Academy for Courting Curses - Tara West Page 0,42

tried to speak, but all that came out were garbled sounds. Teju’s heart nearly broke when frustrated tears ran down her face.

Alexi placed his hands on her shoulders. “I’m all right.” He patted the back of his head, and his hand came away with blood on his fingers. “Just a little bump.”

Serah gasped and more tears fell.

He needed medical attention immediately. Serah did, too, for that matter. Her tongue might become infected without proper treatment.

“Serah,” he whispered, looking over his shoulder when he thought he heard the ruffle of wings. “We have to go.”

She gave him an imploring look, pointing to the chains that bound her brother’s hands to the wall. Help him with these, please.

Teju zapped his bindings, and they fell to the ground.

The Fae rubbed his scarred wrists. “Thank you, friend.”

“Don’t mention it,” Teju said, holding a hand down to him. “Let’s go.”

Alexi got to his feet like a baby unicorn taking his first steps. He was unsteady, his knees practically knocked together. Teju was dismayed. This Fae clearly wasn’t strong enough to walk out of here. Without waiting for consent, Teju swept him up and tossed him over his shoulder. Alexi felt as frail as a porcelain teacup and as light as a bag of feathers.

“Do you know where you’re going?” Alexi asked.

“I suppose I’ll follow my nose,” he grumbled. He smelled water, so he knew they weren’t far from where they’d come in, but the risk of exposing Serah to Charybdis and the kraken was too great. They had to find another exit.

“I think I remember the way out,” Alexi said. “Goldenwand let me surface a few times to catch fish.”

“And you didn’t escape?”

The Fae Said sadly, “I couldn’t leave Demonique.”

“The cat-bitch?” Teju snorted, remembering being forced to listen to the feline purring as she licked the demon’s cunt. Why would he want to stay for her?

“She wasn’t always hostile. She was Goldenwand’s prisoner, too.”

Perhaps Gae had put a spell on Demonique. That would make sense, because he remembered she’d been friends with his older brothers. Though he hadn’t known her well, he knew she loathed witches. She had been the leader of the shifter rebellion.

“You can lead the way,” Teju said. “Let’s just hope the exit isn’t buried.”

And if it is, Serah said inside his head, I know a dragon who might be able to tunnel out of here.

Teju didn’t respond to that, his knees wobbling like jelly. If it came to that, he hoped he’d have the strength to free them.

* * *

Draque waited with Kron and Ladon in the cliff’s imposing shadow, watching the sea for any sign of the monster. The rest of his brothers and fathers waited above with Violet, where it was hopefully safe. They’d been instructed not to come to their aid unless Kron called for them. He’d wanted to keep their party small to avoid detection.

Fenri sat not far from the whale, legs crossed and arms extended outward, as if deep in meditation. He wasn’t sure if that was Fenri’s intention, but watching him made Draque sleepy.

Hugo stood beside him, alternating between blurting strange noises and shooing away the flies that swarmed the dead whale. They didn’t swarm for long though. It was as if they, too, sensed the malevolence approaching.

Draque tensed when the water bubbled and boiled. Hugo’s bleating intensified. The monster surfaced, rising from the water like a phantom ship from the bottom of the ocean, moss clinging to his tentacles, and black ink dripping from eyes that gleamed as red as the depths of hell. He hovered over the two Fae, his sharp beak pulled back in a grotesque snarl.

The brothers didn’t appear to be alarmed. Fenri lifted his arms and Hugo continued bleating. The kraken looked from the Fae to the whale, issuing a series of strange chirps before his long, slimy tentacles wrapped around the offering and dragged it toward the water.

It was working!

A bolt of thunder struck the monster, and he let out an unholy screech before slinking back to the water, abandoning his prize. The yellow sleeping potion leached into the water as waves lapped at the whale carcass.

“Back away from our sons!” Victor Nasir screamed overhead from his winged horse. Victor and his horse glowed an unnatural blue and static bounced off him, dispersing in brilliant colors. Raphael was on a horse behind him, throwing bursts of what appeared to be fireworks that materialized into giant snowballs when they struck the side of the beast. With a roar, he slipped