29. Maven
When Crypt disappears,I”m left with Baelfire dragging his hands through his hair anxiously, Everett, who has frost up to his elbows and refuses to look at me, and an inexplicably frustrated blood fae.
”There. Now you guys know everything,” I offer.
Silas gives me an acerbic look. ”If you say so.”
Damn it. He somehow knows I lied there at the end.
But when he asked what will happen to me, I couldn”t find the words to explain that even if I succeed at killing most of the Immortal Quintet, saving Lillian and all the Nether-born humans, and find ways to break my matches” curses…
There”s still no way this can end happily for me. I came to terms with that long ago.
It”s shitty, but there it is.
Before any of us can say anything else, footsteps sound nearby, and several seconds later, Professor Gibbons pokes his head into the alcove, blinking in surprise. I know he didn”t overhear us, thanks to the special acoustics of this alcove, but he still looks flustered.
”Oh, my,” he grimaces, looking between the four of us. ”Miss Oakley, as the keeper of your quintet, you should ensure that you”re all abiding by the rules set forth by our leaders. That means eating lunch during the scheduled block, not canoodling in the hallways!”
Canoodling?
I make a face. ”Don”t repeat that word around me.”
Baelfire folds his arms. ”I wish we were canoodling. Would”ve been way more enjoyable than that emotional fucking roller coaster.”
Gibbons starts to fret. ”Please, won”t you all come along to the dining hall? You”re breaking the rules, and the Immortal Quintet has been extremely intolerant of those who cross them lately. Speaking of which, all legacies and faculty are mandated to stay inside the dining hall during the next hour.”
”Why?” Everett asks.
”I…well, I don”t know,” the warlock grimaces, rubbing one bushy eyebrow. ”Asking seemed unwise.”
I”ll bet it did. At what point will the Immortal Quintet give up all pretenses and start killing legacies left and right while they look for their mage”s murderer? They”re fucking tyrannical, and it reminds me too much of Amadeus.
”As unwise as canoodling?” Baelfire suggests, earning an elbow to the side from me, which only makes him grin.
Great. Now he”s going to keep tormenting me with that stupid word, isn”t he?
If the Immortal Quintet is forcing everyone to stay in the dining hall, I assume it”s either to keep us away from something else shady happening within Everbound Castle. That, or they want to sift through students there more effectively.
There”s only one way to find out.
When we reach the crowded dining hall, a veritable feast is laid out on individual tables already set with plates, eating utensils, and napkins. Legacies eat and chat in groups, sticking to their quintets or those they have agreed-upon allegiances with. It takes me less than ten seconds to pinpoint Kenzie”s pale corkscrew curls.
When my quintet and I sit at the table with Kenzie”s group, she leans forward with large, animated blue eyes.
”Okay, this is so fucking weird. What do you think is going on?”
”Perhaps they”re trying to distract us,” I mutter, reaching for an odd-shaped food item on the platter at the center of the table.
”Oakley, wait. That dumpling has meat in it,” Everett cautions. ”Try this spring roll instead.”
He sets two rolls on my plate and begins picking other non-meat things out for me to try, arranging everything meticulously and even pouring a glass of some kind of juice for me. When he realizes I”m side-eying him, and so is most of our little table, his cheeks pinken. He clears his throat, standing and adjusting his blazer three times in a row.
”I”ll talk to other faculty members to figure out what”s happening.”
As soon as he leaves, Baelfire shakes his head. ”Poor Frozen Blue Balls.”
That makes Kenzie choke on the water she”s drinking, spraying some of it on the table. Vivienne pats her back, looking concerned. Luka gives Baelfire a dirty look as he sips on a blood bag, but then he squints across the table at me.
”What exactly do you think they”re trying to distract us from, Mable?”
”Maven,” Kenzie corrects, looking at me supplicantly. ”I promise he doesn”t mean to be a jerk.”
I believe her. It comes naturally to some people and apparently to most vampires.
”Right, Maven. Sorry,” Luka grumbles.
I shrug in reply before digging into the food Everett got for me, quickly finding that there”s not a single thing on my plate that I don”t like. I”ve been getting hungrier more often now that my quintet members have started introducing me to new foods they think I”ll enjoy.
Turns out, food can be enjoyable instead of just for function. Who fucking knew?
From a table across the room, I spot Amelia Lykoudis staring longingly at the back of Silas”s head. When she sees me looking, she glares fiercely.
Too bad, Angry Girl. He”s mine now.
Typically, I”d flip her off, but I still feel kind of bad about the fact that she doesn”t know her dad is dead yet. Or that I assassinated him.
Speaking of assassinations, Harlow dropped off the liquid bronze just before curfew set in last night. Which means I need to start crafting it into the bronzeblend spell I intend to use while killing off Somnus DeLune once I find a chance to isolate him.
I”m drawn out of my homicidal scheming when I sense Crypt”s presence a second before he ripples into existence on the bench beside me. His sudden appearance makes Luka flinch and Vivienne yelp.
I quickly scan Crypt for any signs that he was hurt while tending to Limbo, but he winks and leans forward to kiss the tip of my nose.
”All”s well, love.”
”I doubt that. The Immortal Quintet has us corralled in here.”
He hums. ”I overheard them. This is merely an extra precaution while their hired casters adjust the wards to set something up for First Placement in the forest.”
Dirk grunts at the end of the table, absentmindedly scratching his elbow. ”That”s a relief. Not to get into politics or anything, but I was worried they were keeping us here because of another anti-legacy thing like those burning pyres.”
”Unfortunately not,” I sigh. Those burning pyres were less of an issue than I expect First Placement will be under the direction of the Immortal Quintet.
Dirk guffaws. ”Damn, Maven! Have a heart.”
A laugh rips from my mouth. It makes Vivienne and Luka jump, and they both look mildly concerned to see me laugh for the first time. Silas and Crypt are both fighting dark smiles of their own, and Baelfire just shakes his head at me, sighing, ”Fucking morbid as fuck.”
”Inside joke,” I explain to Dirk.
The lunch break goes on, and I listen to Baelfire make effortless conversation with Kenzie and her quintet while I eat. Even though I notice him tug at his collar and occasionally wince like his dragon is bothering him, he still comes across as a charming social butterfly. Even Silas makes small talk with Luka when he isn”t zoning out and spinning his bleeding crystal on the table.
Even after weeks of being here, it”s strange to me how easily people converse. They just open their mouths and chat like it”s second nature. I rarely spoke at all for most of my childhood, and the conversations I did have with other people as I got older mainly consisted of threats or warnings. I suppose that impacted my social development.
Except for with Lillian, of course.Gods, I miss her. If only there were a way to contact her directly in the Nether.
Crypt studies me and leans close to talk so we won”t be overheard. ”Something wrong, darling? You look unhappy.”
I quickly compose my expression and stab at the remaining bits on my plate with my fork. ”It”s nothi?—”
He tips my chin toward him, his silver-speckled violet gaze filled with warning. ”None of that. Tell me.”
It”s odd, but his touch on my face doesn”t send any pang of alarm through my body. It”s just a warm, pleasant touch.
Perhaps my haphephobia is making progress.
”Just missing someone,” I mumble, feeling weak for admitting it.
”Who?”
”Lillian. She was my caretaker. She…kept me sane.”
She did a hell of a lot more than that. Lillian was my teacher, guardian, confidante, and the only person I had in my life for a long time. Amadeus put her in charge of my upbringing when I turned five years old, and she was the only stable thing I had to anchor myself to. Without her, I would never have made it this far.
Not seeing her these last few weeks has been weird as fuck.I worry about her, especially because Amadeus knows he can use her to threaten me.
Crypt starts to say something, but a sudden burst of splitting pain in the center of my chest makes me choke, squeezing my eyes shut as I grip the edge of the table. I try to keep myself composed, but I can barely breathe as the familiar agony starts to expand in my chest.
Fuck.
Horrible timing, as usual.
But unlike usual, I”m not dealing with this alone. A warm, gentle hand squeezes my thigh.
”Crane,” Crypt rasps. ”Get her out of here while we create a diversion. Come on, dragon.”
”On it.”
”Maven?” Kenzie says, worry coloring her tone. ”Is she okay? What”s going on?”
What”s going on is that my insides are imploding, and oxygen has ceased to exist.
I”m abruptly in someone”s arms. Blinking my eyes open, I can vaguely make out that Silas has me in his lap, his jaw clenched tightly as he appears to be waiting for something.
”May, are you?—”
”Don”t draw attention to her,” Silas warns Kenzie quietly.
I hear Baelfire snarl nearby and blink blearily over Silas”s shoulder in time to see the dragon shifter send Crypt flying into a table. Food flies everywhere, and glasses shatter. Students yelp as they try to get out of the way.
”Fucking asshole!” Bael roars dramatically, effectively drawing the attention of every legacy in the dining hall.
Crypt picks up the nearest chair and throws it at Baelfire. It smashes to pieces against his back, but the dragon shifter is barely fazed as he tackles the Nightmare Prince, destroying another table while nearby legacies scramble away. Several pissed-off hirelings approach, shouting at them to knock it off.
In the chaos and destruction, Silas lifts me up and races from the dining hall, taking the nearest exit. Two legacy hirelings posted outside the door yell after us, telling him to stop. But a blast of white fills my vision before suddenly, Everett is right behind Silas.
”Do you have it?” the professor demands as they turn a corner.
Have what? My world is turning watery.
”Yes. Let”s pray this works.”
Silas shoulders his way into one of the school bathrooms, his panic-stricken scarlet eyes dropping to me. I want to tell him to calm down since this happens all the time, and it”s really not that fucking big of a deal, but the acute pain is making my vision darken, and I have no air to speak with.
He passes me to Everett, who cradles me like I”m made of spun glass. Silas reaches into a pocket void, a common spell that strong casters use as an invisible storage space. He withdraws an elixir bottle full of colorless liquid and…a giant fucking needle.
Oh, joy.
In general, needles don”t bother me because they”re too much like miniature rapiers for me to not like them—but I was constantly injected with experimental magical mixtures for months on end while Dagon was toying around with my biological makeup. If Silas plans on sticking me with that thing, I”ll make sure it ends up in one of his gorgeously taut ass cheeks instead.
One of them says something, but the words are too warped to make out. Finally, everything fades away as my soul falls out of this plane of existence.
There are no images sent from Amadeus this time. Just cold oblivion.
My condition made itself known immediately after I entered the mortal realm. The first time I expired and revived like this, I assumed it had something to do with the necromancers getting too ambitious when creating me. There”s only so much a human body can take when being turned into a monster, so I decided it was just a fluke in my design.
And ever since that first time, my revival times have varied. So I can”t tell if it”s minutes or hours later when I”m violently returned to my body, jolting awake with a gasp.
”Shit! Are you in pain? Is she in pain? Do something,” Everett says frantically from somewhere beside me.
Someone shushes him and adjusts a blanket over me. ”Sangfluir?”
Opening my eyes, I find that we”re in my room. Silas takes one of my hands and kisses my fingertips, his crimson gaze trained on my face.
”How do you feel?”
Weak. I try to sit up, but as usual, my bones are like cold lead after reviving, so it takes a couple of tries. Once I”m propped up against the headboard, I squint out the window. It”s dark outside.
Fuck. How long was I out?
And even more importantly…
I look back at Silas. ”Tell me you did not inject me with that shit while I was unconscious.”
He looks down at my hand, still grasped between both of his. I expect my body to start breaking out in hives or a cold sweat, but there”s nothing besides a slight curl of apprehension in my gut. In fact, something about it is...comforting. His fingers and hands are covered in countless little scars from casting, and I”d like to kiss every single one of them.
”I did. But there was a good reason for it.”
Silas explains how reverium helps Crypt and how Crypt brought a colorless herb back from the Divide that Silas has since been developing into an elixir to help me with my episodes. But then he sighs heavily, pulling at his hair as if the voices in his head are tormenting him.
”I”m a fool. It didn”t work on you—of course it didn”t, because I developed the elixir with blood magic and not necromancy.”
Everett does a double take. ”Necromancy? Why would you have to…”
When understanding crosses his face, I nod. ”Only death magic can heal the dead.”
”You”re not dead,” he snaps, his arctic blue eyes penetrating.
”I”m not exactly alive, either,” I mutter, then frown. ”Where are Baelfire and Crypt?”
They exchange a glance that I don”t like. Immediately, I try to get out of bed, gritting my teeth against the lethargic heaviness of my limbs. But Silas gently grips my upper arms to keep me in place, shaking his head.
”They knew causing a scene would get them in trouble. As I said, Crypt is as invulnerable as a cockroach, and even if the Immortal Quintet is pushing things, they wouldn”t dare kill Brigid Decimus”s miracle youngest son. It would cause too much of an uproar. They”ll both be fine, and getting you out of there was worth it.”
I stare at him, then at Everett. Then I squeeze my eyes shut and rub my temples. I”m exhausted from that episode, but now all I can think about is how Crypt returned in such terrible shape and the look of agony on Baelfire”s face when he was hit by the silverblend spell.
If either of them comes back hurt…
My throat tightens.
Caring about others leads to pain. That”s another thing I learned early on when I grew attached to my first caretaker. She was killed in front of me for saying the wrong thing to one of Amadeus”s favorite necromancers, and at only four years old, I became terrified of experiencing that loss ever again.
So when Lillian was brought in to meet me six months later, smiling gently and speaking sweetly, I refused to talk to her. I pushed her away. I was a brat to her for months, hoping she would stop coming to take care of me every day so I wouldn”t have to be afraid of losing her, too.
But no matter what I did to repel her, she always returned. And years later, when Amadeus thought I”d outgrown a caretaker and decided it would be amusing to make Lillian fight in his arena, I took her place every time. I took any beating or punishment they thought she deserved for simply existing. I did anything and everything I could for her because how the fuck else could I possibly repay someone for loving me when I make it so hard?
It”s no different here. These legacies are mine, so I have to protect them.
Even if that means facing the entire Immortal Quintet at once.
But when I try again to get out of bed, Everett places a cool hand over one of mine, catching my eye. ”I”ll go. I can get answers quickly.”
”I don”t want answers. I want to kill anyone who touches any of you four that isn”t me.”
His face softens into something tender, and he scoffs softly. ”So territorial. All you need to do is rest, Oakley.”
”But if you get in trouble, too?—”
”Then I can get right back out of it with my pretty face.”
He smiles at me reassuringly, and with a start, I realize this is the first time I”ve ever seen Everett Frost smile.
And he has dimples.
Fuck. Seriously? This is not fair. His looks were already catastrophically perfect, and now this? The gods really don”t know how to rein themselves in, do they?
I want to protest more, but Silas gently presses my shoulders back into the pillows. It”s like I”m half-melted in this state because I immediately feel sluggish and drowsy, my eyes drooping.
“Rest, sangfluir.”
“No.”
”Such a stubborn keeper,” my blood fae laughs lightly, kissing my fingertips again. ”As I”ve told you, I have no issues with being an asshole. Fighting dirty is my forte. Please don”t make me mix a sleeping draught for you, Maven. You know I”ll do it.”
I glare at him. But then, just like when he was threatening the changeling…I understand him on a level others perhaps don”t. He”s just doing whatever it takes to accomplish what he thinks is best. I do the same thing, so I must begrudgingly respect his cutthroat ways.
”Fine,” I mutter finally. ”But only if Everett kisses me before he goes.”
Everett”s cheeks turn pink immediately. His smile is long gone. ”Maven,” he warns. ”I still can”t risk killing y?—”
”Don”t flatter yourself. Your curse will have to take a ticket and stand in line behind a dozen far more likely ways I”ll die permanently,” I inform him, arching a brow. ”In fact, maybe the gods really did know what they were doing, matching us together since I”m essentially immune to your curse. So stop tormenting yourself.”
The ice elemental professor fidgets with one sleeve of his blazer, rolling and unrolling it several times as he silently panics.
“I, um…but, what if…” He scowls, glancing at Silas. ”Are you going to help me out here?”
”And subject myself to watching even more of your sad attempts? I”d rather poke my eyes out. Kiss our keeper already and get out so she can sleep.”
”You really are an asshole,” Everett mutters, looking every kind of flustered as he moves closer to where I lay. He begins fidgeting with his other sleeve, pauses, and shoots a fierce scowl in Silas”s direction. ”Are you at least going to look away?”
”No. Why would I? She”s mine, too.” Silas folds his arms, his scarlet irises striking as he watches us.
When I glance at Everett, his face burns a brighter shade of red. Am I reading this wrong, or…does the ice elemental like others watching?
Kenzie mentioned something about her own flare for exhibitionism to me once before I yet again threatened to shun her forever. I make a mental note to ask her more about it later.
Finally, Everett grumbles under his breath before leaning to place the gentlest kiss in the world against my mouth. His lips are soft and slightly cool to the touch in the most pleasant way possible.
Before he can pull away, I tangle my hands in his hair and kiss him back hard, slipping my tongue into his mouth to tease him. He groans, and suddenly, I”m being pressed back into the pillows as he traps me with his body, his mouth working fervently against mine as both our breathing ratchets up.
Everett has given up any resistance, and now he”s trying to fucking devour me. He tastes like the same subtle, cool mint scent that wraps around him, and I can”t get enough of it.
When his hands bracket my face so he can angle my head exactly how he wants, I arch to press against him more fully, feeling the deliciously hard length of him rubbing me through the blankets. He breaks away with a rough swear, squeezing his eyes shut as he tries to breathe and regain control. His cheekbones are pink, his chest heaving.
I love seeing him on the brink like this.
”Nearly made a mess of yourself there, professor?” Silas taunts, smirking.
”Fuck off,” Everett mutters, but I don”t miss the way he also shudders.
Interesting.
When he finally looks at me, there is absolute reverence in his soft blue eyes. It makes my already-racing pulse spike.
”You”re too good for me, Oakley,” he whispers.
”That”s ironic since I”m literally a monster sent from hell. Just how lowly do you think of yourself?” I ask, tracing his perfect features.
My ice elemental closes his eyes. ”I don”t like you calling yourself a monster. Dear gods, you”re so warm. It feels so damn good.”
My stomach flutters, and I”m wet as hell as I lean up to whisper against his ear so Silas won”t overhear. ”Actual fucking would be even better.”
Everett groans and buries his face in my neck. He grinds against me ever so slightly, sending a jolt of need up my spine—but suddenly, the professor pulls away. He gets off the bed and presses the backs of his hands against his flushed cheeks as he shakes his head, backing away.
”Stop torturing me, Oakley. Now isn”t the time for…” He clears his throat and opens the door. ”You need to sleep off that episode. I promise I”ll get the others back here.”
He leaves before I can say anything else.
Once we”re alone, Silas moves to lay beside me on the massive bed, adjusting the pillows and blankets to his liking with magic.
”I know you don”t believe his curse will actually harm you, but just be warned that the rest of us will kill him if it does.”
So dramatic. ”No, you won”t.”
”You doubt me?”
I smirk, letting my eyes drift shut from exhaustion. ”You all say you hate each other, but actions speak louder than words. If you were all such enemies, why did none of you kill each other sooner?”
He”s quiet for a moment. ”If we weren”t in a quintet together, I wouldn”t hesitate to kill Crypt.”
I open my eyes again to study him. Of course, he”s not lying. He really hates the Nightmare Prince for what happened to his family. He also doesn”t know why Crypt killed some of them, but I don”t think it”s my place to say anything. I”m not about to start playing referee to these legacies” many issues with one another.
So, instead of addressing that honesty, I glance at his arm resting in front of him. ”You could hold me if you want.”
His eyes flare. ”Want is an understatement where you”re concerned, but would it bother you?”
”Not really. Touch is becoming…tolerable.” Honestly, it”s becoming more than tolerable where they”re concerned. ”I want this.”
He wastes no time wrapping his arm over me, pulling me close until I”m against his chest. Even though my insides clench, expecting the nausea and panic to cripple me, I find that I can breathe just fine, even if my pulse is faster than usual.
”I”m so glad to hear that, ima sangfluir,” he breathes against the top of my head, laying a kiss there.
It”s so warm and fucking nice being held like this. My eyes grow so heavy that they refuse to open the next time I blink, but I still mumble, ”Stay with me.”
”I will.”
”Good. And Silas?”
”Tha, imo ghrài?”
Which means, yes, love of mine?
He used the L-word, too. In fae, but still...that word haunts me as I slip closer to sleep.
”If they come back injured, heal them. Even if it”s Crypt.”
He kisses my head one more time. ”Anything for you.”