“Seth,” I yelped, breaking our kiss as his hold became painful.
He snatched hold of my bun then the world stopped turning as he sliced something sharp through it.
“No!” I gasped in absolute horror, shoving him back. But it was too late. He released me and I fell from his lap in a heap onto the path, grazing my knees.
A single lock of blue had come free from the bun he now held in his grip, fluttering down onto the ground before me. I snatched it up in desperation, my hands trembling and tears welling and welling and welling.
My hair, he took my hair.
But it wasn’t just my hair. It was an age old wound and he’d cut it open deeper than before.
Don’t trust anyone. That’s what it stood for. And how fucking poetic that he’d tricked me, made me trust him then taken the one thing which had been meant to warn me against people like him.
A satisfied smirk pulled at his features. “Told you I'd get your hair,” he said, his voice flat and cold and making my heart crawl into a shell to try and hide. “And since Max told me the little sob story behind it, I was even more determined to get my hands on it.”
My lips trembled as tears ran over them, the taste of salt and betrayal running onto my tongue.
Giggles filled the air and Kylie burst out of the bushes alongside several more of her gang, her Atlas held in her hand. “I recorded the whole thing,” she told Seth triumphantly.
Humiliation washed over me and I opened my palm in a flare of anger, willing magic into it but Seth rushed forward, closing my fist as he crouched before me.
“Nothing personal, Vega,” he whispered. “It's the way of Fae. If you don’t want things getting even worse for you, then take your sister and get out of our Academy.” He winked, shot to his feet and slung his arm around Kylie, striding away while their laughter called back to me.
“Let's go to Lunar Leisure, I don't wanna miss the fun,” Seth said and they started moving swiftly down the path, my blue locks still wrapped in his fist.
Silence fell and I reached up to clutch my head, too horrified to do anything but stay there on the ground a minute longer. My throat swelled with emotion as I found the choppy remains of my hair, shorter at the back than it was at the front – and was that scalp I could feel??
My hands started to shake as embarrassment caved in my chest. Tears poured down my cheeks as my heart turned to cinders.
How could I have been so stupid? How could I have thought for one second that bastard could be trusted? Why had I done this after everything I knew about the world?
Get up. Go back to Aer Tower.
But I couldn't make myself move. I just wanted to curl in on myself and hide away forever.
Panic rose in me as I continued to paw at my hair, knowing I had to get up. I had to disappear before anyone saw me like this.
Kylie had recorded the whole thing.
Oh God, please no. Soon, everyone in the school would have witnessed me kissing Seth then him slicing off my hair and taking it like some sick trophy. And me crying on the floor with grazed knees and the sky falling down on me.
A hand pressed to my shoulder and I jolted violently, wheeling around and throwing out a palm, desperate to defend myself. A huge crack tore across the path as earth magic left my body in a rush of energy and Professor Orion darted aside before it knocked him over.
My heart steadied despite the fact that my Cardinal Magic teacher wasn't exactly a guardian angel. But he wasn't Seth or his awful friends. I clutched my head, heat coursing across my cheeks as I tried to hide from him. There wasn't much more even Orion could do to me tonight that would break me any further. But he could laugh. And I waited for it to come.
He slowly knelt before me, his jaw set as his gaze swept over my hair. Shame burned a path through my body and I looked down at the ground, unable to bear being seen like this. “Have you come to say I told you so?” I bit at him, trying to cover my pain with rage. But no doubt he could see every one of the tears running down my face.
“Get up,” he urged, taking my arm and pulling me to my feet.
“Why'd you come back?” I choked out, tugging my palm free and wrapping my hands around my head again.
“My spidey senses were tingling,” he said, chuckling and I glanced up at him, my brow creasing.
“Was that a joke?” I asked in utter surprise, my voice raw.
His mouth hooked up at the corner and I couldn't believe he was actually smiling like that. I expected him to be laughing along with the rest of the school, not making jokes for my benefit.
“It was,” he said. “A pretty good one I think.” He tugged me nearer, his expression suddenly serious. “Now the blue is gone, how will I tell which twin is which?”
I tried to stop a surprised laugh escaping me but it broke free of my chest in the form of a hiccup. “You're right, however would you tell?” I sniffed, wiping at my damp eyes with my lacy sleeve. Mascara smeared across my hand and I inwardly cringed, knowing I must have looked like an extra in The Walking Dead right then.
Of all the people to make me feel better though, I would never have guessed it'd be him.
A scream cut through the air that made every nerve ending in my body sting.
Orion dropped his hand, suddenly alert and I started running before he could make any sort of decision.
Tory!
Fear scorched a hole in my heart.
The Heirs were on a war path tonight. And I had to try and stop them from hurting my sister.
DARIUS MARCHED ME straight into the Lunar building and swerved to the left once we were inside, heading for the gym.
“Where are you taking me?” I breathed, failing to keep the fear from my voice.
“We’re going to see some friends,” he said, not offering me any more than that.
We passed by the gym equipment and kept going to a part of the building I’d never visited before. I knew what we were heading for as soon as the warm air and scent of chlorine hit me and I frowned as Darius dragged me through a set of double doors and on through the changing rooms. He didn’t slow his pace or lessen his grip on me and I was powerless to try and fight my way free of him while his Coercion still held me in its grip.
We made it out to the huge swimming pool and my lips parted as I spotted a crowd of people there. Marguerite and her friends shrieked excitedly as Darius dragged me towards them and my heart skittered as I hunted the sea of faces for someone who might help me.
A group of Seth’s wolves started howling with excitement, jostling each other as they drank from bottles of beer and pushed each other close to the edge of the pool.
Darius steered me to the left and we skirted the long swimming pool, heading toward the deep end where a sign painted on the tiles announced that the water was six meters deep. A shiver raced through me at the thought of all that water, memories of being trapped in that car crash surfacing readily.
Three diving boards stood alongside the water and I had to tip my head back to look up at the tallest one. I’d seen divers using such things in the olympics on the TV but I’d never seen one in real life.
Darius kept hold of me, guiding me closer and closer to the diving boards where Max and Caleb stood waiting for us. Max’s face was a picture of excitement and he was practically bouncing on the balls of his feet. Caleb’s expression was set in a careful mask and he regarded me like I was someone he barely knew, let alone held any affection for.