Page 23 of Angel Lost (Fates Academy #3)

Chapter Twenty-three: Lorelei

Reye groans and I rush to her side, undoing the straps as quickly as my fumbling fingers allow. Her eyes flutter open, confusion written all over her face. I drag her up.

“We have to go,” I say, encouraging her onto her feet. “They could wake up any moment!”

I cast a wary glance at the bodies on the floor. If I didn’t kill them…

Reye bats my chest angrily. “Stop. Let me go. You spoiled it!”

She must be disoriented. I take her hand, patting it. “They were hurting you, Reye,” I say gently.

She sinks back into the chair, pulling her sweaty hand away. “It’s for my own good.”

“No! They’ve brainwashed you.”

She starts to laugh. A hollow, mirthless sound.

“I have to do it. To keep my aether,” Reye says. “So he’ll want me.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

She snorts, flinging her head back on the dentist-style chair. “How naive are you?”

I shake my head slowly.

“Look, Aether Lorelei, the gifted bit of Gifted Academy? Well, it’s not so much a gift as forced. Aether is forced into you. And if you want to keep it you need to undergo these…” She hesitates. “…these treatments.”

My jaw drops. “That’s barbaric! Wait, you’re not actually an aether? ”

She snorts. “Look, some students at the academy are naturals, like you, but most are gifted. Some of them, like my brother, only have to undergo treatment once a month or so.” She pushes herself upright with a weariness that belies how much the so-called treatment took it out of her. “My brother only has third-element aether. Me, I’m first. The only gifted first aether. The only first aether, in fact. Plus, I’m half angel, so it’s more…difficult. I do this twice a week. And have done for far longer than you’ve even known you were an aether.” She scowls. “I was so nearly finished for this week. Now I’ll have to start again.”

“Reye, why put yourself through this? Just be happy with how you were born.”

She throws her arms up, staring at me like I’m some very thick child. “I have to be aether for him to want me.”

I pull back from her, aghast. “You’re doing this for some man?”

She buries her face in her hands. “That man is the king. ”

“You want to marry the Angel King?” My own voice rises an octave.

“Who wouldn’t?”

“Me!”

Reye shoots up from the chair with energy I didn’t think she had, clamping a hand over my mouth. “You mustn’t say that! Not here.”

I stare pointedly at the professors on the ground, peeling her hand from my mouth. “Do you really want to marry him?”

“What else am I good for? At least this way my brother is safe.”

“Your brother?”

“He should be in jail. Or dead. If I do this, he gets to live a free life.”

“But you’re trapped?”

“It’s not so bad. I get to go to school like a normal person, just have to put up with this twice a week. Three times this week after your stunt.”

“Sorry.” I close my eyes briefly. “And…what about after the academy?”

Reye fidgets, tension rolling off her in waves. “I don’t know what life as his bride will be like. But I’m allowed two friends as handmaidens, so it can’t be that bad.”

“It sounds bad.”

She glares, then spins and slams a red button on the wall. A siren shrieks. Only seconds later the door bursts open. Angels flood the room, weapons drawn, quickly surrounding Reye, protecting her.

I palm my knife, crouching. “Are you shitting me?”

Reye folds her hands placidly, but her eyes dart like a caged animal. “Just go with it, Aether Lorelei. There’s no other way. Trust me. I’m where I need to be.”

The angels surround me, slowly moving in. I back up, feet crunching on the broken glass, tripping over the outstretched hand of one of the comatose angels. As I stumble, it hits me. There’s no way out of this. They recognize me. And if they didn’t, Reye isn’t going to keep her mouth shut. She’s accepted her lot. I slip my knife back into my robe pocket, slowly holding my hands in the air. The closest angel rushes me. Roughly, he drags my arms behind my back.

“I apologize,” I say, forcing the words out. My eyes catch the gaze of the most senior-looking angel in the room. I look at the floor. I sense more than see them relax.

Beside me Reye pipes up. “Aether Lorelei was never told about this side of the academy. She only started this term.”

“She’s a final-year student,” growls the angel holding my arms tight at my back. He gives my wrist a sharp yank, and I wince.

“Think about it,” Reye presses. “In first year, it takes a whole semester before the naturals are told what happens with the gifted. She saw the correction process without knowing what it was. She thought she was defending me. Defending me the same way you are all doing now. ”

There’s a lot of grumbling and scowling, but eventually I’m marched back to the main campus, deposited in the reception, and instructed to wait for the dean.

The reception hasn’t changed, still all beautiful plants and glossy marble. Tranquil music plays in the background, harmonizing with the water from the fountain. But somehow, it’s no longer calming. Now I know the darker truth behind the academy, it’s like there’s a sinister energy pulsing here too. I close my eyes and hold my breath. There’s no sinister energy, I just didn’t know. I let out the breath and open my eyes. The giant mirror opposite me reflects my pale face. I hold my own gaze. Reye wants to stay here. Reye wants this life. She told me so. If she wants this life, fine. Who am I to stop her? I was only ever good at looking after number one anyway. It’s how I survived.

It’s time to put myself first again.

This time when I see the dean it’s not in her beautiful office but instead in a neutral-toned meeting room. Her face is tight, her expression sour. On the polished wooden desk between us sit three photos. One of each of the professors I knocked out. Her elegant, manicured nail taps each photo in turn. My tongue is dry, stuck against the roof of my mouth, my palms sweaty. I have to play this right.

“Sorry. I’m so, so sorry,” I blurt. “I didn’t understand.”

“And now you do?”

I nod, my head bobbing. “Reye explained. How if she wants to keep her aether that treatment has to happen. She explained afterward. After I attacked the professors.” I hesitate, cringing. Why did I mention that? She clearly knows what happened. I don’t need to draw attention to it.

Davina throws back her head and laughs. I lick my lips.

“My dear aether,” she says between chuckles. “I have to congratulate you. First on your ability to admit to being wrong, to making a mistake, and second on your power to knock out the tutors. ”

I take a sip of the water in the cardboard cup in front of me, watching her over the rim. This doesn’t fit with the tyrant Kai describes.

Davina stands, pushing her chair back, and beckons me to follow her out of the room, down the corridor. “We’re training adults here. When things are kept hidden, secret, they tend to come out in the worst way. This was my fault, Aether Lorelei.”

I stop in my tracks, and she throws me a graceful smile over her shoulder.

“But of course it was. It escaped my attention that you didn’t know there are two types of students here. I assumed Kai would have told you. But he didn’t, did he?”

I shake my head mutely, forcing my feet to follow her.

“Hm. That young man…” She pauses at a plain door just past her office. “Anyway, this is not on him, it’s on me. Let’s start at the beginning? Come, sit, have coffee with me.”

She presses a thumb to the electronic pad and the door slides silently open. “Normally students aren’t allowed in my quarters. I need a spot for me. But you deserve it. It took guts to stand up against something you thought was wrong.”

I trail in behind her. We walk through an elegant hall, a dining room, and out into a stunning high-domed conservatory overflowing with lush greenery. Beyond it a private beach of glistening white sand leads down to the edge of the lake. The area is screened from the rest of the school by dense shrubbery.

We saunter toward a small French table and chairs on the sand, floodlit by a trio of stunning wrought iron lampposts. I glance back uncertainly at the building.

“How did I not notice this? From the water I mean?”

She titters, settling her flowing robes into one of the ornate chairs. “Ah, there’s a little trick to keep it hidden—the ley lines were used to persuade people to look away. If they are determined and know my sanctuary is here, of course they can come, but…it’s enough for a tired headmistress to keep st udents out.” She gestures impatiently at the chair opposite her. “Sit, sit, Aether Lorelei.”

Dean Davina rings a tiny bell and a hada appears almost instantly.

“Will you have a fae wine? I know I suggested coffee but…” She shrugs. “It’s a little late for that, even though you must be exhausted from expending so much energy.”

Ice slithers through my veins. I should be more tired. If I were truly a second aether, I’d be dead on my feet. I feign a yawn. “I think I’m running on adrenaline. I’ll join you, but I may flake after a few sips.”

The dean nods, relaxing back. I have to be more careful. We wait until the hada returns, two beautiful crystal glasses balanced precariously on a silver tray, the glasses nearly half as tall as she is.

I take a small sip of mine.

“As I was saying, your reaction is entirely my fault. I’m sure it was distressing to come across that scene. Let me explain.”

I place the glass down carefully and fold my arms.

“For the first time in history there are two types of aether. The Angel King succeeded in resurrecting a dying breed.” She peers at me over the top of her glass. “You. You are the dying breed. Aethers.”

I nod, biting my tongue. Everyone knows aethers are rare. Beyond Prof. Tenebrae I’d never met another aether until this term.

“We discovered how to instill aether into other supes. Well, some of them.”

Swallowing, I shift in my seat. “Some?”

She looks smug. “Well, this is the interesting bit. It depends on DNA. Full angels can never have aether—much to my brother’s eternal disappointment. But, safe to say some DNA is more susceptible to the insertion of the genome than others. Fae are particularly good candidates, nearly ten whole percent success.”

Which makes a 90 percent fail rate. I frown, taking another sip, and the dean continues .

“It’s why my brother was so keen for my match with Kai’s father. His DNA is an excellent match. That and he is the Fae King. A suitable match.”

So Kai made a good target. Did his dad know about Davina’s obsession? Did Kai have to go through what Reye did?

“So…that’s what was happening to Reye?”

“Aether Reye,” she corrects. Her lips twitch. “No, she had the gene therapy as a baby. But gifted aether needs to be reinforced until ascension to ensure it takes. The earlier it’s inserted and the more it’s reinforced, the better the chances of keeping it.”

I gulp the wine. “But that looked agonizing.”

The dean inclines her head. “Yes. There are some disadvantages.”

“That’s more than a dis—”

“Let me finish,” she says sharply, and I push my wine away with a grimace. I’m annoying her. I can’t afford to do that. “Aether Lorelei, you must understand, the gift of aether is by consent. Our students can always choose to stop their treatment sessions and forfeit the gift.”

My brain stalls out and I can only gape at her. Reye has an impossible choice though. Undergo treatment or fail her brother. And it sounds like she had gene therapy way before she could agree to it…as a baby. What were her parents thinking?

“Consent is key here. Tell me, was Aether Reye pleased that you rescued her?”

I push back on my chair, rocking on the back legs until the dean slaps them to the floor, tutting.

“She was pissed,” I admit.

She smiles triumphantly. “She was angry . I think that tells you what you need to know. Sometimes there isn’t progress without enduring the uncomfortable in life, Aether Lorelei. But it is always a choice. Perhaps you could do with leaning into the uncomfortable more yourself.”

“I’m progressing. ”

The dean inclines her head, swilling wine around her glass before she answers. “Yes, but not quickly enough to graduate this year.”

I fight the impulse to grab her by her stupid robes. “You said knocking the tutors out was impressive.”

She frowns. I shouldn’t have reminded her.

“It was a low-level cunning. Sneaking up like a little thief and blasting from behind. Effective as a one-off. To graduate we need to see more refined use of power. And any more misbehavior I shall consider suspension, or if required, expulsion. I suggest you immerse yourself more thoroughly in what we teach.”

I nod.

“That includes actual immersion, Aether Lorelei. Please join the early morning swims, as well as the meditation, group meals, and extracurriculars. You need to push yourself. You need to decide you want this enough.”

I murmur my agreement, sick at the thought of swimming. Feigning exhaustion, I excuse myself, staging tired, heavy steps until I escape her rooms.

I have to keep my head down. Have to stay out of trouble, do better in class. The dean’s warning was stark. She’ll throw me out, I don’t doubt her. And then? Then I get married off. No, I can’t risk it. Whatever weird and wonderful techniques they have for getting and keeping aether, it’s not my business. It’s consensual. Who am I to decide whether people are making the right choice? It’s their choice.

My stomach knots as I think about Kai’s misgivings toward his stepmom.

How consensual is consensual? Reye was being bribed: her compliance for her brother’s safety.

What if she’s not the only one?