“Madi, it’s nice to see you again,” I say, stepping closer and glancing around me. I’m completely alone, but I know danger is never far off in this academy.
Or in this world.
And currently, I’m on a portal phone call with the queen of the tales. How did this become my life? I was once a normal girl on a double date with my best friend and excited about going to university. Even if it meant seeing more ghosts and avoiding them.
That’s the one thing I am thankful for at the academy, angel ghosts don’t stick around.
“We don’t have much time,” Madi hurries, looking urgent. “My friend, Lexi, the queen—”
“Of hell. Yes, we met,” I say, saving time as I cross my arms and step nearer as she talks.
“Yes, well, your vampire king sent another angel to hell today, and that was the final straw.” She pauses. Why would Ren send another angel to hell? What the hell is he thinking? Demons do not sound like supes I want to go to war with. If anything, they sound terrifying, and I loved the new Sabrina The Teenage Witch TV show. That was creepy as hell. “And she is getting her army ready to rise. Demons are coming to earth, and there will be hundreds of thousands of them. They won’t fight the vampires or angels directly, but they will take the academy back for the angels and stop the war. Lexi doesn’t want anyone to die, but enough is enough. Demons will not be easy to control when their queen is unable to leave hell, but her men will lead the army. Lexi and I worry there will be many, many deaths.”
“I will talk to Ren,” I weakly say, feeling intimidated as hell. Her eyes soften, and she shakes her head. She looks behind once, listening as a man says something, but I don’t catch what he says before she looks back. The circle shakes a little bit, and I wonder how much time we have left and how exactly they managed to make this happen.
“I was in your shoes once. Not exactly, but you get me,” she says when she turns back to me. “Being someone important isn’t as grand as it is in books, is it? Especially not when you once lived as a human and the most important thing was school and boyfriends.”
“No,” I humourlessly laugh. “This is why I prefer to read science fiction, for this very reason. Romance always breaks my heart.”
That’s a total lie, and it hurts my chest to say it. I love romance books even when they rip my heart out, stomp on it and somehow put it back together with hope for the world I didn’t have before.
“Gotta,” she replies with a wink, and we smile at each other for a moment before she clears her throat. “Kaitlyn...Ren asked for a magical artifact my race stole from vampires, and I found it. Our people have changed a lot over the years, and we don’t want to keep whatever it is. If you come to us, I will give you it with no catch.”
“What is it?” I ask, curious. It must be something important, or why else would Ren bother attacking the tales and making trouble for them?
“A rock,” she shrugs. “But I’ve learnt anything from a book to a stick can be powerful in this world. It’s not what is on the outside that matters.”
A rock? What the hell, Ren? I have so many things to ask him about, once I’ve told him my most important decision I’ve made. I think I made it the second I came back to the academy and learnt the real truth of everything. I don’t hate Ren for making me a half vampire because he snapped under the power of potent soul mate magic.
And being half vampire isn’t the curse I once thought it was. If anything, it feels right. It feels like I was always meant to be exactly what I am now.
“No, it isn’t,” I agree and nod my head in respect. “Thank you.”
“Is there anything I can do to help you?” she asks me. “You look so lost.”
I was lost and confused, but not so much anymore. Everything is going to change tonight, and I’m going to make sure of it. I’m not running from my fate anymore, because it needs me to do the right thing and that lies with Ren.
My fate lies with him.
“Tell Gabriel I’m sorry. I can’t be who he needs me to be, because it isn’t my fate,” I firmly state, holding my head high. I swear, respect shines in her eyes, but she doesn’t voice it. “But I will make sure the angels here are saved. War is not going to happen, I’m going to stop it.”
“May the goddess be with you,” Madi says, bowing her head once. “And good luck! I know you will do the right thing, I can see it in your eyes.”
“Blessed be the angels and vampires.” My reply makes her eyes widen because it’s not what we are meant to say.
And I don’t care. Angels and vampires are blessed, and it’s time everyone knows it. “What are you, by the way, Madi?” I ask, and she grins.
“Long story. Let’s say the fairy tales are real in my world,” she replies with a secretive smile. I’m sure I will hear the story one day when we aren’t running out of time. I’m super interested in the demon queen’s story too. “Goodbye, Kaitlyn. We will see each other soon.”
The circle flickers out into blue dust that blows into the air, mixing with the rain to look like glitter as it floats away into the sky.
Magic can be so beautiful...
I rush back into the academy and head down the corridors to my room, a plan firmly set into my mind. I’m not looking at anyone or where I am going when I bump into someone, and I look up to see a vampire woman I know.
“Watch it,” she warns and tugs on her gold chain. The world slows down as Riley is tugged after her, and my heart hurts as I can only smile at him, offering him comfort however I can. His eyes fill with a longing I wish was just as a friend before he is dragged away.
By the end of tonight, I hope the angels will be free.
And Ren will finally end this war.
Or he loses me.
Chapter 49
Riley
Sitting in the back of the closet the vampire bitch keeps me in, I stare at my chain in my hands, thinking about how much I wish it was off. Cold hard floorboards dig into my ass, and the weight of the ironing board rests on my shoulder in the tiny space. My only luxury, a dirty blood-stained pillow, sits behind my head and stinks from all the dried blood from the many bite marks on my neck. The chain drains my magic, keeps me weak, and I can’t fight anyone like this, and if it weren’t for this chain…I would kill them all.
I wish the chain was the worst part of my new life. It’s not.
The vampire who treats me like a dog and snack is my constant nightmare. I doubt she ever had any humanity in her soul, and she treats everyone in the academy like they are dirt under her feet. Thankfully, her best friend Miranda is dead. I hated being her play toy that my vampire bitch lent out. Rubbing my sore neck, I look up at the dust covering the ceiling as I think back to the only light getting me through this.
My best friend.
The love of my life.
Kaitlyn Lightson.
Seeing her today gave new hope in my chest, bursting me to life like never before. Her long blonde hair is whiter now than it was before, and her skin glows with power making her seem almost unreal. She is beautiful beyond comparison, but she always was to me.
She was to everyone.
I spent years in high school warning guys off her and fighting those who got too close. The odd idiot who got brave and asked her out on a date soon found out that touching Kaitlyn Lightson would mean the end of their stupid life.