Page 30 of Venomous Lies (Greywood Conservatory for the Arcane #2)

Isla

SATURDAY

I t took ages to get out of the greenhouse.

Okay, maybe not ages, but it sure felt like it as we stumbled around, trying to make it outside.

When we finally succeeded, we were surrounded by chaos.

Even this far into the forest, I could hear screams and cries coming from campus. It sounded the way I imagined a war zone would.

I stepped closer to Echo’s side, keeping a death-grip on his hand. There was no way I wanted to be separated when I couldn't even see my hand in front of my face.

“Isla, now would be a great time to try to figure out that magick to get us back to the library.”

“I don’t even know what kind of magick it was!” I told him, huffing when he chuckled. “But I do agree that it would be super fucking useful right now.”

‘I can’t see anything either, so I won’t be of much help. But I do think the library, where the others were, would be the best place to go.’

“If they’re still there,” Echo replied .

That would take some getting used to—someone else being able to talk and respond to Cas.

Part of me felt defensive or maybe even jealous that someone else had been brought into this private bond. For so long, Cassius was solely mine, and I’d felt a streak of possessiveness take over when he had appeared on the glass wall looking straight at Echo.

If Cas hadn’t been in my mind, would he have chosen to know me at all? A stupid fucking question, I knew, but emotions were rarely, if ever, logical things.

A loud boom sounded, and the ground shook hard enough that I almost stumbled onto my ass. Yeah, those thoughts were better left for another time.

“But how are we going to figure out where we’re going if we can’t see anything?” Echo asked grimly. “Night vision is definitely not one of my abilities.”

‘See if you can sense Bones or Julian, beastie. If you can, that will at least give us a general direction to head in.’

“Julian?” Echo sputtered, clearly shocked. “Hellsing? The librarian ?”

“Echo,” I said warningly, sensing his jealousy popping up.

“I was just going to ask what it was with you and professors here, witch.”

“Oh shut up.” I knocked my shoulder into his as I rolled my eyes.

‘Beastie.’

‘Yes, yes. I’m focusing,’ I grumbled at Cas.

Channeling my energy inward, I searched for anything that reminded me of my two mates. How the fuck did I even end up with two mates!? I took a deep breath, pushing my doubts and fear to the side for the moment. I could unpack those issues later .

I tried to find the calm, cool sense of Bones. Running along the magick I could sense inside of me, I searched, scouring every corner to no avail.

Switching to Hellsing, I called upon what I knew of him. Dangerous. Vampire. Books.

Sadly, that was all I had to work with.

There was nothing there that called to me, nothing beckoning me, drawing me towards them.

But then, in the pit of my power, I felt something else.

Something foreign.

Strong.

Oddly… familiar.

It felt like a welcome home.

Before I could latch onto it, however, something else eclipsed it.

Pain, loneliness, and pure, unfiltered rage writhed in this being.

A keening call drove me forward with a need to find them.

The first magick I had sensed wasn’t in the same direction, not even close, but there was nothing that could have turned me from the path I had started down.

“Isla? Did you sense?—?”

‘I can’t tell what she’s sensing, incubus,’ Cassius said, his words almost blurring into the background as I picked up speed, running through the dark. ‘But I have a feeling you need to be on high alert. Protect her.’

“With my life.”

‘I’ll hold you to that,’ Cas said firmly before fading into the background.

The keen kept getting louder.

My feet dodged unseen obstacles with ease, but the closer we got to the fighting, the more I stumbled, hesitating when I heard familiar voices.

Ambrose yelling while Falke roared, soon followed by clashing. A howl of wolves that turned into snarls and whimpers.

I had no idea where I was or what was happening, but I couldn’t have stopped if I wanted to. It was a compulsion. Something stronger than mere need was driving me onward to what I had sensed.

“Isla?! Did you hear the others? I think they need—” A strong wind ripped Echo’s words out of his mouth and my hand from his.

I flailed around, desperate for the warmth of his touch in the dark, but instead found nothing.

The wind’s howl somehow became a sinister laugh as the black around me started to lighten. Gradually, the world became a light gray then continued growing brighter until I realized I was in some kind of room.

I blinked quickly, my eyes trying to adjust to the sudden light piercing my pupils. Who would have thought that staying blind might have been more useful?

“Miss Hallowes, so nice of you to join us today. You have something we need.”

President Thatcher?

What was going on? Looking around, I was able to take in my surroundings—an office.

President Thatcher sat behind a light-wooden desk. Small, neat stacks of papers sat to one side, while the other was decorated with books, again precisely stacked. In front of the necromancer were a few papers and pens.

Along the walls were bookshelves filled with more books, though it looked like none of them had ever been touched. Each spine was in pristine condition, and nothing was out of place.

His long, beaked nose was the first thing I focused on, then the beady, brown eyes that were staring at me.

The sinister smile that curled his lips made me shudder as he gestured at a chair opposite of him.

“Please sit.”

I didn’t move any closer to the seat he offered me. “I don’t understand?—”

“Of course you don’t.” He sneered, leaning back in his chair. “But you do understand how to sit down, I presume?”

“No shit,” I snapped back. “But I think there’s a bigger issue at hand, like whatever the fuck is going on outside.”

I waved back toward the door I’d walked into only to find it gone.

Thatcher laughed, the sound so grating I flinched and cursed myself for the reaction. What the actual hell is going on right now?

“It’s better if you leave some of the big things to the adults, witch. You won’t need to worry about any of that anymore.”

‘Beastie, there’s something more going on. We need to figure out what. He wants something from you. Ask him about that.’

“You said you wanted something from me.” I tilted my chin up in challenge. “What is it?”

“Sit. Down.”

I sniffed, pissed off at how he was talking to me but resigned to the fact that I would have to play along for now. Moving slowly as my last sign of protest, I finally settled down into the seat across from him.

I shifted around, trying to get comfortable, but any sense of bravado I might have summoned was gone when I looked over .

There was someone else in the room.

My lips parted at the sight of him.

Straight white-blond hair fell around him, and his gray eyes, the color so light they almost blended into the whites of his eyes, stared straight at me.

The mystery man’s aura was scarier than Thatcher could ever even dream of being. It felt like I was prey caught in a beautiful spider web and the only way I’d escape is if he allowed it.

All of that paled in comparison to the most glaring part of his appearance.

Half of his face had no skin.

There was just bone.

Instead of muscle, there were what appeared to be some kind of threads holding things together.

He smiled, showing off the second half of his teeth, as I couldn’t help but stare at him.

‘Cas,’ I whispered. ‘What is…?’

‘I don’t know. He’s fae though.’

‘I can sense that, but…’

‘Just this once, let’s focus on the task at hand. Questions after we survive getting out of here.’

I swallowed hard and forced myself to look back at Thatcher. A haughty expression on his face, he was watching me.

“We all have our beasts, don’t we, Isla?” He gestured at the fae, who was staring at the necromancer with silent malice. “Some are just more effective than others,” he preened.

“I don’t have a beast,” I protested, and he shot me a mocking frown.

“Bone fae are some of the most feral of animals.”

“He’s fae, not feral! And the last thing I would consider him to be is a fucking beast,” I protested. “You’d think you would have some competency when it comes to different supernaturals.”

The man in the corner shifted his focus to me, and I fought not to shiver beneath the weight of his attention.

He tsked and sighed as if disappointed. “Miss Hallowes, just because he is mated to you doesn’t make him more than what is.”

“What are you trying to say?!” I asked, outraged.

“He isn’t of your own kind, Miss Hallowes. If you had been raised properly, then you would know that.” My heart started pounding in my ears as he sat back, fingers steepled in front of him. “But there are more important matters to attend to right now than you soiling your bloodline.”

“Like whatever is going on out there on campus?” I asked through gritted teeth.

He waved me off as if I were an idiot. “No, nothing so trivial as all of that.”

Trivial? The entire campus full of professors and students was trivial?!

“Miss Hallowes, you’re the only person that can help us, and that means you’ll be coming with me.”

“Help you with what?” I asked, curious and needing answers.

‘Don’t let him take you anywhere, beastie.’

‘Hell no, but you said we needed answers.’

“A mate bond is an effective leash, something you are aware of.” I ignored his pointed jab at Bones, hoping he’d reveal more. “You didn’t think your attack happened for no reason, did you?”

Blood drained from my face as it hit me that he had orchestrated what happened in my dorm room. I touched my face, suddenly feeling the sting of the scratches .

“Granted, I did let Kazimir have his fun as long as he got what we needed,” he gloated. “You almost look passable now.”

My gaze shot to the fae beside him. A blank expression met my gaze, no regret or remorse to be seen.

“Why?” I breathed.

“Come with me, and I’ll tell you,” he offered.

“No.”

“Excuse me?” His tone turned dark as his fake smile dropped from his face. “You should be happy that your existence proved vital in any way.”

“I said no. I’m not going with you,” I replied, steeling myself. “I’m not leaving my friends or my mates to?—”

“Mates? As in plural?” Thatcher scrutinized me. “What else have you tied yourself to?”

“ What else?”

‘He’s too interested in that. Don’t answer him.’

‘I wasn’t exactly planning to. I’m not stupid.’

‘You need to get out of here before you lose control of your tongue. Or your powers. He won’t be so easy to take down.’

A rough hand gripped my upper arm, squeezing hard enough that I yelped in pain.

“Enough stalling,” Thatcher complained, hauling me up out of the chair. “That thing is only going to be controlled if you’re there.”

“Thing?” I hissed when he wrenched my arm hard enough that he almost pulled it out of its socket. What’s it with this asshole calling people things?

“Shut up. Kazimir, cover the?—”

A sickening crack sounded as darkness slammed into the room. Thatcher angrily yelled, but he loosened his hold on my arm .

Unwilling to lose my opening, I pulled my arm out of his grip and tried to find my way around the room.

Thatcher started cursing and yelling for Kazimir to do something while I knocked over anything in my way. Hopefully, I was keeping him away from me instead of just making it harder for me to get out of the room.

A bitter cold wrapped around me, and at first relief hit. Maybe Bones was here? But then that sensation somehow became even colder, burning me, and I looked up to find none other than Thatcher’s henchman grabbing me.

“Don’t fight it,” he murmured, his light eyes bright in the darkness. A predator in all senses of the word, it was clear that he wasn’t hindered like I was. “You won’t win against me.”

“I have people that are looking for me,” I shot back fiercely, attempting to hit him with my free hand instead of heeding his warning. He caught it easily enough, and a hint of humor broke through his blank gaze. “You’ll be sorry.”

“Sorry? Darling, there are very few things I’ve ever truly been sorry about, and you don’t mean enough to me to inspire any regret.” His cool voice dripped with amusement.

“Let me go, please. Kaz,” I whispered, begging as he twisted my arm and held me tight against his chest.

“Why would I do a thing like that?” he crooned against my face, his nose brushing against my cheek. “And mighty courageous of you to call me by a nickname when we’ve just met.”

“I could help you,” I offered.

‘How the fuck are you going to do that ? ’ Cas asked, his voice strained with anxiety.

‘I’ve got to try something!’

‘He attacked you, and you’re offering to help him! How does that make sense? ’

“Help me? You help me ?” He laughed cruelly, the sound making the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. The darkness somehow felt like it was getting deeper, more ominous, as he began to growl in my ear. “What could you possibly offer me, witch, that would tempt me?”

“What do you want?” I asked, my question ending in a cry when he bit down on my neck.

“What you can’t give me. Freedom. From him, this place. There’s nothing you have to offer that I would want.”

“What if I could give you freedom?”

He pulled back, and even in the darkness, I could read the incredulity in his eyes. I couldn’t blame him one bit since I was offering something I had no way to give him. But my need to survive had overridden my caution.

‘You’re an idiot.’