Page 46

AVERY

M y head was pounding and it felt like someone was squeezing my temples in a vice. Why had I agreed to let the crazy redheaded witch girl do a spell on me?

Inside my mind, two sets of memories were fighting.

In one, I had grown up in a happy home with a father who was proud of me.

My magic manifested for the first time in a very masculine way—I hit a baseball so hard during a little league game I knocked the cover off it and broke some old lady’s window!

My father nodded in approval and I knew that someday I would follow in his footsteps and become a mighty Warlock.

These memories seemed shiny and new—bright and exciting. But under them was another set of memories—ones that were more faded, like paper photos that someone had looked at over and over again.

In the faded set of memories, I flamed up when I called my magic needle for the first time. And in these memories, my father was terribly disappointed in me. I disgusted him—especially when he found out I liked other boys instead of girls.

Those memories were hard to look at. It seemed easier to believe the bright, happy ones where my father ruffled my hair and bragged about me to the other dads. But…they were missing something.

The bright new memories were missing friendship—they were missing all the nights I’d spent with my coven in the Norm Dorm, all the Second Suppers I’d cooked—they were missing Kaitlyn and Emma and Megan.

And they were missing Saint, who was holding me now, calling me “ l’lorna” and begging me to come back to him.

“Remind him of who you are and what you mean to him!” the redheaded witch shouted.

No—her name is Megan. She’s not just a witch, she’s a friend! whispered a voice in my brain. But I could also hear my father calling to me from just outside the circle.

“Don’t listen to them! Get away from there, Avery! You’re my son—you’re going to go to Brooker and have a whole new life!”

Then Saint took my face in his hands and looked into my eyes.

“Don’t look at him—look at me!” he demanded.

I looked and saw flames burning in the obsidian depths of his gaze. But not the flames of a Cursed Drake anymore—these were the eyes of a Drake who loved and cherished me. The Drake who had claimed me as his own when Saint had Blood-Marked me.

“I…I don’t wear your Mark anymore,” I whispered to him. “I had to…had to take it off.”

“I know. My Sire made me take yours off too,” he murmured. “But it’s not too late, Avery. We can Mark each other again. We can be together always.”

“I don’t know!” I winced as the pain shot through me and the two sets of memories warred in my head. “Part of me thinks I love you…and part of me thinks you’re nothing but my roommate!” I told him.

“Then let me remind you of what’s true.”

He opened his mouth and I saw that he had grown fangs—doubtless the razor-sharp teeth of his Drake coming through. He pushed his thumb against one of the sharp points and then pressed the bleeding tip into my mouth.

“Blood of my Blood and Breath of my Breath,” he said to me. “Nothing can part us now except Death!”

As the salty taste of his blood filled my mouth, I felt a rush of power flow over me. At once the bright memories began to dim and the ones with Saint and my coven mates in them grew brighter. My head began to hurt less too.

“Saint,” I breathed, reaching for him. “Saint, it’s true! You’re mine and I’m yours!”

And just at that moment my father broke whatever magic was holding him back. He rushed into the circle and grabbed me around the middle, holding my arms to my sides.

“Stay back!” he snarled as my friends started towards him. “I’m taking Avery and leaving!”

“You don’t dare!” Megan had a pin in her hand and she was about to prick her finger and do Blood Magic, I was sure of it. “I’ll make you let him go!” she threatened.

“I’m wearing a counterspell!” my father shouted back at her. “I’ve heard all about you, you Latimer witch! The minute you try any of your Blood Magic on me, the spell I put on Avery will get twice as strong. So go on— do it. You’ll be doing my job for me!” he sneered.

Was he telling the truth? I had no idea and clearly neither did Megan. She stood there, the pin poised by her finger and a look of indecision on her pretty face.

Meanwhile, my father—who was still bigger and stronger than me—was beginning to drag me backwards out of the circle.

“Stay back—all of you just stay back!” he was shouting, so loudly that my ears hurt!

“Let me go!” I struggled against him but he wasn’t budging an inch. “Let me go back to my friends—to my boyfriend!” I demanded.

“No! You’ll thank me for this in the future,” he snapped, his grip on my arms tightening. “When you’re settled with a good job in Magical Finance and a pretty little wife, you’ll see this is for the best.”

“I don’t want a ‘pretty little wife’—I want Saint!” I growled, but I still couldn’t get free.

As for Saint, I could see he was just about to change. His Drake might not be cursed anymore, but he was still extremely territorial and he clearly thought I was being hurt—or at the very least, kidnapped.

I knew if Saint Shifted and his Drake came out, people were going to get hurt.

My whole coven was there—even little Jalli was standing a little way away, watching with wide eyes as her three pet chimelings flew around her head, calling in alarm.

They were too close together to let a twelve-ton Drake come out into the middle of them!

But what could I do? How could I stop Saint from Shifting—how could I reassure his Drake that I was all right? My father had my arms pinned to my sides—I was helpless to do any magic.

Well, except the only magic that had never failed me—the simplest spell of all which had come to me first, at the very start of my magical career.

Concentrating hard, I called my magic needle.

It zipped into existence right in front of my eyes. Twisting my hand outward, I called for it to pierce my thumb. As I felt the sharp little pain and the blood welling up, I knew what to do.

Good—now stab my father—poke his hands—make him let me go! I directed the needle.

It zipped hurriedly into action, obeying my will. Of course, it wasn’t very big but it was fast. I felt it stabbing my father’s big hands over and over—it must have felt like he was getting stung by a whole swarm of wasps!

“Ouch! What the hell?” he cried as he yanked his hands away, freeing me at last. “What was that?”

I didn’t waste any time answering him. Instead, I rushed to Saint, whose eyes were glowing again and who was clearly right on the edge of Shifting. Pushing my bleeding thumb between his lips, I recited rapidly,

“Blood of my Blood and Breath of my Breath! Nothing can part us now except Death!”

At once, I felt the Blood-Bonding—which had only been partial before—take hold completely. Saint must have felt it too, because his eyes stopped glowing and he gathered me to him in a hard, almost desperate hug.

“ Mi Corazon!” he breathed in my ear. “I was so afraid I’d lost you!”

“You almost did—I almost lost myself, too,” I told him and realized that I was crying. “But I’m back now—we’re together and we’re never going to be parted.”

As I spoke, I felt the false memories peeling away, sloughing off the surface of my mind like dry, dead skin.

My father must have felt his spell go too, because I heard him howl in rage behind me.

“No! No!”

Turning in Saint’s arms, I saw him pointing a trembling finger at me.

“You’re going to be sorry for this, Avery! I’m cutting you off!” he growled. “No more tuition—no more car. Why couldn’t you just let yourself be normal?”

“I am normal,” I said coldly, putting my arm around Saint. “I don’t need your approval or your money.”

Though to be honest, I had no idea how I was going to continue at Nocturne without him paying the tuition.

But if I had to, I’d graduate early and go somewhere else, I told myself.

Somewhere Saint and I could be together without anyone pointing fingers or being ugly to us. Somehow, we would make it work.

My father shook his head in disgust. He pointed at Megan.

“I know you’re the one who started this, Latimer!” he snarled at her. “You’re going to be in trouble— all of you!” He glared at all of my coven mates, even little Jalli, who shrank back from his angry stare.

Then, without another word, he turned and walked away from us, stalking away from the athletic field and from Nocturne Academy for what I hoped would be the last time.

I turned to Saint and he gave me a troubled look.

“Your father could cause trouble for us, couldn’t he?” he asked.

I shrugged stoically.

“He can try. But he can’t do anything about the fact that we’re Blood-Bonded now,” I pointed out.

“ Dios .” He ran a hand through his hair and a look of wonder took the place of his anxious frown. “I can’t believe I’m Blood-Bonded to another male!”

“Not just any male—your l’lorna,” I reminded him. I frowned. “Er, so I guess taking the curse off your Drake didn’t make him straight?”

“Not in the least.” Saint let out a shaky laugh. “In fact, he is begging to come out and cuddle you now.”

“Can he wait for a minute?” Megan asked. She and Kaitlyn and Emma had come to surround us. “I want a hug first—okay?” she asked Saint.

He nodded graciously and stepped aside.

“Now that he knows Avery is in no danger, he says that he can wait for cuddles.”

I smiled at him and then sighed happily as my coven mates surrounded me in a four-way hug.

“Oh Avery, please tell us you’re really all the way back!” Kaitlyn said, looking at me anxiously.

“Yeah—because straight Avery was a real jerk,” Emma put in.

“I’m sorry, but he really was,” Megan said, nodding.

I had vague memories of saying awful things to them that made me blush.

“I’m so sorry, girls,” I apologized. “That spell my father put on me really did a number on my head. I seem to remember thinking I was some kind of straight stud.”

“Well, you weren’t,” Megan informed me. “Not that you didn’t try,” she added.

“Yeah—half the girls in the Dining Hall slapped you!” Emma giggled.

“I don’t know what you said to them, but I have an idea you’re going to have a lot of apologies to make,” Kaitlyn said.

I closed my eyes and groaned. I barely remembered what they were talking about, but the recollection of shooting off my mouth to several of the girls on campus made me want to kick myself.

“Ugh!” I said. “Do you think I could just wear a sign that says, ‘I’m so sorry—I was under a spell?’”

“That might work,” Megan said doubtfully. “ If we’re all allowed to stay at Nocturne.”

“Yeah, I have a bad feeling that your father is going to make a stink with Headmistress Nightworthy,” Emma said dolefully.

“Well, even if she does, we only did what we had to do.” Kaitlyn lifted her chin. “And if we all get expelled, we’ll find a place to stay together—maybe in the human world.”

“I wonder if I could get us a big house in the Realm where we could all live together?” Emma looked thoughtful. “I am going to be the Queen. That ought to count for something.”

“We’ll have to cross that bridge when we come to it,” I told them. “For now, I just want to thank all of you for freeing me from that awful conversion magic. If that spell had stayed on me much longer, I never would have been my true self again!” I shivered at the thought.

“We’re just glad to have you back,” Megan said, smiling. “And now, I think we’d better let you go. I think a certain Drake is waiting for his cuddles.”

She nodded at Saint, who was waiting patiently just outside our little circle, his eyes glowing with his Drake’s love and affection.

“Yes, let me go for now. And we’ll deal with everything else later,” I promised.

For now, I just wanted to be held in the arms of my Blood-Bonded Mate—and the arms of his Drake. I had a feeling that a showdown with my father was imminent but I wasn’t going to let him spoil this night for me.

For now, I just wanted to be happy.