Chapter Twenty-Two

"You're holding back," Ryker snarled, and I battled the urge to snarl right back. "Avert your fucking eyes, Ellis, if you want to keep them."

I swallowed my frustration and cast my gaze at his feet. Ryker grunted in satisfaction and kept on pacing. The ground was damp and he was wearing a track through the short grass, or what was left of it after a couple of hundred shifters had spent the year clawing it to pieces during their lessons.

"Every other shifter here can shift on command. You think you're different, Ellis? Special?"

"No, Alpha," I ground out, despite all evidence to the contrary—on the different part, at least.

"Damn straight. You've got two weeks to work it out."

I snuck a glance at Cole to confirm he was just as confused as I was.

"Two weeks until what, Alpha?" he asked.

"Until you and your mate run on the moon hunt, unless one of you fucks it up before then."

"But Alpha!" Kallan protested, and Ryker rounded on him.

"Did I ask your opinion?" he demanded, and Kallan shook his head sullenly. "That's what I thought. And I'm pretty fucking sure I didn't tell you to stop your scent drills, either."

Kallan's jaw clenched, but he turned away and closed his eyes while Harvey went back to waving scent cloths in front of him. Scenting in human form was harder than scenting in wolf form, which I guess made sense. But at least Kallan and the others had some kind of enhanced senses in human form, which was more than I could say. And that was bad news, because Ryker had made it perfectly clear that now I'd achieved a full shift, I was going to be expected to sit the end-of-year shifter assessment—and I was pretty sure it wasn't going to involve any actual sitting.

"Wait, did you say moon hunt? I can't even run yet!"

"Well, then I guess we'll all have a good laugh, won't we? Work it the fuck out."

And with that, he stalked off to harass someone else. I turned to Cole.

"Just great. How am I supposed to work out running if I can't even shift?"

"Start by working out how to shift," Ryker called back without breaking his stride. I rolled my eyes. Stupid shifter hearing.

"Come on," Cole said. "With me."

Except, thirty seconds later, Cole was in the form of a magnificent, powerful wolf…and I was still woefully human. And stayed that way for the rest of the lesson. I was so screwed.

Cole grabbed my pants and tossed them to me, then stooped to grab something from the grass as I tugged them on.

"You dropped this," he said, holding Aodh's stone out to me.

"Oh. Thanks." I quickly thrust it in my pocket, trying not to pay attention to the single glowing light remaining inside it. I could see the question in Cole's eyes, but he didn't push it. Either he didn't know what the stone was—which seemed pretty unlikely—or he was respecting my privacy. I wished I could tell him about it, but he had bigger concerns right now than whatever mess I'd gotten myself into with the devious little fae.

But tonight it would be over, one way or another. One light left meant this was my last day to hold up my end of the deal, and whatever my father might or might not do, I was pretty sure it paled in comparison to breaking my word to Aodh. No. Tonight, I would be meeting my father.

When the rest of our classes finally finished for the day, I nibbled my way half-heartedly through dinner, and then made my excuses. Cole watched me leave wordlessly, and I could feel his gaze follow me every step of the way out of the canteen. Oh yeah, he definitely knew I was up to something. Part of me was grateful that he was giving me the trust and the space to work this out on my own. The rest of me wished he'd demand to know what was going on and insist on coming with me, because I so did not want to do this on my own. But thanks to Aodh, my hands were tied. There was nothing left now but to get it over with—one way or the other.

I switched out my academy uniform for something a little less conspicuous and hurried through the corridors, taking care to avoid anyone who might ask awkward questions—which was basically everyone.

I didn't breathe a sigh of relief until the doors were in sight.

Turned out my relief was premature.

"Going somewhere in a hurry, pet?"

"You know," I said, whirling on my heel to face Davorin, "for a big academy it seems like I can't get an inch of space."

"An inch, pet?" he said, closing the gap between us. "I see more than an inch here."

"Well it could be a mile and it wouldn't be enough."

He tutted. "That's not very friendly. You should show more respect."

I glared at him, Aodh's stone weighting heavily in my pocket. "Maybe you're the one who should show some respect."

"Oh, is that so?" He smirked. "Because from where I'm standing, I'm a fae prince of the Fall Court, and you're…you."

"Yeah, I am. And no-one knows what the hell I am, not even me. That should worry you."

He leaned in closer, putting his hand on the wall beside my head, caging me in with his languid body.

"You don't worry me, pet. You intrigue me."

"And you annoy me," I snapped, swatting at his arm. He caught my wrist and pinned it above my head. I glowered at him. "Really?"

He ducked his head and skimmed his nose across my hair. "Really," he murmured.

My heart thudded at his proximity. Because he was a fae. And I was…whatever the fuck I was. Apparently human enough that I wasn't immune to his charms. Physically, at least. My mind was smart enough to know he was an asshole.

"You know what?" I said, yanking my arm and was mildly surprised when he released it. "I have places to be, okay? So maybe just get the hell out of my way."

"Ask me nicely," he said, his eyes glistening in amusement.

"That was me asking nicely."

He shrugged easily, his hand still planted on the wall beside my face. "Then I guess you're going to be here a long time."

I eyeballed the gap under his arm, judging how quickly I could make a break for it.

"You could try that, I suppose," he said, the smirk still in place on his annoyingly perfect face. "I don't recall it working so well for you before, though."

I narrowed my eyes. "Because you used your stupid compulsion tricks on me."

"Of course. After all, I am a prince of the Fall Court."

"And an asshole."

Davorin clicked his tongue, and his eyes hardened.

"You ought to learn to play nice, pet."

"I already told you, I am not your pet. And I'm not interested in playing."

"Life's a game, pet. And I always win."

"Not today," I ground out.

"Kiss me."

My eyed widened. "What?"

"Kiss me, and I'll let you go."

"Not a fucking chance," I snarled, even as my heart raced at the thought. Fucking fae with their stupid fucking tricks.

"Me thinks the lady doth protest too much."

"Even try to touch me and you're going to find out how unladylike I can be."

"Who said anything about me touching you? That's not the deal. The deal is, you kiss me, and I'll let you leave."

"And I said it's not going to happen."

He paused for a beat. "I could make you," he said, his voice husky. "I could compel you."

My heart raced. Not from desire. Not from fear. From fury. "Try it, and I'll cut out your heart."

Anger flashed across his perfect face.

"Lower your hands," he murmured, his voice laced in compulsion. "And put them behind your back."

I was powerless to do anything but watch in horror as my hands lowered and tucked themselves behind my back. Wait, no I wasn't. The thought smashed into me like a lifeline. His compulsion affected my hands, nothing else. I lifted my knee and slammed it between his legs. He twisted quickly, catching it on his thigh, and stared at me, surprise flitting across his face. And then he threw his head back and laughed.

"You always surprise me, pet."

His compulsion fell away and I jerked my hands in front of me, ready to beat the shit out of him—or at least try. Because his moods pivoted in a heartbeat, and him laughing now did not mean a single good thing.

He chuckled again and raised his hands. "Let's not get…physical. Wouldn't want you to be late for whatever it is you're in a hurry to do. How long do you have left on your Cailleach stone?"

I dropped my hands and stared at him, trepidation dripping down my spine like ice water. "How do you know about that?"

"I'm fae, pet. I can smell the magic from here."

At least he wasn't threatening to make me kiss him anymore. I blew out a sigh and glanced up at the sky. "About four hours."

"Cutting things a little fine, aren't you?"

"Yeah. So if you don't mind—"

"But I do mind. Your manners are worse than ever. Tell me, what do you have to do?"

"None of your business."

"I've decided it's my business," he said, and then his voice took on the lilting tones of compulsion. "Tell me your task."

"I have to leave the academy," I forced out, and Davorin shook his head, reaching out and playing my hair through his fingers.

"I can feel you fighting my compulsion, you know," he said as he closed the gap between us again. "And it amuses me to watch you struggle…but your half-truths do not amuse me."

"Well, I'm so sad for you," I spat.

"I know the smell of Aodh's magic, and I know Aodh would not ask you for something as inane as leaving the academy's grounds, even against the council's orders. So tell me your task. The truth—all of it."

I grit my teeth but the compulsion washed over me in waves.

"I have to meet someone!" The words burst from my mouth, and no matter how I tried to lock my jaw or clamp my lips together, I was as powerless to stop them leaving, or the words that followed, because the compulsion demanded the full truth. "To meet my father."

Surprise flickered through his piercing eyes. "Well, that is interesting, isn't it? The council would surely be interested to know about that. Perhaps, little criminal, the apple does not fall far from the tree?"

"I'm nothing like him," I snapped, shaking my head sharply and pulling my hair from his fingers. "He's a sadistic ass who screwed my mom over and scared her so much that—"

I clamped my mouth shut. Why the fuck was I telling him that? It must have been the lingering traces of his compulsion.

"I wonder, then, if he's such a bad man, and you're such a paragon of good, what he desires with meeting you, pet, hm?"

I'd been wondering the same thing—albeit in a helluva lot less pompous way.

"No idea," I said. "And if you don't let me go, I'm never going to find out. And then Aodh's going to do whatever he does to people who break deals with him, and honestly, I'd really rather not find that out."

"No, you most definitely would not," he agreed, making no move to get out of my way. "How do you intend to survive this meeting with your father?"

I shrugged, and tried for blasé. "Can't be any worse than what Aodh will do to me if I don't go."

"Debatable. I don't like the idea of losing my plaything."

"I'm not your—" I blew out an irritable breath and shook my head. "Whatever. I've got bigger concerns than what you want."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, pet. Run along now, meet with your father, and then do be sure to come back to me. I'm not finished with you yet."

He reached out, stroking his fingers across the back of my hand and I jerked it away, but not before I got a sharp static shock from him. Asshole.

Watching him carefully, I eased past him, then turned and bolted for the academy doors.

Time to go and meet my father.