1. Alaric
Alaric
Dad’s voice grew louder as he used magic to amplify it. The witches and mages sitting in the front row all leaned forward, lapping up his promises to increase our influence in a human-majority world.
Some of the stronger shifter contingent grumbled when he failed to mention Maximus Lightfoot’s role in bringing the humans to the negotiation table last summer, but Dad’s charm spell soon counteracted any discontentment.
I wondered if anyone in the marquee knew he used charms to ensure nobody questioned him. Judging from the happy, relaxed smiles, I guessed not.
The only magical who seemed anything but relaxed was Wilder, the bear shifter. I turned to see him glaring at me. When I raised one eyebrow, his eyes flashed gold and his shoulders bulged.
The bear didn’t like me.
Oh well.
I gave no shits.
It wasn’t as if we were harem mates and needed to get along for the sake of our mate.
Thunder rumbled over the marquee at the memory of how I’d hurt her earlier.
Despite what I told her, she’d shone so brightly in her designer dress.
I wasn’t an idiot. I knew damn well the incubus had gifted it to her.
YSL dresses cost a fortune. Kinara had a closet full of designer dresses from human fashion labels, and she’d paid substantial sums for all of them.
The witch loved to show off. Her Magigram was full of photos of her wearing priceless family jewels and designer garments.
It was no wonder thieves targeted her family’s home a few weeks back.
They stole her entire collection of diamonds, including the watch her grandmother had gifted her for her magic manifestation ceremony.
I smirked to myself. Brianna had been livid to hear about the burglary. She reasoned that if Regina’s magic couldn’t protect their home from thieves, perhaps she wasn’t the witch for me.
Father had disagreed, of course. Much to my annoyance.
Kinara sat to the left of the dais, her appearance flawless once again after a rogue lightning bolt blasted mud and debris all over her. I caught her glaring at me and turned away.
I scanned the room searching for my witch. A few more stragglers had arrived in the last ten minutes, but there was still no sign of her. Or the incubus.
Where were they?
Raven was not a witch who drew attention to herself. The only time she showed up late for class was when she’d had a run-in with another student. For her to have missed the start of my father’s speech, something important must have happened.
The bear shifter’s gaze burned a hole in the side of my head. When I focused on him, he was busy staring at the exit while gripping the edge of his seat. Like me, he sensed something was wrong.
A muffled shriek filtered through the thick canvas walls, followed by a roar. Several students sitting to the left sat up straighter, their eyes wide with alarm.
My father glanced at Montgomery, who nodded and muttered something under his breath. Two of the security mages ducked out at the rear of the marquee while Dad continued with his boring-as-fuck speech.
“It is time we magicals took our rightful place in this realm. We’ve been subjugated for too long now.
Humans are weaker than us!” Most of the students and several of the faculty cheered and pumped the air.
“Humans don’t deserve to have all the power!
” More cheers. “We are stronger than they are! Are you ready to join me?”
The mages in the front row all yelled their approval before something hit the side of the marquee with tremendous force.
The magic protection spell kept everyone seated on that side safe, but it was pretty fucking obvious something major was happening outside.
My father grimaced in irritation. “Please remain calm, everyone. Let the security mages deal with this minor issue. You are all perfectly safe in here.”
Several of the parents muttered to each other while the younger students fidgeted in their seats. Dad attempted to restart his speech, but his charm spell had stopped working. People weren’t listening.
More roars and screams came from outside.
I grimaced as a sharp pain stabbed me in the chest. From the bear shifter’s roar, he felt it too.
He leaped from his chair, shoving past Montgomery, who cursed loudly. My father shouted for calm while the muttering grew louder. Something was happening. Something my father hadn’t anticipated.
For the first time all evening, his supercilious smile faded. What the fuck was going on? The school had wards to keep everyone but invited guests out, plus a security team in place, patrolling. If something had broken through, Montgomery’s head would roll.
From the way our esteemed headmaster’s complexion faded to sickly green, he knew it too.
My chest burned as if someone had thrown acid down my throat, and I almost collapsed.
“Get out there, Alaric!” Dad hissed. “Find out what the fuck’s going on!” I noticed he didn’t offer to lead the stampede, rally the mages, or do anything at all proactive.
Instead he moved to the rear of the marquee, where it was safer, and pulled his phone out.
I ran for the exit, but the merman shot past me, his blue braids slapping me in the face.
Fucking asshole. Electricity crackled in my palm, blasting sideways and electrocuting a fox shifter.
He danced like a marionette on elastic strings as smoke rose from the top of his head before falling to the floor in a daze.
Someone screamed, but I ignored them.
Students streamed out of the tent, mostly the larger shifters amped up on adrenaline and booze. A few witches followed them. I saw Kinara, her dress creased and a faint smear of mud on her shapely calf.
She scowled in my direction before turning to face the trees. We both ground to a halt.
“Fuck,” she choked out, her eyes wide.
Three massive hellhounds emerged from a thick pocket of shadow, flames licking their muscular bodies. The middle one roared at us before pawing the ground aggressively.
As much as I despised Kinara and her grasping family, she was powerful. If we worked together, we could send these fuckers back to the demon realm.
I scanned the area, searching for Raven, but saw nothing. The shadows roiled and expanded. Magic sparked from within, and I heard a faint yell followed by a shriek.
It sounded like Zane, but I couldn’t be sure. No matter. He could take care of himself. The hellhounds watched us as if we were their next snack. They were my priority. If they attacked the fleeing students, it would be carnage.
“We need to take them down,” I told Kinara. “Use your fire magic. Attack from the left and I’ll go right.”
She blanched, her hands trembling, but to her credit, she didn’t back away. Maybe the witch wasn’t such a cunt after all. Before I could regret asking her to help me, she kicked off her heels and ran toward the hellhounds, unleashing a vicious firestorm at the beasts.
I swung to the right and fired a lightning bolt at the nearest hound. It squealed as smoke rose from its back. The beast roared in anger before launching at me. I dove under its belly and zapped it again.
Flesh sizzled and burned. The creature desperately tried to swipe at me with vicious claws, but I scrambled out of the way.
On my left, Kinara cast more fire at the hellhound attacking her, followed by a stream of dark and oily magic. Its flesh melted and turned to ash before it collapsed in a pile of smoking bones.
Kinara smirked triumphantly. Dammit. She’d used black magic. If anyone saw her, she’d be arrested. Stupid bitch!
Still, I had to hand it to her. She’d fucking killed a demon. The second hellhound leaped into the air as mine recovered enough to change tactics. It backed off and circled around me, now wary of my lightning bolts.
Kinara cackled in delight as she threw fire and death magic at the hellhound trying desperately to sneak past her. It shuddered and flailed while mine snarled in anger when I scored a direct hit with lightning.
I needed a fucking blade or something. Lightning was only pissing it off. Some death magic would be fucking useful. Only when I turned to glance at Kinara, I soon changed my mind.
Her right arm had turned black and crispy, along with her fingers. The more she called on dark magic, the more it took from her.
“Kinara!” I yelled. “Your arm!” She looked down and gasped in horror. The dying hellhound took advantage of the distraction and lashed out with a paw. Deadly claws ripped across Kinara’s abdomen. The witch screamed in shock and agony.
The other hellhound leaped forward. A fetid, sulfurous stench washed over me as its enormous maw opened, ready to bite my head off. I cast a lightning bolt and watched as the charge landed inside the thing’s mouth.
For a long, interminable second, nothing happened. Then the creature’s eyes widened, and it shuddered. I threw myself sideways as it sparked and buzzed before smoke rose and the scent of roasting meat filled the air. The hellhound dropped like a stone and lay still.
Shaking from adrenaline, I wiped the sweat from my brow and turned to check on Kinara. If we got her to the healer, she’d be okay.
Only she wasn’t okay.
While I’d been fighting for my life, she’d lost hers. I ran across the grass and dropped to my knees. She lay on her back, blood and guts everywhere. The now-dead hellhound had bitten a chunk out of her before it died, and a combination of catastrophic blood loss and overuse of magic had ended her.
The Blake witches were no more. Kinara was Regina’s only daughter, and from what Dad had told me, Regina had very little time left. I tried to summon a spark of pity. Anything at all. But my empathy well had run dry.
With the three hellhounds defeated, I stood and surveyed the scene. The sound of screaming from the quad caught my attention. Students ran in panic as two more demons appeared from the expanding mass of shadows around the trees.
A gigantic bear headed toward them, roaring in fury. I should probably help him. The bond tether tugged me toward the shadows, urging me to help the witch. Only I had no clue where she’d gone.
Maybe the bear would know. Ignoring the voice in my head that advised me to go back indoors where it was safer, I followed him.