Rosemary Johns - Rebel Academy - Curse

My stomach growled. Only Princes were allowed treats like cake. Would their private larder be raided for the Enchanted Ball?

I narrowed my eyes at Lysander, as he flapped his wings. Would he hex me with a Tail Be Straight Hex, if I crawled out and joined in with Magenta and him? What about if I just licked his feathers? A single lick…?

Surely, he wouldn't be that cruel?

Not my beautiful crooked tail...

I hugged my arms around my middle, taking a reassuring sniff at the collar of my coat. Magenta was held down by Lysander's wings. They were beautiful together. I bit my lip. Except, it was like watching the TV with the volume turned down because I was too far away to hear their murmured conversations.

I bet it went something like: You infernal witch, I hate you...but kiss me anyway... You're such an arrogant fae...but I’ll kiss you if you ravish me first...

At least, that’s how it went in my head. Don’t judge me.

Would they kiss? They were so close.

Come on, entertain your audience...

I mean, if they actually got to the kinky stuff, I'd close my eyes. I could be good. Pathological liar here, I was never looking away because the way that they rocked against each other like they were desperately screwing, even though they were dressed, was hotter than anything I'd yet seen.

That was added to my Wank Bank.

Magenta said that she didn't like stalking , but wasn't I being a voyeur...okay, a polite peeping tom...okay, a bad, horny foxy?

A wave of exhaustion hit me, and I staggered, catching myself on the nearest yew tree. I scrabbled against the frozen bark. Wow, I wished that I'd been given gloves to wear, but then, whipping boys weren't expected to feel the cold. I winced.

Ever since the Walling Up Alive Incident, fatigue had seeped into my aching muscles and bones. It was like being consumed from the inside.

I closed my eyes, sagging.

Don't let the others notice that something's wrong . Bask would go into overprotective panic.

Of course, in all the years that I'd been locked up in the attic without medicine when I’d been ill (and I'd often had throbbing headaches, which dad had said was a result of the binding of my magic by the Blood Amulet), there'd been one easy way to relieve my pain.

There were two things that a guy always had even in the worst situations: his hand and his dick.

My dick right now was hard and demanding. Relieving him would relieve the tension and pain. Some plans just write themselves, and I had the perfect new Wank Bank material.

A smile teased the corners of my mouth, as I slipped my fingers down my pants towards my twitching dick.

Come to foxy...

"Look what I've found on my rounds," a voice as smooth as honey whispered into my ear, "a wanking Fox."

A large hand slammed over my mouth, smothering my yelp of shock.

My eyes snapped open, and I stared up at Emerick, the Groundskeeper, and Damelza's beautiful adopted son. His chocolate brown eyes, which matched his pants and shirt, glinted in the dark, as he pinned me with his other hand against the tree. His skin was velvet ebony, and his sable hair was woven with feathers.

Emerick had helped me on the day of the Hunt, when I'd been in animal form. He helped the animals but soft as he was with animals, I was in human form now.

And he looked pissed.

Emerick scrutinized me like he could see into my mind. I froze, breathing hard.

Don't think about Magenta's tits...Lysander's dick...pillows are safe...pillows, pillows, pillows...rolling around in pillows, while sucking Magenta's tits and Lysander's dick...

Emerick snatched me by my collar. "Poor thing, out here all alone. You'd better come with me."

He dragged me after him through the wood. I scrabbled against him, booting at snowbanks as we passed.

Wow, he was strong.

But then, Emerick had got those muscles working outside each day, and the most exercise I'd done inside was freaking out to funk.

"Some of us like to be alone, mate," I insisted. "I'm a secret introvert. That’s why I could only watch the other guys from a distance, you know, happy in my own company..."

I waggled my fingers.

Emerick merely arched his brow at me, while dragging me after him across the wintry grounds. I skidded in the slushy snow, and he steadied me. His hand was warm on mine.

"Okay, you caught me. I was being a naughty foxy, but you don't need to take me to the Damelza, right? She's just been waiting for me to be sent to her study again. She walled me up alive before. What's next? Locked in a safe? Cemented in a cellar? Great Pan, I'm not Goth enough to get a thrill from being nailed in a coffin..."

Emerick swung me around, hushing my wail with his warm palm over my mouth.

"You were much quieter as an animal. Do you always talk this much or do I make you nervous?" Then his gaze softened, as he studied me. "I'd never take anyone to Damelza’s study. I didn't choose to have a witch like her as a mum. She chose me like I was a pet from the orphanage, after my parents were killed by wolves."

He lifted his hand away from my mouth.

I paled. "But Snow said..."

Emerick raised his eyebrow.

Horn and hoof, how did I point out that Snow trusted Emerick, when he'd just admitted that his parents had been murdered by wolves? This was why I didn't do diplomacy. I needed Lysander, who’d probably been taught whole books of War Strategy Etiquette, before he could fly. Actually, Ezekiel had probably already taught that to Bask and Sleipnir.

This was what happened when you missed out on your education.

I bit my lip. Did Emerick resent that his life here at the academy was the fault of shifters...?

"Snow told me that you were his mate." I struggled, trying to wrest free. "You know how I can literally tell if you're lying, so come on: are you tricking him? I'll let you know now that I'll kick your ass... somehow ...if you are."

Emerick's lips twitched almost like he didn't believe that I could kick his ass. Then he let go of me, taking a step back.

He crossed his arms over his broad chest and scrutinized me. "I didn't hurt you, did I?"

I dusted down my top, straightening out my crumpled collar. "Don't dodge the question. And only my pride."

Emerick chuckled. "If it'll get you back to my cottage, so we can have our little talk," Merlin's cock, I'd hoped that he'd forgotten that , "Snow is my best friend. He's as much a victim of the war between the witches and wolves, as I am. He's been taken from his family, land, and own people. He's a slave, and technically, I'm not. Of course, I've helped him. That doesn't make me good, it makes me...decent. Anything else would be wicked." The truth of every word rolled through me like hallelujahs on a wave of thunderous drumrolls. He was right . It was how I'd felt about my werewolf, Glow. I shivered, hugging my arms around my middle. I missed him. Then I swallowed, as his gaze darkened. "Little talk time now."

He gestured towards the frozen lake, and I avoided his gaze, before marching ahead of him. He placed his hand on my shoulder, guiding me past the lake. I stumbled, barely able to see in the dark, but Emerick moved through the grounds steadily like it was daytime.

How many times had he patrolled these same grounds in the shadows? The grounds were larger than my attic but they were still a cage.

My lungs burned, and my breath ghosted the cold air. My skin prickled, and felt too tight where Emerick touched me.

What would happen once we reached the cottage?

I hadn't been alone without the other Immortals or a professor since I'd arrived, apart from the Hunt. It'd been terrifying to be caught in the kitchen with Emerick. In fox form, he'd loomed over me, and although he'd been a friend to shifters and animals, he'd also been a threat. Now, I didn't know whether he was my greatest ally or foe.