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Summer

I brush my fingers over my slinky silk dress, the black stark against my pale skin. Connor stands from the bed, and I lock eyes with him in the mirror as he walks up behind me. He kisses my shoulder and gives me a satisfied grin before disappearing into the bathroom.

There’s a loud bang through the wall from Alice’s room, and I sigh, shooting a glare at it. Connor emerges a few minutes later and pulls some clothes from his backpack. He slips into his pants but leaves them unbuttoned as he pulls on his shirt. I lick my lips and walk over to him, sliding my fingers over his stomach before working the buttons closed on his jeans. Thanks to my heels, the top of my head comes to his nose, but he still smirks when I have to lift my chin to lock eyes with him.

“Still a big guy.” I brush my lips against his jaw.

He wraps his arms around my back. “There are only a few people at this school taller than me. Mostly professors.”

I bite his jaw. I’ve always been into big, muscular guys, but there is something magnetic about Connor that drives me wild. It’s an energy he permeates, a golden wave of kindness, loyalty, protectiveness, and confidence. He is the complete opposite of Torin.

That kind of soul-deep goodness is something I will never possess. He is something I can never be.

“My dad is taller, though,” Connor continues, brushing his fingers down my back. His touch easily mutes the voice in my mind that whispers such harsh truths. He is the only one who can do that. I don’t know why, but he is able to quiet and calm the unceasing noise of anxieties and doubts that echo in my head. Since the moment I stepped through the gates of Avalon, I have struggled to free myself from the chrysalis I hadn’t realized I had wrapped around myself. I’d buried myself so deeply in it that I barely remember who I was before. With every day that passes, I am pulling myself from the hardened casing of trauma and pain, and the feeling of vulnerability is terrifying.

“Summer!” Zane shouts, pounding on the door. “We need your conjuring abilities!”

Connor’s lips pull into a smile as he calls back, “What’s wrong with yours?”

There’s no reply for a moment, and then he slams his fist against my bedroom door again. “Summer!”

I laugh and kiss Connor once more before leaving my room to face whatever carnage is going on next door.

It turns out they only needed some cups and couches, and although I hate to admit it, given how horribly it could have gone, the room looks pretty good. Partygoers flood into the space, filling the hall to the brim. Music, alcohol, and recreational drugs are out in force. The dorm looks normal until you pass through Alice’s door, and then chaos reigns.

“Want a drink, babe?” Connor asks, cupping my elbow. His breath tickles my ear as he leans in to be heard. It is blaringly loud in here, but I know there is no danger of it being heard outside the room. The silencing runes I decorated the walls with continue to throb in time with the rhythm of the music, containing the sound and adding to the ambiance..

I nod and smile up at him before softly pressing my lips to his. I watch him walk away, my stomach twisting. It was such a familiar and easy kiss. It was the kiss of a couple comfortable within their relationship, with a solid foundation to stand on, not one plagued with insecurities and doubts.

When Connor returns, he is followed by a group of his friends. He hands me my drink and kisses me again before going back to his conversation with a vampire senior I kind of recognize.

“So you’re the infamous Summer?” a small woman asks.

Her black hair looks like liquid silk, and her bright green eyes are jewel-bright. As she tilts her head to look up at me, I catch a flash of spattering embers licking along her lips. The effect is dangerously mesmerizing, and I realize what she is.

This woman is one of the Calamities. She can become a giant black dog and breathe fire from her mouth. Unlike shifters, it isn’t an animal spirit possessing them, but rather a powerful creature pretending to be mortal. The human form is nothing more than a mimicry. They are beings capable of great and devastating destruction, yet no one seems to treat them any differently here.

I keep a kind smile on my face, feeling like a politician’s wife schmoozing the crowd. If I stay with Connor, will this be my future?

“Infamous?”

“Our president hasn’t shut up about you for weeks.” She laughs, the sound like the burble of water over smooth stone. “My name is Yvette, and this is Josie,” she says, motioning to the woman beside her. I’m surprised I didn’t notice her sooner. With her ghostly pale skin and shock of white hair, she should be difficult to overlook. Josie smiles at me, and I notice the thick black stitches marring the perfection of her lips. Miniscule ghostly runes glow on the thread, keeping her mouth sewn shut. The haunting intensity of her eyes captures my gaze, and I feel as if she is peering into my soul.

Connor brushes his lips over my temple, distracting me. “They talking your ear off?” he asks, smiling at the three of us.

I glance up at him as Yvette and Josie step away, pulled into another conversation. “Just telling me how obsessed with me you are.”

“Well, you already knew that.” He chuckles, pulling me against his side.

I glance back at the ghostly girl. She looks even more haunted now as she listens intently to a gorgeous brunette talking animatedly about something. Is she haunted or… forlorn?

“What’s her deal?” I ask Connor, nodding toward Josie.

He follows my gaze. “Oh, she’s a banshee. If she speaks, she foretells death and wails. It’s supposed to be horrifying.” He frowns slightly. “Apparently, their parents sew their mouths shut like that when they are babies.”

I look back at her, but she seems more at ease now, standing with other friends and nodding along with the conversation. Foretell death? And I thought I was cursed.

Alice and the twins suddenly appear with more shots, interrupting our conversation. We each down a few to toast the success of our first dorm party before Connor pulls me onto the dance floor.

“Hi, my big guy,” I say, the alcohol simmering in my veins, lowering my inhibitions. The room seems to spin and sway, but in a pleasant way, making me feel like I am floating. Connor’s large body keeps me steady as we dance to the pounding music, his strong arms keeping me safe. “You’re so sexy…”

“Not as sexy as you,” Connor groans against my lips, his hands cupping my ass.

“I like you.” The admission slips out of me, but my tequila-addled brain likes how the words sound. They don’t scare me as much as they should, and the way Connor’s face lights up makes them worth it. It is so easy to make him happy.

“I like you too. Very much.”

The room melts away, and my eyes trace his features, memorizing him. “You’ve given so much attention to others tonight. Are you trying to make me jealous?”

“My eyes never left you.” Connor bends a little and locks his arms under my ass, picking me up. When he stands, I am above him, looking down at his upturned face. I brace my hands on his shoulders and he smiles up at me. “You want to stay or go?”

I look around, but the room spins. Chaos is happening all around us, and I think I see the twins riding something that vaguely looks like a dinosaur. Surely that can’t be. I have probably just had too much to drink, and it is proof we should go. I smile down at him again. “Let’s go.”

Connor carries me to my room and falls back onto my bed, so I’m straddling him. I smother his face in kisses and nuzzle his nose with mine. He’s just so Connor . Ugh. His stupid face, his stupid Connor face.

“I love this.” Connor grins, glowing.

“What?”

“The affection.”

“Don’t get used to this, big guy,” I say firmly but lean down again, nipping lightly at his lips. I sit up, resting my butt at the top of his thighs, and demand, “Show me your wings.”

Connor chuckles but lifts his shoulders and upper back off the bed. I get distracted for a moment by the strong flex of his abs, but only until his wings burst from his back. I gasp and plunge my fingers into them, desperate to touch such beauty. The downy, soft feathers beneath the strong outer layer caress my fingertips, and I drape myself over his chest, curling into him. His body is the hardest pillow, but this is the most comfortable I’ve ever been. Suddenly, exhaustion hits me. I suck on his neck, pulling a groan from him.

“My big guy.”

“My succubus.”

I nuzzle into his neck and everything goes black.

Sunlight streams through my window, and I frown at how hard my mattress is. I poke the pillow, trying to make it softer, but I am hit with the scent of clouds. I slowly open my eyes. My head pounds, the light piercing and the hangover sitting heavily on me. My body rises rhythmically with Connor’s soft, deep breaths. Normally, I would find it soothing, but my stomach is not a fan at the moment. Carefully I climb out of bed, trying not to jostle him, but he continues to sleep like the dead. I stand beside the bed and stare at him. There’s something almost comical about this over-the-top masculine figure sprawled out on top of my pink floral sheets. Then it hits me.

There is a man in my bed. A man I slept with. Oh, gods… What have I done?

I shove off my dress from last night, quickly pulling on yoga pants and a sports bra. I’m yanking my hair into a high ponytail as I step over people passed out on the floor of our dorm, and I am out of Kelpie within moments.

The second I’m outside and running, I start to feel better. The familiar burn in my lungs is the most comforting feeling in the world. It even eases the lingering symptoms of my hangover, though seeing Connor in my bed has more than sobered me up. I push the image from my mind and run, barely considering my route. Usually, I go between the campus and the forest, taking different paths depending on my mood. Today, I’m concentrating less on the direction and more on the toll on my body. I push myself, allowing the discomfort to distract me.

Music blasts in my ears, drowning out my gasps for breath when I finally drop into a quick walk to take a break. I wasn’t aware that I had entered the forest, so intent on outrunning my thoughts that I didn’t bother to notice.

It’s a foggy day, the thick mist between the trees gray and oppressive. Now that I am focused outside myself, I can sense those malevolent eyes on me again. I slow my pace and pull my earbuds out. I peer into the shadows, trying to find the source and instinctively knowing that is where it will be. The gaze is angrier this time, more dangerous, and I don’t know how long it has been on me. I want to run, but my legs are like lead, and my body is nearly vibrating as adrenaline floods my system.

A powerful wind slams into me, making me stumble. A phantom foot kicks me in the chest, and my lungs seize as all the air is forced from them. The invisible attack is all I need to make the decision between fight and flight. My body bursts into motion, and I take off in the other direction. I pant as I sprint toward the mouth of the forest. I refuse to look back, but I can feel the eyes still on me. The presence is not retreating but following me, maintaining the same speed and distance behind me. It’s toying with me.

Behind me, I hear a twig snap and leaves rustle. When the fog thins at the forest’s edge, I finally risk a look behind me. Nothing. There is nothing there, but I don’t stop running until I slam into a wall of muscle. Large hands wrap around my arms, steadying me, and I look up to see Rafe’s usually angry expression set into one of concern.

“Summer?” He shakes me a little. “Are you okay? What’s wrong?”

With his hands on me, I’m aware of how violently I’m shaking. My lungs burn as I try to pull in oxygen, but I can’t seem to get enough. Terror courses through me, and I just stare up at him.

Rafe’s eyes flick over my shoulder, and a fresh wave of panic washes over me. I wait for his expression to turn to terror, readying myself to run, but he simply narrows his eyes and swings me into his arms. His wings spread from his back. They’re not white like Connor’s. They have a gray hue that looks almost dirty. He meets my gaze and nods once before launching into the air with me.

Rafe carries me away from the forest. I wrap my arms around his neck, looking back at the trees over his shoulder. I see a group of unicorns flee from the area where I stopped, and even with the growing distance, I can hear their frantic breaths and beating hooves. The slowest is yanked back into the forest, and I turn my face into Rafe’s neck as the animal screams. The cry cuts off mid-note, and the sudden silence is even worse. I don’t raise my head, but I can still feel the malevolent stare. It sits on my shoulders like the weight of the realm.

A few moments later, Rafe lands on the roof of Kelpie Hall. He sets me down with a gentleness I didn’t know he was capable of.

I swallow, my throat dry. “D-Don’t t-tell C-Con,” I stammer out, slowly releasing the death grip I have on his neck.

Rafe nods and steps back, his features set in hard lines. “What happened?” he asks, crossing his arms over his chest. He is willing to let me keep it from Connor, but clearly, he is expecting an explanation.

I shake my head, looking away from him. “Nothing.”

It probably was nothing. I was imagining things. Absently, I rub my stomach, remembering the brutality of that kick. The intent behind it was nothing less than pure hatred, filled with vitriol I thought I only felt toward myself.

“Summer,” Rafe says, his voice gruff, like he hasn’t spoken in a few days. “You were shaking.”

“It’s fine. I should get back inside. I wasn’t even supposed to be out for a run…”

He scoffs. “Okay, you’re right. Let’s just go get Connor and let him know what happened, shall we?” he says and starts toward the door.

I grab his arm. “No.”

Rafe turns back to look at me expectantly.

“Nothing happened, I promise. I overreacted.”

Rafe gives me a bored look. He obviously knows I am lying, and he’s waiting for a different answer.

“I have never pushed you to talk about things. I’m hoping that we can come to an agreement. We both know Connor is the best of us, but you and I have a different perception of the world. Sometimes things suck, and sometimes we seek to avoid burdening others with the suckage of our lives. So how about you and I agree to bail the other out from time to time and then never speak of it again? Sound good?”

Rafe narrows his eyes at me.

“So let’s just forget this happened. Okay?”

“Was someone following you?” he asks, his eyes flashing with determination, flecks of black glittering in the blue.

“No.” The truth? A lie? Who the fuck knows?

Rafe snarls, and his jaw tenses, and I know he can taste the borderline lie. “Why were you scared?”

“Where did you go?” I throw back.

“Fine,” Rafe growls.

I watch him and soften a little at his obvious frustration that I won’t allow him to help me. I walk to him and gently squeeze his arm. He flinches and pulls his arm free of my touch.

“Your brothers missed you,” I say softly before leaving him on the roof.