Wintertide Read online

  Una cackled, “It’s about time girl. But I would have thought you’d be a little happier about losing your V-card. Or was this mystery man a disappointment?”

  “It was amazing. I’ve read about how wonderful sex is, even gotten the feels reading about it, but I never imagined it would feel that damn good. He was so patient with me and understanding, a real gentleman, even though I could tell how hard it was for him. He freaking rocked my world.”

  “So what’s the problem?” Before I could answer her she snapped her fingers and exclaimed, “Calex! You’re worried about what Calex is going to say.”

  I nodded my head and went on to tell her everything I had been feeling since it happened. I spilled my guts admitting to my own self-loathing and worry about Calex. She listened intently and patiently, nodding in understanding, only interrupting to ask who it was, which I refused to reveal.

  When I finished with my rambling she considered me for a minute before speaking. “I’m going to be honest, honey. Calex may not react well, depending on who it was. Not a lot of people know how he got put in here and it’s not my place to tell you that. It’s probably best if it comes directly from him. I will tell you though he’s a very jealous person and it could really go either way with him.”

  I groaned, “That’s what I’m afraid of. I can’t explain it, I don’t want to lose Calex but I don’t want to lose any of them. I have feelings that I don’t understand for all of them. I completely fucked myself.”

  “No you didn’t, I mean technically mystery man fucked you and that's why we’re here,” she chuckled at her own joke as I looked at her flatly. “Anyways,” she laughed, “The thing is, no matter who you slept with first there would be a shitshow. That’s how men are. They need to find their place and work out their differences themselves. You have nothing to do with that nor are you the cause of it. It happens every single time a harem is formed. But they will work it out if they care about you.”

  “Really?” I asked hopefully, sure I was misunderstanding her.

  “Yep,” she assured me. “And you needed to get that first time out of the way before Calex got his chance. I can just tell that man is going to make you unable to walk for a week once he gets his hands on you. I’m sure you being a virgin was the only thing holding him back.” She cackled again. “Look, you can use my place, just stay on that wall when he needs to pound you against one. It’s the only one without breakables.” She pointed to the right, a wall that I realized had much higher shelves and it seemed that the lower ones were taken down.

  “Did you make that a fucking wall?” I asked incredulously.

  “Well, it didn’t start out that way. I needed the wood to make the coffee table. It just happened to end up being a great one. Jet has had me up against it many times. That man loves to do it upright.”

  I shivered at the thought of Jet and his gilled neck, but I wouldn’t judge my friend for her choice in men. It seemed as though she was from somewhere in the sea so it would make sense that she was attracted to the fish boy. Hell, aside from the gill neck, he was actually an attractive guy. “Too much info, Una,” I laughed.

  “Never too much. Since you leave a girl hanging on the name, you owe me something. I’m dying to know what your first time was like. Spill!” she demanded as she leaned forward eagerly and I filled her in on as much as I could without giving away Sebastian’s identity. That meant leaving out the ride on the dragon and I hated that I couldn’t tell her.

  A weird noise on the wall that held the hidden door pulled my attention from our conversation. I looked around and spotted a clock on one of the shelves. “Uh, Una? Is that clock right up there?”

  “Yeah, why?”

  “Oh shit! We need to go! I have to make it to my tutoring or I’m going to be in deep shit!” I rushed to stand, shocked that we had been there the whole day.

  We rushed to the door and she hit the stone to open it. It slid open and revealed a very pissed-off Blade. “Oh shit,” I squeaked as he lifted me up and threw me over his shoulder, taking off with me down the hallway at an inhuman speed. “What are you doing?” I beat my fists against his back.

  “Getting you to your appointment on time,” he grunted, surprisingly not out of breath at all.

  “I’m sure I can walk, or err, run,” I insisted.

  “No,” was all he said as he leaned his ear up against the door before opening it. My head bounced off his back as he sprinted up the stairs taking them two at a time. I was a bit amazed at his strength and prowess as if he wasn’t carrying me at all. It was only minutes before he was setting me down outside Sebastian’s classroom door. “I’ll wait.”

  I was sick of everyone treating me like glass and my anger was starting to peak. I could feel the frost creeping up my arm, all that hard work I had done to get control was failing me. This just pissed me off more. “Don’t bother,” I huffed as I entered the classroom and slammed the door shut in his face.

  Jaxon and Sebastian were waiting for me, both with identical looks of amusement on their faces. I glared at them and they both held up their hands placatingly. It would have been comical if I hadn’t been so livid with Blade. “Do you want to build a snowman, again?” Jaxon asked carefully.

  “No. I want to build an iron maiden or a- I don’t know, something painful and torturous,” I grumbled. I knew I shouldn’t take it out on them, but I was long past rational thoughts.

  “How about if we work on a blizzard?” Jaxon suggested hopefully as I narrowed my eyes at him. “First you need to calm your emotions. I don’t know about the professor here, but I’d rather not become a block of ice today. Do you know how long it took me to get this perfect messy hair this morning?” He waggled his eyebrows at me, and I couldn’t help but laugh, the crystals receding from my arms.

  “Jaxon, you are one of a kind. I wouldn’t think of messing up your hair or your perfect tie.” I rolled my eyes. “You’re more vain than any woman I’ve ever known.”

  “Why thank you,” he responded with a bow. He and I may have gotten off on the wrong foot the first day we met but he seemed to be worming his way into my heart. As a friend. I didn’t need any more complicated love interests in my life, I reminded myself.

  Sebastian was quiet during our banter and seemed as though his mind was somewhere else. “Why don’t you two get started on meditation. Jaxon, you can guide Evangeline. I have something I have to take care of.” He sat at his desk and seemed to zone out, surprising me by not leaving as I had thought he would.

  “He is communicating with the dragons outside,” Jaxon informed me quietly as we settled ourselves on the floor, making me glance out the window as I wondered what he could be saying to them to make him need to zone out like that. Earlier, I hadn’t even noticed any sign that he was talking to the black beauty that took us for a ride.

  “Why don’t we get started by breathing? Just follow my lead.” He took my hands as we sat cross-legged facing each other. I echoed the way he took in a deep breath through his nose and exhaled through his mouth. Again and again I repeated the motions.

  A few minutes later I felt myself relaxing, the tingling I felt when I slammed the door in Blade’s face receding. The grip I had on Jaxon’s hands lessened as every muscle in my body lost the tightness.

  “Now look deep inside of yourself for your power,” Jaxon instructed quietly. “Yesterday we worked on emotions. Today I want you to find that glow and the strings that you can pull to control your magic. Feel for the cold that resides deep inside of you.”

  I concentrated and felt around for it, getting frustrated when I couldn’t sense anything similar to what he described. My hands began to tingle again with my irritation at myself, and I took deep breaths to relax once more.

  “I can feel your hands freezing. It’s okay, Eva. This is the hardest thing to master. Just relax and keep looking. Stay calm as you search yourself, look deep.” Jaxon soothed and the tingles immediately stopped. “Good job. Now, I want you to try focusing on the h
appy thought that you had yesterday. Squeeze my hand when you have it.”

  I thought about the snowman I had created, and I immediately felt joy. I focused on the feeling fully, making sure I had it before I squeezed his hand.

  “Good. Now, follow that feeling deeper. It should start in your heart, a gentle glow that seems out of place but right all at the same time. Do you have it?” I squeezed his hand when I found it and felt my excitement grow. “Good. Now. look beyond that. Search for those strings that exist just beyond that soft glow. They will extend through your body, to your hands, where your power is directed from.”

  I did as he instructed and still found nothing. Beads of sweat dripped down my forehead as I strained to find something similar to what he described. It all felt like one jumbled lump. There were no strings, just a big ball of nothing. I reminded myself that this was the hard part as I echoed Jaxon’s words to myself and eased my own frustration away.

  “You’re doing great, Eva.” His words made me proud, a foreign feeling after the shame I had experienced with my powers for as long as I could remember.

  I searched again and there it was, something faint but definitely there. A cold feeling that barely shot to my shoulder. I squeezed his hands again as it grew stronger the more I concentrated on it. I strained as I followed it all the way down my arm.

  “This is the hardest part, so don’t get frustrated if you don’t master it right away,” his voice was gentle and reassuring. “I want you to send a snowflake down that path, but only one hand. Whichever one you feel the most, that’s where I want you to send it.”

  I did as he told me and felt the magic course through that string, down my arm and out to my palm. I felt the snow push through my skin along with an odd feeling I hadn’t ever felt before. It was strange and exciting at the same time. I opened my eyes and took my hand from Jaxon’s, glancing between us at his extended palm that now held a sparkling snowflake. “We did it!” I exclaimed with glee before launching my body toward his and wrapping my arms around his neck.

  He chuckled in my ear, “You did it, Eva.” He gripped my hips and eased me back gently, making me very aware that I had literally jumped on him. “You learn very quickly, and I can see you being able to gain control very fast. Do you want to try it again?” he asked, thankfully not upset with my excitement.

  I returned to my position and bounced excitedly as I nodded my head. “Hell yeah!”

  We worked on it several more times, switching between each side. He said it was important for me to be able to learn to do just one side at a time.

  I felt like I had it mastered, but he dashed my hopes, “You did very well today. Tomorrow we can work on letting out a little more snow and then bringing it back in. I’d also like to work on switching to ice or frost so you have complete control over all of your magic, not just snow.”

  “Thank you, Jaxon. You are an excellent teacher. I really appreciate you spending your time with me when you could be doing other things.”

  “It’s my pleasure. I’d rather work with a pretty girl than have to sit around with a bunch of ugly inmates,” he teased. “I’ll see you in the morning.” He gave a little wave before running out the door.

  Sebastian was still zoned out and I didn’t know if I should bother him or not. It was close to dinner and I wanted to take a shower before I went down. I didn’t like the idea of Blade’s scent on me and needed to wash it off.

  I took a pen off his desk and wrote him a note that I had to get to dinner and I would talk to him after the study session in the morning. I glanced at him again seeing his eyes were clouded over and he stared ahead, transfixed on whatever he was doing. I put my note next to him and hoped he wasn’t too angry at me for leaving him without saying goodbye. I didn’t want to interrupt whatever it was he was doing though, so I would apologize later.

  When I left the classroom I was happy and disappointed at the same time that Blade hadn’t waited for me. It would certainly make my shower a lot easier without him standing guard. But damn, I had started getting used to his stoic presence. If I was being honest with myself, I enjoyed being around him and kind of hoped he would do his sniffing thing again.

  I stopped at my room and grabbed clean clothes before heading for a quick shower. I let out a low moan as the hot water hit me, relaxing me and washing away all the sweat from my practice along with the smell of Blade, hopefully. I wasn’t sure because I didn’t seem to have that sensitive sense of smell like everyone else and I wondered why that was. I would have to ask Sebastian and Jaxon about it in the morning.

  Thoughts of Sebastian brought a tingle to my core. My time with him was amazing and I couldn’t wait for it again. Just being near him filled something in me that I never knew existed, but at the same time I was hesitant because I didn’t want to hurt him with my feelings for the others.

  I admitted to myself that when I pictured Jaxon, I had almost the same reaction. One of excitement and anticipation. He was an enigma and he was really growing on me. I did have that initial attraction to him when we first met, or at least when I woke up from my crazy ice disaster.

  The more time I spent with him the more I saw the side of him that was alluring. I enjoyed the easy banter with him and loved the way he had become so supportive despite the fact that he didn’t want to be there in the first place. Ugh, I needed to stop thinking about more men and collecting them like dolls. I pushed him out of my mind and scrubbed my body once again for good measure.

  I wanted to stay in the shower forever, the heavy stream massaging my stiff muscles and relaxing me in places I hadn’t even known were tense and sore. I hadn’t realized that concentrating took so much out of me physically. I groaned when I looked at the clock and noted I needed to get out and get to dinner.

  I had no choice though, there were rules I couldn’t risk breaking. Not since I doubted that they would throw me in the same cell as Calex considering they called it solitary. If that were the case, I would be sure not to show up.

  I grinned as I turned off the water finally. I wasn’t sure how I felt about Calex, I just knew a part of me felt empty without him near. In such a short time he became such an integral part of my life, one that I looked forward to. What I wouldn’t give to run my fingers down his feathers and feel them shiver beneath me. I missed his striking blue eyes, the intensity at which he stared at me as if he could see into my very soul.

  Calex was like my knight in shining armor, and I loved every bit of him, darkness and all. Well, not love, love. I didn’t think anyway. It’s not like I really knew what love was. I was sure it was nothing like in the books. Either way, I knew I had at least a major infatuation and I cared for him. For now, that was all I needed to know. I just hoped he wasn’t too pissed at me like Una thought he might be.

  I strolled out of the shower room, my hair still wet and dripping down my back. I wondered how long Calex would be stuck in solitary for what he had done for me. From what Una told me, Calex had gotten away with everything at the prison because of who his dad was. This was the first time he had actually been punished, so they were really pissed-off. She didn’t think they would keep him long though, not with who his dad was.

  I hurried from the bathroom, hoping that was the case as I rushed down to check in with Henry on time. After dinner, I was feeling exhausted, so I returned to my room and quickly fell asleep. The past few days were finally catching up with me, and I never even heard the doors close and lock us up for the night.

  Chapter Twenty

  The next day I woke up feeling so much more refreshed than I had in a long time. I swung my legs over the bed to climb down and my thighs ached in places they had never hurt before. As I lowered myself to the ground the day before came rushing back to me and I grinned as I remembered how amazing it had felt with Sebastian. It was so worth every ache I felt today.

  Quickly, I ran a brush through my hair and tossed on clean clothes as I wondered if today would be the day they released Calex. It was strange, but
I actually missed having him around. I needed to figure out what the hell was going on with my lady bits, and get a handle on it, before he got back. That would only complicate things so much more.

  I left the room, ready to go to morning check-in and excited for my first lesson of the day. And super excited to see Sebastian. Maybe if I arrived a little early we could have a few minutes alone. My thighs clenched in response and anticipation flooded through me as I swung around the doorframe to head downstairs.

  I let out a small squeak and stopped dead in my tracks when I almost bumped into someone leaning against the wall. There was no way it was him. I wiped my eyes, certain I was hallucinating. With his arms crossed in his casual, nonchalant way, Calex leaned against the wall, a wide grin splitting his face as he looked me over hungrily. Aside from looking a little tired, he didn’t look any different than when I saw him last.

  “Good morning, Ice,” he said smoothly. “Did you miss me?”

  I ran to him and jumped in his arms, laughing and crying at the same time. He squeezed me tightly and spun me around. “How?” I breathed out against the curve of his neck, taking in the hard planes of his body, and his rich smoky scent. Damn I missed him.

  “I might be the son Lucifer doesn’t give a shit about, but no one else knows that,” he shrugged nonchalantly as he put me down, but I could tell that it bothered him. “I use the fear of his retribution to my advantage. Our little secret.”

  “Someday, you'll have to tell me what in the hell you did to get sent here,” I shook my head, still in disbelief he was actually back as he slid me slowly down his body. I landed on my feet, still pressed against him as I was reluctant to let him go.

  “As long as you promise not to think any less of me,” he winked and pressed his lips against mine.

  The softness of his lips mixed with the way he pressed against me made my core burn with wanting. His hands roamed over me, as if reassuring himself I was real and I was here. My lungs burned with the need for oxygen, but I couldn’t let him go. Somehow, my dark prince had become a part of me, a man I realized that I couldn’t live without.