Fate Hollow Academy: Term 3, page 19
“Help me!” she cried as she poured her magical energy into that stream of fire until she couldn't anymore. Without her people and mate aiding her, the flames grew smaller as the ice magic overtook her power and encased her body into a frozen tomb.
“There’s a reason nobody backed the queen when the moment came.” My father lifted his other hand and shot a bolt of ice toward her, and the queen’s body shattered, hitting the floor and sliding in every direction.
Cheers rang out as the queen of the Fire Kingdom perished.
King Johnson stepped forward, holding up his hands. “Cease the attack, fire soldiers.” His voice boomed, and he threw a flame up that combusted into many different, smaller fire orbs and disappeared.
It was a type of fae magic that used their element to carry their voice to their chosen targets.
The sounds of explosions and shouting came to an end from outside, and King Johnson bowed his head at my parents. “I accept defeat and losing the war. I would prefer a new era for the fae realm. And with that, I decree new leadership in the Fire Kingdom. Princess Adele will take over as queen of the Fire Kingdom in a month's time, and with her succession, we welcome a new treaty between the Fire Kingdom and the Ice Kingdom. A treaty of peace, and due to our loss of the war, the Ice Kingdom is able to make any demands that they see fit.” He kept his head lowered, and my father stepped forward, slapping a hand on his shoulder. “We accept your defeat.”
The king looked up with thankful eyes. My father and King Johnson had been close friends before the war, like Nate and I had been before everything happened. It was clear that the problem had been with the queen. It seemed the queen had everyone doing her bidding.
“I believe that a new era is a great idea, King Johnson…” Father removed his hand from him and gestured for him to stand before he turned to our people. “Thorn will be crowned king and take his throne next month as well. By his side will be his mate, the future queen of the Ice Kingdom!”
TWENTY-SEVEN
Lachlan
I raked a hand through my unruly brown curls and leaned against the wall, kicking my foot back on it. Adrenaline pumped through me at the prospect of finding Lily.
She was just a child when she got abducted by the humans. I was only a child, too. I knew there wasn’t anything I could’ve done, but the what-ifs would always be there. Thankfully, I wasn’t a child anymore. And Lily had reached out to me through that letter. I could save her this time, and I had help to do it. My magic sparked with warmth.
Damien slapped down blueprints on top of Rowan's desk. “Here’s the layout of the two human facilities that are housing the werewolves.”
Hope swirled through my chest at the news. Damien’s news was better than I had expected. Lily had to be in one of those facilities. Worry gnawed at my gut, thinking of my sister under the blade of the humans for so long. But she’d left me a note, so she couldn’t have been too far gone.
“How many people did you kill to get that?” Alister scoffed.
Damien lifted his lips into a cruel smile. “Only nine.”
“Really?” Rhett gave him a look.
“Okay, fine.” He huffed, crossing his arms. “Thirteen, but they were humans. Can you really blame me?”
“Not really,” I muttered.
Damien’s eyes twinkled with excitement at my comment. “See, he gets it.”
“I think we all do,” Rowan grunted, and the sphere in his hand lit up orange with flames. “Lachlan, what did the werewolves that we saved witness at the facilities? Do we have any information on that? Why are they fighting for the humans instead of escaping?”
“The werewolves we had captured fought for the safety of their families. Either the humans had family members of theirs hostage as well, or they threatened to find their family or loved ones and kill them. That’s how they get them to do their dirty work.” I sighed, flexing my hand and balling it into a fist. “The humans just shove them into a cell, apparently. Until they need them.”
“That’s all they do?” Alister asked with a frown. “Seems, I don’t know, anti-climatic.”
“That’s what those we captured said.” I shrugged.
But Alister had a point. I wondered if the werewolves had been telling the truth. Maybe they’d been drugged to the point of not remembering what actually happened.
“Have any of the werewolves turned a human?” Rowan asked.
My muscles tensed. “The captured werewolves said that the humans would force the bites on themselves. They’d trigger them with pain, emotional and physical, during the full moon until they bit. From what they said, the majority of the humans didn't make it once they were bitten.” I pressed my tongue into my cheek with a groan.
Kian cleared his throat before pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “There have been four humans turned successfully that I can clearly see, but something is blocking me from seeing anything else.”
“That’s concerning.” Rhett grunted.
I huffed out a breath, the hatred of humans swelling in my chest. Why didn’t they take me when they had the chance? It made little sense that they only took Lily.
“Lachlan's sister is most likely being held captive in one of these facilities. They’re twins, so you should know who she is if you see her. If you find her when clearing the facility, make sure she's safe. Our goal here is to rescue werewolves, but it’s also to reunite Lachlan with his sister.”
Murmurs of agreement broke out between my mate’s mates, and my lips pulled into a grateful smile. I never thought I’d have help finding Lily, but Wren proved me wrong.
The air in the office moved around as magic buzzed around us. Thorn and Wren materialized.
My heart jumped as I saw how beautiful Wren looked in that gown, but concern sparked in me as I noticed the dread trickling through both of their bonds. Both of their updos had come undone, hair falling around their faces as the ornaments barely stayed in the back.
Thorn thinned his lips into a tight smile as he pulled Wren closer to his side. “The war in the fae realm is over. The Ice Kingdom won the war against the Fire Kingdom because of the tulip of a mess tonight. I will host a meeting with my mother and my father, as well as my brother, regarding the war in Kalista. I will have to go there tomorrow.”
By the way Wren fidgeted with her fingers in front of her and kept shooting glances toward Thorn, completely unconcerned with the rest of us—apart from making sure we were all there when she first appeared—I knew something was wrong.
“What happened?” Rowan growled, appraising Wren carefully.
“The Fire Kingdom made an appearance at the festival. The queen was killed. Family secrets were revealed…” Thorn grunted his explanation, and Wren’s frown deepened.
It was obvious something else had happened, but he wasn’t being forthcoming with whatever it was. Wren’s emotions were uneasy and nervous through our bond, but I figured it just had to do with being at a festival with people she wasn’t familiar with.
“Clearly there’s more to that, Thorn. But we’ll come back to it when you’re ready. The most important thing is that you are both safe.” Rowan tapped his knuckles on the middle of his desk, his body shaking with anger. “Wren, Damien, Lachlan, Kian, and Alister will accompany five agents from the Supernatural Council to infiltrate the facility and bring it down. The Supernatural Council is also dispatching a group of twenty to the other facility. We will go to the facility that is next to the fae portal, closest to Fate Hollow’s territory.”
Everyone nodded, but Rhett pushed his lips into a pout. “Wren’s going too?”
Rowan nodded. “Our mate has been showing immense growth with her strength, and she said she wanted to hone her skills in a real battle. I’m not going to hinder her progress, even if I’d rather her not go.”
Apprehension flooded through the bonds from every direction, but determination was the only thing filling Wren’s. It was pointless to try to talk our mate out of coming along. At least, when it came to this conversation. However, dread floated deep within her. From the looks on the others, they could sense it, too.
Whatever had happened in the fae realm had hurt her emotionally. And from the look of Thorn, he was hurt too.
“I'd like to go too,” Rhett murmured.
“But Rhett, you have back-to-back sessions tomorrow. You can’t cancel,” Wren reminded him, squeezing Thorn’s arm before striding over and pressing her pink lips to Rhett’s cheek.
He leaned into her kiss and groaned. “I know, I know. But when you get back, you're mine.”
“Of course,” she murmured, pulling back slightly.
“I should head back to my room since I have an early appointment tomorrow.” Rhett stretched his arms over his head with a sigh. “I'll be there to see you off, though.”
Wren pressed up on her toes and kissed his lips again before he waved at us and left the room.
“Damien, I have a few more questions for you,” Rowan said.
Damien groaned, sending Wren a wink before stepping over to Rowan.
Alister walked toward Wren and pulled her into a sweet kiss before dropping his mouth to her neck. “You look stunning.” He scraped his fangs over her, and she shivered.
“Alister, come here.” Rowan sighed, and Alister frowned before he stuffed his hands in his pockets and went over toward them.
They started talking about the best way to infiltrate the facility, but I glued my attention to Wren.
Thorn had wandered back to Wren’s side, and Kian stepped closer to them.
“Do you want to go for a walk, tiny fox?” I kicked off the wall and strolled toward them.
She smiled softly and nodded. “A walk would be nice.”
“I'll accompany you, Kit.” Thorn laced his fingers through hers.
“You coming?” I asked Kian, who nodded shyly.
“I’d love to.”
“Hey, I want to come—” Damien whined, but Rowan cleared his throat.
“I kind of need you for this. You’ll see her tonight.” Rowan frowned at Damien before shifting his gaze to Wren and smiling. “Relax, fledgling. Go on your walk.”
“Have a good time, sweet ruby.” Alister winked at her, and she flushed.
“But—”
Before Damien could finish his protest, Thorn phased us to the tree line of the Bestial Forest.
A crescent moon hung in the velvety night sky, illuminating all of Wren’s stunning features. From her button nose to almond blue eyes, and her pink lips.
Desire sparked between all of us before Wren cleared her throat and stepped back a couple of feet. Her eyes found mine as she licked her bottom lip. “Are you ready for the facility?”
Tearing my gaze off her lips, I met her eyes. “I've been ready since I found out they were holding werewolves hostage.”
She scrunched her cute nose up. “I figured that was the case.” She wrapped her arms around herself and shivered.
Before Thorn and I could move, Kian stepped over and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “You okay, sweetheart? You’ve seemed off since you got back.”
She blushed, snuggling further into Kian. “I'm okay. Just sad.”
“Why are you sad?”
Thorn moved forward and cupped her face in his hands.
Kian tried to step away, but Wren wrapped her arm tighter around his waist as she looked at Thorn. “It just hurts.” Her voice broke.
A bolt of magic shimmied up and down Kian’s arm as he stared at Thorn.
I growled, narrowing my gaze at Thorn. “Why is she sad?”
He swallowed hard, brushing her cheeks with his thumbs. “After we won the war, the king of the Fire Kingdom announced that the princess would take over as queen of the Fire Kingdom. Then my father announced that me and Wren would take over as king and queen of the Ice Kingdom.”
My breath hitched. “Would Wren be bound to your realm just as it would bind you?”
He shook his head. “No. Wren’s not from the fae realm. She’s from Kalista.”
“But if you're crowned, then you won't be able to come back to Kalista…” Kian murmured, his magic fading as he rubbed her arm.
“No. I wouldn't.” Thorn frowned, not breaking eye contact with Wren.
“When are they crowning you?”
“In a month.” Wren dug her trembling fingers into Kian’s waist, and he winced but didn't show any sign of pulling away from her.
“I'm going to have a meeting with my parents. I'm going to see if Birch can take the crown instead… He's already involved in something romantic with the soon-to-be queen of the Fire Kingdom. Not to mention they have a child together,” he muttered. “If they were to get married and both take the throne, that would do wonders for our alliance after a war. I just have to convince them.”
Hope skittered down the bond as Wren nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, please do that. Please, please, please, please, please,” she begged Thorn as her bottom lip wobbled.
He smiled, leaning down and kissing her nose. “I promise, Kit. I'll bring it up to them, and I'll do everything I can not to be crowned king.”
“It’s selfish of me to not want you to be crowned.” A flicker of doubt crossed her expression, and he shook his head.
“If the roles were reversed, I would want the same.”
“Thank you…”
“Why don't we go back to the room and get some sleep? We're going to have a long day tomorrow.” Kian kissed her temple as Thorn pulled his hands from her face.
“Kian’s right.” I walked over and grabbed her chin, turning her focus on me. “You need to get some sleep, tiny fox.”
She pouted her lips but nodded in agreement. “I'm exhausted.”
“I'd say. You had an exciting day.”
“You have no idea,” Thorn muttered.
“Do you care if I have a run first? My magic is going wild.” She pressed a hand to her chest, and Thorn used his magic to un-thread the gown until she was bare.
“Thank you.” She smiled before shifting into her tiny fox form and darting through the woods with her mates watching over her.
It was good to see her run with ease, and her magic needed the outlet. I couldn’t wait until the war was over and we could live in peace with her in the center of our world.
TWENTY-EIGHT
Wren
Damien’s shadows carried us into human territory, and a large concrete domed building with no windows and only one visible entrance came into focus.
Fear licked down my spine as I stiffened, and Kian threaded his fingers through mine, his calming magic setting my pulse at ease.
“I'm okay,” I assured them.
“We’ll keep you safe, sweet ruby.” Alister adjusted his collar with a fanged smile.
“Do you have the fatal potion?” Kian whispered, and I nodded.
Shade puffed out his chest on his shoulder. ‘We should just call it the Deadly Nightshade potion. That is what it is.’
Kian shook his head, and the guys rolled their eyes.
“You’re from Fate Hollow Academy, right?” A man dressed in all black approached us with four men trailing behind him.
One agent I recognized immediately as Samson, Callie's mate. My chest burned with anger and remorse at what had happened to her, but empathy replaced it. Samson looked like a walking corpse. His eyes were sunken in, and there was barely any fat on his body. Part of his soul had died, and it was obvious from one look. If it had been one of my mates, I would’ve been the same.
Lachlan nodded at him, and Samson nodded back—but that was the only reunion.
“Now that you're here, we'll start by taking out the humans. Our team will worry about capturing a few for interrogations. Your team just worry about killing them.”
Samson scoffed. “I'll do my best, but you know what happens when my flames get out of control."
“Phoenix flames are as deadly as a firedrake’s…” one of the other agents muttered before the one who had originally spoken reached his hand out to me.
“My name’s Mason, and I'm the leader of this squad.”
Damien growled as he slid in front of me and took his hand, letting his shadows swirl around his wrist before pulling back. “Our names are of no importance to you. Let's just work together and kill the fucking humans. Also, the cute little fox here is our mate, so don't touch her.”
Shade jumped from Kian to me and sent a purple spark of magic toward the guy. ‘Our mate is right!’
Mason stepped back a little and nodded, even though he didn’t understand Shade. “I apologize. I was trying to address the headmaster's… Rowan Barrington’s mate out of respect…”
“You're fine,” I assured him, placing my hand on Damien's shoulder as Kian gave my other hand a squeeze. “He just gets protective.”
Damien grunted, stepping back and dragging his nose down the side of my neck, sniffing me. “Mine,” he growled, and the guy held up his hands and turned away from us with a cough.
Shade scurried back to Kian after Damien shot him a possessive look.
“Anyway, are we ready for this?” Samson stomped off in the direction of the facility quickly. In moments, his body transformed into a flaming phoenix. Bright flames in the shape of the predator bird were the only physical form Samson had, and it was mesmerizing. He swooped down in his fury, capturing the humans off guard.
Some human soldiers hurried to the door of the facility with screams, crying that the enemy was here. Damien’s eyes lit up silver.
Chaos exploded, and I gasped as a human shot Samson in the chest, but nothing happened. The bullet had disintegrated in his flames, and he flapped his wings before throwing himself at the rest of the humans, who were still standing.
“He won’t leave any of the humans for us to capture,” another agent grumbled before their group hurried behind Samson, who had just entered the building, melting the only door into liquid metal by barreling through it.
“Shall we, little bird?” Damien held his hand out to me before turning toward Alister, who flashed his fangs.
