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Chapter One
Nessa
Iflopdownontothe porch seat with a sigh. One that has Azure—one of my fathers—quirking a brow at me. I’m sulking and we both know it. My familiar Unicorn plops down onto my lap with a chirp. Everything that could’ve possibly gone wrong over my first term at the Academy, did. Who can blame me for being just a teensy weensy bit sour about it. That and I met the guys. I suppose they were—orarea positive that came of this year’s first term. I can now officially say that I have three guy friends, woot woot. Well. Guys who I hang out with mostly in a platonic sense, but I am attracted to, and one of which I have kissed.Hmm. I say Confucius to that.Sooo moving on…
Giving Unicorn’s chin a scratch, I tip my head back and stare out at the forest in which our house is situated. TheTérasForestis to outsiders, something to be feared. With its twisted gnarled, dead trees and the everpresent fog, I suppose I can understand why they see it that way. To me though, it’s always been beautiful. Beautiful in a sort of ethereal sort of way.
My thoughts shift back to the guys and Lexi. Guilt slams into me once again, and my fingers clench into loose fists. Lexi. Goddess, it’s my fault she got taken. We got her back, but it doesn’t erase the fact that it happened. Or stop the guilt. Swallowing hard, I shove the emotion away. It’s been two weeks since the incident—as I have mentally dubbed it—and I haven’t seen any of the guys since I woke up in the healers ward a few hours after the attack. The memory washes over me.
The first thing I registered was low masculine voices echoing around me, then a bright light through my eyelids. Wriggling my fingers and toes, consciousness returned slowly. Odd scents swirled around me, herbs, ozone—like magic was used recently—blood, sweat and a number of other confusing things. How did they all fit together? And why wouldn’t my eyes open?
A high pitched whine erupted from me, and my heart thudded in my ears. Where the hell was I? What’s going on? Memories seemed just out of reach and when I started to flail my arms around trying to sit up, someone grabbed me. I let out a mewl this time, sweat beading on my brow as my head throbbed. Why did it hurt?
Before I could struggle anymore, or fully register that the room had erupted into shuffling fabric and thudding feet, a deep rumble had me pausing. My ears pricked and some foreign part of me cocked her head at the sound. The purr. It thickened and became louder, and all at once my mind and body settled. The room was silent beyond that sound and after a few minutes, when I attempted to open my eyes it worked. I winced against the harsh light, my eyelids like sandpaper against my eyeballs. I blinked repeatedly and when my eyes adjusted they clashed with those of Corin, who I realised was responsible for the purring. Scanning the room, I spotted Dylan seated on my other side, and Unicorn was perched on the end of my bed. Judging by the curtains, I must have been in the healers ward.
It was then that my memories finally caught up. The killer. Lexi being taken. Ghost Girl. The fight.
I sat up straight, ignored my throbbing head and forced words past my dry throat. “Where are Lexi and Oscar? Are they okay? Is she okay?”
Dylan leaned forward, his expression gentle—probably the gentlest I’d ever gotten from him. “She’s going to be fine, physically. Oscar is alright as well. He’s with her, since you were—are too injured to be with her right now. Her mates are with her as well.” He paused, those bright blue eyes darted to Corin before he continued. “You can rest. Your parents have been alerted and are on the way. We’ll watch over you.” Corin dipped his head in agreement and I relaxed back, allowing sleep to claim me again.
True to their word they stayed until my fathers got there. Then I was whisked away home to recuperate, only getting a quick goodbye from the guys before I left. The professors and Headmaster were suspiciously hush hush about the whole ordeal. It wasn’t something that occurred to me until afterwards, with the injuries I was sufficiently dazed. Throughout the whole process of alerting them to what had happened, getting taken to the healers, then the school closed as they supposedly called the supernatural police, it was extremely rushed. We were practically shoved out the door and I don’t think they informed my parents about what actually happened.
I bite the inside of my cheek, hand pausing where I’ve been petting Unicorn and making her get up with a sassy huff to flutter to the porch railing instead. Not up for it mentally and dazed from the attack, my parents let me keep my secrets when I first came back home. But I can tell that their restraint in making me tell them what the hell happened is wearing thin. The sulking probably isn’t helping.
I still haven’t been able to see Lexi yet since the attack—which is part of the reason I’m sulking—though we’ve spoken on the phone. She says she needs time and though I’m not exactly happy to give her the space she wants, I’ll do whatever she needs to help her feel better. Even if it pains me to do it. We’ve always been so close and gone to each other when we need comfort or to feel safe, so her pulling away hurts more than I care to admit. It also doesn’t help alleviate any of my guilt over dragging her into the whole cat and mouse game we had going with Ethan either. It’s my fucking fault she got hurt, so I’m going to do whatever she wants of me, whether that means staying away or waiting on her hand and foot.
So I’ve put myself on a self-imposed break from doing anything that even relates to my murder board, or the Drákon group. None of which is helping with my sulkiness and my dads definitely haven’t missed it. So that’s what I’ve been doing for the last two weeks. Diddly, fucking squat.
Who knew that resting could be so painful. I assumed that I wouldn’t mind it because I love books, but I was really wrong. A concussion and reading just don’t go hand in hand—not to mention my broken ribs—which make it impossible to read because I read a book like people watch movies. I roll around, laugh, cry, kick my legs, and fist pump when the character succeeds at something she’s been struggling with. And all manner of other odd body movements that do not work with broken ribs.
A few days after I got back home, my dad Diarmuid caught me in our home gym, practising using my magic and thankfully didn’t ban that activity, though he did dob me in to Morrigan and Azure. They agreed that I’m allowed to practise as much as I want so long as I’m physically staying still and not exerting myself. Every day since then we’ve spent a few hours working on my magic together. They take turns, each having a type of magic that they’re more equipped to help me with. My magic has come in leaps and bounds, as has my control over the past two weeks and I have them to thank for it. They built on everything I’ve been learning at the Academy and it’s such a relief to not be struggling with it for once. Our training sessions have been the highlights of my day for the duration of the holidays so far. It’s something that I’ve never really been able to share with them before. Not in a positive way, because it was always so frustrating to try and get my magic to cooperate.
Though I have been holding back in my sessions with them. I’m not quite sure why exactly. Something about when my magic is interacting with theirs it holds back, like a subconscious thing that I can’t control or hope to understand. I’ve even read through a few books that Azure owns to try and figure out what could be causing it, but haven’t been able to come up with anything. I also believe that’s why I haven’t healed quickly like I usually would, and when my fathers try to show me how to channel my magic into myself it hasn’t worked. It’s strange.
Other than that though, I’ve mostly been stuck on bed rest with nothing to do and too chicken shit to call up the guys to come entertain me. I don’t want to be that annoying girl friend—two separate words, not girlfriend, because I am not that to them, just that annoying friend—that pesters them about coming to hang out with my needy self. I can’t help it though, at the Academy we got so close, and then after the incident it’s like they disappeared, cold fucking turkey. Not even a message here and there, like dammit, one day I had a great circle of friends and the next they just all vanished at once. Or at least that’s what it feels like.
So, I’m sulking. Productive, I know.
“You know, daughter. I never took you to be someone who waited around for a guy to call them.”
I scowl, and groan. “Can’t you just let me be dramatic? And how do you know if this is about a guy? I could be sulking over one of my books sucking.”
Azure peers at me again, setting his book on his lap. Uh-oh, did I just earn myself one of his famous lectures? “It doesn’t suit you, sweetheart, and don’t think we didn’t notice those two young men hovering over you at the Academy. That, plus the sulking means there’s a pretty good chance it’s about a guy.”
I huff, though a slight blush crawls up my cheeks. “What’s this I hear about a guy?” Diarmuid asks, poking his head out the back door. I groan and hide my face, garnering a laugh from both my fathers. What the hell is happening to me?The guys are making me soft.I grumble under my breath and turn my back to them both, but Diarmuid plops down next to me. He pats me on the head, gently. “We’re just playing around, Ness. Didn’t mean to embarrass you.”
I sit up, resigned for this conversation, but I still don’t meet either of their eyes. “So is this about a guy?” Azure prods, his quizzical eyes examining me.
“If he’s done something, I can fix it. Just tell me who and he’s dead,” Diarmuid chips in.
I snort and shake my head. And people wonder how I turned out the way I am. Answer, my fathers.
“What have we spoken about, Diar. Plausible deniability. If we’re planning to kill someone, Nessa doesn’t need to know.”
Diarmuid mutters under his breath and flops back, stretching out in the sun like I was. Morrigan takes that moment to join us and he plops down next to Azure. “Is Nessa finally going to admit to us who she’s been sulking about?” he asks, the question aimed at the other two.
“I’m right here you know and fine, since you’re all so interested,” I growl. “It’s notaguy, it’s three and we’re just friends—uh, sort of. And I’m not sulking because of them, it’s because of everything. They haven’t spoken to me, and Lexi doesn’t want to see me, I just…” I trail off, surprised to find my eyes burning. I try to blink back the tears and go to dart inside, but I’m caught. Diarmuid picks me up like I’m light as a feather and wraps me in a bear hug. The dam bursts.
