Evermore Academy (Evermore Academy #3) - Audrey Grey Page 0,87

her pigtail braid. “You and the prince. You didn’t . . . you know?”

Oh, God, do I ever know. A blush creeps over my cheeks as I shake my head.

Relief floods Eclipsa’s face, and her eyes drift to Hellebore’s mark on my arm. “I should have known, since Hell’s weeds are still there.”

Sighing, I fall back onto my pillow. “If you guys had come five minutes later, things would have been very different. I can’t control myself around him. The bond is too strong.”

“Well then thank Titania we did. I’m as happy as the next girl to die fighting Unseelie a-holes like Hellebore, but if you and the prince had consummated the bond . . .”

The way her words suddenly die makes ice curdle in my gut. “What? What would have happened?”

“By Fae law, you would be the enemy of both Unseelie and Seelie, and we would be honor-bound to kill you. Which would suck because you are my best friend and the prince is my oldest friend.”

“But our powers would be amplified a thousand fold?” I ask, trying to find a silver lining.

“Possibly. If Hellebore’s magic hasn’t already degraded the bond beyond repair.”

Mack’s face turns bright red. “What the crap? Are we living in the medieval ages? I mean, how is that fair at all?”

“It’s not, but Evermore engagement contracts are made of some of the most binding magic in existence. Marrying off sons and daughters to form alliances is a huge part of how the Fae courts and Evermore retain their power. Naturally, once the engagement is made, it’s ironclad. If the female is caught breaking it—Fae law demands she and her lover receive a swift death.”

“So the female can’t cheat but the male can?” Mack practically shouts, hugging a pillow. “Again, how is that fair?”

Eclipsa flips onto her stomach and shrugs. “Fair is not part of the Fae vocabulary.”

I slip the pillow from behind my head and clench it over my face. “So my only option to get out of the marriage is to prove Hellebore is in league with the Darken?”

I peek from my pillow to see Eclipsa studying her metallic silver nails. “That or make Hellebore release you from the contract.”

I groan. “Of course the man can get out of it.”

“God, don’t tell me they do one of those archaic purity tests too?”

“If it’s in the contract,” Eclipsa says, “you can bet the Shimmer they will.”

I shove the pillow into my face only to have Mack rip it from my clenched fists. “I know it sucks, Summer, but please don’t smother yourself just yet. There’s still the Nocturus.”

I steal the pillow back and throw it over my face again, groaning even louder.

Maybe it’s because I tasted what it would be like to lose Valerian, or because I then experienced what I was missing—or because the Nocturus is rapidly approaching, but the magical showdown has me suddenly filled with anxiety.

“There, there,” Eclipsa says through a yawn as she scoots behind me, patting my shoulder. “You brought this upon yourself, but if you are lucky, my brilliant training will save you.”

Mack snuggles on the other side. “All you have to do is best him with magic, skewer him like the pig he is until he’s dead, and you’ll be free.”

Free. As much as I want that to be true, I’m starting to worry freedom isn’t in the cards for me. It seems like for every chain I remove, two more appear. As if the Everwilde is bound and determined to keep me locked in its twisted iron cage, a prisoner to its demented whims.

Mack rolls onto her side, kneeing me in the leg. “Ugh, are those birds I hear chirping?”

“Shh.” Eclipsa slips her silver and black sleeping mask over her eyes. “We have training in like two hours.”

I close my eyes as the golden glow of dawn creeps across the room, serenaded by my friends’ snores. I’m half asleep when a rich, teasing voice purrs into my head, I keep pretending you’re still wet and in my lap.

“Go to sleep,” I mumble, forgetting that he can’t hear me.

Sweet dreams, Princess.

As I fall into a restless sleep, I can’t help but wonder what will happen if I can’t get out of this marriage. If Valerian reacted that way to learning about his mother, what will he do if he has to watch me marry someone else?

Only then he won’t have me to save him.

36

After Inara’s birthday humiliation, I expected things to get better. And, in a way, I