Rosemary Johns - Rebel Academy - Curse

When Marcus reached for me, I startled. But he only dragged me up, clasping me to his chest again. I relaxed into the bright burst of sweet Frankincense. It reminded me of the way that Bask had held me on my first day in the academy with his hand curled around my neck like he could protect me.

I hadn't needed the Power of Confess to know that was a lie.

What was this, death by hug?

Marcus' gentleness reminded me of his kindness, during his escape from Ambrose. He'd asked me to run with him. On my first night and terrified of what it meant to be the only mage whipping boy, I'd have accepted, if not for the brand that trapped me inside Rebel Academy's wards.

Marcus would've saved a stranger and offered him a place at his own Court. Yeah...a true beast .

"I worried for you, as I did for my dear brothers." Marcus' fingers splayed onto my hip. "I haven’t been able to sleep or perhaps, it’s that I should never have left. It was selfish of me to abandon any shifter in that place and chase after my own freedom."

My brow furrowed. "But I thought Sleipnir broke your collar?"

Marcus huffed. "Simply because your freedom is offered, doesn’t mean that you should seize it. Some things are more important like responsibility." He pushed me back, gripping my elbows. His burning gaze met mine. "Were you punished because you let me go?"

I would've shrugged, but he was holding me too tightly. " Pfft , what's a Discipline Run to the three times Champion of the Fox Marathon?" When he raised a disbelieving eyebrow ( rude ), I tilted my chin. "I'm okay."

Marcus' gaze softened. "You're not."

I shivered. I mean, did he own a Mage Bullshit-O-Meter because please don't let that fall into the hands of the witches. Although, I had a feeling that Damelza already owned one.

"I'm not," I conceded.

"Is that why they bind you in two coats?"

I glanced down at myself and snickered. So much for the imposing assassin. "My lovers were feeling protective. You know, the ones you locked up in that dungeon, and I can't decide if I'm hoping you have a kinky side or not because now I think about it, the whole sending them to your dungeon thing could end two very different ways."

Bad mouth, stop talking or you're banned from all Magenta shaped treats for the next...oh, I can't even pretend that I'd follow through on that threat.

Marcus let go of my arms in shock. "My motives are not dishonorable."

With a snort of sparking fire, Mist burst from the pocket of Sleipnir's coat. His eyes were wild with rage, while his mane was red spikes. He whinnied high and distressed.

"Do you all carry a smaller shifter?" Marcus demanded, bewildered. "Does a yet tinier creature ride this one?"

"We're a new toy: Shifter in Your Pocket," I muttered, attempting to calm Mist by stroking his mane. It wasn't working. "He's magically connected to Sleipnir's emotions. He must be pissed off and..."

I swallowed because Sleipnir never showed how wrecked he was, but Mist did on his behalf.

Marcus pressed his finger to Mist's neck, and his magic wound around him. "Sleep."

Instantly, Mist stumbled, closing his eyes and slipping back into my pocket.

"You killed the Shifter in My Pocket!"

Marcus shook his head. "He's resting. The Letter Magic gives me certain control. Your friend will not be sent to sleep, although considering what was planned for me, wouldn't it be fitting?" I'd sort of hoped he'd forgotten the whole kidnap ...okay, I'd totally hoped he'd forgotten it. When his gaze shuttered, I hated it. "So, you came here with the witch on this mission?"

Lie:I'm not bothered. Whatever.

Truth: Et tu, Fox?

I crossed my arms. "What is it with people and names? She's called Magenta, and I love her. She loves me back, which is weird because I'm a shimage, and she should despise me. But she's not the same as my family or the witches who run the academy. And they were going to execute all of us if we didn't take this mission."

Marcus twisted away from me, taking long strides to a wooden pillar that was carved with orchids. He ran his thumb along it, tracing the way that they rose up like they were lifting the room to the skies.

"Ever since I became archduke and took on the heavy burdens of holding together this Court, this Orchid Study has been my sanctuary. It means quiet and safety, away from the pressure and fights between my family," he said, not looking up. "Yet even now you'd tear it away from me, as you'd tear away my freedom and return me to servitude."

I'd never had a sanctuary . How could it ache so much to miss something that I'd never known?

I couldn't take Marcus back unwillingly.

I think that I'd always known that.

My voice sounded steadier than I felt, as I forced myself to smile brightly. "That was before I knew you had this epic sanctuary. Now, if you'd just let the other Immortals out of the dungeon, then we'll return back to the academy, get a Fail on this mission, along with a spank on my furry tail and some corner time."

Marcus twisted back to me, and his magic pulled me into his arms. "They're going to execute you, aren't they?"

"Spank, place in the dunce corner, execute...what's the difference?"

"The difference is that you shall be dead, and it will be my fault." His breath was hot against my cheeks. "You must collar me and take me back."

Wow, I'd never felt so bad about succeeding before.

Marcus pressed a gentle kiss to the corner of my mouth. "I shall be fine."

Yet a rush of flames roared through my Power of Confess with such violence that I shook; it seared me, and for a moment, I thought that I was blinded. Except, it was embers.

Truth: The Empire will burn.

My chest was tight, and my pulse pounded. "And what about your Court?"

Marcus stiffened, before he wrapped me so tightly in his magic it was like being held in the heart of the sun. "My cousin, Lash, is not as interested in peace as me. When my brothers and I were snatched, he ruled in my place. I’ve been struggling over these last few days to hold together a kingdom that’s beset by criminal gangs, the Vampire Court, and deadly plotting. I fear bloody conflict if I disappear again, leaving my Court without its ruler. You see my choice? Yet why must an innocent die to save the warriors from burning?"

On Odin's cock, I'd been certain that breaking Marcus' collar and then allowing Fox to see the beauty of a free shifter had been the chaos moment .

As the son of Loki, coiling fragments of time caught my attention like light glinting off broken glass, and I'd seized that blindingly light fragment, knowing that it was for me alone.

It was the chaos moment.

Yet had I been wrong? Had I screwed-up instead because now I'd been caged, and the guy who I...

Valhalla! Why was it so hard to admit that I loved Fox?

Except, my kind of love would stain him. But I needed him the same as I needed Bask and Magenta. We were connected across death and veils by blood and purest pleasure. Trust me, there was no stronger magic than that which resurrects and calls across time.

An asshole archduke, however, clutched Fox like a pet, while I couldn't protect him because I was trapped in the dragons' dungeons.

How many hours had it been now?

My stomach rumbled, and I grimaced. Struggling to swallow, I licked at my dry lips.