Page 128 of Wicked Heirs

Constantine Vale had hurt all of us in different ways, his actions had shattered our lives and taken things from us that we could never get back.

“It’s an army,” Alena breathed in awe.

“In essence,” Orpheus said.

“A covert one,” I added.

Orpheus went on, “Facilitating the free expression of Electi Academy students with their magic and their abilities has basically been a training ground. Unbeknownst to anyone, even them. There are so many restrictions here, but withObsidian,we transcended that and students understand and know their true power.”

“They’ll be able to fight like hell when the time comes,” Tal interjected.

“We can’t afford to rely solely onExemplar,”Orpheus explained. “Last time that cost us all so much. The three of us made a vow to never allow ourselves to be forced into that position again, to be at the whims of others.”

“So, this is like a second front, should war coming knocking?” Alena asked.

“It is,” I said.

“We need to be ready,” Orpheus added.

“This is incredible,” she uttered, looking between the three of us with that awed and wondrous expression that we loved from her.

“Yeah?” Talon pressed, tentatively.

“Yeah,” she confirmed. “It’s smart and incredibly orchestrated too. We need to be able to stand against a threat, should it come our way. And here at the Academy, I’ve realized from my time here that its goal is to produce productive members of supernatural society, but mostly to ensure we’re controlled and that our abilities don’t pose a problem once we leave here.” She looked to Orpheus. “TheMagic in CombatandWeaponry and Warfareclasses are just geared toward appeasing the more advanced students?”

“They are, yes. Very astute, little angel. There’s a cap on the learning and the syllabus. A stifling cap, actually. What I brought to the table against Marlowe was frowned upon. You saw the reactions for yourself—shock and disbelief.”

“That was a risk for you.”

“A risk that was worth it to show you that itispossible to pull it back if you touch a little darkness during battle, or if your dark side fuels your actions and reactions.”

She nodded. “Telling me right now is a risk as well. What if I hadn’t reacted well?”

“Then you would’ve likely gone straight to Abigail Rose and fucked all over everything,” Orpheus said.

“Ore!” Talon cried.

I shook my head to myself.

He held up his hand. “She asked.”

I shifted and ran my fingers through her silky hair. “We made the decision to put our trust in you. We want you with us all the way and that couldn’t be the case with this secret between us, with you being unaware of a big part of our lives.”

“Thank you for trusting me,” she said, nuzzling against my hand. “I’m with you. I’m with you all.”

Orpheus and Talon wrapped themselves around us and she sank into it.

Into us.

“We’re with you too,” I spoke. “All the way, Alena.”

23

~Alena~

They were closing in.

I could see Talon’s fiery wings in my peripheral vision with Orpheus just behind, already gaining on me, despite the head start they’d given me.

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