Wicked Heirs (Electi Academy #1)

26. ~Alena~

26

~Alena~

I hadn’t wanted to come here to Electi Academy.

In fact, I’d hated the very notion of it.

The rules and restrictions, sure.

But mostly being forced to delve into my true supernatural heritage and accept it.

It had seemed like the worst thing at the time.

So much had changed in a few months.

Because it truly had proven to actually be the best thing.

For so many reasons.

I’d become comfortable with my magic and abilities.

I’d come a long way in accepting that about myself and learning to deal with the fear associated with my power and the darkness it could invite.

One of the most amazing reasons it had been the best thing was the relationships I’d come to develop here.

Xavier Sabre.

Orpheus Hart.

Talon Creed.

They’d changed so much for me.

And they’d come to mean so much to me as well.

I actually couldn’t imagine not having met them.

I couldn’t imagine being without them.

And I knew it was the same for them when it came to me.

They made sure to show it to me each and every single day.

I couldn’t believe it, but for the first time ever I actually felt like I belonged somewhere.

I smiled to myself as I made my way through the forest on campus toward our usual spot. I was running a little late because my last class had gone on for an extra twenty minutes.

As I reached the clearing and saw Talon and Xavier chatting it up lounging on some rocks, that rush of adoration and excitement that I always got whenever I saw them after being apart for just a couple of hours betook me, and I was smiling from ear-to-ear and damn near skipping over to them.

They spun and met me halfway, then each of them kissed either cheek, and I wrapped my arms around them, holding them to me for a moment.

“How was your Weaponry and Warfare class? Marlowe tends to run them long,” Xavier asked as we eased apart.

“Yeah, he made me late to meet my men.”

Both their eyes lit up.

“Your men, huh?” Talon said, in his usual lovable eager way.

“I adore it,” Xavier spoke.

“Me fucking too,” Talon added.

I chuckled, then scanned the area for Orpheus, for any sign of a coming approach. “So, I guess we all got the same text message from our Dark Fae Prince to meet here then.”

“He mind-linked us,” Talon told me.

I frowned. “Why not me?”

“He was probably worried about you seeing it as a violation. After the dream thing? Also, because we’ve been doing it for years, but the first time doing it with you, he needs to give you a warning and test it in your presence,” Xavier said. “It’s proper mind-linking etiquette, but it can also hurt and cause some damage if it’s not done carefully the first time.”

Talon smiled. “Not long ago, he wouldn’t have given a shit about any of that. See how much you being in our lives has shifted things, firecracker?”

My cheeks heated. “I don’t know about that.”

“Nah, I do. You’ve softened him, brought out things in him. The same for me and X. In the best ways, Alena.”

“Well, it works both ways.”

“Is that so?” Xavier asked in his flirty tone.

“I’m dying to hear this,” Talon said, bringing out his playfulness that I loved just as much as Xavier’s flirting.

I took Talon’s hand, then Xavier’s, my gaze burning into theirs.

And then the words spilled from me freely, like they desperately wanted to be heard, “You make me feel alive and free, yet safe and adored at the same time. I finally belong somewhere because of the three of you and it means everything to me.”

They stared at me awestruck for several moments.

“Damn,” Talon then managed to utter.

“We’re right there with you, beautiful.”

“Right fucking there,” Talon added earnestly.

They wrapped their arms around me tightly, nuzzling against me, and showing me just how much that rang true.

I breathed them in and held them to me.

When we finally pulled away, I asked, “Did Orpheus tell you why we needed to meet out here in the middle of the night? It’s not a date or an Obsidian event, so it’s a little odd, isn’t it?”

“Odd? Definitely,” Talon agreed.

“Yeah,” Xavier said. “It’s never a good thing when Orpheus is being cryptic.”

“Things can’t have gone well with his father then,” I determined.

“That doesn’t even begin to cover it.”

We spun at the sound of Orpheus’ voice.

The grave look on his face sent a shudder through me.

His next words really didn’t help matters either.

“We have a serious problem.”

“He wanted you to do what?” Xavier basically yelled, the fierceness in his voice echoing viciously through the still night.

“Fuck me, your old man is like a cautionary tale for what you could have become if you hadn’t gotten your act together because of Alena coming into our lives,” Talon said.

“I know,” Orpheus responded heavily. “That became apparent when we were discussing this.” He looked out at me. “And you, little angel.”

“Me? In more than the delve-into-her-mind-against-her-will thing?”

He grimaced, not liking that one bit.

That was a good sign.

I was aware from some things Xavier and Talon had let slip once in a while that Saryan Hart possessed major influence over Orpheus.

They’d had a close relationship all his life until the Cataclysm.

While I wanted to believe that he wouldn’t let that lead to him doing something awful like his dad had wanted him to do to me, it was still a possibility, and I’d be a lovesick fool not to consider it.

I might be enamored with the guys, but I still had a sense of self-preservation, and I still had my wits about me.

“He was made aware that you’re important to me.”

“Shit, and he just accepted that?” Tal asked.

“He already knew. But he also recognizes that Alena isn’t her mother.”

“Or, maybe he was just telling you what you needed to hear so he could use your closeness with Alena to mind-rape her like he wants.” Xavier pointed out.

“That’s also a possibility.” He reached out and cupped my face. “I won’t do that. You have my word. It’s not happening.”

“Damn fucking straight it’s not,” Xavier seethed.

“Even if it did happen, I don’t know anything about the location of this Vitalium.”

“For the record, neither do I,” Xavier told us. “So if either of our parents has it, it’s so covert, only the two of them know about it.”

“Yeah, your dad tells you a shitload, wanting you to be a part of everything and fully immersed in his world,” Talon pointed out. “Well, until you pulled away after you were turned.”

“It’s not just about searching your memories, even repressed ones, which it’s likely are there given the traumatic nature of what happened around the time when the Vitalium was created,” Orpheus spoke. “There’s also influencing you to investigate.”

“What?” How?” I asked.

“Having you tell your mother that there’s been a lot of talk here at Electi Academy about Constantine Vale and that it’s triggered you and made your trauma when it comes to him all too fresh. You’d express your need to her to have closure, to see for yourself the thing that’s keeping him imprisoned in Spiritus. And that’s when we’d get the location for my father to move on.”

“Ore, that’s extremely detailed for a random example,” Xavier said, his eyes lit with a whole lot of suspicion.

Orpheus held up his hands as we all gave him the same look.

“It was my father’s plan, that’s why it’s detailed. I already told you I’m not following through with it.” He looked at me. “I wouldn’t do that to you. Entering your dream was bad enough, and I apologize for that.”

“Whoa,” Talon exclaimed. “Apologizing? That’s major for you.”

“So long as you mean it,” Xavier added.

“Fuck, you really need that from me? For me to prove myself?”

“When it comes to this, absolutely. It’s Saryan we’re talking about. He has power over you. Hell, he’s the only being alive who does, who ever has.”

“Wrong.” Glaring at Xavier for questioning him and calling his integrity and promises into question, he gestured at me. “Now there’s also her.”

“What?” I choked. I really had that much of an impact on him, to that incredible extent?

He didn’t address it, busy facing off with Xavier as they stood glaring at each other in front of me and Talon, the latter who was at my left side and gently rubbing my arm in a soothing way. I could see his urge to intervene, but something stopped him, and he left the two of them to it. He was clearly torn between moving to defend Orpheus as had been their way for years, and protecting me.

I grimaced, not liking him being put in that position.

“You want proof, baby vamp? I’ll give you proof. But it won’t be pretty.”

“What proof could you possibly give? The only way to ensure you don’t use your allure on Alena to such an invasive extent is to keep her away from you using a formidable ward. Or, sending you back to the Dark Fae Realm until all this is over.”

“Keeping us apart?” His eyes narrowed. “Not fucking happening.”

“That’s a bit extreme,” Talon spoke.

“So is Saryan’s plan,” Xavier countered.

It had Talon nodding and stopping his defense when it had barely got started. “Yeah.”

“Like I said, I’ll provide proof, so there’s no need for that. Not that I’d allow it either way. There’s a spell to protect a target against a Dark Fae’s mind manipulation.” He shoved his hands into the pockets of his silver and black blazer. “But it’s painful for the target.” His gaze flicked to me. “It essentially burns a permanent mark into your skin to guard against mind meddling from any Dark Fae being.”

“Shit,” Talon uttered. “How painful are we talking exactly?”

“That’s bad enough without you also marking her permanently, Orpheus,” Xavier said.

“It’s the only way to protect her against this. I’ll have to add a little of my blood into the spell too, because the mark can be removed by anyone stronger than me. With guarding against Dark Fae influence, the only being stronger than me is my father, but with the blood magic the spell with be imbued with, given our blood link, it will bypass that and prevent him from being able to do so—a workaround, if you will.” He looked at Xavier pointedly. “Also, I won’t be able to perform the spell, given that it’s to prevent Dark Fae influence.”

“You’re kidding? You realize what you’re asking me?”

“Your magic has stabilized ever since you ingested her angel blood. And you’ve continued to do so whenever we’ve fucked.”

“I meant asking me to hurt her. But while we’re on that, I still haven’t performed any advanced spells in three years, ever since I was turned.”

“Then you’d better get your shit together,” Orpheus bit back. “The time for holding back is well and truly over. Constantine’s acolytes are out there and actively searching for a way to free the fucker. This is the big-time, the very thing Obsidian has prepared for. You can’t balk now. In fact, you need to step up, and this spell will be your first test.”

Talon pulled from me and rubbed his bright-orange hair all over, cursing, and in clear distress about this whole thing.

Orpheus told me, “You too, little angel. It’s on now.” He eyed me pointedly. “My father needs to be stopped before things spiral completely out of control. But I can’t take him alone.”

I’d been quiet all this time, absorbing everything, taking in all the details, and trying to put the big picture together too.

“You want the two of us to head Saryan off before he crosses paths with the acolytes, let alone Elliot Sabre and my mom.”

“Precisely.”

“That’s going to take a shit-ton of power,” Talon stated. “Especially if we drop in when he’s already located the acolytes.”

“Hence me needing someone of Alena’s magical potential beside me. There’s also the fact that my father either knows the whereabouts or already has access to a Hellborn. ”

Xavier’s eyes wet wide and he tensed majorly. “Tell me that’s a gross exaggeration, Ore.”

“I wish I could. The way he was talking, it’s reality.”

“Being in possession of such a dangerous magical object, one possessing so much power, is a violation of the supernatural law enforced by Exemplar.”

“That’s how desperate and paranoid he is. He has no faith left in them, worse than even before, so he’s trying to handle it on his own. I can’t allow it. The fallout for him and everyone else is unimaginable if he fails. Even if he succeeds he could still face arrest or a great deal more… he’d be ruined. Not just temporarily this time like before either.”

“What about reporting this to Exemplar? ” I suggested. “Omitting the part about his involvement and just informing them that the acolytes have resurfaced and that they’re searching for a Hellborn and the Vitalium?”

“For one, given that the source is his spy network, Exemplar would never take it seriously. They don’t accept intel from the Dark Fae King after the events of the Cataclysm. And if it came from us—specifically you as the daughter of Abigail Rose—it would take away our chance to head him off and destroy the Vitalium ourselves.”

“That wasn’t on the table,” Xavier said.

“I was getting to it,” Orpheus bit back.

“Destroying the jar would kill Constantine.”

“Exactly. The end to all our problems. The threat finally annihilated as it should have been three years ago.”

“Instead of just putting the fucker in a timeout,” Talon seethed.

“It’s more than a time out, firebird.”

“Semantics,” he rebutted, his harshness coming through because of what that maniac had done to his parents, what he’d taken from him that night.

“ Obsidian was created to—” Orpheus started.

“It was created to defend against the likes of him, so we wouldn’t all be helpless should an attack come like last time. Not to murder, Orpheus,” Xavier pointed out.

Orpheus slammed his fist into the trunk of a nearby tree. “There’s no other solution than death for that psychopath! There never has been!”

“We’re not gods!”

“No, we’re Constantine’s victims! Do you want more of that? Is that it?”

“Is this about protection or vengeance, Dark Prince?”

“They’re not mutually exclusive.”

“They need to be when the stakes are this high.”

I stepped forward between the two of them as things reached fever pitch. “He’s right, sweet thing.”

“What? You’re actually on board with murdering someone?”

“Constantine Vale isn’t just someone. He’s an irredeemable monster, a supreme threat to every single being in the supernatural world and beyond.”

He cursed and started shaking his head. “No, this is Orpheus. His bullshit infecting you.”

“You really think I’d allow something like that when it comes to this sort of subject matter? I can think for myself.”

“I’d normally agree, but you underestimate the way he can twist somebody up.”

“Oh, fuck off, baby vamp.”

“No, you fuck the hell off. Look what you’ve done to her.”

“Clearly something you can’t accept about her.”

“That’s not—” Xavier took me in, his words to deny Orpheus’ claim getting caught in his throat.

And in that moment, I registered it.

The way he saw me had shifted.

Knowing I was on the same page as Orpheus when it came to something of this magnitude, of this darkness , it didn’t sit well with him. And he sure as hell didn’t like it.

“This is not happening.”

“It needs to, X,” Talon spoke up. “It really needs to.”

“Sometimes there’s no right way, there’s just a way,” I said.

Xavier stared at me. “You’re worried about your potential for darkness? You do this and you’ll be heading down that track.”

“Bullshit,” Orpheus seethed. “And you gave me shit beforehand for getting inside her head.” He waved his hand dismissively, telling me. “It’s not true, he’s just reaching.”

Xavier threw up his hands and stepped back. “I’m out.”

“What?” I asked. “No.”

“Yeah, I am. I’ll do the spell to protect you, but the rest I’m not on board with.”

Orpheus cursed, then told me, “Are you ready for this? I have to reiterate that it will hurt, little angel.”

“It is what it is. I’ll handle it.”

“Okay,” he said, soberly. “He eyed Xavier. “Get out your frustrations, then I’ll instruct you on the intricacies involved in the spell.”

“Fine,” Xavier muttered.

“I need you to create a shield of phoenix fire around her. I’ll be just outside it holding up a ward as a second front should she involuntarily release her magic in response to the pain,” Orpheus told Talon as the two of them stood either side of me.

Xavier was a few feet away in front of me, pacing back and forth and memorizing the spell Orpheus had typed onto his phone for him. He’d given Xavier his blood to ingest in order to see to the blood link aspect of the spell.

Everything was in place.

We just needed Xavier to be ready to carry it out now.

Fortunately, we didn’t have to wait long, as he stormed over, muttering, “All right, let’s get this over with.” He shoved his phone into the back pocket of his jeans, then took my right wrist and sucked in a steadying breath. “Brace yourself.”

Talon erected his phoenix fire and I saw a flash of purple flames belonging to Orpheus too, just before Xavier started the spell, the incantation sounding out eerily through the dark forest.

For a few seconds, I felt a numbness at the sight he was touching of my wrist.

His voice grew in vehemence, Latin words and phrases tumbling from him like the experienced sorcerer that he truly was, his confidence and love for it unleashing so beautifully, something I hadn’t really seen from him before, and had only heard about.

And then it happened.

The thing Orpheus had warned me about.

The pain.

It was absolutely searing.

I gritted my teeth as I watched a symbol being very slowly drawn into my flesh with Xavier’s cobalt-blue magic.

It was like a cross between a tattoo and a third-degree burn.

Like it was stabbing into my skin and melting it at the same time at that specific site.

I gritted my teeth to keep from screaming and I sank to my knees, digging the nails of my free hand into the ground. Xavier moved with me, crouching down in front of me, and I saw him hesitate on continuing with the spell. Despite how upset he was with me, he hated seeing me hurting in any way.

“No,” I choked out. “Keep… going.”

He grimaced, but nodded, and continued.

I squeezed my eyes shut.

It was no use.

I couldn’t hold back my cries and then I was screaming out into the night.

My eardrums were ringing.

Pain was all that I was.

My body was shuddering.

All I could smell was my burning flesh.

And then it was gone.

The agony dissipated.

The incantation stopped.

Xavier released my wrist.

I opened my eyes to find all three of them crouched around me.

Xavier sank his fingers into my hair and stroked comfortingly. “It’s over.”

“It’s okay now,” Talon said, wrapping his arm around my shoulders.

Orpheus carefully took my wrist, examining the mark now there.

A red-raw three-inch jagged circle with a thick line through it.

“It’s done.” He looked at Xavier. “You did well. I’m impressed.”

Xavier pulled away from me and the guys. “If only that was the end of it.”

“If only it could be, you stubborn fucking fool,” Orpheus shot back.

“Lock it up,” Talon told them. “Let’s get Alena back to her chambers. She just went through some nasty shit.” He helped me to my feet, then wrapped his arm around me, guiding me back through the forest as Xavier and Orpheus trailed just behind. “Do you want me to fly you back?” he asked, obviously noticing that I was staggering a little in my step.

I nodded. “That would be nice.”

“I’ll just teleport her if she’s too weak right now,” Orpheus said.

“I’ve got it,” Talon bit back at him.

“What’s wrong?”

“You two! You and X battling back and forth! Enough for tonight, all right? Fucking enough. Can’t you tell that Alena’s at her wit’s end with it too? No, of course not, you’re too busy going at each other. Well, fuck that, the two of us are done with you both tonight. I’ll stay with her, make sure she’s okay through the night. The two of you, cool the hell down.”

Their stunned expressions were the last thing we saw before Talon suddenly called his wings, unfurled them, then took hold of me and soared us into the sky.

He was right, I could do with a break from them, from it all.

Tonight had been a lot.

None of it good.

I just needed to take a beat.

I feared it would be my last real chance in a long time with what was coming.