Oberon Reformatory Book Three: Final Offense Page 3

  But from her perspective, we were on the same side. We were both striving to impress Echo and to better our own positions by being firmly in his good graces. And while that wasn’t true for me, I needed her to think it was.

  “What do you care anyway? You’re not even friends with the hybrid and the rest of those misfits anymore.”

  “And whose fault is that?” I grit out, no longer able to hold my tongue.

  I lean in close, letting her feel the heat that rolls off of me in waves as my anger multiplies. My eyes rove around the room, satisfied to see the cameras are gone. I lift a hand and use wind to slam the classroom door shut before throwing up a privacy shield.

  “Wha-what are you doing?” Tiana stutters, her eyes wide with fear.

  “Oh, Headmaster didn’t tell you?” I taunt, smirking. “You must know he deactivated my bracelet. I am free to use magic at my discretion…not that it ever stopped me before.”

  “How is that possible?” she asks, not even questioning the statement after feeling my Glamour firsthand.

  “Because,” I whisper, bringing my mouth close to her ear, “I am Princess Aurora Finley Oberon.”

  “No,” she hisses, taking a step back.

  “Daughter of December Thorne and Easton Oberon,” I say, closing the distance between us once more.

  “You’re lying,” she accuses, dancing away again.

  “Granddaughter of Crispin and Ellie Jonas and Freya Jameson.”

  I purposefully leave out Alwyn Jameson’s name. No one in my family acknowledges him, but I’m sure Tiana will never forget he was the key to her downfall.

  “Great-granddaughter of Robin Goodman and Queen Sebille,” I continue as she backs away further.

  Her back collides with the wall, and realizing she can go no further, she musters up some courage.

  “You are obviously a Sylph and the royal princesses look like Zephyrs. What game are you playing?”

  I pop my wings out, and her eyes travel the black edges of the blue appendages. Her navy eyes widen as her mouth falls open. Refusing to believe her own eyes, she tries to rationalize.

  “Why would a royal princess be locked away here?” she asks. “There is no way December and Easton would let their precious heir stay here for even a moment.”

  “They have no idea where I am,” I admit, my steps bringing me closer to her as she huddles back against the wall.

  I call to wind, whipping it into a tornado that would rival Mom’s. Calling to water and fire, I charge the cyclone with heat and electricity, sending spikes of lightning out in several directions. Tiana gasps, recognizing my magic as being identical to my mother’s.

  “Didn’t my mom put you on your butt with a storm like this?” I ask, reveling in the fear rolling off of her. “I’ll do so much more than scare you, you evil, conniving—”

  “Rory.”

  A snap of fingers in my face jerks me from the daydream. I glance furtively from left to right. Tiana and I are still standing toe-to-toe near her desk. The door is open, and there is no fear in her blue eyes.

  “I asked why you care about how I treat those freaks when you’re not even friends with them anymore. Just reverse what you did.”

  “No,” I say, taking a step back. “If I remove it, you’ll be able to tell everyone I used Glamour before Echo deactivated my bracelet.”

  I’m hedging. I can’t admit that I still care about my friends and can’t handle her mistreatment of them. I could easily remove the old Glamour and make her forget the whole thing. It would be like it never happened.

  “Echo is starting to ask questions,” Tiana says. “He’s going to figure out that you used your magic against me, and he’s not going to be happy about it. He’ll break the Glamour, and I’ll tell him you did it before he gave you access to you magic. He’ll kill you.”

  Her malicious smile sends a shiver down my spine. If Echo does somehow figure out I’ve used magic against her, he might be able to break it. And if that happens, she will tell him I Glamoured her before my stint in solitary. Before he deactivated my bracelet.

  And all the trust he has in me will be lost. This whole mission will be over, and no one will ever get out of this place alive.

  “Fine,” I say, wrapping my fingers around her wrist. “I remove the Glamour I placed on you. You will no longer be affected by it, nor will you remember any of it.”

  “Wait a minute,” she starts, but my magic is already flowing into her.

  “You have no idea I can us Glamour. Everything is normal,” I add for and extra layer of protection, then release my grip on her.

  “What are you doing here?” she asks, her eyes darting around the empty room before refocusing on me. “I don’t have time for any of your asinine questions or complaints. Get out of my classroom.”

  And there’s the Tiana we all know and love. Not. I roll my eyes and stride from the room.

  Maybe I should have told the truth and scared the life out of her like I imagined. I would get much more satisfaction watching her nearly pee her pants in fear than I did from releasing her to do as she pleases again.

  I quicken my steps as I hurry toward the gym. I need to warn my friends and my sister. The old Tiana is back.

  Chapter Four

  “Thanks for joining us, Rory.”

  Chase Wheatley’s sarcastic words are tempered by a kind smile as I rush into the gymnasium. The other inmates are already tossing wind, fire and water at each other as they practice their elemental control. The floor trembles as I sprint toward our instructor. Someone is causing a small earthquake to throw their opponent off-balance.

  “Sorry, Chase. Had a meeting with Professor Avery.”

  “My condolences,” he quips, then waves over to my right. “Jump in and get started.”

  I look over to see Asher waiting, a deep frown marring his face. I force my own lips to turn downward as I march toward him. I just hope I can keep the disgruntled expression on my face, so Echo’s cameras won’t catch any evidence that we’ve kissed and made up.

  “I don’t know why Chase has to always pair me with you,” Asher grumbles as we both fall into defensive stances.

  “Just shut up, and let’s get this over with,” I snap, shooting a gust of wind that pushes him back a few paces.

  Asher’s frown falters for a moment, his eyes widening as a spark of challenge flares in their bright blue depths. He drops into a crouch, a low growl trembling through his lips as his hands shoot forward. I gust of wind blows my blonde hair back, but I manage to keep my footing.

  “That all you got, hybrid?” I taunt, calling the air to me and shaping it into a funnel before sending it twisting toward him.

  “Better learn some new tricks, blondie,” he mocks, easily dodging my small tornado before using his own power to push it away.

  We circle each other, hands raised and ready, our faces snarling with disgust. But Asher’s eyes tell a different story. They’re filled with heat of another kind, like this aggressive playacting is pushing some buttons he didn’t know he had. Like he wants nothing more than to wrap me up and kiss me senseless.

  And the feeling is mutual.

  “Okay, everyone. Time for hand-to-hand combat. I’m reactivating the bracelets now.”

  Chase’s words send a zip of panic through me. I don’t know if Asher can keep up the pretense once his hands are on me. I’m almost positive I won’t be able to.

  “Yo, Ash. Switch partners with me.” We both pause to look at Lark, who’s strutting forward with Robbie by her side. “April here needs someone with more patience than I’ve got to teach her. She’s nearly as clueless as this one on the mats.”

  She gestures toward me with that last bit, and I narrow my eyes at her. She blinks innocently, like she wasn’t using our fake public dislike of each other to get under my skin. One corner of her mouth ticks as she fights off a smile.

  “Fine with me,” Asher says stoically, but I can see the relief warring with disappointment in his eyes.

  He wants to put his hands on me. No doubt about that. But the consequences could be disastrous for our plans. We can’t let anyone see how attracted we still are to each other.

  “You can thank me later,” Lark murmurs under her breath as she flies into an attack.

  I spin to the left, barely dodging the fist she throws toward my chest. Still twisting, I drop into a squat before straightening one leg, catching her behind the knees. The breath whooshes from her lungs as her back slams against the floor with a loud thud.

  She lays there for a moment, a low groan vibrating in her throat. I walk closer, forcing a cruel smile to my lips in case the cameras are watching. Lark rolls over, climbing slowly to her feet before facing me with a wry look on her face.

  “Someone’s been practicing,” she deadpans.

  “Headmaster taught me a few things,” I reply, bending my knees to drop into a defensive stance.

  “Lucky you,” she says, her snarky tone almost making me laugh.

  I clear my throat and narrow my eyes. “I am lucky.”

  We launch into another battle, and while I don’t get the drop on her again, we are definitely more evenly matched than we were before my stint in Echo’s private wing. I can tell Lark is impressed, though she tries hard to keep her face stern.

  “Don’t overdo it,” I hiss into her ear when we lock our arms around each other. “Remember, you ate a truffle, so you’re supposed to trust me…which means you don’t hate me anymore.”

  “I could never hate you,” she whispers, twisting around and leaping on my back while her arm wraps around my throat.

  I reach back to cup my hands around the back of Lark’s head, linking my fingers. Taking a step back, I bend down and heave her over my shoulder. She lands on the mat, hea
vy pants whooshing in and out of her smiling mouth.

  A shiver runs up my spine, the feeling of eyes on me strong and persistent. I reach out a hand to help Lark up while my eyes flick around the room. Someone is definitely watching me.

  Asher is focused on Robbie, teaching her some basic maneuvers with a calm and patient hand. As my gaze darts around the room, my confusion grows. No one is even looking in my direction.

  I peel back the Glamour in the room to look for the cameras. Half a dozen black lenses come into view, each one of them trained on me and Lark. Keeping my glances furtive, I take several steps to the left. The cameras turn, following me as I veer right and walk in a big circle.

  I stop, keeping my head down and my eyes away from the cameras. While Echo gave me full access to my magic, he doesn’t know I can see through Glamour with ease. I’ve tried to keep that little tidbit to myself, holding it in my back pocket as an extra advantage.

  He must be watching right now. I thought he always watched the footage later so he could skip over the boring parts. But for some reason, he’s in a surveillance room somewhere, or maybe even his office, keeping tabs on every move I make.

  Something must be in the works. Something big.

  “Okay, class, huddle up over here. I have some news,” Chase calls out, as if right on cue.

  “I have a bad feeling about this,” I mumble loud enough for only Lark to hear as we head toward the center of the gym.

  “Ditto,” she mutters.

  “Starting tomorrow,” Chase says once everyone gathers around him, “your other classes will be cancelled. You will come straight to the gym after breakfast, then train until lunch. The three rotations of classes will be combined and split into two, so this class will be larger. The other class will train in the afternoon.”

  “Why?” someone calls out, asking the question I’m sure is on all our minds.

  “Headmaster’s orders,” Chase replies.

  The buzzing of voices grows as inmates speculate Echo’s reasons. I hear muffled complaints that grow quickly into louder shouts of dissention. Chase tries to calm everyone down, but without more explanation than “Echo said so,” he gets nowhere, fast.

  My eyes flick up to the cameras once more. I inhale sharply before glancing back at the inmates surrounding me. I know what this is, why Echo is watching.

  This is a test.

  Echo has decided to change the schedule, and instead of announcing it himself, he’s ordered Chase to do it in the middle of what is essentially a mob. The inmates are feeding off of each other’s anger and confusion, the din growing louder and louder by the second.

  I am supposed to be asserting my dominance, stepping into the role of leader, and Echo manufactured this opportunity to make me prove what I’ve accomplished.

  It’s time to show him what I’m made of.

  “Everyone, calm down,” I yell as I walk to the center of the group to stand beside Chase.

  His expression morphs from confusion to relief as the voices die out rapidly. He obviously doesn’t know why the class is listening to me and not him, but is humble enough to give me the floor when my interference seems to work.

  “This isn’t a bad thing,” I say, my voice echoing off the walls around us. “Discipline of Magic is useless without access to that magic, and Etiquette and Discretion is wholly intolerable. This is the only class that actually teaches us anything useful. Here, we get to use our power—both the power of our bodies and that of our minds and souls. Besides, if Headmaster orders it, we must follow without question or complaint. He is the ruler of this place and all who inhabit it.”

  I add that last bit for Echo, who must be cackling with glee at how quickly the other inmates shift from near riotous to smiling agreement. The tension drains from the room as quiet conversations pick up about how great the new schedule is for us all.

  I shake my head and force a devious smile to my lips for Echo’s benefit. The Glamoured treats worked. Everyone trusts me and will follow me unwaveringly.

  I fight the urge to shiver as a sticky, black feeling tattoos down my spine. A wave of premonition hits me as the gym empties, inmates slapping each other on the back as they head toward the locker rooms.

  Their instant acceptance of me and my words is not good. Somehow, deep in my gut, I know this is only the beginning.

  The beginning of the end.

  Chapter Five

  “Very good, my dear.”

  I flinch a little at Echo’s tone, a light growl of pleasure edging the words that makes my stomach flutter. And not in a good way.

  He’s becoming more and more comfortable with me as the days pass, and with that comfort comes a relaxation of his rigid defenses. For weeks, I’d been waiting for this, waiting for him to trust me enough to let his guard down. But I never expected the innuendos, the thinly-veiled comments and sexual timbre in his voice that now comprised most of our conversations.

  It’s just disgusting on so many levels.

  First off, I’m his cousin—distant, but still related. And while he doesn’t know that, I do, and the thought of me…and him… Just. No.

  Secondly, he’s somewhere in the vicinity of four hundred years older than me.

  And if those things aren’t enough, he’s in a power position over me. Echo is the warden, I’m the prisoner. He’s the headmaster, I’m the student. It’s unethical, at best.

  And if all of those things put together aren’t enough to make me twitch with revulsion, there’s the fact that Echo Oberon is a disgusting excuse for a faery, and I hate him with every fiber of my being.

  “Thank you, Headmaster,” I reply to his praise, trying my best to imbue the words with respect and gratitude.

  I’ve been working on elemental control, sending wind, water, earth, and fire toward him in deadly combinations that would take out a weaker faery. I always rein it in, though. It’s a thin line I walk between trying to impress him and keeping the true extent of my power under wraps.

  I can’t show him everything. I need to maintain some edge of surprise for when this all comes to a head and the battle to take him down begins.

  “And nice job getting your classmates in line the other day. They fell into step with just a few words. Very impressive.”

  I was wondering when he’d bring that up.

  “Well, being able to use Glamour makes everything easier,” I say, shooting him a conspiratorial wink that I hope looks genuine and not as forced as it feels.

  His wolfish smile tells me it worked. It also makes the nausea in my stomach churn harder.

  I don’t know what I’ll do if he tries to touch me.

  I think about Tiana, and how she spends time in his bed to elevate her own position within the reformatory. I know she’s a hateful Sylph who’s done it before and has proven there’s no line so low that she won’t cross it, but I wonder what she sees when she looks in the mirror. I wonder if, at the end of the day, she hates herself for letting this monster touch her.

  “That’s enough for today,” he says, pulling me from my thoughts.

  “Thank you, Headmaster,” I reply, giving him a respectful nod.

  “I won’t be available for tutoring tomorrow, so enjoy the three-day weekend. We will pick back up on Monday.”

  “Thank you, sir,” I say, relief flooding through me.

  Three whole days with no Echo. No treading that fine line. No ignoring unwanted advances while simultaneously playing up to his ego.

  More time to spend with my sister and my friends. With Asher.

  It’s been a tough few days, forcing myself to be aloof with them in public, then dodging the guards, other inmates, and the hidden cameras to sneak into either Asher, Lark, or Robbie’s room to see them. Sometimes I make it. Sometimes not.

  Hopefully Echo really will be busy and won’t be sending his surveillance devices to watch my every move. Eventually, he might even trust me enough to stop watching me altogether.

  Doubtful, but a girl can hope.

  As I leave Echo’s private training room, I find Jax waiting for me in the hall. He falls into step beside me, looking serious in his job of escorting me back to my room. I let my eyes dart around the ceiling as we walk, pulling back the Glamour to check for cameras.