Page 52 of Cursed Heirs

He wasn’t even secure in the fact that he still had me, because he was afraid I was going togo dark, as he so bluntly put it.

Unfortunately, my display of darkness and my apparent loss of control against Isabella had only fueled those fears for him.

The truth was that it had been premeditated.

Ihadn’tlost control.

Although, I had to admit, the satisfaction of bringing that scum to her knees had been incredible.

But I’d done it to lessen Callum’s influence over things, to take back control. I’d known that the faculty would effectively ground me and confine me to my room for some timeandhave eyes on me for a time after the fact. It had been exactly what I’d wanted, so that I would temporarily be proven useless to him, unable to make a move and takeObsidianin the direction thathewanted. It wasn’t time to move yet, but he’d wanted me todo just that, and he’d used his threats to try to push me into employing his rash strategy.

He wanted to make an impact on the supernatural world, to be seen as a hero, and as somebody who saw all, who saw better thanExemplar, believing the entire organization to be ineffective. He wanted them to look to him to take the lead, to employ his way of doing things.

And he’d been using me to do it.

Of course, I’d gotten what I’d wanted as well—the freedom and protection to enable myself, Talon, Xavier and the students to explore and hone our powers and abilities.

But now that had been achieved, his participation and role was nothing but a hindrance to me.

Worse—a threat.

And I wouldn’t stand for that.

I’d been holding him off by giving him a piece of me sexually, but that had grown unappealing in more ways than one.

There wasn’t much time left in this holding pattern, though.

Soon the faculty would lift their punishment.

It wasn’t like I could fake acting out again, or I would face a complete lockdown that would involve them muting my abilities with those abhorrent power muting cuffs that they employed in extreme circumstances.

The Dark Fae Prince losing his fucking mind and losing control would certainly qualify.

Explaining all of that to Talon would be futile, though, because I did still believe that the way to defeat Constantine Vale was to fight fire with fire—to delve into the darkest of magics.

That battle had proven as much.

So for now I was showing Tal as much stability as possible.

Completing my assignments, keeping my head down, working on my magical map. Unbeknownst to anyone, I actually had people searching the locations I’d identified. My contactsand assets in the Dark Fae Realm that even my father didn’t know I’d put in place. They were beings in lower positions in the Kingdom, a key qualifier for me because it meant they went unnoticed, unlike if I’d gone with members of my father’s High Court. They were guards, clerks, and aides. While they were overlooked and definitely not seen as power players, they were all in positions to be privy to key information and intelligence. They were how I’d kept abreast of things happening in the Kingdom while I’d been away and my father and I had been estranged for a time.

I just wished I’d been able to obtain all the pieces of the puzzle regarding the map, but the Commander who I’d been slated to meet with was mobilized right now to defend the DFR should Constantine and his army attack, as they were doing throughout the rest of the supernatural world.

Things were in a state of emergency, meaning that key figures weren’t reachable.

I hadn’t been able to connect with Abigail Rose over my concerns for Alena’s state of mind and the infection I’d felt from Constantine plaguing her. The one time when I’d actually wanted to reach out to the woman, the one time where it was imperative, and I’d been blocked.

I shoved my hand through my hair as I stood on the turrets waiting on Talon to arrive.

It was my first night free of my confinement and I’d suggested that we spend the first couple of hours flying, something that was a type of therapy for us both, something that helped to center us and brought us contentment.

As I waited, I fired off another text to Alena.

Thirty-five and counting. All unanswered.

Orpheus:I’m out of confinement. Come flying with us?

Flames filled my vision and I looked out to see Talon come in hot, in full phoenix transformation, the firebird in all its magnificent glory.

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