For the first time, my powers were a strength. I’d only just arrived in the academy, but it was my magic that would help recapture a dragon and save my friends from the professor. I wasn’t simply the mage who didn’t deserve to live in a witch’s House (and embarrassed myself all over the floorboards because Mr Fierce was a pooping rebel), I was the fox whose fur fitted with these wintry grounds like I’d always meant to be sent here.
I usually knew if I was tricking myself with a lie but somehow, that felt deep in my bones like the truth.
Was it because of Rebel Ghost who hadn’t left my side from the moment that I’d shifted? Her icy fingers brushed my tail, and I shivered at its sensitivity. I was certain that the gust of air across my fluffy ear was a chuckle. In fox form, everything was heightened: my sight, hearing, smell, and touch.
It should’ve felt like an assault, but instead, it was like coming alive.
I eyed a snowbank. Hartley and I had built snowmen and laughed, whilst chasing each other through the formal gardens behind our mansion in the final winter BM. We’d checked that mum had been out visiting the House of Seasons first, which was the coven in charge of Oxford. Otherwise, Hartley would’ve been chided for setting a bad example:
How will your brother ever find a good wife, if you don’t show him his place?
Was being a mage truly worse than becoming some rich witch’s trophy husband?
I wriggled my ass, desperate to jump in the snow and play. But Sleipnir had chosen me for this mission to sneak closer to Marcus, and no one had ever picked me because of my talents before. Except, my power of Confess sucked because I knew Sleipnir was lying that he wished to recapture Marcus.
Had he broken the collar?
Sleipnir’s lie had blasted me with The Animal’s haunting “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood”, which had made me shiver. Sleipnir was one complex, troubled, and way too hot to be fair god. I figured that he schemed as much as I lied and Bask desired sexy times. The problem with Confess was that it didn’t explain the why behind the lie.
Sometimes a lie was kinder than a truth, and a liar was braver than an honest man…or woman. On the other hand, sometimes lies were cowardly, cruel, or cunning.
Which type was Sleipnir’s?
My ears flicked around as Marcus circled overhead again. Why hadn’t he flown away and escaped? Why would he risk remaining so close to his prison? I’d have been halfway to my mountain cave, treasure hoard, Pokémon trainer…or however it worked. Dad had been sketchy on that part.
Air whooshed against my fur. I flattened myself to the ground and then risked peeking up.
Marcus was like a streak of sun flying across the moon. His smooth skin was golden, and his long neck and tail were sinuous, as he coiled above me. Yellow magic fluttered out of his bat-like wings, as if he was wearing a decadent outfit. He was more ethereal than the fae prince.
He was nothing like the monster that I’d always imagined dragons to be.
How could I hunt another shifter, when inside he was the same as me? I mean, I could be a prick, but I wasn’t a dick. And that there was an important distinction.
I whined, lowering my ears, before I stepped out of the shadows and padded through the snow in front of the stables and under the dragon, no longer attempting to hide from him.
If a dragon shifter didn’t deserve to be imprisoned, then did that mean that I didn’t deserve to be either?
Truth: I’d never deserved to be shut away.
I whimpered as that truth ripped through me, tearing down the lies, which I’d built to protect myself. I didn’t need them now. I could be my true self, and I would be free.
Behind me, I could hear the other Immortals and the professor wildly hollering.
I quivered, as my heart pounded in my chest. I whimpered, glancing up from underneath my eyelashes at Marcus. He’d flown lower, and his molten gold gaze fixed on mine. Then Marcus’ magic whipped out: furious rays of the sun that were heading directly for me. I crouched in the snow. Any moment, Mr Fierce wouldn’t be the only one to embarrass himself with an accident.
I covered my head with my paws, as fire streaked from Marcus’ jaws, and his magic prickled across me.
Closer, closer, and…
Suddenly, I was lifted by the scruff of my neck. I yelped, as I found myself staring into the golden gaze of the dragon transformed into man. He was just as beautiful as he’d been in his dragon form.
Wait, did that mean that I was…let’s settle on as handsome because I wouldn’t admit to adorable unless sugary treats changed hands…as I was as a fox?
In a spray of blue glitter, I transformed back into a mage. Marcus was still holding me by the neck, but his lips twitched as if trying not to smile.
Marcus’ hair hung in soft blond waves to his waist, but his stance was that of a warrior. His cheekbones were high and sharp, and his yellow jacket and trousers, which were embroidered with orchids, were cut like a military uniform.
“Nice moves.” Should I tag on a sir, master, or maybe a bow…? I shrugged: screw that. “I’m scoring you full marks. Now, how about you fly away home, before you’re collared again?”
I darted an anxious glance over Marcus’ shoulder at Ambrose who was sprinting towards Marcus and me. Ambrose’s wings beat in frustration at being unable to take flight. My breath caught, and I clutched Marcus’ shoulders, trying to urge him back into the air.
Marcus’ eyes narrowed. “Are you not a spy, little fox?” He asked in a deep, rich voice.
I froze. “Why would the King of the Fox People be a spy?”
So, who doesn’t exaggerate on their resume…?
Marcus snorted. “Uh-huh. Well, Your Majesty,” (I shivered: I could get used to hearing that), “I happen to be an archduke.” My shoulders slumped. Why hadn’t I gone big on the lie and made myself Emperor of the Fox Universe? “And my dear brothers are still collared in the stables.” He let go of my neck to stroke his fingers through my hair. I hated the anguished expression in his eyes. “It’s simply that I belong to Prince Lysander, and I fear being ridden by him again. The Princes believe in nothing but subduing and conquering. They don’t understand shifters. This academy holds the most terrifying of secrets. But if I leave my brothers behind, it’ll be dishonorable—”
“Wouldn’t your brothers want you to be safe?” I whispered.
It’d been all I’d ever wished for Glow. I hoped that it was how he felt about me being sent away from the House of Jewels and leaving him by himself. And I knew that, despite the fact that he’d died, dad had given everything to keep me safe because he hadn’t been able to protect my brother.
Marcus scrutinized me in a way that made me squirm. “I wish that I saw the truth as clearly as you.”
“Believe me, you don’t,” I muttered.
Ambrose was just the other side of the snowbank now. When he slipped the leather whip from around his waist, I gasped.
All of a sudden, Marcus clasped me to his chest. He was hot, despite the cold, and his magic coiled around me like he was cocooning me in the sun.
“I’ll take warning to my people,” his grip was harsh in my hair, as if he never wanted to let go, “but you shouldn’t be trapped here either, King of the Foxes. Let me free you as well.”