Evermore Academy (Evermore Academy #3) - Audrey Grey Page 0,120

when I sent Ruby out one morning, clutching a tiny flash drive with a picture. The one sent to me from the clinic worker.

The one that looked just like Hellebore’s sister, Freesia.

Reaching into my bra, I pull a folded copy I made from my mother’s home office printer and hand it to Eclipsa. The girl in the photo is standing, her hands wrapped protectively on either side of her belly.

As soon as she takes in the printed photo, she goes very still. “Freesia was . . . pregnant?”

I shake my head. “That’s not Freesia. That’s her changeling, Haley Richardson, and Hellebore’s former shadow who disappeared under mysterious circumstances.”

Eclipsa’s dark eyes stretch wide.

“Is she alive?” Asher asks.

“She died from complications of the pregnancy.”

“And you think it’s—” Eclipsa appears too disgusted to finish her thought.

“Hellebore’s? Yes. He’s been impregnating mortals. The ones who turn darkling are different than regular darklings. Smarter. He uses them, along with the axe pieces, to control his darkling army.”

“This is straight out of an apocalyptic comic book,” Mack mutters.

Eclipsa’s brow furrows, wrinkling the lunar jewels sweeping across her forehead. “I knew he was sick, but sleeping with his sister’s changeling?”

I nod to where the Spring Queen and Hellebore still dine, surrounded by sycophant courtiers trying to curry their favor. Freesia sits on the other side of the Spring Queen, looking wickedly awesome in a skintight ebony dress that bares one shoulder, showing off a sleeve of tattoos. Her matching eyeshadow and lipstick contrast against her pale skin. “His sister thought so. She knew he was obsessed with her changeling, but she never imagined he would do that. When I showed her, well let’s say she’s more than happy to provide a distraction.”

Asher snorts. “That tiny, rebellious thing is going to distract two of the most cunning courtiers in existence?”

“She might have a little help.”

Right on cue, Ruby hits play on her most beloved song in the universe, and Freesia jumps onto the table, kicking decanters of expensive wine over with her combat boots as she twerks. The speakers I had Magus secretly place all around the tables fill the night with ear-shredding Billy Ray Cyrus.

“Evermore assholes,” I say, “meet ‘Achy Breaky Heart.’.”

Ruby’s favorite song works its horrid magic. No one tries to stop us as we slink alongside the cliffside, the blaring country song growing softer until all I can hear is the ocean waves crashing below, in time with my racing heart. A mixture of anxiety and excitement flood my veins as I follow Eclipsa and Asher down a jagged path.

We move silently in a single file line, even Mack.

When the beach rises to meet us, I slip off my heels and stalk quietly across the shore. The moon’s reflection glides across the dark waters. Eclipsa halts near a large, gray rock formation that was once probably part of the cliff before the sea and wind eroded it. On the other side mill Spring Court soldiers; at least ten.

And behind them, partially submerged in the water, sits a large iron cage. I know it’s iron because, although my mortal flesh is immune to the iron’s poison, my Fae senses recoil. The corrosive energy inside the metal seeps into the air, tinging the briny breeze.

That alone would be torturous, but Hellebore didn’t stop there.

It takes a moment to fully comprehend his cruelty. The structure isn’t quite tall enough for Valerian to stand in. Waves lap at the sides, the frothy seawater halfway submerging the cage.

But when the tide comes in . . .

“They’re drowning him,” I whisper, pain lancing my words. “Over and over. For months.”

The agony of not being able to stop such torment glitters inside Eclipsa’s dark eyes as she nods. “There’s a ward on the other side of this rock. We can’t break it.”

I know by the agony in her voice that they must have tried hundreds of times. Sneaking out here night after night to save him, only to watch helplessly as his watery prison devoured him.

Asher’s meaty hand becomes a fist as he watches one of the guards wade toward Valerian’s cage and taunt him. The guard halts a few feet away, repelled by the poisonous iron Valerian is forced to endure.

“As a kid, the Winter Prince was terrified of water.” Asher’s hard tone fails to mask his fury. “No one knew why. When the Darken found out, he made that his favorite method of torture.”

“And now, they’re doing the same thing to him.” My voice comes out a whisper, which is