Page 30 of Oleander
“Open your textbooks to page thirty-two. Skyler, please scoot your desk over and share with Desiree.”
I glance over at the girl next to me, who smiles sweetly, pushing the textbook toward me. I connect our desks and smile back at her. “Hi. I’m Skyler,” I whisper, introducing myself even though the teacher just said my name.
“Desiree,” she says tenderly. Her voice is soft and melodic, like music on the wind. When I peer into her metallic gray eyes, I somehow know we possess the same element. She points to the passage we’re on without saying another word.
“Before we start reading, I'm going to cover some of the basics, so bear with me if you’re already familiar. Just let it be a reminder.”
She spins around, harshly circling a topic on the board.
Blood Fae.
I sit up straight and lean forward, listening intently.
“As you all know, there is a fifth element from which Fae power can be drawn.Blood.It is extremely rare, extremely volatile, and extremelyevil. We donotspeak their name outside of a classroom setting. Understand?”
No one answers.
“Do we understand?” she repeats more sternly.
“Yes, Miss Estrella,” the entire classroom chants in unison.
“As I was saying, after a string of horrific murders and ritual sacrifices, the Blood Fae were banished to the far reaches of the kingdoms, forced to live deep in the woods and ordered to never use magic again. They lived this way for five hundred years before the peace was broken.”
Miss Estrella paces in front of us, clearly worked up over what she’s about to say. I have no clue how old she is; she could have been alive to see their banishment for all I know.
“Next month will mark the one-hundredth anniversary of the Rift. An event a lot of your parents were alive for. The Blood Fae, with hate in their hearts and revenge on their minds, sacrificed their very own prince. But his blood alone wasn’t enough. Legend has it that his younger siblings were captured and drained of their life force as well, creating a magic so dark and powerful,so evil, it tore a rift between Faerie and the Underworld.”
I’m rooted to the edge of my seat, hanging onto Miss E’s every word.
“Hellhounds and spirits of the dead—or ghouls as many call them—plague the Underworld, and few souls who venture there ever return. It is not a realm we want merged with our own. Chaos, disaster, and death are all that come from that foul place. But some of these creatures seeped into our world, creating widespread panic and fear. The kings and queens of all four kingdoms came together, combining their powers to close the Rift. Some Blood Fae managed to jump into the portal to escapeto the Underworld before it closed. The ones left behind were once again banished to deep within the forest, where magical boundaries were set up like a prison. Closing the Rift nearly drained the kings and queens in the process, but they succeeded. However, there are unfortunately still some vicious hellhounds and loose spirits trapped in our realm.”
I pull Desiree’s textbook closer and flip a few pages until I find a black-and-white sketch of a giant, wolf-like beast with an open-mouth snarl and sharp teeth dripping with saliva or maybe blood. The caption underneath reads,Hellhound.
So that’s what everyone’s afraid of on the other side of the wall?
“Only an iron blade infused with Fae magic can truly defeat them, so if you absolutely must travel through the woods by foot, take a few guards with you. Otherwise, do not, under any circumstances, enter the forest alone or unprotected. And do not sign up for the Wild Hunt.Ever.It’s been decades, but we have lost a few students to the Hunt. I don’t wish to see it happen again.”
Miss Estrella babbles on about sword techniques, but I’m distracted by what I just learned. I scribbled everything down, needing to remember it all. If Ander is in an advanced history class, I should be able to pick his brain for more information.
I don’t know what’s wrong with me, but ever since I was a little kid, anytime someone’s warned me not to do something, I take it as an open challenge. And I’ve always loved video games, so I’m fascinated by the idea of evil creatures and the Underworld. I’m not one hundred percent sure what the Wild Hunt is, but I have an idea, and the daredevil in me is purring like a cat.
I need to know more.
CHAPTER TEN
OLEANDER
We planned to meet back at our place for dinner. There’s a special sort of joy I get out of cooking for him and showing him new flavors that most likely astound his human taste buds. I’m making my favorite soup tonight and adding some of my own freshly grown herbs. The setting sun bathes the balcony in shades of gold as I trim what I need for tonight’s meal. It’s beautiful out here, especially since I boosted the climbing vines with my own magic, thanks to Skyler’s encouragement. I still can’t believe how effortlessly I’m using magic now. When I’m with Skyler, it’s like I’m not afraid of anything, and knowing I can’t hurt him is a huge relief, too. Even if it's nerve-wracking how easily he calls my magic to the surface.
Noise in the kitchen grabs my attention, and I look up to see the fridge door rattling loudly as he yanks it open, likely checking to see if it’s been magically re-stocked. It definitely has not been. I don’t have the heart to tell him, like the way some humans pretend Santa Claus is real for the sake of their children. I make a mental note to arrange a regular grocery delivery while he has class. I grin, imagining the dimple in his cheek popping out when he thinks he has an enchanted refrigerator.
I step through the open balcony door, feeling shy for no reason. “Hey.”
Skyler spins around, shutting the fridge. “Hey.” A small smile curls the edge of his lip, and my belly swoops low.He’s so attractive.
“How did class go?” I tuck my hair behind the tip of my ear, walking toward the vegetables I already have sitting out on the cutting board.
“Pretty good. I learned some really crazy shit about Blood Fae.”
