Wintertide Read online

  I nodded, enough for him to notice, but not enough to draw attention as he gave me a little push forward. It was going to be hard to keep it professional, considering how much I found myself drawn to him, but if he could do it, so could I.

  At last I looked up and my eyes went wide at the sight that greeted me. The cobblestone walkway cut a narrow path through a small manicured lawn leading up to a huge castle. There was no other way to describe the structure. It looked large from below, but up close the enormity of it was astounding.

  All around us the lawn suddenly stopped and shifted from the lush green grass to fierce jagged stones before dropping off into the abyss below us, confirming that the portal had brought us to the island I had seen floating in the sky. I didn’t realize that I had been backing away from the edge until I bumped into Sebastian’s shoulder. “Watch your step prisoner,” he growled at me. It stung a little, even though I knew he was just acting.

  The bright white turrets of the castle rose high in the air, a stark contrast against the dazzling blue sky. My neck strained as we approached the wide staircase and I looked above us, following them as high as I could, but the bright sunlight made it nearly impossible to make out the tips. Between the trip from the portal and the sheer height of the towers, my head spun and my stomach lurched again. The turrets rose several stories in the air, some of the towers extending even further above that. The windows surprised me as I had heard this place was more of a prison than the school they advertised it to be. Yet there were no bars encasing the windows. Instead they held simple panes of glass that glistened in the bright morning sun.

  A loud roar sounded from behind us, making me spin around quickly. As I turned to face it, the sky darkened, the light covered by something large passing in front of the sun. I didn’t even attempt to hold my astonishment back as I saw a dragon soar toward us, its gigantic wings temporarily blocking the light and shrouding us in shadows as another loud roar echoed off the castle walls.

  I had thought it was huge when we were next to the van, but up close as it dipped toward us, it made me realize exactly how large these terrifyingly beautiful creatures were. My breath caught as it sped toward us, its trajectory sending it directly at us before it veered up at the last minute, flying directly over our heads, the wind ruffling my long hair as it passed.

  Sebastian let me stand in awe for a moment as I watched it disappear around one of the turrets before he made a show of shoving me forward, “Let that serve as a warning,” he growled out. “They won’t be so accommodating if you try to escape.”

  “Noted,” I replied as I swallowed hard and continued up the wide stairs. Sebastian reached around me and opened an oversized, ornate wooden door to allow me to enter. It creaked as it swung on its massive hinges, just before he shoved me through the opening.

  The heavy door slammed hard behind us as he continued to move me forward into the room. Quickly my eyes adjusted to the much dimmer light and I realized that while it might appear opulent from the outside, life within these walls was not going to be anywhere close to the grandeur they made it appear to be.

  The room didn’t boast any of the lavish features as the outside did, instead it was sparsely furnished and the stone walls bare. In front of us sat a large, steel desk with a simple chair next to it while off to the side was a small bench, all but the chair bolted to the floor.

  As we approached the desk, the man stood from behind it and came around, “This is her then?” he asked, his gruff voice making my skin crawl as his eyes roamed over me.

  “Yup, this is her,” Sebastian replied flatly.

  The man stopped in front of me and my chin shot out in defiance, I would be damned if I would let this bald asshole intimidate me. “Not so powerful now without your magic, are you?” he sneered.

  I bit my lip as I glared at him, I wouldn’t rise to his bait. In places like this they would only use it against you and there was no way I was going to give them any ammo. Though Sebastian had said there were some staff here with good intentions, everyone had to keep up the tough act so I had no clue who was actually trustworthy. It would be best for me to err on the side of caution and treat them all as the enemy.

  “She realized that quite some time ago,” Sebastian let out a fake chuckle making the other man grin.

  “I bet she did,” he nodded approvingly.

  “Let’s get her checked in, I don’t have all day to stand around here with my thumb up my ass,” Sebastian told him.

  “Yeah, yeah,” the man grumbled as he picked up a clipboard from the desk. “Looks like she is going to be in…” he trailed off as he flipped through the pages before looking up and narrowing his eyes on me. “402D.”

  “Alright, let’s get her moved then, so I can be going,” Sebastian turned me toward a steel door but paused as the man spoke up.

  “Not so fast. Something isn’t right here.” He flipped through the pages again, as he shook his head. “This one needs to be housed with the other uncontrolled magic users, especially as violent and unpredictable as she is.”

  “Look, orders are orders. I’m not going against what the boss said. She’ll be in 402D until I’m told otherwise. I don’t want to deal with him pissed off, do you?” he asked the man, making him blanch. Whoever this boss was, he was obviously feared, and I hoped to never come across him.

  “Whatever, she’s not my problem up there anyway,” he tossed the clipboard down and crossed to the steel door. “You can find your way, I’m sure,” he told Sebastian as he slid the key in the lock and opened it with a click.

  “Yup,” he responded as we entered a long stone corridor and I noticed that he stepped a little closer than necessary to guide me to our destination. We wound our way down the narrow hall before it opened up into a large room decorated just as sparsely as the entryway had been. I caught a quick glimpse of cafeteria style tables, with several stories of balconies encircling above it before he pulled me through another door and up a set of stairs.

  “I pulled some strings and had you housed with one of the non-violent magic users in the D quadrant. Just keep to yourself and you should be alright,” he said quickly as we began to ascend another level of steps. “Just remember don’t ever let your guard down. Ever.”

  “You really think it’s all that bad?” I asked, hoping he was just being dramatic, but at the same time his urgency told me otherwise.

  He paused and faced me on the steps, “No, Eva. I know,” he stated grimly, a brief sadness flickering over his features before he turned away from me again and began to move. We fell into silence as we made our way up the seemingly abandoned stairwell, both of us lost in words I was certain were being left unsaid.

  Finally, he stopped in front of a door, and looked at me heatedly. One hand on my elbow, and the other on the handle, his gaze dropped to my mouth before he seemed to make up his mind and leaned forward capturing my mouth in his. He pressed hard against my lips, his kiss demanding and desperate making me let out a moan.

  My bound hands ached between us, but it was nothing in comparison to the way he made me ache at my core, the way he made me want more. I leaned into him, insisting on more, just as he did. His cock pressed against my hip as his tongue dipped out, teasing and tempting me with the forbidden.

  More than anything I wanted the binds to be removed, not so I could use my magic but so I could run my hand into his hair and find out if it was as silky as it looked. To let my hands trail down and free his cock from his pants so I could stroke him and bring him the pleasure my body ached for.

  His tongue dipped between my lips, urging mine to come out and dance with his. I responded instantly, returning his kiss just as passionately as he did.

  Suddenly he pulled back, and stared down at me, his dark eyes dancing with need as his breath came out unevenly.

  “Sebastian-” I started but was cut off as he put a finger over my lips.

  “There will be time for that. Don’t forget what I said before, Eva,” he said firmly as
he opened the door, not giving me a chance to respond.

  We exited onto one of the balconies I had seen briefly from below and I glanced over the ledge, noting that all of the floors were identical to this one, save for the large letter that hung next to the stairwells labelling them A-D.

  Each floor wrapped around three sides, with doors that lined the walls to the left, and a railing on the opposite side. The last wall was enclosed again, with what looked like an observation station, enclosed with thick steel mesh, I presumed to protect the men sitting inside if this place was as bad as Sebastian let on.

  On the floors below us people stood against the railing as they peered up at us, seeming to already know of my arrival. Some watched with disinterest, others openly sneered. I tried hard not to stare back at any of them, but found it hard as some of these creatures I had never seen in real life before.

  They followed our progression down the hall as he began to speak, his voice changed now from the warm, caring man I had a sneak peek at, to one that was cold and disconnected as he spoke. “You are to attend all classes as instructed, your roommate will be able to provide you that information. If you fail to attend, there will be consequences. There is no use of magic permitted outside of the classrooms, and again, failure to comply will result in punishment.”

  “Wait,” I interrupted him as we turned the corner, “I can’t- I can’t control my magic. You’re saying I’ll be punished for that?”

  “Control it,” he said firmly, making my stomach sink as we stopped at the last door in the hall. Everything I tried to do to control my power so far had not worked, and now I faced unknown consequences if I lost control again. Panic welled up in my throat as I fought back the fear, knowing that it was only a matter of time before I fucked up. The binds around my wrists pulsed, barely restraining my power from escaping as Sebastian rambled on about rules and expectations.

  Anything else he said I didn’t comprehend as suddenly all of the blood rushed to my head, a deafening roar filling my ears as I felt a pair of eyes on me. I glanced back over the railing to meet a set of ice blue eyes that watched me intently from the next floor down. My breath came out in a whoosh as he openly studied me, not ashamed in the least of his open scrutiny of me. His set of magnificent black wings were tucked against his back and gave him an unearthly feel, one I had the urge to learn more about. He gave me a coy wink and just as fast as the air had been drained from me, it returned.

  A loud click had me blinking hard and turning away from the strange man to face Sebastian as he pushed the door in front of us open, “Welcome to your new home Evangeline.”

  Chapter Six

  The door swung open the rest of the way and I peered inside. While it wasn’t exactly a prison, it wasn’t far off. Fluorescent lights illuminated the small space and a set of metal bunk beds were pushed against the wall, their thin mattresses topped with equally thin blankets. Surrounding the lower bunk were sketches of the ocean and sea creatures. Whoever had done them had immense talent.

  There was a small desk in the corner of the room with a chair pulled to the side and a reading lamp currently turned off. It looked like the whole thing might fall over given the slightest amount of pressure, which was probably the reason the surface was bare.

  As I had seen from outside, there were no bars on the window, but I had since begun to see why. The height of their so-called ‘dorms’ coupled with the dragon patrol outside, there was no need for bars. No one in their right mind would dare to attempt to escape from here.

  “Turn around,” Sebastian barked, making me jump. “I will take your binds off, but no funny business,” he ordered, though I saw the humor in his eyes as we both knew I wouldn’t try to hurt him. What actually happened when he took it off would be a different story, since I had no fucking clue how my powers even worked.

  I nodded in agreement and held out my wrists. He took off the iron chains first and the burn from their contact against my skin receded quickly, leaving a dim ache in its place. He ran his hand over the length of the magical bindings and murmured in the ancient language of the druids. The ropes began to glow softly before simply falling free from my wrists into his waiting hands. “Follow the rules and you won’t have any trouble,” he stated in that rough guard voice of his as he slipped the rope into his pocket. “You,” he pointed to a girl that now stood in the center of the room that I had failed to see before, “Give her the run of the place. Help her get on her feet.”

  “Yes, sir,” she replied, her hands clasped tightly in front of her not going unnoticed by me as I had done that same thing more times than I could count to avoid letting my powers do their own thing.

  Sebastian tucked his hands in the large pockets of his cloak before strolling from the room without a backward glance.

  I took a tentative step into the room and saw there was a small bathroom located to the side. It must have been where this girl had been when Sebastian first opened the door.

  “You can come in, I don’t bite-” she trailed off as she eyed me. “Hard,” she finished with a laugh. Her sense of humor immediately put me at ease, so I did as she said and stepped all the way into the room.

  She stepped around me and swung the door shut, “We really don’t want those nosy assholes listening in,” she rolled her eyes coming back in. “So, I’m Una, and it looks like you’ll be stuck with me for the foreseeable future.”

  I gave a small smile, “Looks like it.” I replied as I looked her over. Her bright purple hair shone under the lights, and her grin, despite the situation we were stuck in, was infectious. It made me want to trust her, but I recalled Sebastian’s words and remained leery.

  “Are you going to tell me your name, or do I just make up some shit?” she asked.

  “Oh, sorry. I’m Evangeline, but my friends call me Eva,” I said.

  “Welcome to Shadow Isle,” Una said sarcastically as she flopped on the bottom bunk, her hair bouncing around her face as she settled back. I assumed that would make the top one mine.

  “So, what’s the deal with this place anyway?” I asked, crossing the room and perching myself on the edge of the hard, wooden chair. I figured I might as well try to find out as much as I could before I was tossed to the wolves. Which it seemed I was going to be.

  “Shadow Isle Reformatory, where they don’t give two fucks if you live or die, and once you’re in, you’re in,” she quipped.

  “What do you mean?”

  “When shit goes down, the guards look the other way. Sometimes because they are paid to, sometimes because they couldn’t honestly care less who gets hurt and who doesn’t. The classes we are forced to attend are a load of bullshit. There are only a few professors here that actually seem to care, and when they do, it’s mostly because they don’t want to look bad in front of the board and lose their precious funding. Let’s put it this way, I have been here two years and have yet to see anyone make it out of here, ‘reformed’.”

  “Why hasn’t someone done something?” I protested. If this had been going on this long, there had to be someone that had spoken out. How the hell did all of these parents think they were sending their kids to be reformed, only to never hear from them again?

  “Because no one cares about people like us, Evangeline. Once we are out of their hair, they can continue on with their happy little lives pretending that nothing wrong ever happened. That little smudge on the perfect existence is no longer there and everyone is happy,” she replied bitterly. I could tell there was a story there, but much like myself, I assumed she didn’t trust anyone, so I remained quiet about it.

  “So, what are these classes then?” I asked at last.

  “Their pathetic attempt to make us better. Whatever that means. We don’t have classes today as it’s the weekend, so your first class will start tomorrow morning. Our classes are the same since we are roomed together, so I’ll just take you. However, they do expect us all to report to at least breakfast and dinner for check-ins. After that we need to be back i
n the room by nine, or they like to get their rocks off by punishing us. Trust me, you want to be back by nine.”

  “Back in the room by nine, got it,” I shifted in the chair as worry filled me. How the hell was I going to manage being in a cafeteria full of people when I couldn’t control my powers? Who the hell knew what kind of havoc I might cause.

  Una watched me from the bed for a minute before sitting up and putting her elbow on her knees. “Look, it sounds bad, and trust me, sometimes it is. Just stick with me and you’ll get through this just fine,” she reassured me.

  “Why are you being so nice to me?” I asked skeptically.

  She gave a shrug, “Something tells me you’re here for the wrong reasons, and I get that. My instincts are not normally wrong, so I’m gonna help you out.”

  “Thank you,” I said surprised at not only her blunt honesty, but her perception. It made me wonder if she was here for the wrong reasons too and if so, what had she been accused of? I recalled the words the guard used when Sebastian brought me in. I needed to be put with the rest of the uncontrolled magic users. Did that mean she at least had control over her power if she had any?

  “Don’t thank me yet, you haven’t been out there with the general population,” she smirked. “We need to be heading down for dinner anyways, before we are late.” She stood and motioned for me to follow her.

  This time when I stepped out the balconies were full of people, all headed in the same direction. I trailed behind her as she made her way to a set of stairs right off the balcony instead of the one that Sebastian had used to bring me up. We passed several groups of people who openly stared at us but I ignored them. Not that I could have stopped anyway as Una moved quickly through the crowds and I needed to keep up.

  On the platform between the first and second floor, a fight broke out right in front of us. Fists flew and people shouted and cheered their side on. I glanced around, finding it curious that no guards were around to separate the fight, even when one started tossing fireballs at the other.