42

IVY

THE rest of the day was a blur, but I welcomed the distraction.

Funnily enough, I wasn’t the prime suspect for the deaths of the three mages. Not even the members of their coven pointed their fingers my way. It relieved me that no one believed me capable—even though I’d caused enough death to know I was—but who they did believe responsible turned the contents of my stomach.

Orion Black. Prince of the Luna Court, they whispered. His name sent a shiver down my spine, prickling my skin in a strange way.

The Fae Prince who’d stood between silver-eyes and me. Vanya had told me he was perhaps the most powerful male at the academy, that he was responsible for the deaths of others who had dared get in his way or challenge him.

But why go after the mages? They hadn’t done anything to him. They’d seemed like a nuisance more than anything. Not a threat, especially to him or his position at the academy.

So, why would he do it?

The only possible thought that crossed my mind was one I refused to dwell on.

Because there was no way...

I stopped that train of thought, shaking it from my head, and sighed when I spied Vanya waiting for me outside the door to my dorm room. She had an all too familiar, no-nonsense look on her face that told her questions needed answers. And I had a feeling I already knew what she was about to ask.

Approaching slowly, I joined her by the door and leaned against the frame. “Hey.”

Her eyes narrowed. “You and I need to have a chat .”

I almost flinched at the stern tone of her voice, at the betrayal in her eyes. It was too late to go back and hide the truth—not from her. And I wasn’t about to give up the only friend I’d made here.

“I know,” I replied, nodding. “Not out here. Just...come in.”

I checked for Rowan or Maeve, but neither were around. Maeve had to deal with Elias, who was about to pile the children into a car and drive here himself. She’d somehow managed to keep both him and Adrian away. My Prince was in crisis mode, though he seemed calmer than everyone else. Mostly because he and Rowan admitted that it wasn’t new for the academy to have deaths on campus.

But it happening to people who threatened me? That made everyone tense.

I motioned for Vanya to follow, and she entered the room behind me. Narrowed eyes shifted over the space, taking everything in, though it wasn’t like there was much to it other than the large, messy bed, an overflowing desk in the corner, and the rotation of duffel bags coming from the palace suite.

Vanya turned in a circle as she took everything in, before setting her eyes on me. “So…You’ve been lying to me.”

I flinched, dropping her stare. “Sort of.” What was the point in denying? I sighed and fell onto the bed, dropping my book bag at my feet. “Not intentionally. Well, it was. But it’s better for everyone if they think I’m just a transfer witch from the human realm.”

My friend looked me over. “But you’re not, are you? The vampire from earlier—she’s not just an instructor.”

I shook my head. “She’s my mate.”

“I figured as much. The way she rushed to you...And the way Rowan Archer looked at you? Like he thought you were hurt?”

“Also, my mate—not bonded,” I admitted.

Vanya snorted, dropped to the floor, and leaned back on her elbows. “How many do you actually have?” she asked, more curiously than accusatory. When I met her stare, any anger in her irises had fled.

“Four,” I replied. “Five. But we don’t talk about...him.”

Cocking a brow, Vanya leaned forward. “So, you really are her,” she breathed. “The next Queen. I feel like I need to get up and bow. Or kiss your feet. Or offer you my first born. Or—”

“Or literally none of that.” I bit down on a nervous laugh, eyeing her warily as she pressed her lips into a firm line. “There’s a reason why no one here knows.” And I had to hope that by trusting Vanya, it would stay that way.

Vanya dropped my stare for a moment and sighed. “There have been...whispers. About someone attacking the human realm. My mother works high up in the Phoenix Compound. She doesn’t have full clearance, but she does work beneath Sir Ya’Dahir. She’d heard about someone being kidnapped. Was that...was that you?”

When her eyes found mine again, I nodded. “Yeah. Me, my friend Thea, my sisters and...” My throat tightened at the thought of Kerry, and I coughed. “My mom. We were held captive for a few hours, in my home. It was...a lot.”

The memories shot through my head, a carousel of images; the blonde soldier and the knife to her stomach, the male guarding my door and his blood covering my body, the children knocked out from the poison running through their veins, Kerry and her still body. I closed my eyes for a moment and sucked in a calming breath. The bond warmed on three sides, letting me know that they were there.

After a long moment, I opened my eyes and found Vanya staring up at me with a sympathetic smile. “I’m sorry.”

I shrugged. “It happened. And I won’t let it happen again. Ever.”

“Which is why you haven’t shared the fact that you are, literally, the most powerful being in this place.”

I snorted, but the weight of Kerry lifted off me from Vanya’s statement. “Exactly. Plus, I like not having all the attention on me.”

“It’ll make the upcoming placement exams more exciting. Let everyone underestimate you. And then come in and blow them all away with how powerful you are. Brilliant.”

My stomach dropped at the reminder. The placement exams were simple enough to understand—easy enough to worry about. Balancing out my power so that only Adrian’s side of it showed was becoming harder, and my training with Hawk tomorrow would decide just how well I could do it. Now that I had three constant bonds anchoring my magic, the power in me grew.

“It’s not like I’ll use any of it to my advantage,” I replied. “I’ll just stick to Adrian’s.”

Her mouth popped open. “You and Prince Adrian ,” she whispered. “Wow. That makes so much sense. I’m sorry about fawning over your mates.”

“It’s alright. I’m pretty secure in our relationships.”

This time, Vanya snorted. “You lucky woman. So, four mates—well, technically five. Next Queen of Nyx. And you’re stuck here with us. You must be having so much fun.”

“Apparently, it’s a rite of passage. Spending a term or two here is important, according to Queen Greer, in getting me acquainted with those I’ll rule beside.”

“And find any bonus mates, I’m sure,” Vanya replied, grinning. “I’m surprised you haven’t met anyone here. This is the place of power. I would say Orion, especially after...everything, but he doesn’t have a mate.”

Curiosity spiked within me, and I leaned forward. “What do you mean?”

The grin turned secretive as she also leaned forward. “Rumour has it, Orion Black had a mate, once upon a time. One he doted on. They’d even completed the bond—hence his superiority. But she died tragically. It tore him apart and turned him into the blood-thirsty monster he is today. He’s stuck in an arranged marriage with a Fae Princess, apparently.”

Bile rose in my throat as I sat back. The story was tragic—rumour or not, I couldn’t imagine what it might be like to find your mate and then lose them. The thought of my mates dying made my magic furious, my heart stuttering in my chest.

And yet...something about it didn’t sit right within me. Maybe it had something to do with my earlier theories, the ones I’d wanted to bury. But something about it didn’t make sense.

I didn’t say any of it aloud, and tucked it away like everything to do with Ry.

“Anyway, it’s probably for the best. His father is extremely vocal about the separation of Faery and Avalon. It’s a wonder he hasn’t positioned for the rebuilding of their academy, but who knows.”

More information I had to tuck away. Maybe I’d ask Hawk about it. He was half-Fae, after all. And he could probably explain the nuance to me. But based on the history I did know, there was a lot of bad blood between the line of Nyx and the Fae.

“So,” Vanya drawled, “who else do you have?”

“Elias,” I stated. “He’s a wolf shifter. Actually, all four of my mates were part of the team who found me in the first place.”

“That must have been so romantic.”

“You could say that,” Rowan interjected, throwing the dorm room door open, entering with Maeve hot on his heels. “I mean, I was certainly in love with her the moment we ran into each other on that busy street. She, however, could not get rid of us fast enough. Right, baby?”

My cheeks went from warm to hot and I ducked my head. But from the floor, Vanya laughed.

Maeve locked the door, her eyes finding mine. I wish you had told me you were going to tell her, she said, striding over to me.

Sorry , I replied, scooting back so Maeve could sit beside me. But I trust her. And she already suspected. Better she knows from me, rather than telling everyone else.

I could tell she agreed, but Maeve still pressed her lips together. She moved one arm behind me but turned to Vanya. “You understand you cannot talk to anyone about this.”

Vanya sobered, and she nodded, pink hair bobbing. “I do. Really. I would never betray our future Queen.” Despite the assurance her statement gave, I couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed that she only saw me as that: the future Queen. Maybe it was a little far-fetched, but I’d hoped she would have seen me as a friend.

Maeve seemed happy with that answer, though from the other side of the room, Rowan watched me, his lips pursed. He didn’t say anything though. But he must have sensed my thoughts—or at least, the trajectory of them.

“When Adrian arrives, you’ll be bound with a charm, just in case,” Maeve explained. “This will act like a glamour, to keep you from speaking about this around anyone that isn’t us.”

“Of course,” Vanya replied, her eyes flickering from Maeve to me. “Thanks for telling me. I understand how hard it must be, with everything going on, but I’m here.”

I offered her a smile as she rose. “Thanks, Vanya.”

The witch grinned. “Don’t thank me quite yet. This just means I’m friends with the new Queen. Come on. You might be the most powerful person here, but I ’m powerful by association. I’ll see you tomorrow bright and early for Strategies of Power .”

With that, Vanya left my room, closing the door behind her. My stomach dropped at her departure, at the conversation that was likely to be had now that we were alone.

I tucked my hands into my lap as Rowan crossed the room. I waited for some kind of comment about telling Vanya the truth, but instead he dropped to his knees in front of me and took my hands. “I was really worried about you,” he murmured, lacing our fingers. “Fuck, I really wasn’t ready to feel that but I’m so sorry you had to witness what you did.”

“I’m okay,” I said, squeezing his fingers. “Really. It was a shock to the system more than anything. I really wasn’t expecting to find them...dead. Especially not there. You all warned me this place would be dangerous. I accept that there are people here who will kill for...power. I just—”

Maybe it was the human in me. From what I could feel through the bonds, they weren’t surprised by the death. Not even by the way the bodies had been left out, like a warning to anyone else who might oppose the killer. They were worried about me and my reaction to it all. My body lit up from knowing they worried. They recognised that this wasn ’t normal for me like it was for them.

But I also couldn’t ignore the fact that I wasn’t as...torn up about it as I should have been.