Dark Promise by Annika West

34

Iwas practicing my illusion magic in an open, outdoor courtyard that had really incredible pools of rose-scented water. I considered skinny-dipping but decided to spare whatever faery fish lived in the water.

The brand-new herb talisman around my neck gave everyone, including me, a sense of relief. The hefty weight of it reminded me that Elona was much less likely to snatch me from across Faery.

Today, at least.

My brows were furrowed so hard, that I knew I’d have a shitty headache after this practice.

The hard part about my magic was the purely mental force behind it. No herbs or runes or blood were going to help me hone my skills. The only thing on my side was my soul room and my focus.

Currently, my focus was completely sidetracked by lunch.

But according to Adair, I wasn’t allowed lunch until I practiced for another hour. I called it torture, he called it expanding my endurance.

I only heard the attack a moment before it came.

Something huge and dangerous flew past my face. The wind from the velocity alone was enough to make my hair fly back in a tangle behind me.

A massive splash crashed through the courtyard, raining rosy water all around me and covering the plants and ground in a fine mist.

Oz emerged from the pool with a wide, gleeful smile. His dark hair was slicked back, and his arms were raised in what I could only call a victory pose.

I responded in the only way a logical, level-headed Cut would respond.

I palmed a lone potted plant and hurled it at the dragon’s face.

Hux might have caught it and given me a bored, disapproving frown.

Oz’s blue eyes widened, and he took cover underwater.

The plant plopped into the pool and sunk to the ground.

But I’d already made a mistake. Ignoring my surroundings was a surefire way to get drunkenly cat-called on a boardwalk or hit by a stray bicycler or bombed by bird shit.

Growing up near the beach was dangerous, dangerous living.

Like a fucking crocodile, Oz surged out of the water, grabbed my legs, and yanked me off the edge and into the water.

I screamed and scrambled, but Oz was too strong. Using my power would have felt a little like cheating, since I really just wanted to thwart him on even ground.

But then he started to tickle me.

My illusion power lashed out, still slightly activated from my practice.

The entire courtyard went dark as night.

His lips brushed my cheekbone as he whispered, “You’ll have to do better than that, Aster.”

I elbowed him in the gut, even though I had absolutely zero strength to affect this hunk of immortal muscle.

Then, I snapped the illusion to blinding brightness. Only for him, though.

That was something new I’d been working on. If I couldn’t master specific illusions right now, I’d go for disorientation.

“Ouch!”

He disappeared and let go of me, so I released the illusion and shifted to the energetic dimension.

Oz scanned the pool, clearly not put off by the chase.

He’s like a puppy. An ancient, psychotic puppy who probably eats his friends. And kills his parents.

Then, his thoughts came to me.

“Come out, come out, wherever you are.”

Ugh. So creepy.

He grinned and turned to where I was. “Gotcha.”

Only he couldn’t get me at all. There was no ‘getting’ of a person when they weren’t in the physical dimension with you. I wished I could enter his brain and move things around in there.

He’d already ruined my practice. Now it was only fair that I ruined his fun.

When I shifted back into the physical dimension, I did so on top of Oz’s shoulders. I clung to him and performed a very complicated, messy move that Hux taught me.

It involved the nose, choking Oz out with my legs, and screeching at the top of my lungs like an old, haggard banshee.

The last one wasn’t a requirement for Hux, but for me, it definitely was.

There was something so freeing about sending shock waves of terror through your enemy with your voice alone.

How was a girl to pass up that kind of opportunity?

However, I underestimated Oz’s abilities.

And forgot that we were still in the water.

And that he was way, way stronger than I would ever be.

All he had to do was tilt over and smash us down into the water again.

The only reason why I survived the drowning attempt was because I shifted again.

Why did that feel like cheating? Why did I think I had any chance in actually beating Oz in a one-on-one water battle?

Dad always said that I had a scary overestimation of my abilities.

I just never wanted to limit myself.

Hopping back into reality, I grabbed the waterlogged plant that was somehow still hanging onto its place in the pot and arced my arm, aiming for the center of Oz’s forehead.

A hand appeared in front of me and stopped my motion.

Oz and I blinked at it in surprise.

“You really thought that would hurt me?” he accused, looking weirdly offended.

“No,” I panted. “I was planning on blinding you with mud after the pot shattered against your skull. See?” I lunged forward and tried to yank my hand from the newcomer’s grip, but it didn’t budge.

I shrugged at Oz apologetically while he gave me a holy shit, you crazy bitch look that I was fairly certain was loving.

I can’t ignore him anymore, can I?

Steeling myself, I glanced up to meet Hux’s gaze.

He was crouched like a damn assassin and looking down on me. The dark hair fell over his eyes, and his long lashes were especially pretty today.

“I didn’t realize recess had begun,” he mocked coldly. All that blank expression told me was that he was very, very, very likely to be furious.

Looks like nothing changed from last night. Great.

Oz laughed, dismissing our epic battle. “Just testing her out, Huxley. Thought you’d appreciate it.”

We both turned to stare at Oz.

I snapped, “Did you just say that specifically to piss your brother off after faking your own damn death, among other things? Fucking hell, you are totally more immature than I am. And for the love of cheesecake, Hux, let go of me so I can properly throw this pot at his face.”

He did as I said, and the pot was flying toward Oz within a second.

Oz ducked. The pot shattered against the wall behind him.

Disappointment filled me. “Just stay still while I assault you! Jeez! Zero satisfaction.”

Oz held up his hands. “I’ll leave the satisfaction part to my brother. After what I saw in the gardens, it seems like he’s got that completely covered.”

He gave us a cheerful smile and strode out of the courtyard, leaving a trail of scented water behind him.

I climbed out of the pool and glared after the troublesome dragon. “Your brother is infuriating.”

“You seemed to be enjoying yourself.”

The snort that came out of me was absolutely unavoidable. “Like a tortoise enjoys a nice swim in the middle of the fucking ocean. Anyway, I have some practicing to do if I’m going to save all of Faery or whatever. So, bye!”

I wiggled my fingers at him, a clear indication that he should leave me the hell alone and not bug me with his betrayals, his smoky glares, or his incredibly talented fingers.

Butterflies fluttered inside me. Had I invited them? No.

Hux’s eyes paused on my throat. “Your pulse is pounding.”

“As it does whenever I take a relaxing wrestling break in a pond.” I tried not to look away. I failed.

Hux took a small step forward. For some reason, today, I couldn’t read him. It was disconcerting being so disconnected to what he was feeling.

I think I’m used to him being open with me now. He’s definitely opened up since our relationship has gone forward. Now it’s like he’s purposely shutting me out. I’m as clueless and in the dark to his thoughts as when I first met him.

I’ve always been proud of my ability to move forward without getting too caught up in problems or conflict.

You burn my hair in science class? That’s fine. I’ll pour acid into your backpack and continue studying for the next test.

Willow was always saying the meanest shit to me, but I really didn’t care most of the time. I usually got her back and forced hugs onto her.

It’s even. We’re cool.

I can’t seem to push past this conflict with Hux. I really, really badly want to not give a shit that he betrayed me and lied to me.

But he was my mate.

And I felt… things. Whenever I thought about him. Looked at him. Heard him speak.

All of this nonsense was just pretending that things were fine, but inside, I wanted to scream and pound on his chest and make him pay. I wanted him to suffer like I did so he knew what it was like. So he could understand what he put me through.

I’d been trying to move on and tell myself that I actually had been growing into this new life and enjoying the changes that I’d been experiencing. I definitely wouldn’t have ever been normal, since Adair would have popped into my corner of the Union filing cabinet to nicely invite me to do his bidding at some point.

I was good at forcing forward motion for my own sake.

That’s why this was so hard with Hux.

How could I push past my mate?

I’d tried to run away, and that failed instantly.

He knew that releasing me from the I.E. contract would smooth things over with me. Prove to me that he’s willing to make of for what he’d done.

I’d already told him how I felt. The ball was in his court, wasn’t it?

We stood there together for what felt like an eternity. Neither of us spoke. There was so much hanging in the air. It took up all the oxygen.

He took another step forward.

When I moved back, my foot slipped off the edge of the pool, and I went wheeling toward the water again.

Hux smoothly grabbed my arm and waist and pulled me toward him.

We collided with me hanging onto his shirt and staring at the white buttons.

The haze began to fall over my vision.

Shit. Not now. You can’t do this now. Come on, Aster. Crack a joke. Ramble, for fuck’s sake. Talk about weird fun-facts about the secret struggles of the avocado farmers and the cartels. That was a cool documentary, right? This is a great time to drop those facts.

Hux was tense too. Was he trying to think of what to say?

Finally, he suggested, “You should dry off. Adair wants to meet with us all. Be in the dining room in fifteen minutes.”

He dropped his hands and walked away.

For some reason, I felt shittier than ever.