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ChapterTwo
THE ORACLE MUSINGS
Iwonder how universities sent out notifications before Hydra alerts? Imagine you’re just minding your business in class, passing notes like a vintage caveman, when a carrier pigeon drops in to tell you that there’s a hydra, or some other interesting demon, on campus. Can’t relate. Anyway, expect a major commotion today—a series of events will conspire, leading to tragedy for one dear reader and a hopeless infatuation for the other. Stay safe!
P.S. Some of you have tried to outdo me via communication with the Whispering Woods. Let it be known here: the whispers you hear from those woods are rarely ever real.
“This place… is an abomination,”the same sensual voice said. “None of you should be here.”
“Did you do this?” Adam’s voice roared. I could only see the periphery around his massive frame. He let out a deafening howl, making me shiver as the surrounding trees shook.
His wolf was as large and bright as an inferno, and as bulky as a bear. His claws dug into the earth, frame hunched back like he was poised to pounce. Beside him, Xavier’s tawny-brown frame lurched forward, jaw chuffing with threat.
As soon as Adam’s howl ended, he reared back. Quivering and shaking, he looked like he was fighting invisible constriction. Xavier paused mid-step, eyes blown open.
I spotted Lukas’ windswept blonde hair hidden in the shadows to the left. He made eye contact with me and shook his head slowly. Message received.Leave.
The man owning the voice stood ahead. Long, black hair fell over a face cast in darkness. He wore a rich black tunic framed by shadows that swirled and misted around his frame. His eyes were downcast, presumably at something beneath him, but Adam was blocking my view of whatever he was looking at.
Was that the wolf? The one the alert was about?
“What did you do to him?” Lukas asked, defiant, directing the stranger’s attention away. It seemed to work. Almost.
The dark-eyed stranger snapped his fingers, and a plume of silver dust erupted. It shot to the sky, parting in a great explosion of particles. Like delicate snow, it fell, dusting the ground with a pearly powder as white as bone.
The dark-haired one’s black eyes snapped up. One second—that was all. One second to learn that he was pretty, in a way that stopped hearts. Sculptured, from the chiseled cheekbones to the glowing complexion. His face had a legendary beauty, one more often seen in high-fashion models than in everyday civilians. Full, kissable lips, dark, haunted eyes, and a tall, imposing frame.
He was more gorgeous than a painting.
He was more beautiful than the sun.
He whirled toward me in a flurry, cutting off my admiration.
My blood pounded as my view cleared—a blur of dark color shimmered before me. Neck cracking, hair flying back, he flew until we were face to face. His eyes were wholly black, posture rigid, when he hissed, “Silly demon beauty. Whose heart—or shall we say, hearts,” he inclined his head to my companions, “Did you eat this time?”
Demon. Black eyes meant demon, not man. That was what Mom warned me about.Man-shaped demons were some of the most handsome of all, designed to seduce and deceive.
“Eat?” I questioned. “Hearts?” I jumped back, narrowly missing the silver blade he swung at my throat. There was a heavy, dark pain pressing against my mind. It was constricting and too tight, wrapping around every limb of my body, trying to hold me in place.
Was that what the other boys were feeling? Why they were frozen in time, unable to move?
The stranger kept moving me forward, backing me further away from the edge of the clearing. My movements felt as if they were transpiring underwater, weighted by some imaginary force. What kind of dark magic did this demon have?
I needed to strike him before he killed me.
“What kind of demon are you?” I breathed, darting forward. I whacked him with my camera, and he knocked it straight out of my hand. The click sounded.
I grinned.
I got the shot.
Gaksi’s chiming laughter filled my head.“Good thinking, silly girl.”
“A little help, maybe?”
“This is top-tier entertainment, kid. I can’t pause this.”
“Don’t act like you don’t know,gumiho,” the stranger rasped. He rushed forward again. I jumped back. He was fast, but I was faster. Tension passed through his body. Faster than fear, wilder than excitement, he struck again.
