Page 74 of Oleander
“Kill the Blood Fae bastard, and let’s be done with this madness!” Birch shouts, and a cold sweat breaks out on my brow when I see the indecision in Onyx’s eyes as well as Ander’s.
They both care for me in different ways, and this is so fucking hard on everyone, but I’m ready to make a sacrifice. The ultimate sacrifice.
“Kill him!” I yell, my voice breaking. The nausea returns when I think about the consequences that such a move will have for me.
I’d die, too.
But I’m willing to spill my blood for Ander and for Faerie. Rafael can’t be allowed to roam the worlds, wreaking havoc.
A low, evil laugh rumbles from him with everyone frozen in place. Ander and Onyx are clearly unwilling to sacrifice me so easily. My heart stutters before pounding erratically.
We’re in a stalemate. All five of us. And someone’s going to have to make a move.
“Why are you doing this?” I whisper to the evil, lying asshole.
“Simple. Because I can. Because Iwantto. Because Ineedto. You don’t understand what it’s like to be stuck in that place. It’s a literalhell. So, tell your boyfriend to open the fucking portal.Now!” he yells directly into my ear, and I wince, causing the blade to dig deeper. “Don’t make me ask you again.”
I mouth the wordnoto Oleander, tears welling in my eyes, but Rafael sees and unexpectedly punches me in the side of the head with his bony fist. My eyebrow bursts open once again, and my vision spots. I nearly pass out, and the only reason I’m not on the ground is because I’m being held up by the rough handsand sharp blade of this lunatic. Shades of vermillion flow over my eye, obscuring my vision.
“Fine!I’ll do it! I’ll open the portal,” Ander cries out in despair. “Just don’t hurt him anymore!”
“No! Ander, don’t! I’m willing to die,” I mumble, my words slurring. That hit fucked me up. I think I might have a concussion.
Rafael throws his head back, laughing maniacally into the night sky at the havoc and terror he’s causing. He starts to chant, sending an icy shiver down my spine. “Purify. Sanctify. Unite us. Purify. Sanctify. Unite us. Unite us all.” He swipes his fingers across the jagged cut on my neck, coming away with bright red blood.
I feel sick. Woozy.
He continues his dark chanting, mixed with a language I don’t recognize as human or Fae. “Purify. Sanctify. Unite us. Purify. Sanctify. Unite us. Unite us all.”
I focus on Ander, squinting through the agony and the blood to get a better view of his beautiful face. His tears glisten in the moonlight, and he shakes his head, mouthing the wordtrust. Hope swirls in my gut, and I pray it’s not false. My brain isn’t firing on all cylinders, and I could be mistaken, but I think he’s going to open the portal again.
I glance around, and Onyx and Birch seem to understand what’s happening as well. Before I have time to stop it, a swirling portal starts to open up, burning a hole into our realm. Fire singes its edges, hot and hungry. I immediately drop to my knees, becoming dead weight in his arms and letting the blade cut me even deeper in order to ensure everyone’s survival. Birch sprints over and lifts a big, heavy boot, kicking his foot into the center of Rafael’s chest, sending him flying straight into the portal. His body clips the edge, and he screams as his tatteredold clothes instantly ignite. Rafael disappears from sight, and Ander closes the portal before it even fully opened.
An eerie silence takes over the woods. No more hellhounds, and no more Blood Fae. The adrenaline seeps out of me as does more blood, and I fall forward, feeling light-headed. I roll to my back, staring at nothing.
“Skyler!” Oleander and Onyx shout my name at the same time, rushing over to me.
“How’d you find us?” I slur, staring at Birch and Onyx as Ander gets to work on stopping the bleeding from my eyebrow and the new slice in my neck. I hide the tear in my shirt and the trickle of blood from my side.It’s just a scratch.I’m pretty certain.
“I heard from the groundskeeper that two students signed up for the Hunt,” Birch replies. “Had a feeling I knew who it was.”
I can’t help but smile, knowing he showed up for me. Because he was worried.Because he cares.I won’t point that out, though; it’ll only push his buttons.
“They should really teach us that Blood Fae can lie. Not sure why anyone ever thought it was a good idea to erase them from the history books. That leaves future generations vulnerable, just as it left us vulnerable here today,” Oleander says with a sexy air of power. I was thinking the exact same thing, and we are once again in tune.
“I have never agreed with Headmaster Goulding’s decision to withhold certain information from the academy textbooks. You cannot truly learn to defend yourself unless you know everything about your enemy. It was wrong of him to handicap your generation in this way, but it’s not something I can change,” Onyx says sadly. “It’s above my station.”
“I’ll change it,” Ander declares confidently, and his authority goes straight to my dick.
“It’s over,” I say in awe, bringing the conversation back to the now. “We did it. And there’s no fucking way we didn’t win. I can go to sleep happy tonight.”
“You cannot go to sleep. You most likely have a concussion,” Birch says matter-of-factly, bursting my bubble.
“We need to prove our kills and secure our win as soon as possible.” Ander’s lavender eyes shine brightly as he adds the last bandage to my neck. “It’s the last step.Thenwe can rest, baby.”
The endearment melts me, and I nearly slip into a concussed coma, but I hold strong.
“We will lead you to the tavern and disappear before we get there so they don’t falsely believe you received help,” Onyx tells us. “I’m glad you’re both okay.” His smile is genuine and sincere.
