Evermore Academy (Evermore Academy #3) - Audrey Grey Page 0,107
with General Winterspell, Inara’s father. After her birthday, relations between the Winter King and the general fell apart.
Eclipsa can’t quite hide the unease beneath her tense smile as she waves her hand. “The general is just puffing out his feathers trying to look bigger than he is.”
She doesn’t have to tell me that if they don’t fix the crack between the two factions in the Winter Court, war is inevitable.
A divided court is weak. If the enemy Seelie Courts learn of the division, they could offer the Winter Court General a deal to oust the Winter King and Valerian. They could strike while the Winter Court is weak. Or they could simply turn both factions against each other, fueling a civil war that would end with thousands dead.
A sharp hoot draws my attention to a huge white shape diving toward us. Phalanx lands on my shoulder, his sharp claws gently pressing into the flesh, and hoots again. His wide yellow eyes are trained on the wooded path.
Two cougar shifter couples emerge from the forest. They freeze when they see us, the males snarling low in warning when they make out Eclipsa.
I marvel at the way Eclipsa can send predators running with their tails between their legs with a simple look. The four shifters disappear as fast as they appeared, and Phalanx takes to his sentry position in the oak tree, his soft white wings brushing my cheek.
Eclipsa frowns. “We need a different spot.”
“The campus is huge. Surely we can find somewhere private?”
“Never underestimate the places students will go on campus to have sex.”
“What about an old building on campus not being used?” I suggest.
“Those are even worse, I promise you. If it’s on the map, it’s basically a hotel for horny students.”
That’s a lovely image. I exhale, frustrated that we can’t find a private place to train my magic. Maybe the menagerie? No, there are still the kind students like Basil who go there to help take care of the animals.
“Wait. I found a really cool cabin a half mile from the menagerie. It was totally secluded, like really deep in the woods, and I couldn’t find it on the campus map when I checked later.”
She bends down and begins gathering the armory of weapons she brought with her. “That could work. I’ll look for it tonight on the way back.”
“Want me to show you the way?”
“Summer, go home, take a shower, and get some rest. A few more days without proper sleep and you’ll turn into a darkling.” She nods to the path. “You okay to walk alone?”
“Yep,” I say, embarrassed at how relieved I am to go straight home. Every muscle in my body is on fire and my head feels stuffed full of cotton. I’ll be lucky if I don’t fall asleep in the shower. “Phalanx nearly disemboweled a vampire who got too close yesterday. I’m more worried about the people I encounter.”
“Phalanx just ate so he should be on his best behavior.” She strides across the meadow toward the menagerie, calling over her shoulder, “See you in six hours.”
I make it home without Phalanx assaulting a single student and take the world’s fastest steaming shower. When I’m under the covers, hair still wet and eyelids drooping, I open my phone and see a message from Eclipsa.
The mysterious cabin isn’t there.
Yawning, I type, You mean you couldn’t find it?
I mean it’s not there. At all.
That’s definitely weird, but I don’t have the energy tonight to unpack what that’s about.
I should go to sleep but . . . I end up scrolling to my photos. Clicking on the album titled Family, I stare way too long at a picture of Zinnia, Vi, Jane, and me taken at last year’s banquet.
Longing tugs at my heart and I realize how badly I miss them. I toy with the idea of calling Zinnia. By now, it’s almost impossible to continue making excuses for her distant behavior. The fact that she almost never calls me back and when she does respond, it comes in the form of a curt text. I know it’s selfish, considering what the Fae did to her family, but . . . I just need to hear her warm, humorous voice. To know that she still loves me despite what I am.
Flipping open my contacts, I go to call her when I notice a new voice message from an unknown number.
Partially relieved for the distraction, I lay back, hit play, and listen with my eyes closed.