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Corin doesn’t respond, simply blinks slowly then the faintest tingle of magic washes over me along with a crackling bonfire scent. “We’re safe,” he says after a few seconds. “I also added an illusion so it looks and sounds like we’re laughing and talking amongst ourselves so it’s less suspicious.”
Oscar doesn’t question it. “There was a faint magical signature on one of the gravestones I passed over there. I didn’t want to draw attention to the fact that I picked up on it so I called you all over here,” Oscar explains.
I suck in a breath, ready to describe the magical signature when something smashes into the side of Corin’s barrier with aBOOM,sending me crashing to the ground with a yelp, the earth shaking beneath me. My head smacks into the ground, the ringing in my ears the last thing I hear before everything goes white.
My awareness snaps back to me almost instantaneously when I regain consciousness and I jolt up into a sitting position, adrenaline buzzing through my veins like I’m connected to a live wire. Even so, as I stumble to my feet it takes a moment for my vision to clear. Blinking away the spots, the first thing I notice is that I’m the only one on my feet, and standing not twenty feet from me is Ethan. In the fucking flesh. My eyes narrow. After nearly two months of not being able to track him down, suddenly he’s just here? Something isn’t adding up.
There’s no time to ponder that though, because as my brain catches up, the realisation that I’m the only one standing fully sinks in. Panic. Real fucking panic has my chest seizing and while keeping Ethan in my sights I drop to my knees and use my newly acquired vampire hearing to check my mens heartbeats. I have the fleeting thought that I’m glad Lexi didn’t come today as I confirm that they’re all breathing, thank the Goddess, then I quickly catalogue their visible injuries. Rage like I’ve only felt a few times in my life floods through me. Dylan’s arm sits at an odd angle, like it’s possibly broken and he’s covered in scrapes. Oscar isn’t much better with bruises fast forming on his visible skin and a large gash on his cheek. It’s Corin that has me worried though, as he has a large cut along his temple and a decent sized lump growing beneath it.
I need to get them to healers and fast, but first I need to deal with the pathetic excuse for a supernatural being that caused this mess.Ethan. I climb to my feet, a serene expression on my face. That dangerous calm, that high pressure situations seem to bring out in me, floats through me and I’m grateful for it. I’m so fucking glad that I’m wired this way, it means I can fuck up the person who hurt my men.
“Ethan,” I greet, voice cold and emotionless.
He blinks at my words, eyebrows twitching for a moment before smoothing out. “Nessa.”
I cock my head to the side, holding his attention as I carefully, and at a painfully slow pace, build a tri layered barrier around my men while simultaneously calling my familiar to me. “It’s great that I finally get to speak with you, I have a lot for you to catch me up on. I have lots of questions,” I say casually and his eyebrows furrow. His lips part as though he’s going to speak, but I cut him off. “Let's start with an easy one, hey? Where have you been getting my ‘gifts’ from?”
Ethan’s lips twist into a snarl. “From all over the Realm, you dumb bitch.”
I ignore his slurs and simply nod at him confirming what I’d already figured out. I take a step closer, and tilt my head. “How have you been getting off of the Academy grounds, I didn’t think anyone could do that?” I ask, twisting my expression into one of confusion like I don’t already know.
He scoffs, shoulders tensing as though he’s getting ready to launch at me. “Personal portals, but you should know this. I really thought I was facing a better opponent than this,” he says, appearing genuinely confused.
I don’t trust it though, I don’t trust anything abouthim. Deciding to push him a little more, I give him a slow blink, the barrier behind me now complete. “Why did all the gifts you left me, resemble something from me when I was a child? I don’t understand. Why leave the doll? What was the purpose of any of that?”
He laughs, but it’s a broken sound. “Are you serious?” His eyes narrow on me, overgrown hair dangling in his eyes as he watches me.
I dip my head in a nod and he shakes his head, face incredulous. Then his eyebrows draw low over his eyes, jaw clenching as his expression morphs into one of anger. “I did all of it, because it’syourfault! It’s your fault that she’s dead. Yet, you got to live. No, no, no, not any more. You deserve to die the way she did. You deserve it fuckingall.” Then he’s lunging at me, a wave of magic spraying from his fingertips wildly. I vaguely notice that Aurora is hovering in her ghostly form along the edge of the graveyard, but I don’t allow myself to linger on that.
I dart and spin out of the way and growl at him, my anger and frustration from the last two terms compiling until I’m practically spitting mad. “Let’s pretend all that shit you spouted was true, how the hell could you hurt Lexi like that? She was your friend back then too, she was Anna’s friend,” I yell, ignoring the way hearing Anna’s name seems to turn him feral and he goes to leap at me again only to falter when I start taking measured steps towards him instead.
All of the sudden he doesn’t look so confident. I can’t focus on that though, not while a red haze is descending over my vision. All I can see in my mind's eye are snapshots of Lexi after she was taken by him, all the ‘gifts’ he’s been leaving me and all the supernatural’s he’s hurt. My men hurt behind me. The telltale sound of wings has a smile tipping my lips. “Unicorn, look after them, please,” I instruct her, then promptly shove her into my bubble of protection with them. I’ll probably pay for that later, but who the hell cares.My men are safe so I can play.
I let out a breath, exhaling all my inhibitions simultaneously.It’s time to fuck some shit up.
This time when I advance on Ethan he comes to his senses and starts launching magic at me. Mine has been buzzing under my skin since I woke up on the ground, so I’m ready and manage to deflect all his attacks without much of an effort. After about the tenth deflection a new problem becomes apparent.I’m starving. My lips part and my vision starts flickering, a literal red haze descending over my vision. I run my tongue over my sharpened teeth and Ethan stiffens.
“You didn’t answer my questions,” I say, voice gravelly.
He gets a crazed glint in his eyes and brings his hands together over his head, conjuring agiantfucking fireball. I release a breath of annoyance and tap into my enhanced speed to dart around it and launch right at him, claws extended to the extra, slightly curved length that my vampire side offers me. He tries to throw himself out of the way but he’s not quick enough and I take him to the ground. I end up straddling his waist and his head thwacks into the ground so hard I’m surprised it doesn’t crack open like a watermelon. Hmm, wouldn’t that be a site to see?
I grab his wrists and shove them to the ground using a rune to shackle them to the ground, then do the same with his ankles. With him trapped, my hands go directly to his temples and I dive into his mind. I’m going to put him through what he’s put me and my family through and then some, plus gather some more information on his bosses.
I take a stroll through his fears—carefully avoiding the ones with Anna—until I find a few good ones then lock onto them. Pulling back out, I throw up another barrier around us so no one can get to us, then use Aurora’s powers to summon the school healers to the guys. Unicorn can let them and only them through the barrier and I trust her to keep my guys safe.
Ethan is unconscious. “We can’t have that now, can we?” I mutter, and summon a large ball of ice cold water over his head then dump it on him. It works like a charm in waking him up. His eyes spring open as he coughs and gags on the water. After a few seconds I cut it off and he stares up at me with panicked eyes. “Hello, Ethan,” I purr. “Are you ready to answer my questions now?”
His nostrils flare and he shakes his head, spewing half a dozen insults at me making my eyes narrow in irritation.Clearly he needs something else to do with his mouth.Screaming should work.I nod decisively and bring forth one of those nightmares of his.
Suddenly we’re smothered in complete darkness and utter silence. The only sound is our breathing, one ragged and slightly panicked and the other deep and slow. A grin curls my lips when Ethan begins to tremble underneath me. I’m guessing he’s just realised we’re not alone in here. Then the screaming starts. I tip my head back and laugh. I guess the spiders have made contact.
Ethan struggles beneath me, my magic keeping him pinned to the ground, his body writhing like he’s being electrocuted and I get to my feet to observe him from above. My enhanced eyesight allows me to see his outline even with the lack of light, while the hundreds of eight-legged creatures climb all over him. I cock my head at the panic on his face, nose crinkling as a particularly large one climbs into his mouth, muffling his screams. He starts to gag and I lean back on my heels, a smile playing on my lips. “Are you ready to talk now?” I inquire, unbothered either way. His fear is quite pleasant, the buzz of energy it’s giving me, refreshing.
He mumbles around the spider, eyes wide and bloodshot. Whoops, I didn’t think about that. I click my fingers to make it disappear and he pants for a second, still twitching at the small bodies creeping over him before he spits out, “Yes. Yes, please. I’m ready to talk.”
I draw the spiders back to me but keep them by my feet, ready to return them to him if I need to. Ethan practically melts into the ground and a little thrill goes through me at how uncomfortable he was. “Go on then.” My voice is deep with my anger at his actions and he shudders.
“I-I went after Lexi because I wanted to get back at you…and her,” he stutters out.
