Wintertide Read online

  “I think we should wait until she’s in solitary before we give her the lethal dose,” Carmen suggested. “Then there’s no way it could come back to us. Plus, there won’t be anyone to help her then. If we do it in the halls, I know Sebastian would come running and save her. He’s a sucker for every student and I see the way he looks at her sometimes.”

  “That’s actually smart,” I complimented the harpy, thankful she had unknowingly come up with a plan that would give me the chance to stop it without taking the chance that she could seriously harm Eva if I failed.

  Alayna’s eyes lit up, “Oh, we should test it on someone! How fast can you get it?”

  “As soon as I get on my knees, I’ll have it. He keeps a stash that only I know about,” Carmen grinned wickedly, making my own stomach drop.

  “Yes! Let’s go after classes. Are you going to be there, Jaxon?” Alayna’s glee was sickening. She didn’t care who she hurt in the process.

  “As much as I’d love to watch, I have to work with your sister. It’s a good time for me to not be helpful.”

  The harpy cackled, “I still haven’t forgiven you for being a dick to me, but this is a good start. I know another way you can make it up to me.” She said it suggestively and I ignored her as I watched her stroke Alayna, moving her hand up her skirt.

  Carmen leaned forward and took Alayna’s lips in her own and they started making out. Normally two girls making out in front of me would have had me hard as a rock, but I guessed they were turned on with bloodlust and it was sickening. Alayna surprised me by being the one to offer for me to join them. I declined with a shrug, “Tempting, but I’m not up to it right now. I have a lot of planning and preparation to do if you want to get rid of her so quickly.”

  “Your loss, Jax,” Carmen mumbled around the nipples she was currently biting through the layers of fabric as Alayna moaned.

  “Maybe next time,” I winked. “I’m going to leave the door unfrozen, no one comes in here anyway. Just be careful when you leave.” I brought the ice back into me, relishing the cold that came rushing through my veins. I couldn’t leave that room fast enough as the moans and sounds came from both of them, disgusting me instead of turning me on as it would have in the past.

  I wasn’t lying that I had planning to do. I needed to make sure that everyone was in place, so when the time came, we could protect Eva. Even a little bit of the pixie dust could cause her to lose control and my father to find out about her power. I couldn’t let that happen.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Blade and Calex stuck to me most of the day. The only time one of them left my side was when I felt the worry coming from Sebastian and asked Blade to go find out what was going on. Sending him helped avoid us raising suspicion among everyone as it would have if all of us went together, because they sure as hell were not about to let me go on my own.

  They escorted me from class to class, unwilling to let me risk something as simple as missing one. Everyone knew my sister had it out for me, she had made that very clear. They had heard how twisted my sister's mind was and they didn’t want to give her, or the warden, any unnecessary ammo.

  I had protested against their constant protection, though they stood firm on it. It wasn’t that they were worried I couldn’t protect myself, they were worried I would lash out and be taken away from them and thrown in solitary. If that happened, they would really be unable to protect me.

  My sister however, had disappeared after the first class and we hadn’t seen her all day. I was relieved yet concerned. The lack of her presence had to mean she was up to no good. Especially considering she had disappeared with Carmen.

  Finally, the day ended without incident and it was time for my lesson with Jaxon. I looked forward to seeing Sebastian, even if I couldn’t really talk to him much in front of my tutor. His excitement through our bond was contagious and if I hadn’t already been thrilled about seeing him, I would have been after feeling his emotions.

  After such a long day of being on high alert it was a relief to be in Sebastian’s classroom, the sanctuary that it had become for me where I could let out the ice and control it. Even Jaxon was a person I had started looking forward to seeing, his new calming manner had grown on me.

  “You guys can’t come in,” I insisted when we reached the door.

  “We can, and we will,” Blade challenged, his eyes glowing amber as his beast rose to the surface.

  “I’ll be with Sebastian. You know he won’t let anything happen to me. Plus, Jaxon is there, and I feel like he would keep me safe also.” I argued as I crossed my arms.

  Blade growled at the mention of Jaxon, “I don’t trust the ice boy.”

  I looked to Calex and he was no better, standing with his wings curled behind him, as ready to pounce as Blade was. I might have drooled a bit at how dangerously sexy the pair looked, but I reminded myself that now was not the time. My pussy had other ideas as my thighs grew damp when Blade sniffed the air around me. Damn, I loved it when he did that, his hot air huffing out across my skin as he took in another breath.

  I shook my head, damn it, these two really did it for me. “Calex, you know he has no bad intentions towards me. You of all people can sense that. Besides, Sebastian will be there the whole time,” I punctuated his name to remind them both that the strongest druid in this building would protect me.

  The door opened at my back and I didn’t have to look to know who it was. Not only did our bond confirm who stood behind me, but his rich woodsy scent enveloped me and comforted me instantly. “Are you two really worried about leaving her in my care?” he questioned and I could hear the teasing in his voice. “You’ve both been on duty all day. Why don’t you go let your beasts out on the roof. You can use my spot.” He proceeded to give them directions to the place where we had made love and our bond was formed. “I’ll make sure the dragon lets you fly Calex. Blade, you can have a run around the turrets. Just make sure to keep in that area.”

  I looked to Calex and his stance relaxed, excitement danced in his eyes at the prospect of being able to fly free. “Just take care of our girl,” he said solemnly before he tugged me close and planted a searing kiss on my lips, leaving me breathless. His seductive, commanding voice shot tingles to my core, “Stay safe, Ice.”

  Blade hadn’t ever shown me any affection publicly, so I was surprised when he pulled me to him right in front of the other two and took my mouth like a starving man. I moaned in pleasure as he sucked in my bottom lip and grabbed my ass. “No trouble, kitten,” he growled at me.

  “I’ve got her,” Sebastian promised steadily reminding me of his presence. I blushed at how I had just kissed two men in front of him, yet he showed no jealousy in his demeanor nor did I feel it through our bond. Looking at him, he seemed pleased and if I’m not mistaken, turned on by our display.

  I watched my two men saunter away in the direction that Sebastian had taken me only yesterday. Sighing, I entered the classroom, “Thank you for giving them an outlet, Sebastian. I’m a little worried about how they are going to react to bed time.”

  Jaxon laughed from where he leaned against a desk. I don’t know if it was getting all heavy with my guys in the hallway, but damn he looked fine. His lithe body was so different from that of Calex, Blade, and even Sebastian, yet so fucking sexy. The way his white curls flopped over his sexy blue eyes, I could see why Carmen was so viciously protective of trying to keep him in her claws.

  My gaze met his and again I blushed, this time for being caught checking him out. “If you're done looking at me like I’m a steak, we can get started. Lots to do today.”

  Sebastian snickered in the background as I blurted out a little too chipper, “Yes. I’m ready! I was born ready. Let’s do this!” I clapped my hands and jumped, dramatically showing my excitement. I gave him a glare when he chuckled and shook his head at my actions.

  He cleared his throat, barely hiding the mirth in his expression, “After this morning, I figured you needed to work on using
your power for defenses. I think that will help ease your little boy toy’s minds.” He led me to the back of the room and had me face the stone wall. “We are going to work on channeling what kind of substance comes out and also your aim.”

  “Okay,” I responded hesitantly, having no clue how facing a wall would accomplish that. At home I spent a lot of time trying to throw ice shards at the walls, but I never thought about changing it to snow or my aim either for that matter.

  Jaxon put his hand on my shoulder and I felt the icy tingles that I’ve come to know as his. It was so much different than anyone else in the way they spread warmth through me, but it was just as comforting. “You can do this, Eva. First, let's start with ice. I want you to dig deep and create just one shard and throw it at the wall. Once you get that down, we can do it again with working on aim.”

  I concentrated on finding the glow inside of me as I had done the previous day, concentrating on following its current through my arm. Finding it this time was much easier as I knew what to look for, but it was as equally tiring. I pictured one icicle in my mind, the way it would look, the way it would feel and the power built inside of me as I pushed it through to my hand. My palm was upturned, pointed at the wall as I worked on slowly releasing just one.

  “Professor!” A portly man ran into the room, the door slamming against the wall right as I released the shard of ice from my hand sending a steady stream of them smashing into the wall. My panic rose as I recognized him as another one of the teachers, one that didn’t care about shit, but one that was capable of turning me in all the same.

  He continued speaking though, ignoring us as if I hadn’t just shot ice from my hand and we were not even there as his panicked eyes fixed on Sebastian. “We need you now. A student is down and we think it's from dust.”

  Sebastian got up and darted to the door, “Just keep going and be careful. I’ll be back soon,” he ordered as he slammed the door shut behind him.

  I sagged against Jaxon in relief, “Fuck that was close.”

  He patted my shoulder like I was a scared dog, “Yes it was. I hate that someone is hurt, but I’m glad he was too preoccupied to see you. Let’s try it again.”

  Still trembling, I pulled myself away from him and took my stance as he told me to breathe. I took a deep breath and willed myself to concentrate, I was not in trouble. Hell, I was here at the warden’s request. I repeated the process, as I had before, and a single shard came out this time, hitting high on the wall. “Well, that wasn’t where I was aiming, but at least I did it.”

  “Eva, I’ve had years of practice. You are doing amazing. The hardest part is controlling what comes out and the amount. The aim will be easy after that.” I could see the look of pride in his face and I couldn’t help but return his smile. “I want you to try a funnel of snow this time.”

  It took a few times before I was able to direct the right amount at the stones. We went between each one, ice, snow, and sleet until I was able to control it perfectly. I was so excited about being able to do it that my confidence soared. “Can we do a contest?” I asked.

  Jaxon smirked at me, “What kind of contest and what does the winner get?”

  “I remember seeing kids playing a basketball game called Unicorn or something like that. They would throw the ball from one spot and if they made it in the basket, the next player had to make the same exact shot. If not, they got a letter. The loser was the one that spelled the whole word first. We can call it Frozen and whatever I do, you have to do the exact same thing,” I explained excitedly. “As for the prize, how about the loser does the winners' Magical History paper.”

  He raised his brows at me, “Sounds interesting, but are you sure you want to go up against me? I do have many more years of experience than you.”

  My competitive side came out and I was certain I would kick his ass. I could do things he couldn’t and I would use that to my advantage. “Positive. I’m going to kick your ass,” I told him confidently and stepped up to take my first turn. I was going for something easy and threw three ice shards in repetition at the wall, the satisfying sound of their crashing apart making me grin.

  Jaxon stepped up to the same place I was standing, his cool skin brushing up against me as he did. Before I moved away, he took his shot and executed it perfectly. I hadn’t doubted at all his capability on that one at all. That was the whole point though, lure him into complacency.

  We took turns and by the time we got close to the end, we were evenly matched. We each had one letter left and my win was about to be on the line. I stood far away from the wall and spun in a perfect pirouette, shooting shards of ice coupled with a steady stream of snow at the wall each time I circled around.

  “What the fuck was that?” Jackson’s eyes were wide as he realized that he would have to do the same thing I had. Spinning ten times in succession was hard enough, but it was definitely more difficult having to focus your power. The sweat on my brow was proof of that. “I’m going to do this better than you,” he finally stated, full of determination even in the face of the impossible.

  He came over to where I had stood and pushed up against me playfully as he took my mark. I giggled as I moved away and gave him room to attempt to spin. He really tried and at first I thought he would make it until on the third spin he fired too early and I had to duck to miss getting hit. I doubled over in laughter as he stumbled and fell over, the snow falling around us and his face red with embarrassment.

  He glanced up with a goofy grin on his face, which quickly wiped away as he saw the shard of ice stuck into the wall right next to my head. He scrambled to his feet, slipping on the water that had collected on the floor and went down hard again. My laughter immediately died and I ran to his side.

  “Oh my gods, are you hurt?” I asked as I looked him over to make sure nothing was bleeding.

  “Just my pride,” he muttered which caused me to erupt in laughter again.

  “Oh your pride is fine. I promise I won’t tell anyone that I bested you and then you fell on your ass.” I held my hand out to him, which he accepted.

  I braced myself as I yanked him to his feet, the force he pulled himself up with ended up causing him to crash into me as we stumbled back a few steps. His hand wrapped tightly around my waist as he fought to steady the both of us. Something changed in the air and I gulped, not wanting to leave the cold of his body pressed against mine, but at the same time sure he wasn’t open to the thoughts running through my mind. I was surprised as he glanced down and his gaze followed my tongue as it darted out to lick my lips.

  Without warning he closed the distance between us, capturing my lips roughly in his. The bruising kiss set my body on fire and had me responding in an instant. My hands went to his hair automatically, finally raking through the blond curls I hadn’t known I needed to feel so desperately. His hold on my waist tightened, gripping me as if he never wanted to let me go. He tasted like fresh, cool snow and mint. I craved the sensation as our tongues stroked each other, a feeling of bitter cold that heated me at the same time and called to my very being. This kiss was nothing like anything I had with my men, though I knew I wanted him with a need just as strong as what I had with Sebastian, Calex, and Blade.

  He pulled away first, his breath heavy as he leaned his forehead against mine, “I’m sorry, Eva. I shouldn’t have done that.”

  “You regret it?” I asked, hurt by the thought of him not feeling the same connection that I did.

  “I only regret that I may have made things weird between us. It was also disrespectful for me to do it without your permission first. I should have fought my desires harder.” He dropped his hands from my waist and turned suddenly, walking to the other side of the room where he sunk into a chair and put his head in his hands.

  “I don’t regret it at all, Jaxon.” I insisted as I walked toward him. “Our kiss was amazing and I think I want as much from you as I do the others.” It felt weird to say, yet it was everything I felt. It was pointless to fight my a
ttraction to him as I had been since the first day we met.

  He looked up at me in surprise, “I never thought you would want someone like me,” he stated bewildered. I didn’t know what he meant by that and I was confused as to how this guy that walked around as if he owned the school could feel so inadequate. I wanted to explore more, but Sebastian came back in, stopping any further questions.

  “Of course I do, and I want to talk about it privately.” His face changed at my words and the hope I saw in his eyes made my heart soar. It hurt me seeing his own self-loathing and I wanted to kiss him until any doubt that I wanted him went away. I squeezed his hand and turned to Sebastian. “What happened?”

  “Just a student that ingested some pixie dust. He freaked out and collapsed. Luckily, I got there in time to give him the herbs that would pull him out of his high before it was too late. That stuff can cause hallucinations and he was one of the unlucky ones that had that reaction.”

  I went to him and hugged him tightly, knowing how much it affected him at the deepest level. “You saved him, Sebastian. And you will find out where it’s coming from. We can all help, if you want it.”

  “I don’t want you in any danger,” he muttered against my brow.

  “I’ll be really careful, not to mention it will probably be the others doing most of the work, not me. I’m guarded better than the dragons guard this place,” I chuckled.

  He was saved a response as Calex and Blade came in and I asked for their help before Sebastian had time to protest. Calex volunteered to use some of his owed favors to get what information he could. Even Jaxon volunteered to help, as he dealt in secrets almost as much as Calex did.