A Curse of Flames (Fae Academy Book 2) Read online

  Ella finds her dress first. She chooses a green gown that complements her soft brown hair. It has a gathered bodice with little ivy leaves embroidered around the edges. The satin skirt reaches to the floor, and the sleeves are sheer and designed to float behind her as she walks.

  Dannika goes in for something more dramatic. Her bodice is a royal purple that accentuates her breasts, but her corset is the color of her skin, making it look like her midriff is bare. The skirt is the same in the front panel, but it fades to violet around the sides. It is embroidered with silver thread and accented with silver chains.

  I am the last one to pick. I’m spoiled for choice, and this is my first Moon Festival. Plus, I’ll be going with Caleb. A prince. I want it to be perfect.

  The brownie shop owner rifles through racks and racks of gowns for me.

  “Huzzah,” she finally exclaims. “I have found the perfect dress for you, my dear.”

  She hands me a dress that looks like it is made of pure silver. The fabric is so soft. It feels as it’s dripping off my skin. The corseted bodice lifts my boobs and corrects my posture, giving me a confidence boost. It has layers of silk down the back to both enhance and flatter my butt. When I gaze in the mirror, I realize the color isn’t just one shade. It fades from a silvery moonlit shimmer at the bodice to a darker molten silver at the bottom.

  The brownie attaches silver cuffs to each of my arms. The bracelets are attached to pieces of sheer silk, which flows down my sides and moves with me. Dannika picks a silver necklace with moon symbols on it and puts it around my neck, and then Ella sits me in front of a mirror and starts pulling my hair up into curls on top of my head. Dannika threads a silver string of moon symbols through the hairstyle, and Ella flutters her fingers over my head, making my hair, cheeks, and bare shoulder shimmer. As she does, little sparks of leaves float around her before disappearing.

  Another magical signature. Hah!

  I nearly want to cry at my reflection. I’ve never felt so beautiful.

  “You look amazing,” Dannika says.

  Even though my dress feels more demure than hers, it’s perfect for me. I feel elegant. Regal. Like…maybe, just maybe, I’ll look completely natural on the arm of a prince.

  As the brownie packs up our dresses and accessories, she asks me if there’s anything else I need.

  “I think I need a whole new wardrobe,” I say, embarrassed.

  Her whole face lights up. “Wonderful! Let’s get started then.” She runs over to another rack of clothes, and now I see what my friends meant about how they really do enjoy this.

  “Oh, not right now,” I say. “I’m exhausted already.”

  “Don’t worry, my dearie,” she says. “I know what you need. I’ll pick out a few things, and then have them sent to your room.”

  “That’s very kind,” I say. “Are you sure it’s no trouble?”

  “Not at all,” she says. “It’s my job!”

  “But…” I kneel so we are at eye level. “Are you sure you want to? Are you happy here, having to work for us Fae?”

  She stares at me like I have two heads, then drops her own back and nearly cackles. After she turns around, she slaps her thigh and keeps laughing as she walks away. “Oh, you humans are so funny,” she says, shaking her head. She continues over to her dressing counter before turning back and smiling. “Dearie, I love what I do. If you offered to pay me, that would be a great insult. How could I take money for putting such a joyous expression on your face?”

  A weight falls off my shoulders at hearing the brownie confirm what Ella and Dannika told me.

  “Well, as long as you’re sure,” I say, “then I’d be happy to have some more casual clothes for daily wear.”

  “I’ll have them sent up later,” she says with the biggest grin I’ve ever seen. It’s as if she’s…excited. It’s almost as if I’m the one doing her a favor.

  As we take our bags back to our rooms, we pass by the locked door again. It calls to me, drawing me to it.

  That’s it. It’s happening. I’m going into that room.

  That night, while Dannika is out, I slip out of our room and down the stairs. I have my trusty paperclip lockpick with me—oddly enough, I haven’t been able to master the lock-picking spell yet—and I stand at the end of the hallway, waiting for an opening.

  The door is down the main hallway, right next to the headmistress’s office, so people are always coming and going. The chances I will get caught are quite high, so I have to be careful. That said, it’s late at night, and there’s a curfew in effect, so the only people around are just as guilty as me of sneaking around when they shouldn’t. But still, I remain on high alert.

  When the coast seems clear, I creep down the hall toward the door. I stand in front of it, then slip the paperclip into the lock. Wiggling it around, I tried to find the pins. This ends up taking longer than I expected. Caleb did say Headmistress Shadowburn herself sealed the door. Maybe she made it so the lock can’t be picked by mundane means.

  I’m so focused on the door I don’t hear the footsteps coming down the hall until they are nearly right behind me.

  Gasping, I turn to walk down the hall so quickly the paperclip slips from my grasp, but I can’t go back for it. Tentatively, I raise my eyes to see who the footsteps belong to, ending up face to face with Erick.

  “Erick!” I gasp. “Wha…what are you doing here?”

  “I’m just walking by,” he says.

  “Awfully late,” I say. “Where are you going?”

  He chuckles. “I could ask you the same thing.”

  “Oh, well, fine,” I say. “How about I won’t ask you if you don’t ask me?”

  “That sounds like a good plan,” he says with a smirk, then continues past me.

  I sigh in relief, though I’m burning to know what he’s up to. The last time I saw him sneaking around this late at night was in a vision of him meeting with Professor Crowsfly before she died.

  What if he’s up to no good?

  I consider following him, but then I remember the door. I need to get in there. Or I at least need to get my paperclip back so no one will know I tried to break in.

  After I’m sure Erick’s long gone, I head back down the hall toward the door.

  But when I get there, the door is gone.

  Chapter 11

  Am I going crazy? There was a door there at one point, right? I mean, Caleb saw it. He’s the one who pointed it out to me in the first place, so I can’t be crazy. Can I?

  Every day, I make some excuse to pass by Headmistress Shadowburn’s office to see if the red door has reappeared. It doesn’t. The weird thing—okay, one of many weird things—is I think I can still feel its presence. The darkness, the throbbing, the…something that is beckoning me. The door, or whatever it was concealing, is still there. Somewhere.

  I need to know what’s hidden there. The desire to find out is consuming my thoughts and making it hard to concentrate in class, which is the last thing I need. If I could just see what’s on the other side, my curiosity will be satiated, and I won’t be distracted thinking about it.

  But after a week, the door is still missing.

  “Hello,” Dannika calls, snapping her fingers at me. “Earth to Imogen! Are you there?”

  “Huh?” I ask, blinking when I focus on her over my thornberry soup, which has gone cold.

  “You are so preoccupied,” she says, pushing her empty tray aside. “Where is your mind?”

  “Nowhere,” I say with a forced smile. “I’m right here. I heard every word you said.”

  “Oh, really?” she asks, cocking her perfectly shaped eyebrow. “Then what do you think?”

  “About what?” I ask.

  “About what I just said,” she squeals, half-annoyed, half-amused.

  “I…think…” Think. Think. Think! “I want to know what Ella says.” I pat Ella on the shoulder.

  “I already said what I think,” Ella says, grinning. “You’re on your own.”

/>   “Right,” I say, nodding. “That’s what I meant. That I completely agree with what you said.” I turn my attention back Dannika. “I agree with Ella on this one.”

  Dannika rolls her eyes. “Okay, so we’re in agreement?” Dannika asks. “We are really going?”

  Ella rubs her hands together. “Hell yes, we’re going. It sounds exciting!”

  “Okay, I give,” I say. “What’s going on? What are we doing?”

  “I’ll tell you if you spill about what’s got you so preoccupied,” Dannika says, crossing her arms.

  “Come on.” I practically toss my hands in the air. “You know I have like a million things on my mind.”

  “Which is why tonight is so important,” Dannika says. “You need a night out. You need to chill. Let loose!”

  “So what are we doing?” I ask.

  “I talked to Erick,” Ella says, “and he has agreed to take us to Dark Hollow tonight.”

  A wicked grin crosses Dannika’s face, and she taps her fingers together ala Mr. Burns from The Simpsons. “This is going to be epic!”

  “It is?” I ask. “What is Dark Hollow?”

  “Who’s going to Dark Hollow?” Caleb asks when he sneaks up on us and sits next to Dannika.

  “Get lost, Caleb,” Dannika says. “This is for girls only.”

  “Dark Hollow isn’t for just girls,” he says, offended. “I want to go. I’ve never been.”

  “Oh my God, guys,” I say, exasperated. “Shut up! What is Dark Hollow?”

  “It’s a…” Caleb looks around exaggeratedly as if making sure no one is listening, then he lowers his voice. “Secret underground club.”

  Hmm. Really?

  I raise my eyebrows. “How secret?”

  “Very,” Dannika says, nodding emphatically. “Even the faculty doesn’t know about it. Or if they do, they pretend they don’t.”

  I laugh at that. “I think there’s very little that goes on around here that Headmistress Shadowburn doesn’t know about.”

  “Possibly,” Dannika says, spearing a cherry tomato from her salad. “But still, it’s the students’ little secret, and they want to keep it that way.”

  “So why do we need Erick to take us?” I ask.

  “Because it is only for upperclassmen,” Ella says. “He’s a fourth year, so he just got invited. But we need a break, so I begged him to take us.”

  Ella and Erick have been friends for years, practically grew up together, so she carries more clout with him than the rest of us. Not that I care.

  I stir my cold soup, pretty sure I’m done eating, but thinking I probably should have eaten more.

  “What’s so great about this place?” I ask.

  “It’s got music, dancing, and drinking,” Dannika says. “It’s like a rave club on the human side. So nothing too crazy, but just a place to cut loose.”

  I’ve never been to a rave club in the human realm since I was never old enough, but I nod like I know what they are talking about.

  “That sounds fun,” I mumble. Why did I say that? It doesn’t. I mean, I’m sure it is, but I’m not excited about it like my friends are. I just want to find the red door and see what’s on the other side.

  “Come on,” Caleb begs Dannika. “Let me come with you. I promise I’ll be good. I’ll wear a dress if I have to.”

  “I can’t believe you haven’t been,” Ella says. “Can’t you use your prince powers or whatever and order an upperclassman to take you.”

  “Where’s the fun in that?” he asks. “I figured I’d go when I got invited like everyone else. But since you three are going, I want to go, too.”

  “You mean since a certain one of us is going,” Dannika ribs.

  I blush a little, but Caleb just laughs.

  “Fine.” Dannika sighs. “You can come with us. As long as Erick agrees.”

  I raise my eyebrows, but try not to look at anyone. As long as Erick agrees?

  That’s not going to go over very well…

  That night, us girls dress to the nines in our sexiest clubwear. Dannika opts for a sequined bustier and baggy pants while Ella slips into a lime green corset with a bright pink tutu. I’m wearing a simple black tube dress, but Ella streaks my hair with bright green and loans me some clunky heels to wear with it. I’ve never been much of a heel person, so it takes me a few minutes to get used to walking in them enough not to break an ankle.

  Caleb meets us at our room, dressed in a black T-shirt with a neon green symbol on the chest that represents the fire Fae. He’s also wearing baggy black pants with neon green accents. I can’t even see his shoes because the pants are so long and wide. It’s just…not what I expected from a Fae prince.

  “You look incredible,” he says, taking my hand and pulling me to him. “I can’t wait to show off my girl tonight.”

  My heart beats rapidly at him calling me his girl. I try to smile seductively, but I let out an idiotic giggle that sends Ella and Dannika into a fit of laughter. “Erick doesn’t mind if you go?”

  Caleb’s eyebrows pull together. “Why would he care?”

  “I don’t know…”

  “He’ll deal. I’m going.”

  “What about the professors?” I ask, this time to the group. “We are kind of conspicuous. How are we going to keep Dark Hollow a secret?”

  “Like this,” Caleb says. Waving his hand around, he utters something in the Fae language. Even though the world looks the same to me and I can still see my friends, when I look down, I can’t see my hands or the rest of my body. He used an invisibility spell to hide us.

  I gasp. “Whoa. I really need you to help me master that spell.”

  Caleb grins and holds the door open for me. “Ladies first.”

  We creep down the stairs and to the gym, quiet as church mice. After we file through the locker room and out a door in the back, we head down some stairs and through another door. It takes us to a long corridor past leaking pipes and walls covered in lichen.

  Finally, we see Erick by a door at the end. He’s talking to a bouncing pink light—Driftblossom.

  “No, I can’t say anything…” Erick says to her, but before she can respond, Caleb waves his arms, dropping the invisibility spell.

  “Hey…” Erick says, his eyes darting around to each of us before landing on Caleb. “I didn’t know you were coming.”

  Caleb shrugs. “You’d know if you’d bothered to invite me. But I couldn’t miss the chance to see Imogen’s first night at Dark Hollow.”

  Erick cuts his gaze to me. “Well, I figured she’d bring you. There wasn’t any sense in extending the invitation myself.”

  I shift from one foot to the other, feeling awkward at this posturing the guys have between them. I’m not even sure what is going on with them. I mean, everyone knows I’m dating Caleb, so I don’t know why Erick is acting weird about it. And yet, I half-expected this to happen.

  Searching for a distraction, I settle on Driftblossom, but then do a double-take. Her tiny face is painted white with black around her eyes and mouth. Her dress is also black, and she has pinned back extensions in her hair.

  “Wow, girl,” I say, impressed. “Very Goth.”

  “My family would kill me if they saw meh in this getup,” she says. “But it’s the only place I can really be myself.”

  “So the club isn’t just for students?” I ask.

  “It’s fer all Fae who need to cut loose,” Driftblossom says. “You’ll see.”

  Dannika bounces on her feet. “Okay, enough talk. Let’s go!”

  I don’t think I’ve ever seen her so excited before.

  Erick opens the door, and a heavy beat pours out. The club is dark, but there are neon lights everywhere. The strategically placed black lights illuminate the neon colors of everyone’s hair and clothes.

  A live band plays, and the music vibrates through my bones. The dance floor encompasses most of the club, and it is crowded with people jumping and moving to the music. A bar along one side boasts all
kinds of Fae bartenders—pixie, brownie, and even troll. They’re all glittering with their magical signatures as they use their powers to mix drinks.

  Throughout the room, there are several large water tanks. As I get closer to one, a mermaid swimming to the music becomes visible. She pushes to the top of the tank, and then leans over the edge to grin at me.

  “Hey, pretty girl,” she says in a singsong voice. “Don’t you want to buy me a drink?”

  “Anything you want,” I say, turning toward the bar without a second’s hesitation.

  Erick grabs my arm and turns me back. “Look out for the sirens,” he says. It’s obvious he’s fighting back a smile. “You’ll be giving her your clothes in two seconds.”

  Dumbstruck, I shake my head. When the spell wears off, I glance up at the siren in shock. Poking out her bottom lip in a pout, she sinks back into the tank.

  As we head to the bar, the mood of the club starts to sink in. Instead of feeling indifferent, excitement thrums through my veins, taking over. Maybe coming here was a good idea. Even Erick and Caleb seem to have stopped bickering.

  This distraction might be just what all of us needed.

  Dannika orders a round of drinks from a pixie. The cocktails are purple with green flames on top. We clink glasses, blow out the flame, and down them. It’s sweet, but the alcohol burns on the way down.

  “I’ll be drunk in no time,” I say over the din of the crowd.

  “We better dance then,” Caleb says as he pulls me to the dance floor.

  “I don’t know how,” I yell.

  “No one does,” he replies.

  At that, he just starts jumping and moving around to the music. It’s clear he has no clue what he’s doing, and yet he totally fits in at the same time. I decide to cut loose and follow suit. Closing my eyes, I move to the music, letting it carry me—and my worries—away. I raise my arms over my head, bouncing back and forth.

  Hands clasp my waist, so I twist into them. Our bodies sway close together. The heat, the sweat, the pounding of my heart in my chest. When I wrap my arms around his neck, he pulls me close. I open my eyes…

  And see Erick.