged a loaded look, then X told me, “You didn’t take a shower yet today. You’ve just been flying since your afternoon classes let out, all the way through to dinnertime now. Let’s get you cleaned up, then we’ll head to the cafeteria before studying together.”

“I still have time.” I gestured out at the students. “And what about them? They’re not all gonna miss night classes, right, or the faculty will know something is up?”

“Those who have classes tonight will go, the rest will remain, and it’ll switch out like that going forward,” Ore told me.

“Oh, yeah, that makes sense. Well thought out.” I eyed him. “Just like having X come to pull me away as soon as I swept on in.”

“As soon as you swept on in with a whole lot of rage,” Ore corrected.

“Give me some credit.”

“If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t have allowed your outburst to even come to pass. I would’ve stopped you mid-flight. You were so caught up in your anger that I spotted you immediately. Even through the dark. You didn’t employ your stealth abilities at all.”

“Yeah, okay, I’m a little worked up. You want me to list the reasons why?”

“I’m well aware,” he returned evenly.

And firmly. Real firmly, making it clear I was coming close to outright challenging him.

And Orpheus Hart wouldn’t stand for that.

Especially not in front of his army that needed to keep their faith in him, their respect, and high opinion of his capabilities, which he’d been demonstrating since his first day at the Academy.

“Fine. I’ll go. Just… keep me updated, all right?”

“I promised I would and I will.”

I turned and fell into step with Xavier as we headed back toward the main building.

“Sorry, I was meant to come and get you sooner, but after I spoke to my dad this afternoon, I got caught up in my writing.”

Yeah, his dad was calling him twice a day since we’d headed back about thirty-six hours ago. I wasn’t surprised after what had happened. He’d be doing that for a while. I was sure, if he could, and hadn’t been run off his feet with Exemplar and Sabre Tech, he would’ve been down here in person too. As it was, he was doing what he could.

Just like we all were.

Well, all except me.

I was just going to classes.

Orpheus was preparing his army.

X was babysitting me and having sessions with that therapist that his dad had set him up with, the woman having been given special passage in and out of the locked down Academy because of the severity of the issue. X had also been relaying all Exemplar updates from his dad to us, so we weren’t cut out this time and we were instead kept abreast of the Constantine situation.

Unfortunately a lot of that just involved the fucker lying low and Exemplar scouring the supernatural world for any leads on him.

Ore had his contacts keeping an eye on Abigail’s mind-reading of that supposed font of intel, Taelorn.

And I was just doing shit all for this war.

They were worried that I would be the undoing of it all if Constantine got a hold of me and used my phoenix fire with the Orb of Vorlav. They wouldn’t even allow me in the combat drills that Ore was running, in case it sparked my anger to life. Well, worsened it, because it was already sparked with Alena still apart from us.

I guess I’d really thought that once we’d entered her subconscious that day, she would’ve broken free just hours later and come back to us. But of course, things could never be that fucking easy or simple. No, there had to be some twisted suffering first.

All I’d been able to think about lately was raging against Constantine and watching him being burned alive with my phoenix fire. Punishing him for what he’d done, what he’d taken from me and all of us. And dealing out justice in the only way it could exist for somebody like him—absolute death. No banishment to Spiritus this time, but actually wiping him from the face of the fucking earth.

“I’m glad you’re writing again, X.”

He smiled, but it was only half-hearted. “It’s just a distraction right now.”

“You’re not working on the same novel, are you?”

“No. How did you know?”

“I figured it reminds you too much of Alena. And any reminder right now with her away from us hurts really fucking bad.”

“Yeah,” he admitted. “It does, brother.” He wrapped his arm around me as we strode into the building, heading up to our chambers. “We’re getting her back. That’s a given.”

“I know, yeah.” It was what was keeping me hanging on even slightly.

The awful question was just when.

There was just so much out of our control. Especially out of my control, considering I was basically being benched. For my own safety, yeah, but still. It was hard to reconcile with my abandonment issues. To just sit back and watch and hope… it wasn’t the best for it by any means. But what else could really be done? Not a fuck of a lot. Raising hell and making noise about it wasn’t gonna do shit to help either, and I knew everyone was trying their best with what they had to work with.

We reached the door to my chambers.

“Ten minutes and we’ll head to the cafeteria together?” X asked me.

I gave a nod. “Yeah. Sounds good.”

He smiled, then took off to the other side of the wing with a burst of vampire speed.

I passed through the ward Ore had made for me as I opened the door.

I made a beeline straight for the bathroom, wanting to hurry up.

Being alone with my thoughts wasn’t a good idea right now. I needed distractions, to keep busy. Hence me creeping on Ore’s army prep session earlier.

Sighing, I pushed open the door to the bathroom.

I’d barely gotten two steps in when an explosion of amber light near blinded me in the small space.

By the time I’d managed to blink through it and adjust my vision, I was slammed against the door, the impact knocking it closed. I heard it lock behind me too.

Disorientated and more than a little startled, I looked out to see Callum Cornwell standing there, a self-satisfied expression on his twisted fucking face.

“You’re a hard being to get alone, phoenix. Then again, you can’t stand not being right in the space of your loves, can you? So afraid are you that they’ll vanish and leave you all alone. Just like your Mommy and Daddy.”

“Watch your fucking mouth,” I seethed, moving to push off the wall, only for him to snap his fingers and effectively pin me to the door, my hands down by my sides. I couldn’t move my legs or my head either. It forced me to look right at his haunting beady eyes.

My anger sparked dangerously and I snarled.

“Quite the temper,” he taunted, sauntering right up to me.

I forced myself to swallow it down. “What do you want?”

“Just a friendly chat.”

“Trapping me against the wall is your idea of friendly?”

“It is when you’re so reactive you can’t be trusted to listen, rather than doing something foolish before you hear what I have to say. Like melting me , for instance.”

“If you think I’m going to apologize for that, you’re dreaming. After what you did to Orpheus—”

“I’m not here about him.”

I cocked an eyebrow. “You’re not?”

What the hell else was there between us, if not Ore?

“No, I’ve come to do you a favor,” he uttered in an overly pleasant tone. “You’re always the one left on the sidelines, aren’t you? The Dark Fae Prince’s baby bird needing protection.”

“It’s not about my protection, you fool. If I lose control, everyone is fucked. Ore helps to keep me grounded. All three of my loves do.”

“That comes at a price. Your ignorance. I’m here to rectify that, to give you inside information first, for once.”

“Why would you do me any favors?”

He reached out and stroked my cheek like Ore did, except nothing like him at the same time. Creepily and in a way that sent a shudder through me.

I growled and he drew back smiling with amusement. “Yes, so reactive to the slightest provocation.”

“Get to your point or get gone. I need to get to class.”

“Certainly,” he said, far too agreeably. What was he playing at? Something was really… off here. Aside from me being pinned to the fucking door, of course.

Jeez, this guy. He was another kind of fucked—on so many levels.

“I’ve seen Alena.”

Hope sparked. “What? Where? How?”

“I made a new friend in Constantine.”

That hope was smashed to smithereens.

Before I could absorb the shock of what he was revealing, let alone get a word out, he went on, “You see, he respects my knowledge base, my skills, my passion. He respects me.”

“No, you couldn’t have seen him… the ward… how could you have come in and out?”

“Constantine’s acolytes drew some of Alena’s blood for me. That’s right, your whore bled for me.” His lips twisted. “Oh, my apologies, Constantine’s whore now.”

I gritted my teeth, trying to get control. “Stop.”

“You see, she broke free of his control, but I hindered her in leaving and now he’s caged her. Well, bound her, is more like it.”

“She’ll break free. She’s strong.”

“The thing is, it’s not about strength. He’s rigged it where if she unleashes her magic against him, or any of us, it will power the Orb. Meanwhile, while she’s defenseless, he’ll corrupt her mind again with black magic.” He fondled his jaw, making a sarcastic show of thinking on it. “Wait a minute, won’t that kill Saryan Hart?”

“You piece of shit,” I seethed.

“It was me who discovered his interference. How satisfying it will be to bring down my dirty prince’s father after his harsh rejection of me, after he brutally and selfishly cast me aside in favor of your angel princess.” He laughed like the psycho he clearly really was. “She won’t be anything resembling a princess soon. She’ll be his completely. He’ll have her power working with Orpheus’ blood to operate the Orb, and once he regains control of her, he’ll also have her to complete the spell with him.” He stepped up to me and grasped my jaw harshly, making me hiss. “I’m here to bring you to her.”

“What?” I grunted through his brutal grip.

“She needs some additional persuading so Constantine can take control again. He also needs a phoenix. So that’s what you are—two birds and all that. Pardon the slight pun there.” He released me roughly. “Not yet, though. First, I need you to relinquish all this control that’s making you weak. Unleash for me and you’ll see your love. You’ll be together again.”

“Not like this,” I gritted out.

“Hmm, Constantine thought you might prove ungrateful for him offering such a pleasant deal.”

“ Ungrateful? You’re a fucking psychopath!”

“A small mind like yours would see it that way.”

I concentrated, trying to mind-link Ore, but a sharp pain shot through my temples. “Shit,” I cursed. “What is—”

“Trying to covertly contact your almighty prince? Or, perhaps, the hybrid?”

“What did you do?”

“I rendered your ability to do so useless. My magic is forming a block, as well as holding you steady. Now, of course, there is one way to break through it all.”

“My phoenix fire,” I realized aloud. He was fucking insane. “You don’t know what you’re asking for.”

“We know exactly, baby phoenix.”

“I’m not unleashing it, so release me and back the fuck off.”

“Did you not hear me? Alena is being tortured by Constantine as we speak. You can stop it. Do you want me to tell you exactly what he’s subjecting her to?”

“No,” I ground out, feeling that fiery sensation in the pit of my stomach, the sign that my fire was rising, wanting to erupt—in a completely out of control way. A dangerous fucking way that could obliterate everything in my path.

Including him.

I squeezed my eyes shut. No. Don’t go there. He’ll get his due, just not like this.

“He has his filthy hands all over her—and other things—treating her like his whore. Like nothing more than a bitch on his leash. She was screaming and crying for you. Especially when he started cutting into her. And just to paint the picture a little more graphically for you, the way he infected her with so much black magic in such a short amount of time was by making her spread for him while she was in a zoned-out state and take his painfully big—”

“Stop!” I roared, my flames erupting from my palms.

My hands were shaking in my bound state, pushing against his magic.

Stop! No further. Pull it back.

“As I was saying,” he uttered, grinning sadistically, getting off on my struggle and the pain he was causing me—and, worse, the pain they’d caused Alena. “He defiled her like she was his doll and filled her up with his—”

“I said stop! ” I bellowed, my fire flaming wilder.

I was losing control.

The fire was rising, taking me over.

“That’s a good boy. Do something useful for once. It must kill you to be surrounded by such powerful beings and be so ridiculously impotent all because you’re afraid of losing control. What a weak being you truly are. And she’s suffering because of it. Because of you!”

“Argh!” I screamed.

I felt my eyes flame, the phoenix was taking control, coming out to rage.

It was too late.

I couldn’t stop it.

“Get back, X!” I screamed out, hoping like shit he’d hear me and get clear.

He should be coming to my room to meet me any moment. Without his magic, he stood no chance against my fire.

Argh! Argh! Argh!

I was vaguely aware of Cornwell teleporting out a split-second before I erupted, my flames exploding out of me every which way and ripping through the bathroom and my chambers alike.

I thrust my hands up and they obliterated the roof too, and I soared up in full fiery phoenix form, my power streaming violently at the dome reinforced by Abigail’s angel magic.

I heard shouts and people running for cover in the distance.

But it quickly all slipped away.

And all that remained were the flames.