Zodiac Academy 2: Ruthless Fae

I STOOD IN the locker rooms outside our Water Elemental class with my bathing suit clenched in my fist as I tried to stop my limbs from trembling. Darcy was watching me from the corner of her eyes as she got herself changed into the skimpy outfit required for the class but she didn’t say anything. She knew I was trying to work through this on my own but I wasn’t totally sure if I could.

I kept hearing the sound of water rushing in my ears, imagining a ceiling of ice forming above my head, my lungs were burning for air but my next breath would be the end of me…

Darius and Max had prowled into class ahead of us and I knew the two of them would be waiting out there once I left this room. I wanted to believe I was strong enough to face them, but in all honesty I wasn’t sure if I was.

The last time I’d been near a large body of water with the Heirs close by it had almost been the end of me. And while Orion’s reaction and punishment had reassured me that they weren’t allowed to murder me, I wasn’t sure what else was off the cards.

The locker room emptied out until only my sister and I were left.

“I could tell Washer you’re not feeling well,” Darcy said softly. “And you can just go back to your room while-”

“Run away?” I asked hopelessly. “And what about the next lesson? Or the next? Do I stop running at some point or just give up any hope of learning water magic at all?”

“Maybe there’s a class you could take without the Heirs-”

I shook my head fiercely. I couldn’t do it. If one thing terrified me more than heading out into that class then it was running away from it. Because if I backed down now then I might as well admit they’d won. And if I was beaten then I’d never come back from it.

“I’m going to walk out there with my head held high and show those assholes that you can’t break a Vega,” I said, determination lacing my tone.

“Hell yeah you are,” Darcy said with a grin.

I stripped out of my uniform before my nerves got the chance to change my mind again and pulled on the bathing suit.

I took a deep breath and gave Darcy a nod as we walked toward the door. If she could face the school with her hair hacked to bits then I could take part in a lesson by a pool with a couple of douchebags.

I stepped out into the beautiful hidden lagoon where our lessons were held and kept my chin high as I strode towards the students gathered around Washer.

My throat tightened as the warm water lapped over my feet but I ignored it, refusing to so much as slow my pace.

“Cutting it fine, Little Vegas,” Max Rigel called as soon as he spotted us. His dark skin was mostly concealed by the Navy scales of his Siren form and it gave him a kind of unearthly beauty, but it also highlighted the fact that he was a beast for all the world to see. “I was beginning to think you weren’t going to show for some reason.”

A few girls tittered.

“Now, now,” Professor Washer chided. “No need to start teasing the lovely ladies the moment they show up.” He grinned at us before slapping Max on the ass in the weirdest display of teacher discipline I’d ever seen. Max flinched away from him and Darius barked a laugh at his expense.

I couldn’t help but release a laugh in response too. But it quickly died as Washer strode towards us in a pair of green Speedos so tight that I could see every detail of his anatomy clearer than I could have if he’d been nude.

“Ten points to Ignis for being willing to get wet with me after your little incident the other night, Miss Vega,” Washer purred, throwing me a wink.

I tried to smile gratefully but in all honesty I was having trouble stopping myself from throwing up all over my bare feet.

Darius was eyeing me with way too much interest for my liking, his inked arms folded over his muscular chest.

“He looks like an angry bouncer who’s seen way too many fake IDs,” Darcy whispered in my ear and I couldn’t help but smirk.

I wanted to glare right back at Darius but I settled for keeping my chin high and ignoring his existence.

Washer moved around the class, giving instructions to different students on what he wanted them to work on today. My heart sank as he headed away from us and the Heirs approached.

The water lapping around my knees started to grow colder as they closed in on us and I took half a step back as the surface began to freeze over.

Fire magic flared in my veins as panic threatened to come for me and the water closest to me hissed and sizzled as it boiled.

“It’s getting chilly around here,” Max purred as he stalked closer, the ice thickening.

I looked up at them, drawing a little closer to Darcy but refusing to back away.

I exchanged a look with my sister which said we were in this together even if that might not be enough to save our asses.

But before Darius and Max could make it to us, Geraldine approached, striding through the water, her face set with determination. At her side was a pretty, dark haired girl with a fierce look in her eyes and her fingers curling into fists. The two of them had Ass badges pinned to their skimpy bathing suits which was quite impressive considering the lack of room in the things; I was surprised they hadn’t speared a nipple when pinning them on.

“Your majesties!” Geraldine called as if she hadn’t even noticed the two Heirs closing in on their prey. “Good golly, I just realised the darndest thing: neither of you have seen my Order form!”

“Err, what?” Darcy asked with a frown.

I wasn’t sure whether it was safe to turn my back on Max and Darius so I only spared Geraldine a glance which was enough to give me a view of her large breasts as she yanked her bathing suit down.

“This is Angelica, the latest member of the Almighty Sovereign Society,” Geraldine said just as Angelica started to strip too. I offered Angelica a smile but Geraldine ploughed on before we could exchange words. “And her Order form is equally impressive in the water. Professor Washer agreed that it would be educational for you to spend this lesson with us so that you can see how some of the most powerful Orders adapt their powers to the water.”

“I’m not actually sure what your Order is, Geraldine,” I admitted.

“She’s a great big guard dog,” Max said dismissively but I noticed that he’d stopped his advance on us and his eyes were glued to Geraldine who was now fully nude.

“A guard dog with poisonous teeth which can kill even the strongest of Fae in less than fifteen minutes,” Geraldine said in a matter of fact tone which couldn’t really be counted as a threat but still made Max’s frown deepened.

“And my bastard cousin is a smaller version of the king of beasts,” Darius added, throwing Angelica a dismissive look.

“My mother may have been foolish enough to engage in an affair with your uncle,” Angelica replied coolly. “But I don’t think I’ve ever heard you call me cousin before, Darius. And I see no need for you to start recognising my existence now.”

“Well if you’d rather throw your lot in with the Vegas then my family were obviously right to ignore your relationship to us,” he replied.

Angelica smiled and I gasped as her teeth lengthened and sharpened. She dropped her bathing suit at her feet and lunged forward, transforming into a glimmering red dragon before releasing a roar which made the water shudder around my feet. She was much smaller than Darius’s Dragon form, about the size of a large horse, but the delicate beauty of her reptilian body still took my breath away.

“It will be my unwavering pleasure to guard you in my Order form for this lesson, majesties.” Geraldine bowed to us, pointing her bare ass at the Heirs before the transformation ripped through her.

I lurched back a step as her body expanded and two more heads grew from her shoulders, complete with shining white fangs which no doubt held that poison she’d mentioned.

Holy crap on a cornflake.

The three headed dog which was Geraldine was almost as big as goddamn elephant and I craned my head back to look up at her in astonishment.

Three huge pairs of jaws bared three sets of fangs and she growled low in the back of her three throats.

I looked beyond her to the Heirs and found the two of them striding away. They didn’t seem to be in a particular hurry but they’d obviously decided that it wasn’t worth facing off with a Cerberus and a Dragon to get to us.

“Holy shit, Geraldine,” I muttered as I looked over her brindle coat in astonishment. “Who knew you were a straight up badass underneath the sweet raisin bran exterior?”

Cerberus Geraldine tilted her three huge heads like a happy puppy and wagged her tail in response to my words before striding out into the deeper water with Dragon Angelica at her side.

“Wow,” Darcy breathed as we moved after them and I found my panic over this lesson had been driven away.

I couldn’t say we’d ever really done anything to earn such unwavering loyalty from the A.S.S. but in that moment, I swore never to take them for granted ever again.

***

I woke in the middle of the night to the sound of music flowing through the walls and winding its way into my skull. I shook my head to clear it as the eerie tune continued on. It was hauntingly beautiful and yet achingly sad at the same time. Something about it set my heart racing. It was unlike anything I’d ever heard before and I couldn’t even begin to imagine what kind of instrument could play such a tune. No. It wasn’t an instrument; it was a voice. But instead of a voice which would give words to the world, this felt like the voice of a soul.

As soon as the idea entered my mind I tried to dismiss it. The voice of a soul? That was insane. And how would I have the faintest idea of what that would sound like anyway?

I shook my head, trying to clear it of the strange thought and the endless music.

I lay back down again, closing my eyes with every intention to go back to sleep but before I knew it, I found myself on my feet.

I walked for the door and paused with my fingertips on the handle.

What’s going on? Why am I trying to head outside in the middle of the night?

The song wound around me again, my heartbeat seeming to find a rhythm with it.

I placed my hands over my ears to block it out but somehow it sounded even louder than before.

A small piece of me was aware that I should be terrified of whatever new magic this was. Someone was casting a spell on me. But I didn’t feel afraid; I felt eager to follow the music and find out where it led.

I was only wearing a pair of dark green silk shorts and a matching cami but it had been a fairly warm day so I hoped it wouldn’t be too cold outside even though it was the middle of the night.

I caught a grey hoodie from the hook by the door just in case and pushed my feet into my sneakers. It was all I could manage before the song nudged me out of the door.

A smile was tugging at my lips but I wasn’t sure why.

I headed along the corridor outside my room and down the stairs into the Ignis House common room as I pushed my arms into the hoodie and left the zip open. One senior had fallen asleep studying at a desk in the corner but no one else was up at this hour. The fires still burned of course, lighting the room enough to see by and I crossed the space quickly.

My heart continued to pound to the rhythm of the song and as I stepped out into the night, it grew even louder.

Why is no one else awake? Surely they can hear it too…

I picked up my pace, following the music into the dark. It was pitch black out here and cold too but I knew exactly where I was going – even though I didn’t actually have a clue. My feet kept moving to the lulling rhythm of the music and I was powerless to resist following it wherever it led.

I still wasn’t afraid. Was that a part of this magic? To keep me quiet and subdued while the song led me… where exactly? I didn’t know. But I was going to follow this trail until I found out.

I passed The Orb which glimmered a little in the starlight and turned west into Water Territory. I’d never been out here at night and the sound of water running all around me in brooks and streams stirred up memories of my fears. Of drowning in that car. Of drowning in the pool while the Heirs all watched…

Even though those memories surfaced at the sound of the water around me, I still didn’t react in any way. My heart kept thumping to the rhythm of the music. My feet kept treading the path it led me down.

I was afraid but I wasn’t. I was trapped but willing.

Suddenly my feet veered off of the path and I pushed my way through a trailing swathe of mossy vines. I found myself in a clearing surrounded by curtains of creepers filled with white flowers which were in full bloom despite it being night.

In the centre of the clearing, moonlight shone down on a large rock, highlighting a figure sitting on top of it. He had his back to me but I could pick out shimmering scales which lined his flesh. A prickle of recognition flooded me and I inhaled sharply, sensing a noose closing around my neck. I’d just walked straight into a trap and the hairs along my arms rose as I felt a cage of magic springing to life around me.

The song stopped abruptly and the Siren on the rock turned to look down at me. Max’s dark features fell from relieved into a scowl the second his gaze landed on me in my open hoodie and silk pyjamas.

“Oh for the love of everything that’s destined,” he growled. “Why the hell did it have to be you?”

“Why the hell did what have to be me?” I demanded, folding my arms and holding his eye despite the fear licking down my spine. “And why the hell am I here?”

Max scowled at me for a moment that stretched so long I shifted my weight onto my other foot.

When he continued to uphold the silence I decided to make a break for it. I turned my back on him and made to push my way out of the clearing. But when I did, my hand met with a solid force instead of sinking into the curtain of vines.

Max sighed loudly and I spun back to face him.

“Let me go,” I demanded as coolly as I could manage. The last time he’d had me at his mercy he’d tried to drown me and the dark blue scales which lined his exposed body only reminded me of his affinity to water.

“It’s like I’ve summoned a goddamn mortal,” he cursed.

“What?”

“You can’t go. Not until you’ve kissed me,” Max said, using a tone which suggested I was stupid.

“What the hell are you even talking about? I would sooner kiss a horse’s ass. Let me out of here,” I snapped.

“That’s not up to me. You were drawn here by my Siren song so you have to kiss me if you want to go. I don’t control it. It picks someone who the magic thinks needs to feel my power. For some unknown reason, it picked you.”

“Why would I believe anything you say?” I demanded.

“Well you can’t leave, can you? And neither can I. And no offence, little Vega but I can find girls who want to kiss me easily enough without resorting to something this elaborate. This is part of what my Order does. When the stars align right we’re compelled to release our song and wait for the arrival of the person destined to hear it. I don’t get any say in who that is, obviously. And neither of us can leave until we get this over with.”

“Why would your power require me to kiss you?” I demanded.

“Because when you hear the call of a Siren you have no choice but to answer it. You’re Song-Spelled. And when you follow the song, you have to kiss me. For the duration of that kiss, my power will be reversed so that instead of me feeding on your emotions, you’ll feed on mine. And believe me, I couldn’t think of anyone I’d less like to give a peek into my mind. But here we are.” Max raised his eyebrows at me expectantly and I couldn’t help but believe him. There wasn’t any other explanation for the song that had led me here and as far as I could tell, there was no trap waiting to be sprung.

I pursed my lips, trying to think of some way out of this. I pushed my hand against the barrier beside me hopefully but it was just as solid as before.

No such luck there then.

“This is ridiculous,” I muttered, taking a step towards him. “A few weeks ago I was hanging around a biker bar and trying to figure out how to keep me and Darcy fed this winter. Now I’m in a freaking magic school looking at a Siren on a rock who lured me out of bed in the middle of the night with a pretty song like a goddamn pied piper for sleeping women.”

“Well if it makes you feel any better, sitting on a rock isn’t all it’s cracked up to be either,” Max replied dryly. “My ass is cold and numb – you took your damn time in coming here.”

I rolled my eyes. I was the one who’d been ‘Song-Spelled’ out of my bed in the middle of the night and had traipsed half way across the school grounds in the dark.

“Well I’m not forcing you to sit on a rock,” I replied.

“That’s kinda how it goes though isn’t it? Siren sits on a rock and lures unwitting people to them.”

“I think you mean victims,” I said, remembering the stories from Sinbad the sailor where the Sirens lured men to them and drowned them.

“They outlawed Sirens killing the Song-Spelled over a century ago,” Max said in a tone that suggested he thought I was stupid. “But I can imagine why so many Sirens killed those who they kissed; they didn’t want their victims as you call them running off with all of their secrets.”

“So I’m going to learn your secrets, am I?” I asked, wondering what the hell kind of depraved things Max Rigel kept locked up in his mind.

“I’m too powerful for that,” he assured me. “But a less powerful Siren might lose control of the flow of their thoughts and feelings if they kissed someone stronger than them. They might feel compelled to murder to protect themselves if that happened.”

“Lovely,” I said, my tone flat. I hadn’t thought that I would be able to dislike the Siren Order any more than I did already but it had happened.

“Shall we do this then?” Max asked, standing and hopping down from the rock to land before me.

He was only covered by a small pair of swimming trunks and his navy blue scales concealed the flesh from his ankles to his wrists and neck, leaving only his face, hands and feet clear of them.

He stepped towards me and I held up a hand to halt him.

“You seriously expect me to kiss you?” I asked. After all the horrendous things he’d done to me and my sister since we’d arrived at this academy I couldn’t think of many things I’d like to do less.

“Unless staying trapped here alone with me for the rest of time is preferable?” he asked, seeming unimpressed with how reluctant I was.

I glared at him as I weighed up my options. Both choices seemed equally awful but if he was telling the truth then I’d have to kiss him eventually either way. We couldn’t stay here forever.

“On the lips?” I checked, hoping for a way out.

“No, on my ass,” he joked. “Want me to bend over?”

“That might be preferable to your face,” I deadpanned.

“Come on,” he said, moving closer again, clearly wanting this over with.

“Just wait!” I insisted, raising my hand a bit higher, he was almost close enough to touch and I could feel the warmth of his body radiating half an inch from my outstretched palm.

“What for?”

“Can you not talk for a few minutes?” I asked.

“Why?”

“Because if you shut up, then I can try and focus on your looks and forget about the personality that goes with them,” I said. It didn’t matter that I was admitting I found him attractive, it wasn’t like I desired him no matter how gorgeous he was; the beast inside was easily enough to repulse me. And he knew what he looked like anyway.

Max scowled at me but did as I requested and stayed silent.

My gaze swept over his handsome features, strong brow and deep eyes. He was captivating and all masculine; the scent of the sea washed toward me from his skin and his scales hugged every contour of his toned abdomen. Yeah, if I could forget the asshole that lived within his flesh then I could summon up the motivation to kiss him without puking.

I dropped my hand. Released a breath. Stepped forward.

Max moved too until the space dividing us was almost gone.

“If this is some trick, I’m going to kick you in your scaly balls,” I warned.

For half a heartbeat Max actually smirked at me, like he’d found that funny and then his mouth was on mine.

I froze, meaning to pull back the moment our lips had brushed against each other’s but something wound its way around me and I found myself caught in that moment.

The power of the Siren’s Song drew me closer and instead of wanting to pull back, I found myself leaning in.

Max’s mouth moved against mine slowly and I gasped as I felt a sliver of lust trickling beneath my skin which didn’t feel like my own. It was quickly followed by an image of me from a few minutes ago when Max had first seen me in the clearing. He’d looked over my silky pyjamas, noticing the curves of my body and the way my flesh was exposed. The moonlight shone on my dark hair making it look like a spill of ink and he was filled with irritation and a little anger, countered by the strange desire to take this kiss from me.

I flinched internally at the tide of his emotions as they danced across my mind. It disoriented me and for a moment, I felt like I was falling. I reached out, my hand landing on the firm line of his hip as I tried to steady myself.

My touch ignited a flare of lust in him which washed into me again and lit a fire of excitement in my veins. This was wrong. I should have been pulling away from him but his hands caught my waist and he dragged me against him instead, cementing the connection between us.

A soft moan escaped me as his kiss deepened and his lust fed into mine, creating a whirlwind of it which I couldn’t escape. He pushed his tongue into my mouth and I tasted salt water as I devoured his kiss.

A small voice in the back of my head was shouting at me to remember what he was and as I focused on it, I drew on the well of power within me to help me resist him.

But instead of doing what I wanted, it flung me further into his psyche, beyond the lust he’d been allowing me to see and into the untold corners of his mind.

He kissed me harder, his grip on me tightening as my hands travelled up his broad chest, the scales silky smooth beneath my palms.

I was vaguely aware of him trying to push things away from me but it was like I’d been handed the key to his mind and everywhere I looked were open doors.

I wondered if this was what he felt when he was feeding on power and emotions from other people. Had he been looking straight into my mind when he’d drawn my greatest fear from me?

The moment that thought crossed my mind, Max gripped me harder; he was kissing me like he would die if he didn’t and while one part of me was caught in the heat of his arms and the feeling of his lips against mine, another started to notice flashes of memory.

I could hear a man’s voice and I knew it was his father. His tone was kind, understanding while Max was swamped with fear and loss.

“There was nothing anyone could do for her. By the time anybody realised she was sick, it was too late. I don’t know why she hid the symptoms from me. I could have done something…”

Max looked up through tear-blurred eyes as the loss of his mother overwhelmed him and saw another woman looking into the room. The corner of her mouth lifted into a sly smile for half a heartbeat and he knew that she’d been responsible for causing his mother’s death. His stepmother had wanted her gone for as long as he could remember… his mother was a dirty little secret.

What secret?

At my direction, the answer came to me between the taste of his lips and a groan of longing that escaped him.

No one outside of the family had ever known it, but Max was a bastard. His father had married his wife through an arrangement to keep his bloodline pure but he’d been in love with another woman. He’d kept seeing her in secret and had gotten her pregnant before his wife. To cover it up they’d hidden her and his wife had pretended to be pregnant rather than face the scandal. He was still an Heir because his power came from his father’s side but if anyone ever found out he was illegitimate they could push for one of his half-siblings to take his place.

His father had always stood firmly beside him but his step-mother was devious and wanted one of her own children on his throne.

I could feel the tension in Max’s body but he didn’t seem to be able to pull away from me. Instead the heat of his kiss was increasing, his hands moving beneath the hoodie I wore and skimming the flesh at the base of my spine.

I almost drew back, not liking this insight into his mind despite the fact that my body was begging for more of him and my hands had moved behind his neck. But before I could withdraw, I felt a flicker of his fear again. The sensation of his emotions skewing my own sent a shiver down my spine and I couldn’t help but wonder why the hell he liked the taste of other people’s fear.

Because I know that taking their fear from them makes them happier.

I jolted in surprise at that revelation but I knew it was true. I could feel what he felt and I could see memories of him absorbing fear from others. It wasn’t the fear he enjoyed; it was the sense of peace and calm he left them with as he removed it. He only claimed to like the fear itself as a way to seem more intimidating and cover up the fact that he preferred using his power on softer emotions.

I was given a flicker of more memories as he took joy and hope from people too and how that lit him up from the inside. But if he took too much joy from someone it left them sad and he hated that.

My gut squirmed. I was looking into the soul of a monster and I didn’t like the fact that I was finding out so many opinion-altering things about him. He was an asshole. Through and through. And I didn’t want to feel bad about his mother’s murder or sympathetic to the way he fed from people’s emotions.

With a wrench of determination, I drew back and broke our kiss.

My lips felt bruised and were tingling from the intensity of it. His eyes burned with desire for a fleeting moment and all I could do was stare at him in utter shock.

What the hell just happened?

He’d been pushing at my clothes, trying to get closer to me as he was lost to the passion of our connection and I could feel the heat of his palm as it splayed across my lower back beneath my cami. My hoodie had been knocked back off of my shoulders and his other hand cupped my cheek. My own fingers were fisted in his mohawk and our bodies were pressed together so that I could feel the hard contours of his muscles against my flesh.

We were both breathing heavily like we’d done a lot more than kissing and I fought to shake off the lust that had grown beneath his touch.

With a shake of my head, I moved my hands to his chest and shoved him back a step as I broke away from him.

“What the hell was that?” I demanded.

Max’s hands fell limp at his sides and he looked almost panicked for a moment.

The spell holding me here had gone and I could feel the air moving around us again in a cool breeze but I didn’t leave. I wanted answers.

“You just…” Max scowled at me as he sifted through what had just happened and a dark accusation flashed in his eyes. “Fuck!” He advanced on me suddenly. I couldn’t help but back up a few steps even though I wanted to hold my ground. “Who the hell do you think you are to go poking around in my head?” he demanded.

In the blink of an eye his rage turned to panic and he whirled away from me again.

“You’re the one who drew me out here in the middle of the night,” I reminded him angrily. “So whatever the hell that was, it’s on you!”

He turned back to look at me again, his hand shifting beside him and drawing a stronger wind to rustle through the clearing at his call. I braced for some kind of attack, summoning my own power even though I knew I was outmatched.

“My song has never called anyone more powerful than me before,” he muttered, almost to himself. “Hell, there never was anyone more powerful than me before… normally I can control what the Song-Spelled get to see of me but you took control…”

“I used your own power on you?” I asked, putting the pieces together.

“What’s it going to take for you to keep your mouth shut?” he snarled.

“What’s the big deal?” I asked. “Where I come from every other person has a step parent or a single parent, half siblings or a foster family. Why would anyone give a shit about your daddy fooling around?”

“Because the Celestial families don’t just marry any old street trash they take a liking to,” he growled. “We keep our bloodlines pure and our power intact. Half of our marriages are arranged for us. And my step-mother’s family just so happen to be some of the most powerful people in Solaria outside of the Council. Offending them would have massive consequences. Not to mention the fact that my real mother had a Minotaur for a Grandfather.”

“A Minotaur?” I frowned at him. “What does that have to do with-”

“Because that means there’s a chance that I’m carrying goddamn Minotaur genes! Which could make it a lot harder for me to find a wife. Who wants to risk muddying their blood like that? The Siren Order is much more powerful than-”

“So you’re telling me that if you fell in love with a… Medusa or a Pegasus you wouldn’t marry them?” I asked with a frown.

Max’s lips parted. He stared at me for a long second then released a breath of laughter.

“A fucking Pegasus? Even if I found out I was Elysian Mates with a Pegasus I doubt I’d be allowed to consider marrying them! Can you imagine?!” He ran a hand over his face in exasperation.

“What’s an Elysian Mate?” I asked with a frown. 

“Gah you’re so ignorant it kills me! It’s like your one true love. Point is I couldn’t marry them if they weren’t a Siren.”

“Well that seems pretty damn stupid,” I replied. “What’s the point in having all of your power if you can’t even have happiness with it?”

Max shook his head. “If you want to go and marry a Cyclops then please be my guest. I would love to see you weaken your claim like that. It would make things even easier for us.”

“No one will be having any say in who I marry,” I replied scathingly. “If I fall in love with a Cyclops or a Pegasus or even a damn mortal, then I’ll be with them regardless.”

“You’re an idiot,” he said, looking up at the sky. “But I couldn’t give two shits what you do with your love life anyway. Go back to the mortal world and marry Big Bird for all I care. It’ll make things a lot easier for us anyway.”

“Well I’d sooner choose happiness over worrying about a stupid scandal,” I bit back. And Big Bird sounded like a much better option than a lot of the assholes in this school anyway.

“If anyone finds out about my parentage, it will cause a hell of a lot more than just some scandal,” Max replied. “It could cause a divide amongst our supporters. It could tear a hole in the foundation of our government and leave us vulnerable right as the Nymphs are gaining power. Why do you think my step-mother has never told anyone? In public she acts like the doting mother she should be but behind closed doors she plots my downfall. If something were to happen to me then my half sister Ellis would be the Heir. That’s what she’s hoping for, but my father stands in her way.”

He said the words so matter of factly that I almost felt a hint of pity for him. But then I remembered what a dickwad he was and quickly squashed that thought.

“Fine. Whatever,” I said. “I couldn’t care less about your mommy issues anyway.”

“No one knows about this,” he said, his voice low. “No one.”

“Not even the other Heirs?” I asked in surprise.

Max clenched his jaw which was confirmation enough. This really must have been a big secret if he’d even kept it from them.

“Fine,” I said, taking a step back. “I’ll keep your dirty little secret.”

“Just like that?” he asked disbelievingly.

“Unlike you, I don’t take pleasure in causing other people pain,” I replied. “Just don’t go serenading me out of my bed again any time soon.”

I gathered the hoodie closer around me and headed out of the clearing. Max didn’t follow and relief flooded me as I made my way back to Ignis House as quickly as I could.

That encounter had been weird as hell and I was just glad it was over.