Wicked Onyx (The Veritas Legacy #1)

Prologue

NIGHTSbrIDGE ACADEMY - SELINA

“Herbaceous magic is a most satisfying skill to master. Tricky for those not attuned to the nature threads of the Weave, but possible with tenacity and determination…”

ARCANE BOTANY

I’d jumped out of my fourth-floor window every night for the past week, rehearsing my escape. Slept fully clothed, just in case. But a big part of me hadn’t believed the precautions necessary.

Tonight proved me wrong.

“Go,” the voice inside the mirror urged. “They’re coming.” His misty form undulated behind silvered glass, but I caught the impression of dark, flowing locks and the flash of needle-sharp teeth.

The pulse in my throat throbbed painfully. “I’m scared.”

“Good. Fear will give your feet wings. Get to the circle and stay inside it, no matter what happens. Now go!”

I shoved open the window, wincing at the creak and pop of the swollen wood, then climbed out onto the sill while maintaining a death grip on the frame.

“Light as a feather, floating on a breeze, carry me safely, hold me with ease,” I whispered the words into the wind before stepping into its embrace.

My scream lodged in my throat as I dropped sharply before the spell took hold and my body grew light. The ground rose to meet me, the crash and thunder of the sea a distant companion to the rapid pulse of blood in my head.

I fixed my gaze on the woodland beyond the neatly clipped quad as I drifted to the ground. Even its wild embrace couldn’t protect me from them.

They’d follow.

They’d find me.

But not before I reached the circle.

My boots touched earth, and the essence of nature reached for me through leather and cotton, promising sanctuary.

Above me, a raven screamed.

I ran.

Don’t look back. Don’t slow down. Don’t stop.

The air crackled with abrasive power that skimmed over my skin and clawed at my scalp, snagging in my hair as if desperate to haul me back, but the woods beckoned, and I leapt into its arms.

The shadows beneath the canopy guarded and shielded me, while the scent of nature soothed, urging me on, guiding me over bracken and tree roots to a clearing where sanctuary waited in the form of a circle made of shrubs, small white blooms, and large toadstools that gleamed silver in the moonlight.

I hurried into the circle and dropped my pack to root for the supplies needed to activate the spell I’d been working on for the past three weeks, ever since—

Crack.

No, no, no. I grabbed the pouch holding the powder and the vial filled with tincture. The hum of their power grew stronger, and my stomach bloomed with gnarly knots of fear.

Focus. There’s time.

I drank the tincture to connect me to the circle, then sprinkled the powder all around to activate my protection spell. Quick sticks, work fast. “Hidden from every eye but mine, blessed circle, bring the enemy close and forever bind.”

A calm fell over me, the thrum of panic ebbing, leaving me still and silent as shadowy robed figures drifted into the clearing, surrounding me.

“There is nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide.” The voice rose and fell like the wind, the timbre unfamiliar and alien.

“What do you want? Why are you doing this to me?”

“You’ve never mattered to anyone. But you matter to us.” One of the figures glided closer, its cloak trailing across the silver-washed blades of grass.

I wanted to see his face. Needed to know who my tormentor was, but he remained hidden in gloom.

He held out a hand encased in black leather. “Come willingly, and it will be quick.”

Heat flushed through me, hugging my throat and tearing harsh words from my lips. “Fuck you. If you want me, then come and fucking get me, you bastard.”

He moved so fast he was a blur—outside my circle one moment, and a foot in front of me the next.

I locked my knees and bit back a cry as my spell flared to life, silver wards flying up around us to hold him in place. I had him. I had—

The protective power surrounding me winked out, and the wind howled in mourning.

No. No, no, no…

His raspy laughter filled the space between us. “Points for effort, Selina. But your circle is useless against me.”

Cold fire wrapped around my throat and squeezed until my eyes grew hot and my vision blurred.

The trees leaned toward me, branches reaching out as if they could tear me free and take me away.

The wind picked up, clawing at the figure’s cloak and whipping it back and forth, then with a final burst of power, it ripped back the hood to reveal his face.

Shock punched me in the gut. No…it couldn’t be…

“Goodbye, Selina.”

The warm nugget of power inside me dimmed…

I didn’t want to die.

I didn’t—