Chapter 24

Barbie

Just as I crept up on the House of Chaos, dozens of students poured out of the violet building of steel and glass. I spotted Cami and Rock right away. Everyone parted to make a path for them.

"Team One-Hit Wonders, head toward Underhill!" Rock barked at the warriors who stayed behind to babysit me. Judging from the tightness on their faces, they must be mad at losing me. "Team Unhinged Copycats, search the courtyard?—"

"Barbie's there!" Cami shrieked, pointing in my direction just as I was about to blend in with the other students.

I smiled at them sheepishly and waved a tentative hand.

In a second, the teams reached me.

"How did you even get out?" Rock demanded furiously.

"We shouldn't have let that guardian distract us!" Archer complained.

Pucker had zipped to me to inform me of the trial while I was bathing in the icy lake to get rid of the scent of the fae prince on Sy. It always leaked to my skin too after they fucked.

Over my dreadful look at the culling, my ghost familiar had rubbed his phantom hands in excitement. "Finally, we're going to get some action!"

"That's not important now," Cami said, grabbing my elbow. "Go change, and I won't let you out of my sight even as you undress."

All the students were heading toward Skyward in their uniforms. I was wearing my casual clothes—a long-sleeved shirt and a pair of yoga pants.

I protested, "But I'm shy!"

"Who cares?" Cami said, dragging me up the stairs. "Hurry up! We're running out of time."

"Then you should run, and I'll catch up with you later."

Cami jutted her jaw out. "Not a chance. I don't trust you!"

"Well, I don't blame you, but I don't think the Brides Selection is for me, Lady Cami," I said, slowing down before we reached the top of the stairs. "I think I should skip the trial."

"You aren't getting out of it!" Cami snapped. "They're already after you. Staying in the Brides Selection is the only way for you to stay safe and stay in our house so my cousin can protect you. Don't you know that he went to the Chaos Court that he hates for you? Now that he's away, you take orders from me. You hear me?"

"Yeah, I'm not deaf," I said. "And you're unusually loud. But I just have a bad feeling about this trial."

"Feelings come and go. And what can go wrong in the trial? Everyone's doing it. So get moving, Barbie."

Under the lady's uncompromising supervision, I changed into my uniform swiftly, and then we merged into the flow of students and headed toward the ivory tower.

The tower was situatedin the middle of a river up north under a brilliant moon that lit the entire area.

Academy sentinels with stony faces lined either side of the bridge as the bride candidates crossed it in groups.

A dark feeling deepened in me.

"Where are all the guys?" I asked Cami, who strode beside me, true to her word about not letting me out of her sight.

"This is the first trial of the Brides Selection," she said. "It's for the candidates, so no males are allowed to enter Skyward, expect for the prince heirs."

"Then why do we have male students in this school?" I asked.

"They're here to study magic, like everyone else," Cami said. "Did you even pay attention to the orientation?"

"I didn't attend the orientation. I came later," I said. "But I heard Professor Longweed saying that the purpose of joining Shades Academy is for at least one of the princes to find his fated mate and produce the One to bring back the old magic, or whatever. And Pucker said all the princes have been under great pressure to perform in bed since then."

Cami gave me a chiding look. "It's not that. Magic is fading faster in the realm now, so the kings of the five kingdoms and the Council decided to move up the timetable for the Brides Selection to this year." Her brow furrowed in worry. "But no one expected the first trial to happen now. It isn't supposed—" She stopped herself. "My cousin is away. They should've waited for him to be present to start the bride trials. Even though he's the only heir who isn't going to select a bride from the pool of candidates, he's still the heir of the House of Chaos and represents the king and chaos kingdom. Something doesn't add up." She snagged her gaze on me. "You'll stick with me the entire time, Barbie. Don't stray away from me. Got it?"

I smirked. "Got it, Lady Cami. Don't worry, or you'll go gray early."

I was touched to realize that she was worried more about me than for herself.

I thought of Princess Medea. If I hadn't burned her to nothingness, she'd be here. She'd have sneered at me and led her army to make sure that I wouldn't pass the first trial.

We walked amid the nervous and excited candidates as everyone kept moving toward the radiant ivory tower at the end of the bridge.

No one was giving me a hard time for once, as everyone was worried about their own fate. Either they passed the first trial and moved on to the next, or they were out of the race.

And none of us knew what to expect.

Magic grew stronger as we approached the tower. It smelled like aged wine and cold autumn rain and bore the signature of all sorts of species in Mist of Cinder. It was quite different to the wild magic in Underhill.

The magic here sensed me right away.

As I felt it studying me, I reached out. Unlike the magic from all five houses on the academy grounds, it withdrew from me. It feared me and didn't want me here, which was new. I'd taken it for granted that magic, dark or light, always welcomed me. As I probed the magic here further, I felt a deep wrongness lying beneath it.

Fury shot into me.

Someone had implanted black magic in it. The corruption hadn't reached its very root yet. If it spread to its core, this magic should be destroyed instead of preserved. Maybe that was why the magic here withdrew from me in fear, as it sensed my power and intention.

Yet this magic was the power source for the entire academy. If it was destroyed, the ripple effect would be terrible.

No wonder Underhill had declared its independence and separated from the rest of the realm.

When Sy and I first came to Shades Academy, all we'd taken in was thriving blossoms, shining buildings, prosperous shops, a verdant forest that stretched far east, and a crystal lake glimmering in the west.

I'd never expected a worm beneath the wonder, creeping toward the center of the magic in the academy.

I filed a decision away and looked up at the spire of the ivory tower glinting in the moonlight, adding pureness and splendidness to Skyward. Yet I was the only one who could see it was tainted by black magic.

I halted my steps. Everything in me screamed for me to turn around, run to the other side of the bridge, and never look back.

Cami stopped with me as the rest of the students kept moving forward like drones, as if they couldn't help it.

"Why are you stopping, Barbie?" Cami tugged my sleeve. "Get going."

"It's a trap," I said.

"You'll be fine." She snorted. "You're with me. No one will dare to touch you now that I've stood by you on my cousin's behalf. Come! Every candidate in the school must go through the trial."

We crossed the bridge and stepped through the vast ivory door at the rear of the candidates.

A golden marblefloor and gilded columns extended before us. The moon shone through the tower's skylight, illuminating the interior as much as the tower's magical light.

Symbols of five houses on a variety of gemstones shimmered from the back wall. Candidates from each house lined up in the lane under their own house crest, facing a podium on the dais.

I followed Cami to our house lane under the symbol of seven arrows in a radial pattern on a blue diamond as big as a fist.

The five kingdoms were all about flaunting their wealth and magic. Each house had its own gemstone. House of Vampires was linked to black opal. House of Shifters chose emerald. House of Fae had ruby. I craned my neck to look for Bea under a glowing sapphire, the mage house's gemstone.

Neither Bea nor I was tall enough for us to spot each other. After a few tries, I gave up and sent a silent prayer for her and my other geek friends.

Other than footsteps and shuffling from the candidates as we all tried to settle down in our lanes, the enormous hall was quiet. It was then the stench hit my nostrils.

"Did you smell that?" I whispered to Cami.

"Skyward is a thousand-year-old building, sustained by the remnants of old magic," she said. "Only the royals, headmistress, and the druid were allowed to enter the tower before this day. I don't think any of the princes like to come here." She let out a low chuckle. "They don't like traditions or anything old. They're the rebellious new generation."

I bet the princes could sense the wrongness here too, but I doubted they'd dug deep. They simply stayed away, dismissing the ivory tower as too ancient for their liking. Their absence gave the bad actors room to work their black magic here.

The longer I stayed in this hall, the more stifled I felt. The feeling of being trapped increased.

When had the corruption started? How long had this deep wrongness been going on?

Cami still had a hand on my arm, as if she didn't trust me not to bolt at any second. But she shouldn't worry. The enormous door had sealed behind us, a dozen sentinels standing guard in front of it.

Since I couldn't get away, not until after the trial, I might as well try to figure out what the black magic was all about here. I took a deep breath, reaching out with my senses. The foulness hit me right in the center. The tainted magic carried the signature of the druid mixed with unknown witchcraft powered by blood, bones, and the pain of the sacrificed.

The agony of the victims' tormented souls cried out to me, so strong that it made my teeth chatter. I swayed with dizziness. The fear in me faded as rage seared my blood. I smelled the residue of their recent ritual of horror, of human sacrifice. It was still fresh.

A dreadful realization sank its claws into me. The druid had been so keen on getting his hands on me. Sacrificing a demigoddess would give him power beyond his wildest dreams. He'd mentioned once that he'd been tracking a demigod, and I was more than a demigod.

I'd seen a few nasty-looking witches and mages around the druid on campus. Did they work for him, or did they belong to his cult coven? Were they all behind the human and supernatural sacrifice?

The druid loomed in front of a long desk of glass beneath the raised dais where Headmistress Ethel stood tall behind a gilded podium, ready for an opening speech. Behind her were the royal balcony seats. Cade, Rowan, Silas, and Louis took the front row. Killian's seat remained empty.

Sy peeked out, training her lustful gaze on Rowan.

He wore a fae royal military uniform in wine-red and blue tones. The vampire prince wore black and dark red, the mage prince wore gold and sapphire, and the shifter prince wore green and blue.

Anxiety and a hollow feeling expanded in my chest at the absence of the chaos prince.

My icy gaze landed on the druid as I felt his ink black stare on me. Amid thousands of candidates, the fucker still singled me out. I didn't look away.

I'd pondered slitting his throat, or setting Sy on him and letting her eat him, as I realized that he was so fixated on me that he wouldn't rest until he had his filthy hands on me. And now, knowing what he'd done to other victims, I was determined to find a chance to erase him for good.

An evil smile ghosted the druid's black lips at my challenge, and my stare told him clearly that he was a marked man. He just didn't know yet that he was a dead man walking.

Don't engage with the druid. Not now,Sy warned. Don't let him distract us and make us lose the game. We need to get through the first trial and win, and then we'll take the first opportunity to off him.

Talking about games, I didn't care about the trial, but Sy took it to heart. She was always competitive.

"Good evening, bride candidates!" Headmistress Ethel raised her arms in a big welcome gesture under the banner of the star charts of Mist of Cinder.

She wore an elaborate white gown, the height of fashion for mature noble fae ladies, with a collar high and tight enough to choke her if she wasn't careful. Her hairdo was meticulous, every pin in the right place, and her makeup was flawless. I was more interested in her ruby earrings, amazed that her pointed, elegant ears could sustain their weight. It was all show and vanity, right?

I can eat her too after we slay the druid. And we'll take her rubies for ourselves,Sy said. You can put those rubies with the diamond Rowan gave us and the other gemstones the house got us in that shoebox.

Sy knew all my hiding places.

"Today, we're gathering in our beloved Skyward, as the time has finally come!" the headmistress called, her silver eyes shining with tears. What an actress! "The kings and queens of all five kingdoms and the Council of Mist of Cinder will be watching the livestream of the first bride trial from their palaces. Let us honor them!" She raised a fist and pressed it against her heart. Everyone followed suit. I hesitated for a beat, looked around, and did the same. Whatever.

"Unfortunately," the headmistress continued, "the House of Underworld, the new gem of the realm, will be absent from the Brides Selection. As we all know, the heir of the House of Chaos has found his mate, Queen Lilith of the House of Underworld. At this moment, instead of gracing us with his presence, Prince Killian and his beloved are celebrating their bond…"

The rest of her words passed by my ears without my registering their meaning as "Prince Killian and his beloved are celebrating their bond…" echoed in my head over and over, piercing my heart.

What did I expect? Even if the chaos prince offered me a future, what could I give him back? I'd known right from the beginning that he was taken. Spoken for. Betrothed. But in the middle of it, as our relationship progressed, I'd thought he was mine. The next second, I knew it was impossible and decided not to ask him for what he couldn't give. I was living on borrowed time anyway.

Yet when the reality of his being with another woman slipped into my mind, I still couldn't deal with it.

A riot of angst hit me like a dark storm, chasing me, shattering the reason that held me together, until I felt my chest grow too tight and my lungs close up to stop air from coming in.

Shit!

My lips parted in terror as I felt my core power emerging from my dark abyss, ready to meet the storm. If they merged, I'd lose my shit. I'd torch everyone here, along with the tainted ivory tower.

I needed to get the fuck out of here before I went supernova.

Then an arm wrapped around my shoulders.

"Lean on me," Cami said in my ear. "I promised my cousin that I'd be in your corner during his absence. Just remember, he won't abandon you."

I shivered in her arms. While her skin felt icy, mine was burning.

"Breathe," she said. "I got you, Barbie."

I let out a breath, and my core power sank back down. My temperature returned to normal. Then Cami's hand left my shoulder.

"Killian won't leave you to the wolves," Cami said.

"Wolf?" I asked. "You mean the big, bad wolf Silas?"

She let out a low laugh.

As if on cue, we both peered into the royal seats. Silas was looking back at us. He threw me a thumbs-up, a goofy smile on his handsome face. Louis scowled at him.

Headmistress Ethel had stepped aside, and the druid took center stage, barking instructions. "Each student must drink the potion. There'll be no exceptions." His inky eyes fixed on me again. Cami squeezed my hand to show her support. She'd also noticed the druid's unhealthy interest in me. Every student shivered in front of the druid, as he just crept everyone out.

"After you take the potion, the crystal ball will show if you're worthy and chosen," the druid explained emotionlessly. My heart skipped an icy beat at the mention of his crystal ball. "If it glows red, you'll join the next trial of the Brides Selection. Should the crystal ball turn green, you'll be sent home. You may choose to stay and study at Shades Academy, but you won't have any of the privileges of a bride candidate anymore. You'll also have to pay for tuition and your boarding expenses…"

The druid moved his hand over the glass table, and a crystal teapot with pale blue liquid inside appeared on the table. At the same time, the crystal ball that had attracted my father's attention materialized in midair, spinning slowly.

My blood turned to ice at the sight of the fucking crystal ball. I'd lose my shit if Ruin showed up in it again. I sank my fingernails into my palms to keep my panic at bay. I had to hang in there until the trial was over.

"Any questions?" the druid asked sternly, darting a dark glance at me, as if he expected I'd raise a hand.

"What's in the potion, Professor Druid? How does the potion tell who is worthy to enter the second round?" America asked from the ranks of the House of Fae, sounding worried.

"The potion contains a drop of old magic," the druid said. "It reveals your very essence. Only the brave who can face their fear and true self will be allowed to stay in the Brides Selection."

My heart pounded. This was bad. All my life, I'd been running from my true self and fear. This wouldn't end well for me.

Don't worry,Sy said, cheering me up as she always did when I was near panic. If we fail, they kick us out of the Selection. Isn't that what you want? We'll have more freedom. I bet Rowan and Killian will still feed us even if we aren't a bride candidate.

That was the plan, then. What worse could happen? They'd just kick me out. Besides, no potion worked on me. But what would they do if the crystal turned neither red nor green?

Yet my heart still rammed into my ribcage, as I couldn't expel this foreboding feeling that I was a target here. That fucker druid wouldn't go easy on me.

"Let the first bride trial begin! May the odds be with you!" Headmistress Ethel shouted with fake cheer, and half of the students applauded, confident that they'd be chosen.

Cami darted a worried look at me. She'd pass to the next round for sure, but I was the wild card. I beamed at her to try to convince her not to worry about me. Again, what was the worst that could happen even if I was the target in this ritual? The druid wouldn't be so stupid and ruthless as to drag me to his dark altar to sacrifice me in front of everyone, would he?

I chuckled nervously to myself at the absurdity while Sy stayed alert, watching my six like a hawk.

The long lines started moving forward. America from the House of Fae was the first to go up. She stood in front of the druid, who chanted something. A crystal teacup materialized beside the crystal teapot, and the teapot tilted all by itself and poured the pale blue liquid into the cup. The first teacup floated to America. She took it with a shaking hand. Then, with a determined look, she lifted it to her lips and downed the potion.

The cup in her hand vanished.

Everyone held their breath while staring at the crystal ball. It was so quiet that we could hear our own heartbeats. The crystal ball spun, humming, before it pulsed red.

America cried in joy, "I'm in!"

"That's your destiny, Lady America!" Headmistress Ethel beamed in pride as she congratulated her niece. "May you shine like a star!"

A sentinel in a gray academy uniform escorted America to the right side beneath the flowing banner of star charts. The fae chick stood tall with her chest puffing out and her chin lifted.

A student from the House of Vampires moved toward the druid to receive the potion. She drank it, and the crystal ball turned red. Then candidates from each house took turns taking the potion, and a dozen students were escorted to join America after the crystal ball beamed red, deeming them worthy.

"This is the fucking first trial?" I asked Cami in a whisper. "Pucker said it was supposed to be a culling."

Headmistress Ethel stared hard at me from the raised dais where she could see everyone, and I zipped my lips.

A short girl from the House of Shifters wailed after she received green from the crystal ball. She begged for a second cup of potion, but she was denied. A few more students also melted down when the sentinels half-dragged them out of a side door to where a boat was waiting to cart them away from Shades Academy.

The princes in their royal seats looked bored, not slightly impressed by anyone who passed through the first trial, without a care for the crying and whimpering of the rejected.

Then it was Cami's turn.

I smiled at her encouragingly. "Break a leg."

She narrowed her eyes at me.

"It means good luck," I explained. "Now go knock them dead, she-tiger."

She shook her head. "I'm not even a shifter."

She strolled toward the druid to take her potion, and the crystal ball beamed red instantly. I wasn't a little bit worried for her. Of course she'd pass. She was a royal.

More candidates streamed toward the druid to drink the potion. Some passed, and some failed. I grinned as I watched my geek friends get in.

Then it was Bea's turn, and my heart pounded. She was an oddball like me, but then she also got accepted, and my breath eased.

The line moved faster. Before I knew it, I was pushed ahead for my trial.

I strolledtoward the glass table and paused a few feet further from the druid as I eyed the crystal ball overhead. My heartbeat calmed in my ears when I didn't see my father pop up in it.

I could feel all the princes' intense, expectant gazes drilling holes in my forehead. I slanted a glance at them, my jaw locked stubbornly, as I was determined not to cause drama to entertain them.

A new teacup appeared in the air, the crystal teapot poured the liquid into it, and the cup floated toward me. It seemed nothing was out of order, as it was the standard procedure. Yet my shoulder blades tingled, and my sense of danger flared.

I snatched the teacup and peeked down.

Shit!

There was something at the bottom.

"Drink the potion, Barbie!" the druid called. "You're holding up the line!"

"Wait!" I called.

"What is the fuss this time, Barbie?" Headmistress Ethel scolded.

"Why is there a pill in my cup?" I asked nervously. "Did everyone else have the same shit in their potion as well?"

I had to make sure. The candidates who had been accepted into the next round shared confused glances.

"I didn't see any pill in my cup," Bea blurted out before she was given permission to speak.

Headmistress Ethel glared at me, as if I were a certified troublemaker.

"There's no pill in it! Your potion is just like everyone else's," the druid barked. "Drink it, or you'll be disqualified!"

"Then disqualify me," I said, lifting my chin in defiance.

It was better to be disqualified than to be drugged. Who knew what was in that fucking pill? The more the druid denied it, the more suspicious I grew.

"You won't get out of here until you drink the potion!" the druid snarled, playing tough.

The princes all stood up, ready to walk over to investigate, but the headmistress beat them to it and reached me at a brisk pace.

She stared down into my cup. "There's no pill!"

I peered down. There was just potion now.

"It dissolved!" I looked up at the headmistress before regarding my potion again. "I know what I saw. I wasn't lying!"

"Stop stalling, Barbie!" Headmistress Ethel hissed.

"May I have another cup, then?" I asked.

"Request denied," the druid said. "Every cup is being counted. Drink the potion just like everyone else, girl! We don't have time for your shenanigans!"

"But I don't have a good feeling about this one, since the potion in it was tampered with." I raised my head and looked straight into the druid's eyes without flinching. "I don't trust you! You've been practicing black magic by sacrificing the innocent in this tower. I won't be your next victim!"

Gasps rose across the hall at my boldness. No one liked the druid, but no one dared to openly support me either.

A vein throbbed in the druid's temples, unholy fire in his eyes. "How dare you!"

"Be careful of whom you accuse!" Headmistress Ethel said. "All you've done ever since you came to Shades Academy is to stir trouble, you little hellion!"

The druid's power slammed into me, alien and foul, while I was distracted. I opened my mouth and yelped in alarm. The potion shot through my lips, poured down the passage of my throat before I could stop it.

The empty teacup vanished from my hand.

The princes shot to their feet, but it was already too late for them to intervene.

"What the fuck?" I cried out, rage and fear pounding in my veins.

The milky-white crystal ball started to spin, turning neither red nor green. This was a first. Whispers and gasps filled the hall as everyone waited for the ball to settle.

Humming louder than ever, the crystal ball spun faster and faster, as if it had gone nuts.

"What is happening?" Headmistress Ethel demanded in alarm.

The crystal ball turned pitch black.

"What does it mean?" Cade frowned.

"Shouldn't it turn red or green, likely red for Barbie?" Louis questioned.

"Evil incarnate!" the druid shouted, pointing his black-nailed finger at me. "The crystal of the oracle has recognized Barbie as the evil prophesized to bring blight to this realm." He sliced his pointing finger in my direction. "Seize her! We must contain the evil."

A burn erupted in my stomach.

Shit!The effect of the potion that the druid had forced down me had just kicked in. No potion could get to me before, but the pill in my cup must've targeted me genetically. It dawned on me that the druid might've known about me all along.

He'd mentioned something about tracking a demigod when he tried to take me captive in the ice rink. If he sacrificed a demigoddess like me, he would harvest great power. Was he behind hiring the mercenaries from CrimsonTide to kidnap me?

Framing me as a monster that brought blight to Mist of Cinder was a clever way to get his hands on me, especially since he had waited until Killian was out of town. Who would stop him from taking me now?

As the burn spread in my veins, I stretched a hand out to grasp his druid magic. I'd siphon it then turn it against him. I'd kill the fucker before he laid his hands on me or anyone else.

Yet my dark wind couldn't grab his power, incapacitated by the potion he'd slipped into me. I'd break through the venom of the potion eventually, but I was running out of time.

Burn the motherfucker!I roared at my core power, the darkest flame that had proven hotter than heavenly fire and hellfire. It was the only power that could help me take down the druid.

My dark flame lashed out. Instead of toasting the druid, it slammed into his crystal ball, which exploded into hundreds of pieces. The druid staggered back and screamed in pain. A second later, it dawned on me that the crystal ball had been his magical shield and he'd infused part of his essence into it.

My flame had destroyed his shield, but now it had no fuel to keep going, as something in that pill had taken root in me. It couldn't kill me, but it rendered me immobile.

I collapsed, falling at an odd angle, my numb limbs unable to move an inch. Sy roared, trying to break out to defend me, but she was also crippled alongside me.

I stared up as the druid stalked toward me, ready to claim his prize.