Evermore Academy (Evermore Academy #3) - Audrey Grey Page 0,91

he likes the idea.

My head spins with excitement. Holding back a smile, I turn to Mrs. Richter and announce my decision. She gives a pleased nod, and I inwardly beam as she announces the old Whitehall Academy grounds as the location of our field trip.

After class is dismissed, I’m waiting to train with Eclipsa on one of the mats when a male voice says, “What are you up to, rabbit?”

I wheel around, annoyed that Hellebore could sneak up on me so easily. “Up to? Nothing. Whitehall is the suitable choice.”

“Indeed.” He pins me with a dark smile before reaching over and tucking my hair behind my ear. He doesn’t actually touch my flesh, but I freeze at the unexpected contact. Over his shoulder Valerian stands rigid watching us. “I’ve been so nice to you, haven’t I?”

I snort, resisting the urge to rip his hand away and cause an even bigger scene. “Define nice.”

Are you okay? Valerian growls.

I give him a quick nod. The last thing I need is Hellebore and Valerian to get into a battle over me in the courtyard right as school ends.

Understanding dawns over Hellebore’s face, and he throws a glance back at Valerian before turning back to me. “I gave you more freedom. Let you off your leash. Don’t make me regret doing those kind things for you.”

“Anything you’ve done for me, kind or cruel, was to serve your own ends.”

“So very clever,” he purrs, stroking a finger over my cheek. Any moment he could use his powers to entrance me. I tense when his thumb nears my lip, mouth opening as I prepare to sever it with my teeth, but he draws back. “But not so clever that you don’t know not to bite the hand that keeps you safe.”

“Come closer,” I seethe, “and I’ll bite more than your hand.”

“Promise?” He tucks the other side of my hair behind my ear.

I know what he’s doing and it makes me sick. He’s reminding me that, as my fiancé, he can touch me at will. Any moment I expect his horrible magic to seep into my body, overriding my will.

Laughing, he pretends to pluck something from behind my ear. When he pulls away there’s a daisy pinched between his fingers. “A flower for you, darling.”

I glare at the offering. “No, thanks. I don’t accept gifts from psychopaths.”

Shrugging, he slides the daisy behind his own ear. “At least you have manners when you refuse me. I wonder, once we’re married and I can make you do whatever I please, will you still be so polite then? Say ‘yes master, please master, thank you, master.’”

“Why don’t we wait and see how polite I am in the Nocturus?” I snarl.

He laughs—laughs, for Fae’s sake. Like my warning was a joke. Then he turns on his heels and walks away, whistling.

Valerian glares at Hellebore on the way to me, but thank the Shimmer the interaction remains peaceful. I exhale as Valerian’s hand discreetly brushes mine.

In contrast to Hellebore’s unwelcome touch, my body leans into the contact, a shiver of pleasure pooling in my core.

“You okay?” he asks, meeting my eyes.

I nod. “It was nothing. He was trying to get a rise out of us.”

Somewhere deep down I suspect there’s more going on than that. Honestly, I think he might have just shown his hand.

Whatever happened at Whitehall, whatever secrets he keeps locked away from his past, he’s desperate to keep that history buried.

37

The morning of the field trip to Whitehall, I’m up an hour before my alarm goes off. I find Mack and Eclipsa leaned against the kitchen counter, waiting for the Keurig to power on. Eclipsa and I trained late into the night, and besides running on a few hours of sleep, my back and shoulder muscles burn.

One of the brownies flits over with a thermos of steaming hot coffee. Even without checking I know there will be the perfect amount of steamed coconut milk.

Eclipsa and Mack stare daggers at me as I take my first sip. “What?” I mutter, rubbing my eyes. “I can’t help it if they insist on making me a fresh cup every morning.”

“I think the one with the singed wings held it over the fire until you woke up,” Eclipsa says as she fills the Keurig reservoir with purified water. “Titania knows you can’t have your coffee even a degree too cold.”

I go to roll my eyes but stop short when I notice a rectangular white box wrapped in red ribbon on the dining room