Chapter 29
Valen
Suddenly I felt the fire in my chest renewed and the love I felt for Archer well up inside me until it threatened to overflow. He was here, now, protecting me. Though I didn’t have the time to ask, I could only imagine what he’d sacrificed to get away from his parents so quickly. Or what he’d done…
But there would be time to worry about that later.
Right now we needed to stop the Purity Front from destroying more of the school than they already had.
I may have been on my way out as a professor, but that didn’t mean I wanted the Purity Front to get a foot inside the academy again.
Not after what they’d nearly accomplished last time.
In fact, as far as I was concerned, they needed to be snuffed out permanently.
“Watch the tall man over there,” I said, gesturing without taking my eyes off the others in front of me. “He’s been throwing some deadly spells my way.”
“Well, he’s never met the likes of me before,” Archer growled through his teeth. “He doesn’t know what I can do.”
I had to admit, there was something incredibly arousing about seeing Archer’s polite facade slip away to reveal the fierce witch beneath. His blue eyes blazed with determination as he raised his hands, magic crackling between his fingers like miniature lightning.
The tall Purity Front member must have sensed the shift in our dynamic because he turned his attention toward Archer, probably thinking the smaller witch would be an easier target than a pissed off vampire. The poor bastard had no idea what he was in for.
Archer’s lips moved in a quick incantation, his voice carrying that academic precision even in battle, and suddenly the air around us shimmered with heat.
I watched in fascination as the temperature spiked, and then Archer thrust his hands forward with a sharp command in an ancient tongue that made all the hair on my body stand on end.
This wasn’t just any fire magic. This was summoning.
A massive fire elemental materialized between us and our attackers, its form towering nearly nine feet tall and composed entirely of writhing flames.
The creature’s eyes were like molten gold as it turned toward the Purity Front members, and I felt the heat wash over me in waves that would have been uncomfortable if I’d still been human.
“Holy shit,” one of the masked figures breathed, stumbling backward.
The tall one who’d been targeting me raised his battle wand, but Archer was already directing the elemental forward with graceful gestures that reminded me of conducting an orchestra. The fire creature moved with surprising speed, its flaming hands reaching for the nearest attacker.
“Behind you!” I shouted, spinning to parry a strike from another Purity Front member who’d tried to flank us during the distraction.
My blade sang as it met theirs, the familiar weight of steel in my hand grounding me in the chaos.
This was what I’d been practicing for. Combat, protection, and the deadly dance of violence that came as naturally to me as breathing.
But fighting beside Archer, feeling his magic crackling in the air around us, added a dimension I’d never experienced before.
The fire elemental let out a roar that shook the remaining mirrors on the walls, then swept its arm in a wide arc. Three Purity Front members went flying, their clothing singed and smoking as they crashed into the equipment racks. The acrid smell of burned fabric and fear-sweat filled the air.
“We need to get out of here!” the tall one shouted to his remaining companions. “This wasn’t supposed to happen!”
I pressed my advantage, driving forward with a series of quick strikes that forced my opponent back toward the wall. Behind me, I could hear Archer muttering commands to his elemental, keeping the creature focused on the other attackers while staying clear of the flames himself.
“You picked the wrong people to attack,” I snarled at the man trying to skewer me with his silver blade. “And you definitely picked the wrong student to threaten.”
“I think you’ll find it’s you that’s made a miscalculation,” he sneered.
And then, in the blink of an eye, he was gone. I blinked, confused for a split second, my sword cutting through empty air where he’d been standing just a moment before. Teleportation. Of course these bastards would have escape routes planned.
“Valen!” Archer’s voice cracked with panic behind me.
I spun around to see what had him so alarmed, and my blood turned to ice. The tall Purity Front member had reappeared directly behind me, his silver blade already in motion toward my exposed back. I was too close to dodge, and too off-balance from my previous attack to defend properly.
Time seemed to slow as I watched death approach, and all I could think was how unfair it was. I’d finally found love after three centuries of loneliness, only to lose it in the same day to these prejudiced fucks.
But then a figure stepped between us, moving with inhuman speed.
At first I didn’t recognize him. But as his face turned, I realized I knew that face.
It was Archer’s father. The Quinn patriarch had materialized out of thin air, his own blade intercepting the Purity Front member’s strike with a ringing clash of steel on steel.
“I don’t think so,” he growled, his magic flaring around him like a visible aura of power.
The Purity Front member’s eyes went wide behind his mask. “You… but I thought you were—”
“What? One of you?” his laugh was cold and bitter as he drove his attacker back with a series of precise strikes. “Did you really think I’d stoop to your level? That I would allow you to hurt my child or his… companion right in front of me?”
I stood frozen, trying to process what I was seeing. Archer’s father, the man who’d called me a monster just hours ago, who’d threatened to destroy my career and have me arrested, was now fighting to protect me. It made zero sense.
“Father?” Archer’s voice was small and confused, the fire elemental flickering as his concentration wavered.
“Focus on your spell,” Mr. Quinn called over his shoulder without taking his eyes off his opponent. “We can talk after we deal with these terrorists.”
The word ‘terrorists’ took me by surprise. Not Purity Front members, not extremists. Terrorists. And the way he said it, with such venom and disgust, made it clear that whatever Mr. Quinn’s feelings about vampires might be, his hatred for the Purity Front ran much deeper.
The remaining attackers seemed to realize they were outnumbered and outmatched now, especially with Dean Thornfield still throwing spells left and right on the far side of the room.
Two more disappeared in flashes of teleportation magic, leaving only the tall one facing Mr. Quinn and one other who was still trying to dodge Archer’s increasingly aggressive fire elemental.
“This isn’t over,” the tall one snarled, even as Mr. Quinn’s blade found its mark, slicing across his sword arm. “The purification of magical society won’t be stopped by a few race traitors.”
“Try me,” Archer’s father replied coldly, and there was something absolutely terrifying in his voice. “Come after my children again and I’ll show you exactly what a Quinn can do when properly motivated.”
The attacker’s eyes widened, and then he too vanished in a burst of light, leaving behind only the smell of ozone and burned magic.
The last Purity Front member took one look at the fire elemental bearing down on him and apparently decided discretion was the better part of valor. He disappeared as well, leaving us standing in the ruins of the fencing salle.
Archer dismissed his elemental with a gesture, the massive creature dissolving back into harmless flames before winking out entirely. The sudden quiet felt deafening after the chaos of battle.
“Well,” Mr. Quinn said, lowering his sword and turning to face Archer. “Do you believe me now?”
Archer was speechless as I stared at his father, still trying to reconcile this protective father figure with the man who’d dragged his son away in magical chains just hours earlier. “I don’t understand,” I said finally. “Why did you—”
“Save your life?” Mr. Quinn interrupted, raising an eyebrow. “Because despite my personal feelings about your relationship with my son, I’m not about to let Purity Front scum murder people. Especially not my son or someone he cares about.”
Archer stepped closer to me, his eyes never leaving his father’s face. “You knew,” he said slowly, realization dawning. “You knew they were going to attack.”
Mr. Quinn nodded grimly. “I’ve been tracking Purity Front activity for months during all those dinners we go to.
I’ve ingratiated myself among their kind so I know what’s going to happen and how to avoid it.
When the attack happened yesterday, I suspected they might try something bigger.
I came back to make sure you and Amelia were safe. ”
“But this morning you said—” I started.
“This morning I was angry. And I still am,” he barked, cutting me off. His gaze shifted between Archer and me, something like regret flickering across his features. “I may not understand your relationship, and I may not approve of it, but that doesn’t mean I want either of you dead.”
The admission hung in the air between us. This was the same man who’d called me a predator, who’d threatened to destroy my career. And yet he’d just risked his own life to save mine.
“Thank you,” I said quietly, because whatever else had happened between us, he’d just prevented me from being murdered. “I owe you a debt.”
Mr. Quinn studied my face for a long moment. “You don’t owe me anything, Professor Crowe. But perhaps...” He paused, seeming to weigh his words carefully. “Perhaps we could all benefit from a conversation. A real one, without accusations or threats.”