Evermore Academy (Evermore Academy #3) - Audrey Grey Page 0,97
the portal. Mack has a finger to her lips, and that’s when I hear the cracking branches and low, snarling moans.
Ruby tugs on my earlobe. “Are those . . . sweet Baby Titania, we’re dead.”
Mack nods to my left. Dusk falls over the forest, darkening the already murky air. I follow her intense gaze to figures moving through the smoky trees.
Darklings.
Snakes of smoke and ash slither over the pink sunset-stained sky in the distance. We’re somewhere in the Scourge lands, surrounded by darklings. Far off explosions rock the air, knocking bits of ash from the charred branches above and into our faces and hair. Battles rage all around us.
Screwed—we’re screwed.
Like Mack, I press against the hard plane of the portal, both of us clawing at the opening with our blades, taking turns stabbing it, hitting it with the butts of our weapons, anything.
Our blades glance off the magical shield like glass. “No use,” Mack whispers. “We can’t break through the magic of a one-way portal.”
I ignore her, desperate to save my friends from this terrible situation. I feel helpless, and worse, responsible.
Inara and her crew watch me struggle. Psychos. I’m surprised they didn’t bring popcorn and a blanket. When my knife blade breaks against the portal, I toss it aside in frustration. I want to scream. To pound the barrier until my knuckles bleed, make them face their actions.
But that’s what they want, and the noise will draw the darklings to us faster, so I settle for giving Inara the bird. “You’ve made your point,” I whisper. I don’t think she can hear me, but she can read my lips just fine. “Now let us back inside.”
Inara approaches, her cobalt blue lips peeled into a smile. What’s the magic word? she mouths.
My throat convulses as I push aside my pride for Mack and Ruby and force myself to say it. “Please.”
What? she mouths, pointing at her ears. I can’t hear you.
“Don’t, Summer.” Mack squeezes my shoulder, gently trying to pull me away from the portal. “This is what she wants. She’s never going to let us back inside.”
“I know, I just . . . just wish you weren’t caught up in this.” Inara’s eyes glitter with malice as I meet her stare, pouring every bit of my fury into those crystal depths.
She’s so focused on our epic stare down—and not missing a second of the upcoming flesh-eating carnage—that she doesn’t notice her brother inching closer. I don’t either—not until he’s literally right behind her.
I try to move out of the way but I’m not fast enough.
Bane shoves his sister from behind. Inara flies through the portal’s threshold and clobbers me. Something hard collides with my jaw. My head snaps back. Once again, I tumble to the disgusting ground. Inara lands on top of me.
For a surreal moment we both lay there, two enemies tangled together like lovers.
Then Inara smashes her knee into my stomach, pushes to her feet, and slams against the portal’s shield. Her fists pound over and over as she cries, “Bane, let me in!”
Bane shoots his sister a cloying smile and mouths, Oopsie.
“Reina, Lyra! Do something.”
Inara’s two former best friends stare coldly at her before turning their backs.
Inara sags against the wall, her bright blue waves of hair strewn with soot and twigs. An unintelligible string of words spew from her mouth. I don’t know if it’s another language or if she’s so angry that she can’t talk right.
All I know is that she’s loud.
Mack and I rush over to shush her, but she ignores our whispers to be quiet. Rage darkens her eyes as she flings her hand back, prepared to use magic to break the seal—
Nothing happens. She stares in disbelief at her barren fingers. “My magic. Where’s my magic?”
Ruby whispers, “Did they lace your food too?”
Oh—oh. That’s why her magic ran out earlier and why mine wasn’t working. Why didn’t I follow that up? I was so dead set on exposing Hellebore that I missed an obvious warning that something wasn’t right.
Inara whirls around. “What? No, we only put the ringwort powder in Summer’s weird sandwich because we knew you’d eat like half of it, little piglet.”
“Welp,” Mack says, “I’m taking a wild stab that they drugged your food too. Welcome to the club.”
“No, the plan was to slip Summer’s sprite the magic inhibitor so she couldn’t use magic to save you.” She says this openly as if she isn’t admitting to carefully plotting out this entire murderous plan.